December is UCA’s year-end membership and fundraising month, a time to give back, appreciate friendship and renew hope for a better future.
This year, we ask you to consider giving back to our community by supporting UCA. This is a very difficult year for many nonprofits including UCA, due to the pandemic and extraordinary need for relief efforts.
Moreover, we are in a historic crisis and our community is under siege on many fronts. For nearly four years, UCA has led the fight, like few others, to defend your civil rights and freedom, especially those of Chinese American scientists and academics. UCA has joined and won court battles for the Chinese students to stay in the U.S. during the pandemic and for you to continue using WeChat with your family in China; UCA has invested a lot in the next generation, launching a host of programs and initiatives to address their mental health needs, or provide them with internship opportunities, or train and develop their leadership skills. From Congressional hallway, to US courtroom, to community centers, UCA is fiercely fighting for our fragile democracy, our hard-earned rights and our children’s future.
To give your investment twice the impact, a group of donors have pledged to match every donation dollar for dollar up to $100,000. Please tell your friends why joining and supporting UCA is so important to you and your family.
Please join us in supporting this great cause. Grow the movement, be an agent for change, share your life with others, and keep the dream on!
We are ready to embrace you in the warm UCA family! Are you?
The UCA Team Serve Lead Inspire
Sincerely yours,
Haipei Shue, President United Chinese Americans (UCA) 1050 Connecticut Ave. NW. Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel: 202-642-5060
Join UCA! Support UCA! Donate to UCA https://ucausa.org
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United Chinese Americans (UCA), a national federation representing Americans of Chinese descent, wishes to express its grave concern about several aspects of S386, a bill that has just passed the U.S. Senate. We are particularly alarmed by the newly inserted Section 9, which stipulates that the U.S. government “shall not adjust status of any alien affiliated with the military forces of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party.” This new addition is paranoid and xenophobic. We demand its immediate and complete removal from the said bill.
This piece of legislation has sent shock waves through our community. If allowed to become law, because of its broad and vague language, it would essentially bar a large spectrum of Chinese nationals from ever becoming permanent residents or citizens of the United States. As a practical matter, almost all Chinese students or nationals, often out of their own control, have at some point in their lives been “affiliated” with the Chinese Communist Party, be it Young Communist Pioneers in primary school or Communist Youth League in high school or college. Many of them have come to the U.S. to study and some of them have decided to stay to become much-needed scientists or researchers, making huge contributions to the advancement of American society. This kind of “affiliation” certainly does not make them national security threat to the United States. In fact, it is just the opposite: they have become the valued source for our national competitiveness. A legislation aiming at restricting them can only harm the US national interest in competing for top talents from around the world.
This highly offensive legislation, a direct and intentional attack on lawful Chinese nationals, brings back the memory of Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, an infamous law that barred most Chinese from entering the U.S. or becoming citizens, for more than 60 years. In more recent memory, it is also reminiscent of an equally unfortunate chapter in American history, the anti-communist hysteria of the McCarthy era. If passed, it will surely be a stain on our nation.
Let us be clear: singling out a particular ethnic group for discriminatory treatment under any excuse is just plain wrong and un-American. We urge you to stop this legislation.
UCA Denounces Newsweek Smear of Chinese-American Community as Tool of Beijing
United Chinese Americans (UCA), a national coalition of Chinese-American organizations, denounces in the strongest possible terms the October 26 Newsweek cover story that accuses more than 600 Chinese-American organizations of being “linked to [the] Chinese Communist Party influence effort” abroad and that suggests that they are agents of “Xi’s secret plan to subvert America” and constitute “600 reasons to worry about China.”
In an article long on innuendo and prejudice but short on facts, Newsweek has gone beyond even the sensational language of cold warriors determined to further undermine already worsening U.S.-China relations. It has ignored the important and crucial difference between Chinese citizens and Americans of Chinese descent and lumped all together as agents of the Chinese Communist Party’s “United Front,” an entity charged with advancing the Party’s interests at home and abroad. It alleges the existence of hundreds of such organizations, but names only a handful of them.
We haven’t seen such a wholesale, indiscriminate smear of an ethnic minority community since the McCarthy days of the 1950s.
