For Immediate Release

February 14, 2021

SAN DIEGO, CA -- February 14, 2021- Californians for Equal Rights (CFER) and Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) jointly condemn the recent surge of anti-Asian hate crimes in California's Bay Area communities and urge the upholding of the equal protection principle to combat racial discrimination.

In recent weeks, racially motivated violence has victimized over a dozen of elderly Asian-American residents in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. Many of these senseless crimes were committed by disengaged minority youth from underprivileged communities. Sadly, these assailants targeted vulnerable seniors who are also economically disadvantaged. The string of unfortunate events amplifies the disastrous consequences of racial tribalism and divisions.

"SVCA foundation condemns the recent violence against the Asian community. We are extremely concerned about the deterioration of community safety in recent years and the insidious policy of racial division, which has underlined these racially motivated attacks," commented Jason Xu, SVCAF's President, "We urge all community groups, lawmakers, and elected officers to work together to improve public safety!"

"Painful tribalism is rooted in our society's growing tendency to pit groups against each other on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, or color," said Frank Xu, CFER's President, "Concerning movements in public education including the sweeping introduction of critical ethnic studies will only exacerbate our racial divisions."

Hate crimes against Americans of Asian Descent are rising, constituting a concerning trend. According to data from the San Diego District Attorney's Office, among all identified hate crimes in 2021 so far, 25% of them targeted Americans of Asian Descent, as compared with 10% in 2020 and 0% in 2019 and 2018.

Neither symbolic proclamation nor one-sided partisan condemnation serves any purpose in alleviating violence and discrimination targeting Americans of Asian descent. Such hypocritical remarks, as exemplified in the AAPI Legislative Caucus's statement, only inflame social tensions and shift the blame away from true policy failures plaguing our communities.

We must transcend our political and racial divisions to strive a fair and honest process to advance equal treatment. This unifying principle of equality and non-discrimination underscores practical and long-term policy solutions to improve public safety and revive our diverse communities.