MAGA podcast sparks outrage after host calls for internment of Chinese Americans

During WWII Japanese Americans were rounded up and incarcerated in desolate camps.

In a chilling reminder that the "perpetual foreigner" trope remains alive and well in right-wing media, a panelist on a popular MAGA-aligned podcast recently floated the idea of locking up Chinese Americans in the event of a war with Beijing.

Asian American members of Congress were quick to respond, mincing no words: 

"“These comments invoke centuries-old racist tropes that cast Chinese Americans as perpetual foreigners and question their loyalty to the United States," they stated. "Such rhetoric fuels discrimination and violence against Chinese Americans and those perceived to be Chinese, and contributes to a climate in which one in five Americans are currently concerned about Chinese Americans posing a threat to US society."

During an episode of Timcast IRL, co-host Ian Crossland was not subtle when brainstorming a hypothetical military conflict between the United States and China.

 "Do (you) think we should intern all the Chinese Americans we can find?" Crossland asked his fellow commentators. He then answered his own question: "Because it kind of seems like we should."

Ian Crossland during one of his podcasts.

While another panelist, Kevin Smith, pushed back slightly, his objection wasn't rooted in basic human rights or constitutional protections. Instead, Smith merely questioned the logistics of modern-day concentration camps, arguing that social media and public protests would make replicating World War II-era internment too difficult to pull off in the 21st century.

Blistering response

The casual mainstreaming of wartime incarceration has drawn fierce, immediate condemnation from Asian American lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) issued a blistering joint response led by Reps. Grace Meng, Ted Lieu, and Judy Chu, blasting the podcast's rhetoric as both dangerous and xenophobic. 

Congressmembers Grace Meng, Ted Lieu and Judy Chu.

Lawmakers drew a direct line from Crossland's remarks to the dark legacy of Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced relocation and imprisonment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.

“To call for a return to one of the darkest chapters in US history — the incarceration of more than 120,000 American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II —is dangerous and unacceptable," the Congressional statement continued. This kind of rhetoric has no place in our country and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

View from the edge

These comments invoke centuries-old racist tropes that cast Chinese Americans as perpetual foreigners and question their loyalty to the United States. Such rhetoric fuels discrimination and violence against Chinese Americans and those perceived to be Chinese.

It contributes to a climate in which one in five Americans are currently concerned about Chinese Americans posing a threat to US society, according to a survey by The Asian American Foundation.

This casual revival of mass incarceration rhetoric isn’t happening in a vacuum—it is the direct product of an ecosystem that profits off xenophobic fearmongering and extreme outrage among MAGA believers fueled by a regime that is using White fear as a recruitment strategy.

By framing the systemic violation of constitutional rights as a mere policy debate, media figures normalized hate under the guise of geopolitical strategy. 

As the Asian American lawmakers rightly noted, silence in the face of such rhetoric is complicity; confronting and exposing these modern-day echo chambers is essential to ensuring that one of the darkest chapters of American history is never repeated.

For those who don't believe this could never happen, factual history tells us it did happen to the Japanese Americans and US residents. These same naysayers are the same people who thought that Americans would never vote in TV host, failed businessman,  sexual predator and convicted felon Donald Trump.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost. 

Trump’s unfounded claims of China election meddling spark fear in Chinese American community

Donald Trump used unsubstantionated 

Oh no! He didn't. But he did. Donald Trump blamed China for interfering with US elections. Here we go again.

Trump is reviving his greatest hits of grievance, but this time, the needle is dropping on a track that has the Chinese American community bracing for impact. Without offering a shred of proof, Trump is now claiming that Beijing meddled in the 2020 election, explicitly accusing China of "stealing voter files." He just can't accept that he lost that year.

Trump's intent is clear. If you need a bogeyman as a distraction, blame China or immigrants. In Trump's primetime address July16, he blamed both.

“We have seen this playbook before," said the Asian  Law Caucus Executive Director Aarti Kohli. "Time and again, the Trump administration has sought to cast doubt on our elections and the Americans who get to participate in them. We’ve seen it recently with his renewed pressure on Congress to pass the SAVE Act, a bill with the clear intent to see fewer people vote."

While US intelligence agencies have already thoroughly rejected these allegations and Beijing has called them entirely fabricated, the damage in our current political climate doesn't require facts to do real-world harm. For Chinese Americans, the rhetoric feels dangerously familiar — and terrifying.

Trump also used the occasion to claim 250,000 noncitizens took part in the 2020 vote although there is no evidence to back that claim. State attorneys general, even those of GOP-controlled states like Florida and Texas, have had to reduce initial claims of thousands of noncitizen voters to only a handful after further investigation.