Even those named are tarred with the flimsiest of evidence. It is wrongheaded to lump reputable groups like the Committee of 100, a civic association of prominent Chinese-Americans in business, government, academia and the arts that has served our community since 1988, or the China Institute, founded in 1926 to advance a deeper understanding of China through programs in education, culture, art, and business, with campus associations or other groups in which participants are mostly Chinese citizens.
即便对这几个指名道姓的组织而言，文章也是十分缺乏证据的。比如，对于信誉良好的“百人会”的指责就十分错误。“百人会“（Committee of 100）是由商界、政界、学术界和艺术界的华裔美国人杰出人士组成的民间协会，自1988年以来一直为社区服务；而早在1926年就成立的“华美协进社”（China Institute）旨在通过教育、文化、艺术和商业的渠道加深对中国的了解。该文章将这些卓有成效的组织 与以中国公民为主的校园协会或其它团体混为一谈。
Many Chinese American civic organizations have established and maintain relationships with mainland Chinese organizations, which naturally include branches of the Chinese government at various levels as well as individuals like Chinese diplomats posted in the United States. Such relationships and activities, which include heritage- or education-related, cultural and scientific exchange programs as well as business relationships, are generally innocent, social or professional in nature. There is nothing wrong, nor should there be anything suspect, about organizations working to promote closer ties and understanding between China and the United States. This is worlds apart from acting as agents of the Chinese government, and suggesting otherwise, and assuming guilt by association on such a community-wide scale, is reckless and unjustified.
It should surprise no one that there may be individuals or groups that have veered outside of established norms and conducted inappropriate or even illegal activities. As American citizens we denounce such activities, and in such cases we trust our legal system to prosecute the perpetrators according to appropriate laws. But the existence of a small number of lawbreakers is no excuse for Newsweek or any other publication to tar everyone of Chinese ancestry with the same brush. Indeed, it’s repugnant to our democratic values to cast a dark cloud of suspicion over an entire race or class of people for the actions of individuals. Our history has been stained too often by incidents of injustice inflicted upon minority groups that is motivated by deep-seated prejudice.
UCA demands that Newsweek withdraw the article and apologize to five million Americans of Chinese descent for its reckless allegations.
“Newsweek has reached a new low. We haven’t seen such a wholesale, indiscriminate smear of an ethnic minority community since the McCarthy days of the 1950s,” asserted UCA President Haipei Shue. “Newsweek seems intent on painting our whole community as suspect and untrustworthy. This reminds me of the 1940s, when more than 120,000 members of the Japanese American community were forced into internment camps. We will not allow history to repeat itself.”
UCA demands that Newsweek withdraw the article and apologize to five million Americans of Chinese descent for its reckless allegations. We stand ready to meet with its editors for a full and frank discussion of the damage their publication has done to the image and reputation of our community. We call on Americans of all backgrounds to join us in denouncing this outrageous piece of sham journalism.
122 Chinese American Organizations Asking White House to Rescind its Executive Order on WeChat Ban
For Immediate Release
Today (September 16, 2020), one day before a Federal district court in San Francisco is going to hold a hearing on Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by WeChat, 122 Chinese American organizations from over 35 states have endorsed UCA’s Open Letter to the White House Regarding WeChat Ban, asking the White House to reverse or rescind this Executive Order.
The Executive Order on WeChat is problematic on many levels. Whether it is the technology difficulty in implementing such a ban or its shaky legal groundwork, this ban just makes no sense, as we have pointed out in our letter (below). It is potentially violating First Amendment rights and disrupting the way of life for millions of Americans.
Banning WeChat isn’t just causing an inconvenience to millions of Chinese Americans, it is part of the far larger effort by this administration to implement the dubious Clean Network, a hawkish initiative to decouple China technically from US and the rest of the world. This goes against the consensus and sustained policy of all previous administrations to maintain a universally open and free Internet.
Furthermore, the President is creating barriers that will hurt Americans and American businesses. Almost all business communication in China is conducted through WeChat, to prevent Americans from having access to this essential business tool puts American businesses and American workers at an extreme disadvantage.
