Politics surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions with China has led to a surge in anti-Asian racism and hate crimes across the Western world. On Saturday, March 27, 2021 at around 8 pm, I experienced a "hate incident" while getting sushi in the Gay Village in Montreal. Like other racist incidents in the past, I wasn't planning to do anything about it for a variety of reasons. This time, however, after posting about it on my social media, I saw a viral TikTok video that showed the same man harassing an Asian woman in the metro, which happened soon after my encounter with him. After contacting the victim, we both decided to file police reports, which led to the man's arrest. This experience also motivated me to become involved in anti-Asian hate activism through the Montreal Chinatown Working Group, ACT2ENDRACISM, and the Action! Chinese Canadians Together (ACCT) Foundation. I have since conducted a number of media interviews regarding anti-Asian racism, served as a panelist for the National Forum on Anti-Asian Racism at the University of British Columbia, and spoken at the 2021 Chinese Canadians Leaders’ Summit.
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McGill is responsible for confronting anti-Asian hateOp-ed I wrote in spring 2021 for the McGill Tribune about the responsibility of academia, science, and McGill University to confront anti-Asian racism, which helped lead to a Statement against anti-Asian Racism by the Department of Biology
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Roundtable with Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Joël Lightbound, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, discussing the public safety and discrimination issues surrounding the rise in anti-Asian racism.
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Hidden Hate: Anti-Asian Racism | Global News specialThere has been an alarming rise in anti-Asian attacks in North America amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and Canada is not immune. Some Canadian cities have recorded a 600-700% spike within a year, and many more incidents remain in the shadows. Global News’ special broadcast “Hidden Hate: Anti-Asian Racism” explores what has led to the wave of racist incidents, the laws around hate crimes in Canada, and stereotypes that have been proven harmful. The program features NBA veteran Jeremy Lin, former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, and Asian-Canadian Actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Ludi Lin. Hosted Tracy Tong and Sophie Lui, with special reports from Miranda Anthistle, Liem Vu and Tracy Nagai.
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ACT2ENDRACISM is a coalition of citizens and community groups concerned about rising and escalating anti-Asian sentiment. We are committed to providing support to the community and addressing COVID-19 related racism by providing recommendations to institutions on how to tackle systemic racism.
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The Action, Chinese Canadians Together (ACCT) Foundation builds the capacity of Chinese Canadian leaders committed to creating a more equitable society in Canada. We facilitate capacity building programs across the country, host leadership conferences, and provide a platform where work in academia can inform work in the community. We bring together established and emerging Chinese Canadian leaders to collaborate on identifying and breaking down systemic barriers to the full and equal participation of ethno-cultural leaders in Canadian society. We honour and celebrate the groundbreaking achievements of past and present Chinese Canadian leaders in society and equip the next generation of leaders with a keen sense of how their culture shapes and strengthens their leadership.
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