K-pop idols, Asian American stars call to #StopAsianHate as hate crimes surge in US
Members of GOT7 are among those condemning the spike of racist attacks against Asians in the United States. JYP Entertainment via The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
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 both taken to Twitter earlier today, 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.
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. Those who have hated must have learned to hate. If anyone can learn to hate then they can learn to love.#StopAsianHate pic.twitter.com/XsCrxpv2QJ— Jackson Wang 王嘉爾 왕잭슨 (@JacksonWang852) March 18, 2021
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,” he stressed.
#StopAsianHate pic.twitter.com/MlYlz2CYy7
— Mark Tuan (@marktuan) March 18, 2021
“This racist hatred and violence has to end,” Tuan emphasized.
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.
Hate needs to stop now
Be kind to one another
let’s make the world a better place#stopasianhate pic.twitter.com/LQpc7hnC61— BamBam (@BamBam1A) March 19, 2021
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 of the K-pop group 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.
I’m speechless and disgusted by the news that i’m 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 and end to hate. #StopAsianHate
— Amber J. Liu 刘逸云 (@ajol_llama) March 18, 2021
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. /ra
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