As an organization of Chinese Americans, our members stay connected to family and friends in China through WeChat, as well as family and friends in America. Indeed, much of the political, civic and charitable activities in Chinese American communities is done through WeChat these days. UCA, for example, has just recently organized 2020 Census events, voter registration and education discussions, and the pandemic relief efforts through WeChat.
“Although we very much loath the restriction on freedom of speech imposed on WeChat by the Chinese government, the overwhelming majority of our community is strongly against such an outright ban. But more importantly, we at UCA think this executive order is just wrong. All I can say is Mr. President, it is unAmerican to restrict the freedom of American people. Just rescind your executive order, please,” says UCA President Haipei Shue.
The logo for Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat app, right, and the logo for ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok app are arranged for a photograph on smartphones in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders prohibiting U.S. residents from doing business with the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps beginning 45 days from now, citing the national security risk of leaving Americans’ personal data exposed. Photographer: Ivan Abreu/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Open Letter to the White House Regarding WeChat Ban
Dear President Trump,
The undersigned organizations would like to express our grave concern about the two Executive Orders you issued on August 6th, 2020, effectively banning the WeChat and TikTok applications.
If fully implemented, these Executive Orders will likely violate constitutional protections for all Americans and erode the American rule of law. In addition, these orders will most certainly harm American business operations and their ability to compete in China. But most importantly, these orders will tarnish America’s moral standing in the world, and certainly have an adverse and disparate impact on the lives of many Americans, including millions of Chinese Americans, by chilling their ability to freely communicate with others throughout the world. As such, we respectfully request that you rescind the two Executive Orders.
WeChat and TikTok are popular applications owned by companies in China that are used by hundreds of millions of people globally, not just in China. In the case of WeChat, a mobile communication and commercial platform, many Chinese Americans rely on the application for daily communication with their families and loved ones in China, for conducting business internationally, for civic participation and free political expression in America, and also for exchanging news and opinions that may not be easily available inside China. Thus, these Executive Orders would severely disrupt and uproot the way of life for millions of Americans, as well as limit the free exchange of ideas and facts both here and abroad.
While we recognize the privacy and cyber security concerns noted in the Executive Orders, and we loathe the restriction of freedom of speech on Wechat by the Chinese Government, to dictate and control the way Americans choose the Internet platforms and access information would fly against the openness and democratic values that are at the core of the American spirit. This unnecessarily restrictive and imperious action is out of sync with our core values and American constitutional principles like freedom of speech, and the right to due process under the rule of law. Furthermore, by banning these popular platforms according to the dictates of US government, we are moving dangerously close to the very censorship we so much loathe and often condemn in autocratic societies.
Mr. President, the United States has long stood for an open and free Internet. These Executive Orders, coupled with the Clean Network initiative your Administration has taken targeting China, would effectively create two separate and decoupled internets, which will only serve to restrict the free flow of information to and from China, and reverse the long-held national policy of an open and free Internet held by all previous administrations.
At a time of global pandemic and economic crises, this world needs more free and open communication and cooperation among the nations, not less. Starting an all-out Cold War on the technology front with China during a pandemic is certainly not in the best interest of the United States and this world.
As such, we respectfully request that you revoke the two Executive Orders. Sincerely yours,
UCA Statement on Trump Administration’s New Visa Rules Regarding International Students
Washington, DC July 9th, 2020
Update on July 14th: Under the huge and growing pressure from and multiple legal complaints by universities, corporations and civic organizations, and one day after UCA joined the lawsuit supporting Harvard and MIT by filing its own amicus brief on July 13 against the government, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) withdrew its new regulation regarding foreign students in America. This allows foreign students to continue their study in America uninterrupted. UCA would like to thank those Chinese students and scholars who helped UCA preparing its amicus brief. UCA will continue to monitor the developments of this matter and others impacting Chinese students in America.
United Chinese Americans (UCA), a national organization representing people with Chinese heritage in America, condemns the recent directive by the Trump Administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would strip the international students of their U.S. visa or compel them to leave the United States, if their coursework were entirely online.
