Senator Wiener Condemns Racist Attacks on Chinese & Asian Communities Spurred by President Trump Calling COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus”

Sacramento - Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement regarding the uptick in racist attacks on Chinese Americans, Asian Americans, and other Asian people living in the United States. Since President Donald Trump has been calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus,” our country has seen an increase in hate crimes against Chinese and Asian Americans. 

“In times of crisis, particularly with pandemics, minority communities often get unfairly scapegoated and targeted. Jews were blamed for the plague, the Irish for cholera, and LGBTQ+ people for HIV/AIDS. Now, the Chinese and Asian communities are getting blamed for coronavirus. This line of thinking is racist, xenophobic and has no basis in reality. We have President Trump to thank for this increase in attacks, because he has been calling the coronavirus the ‘Chinese virus.’ This is a racist dog whistle and we should not tolerate it. In a time of such deep uncertainty and fear, we cannot let this type of rhetoric divide us and make us turn towards hate. We need to stand in solidarity with our Chinese and Asian neighbors and hold firm that racism and hate crimes are unacceptable.”