Letter of Support in Denouncing Racist Attacks Against the APA Community

April 7, 2020

Dear Chairwoman McDaniel and Chair Perez,

On behalf of the undersigned Asian American organizations in Texas, we urge you to publicly denounce the increasing racist attacks and discriminatory remarks against the Asian American communities, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, hate crimes committed against Asian Americans have seen a substantial spike across this country. The FBI has warned of an increase of hate crime against Asian Americans and urges its field offices to be on the lookout for it. Against all this warning from our own government and outcry from Asian American communities, Kathaleen Wall, Republican candidate for 22nd congressional district, issued a television advertisement labeling COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus”, after President Trump stopped using the term and openly acknowledged that it is “very important that we totally protect” Asian Americans.

Viruses do not have nationalities. They threaten all of humanity. Chinese and Asian American Houstonians have been doing their best to help. But even as Asian Americans work around the clock to help with the front-line medical staff, first responders, senior citizens and homeless people around the country, Ms. Wall has cynically resorted to inflammatory rhetoric which dangerously stokes nothing but xenophobia and racism.

We demand that Ms. Wall withdraw the television advertisement immediately and apologize for the damages she has perpetrated on Asian Americans during this pandemic crisis. We also call upon both parties, all elected and appointed officials and candidates to join us in condemning these blatantly racist campaign tactics.

We especially urge you two to call on all elected and political candidates to demonstrate their commitment to keeping ALL communities safe and protected. Saving America is our priority, not attacking Asian Americans who are an integral part of America. Your actions and your choices can help determine such an outcome.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this serious situation.

United We Stand,

Steven Pei, Honorary Chair, United Chinese Americans, steven.pei@ucausa.org
H.C. Chang, President, OCA Greater Houston, hcchang35@hotmail.com
Yingying Sun, President, Houston Chinese Alliance, yitongsun@gmail.com
Bin Yu, Chairman of the Board, Asian Chamber of Commerce (Houston), Chair@asianchamber-hou.org

Attachment: Contributions by Asian Americans in fighting COVID-19 Pandemic
Since the beginning of the outbreak in January, Asian Americans have been on the frontline combating
the pandemic and protecting America. Not only we supported families and doctors in Asia, but also, we
actively engaged in the local communities here to slow down spread of the virus to America in saving
lives. Apart from Asian American doctors, nurses, scientists, and many others who have been an integral
part of front-line defenders and medical community, some of community-wide efforts done by Asian
Americans, in the order of time sequence, include:

• Educating local communities on prevention tips and scientific facts, dispelling myths and fear
  associated with the virus.
• Organizing self-help and self-monitoring groups to alarm people who have traveled abroad and assisted
  them in proactive self-quarantine and home-isolation.
• Organizing meetings and town halls with local public health departments and elected officials, in
  addressing the anxiety of the communities and economic impact to local small business.
• Various donation drives and fundraising through different organizations and self-help groups,
  purchasing, collecting, and sending personal protection equipment (PPE) to front-line medical staff, first
  responders, senior centers, and healthcare facilities.
• Connecting local business communities and global logistics network through chambers of commerce
  and Asian American business, identifying manufacturers of PPEs and medical equipment in Asia, and
  shipping them to hospitals and healthcare facilities here in the US.
• Connecting medical doctors and public health experts in Asia, bringing their valuable expertise and
  experiences to the US in building medical exchange and online resources centers.
• Connecting doctors, scientists and healthcare professionals, bringing their knowledge and prevention
  tips to American general public and healthcare workers in disease prevention and public health, for
  example, by hosting webinars and writing online articles.

As an example, here is a partial list of the medical units and first responders in the Greater Houston area
that have already received donations and PPEs from various Asian American organizations:

• A resource center built by United Chinese Americans for disease prevention and public education with
  compiled resources from China: https://ucausa.org/covid19/
• Example webinars hosted by United Chinese Americans for community education:
  https://ucausa.org/facts-not-fear/
  https://youtu.be/HZ_1PAb9YZw
• Example articles documenting efforts by Houston Asian American Community:
  https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/False-Coronavirus-rumorscrush-business-as-they-15021425.php?cmpid=gsa-chron-result
  https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/columnists/grieder/article/Grieder-Let-s-focus-on-coronavirussolutions-15146001.php
  https://www.chron.com/business/real-estate/article/The-Branch-to-close-Mondays-to-support-
  Chinatown-15117984.php
• A partial compiled list of published media on Chinese American community in COVID-19 relief effort:
  https://www.ucausa.org/go/media-reports/