WASHINGTON: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, US Lawmakers On Acts Of Hate Against Asian Americans

WASHINGTON: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and
several US lawmakers have said that they are appalled by the ongoing acts of
hate against Asian Americans and condemned hate, racial discrimination and
violence in all forms.

More than
3,000 incidents of abuse against Asian Americans were reported between March and
December 2020, according to Asian American advocacy groups. There were only 216
reported cases in 2019, according to FBI statistics.

“I
am appalled by the ongoing acts of hate against Asian Americans and the Asian
community globally. Racism, hate and violence have no place in our society. I
am united with the Asian and Asian American community in standing against this
injustice,” Mr Nadella said in a tweet, a day after US President Joe Biden
said that the ”vicious” hate crimes against Asian Americans in the country
amidst the pandemic was ”un-American” and it must stop.

Denouncing
“violent” attacks on the Asian Americans, Biden in his first
prime-time address to the nation since assuming office in January, said that
members of the community were harassed, blamed and scapegoated.

In a
statement, Microsoft said that it condemns hate, racial discrimination, and
violence in all forms.

Meanwhile,
prominent lawmakers have joined hands to introduce a legislation to address the
rise of hate crimes and violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander
(AAPI) communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congressman
Donald M. Payne, expressed concern over an increase in racist attacks against
Asian Americans during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“I
want to condemn the abuse and assault that has happened to Asian Americans
during his pandemic in the strongest words possible,” Payne said.

“Hate
and violence have no place in America at all. These attacks must stop because
they are cowardly attempts to scapegoat and blame Americans for a pandemic that
started thousands of miles away. Thankfully, we have a president who supports
diversity and will protect all Americans in his language and his actions. It is
time for us to come together as a country and that includes all Americans,”
he said.

Senator
Dianne Feinstein said that over the past few weeks, nominees for the top three
leadership positions at the Justice Department have appeared before the Senate
Judiciary Committee, as has the director of the FBI.

“At
each hearing the topic of hate crimes came up, in large part due to steep
increases in attacks against Asian Americans,” she said.

“The
increase appears to be based on a fabricated connection between the
Asian-American community and the COVID pandemic, a conspiracy theory with no
basis in fact that is pure racism. We must rebut the conspiracy theory itself
and also directly confront the rise in hate crimes,” Feinstein said.

Senator
Alex Padilla, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senator Mazie
Hirono and Congressmen Grace Meng in introducing legislation to address the
rise of hate crimes and violence against AAPI communities during the COVID-19
pandemic.

“I
am disturbed by the recent increase in hate crimes and violence against Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders in California and across the country,”
Padilla said.

“It
is clear that this uptick in violence against Asian Americans is the direct
result of the racist rhetoric used by political leaders with regard to the
pandemic and we must take action to address it. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act
will direct law enforcement to better collaborate across jurisdictions and
expedite the response to COVID-19 related hate crimes, and will work to
mitigate racially discriminatory language used to describe the pandemic,”
he said.

The
COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act would direct the US Attorney General to designate an
official whose sole responsibility will be to expedite review of COVID-19 hate
crimes from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The legislation
also directs the Attorney General to issue guidance to state and local law
enforcement agencies on appropriate public education campaigns and the
collection of data on COVID-19 hate crimes.

The
ongoing anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, especially against our elderly
Asian Americans, is absolutely horrific, said Congresswoman Meng. “Since
the beginning of the pandemic there have been nearly 3,000 reported incidents
of physical, verbal, and online attacks against Asian Americans,” she
said.

Acting US
Attorney Tessa M Gorman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald M. Voiret said
that currently federal prosecutors and the FBI are reviewing two cases
involving assaults on Asian-American neighbours that have been charged by the
King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

“These
crimes, and other acts of hate and bias, have no place in our community. I urge
members of our community to report hate-based crimes to either local or federal
law enforcement and to contact our office”s civil rights line with information
about discrimination in areas like housing, employment, education, or public
accommodations,” Gorman said.