The ill-conceived directive would adversely impact more than one million international students in the United States. Having the largest share of the international student body, with 369,548 students or about one third of the total foreign students in America in 2019, Chinese students would undoubtedly bear the brunt of such a decision. Many Chinese students have reached out to UCA, expressing their concerns, such as experiencing anxiety, fear of possible deportation, lack of safe or easy international travel options, and potential interruption to complete their education in America.
“It is shameful the Trump Administration continues to use foreign students to politicize the pandemic and score political points. These students, thousands of miles away from their families and loved ones, deserve our outmost sympathy and support during this pandemic. They should have the option to remain in this country to complete their education in the safest and most undisrupted manner possible,” says Haipei Shue, President of UCA.
UCA calls on Chinese student and scholar associations as well as individual students throughout the United States to contact UCA immediately to share their concerns and consider joining UCA for probable legal actions against the Trump Administration. UCA would like to offer more support to Chinese students and their associations during this most difficult time of the pandemic. Please call us at (202) 642-5060 or e-mail us at info@ucausa.org
UCA to Join Asian American Communities on June 22nd, in Houston, Texas
In Honoring Heroes in the Midland Hate Crime and Host a Webinar on Anti-Racism Movements
On June 23rd, 1982, Chinese American Vincent Chin died in Detroit, Michigan after being attacked and fatally beaten by two white autoworkers for looking like Japanese, at a time of rising anti-Japanese and anti-Asian racial tension. Vincent Chin’s death has become a crucial turning point in Asian American history and civil rights movement led by Lily Chin, Vincent’s mother, who stood up courageously for her son’s justice.
Two months later, George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by a white policeman. His death and the recent killing of innocent African Americans, have fueled the rage of the community, already distressed disproportionally in the COVID-19 pandemics. The tragedies continue to rip the country apart and generated national and international outcries against systematic racism and institutional discrimination in the US against people of color.
UCA and many Asian American organizations have come out firmly and clearly immediately after George Floyd’s death, condemning such brutality and crimes. We stand up together with our brothers and sisters who have been tormented by the dark side of American’s history. We are here to unite with the vulnerable communities and to ask for the continuous push for racial justice and social progress in this country.
On June 22nd, 2020, the 38 anniversary of Vincint Chin’s death, UCA is joining Asian American communities and anti-hate-crime anti-racism organizations to host an award ceremony and an advocacy event in commemorating this historical moment. We invite all community members to join us on these special occasions to honor the Midland heroes and to participate in the community dialogue on how we can move forward from this point on.
Two Midland, Texas heroes, Zach Owen and Bernie Ramirez, who intervened in a violent anti-Asian stabbing of the Cung Family, a Burmese father and his two young sons, will receive the Lily and Vincent Chin Advocacy Award* on Monday, June 22 at 10:30 am CST at the Chinese Community Center in Houston, TX. Despite injuries to his leg and hand, Zach Owen, with the help of Bernie Ramirez, disarmed and subdued the attacker until the police arrived. Labeled a “hate crime”, the suspect said he thought the family was Chinese and spreading the coronavirus.
The award ceremony is organized by Asian American organizations including those in the Asian American Salute Front Heroes campaign Houston, UCA, and sponsored by many other local and national organizations. UCA will present a donation to the Cung Family to support the medical expenses for future surgeries and challenges the 2 and 6 year-old children may face due to the attack.
Please email steven.pei@ucausa.org for questions or comments on the donation and award ceremony.
From Vincent Chin to George Floyd:
A Panel Discussion
Monday, June 22 at 7:00 p.m. CST
A panel discussion will be held virtually via Zoom on the evening of Monday, June 22 at 7:00 pm CST, discussing the 38th anniversary of the brutal killing of Vincent Chin and the recent killing of George Floyd. Both deaths created and sustained a major movement to oppose racial hate and discrimination.
Please register the zoom meeting ahead of time at: https://form.jotform.com/201684865046057 , and email steven.pei@ucausa.org for questions or comments on this panel discussion.