The immediate fallout: Fear and defensiveness

Community advocates and leaders are already sounding the alarm over what this baseless finger-pointing will mean on the ground. The consensus is clear: when Washington targets Beijing, it’s Asian Americans who pay the price on the street.

“Our research this year found that a majority of Americans believe the rhetoric used by President Trump about China and US-China relations has a negative impact on the treatment of Chinese Americans,” said Paul Cheung, president of the Committee of 100, a group of prominent Chinese Americans created when Trump's "China Initiative" began targeting Chinese and Chinese Americansresearchers and academics.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Anti-Asian hate has surged since the pandemic and hasn't gone away.

Activists in the Asian American community are bracing for a multi-front wave of repercussions:

A resurgence of xenophobia: Just as the "Chinese virus" rhetoric of the early 2020s directly triggered a terrifying surge in anti-Asian hate crimes, community leaders fear this new political scapegoating will paint a target on the backs of Chinese Americans once again.

Civic chilling effect: The fallout is already hitting everyday community participation. Volunteers and campaign workers—like Elaine Peng, who has led Chinese American grassroots efforts—worry that ungrounded political suspicion will make everyday citizens terrified to engage in the democratic process, fearing they’ll be labeled as foreign agents.

The "perpetual foreigner" Trap: Trump's rhetoric repeated by his army of minions, reinforces the toxic stereotype that Chinese Americans are inherently loyal to a foreign power rather than their own home, eroding decades of civil rights progress.

The Feds' verdict: No infrastructure breaches, no flipped votes

The US intelligence community has completely debunked the idea that China manipulated the 2020 ballot box.

A sweeping, unclassified intelligence assessment concluded there is absolutely zero evidence that any foreign adversary modified a single ballot, altered voter registrations, or compromised vote tabulations.

While it is true that Chinese entities compiled data on roughly 220 million Americans, analysts from platforms like PBS NewsHour quickly pointed out the boring truth. This information wasn't stolen via cyberwarfare; it was legally bought and downloaded from ordinary commercial marketing sites and public databases. It is information accessible by any Tom, Dick or Harry.

There was a minor split in the intelligence community, with one cyber official suggesting Beijing used basic social media posturing to sour public opinion on Trump. However, even that dissenting view explicitly stated there was no information suggesting China tried to interfere directly with the election mechanics.

Because the American voting infrastructure is intentionally decentralized across thousands of local, disconnected jurisdictions, county by county, state by state, national security experts reiterate that a centralized cyberattack capable of flipping an election outcome is practically impossible.

View from the edge

Let’s be completely clear: US intelligence has found no evidence supporting these claims. But in an election season where anti-China sentiment is standard currency for both sides of the aisle, Trump’s latest baseless accusations are throwing gasoline on an already volatile fire.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian wasted no time labeling Trump’s claims as "pure fabrication" and political mudslinging designed to stir up voters ahead of the election cycle.

“I hope every American is seeing what is happening right before our eyes: The Trump Administration is flinging desperate and unsubstantiated attacks on our elections," says the Asian Law Caucus' Kohli, "Trump forced himself on your TVs and phone screens trying to undermine your confidence in the integrity of our elections in real time. But we won’t let it happen."

For the Asian American community, specifically Chinese Americans — the fear isn't abstract — it's a matter of daily safety, civic survival, and demanding that political leaders stop using an entire diaspora as a political football.

The data proves the claims are empty political theater. But as Asian Americans, we know the danger isn't the validity of the conspiracy — it's how easily the rhetoric turns our neighbors into targets.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.

Harris-Walz campaign blames Trump for rise in anti-Asian hate

Republicans used to portray themselves as law-and-order proponents but that image is being shattered by a new ad from the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz campaign.

“While Trump fanned the flames of hate and failed to protect our communities during his presidency, Kamala Harris has spent her career tackling crime and working to keep us safe,” said Andrew Peng, Harris-Walz Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander spokesperson Andrew. 

“As Vice President, she has spearheaded some of the largest investments in public safety ever—enacting landmark legislation to combat anti-Asian hate crimes, confronting the gun violence epidemic, and delivering $15 billion to support local law enforcement. 

During the pandemic, Trump's use of racist slrs in describing COVID because it originiated in China, was largely responsible for the rise in attacks against all Asians, by dehumanizing them and giving tacit permission to act out racist beliefs..

Today, Team Harris-Walz is launching “Numbers,” its latest television and digital ad aimed at reaching Asian American voters across the battleground states. The 30-second spot focuses on Donald Trump’s legacy of increased crime and anti-Asian hate versus Vice President Kamala Harris’ lifelong work to advance public safety, which has helped reduce violent crime to a 50-year low.

