Rep. Tackey Chan told reporters at a Beacon Hill press conference on March 13, 2020 that much of today's racial discrimination is online, driven by social media. Photo by Sam Doran | State House News Service
Members of the Asian American Commission joined legislators, Boston city officials, and advocates Thursday to publicly condemn attacks, xenophobia, bigotry, and hatred that Asian American and Chinese American communities have experienced in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who attended a press conference hosted by the commission outside the State House, said while she hasn’t had to prosecute individuals as a result of direct attacks on Asian Americans related to COVID-19, she will stand by those communities as an ally.
“I’d like my face to be very clear and when you hear me say this listen closely, if you are bigoted and hateful, if you are targeting people based on xenophobia or racism, you will be held accountable in Suffolk County,” she told reporters. “The Coronavirus does not discriminate, but unfortunately people do.”
Separately, the National Association of Realtors warned members recently that while they should consider limiting in-person interactions with clients they must always comply with the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination against specific populations.
“While the coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, China, that does not provide a basis for treating Chinese persons or persons of Asian descent differently” NAR said in a statement.
Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu said her office has received complaints of discriminatory incidents from constituents. She said initially there was misinformation circulating connecting the origin point of the virus to the likelihood that Asian American’s might be exposed to or transmitting it.
“We know in times of crisis, especially when there’s uncertainty about what will happen, what the timelines might be, that there can be a natural instinct for people to turn that fear into discrimination or trying to find a scapegoat,” she said. “We wanted to be clear today that this is an issue, a virus that does not discriminate. Everybody is equally susceptible.”
Rep. Tackey Chan, D-Quincy, recalled the 2002 SARS outbreak at Thursday’s press conference. He said there was also a degree of discrimination, misinformation, and racism against different parts of the Chinese community at that time.
These days, he said, much of the hate is social media-driven and less in-person bullying or harassment.
“It’s no longer an in-person thing anymore. You can find it online,” he said. “And also there’s a lot of bad information. As you’ve heard from the [Gov. Charlie Baker] and Mayor [Martin J.] Walsh and many of your local elected officials, it’s important to get good information out there.”
Karen Chen, executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association, said Chinese communities have been hit the hardest by the rise of COVID-19 and people should remember that the virus doesn’t see color.
“If we stand in solidarity with everyone, especially those who are vulnerable, we will be able to fight this virus,” she said.
Saugus Republican Rep. Donald Wong said although he hasn’t received complaints of discrimination from constituents, businesses in Boston’s Chinatown are suffering from the outbreak. According to Wong, restaurants have lost approximately 85 percent of their business.
“I talked to some of the owners, which are thinking of closing next week because restaurants and not just Asian restaurants, but all restaurants, they have perishable so it’s not something you can put on the shelf for another week or two weeks,” he said. “I was down yesterday getting a takeout in one of the restaurants in Chinatown, and this is five o’clock dinner time, I was the only one in there.”