“From Vincent Chin to George Floyd” will feature:
Moderator
Gordon Quan
Attorney and former Houston Council member
Panelists
Helen Zia
An award-winning journalist and community activist who has covered Asian American communities and social and political movements for many years. She is a founder in the movement for justice for Vincent Chin and is outspoken voice for human rights.
Zach Owen
Recipient of the Lily and Vincent Chin Advocacy Award* for risking his life to save the Burmese family from hate crime committed at Midland, TX on March 14, 2020.
Reagan Hognojos
Friend of the Cung family.
Mark Touban
Attorney and serves as the Regional Director for the ADL’s Southwest Regional Office in Houston, Texas.
Cherry Steinwender
Co-Executive Director and co-founder of the Center for the Healing of Racism.
Annie Tan
Special education teacher and storyteller in New York’s Chinatown. She has been a fighter for public education, unions, tenants and Asian American rights. She is a cousin of the late Vincent Chin.
*AASFH has been authorized by the Estate of the Chin family to use the name “Lily and Vincent Chin Advocacy Award” for this special recognition of two Frontline Heroes on June 22, 2020. Photos used with permission (c) All rights reserved.
UCA Student Scholarship on Racial Justice
“From Vincent Chin to George Floyd” in 2020 Summer Semester
UCA is announcing a student scholarship to be awarded to Chinese American students who are actively engaged in fighting against racism and hate crimes, and propel the progress towards civil rights protection and racial justice. The summer 2020 scholarship to honor the “From Vincent Chin to George Floyd” event will be given to a high school student led project in the amount of $1000 and to a college student led project in the amount of $1000.
The winners will be invited to a UCA national forum to discuss their work, and present their essays and materials. Content of their projects including the essays, media, and presentations will be promoted on UCA website and social media channels
Projects will need to commence after June 22nd, 2020, and last throughout summer 2020. The scholarship application must be submitted by 11:59 PM August 31st, 2020. The winners will be announced by September 22nd, 2020, selected by a panel of judges of UCA.
Announcement of Food of Love Celebration & Tri-Community Solidarity Conference and Registration Link
May 29, Washington, D.C For Immediate Release
On Sunday, May 31, 2020 at 1pm EST, United Chinese Americans (UCA) will hold a special conference on COVID-19 relief efforts and hate crimes in the United States. The conference will first spotlight the achievements of its inaugural “Food of Love” program and then feature a panel dialogue between leaders from Chinese, Jewish, and African American communities.
When certain political leaders began inciting anti-Chinese sentiment with their racist and incendiary remarks, Chinese Americans all across the country became victims of hate crimes. Channeling Michelle Obama’s philosophy, “When they go low, we go high,” the Chinese American community decided to take the high road.
Americans, regardless of race or creed, LOVE Chinese food. There are 41,000 Chinese restaurants in America, 3 times the number of McDonad’s and at $17 billion in annual sales, which is on par with the fast food giant. To combat hate, Chinese Americans chose love by launching the Food of Love program. The motto: 50 states, 100 cities, One People United. Since early May, Chinese American communities have served tens of thousands of meals to tens of thousands of frontline workers and fellow Americans in need.
“We have made more friends in our communities,” says Haipei Shue, UCA President. “We have made a difference.”
Despite these efforts and triumphs in our local communities, on the national political stage, even more frightening developments are occurring. Recently, Senator Rick Scott has made inflammatory accusations that every Chinese person is a communist spy. Just this week, Senators Tom Cotton and Marsha Blackburn introduced divisive and discriminatory legislation, the Secure Campus Act, that would prohibit Chinese students from receiving visas to the United States for graduate or postgraduate studies in STEM fields. The new bill harkens back to the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act. Instead of denouncing this ill-conceived legislation, President Trump issued a proclamation that legitimizes the act.
At this very moment, the City of Minneapolis is engulfed in flames as a result of the murder of George Floyd, another victim of our nation’s seemingly never-ending and ever-increasing list of racial crimes. As we continue with COVID-19 relief efforts side by side with our fellow Americans, we must also fight racism on all fronts. At this time of crisis, history has called upon us to reach across communities to stand up and make America a country that lives up to its ideals.
