Follow-up to the beating of a Chinese international student: blatant racial discrimination must be severely condemned

Follow-up to the beating of a Chinese international student: blatant racial discrimination must be severely condemned Zhang Zhaohong, Chairman of Phoenix Chinese Welfare Association Undergraduate student at Arizona State University...

Follow-up to the beating of a Chinese international student: blatant racial discrimination must be severely condemned Zhang Zhaohong, Chairman of the Phoenix Chinese Welfare Association Xiaolin Shi, a Chinese female student who is an undergraduate at Arizona State University, was assaulted by a white woman, Kelly, on a Tempe light rail train on May 20 because she spoke Chinese. Kalie Rutledge’s vicious abuse: “You are idiots, go back to China.” She also chased Shi Xiaolin and beat her until her face was bloody. Shi Xiaolin's friends were also attacked. Rutledge was arrested by the police that night and charged with aggravated assault. He was booked into the Maricopa County Jail and will appear in court again on May 31. This case has aroused public outrage among the Chinese community, overseas students, scholars in the United States, Chinese businessmen, and Chinese media. They have jointly called on the U.S. judicial department to severely punish the perpetrators and give a fair explanation to the victims, their families, and society. After the Phoenix Chinese Welfare Association distributed the message to different groups, Betty, an overseas Chinese leader in Atlanta, responded and informed: Also on May 20, the Gwinnett County Government in Georgia, USA, united the courts, fire units, police stations, census bureaus, schools, hospitals and other units to hold the first seminar in the United States on the language use of LEP (limited English proficiency). According to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, all people, including legal and illegal residents, are equal, which includes the use of language. Rep. Padrol Marin mentioned that the English only proposal has been around since 2006. This proposal was rejected for the fifth time this year by Asians and Latinos. In Gwinnett County, there are 146 languages ​​spoken by the people in addition to English, and the proportion of LEP is very high. In the criminal proceedings and civil law of the Magistrate District Court, such as landlord/tenant, domestic violence, commercial cases less than $1500, etc., the judge showed everyone translations in four languages, but these four languages ​​do not include Chinese. I wonder if the Chinese have strong English skills and do not need it, or do not strive for it? In the past, the language that needed translators most was Korean, but now it is Vietnamese. These facts tell us: 1. It is not illegal for overseas Chinese to speak Chinese in the United States. 2. Those who beat others are the real bastards and must be severely punished by law. 3. Such blatant use of racially discriminatory language and physical violence occurs in today’s American society, and we must severely condemn it. Prejudice and discrimination against the Chinese have not only occurred in Arizona or Georgia, but have occurred in different places across the United States. We need to sound the alarm and persist in opposition. 4. Such incidents will not only happen to Chinese students studying abroad, but will also happen to every overseas Chinese. Therefore, we must unite and speak out to society, politics and the judiciary to protect our own rights and interests and prevent such incidents from happening again. History tells us that in the early days of the anti-Chinese movement in the United States, there were only sporadic mob-style attacks, robberies, and murders. Later, it evolved into an organized, institutional, and comprehensive action promoted by the government. The main anti-Chinese elements were originally limited to the working class and expanded to the parliament and city government. In order to win workers' votes, politicians sacrificed the interests of the Chinese to gain favor. The driving force behind this entire action was racial discrimination. Therefore, starting from 1882, the evil Chinese Exclusion Law was implemented for sixty-three years. Why do Chinese people hate and firmly oppose racial discrimination? It is because the Chinese are one of the ethnic groups that have suffered the most and for the longest time from racial discrimination. But if hundreds of thousands of Chinese were really driven out of the United States, who would mine the gold? How was the railway built? Who will develop and build farmland, reservoirs and mines? How many more years will America's prosperity be delayed? On October 6, 2011, the U.S. Senate passed a formal apology for the Chinese exclusion legislation. On May 9, 2014, U.S. Secretary of Labor Perez pointed out: "Chinese workers not only built the railroad, they also helped build the United States." The U.S. Congress went from revising the Chinese exclusion law to repealing it, and then apologized, and then affirmed the contribution of the Chinese to American society. In addition to the change in the attitude of the U.S. government, the struggle of the Chinese themselves is also an extremely important force. Today in the United States, there is a resurgence of xenophobia. Arizona was the first state to propose policies against illegal immigration, and Georgia followed suit. It is now difficult for builders in these two states to find laborers! The restaurant industry also feels the same way. It is now difficult to hire a kitchen helper without a high salary. The government always says that illegal immigrants take away American jobs. In fact, just like building railroads a hundred years ago, coolie laborers can only find Chinese people across the ocean! Today, many Americans would rather receive relief than work in long-term, physically strenuous jobs such as home construction, restaurant industry, and outdoor work! Aren’t new immigrants going to do a lot of the menial and dirty work? If xenophobic policies continue in the United States, public prejudice and exclusion against immigrants and ethnic minorities will increase, and discrimination against immigrants and ethnic minorities will also intensify. These situations require our Chinese to continue to pay attention. The Phoenix Chinese Welfare Association has long opposed racial discrimination and fought for equal rights. In 1975, Mr. Yu Wenjin, then chairman of the Chinese Welfare Association, was unreasonably beaten by the police because a Chinese engineer in New York was parking his car, which triggered a demonstration by 20,000 Chinese people. He published an article "Unity is Strength", which caused widespread influence. The Chinese Welfare Association will carry forward the past and make unremitting efforts to strive for fairness and justice and safeguard the rights and interests of the Chinese people.