The Straits Times | Chinese Americans recount racial discrimination they face living in New York's Chinatown - video Dailymotion

The Star

New Yorker Victoria Lee and other Chinese Americans in New York's Chinatown share their experiences of racial discrimination, which continues to happen even after Covid-19 has subsided.   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 At the peak of the COVID pandemic, over half of the thousands of Chinese restaurants across

00:06 America shut down over fear of the virus and xenophobia.

00:11 Here in Manhattan, according to one study, from 2019 to 2021, Chinatown sustained a 57%

00:19 drop in visits to stores and restaurants.

00:21 It lost 26% of its jobs compared to 14% citywide.

00:26 But today the businesses have bounced back.

00:29 I think that people have just been eager to get some sense of normalcy after what has

00:34 happened over the past couple of two, three years now.

00:39 Xenophobia has somewhat abated, but it has certainly not gone away.

00:43 So last month I was just randomly spit on.

00:45 I was really taken aback.

00:47 I was in Midtown.

00:48 I was walking to the doctor's office and I was trying to figure out which building it

00:54 was in because I'd never, I hadn't seen this doctor before.

00:58 And right as I was, a doorman said, "Oh, it's the next building over."

01:05 I walked over and I just felt spit like all in the back of my neck.

01:10 And I turned around and what to me was worse than being spit on was the most hateful look

01:17 I got from this man.

01:18 He was on a bike just staring at me.

01:23 Nothing was said.

01:24 Nothing was exchanged.

01:25 It was so, so jarring.

01:27 Sunday dinners at her late grandmother's apartment in Chinatown helped Vic Lee, a daughter of

01:33 immigrants from Hong Kong, discover her identity as a Chinese woman.

01:38 She has served as a district leader representing Chinatown and in 2020 co-founded Welcome to

01:43 Chinatown, a hub for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the needs of the community.

01:49 At least among those that I've been interacting with, primarily second, third gen Asian Americans,

01:56 thinking a lot more about how it does feel like these events are cyclical and what can

02:03 be done to really change that tide.

02:07 To be clear, prejudice against Chinese Americans does predate the pandemic.

02:11 In fact, it has a long history.

02:13 I would say I think it's being less reported on because it's not the hot topic of choice

02:18 anymore.

02:19 I think it still happens, maybe a little bit less, but I mean, it's still definitely still

02:24 happening I would say.

02:25 I've experienced anti-hate and hate even before the pandemic.

02:29 Growing up in New York City, you're going to meet all types of people.

02:31 I went to high school in the Bronx, so people definitely saying things at me on the train

02:35 or even down here.

02:37 Nothing happened to me personally during the pandemic, but I mean, I witnessed a lot of

02:41 it firsthand just being in the community in Chinatown.

02:44 I mean, I think it's whether it's East Asian, whether it's currently it's Muslim or Jewish

02:51 or black, obviously continuously, I think it'll always spike when there's kind of political

02:59 gain involved.

03:00 So yeah, whether it's pressure trying to write a narrative about China or not, whether it's

03:08 just convenient to push an immigration narrative, I'm sure it'll come up again.

03:13 So I think what's at least for me, what's been nice in a way following the pandemic

03:17 and all the conversations around Black Lives Matter and the Asian conversations is I think

03:21 people are more aware of why that's the case, sort of what the background of that is, what

03:27 anti-Asian, in this case, specifically anti-Asian sentiment is used for.

03:33 And hopefully we're better equipped to respond to it.

03:36 Noreena Lee is New York born and picking up her four-year-old daughter from afternoon

03:41 Mandarin language classes.

03:43 Her parents own the GoToKK discount store.

03:46 She has also experienced racism, but says the community has rallied around.

03:51 After COVID, there were a lot of concern with safety.

03:57 So I know that there were organizations that taught self-defense.

04:01 There were those that were willing to walk elders and those that didn't feel safe from

04:07 the train station to their home.

04:09 So there is that support.

04:11 Also I feel like within at least the local businesses here, we always try to look out

04:15 for each other just because going through such unique experiences together sort of brings

04:21 us closer.

04:22 You also have organizations such as Welcome to Chinatown and Send Chinatown Love that

04:27 really help bring the community together and amplifies the stories that we each bring into

04:33 this neighborhood.

04:37 Nirmal Ghosh, The Straits Times, in Chinatown, Manhattan.

04:40 [Music]

04:45 [Music]

04:55 you

The Straits Times | Chinese Americans recount racial discrimination they face living in New York's Chinatown

Category

Transcript

Recommended