During the second half of the conference, distinguished leaders from African American, Chinese, and Jewish communities will discuss challenges each community faces and ways to work together to address injustice. The guest speakers include:
Congresswoman Grace Meng
Congressman Bobby Scott
Derrick Johnson (President and CEO, NAACP)
David Harris (CEO, American Jewish Committee)
David Bernstein (President and CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs)
A Public Statement On the Death of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery
May 28, 2020, Washington, DC. For immediate press release.
United Chinese Americans (UCA), a leading Chinese American coalition and civic movement in the U.S., condemns in the strongest possible terms recent acts by Minneapolis policemen that resulted in the death of George Floyd, and by Georgia civilians that ended the life of Ahmaud Arbery. We deplore these grave injustices and stand with the victims’ families as they mourn their losses.
The families and the public deserve thorough, fair and independent investigations of both cases, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice. If convicted, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
In recent years, our society has become increasingly numbed to the repeated killing and maltreatment of African Americans at the hands of police or vigilantes. This cannot stand anymore and it has to change! As Asian Americans, we are well aware that neither we nor anyone else can enjoy true security and peace in our lives as long as African Americans cannot enjoy them in theirs. Far too often, we feel this killing or maltreatment could not happen in our own life or in our own community. But today, we are already victims of a spike of hateful and racist acts directed at Asian Americans during the current coronavirus pandemic.
As Dr. Martin Luther King famously asserted in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Despite significant progress made in recent decades, discrimination, glaring disparities and social injustice still haunt our society. United Chinese Americans (UCA) calls for all Americans, regardless of their race, ethnicity or political affiliations, to join us in condemning the brutality we have witnessed in these disturbing cases that has senselessly cut two lives short. We pledge to continue to work in solidarity with African Americans and, indeed, all Americans to bring positive and real social change and justice to all.
“Creativity against COVID-19” Young Creative Artists Contest
In conjunction with multiple partners, UCA is co-organizing an art contest to help illustrate and promote our beloved Tracy’s Guide COVID-19 educational series for families.
Prizes
Grand Prize: $1500 cash + award certificate, 1 winner
Second Prize: $500 cash + award certificate, 8 winners
Third Prize: $250 cash + award certificate, 16 winners
Best Teamwork Prize: $600 cash + award certificates, 5 winner
“My Favorite” Prize: $100 Amazon gift cards + award certificate, 60 winners
Ages 6-18, team encouraged! Artwork must be in the forms of picture, video, animation or other digital format with story based on the content from “COVID-19: Tracy’s Guide for Families“.
Artwork should be posted online with a social media platform viewable to the public. Artwork must be submitted online via Google forms: https://forms.gle/4H1NJbcYWUNv5pGe9
Rules
The contest opens to K-12 students age from 6 to 18. Teamwork is encouraged. Appropriate proof of age may be asked by the organizers. Parent/guardian permission is needed for students under age 13 to enter the contest.
The purpose of the contest is to encourage K-12 students in America to learn and share the essential knowledge about COVID-19 and how to protect individuals and their family members from infection of coronavirus. Use of social media is an important requirement of the contest. Participants are expected to post their work on social media to generate viewership. Viewership of the artwork on social media (a measurement of how popular it is) will be considered in winner selection.
Artwork must be in the forms of picture, video, animation or other multi-media format with a story based on the content from “COVID-19: Tracy’s Guide for Families”. It should be posted online and is viewable to the public. Participants should submit the URL to us by the end of June 15, 2020 (Monday).
The entry artwork must be original and may not violate U.S. copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo, image (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) or video that was created by someone other than the student is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted.
Entries to the competition of participants under age 13 should be supervised by parents/guardians.
Artwork should be submitted online at: https://forms.gle/4H1NJbcYWUNv5pGe9. The entry form asks for the following information: Participant’s name, age, school, contact information, URL of the artwork, and a short essay on what you want to achieve through your artwork (no more than 500 words).
For any participant under 13 years old, artwork must be submitted by a parent/guardian of the participant.