In the last year of the Trump presidency, homicides in the US in 2020 increased nearly 30% over the previous year, the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records, according to the FBI.” 

Meanwhile, an analysis from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found hate crimes targeting Asian Americans in 16 of America’s largest cities surged by nearly 150 percent during Trump’s last year in office.

The "Numbers" ad

“Numbers” is part of Team Harris-Walz’s unprecedented $370 million investment in TV, radio, and digital reservations through Election Day and represents the campaign’s fifth major paid media blitz targeting Asian American voters in key states since August. 

Starting this week, the spot will blanket nearly 70 community-serving broadcast outlets and a broad array of digital channels, including Meta, Snap, YouTube, connected TV, iHeartRadio, and Pandora. The Harris-Walz campaign will continue to release a flurry of digital, TV, radio, and print ads sharing Vice President Harris’ vision for a New Way Forward directly with Asian American voters.

"As President, (Vice President Harris) will never stop fighting for the right of every American to live with dignity, safety, and justic,. said Peng.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Biden on the 80th Anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act

In 1882 newspapers advocated for a ban on immigration from China.

President Biden released the following statement on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943.

The Chinese Exclusion Act which went into effect in 1882, was the first immigration law restricting immigration to the United States. White American workers, egged on by blatantly racist newspapers, felt  threatened by Chinese immigrants who often worked for lower wages.

At first, the racist law targeted people from China but later it was expanded to include all people of "Mongolian" descent. 

Biden's statement is especially meaningful at a time when the US is experiencing a rise in anti-Asian assaults and anti-China sentiment spurred by COVID-19 and the economic and political rivalry between the US and he Peoples Republic of China.

Folllowing is the President's complete statement:

"Our nation was founded on the fundamental idea that we are created equal and deserve to be treated equally. But for 61 years, the Chinese Exclusion Act failed to live up to that promise. It weaponized our immigration system to discriminate against an entire ethnic group and was followed by further discrimination against many in Europe and all of Asia. 

"The Act, along with racism and xenophobia in other parts of American life, was part of the anti-Chinese “Driving Out” era which included the Rock Springs and Hells Canyon massacres. In 1943, the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed and it was followed by laws that led to an immigration system that better reflected our values as a nation of immigrants.

"On this anniversary, we remember those whose lives, families, and communities were irreparably harmed. We remember the brave and diverse voices – from Frederick Douglass to Blanche Bruce to Pearl Buck to the American Jewish Committee and so many others – who spoke up in solidarity against that Act and demanded a fairer and more just immigration system. And we recognize that despite the progress we have made, hate never goes away. It only hides. 

"Today, there are those who still demonize immigrants and fan the flames of intolerance. It’s wrong. 

"I ran for President to restore the soul of America. To bring people together and make sure we give hate no safe harbor. To celebrate the diversity that is our country’s strength.

"For generations, people of Chinese heritage have enriched our country – from Chinese laborers who did backbreaking work to build the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s to the Chinese Americans who serve in our military, to the authors, artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, and scholars of today. We honor them, and all immigrants, who continue to make extraordinary contributions to our nation."

– President Joe Biden

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.

New surevey: 1-in-3 AANHPI experienced a bias incident last year; AANHPI prefer Biden Harris

Despite this year's FBI hate crime report hinting that anti-Aian hate may be dying down, ask any Asian American and they'll likely disagree. Thirty-four percent of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults, or 1 out of 3, report personally experiencing a hate incident in the last year.

In addition, nearly a quarter of AANHPI were verbally harassed or endured racial slurs, while one in ten was threatened with physical assault, according to the first load of information from AAPI Data / AP-NORC survey released Monday. 

Further, 16% say they were the victim of a hate crime, experiencing physical assault, property damage, or threats of assault or property damage because of their race or ethnic background. 

The results align with existing research documenting an increase in attacks targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander communities since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

"The survey reveals the alarming rate at which Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are facing racism and hate and the toll that it is taking on mental health, " says Jennifer Benz, deputy director of The AP- NORC Center. "Not only are the people who faced hate incidents or hate crimes more susceptible to anxiety, but they are also more likely to believe they will be targeted again in the future."

        FYI: Read the complete AP-NORC report.

Eighty-six percent of people from AANHPI communities say that racism is a serious problem in the United States, including 51% who say it’s very or extremely serious. 

While most rate their mental health as good or excellent, 12% are at a higher risk of struggling with chronic anxiety. Those who experienced a hate crime or incident are more prone to anxiety and more likely to anticipate further discrimination or hate

The survey also unpacks the political leanings of the racially and linguistically diverse AANHPI communities, revealing that roughly half align with the Democratic Party, slightly over a quarter with the Republican Party, and about one in five identify as independent or unaffiliated. 

Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are viewed more favorably than unfavorably, while majorities of AAPI adults view Republican challengers Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis unfavorably.

 In addition, more have unfavorable views of GOP Indian Americans Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy than favorable views, and a large proportion say that they don’t know enough about the two candidates (40% and 46%, respectively) to form an opinion.

“This is the first nationally representative survey that includes the views of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders about the major presidential candidates,” says Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and director of AAPI Data.

The report is the first in a series of data about the AANHPI communities to be released by the AAPI Data/AP-NORC a media and data partnership that seeks to elevate the perspective of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) populations on some of society’s most pressing issues. The effort will address historic underrepresentation of AAPI communities in public opinion research.

 “Rather than speculate about where AAPIs stand on candidates like Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy," says Ramakrishnan, "we have timely and reliable data that we will continue to follow through the rest of the presidential primary season.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

AANHPI may be in for a rough time in the upcoming Presidential election

Anti-Asian attacks has coincided with emboldened White supremacist groups.

In case you haven't noticed, the 2024 Presidential race has already begun with 18 months to go before the the election. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders should gird themselves for campaigns which will target them as an important vote-rich demographic and as "the other."

Since the start of the pandemic, it has been a fearful three years for AANHPI, blamed for COVID19 and economic tensions generated by deteriorating China-US relations. The campaign season will most likely increase the xenophobic hate towards AANHPI.

Each of the last four presidential campaign cycles has shown an unmistakable pattern: Reported hate crimes increase during elections, according to the Leadership Conference Education Fund report — “Cause for Concern 2024: The State of Hate.”

WHITE SUPREMACISTS

And while not all hate crimes and hate incidents are committed by white supremacists, as this paper outlines, white supremacists have been particularly active during the last four presidential elections. From the mainstreaming of hate and the failure of social media platforms to adequately address disinformation, the current climate is rife with opportunities for the trend of increased hate to continue into the 2024 election — unless action is taken.

In March 2023, the FBI released the most recent statistics on hate crimes. These data showed that 2021 was the highest year on record for reported hate crimes since the FBI began publishing the data in 1991. But because law enforcement agencies do not have to report any data on hate crimes to the FBI, this is not the full picture. In fact, 2021 had the lowest amount of participation from law enforcement agencies since 2012. Even though the most recent data show the highest number of reported hate crimes on record, we know the reality is far worse.

FYI: View the full report “Cause for Concern 2024: The State of Hate” ›

Tragically, since 2015, reported hate crimes have nearly doubled. The Trump candidacy empowered white nationalists and provided them with a platform — one they had been seeking with renewed intensity since the historic election of America’s first Black president in 2008. Since 2015, communities across the country have experienced some of the most violent and deadliest years for hate in modern history.

Today’s political climate is highly charged. From white supremacist and anti-government movements coalescing and moving more into the political mainstream, to conspiracy theories circulating online and public officials amplifying hate, there are few — if any — signs that tensions will lessen. Movements grounded in attempts to whitewash history and deny the rights of the LGBTQ+ community have turned hate into campaign platforms.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Contributing to this climate are social media companies that have not internalized the lessons of the past and have set the stage for a 2024 election year that is at least as toxic online as past elections. Platforms have policies in place that curb and prevent the spread of hate and voting disinformation, but they do not consistently enforce them. 

Furthermore, major platforms,such as the Elon Musk-owned Twitter, have cut back or eliminated their trust and safety staff and hollowed out protections against hate incitements on their platforms.

Some of the key concerns that spurred the Leadership report is based on  the FBI report that showed, among other findings:

Anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate Crimes: The most recent

• Data from the FBI showed a 168% increase in anti-Asian hate crime incidents reported from 2020 to 2021.

• Hate crimes have increased by more than 80% since 2015.

• 2021 was the highest year on record for reported hate crimes since the FBI began publishing the data in 1991.

• Anti-Islamic (Muslim) Hate Crimes: From 2020 to 2021, the community was subjected to a 40% increase in reported hate crimes.

• Anti-Sikh Hate Crimes: The number of reported anti-Sikh hate crimes has increased significantly, reaching a record high in 2021. Currently, anti-Sikh hate crimes are the second most common form of religiously motivated hate crimes after anti-Jewish hate crimes.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Leadership Conference Education Fund’s “Cause for Concern” series first published in 1997 — provides the following recommendations for how to address the current state of hate ahead of a deeply concerning 2024 election cycle:

• Social media platforms must invest in de-platforming hate for the upcoming local, state, and national elections.

