260 Groups Unite to Condemn Racism Toward Asian-Americans Amid #Coronavirus

We joined a coalition of over 260 groups, led by @NCAPAtweets, to urge Congressional leaders to forcefully & unequivocally condemn the growing tide of racism directed at the Asian-American community as a result of fear surrounding #coronavirus: https://www.adl.org/media/14097/download ... HYPERLINK "https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1238173395998646273" \o "Like"

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Other incidents included an attack on a student from Singapore in London, who said that a group of people beat him up and shouted, "I don't want your coronavirus in my country," according to The Guardian. Police were investigating and looking over CCTV footage to identify suspects, The Guardian reported.

MORE: What is coronavirus and other important questions answeredThe Anti-Defamation League and the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, along with 258 other groups, urged lawmakers to address the "growing tide of racism directed at the Asian-American community" in a letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

"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," the letter reads.

A pedestrian wears a face mask during the coronavirus outbreak while crossing West 34th Street in New York City, March 12, 2020.

A pedestrian wears a face mask during the coronavirus outbreak while crossing West 34th Street in New York City, March 12, 2020.John Minchillo/AP

Chang said aside from the daily harassment and attacks that have been reported, preexisting policies have also been harmful.

In Taiwan, officials complained that the self-ruled island is considered part of China by the World Health Organization and, in turn, lumped together with the country in terms of cases recorded.

Taiwan had reported exponentially fewer cases than mainland China, but a two-way travel ban was still put into place for the island by the Philippines in early February. At the time, Taiwan had reported just 18 cases compared to more than 63,000 in mainland China, according to Reuters.

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Chang said such a ban left many workers stranded in both the Philippines and Taiwan. The travel restrictions were lifted less than two weeks later. Taiwan has now reported 49 confirmed cases, whereas mainland China has reported more than 80,000, according to Johns Hopkins.

"It isn't just anti-Asian because there are places within Asia where power politics are being played out," Chang said. "It just kind of demonstrates to me that the COVID-19 pandemic is a stage in which people are playing out these existing conflicts."

Molina said existing conflicts are also seen in the U.S., where she said "it doesn't matter if you're Chinese or Chinese American, we conflate Asian groups together."

The country's history of Chinese discrimination, including the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 that barred Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S., has played a role in the backlash Asian Americans may be experiencing.

"What's frightening to me is that we have so much more scientific information today," Molina said. "We have more of an understanding of this disease today and yet, it seems like there's a purposeful entrenchment in racial stereotypes."

MORE: How to prepare for coronavirus in your communityShe noted that those stereotypes had been amplified even by politicians, namely McCarthy, who this week received the letter from numerous organizations to combat racism.

McCarthy has referred to the disease as the "Chinese coronavirus," prompting heavy criticism from some lawmakers and State Department officials.

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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China.

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Businesses in Asian communities, specifically in Chinatowns, have also suffered in the face of coronavirus and the anti-Chinese rhetoric that has followed.

In New York City, home to one of the largest Chinese communities outside of China, business owners have experienced an "unprecedented" decline, according to the executive director of the city's Chinatown Pa...