Submitted artworks will be reviewed by a selection committee. Committee members are appointed by United Chinese Americans and Xing Memorial Fund. The committee members will evaluate the artworks by the following categories:
Creativity/Imagination (rating based on age group)
Popularity (based on viewership on social media)
The names of the prize winners will be announced before the end of June 2020 and the winners’ prizes and certificates will be mailed out to the winners at the same time. All participants of the contest will receive participation certificates. Top 3 prize winners will have the opportunity to present their artworks in the next United Chinese Americans (UCA) Convention.
UCA Calls on All Americans to Avoid Divisive, Racial or Racist Terms for the New Coronavirus, COVID-19, and Defeat the Virus as One Nation
United Chinese Americans (UCA), a national coalition of Chinese Americans in more than 30 states, calls on the American news media, public figures and the American public to refrain from using terms such as “China virus,” “Chinese virus,” “Wuhan virus,” or “Asian virus” to describe the new coronavirus, COVID-19. Such terms often misinform and misguide the public in the fight against this virus, and could lead to bigotry, inflame hatred and even incite violence against Chinese and Asian Americans, as has already been widely reported.
UCA will further monitor developments and call out any public figure or institution who continues to use the term “Chinese virus” or its other variants, until such wanton usage ceases.
As recently as this past week, and one full month since the World Health Organization (WHO) officially designated the virus’ nomenclature as COVID-19, we unfortunately still hear many public figures and well-known organizations using geographical- and race-specific terms to describe it, despite the fact that the virus infects all races of people and has spread to more than 100 countries. That list includes President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senator Tim Cotton, Senator Rick Scott, and Fox News. “Continuing to use such terms is wrong, and is unacceptable,” said Haipei Shue, president of UCA. “The virus has a name, and that’s the name that ought to be used.”
In a multiethnic democracy like ours, where Chinese Americans have historically been singled out as objects of racism and xenophobia and subjected to damning stereotypes, and at a time when we need our whole society to work together to defeat COVID-19, we must avoid or stop insensitive, divisive, stigmatizing, racial or racist remarks and acts, as we come together to defeat this virus as one nation.
UCA Co-signs on Letter to Congress Denouncing Coronavirus Racism
The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA, a coalition of 34 national Asian Pacific American organizations, http://www.ncapaonline.org/about) has drafted the attached Sign-on Letters to House Leaders (Nancy Pelosi) and Senate Leaders (Mitch McConnell) requesting both houses to Denounce Coronavirus Racism.
UCA is among the organizations to co-sign on this form. Read the text here:
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy,
On behalf of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), and the undersigned organizations, we urge you to call for unity, and publicly denounce the increase in racist attacks and discrimination against the Asian American community, in the wake of rising concerns over the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
We have witnessed with increasing alarm, incidents all over the country targeting the Asian American community in connection to COVID-19. For example, in San Fernando, CA, a 16-year old Asian American boy was physically attacked at school because he was accused of having the coronavirus. In Plymouth, IN, two Hmong men were denied service at hotels under the false assumption that they were Chinese and carrying the coronavirus. In New York, a woman wearing a facemask, who was believed to be Asian, was physically and verbally assaulted in a subway station.
In communities across the nation, Asian American businesses are seeing a significant decline in customers, as fear of a viral outbreak spreads globally. Even some businesses that have been long-established fixtures within their communities, have suffered a 70% to 80% loss of business. Other businesses, many in major U.S. cities, are considering closing after hearing false rumors of people getting sick. This economic impact is also taking a toll on the families that own these businesses as well. Moreover Asian Americans are facing discrimination in their workplaces. Workers in retail, hospitality, and healthcare sectors are hearing about customers and patients requesting to interact “non-Asian” staff. As Asian-American shift workers become targets of discrimination, they risk losing income from less shifts scheduled.
The stigma associated with COVID-19 originating in China leads some to assume that any person of perceived Asian ancestry might be sick, harming Asian American communities all over the country. Local efforts to curb xenophobia, like city officials reminding the public that it is safe to visit their local Chinatown are helpful, but we believe more needs to be done.
