Conference in Chicago wants anti-Asian hate crimes to stop, encourages tolerance education

A day after US President Joe Biden met Asian-American legislators in Atlanta, a joint virtual conference was held in Chicago on Saturday aimed at stopping the rising number of hate crimes against the people from the Asian-American community. The virtual event was attended by at least 1,000 people from across America while prominent people from the government also took part in the occasion. The event observed "This is a country where masses have always faced discrimination. There is a pattern of anti-Asian discrimination and this needs to be dealt with."

'Education on tolerance will help, must be promoted on social media'

The conference saw the presence of  Attorney General of Illinois Kwame Raoul, Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and alderman in Chicago Patrick Thompson. The gathering strongly condemned the recent attack on eight women in Atlanta, where shooting in three different parlours killed six women. When the police apprehended the perpetrator, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long confessed that he committed the crime owing to the "sex-addiction", lashing out at those women whom he considered as sources of temptation.
 
Sheriff Thomas Dart acknowledged that there is a good reason for the people of a specific community to be "terrified", as he promoted engagement of people in social media where education on tolerance will be encouraged. He said, "We can sketch out any plan we can to help." Alderman, Patrick Thompson was quoted as saying "What happened in Atlanta last week is a terrible tragedy. But it's also an opportunity for us to stand together against hate crimes."

'42 percent are victims Chinese-Americans'

Meanwhile, the President of the Chinese American Association at Greater Chicago (CAAGC), Jan Zheng said "We've invited law-makers from federal, state and city levels to participate in our conference. We want to have law-makers to hear our voices and regulations established to protect the interests of Asians (Americans)." According to an organisation that reports crimes against Asian-Americans in the US, there have been over 3,500 such events of hate crimes against Asian-Americans since March 2020, of which 42 percent victims were Chinese-Americans.
 
Vice President Kamala Harris who also addressed the community leaders in Atlanta had said, "The President and I will not be silent and we won't stand by. Racism is real in America and it has always been. Xenophobia and Sexism are also real here and have always been there in America." She said that "everyone has the right to be recognised as an American here and not as the other, not as them, but like us," she had clarified.