OCA Demands Apology for Trump Tweets that Stoke Anti-Asian Sentiment

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Washington, DC – OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates reprimands the Trump administration for publishing multiple irresponsible tweets referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus.” Calling COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus” invites even more xenophobic discrimination, harassment, and assaults on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. 

Attacks against ethnically-Chinese, AAPI, and AAPI-perceived individuals have escalated dramatically over the past few months, including a brutal stabbing in Brooklyn, New York that left the victim in critical condition. These attacks have been increasing in frequency and severity, and the assailants have targeted people of all AAPI ethnicities. The President’s references to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus” only enable and exacerbate further attacks and harassment on AAPI communities. 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have confirmed that ethnicity is not a risk factor for transmission of COVID-19. For this reason, the CDC, World Health Organization (WHO), and Mayor de Blasio of New York City all discourage the practice of naming diseases after geographical locations, or “cultural, population, industry or occupational references.” Referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus” associates the disease with Chinese ethnicity and Asian ethnicities more generally.

OCA calls upon the Trump administration to retract and apologize to the AAPI community for their racist tweets. We further ask that all elected officials and community leaders refer to the virus by its proper name: COVID-19, and not the “Chinese Virus” or any derivatives thereof. 

OCA encourages victims/witnesses of hate crimes, and AAPI business owners adversely affected by the coronavirus to contact Civil Rights Fellow Matt Nguyen-Ngo for more resources and to share their stories at aapihatecrimes.org.

OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national civil rights organization dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).