K-pop idols call to #StopAsianHate as hate crimes surge in US

Members of the South Korean group GOT7 have taken to social media to urge people to stop the violence. Photo: Handout

Several K-pop and Asian American stars have condemned the wave of hate crimes against Asians currently sweeping the United States amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Members of the South Korean group GOT7 have taken to Twitter on March 19 to urge people to stop the violence under the “#StopAsianHate” banner.

“As an [Asian] myself, what has been happening is truly heartbreaking. Hatred and racism of any kind is not acceptable. I truly believe no one is born hating, ” Jackson Wang posted.

“Those who have hated must have learned to hate. If anyone can learn to hate then they can learn to love, ” he added.

Mark Tuan likewise lamented the racist attacks, saying: “The recent wave of violent attacks toward the Asian community and all people of color is heartbreaking to see.”

“We are all human beings who deserve to live without fearing that the color of our skin challenges our safety in America."

Tuan continued: “This racist hatred and violence has to end."

GOT7’s Bambam echoed the same sentiments, posting on Twitter that “hate needs to stop now” and asked the public to “be kind to one another”.

“Let’s make the world a better place. #StopAsianHate, ” he posted.

The stars’ posts came with a call for donation to the GoFundMe page for the members of the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community who have been targeted by the racist attacks.

Amber Liu also joined the call to stop the racism, noting that she has become “speechless and disgusted by the news that (she is) reading”.

“It hurt me to call my mom from overseas to tell her to be careful in the states. I believe together we can create positivity and put an end to hate, ” she added.

In his testimony to a congressional hearing earlier today, Asian American actor Daniel Dae Kim called on lawmakers to pass a legislation to help fund groups that provide counseling to victims of hate crimes in the US.

Just last year, around the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a 149% increase in hate crimes against Asians in major US cities was recorded, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.

Advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate, meanwhile, found that over 2,800 incidents of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans were reported online in the US between March and December last year.

In the most recent cases of such attacks, eight people were killed in a shooting in Atlanta, six of whom were women of Asian descent.

A certain 59-year-old Danilo Yu Chang, who is a Chinese-Filipino man, was also attacked in San Francisco just last Monday, March 15. He was so badly beaten that his injuries left him partially blind. – Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network