On February 26, 2020, the members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) circulated a letter to Members of Congress, urging them to help stop the spread of xenophobia and misinformation by only sharing confirmed and verifiable information pertaining to COVID-19, how it spreads, and how Americans should protect themselves. We call on you to do the same. In the face of this growing threat, the American people need to hear from leaders such as yourselves, that we must face these circumstances together, rather than allow fear and misinformation to divide us.
While we recognize the growing public health and economic threat the virus poses, our nation must come together during this difficult time. We need leadership grounded in truth and committed to taking on racism and xenophobia directly. We urge House and Senate leadership to take tangible steps to counter the hysteria around the novel coronavirus, such as passing a joint resolution denouncing the racism, xenophobia, and misinformation surrounding it. We ask that you act swiftly to ensure that violent racism and economic loss, rooted in fear and misinformation is mitigated.
We thank you for your leadership during this time of uncertainty and stand ready to do our part in fighting back racism.
Haipei Shue, President of UCA, meeting with David Bernstein, President of JPCA
The current racist challenge the Chinese American community is facing has become more wide-spreading than the notorious coronavirus, and Jewish American community has been alert to this situation and expressed sympathy. The Jewish Council of Public Affairs (JCPA) released a letter of solidarity, jointly issued by 75 organizations, to the Chinese community against the plague. Today, UCA issued a formal response expressing heartfelt gratitude and looking forward for unity.
JCPA President David Bernstein contacted UCA President Xue Haipei to expressed his concern about the current situation of the Chinese community, and said that he stood firmly with the Chinese community and opposed any form of discrimination and stigma. On Monday evening, the two leaders met to exchange greetings and discuss the prospects for solidarity and cooperation between the Chinese and Jewish communities. Bernstein expressed his appreciation for UCA’s mission, values, and everything that has been done over the years. He believes that our two communities need to further strengthen cooperation and work together to cope with the difficulties.
Mr. Bernstein happily accepted Xue Haipei’s invitation and will join other Jewish organizations to participate in the third U.S. Chinese Congress held by UCA in Las Vegas this year, and discuss with our members the two communities together. Issues of concern.
Following the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, under the auspices of UCA, more than a hundred organizations in the Chinese-American community issued a joint open letter to the Jewish community expressing sympathy and support. In the history we have traveled together, Chinese and Jewish people have a deep and close relationship, not only in the United States, but also in other parts of the world. Going forward, our two communities will continue to lead the societies and cultures that live and prosper together, and work together to heal and build the world together.
Dear Chairman Fromm of JCPA, President and CEO Bernstein of JCPA, The 75 Jewish Organizations, And the Larger Jewish Community:
Shalom Aleichem.
We have received your letter last week from 75 Jewish organizations. Thank you, our Jewish brothers and sisters, for your solidarity with our community at this difficult time. Your words and action have warmed our heart and lifted our spirit!
Needless to say, the Chinese American community has lately been going through a lot: from a worrisome US-China confrontation, to a worsening atmosphere for our civil rights and civil liberty, and now to this coronavirus crisis. You have given us a warm and extended hand when we need it most, right now. Thank you!
A Chinese proverb says that crisis or suffering tells who is your real friend. Historically, our two communities have been so close and intimately bonded that we feel like being close cousins, which we sometimes take for granted. With so much of the world in trouble and uncertain change, including our own society, this friendship and solitarily is even more needed and reassuring.
I’m reminded of a time when the tables were turned, and it was the Chinese community in New York that came to the aid of its Jewish brethren. The year was 1903, and many Jews had been killed and injured in the infamous Kishinev pogrom in Russia. There’s a short article about it in the Forward here.
When the tragic Pittsburg synagogue shooting happened in 2018, United Chinese Americans (UCA), a leading national coalition with chapters and partners in over 30 states, has sprung into action and led a nationwide letter drive, co-signed by over one hundred Chinese American organizations, showing our solidarity with the Jewish community.
This is a trying time for us all. What happens with the coronavirus crisis has, once again, demonstrated that we are all so vulnerable, so connected and so interdependent. It demonstrated, once again, that in order for us all to survive, let alone thrive, we must come together and fight for our common destiny and common humanity!
Let our two communities work together as an example of how different communities can live and thrive together.
Let us heal and repair the world together! B’ezrat HaShem