• The federal government must confront and address white supremacist violence without further criminalizing communities of color, religious minorities, and other marginalized communities.

• Congress must mandate hate crime data collection and reporting.

• Public officials must speak out against hate.

Anti-immigrant rhetoric, anti-China legislation, racist laws and the green light to express racist beliefs and suppress the true diverse history of the United States, have already been expressed by Republican candidates, from Nikki Haley to Ron DiSantis to Donald Trump.

It will only get worse as the campaign heats up and conservative candidates try to outdo each other to garner the votes of the extreme right.

As the fastest growing segment of the US population, the majority of whom are first-generation immigrants, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders  need to pay close attention to what is being said and who is saying it.  And when it comes time to vote: Remember.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

Anti-Asian hate's impact on the AANHPI communities is greater than we think

About 1 in 5 Asian Americans in California worried "all the time" or "often" about being a victim of a hate crime, with worries especially high among Filipino Americans, according to a new study.

The AAPI Data Project at UC Riverside and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) recently released a comprehensive report revealing economic hardships, negative health outcomes and a rise in hate incidents experienced by Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"California's investment to increase the available data on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities is essential in improving public understanding of the needs, barriers, and challenges that AA and NHPI communities face," said Karthick Ramakrishnan, professor of public policy at UC Riverside and founder of AAPI Data. "We hope that policymakers as well as those in charge of policy implementation will use the findings and recommendations in this report to create better programs and services that address the diversity in needs and challenges faced by AA and NHPI communities in California."

One of the key findings of the study, the Post-Pandemic Agenda for Community Well-being among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Californiais that information about access to heath and mental health needs is not getting to the AANHPI communities resulting in poor medical outcomes and high suicide rates

Using data from UCLA CHPR's 2018–2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), as well as the 2019 and 2021 American Community Survey, the study found that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders experienced difficulties accessing health and mental health services, as well as affordable and quality housing, education, and food.

The impact was vast in health outcomes, with about 3 in 10 Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in California reported difficulties in accessing health services, and 1 in 4 experiencing difficulties in accessing mental health services. Cost was the most common reason for difficulty in accessing health services, with 7 in 10 experiencing this financial burden, however a lack of knowledge about available options was the top reason for difficulty in accessing mental health services.

The Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities have grappled with a rise in violence in recent years—from the anti-Asian hate incidents that occurred during the pandemic to the recent back-to-back mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. 

The 2021 CHIS, which added questions on attitudes about gun violence, found that Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders reported the highest proportions of concern about gun violence: 66% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and 65% of Asian Americans said they were "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about gun violence, more than double the percentage of white adults (30%).

Economic hardship was another overwhelming issue for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in California. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, each saw higher poverty rates in 2021, compared to 2019. According to the study, more than half of respondents indicated that they had difficulty accessing high-quality or affordable housing due to financial cost and 36% said they had difficulty accessing quality or affordable food.

"After studying the emotional and economic impacts brought on by the pandemic over the last three years, it's clear there is a significant burden on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in California," Ninez A. Ponce, UCLA CHPR director and CHIS principal investigator, said. "These findings suggest an urgent need to address the gaps in access to health care, which have gotten perpetually worse as the pandemic continues to take a toll on this community."

Another major cause for concern is the ongoing issue of hate incidents and discrimination against the Asian American community. Data show 1 in 4 Asian Americans had ever been a victim of a hate crime or incident in their lifetime, and 1 in 5 said they worried all the time or often about being a victim.

To address racial injustices and economic inequities within the state's system, researchers suggest that policymakers act against such prejudices by creating a more equitable framework for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders across the state.

Recommendations include a focus on addressing inequities across the mental health system, improving awareness and access to public and government programs, investing in culturally competent care and services, increasing partnerships between state and community-based organizations, building additional language access, and widening access to data on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.

The report is part of a series of reports by AAPI Data and the California Health Interview Survey focused on measuring the social, economic, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The goal is to highlight the gaps in access to health, mental health, and social services for those communities.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, our community faced not only a major increase in hate crimes and incidents, but struggled financially and could not access care," said California Assemblymember Phil Ting, chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.

"When I championed the API Equity Budget in 2021, we knew that the AAPI Data Project needed resourced to research our community's necessities. The recommendations from this report help us understand the hardships that the API community is facing, and helps us identify service gaps in order for the government and our community partners to address these needs."

Other highlights of the report:

HEALTH

• Between 2019 and 2021, Hispanics/Latinos and Asian Americans had statistically significant increases in reports of delays in health care due to system and provider barriers.
  
• By 2021, Asian Americans and NHPIs were more likely than Whites to rely on community-based health care. 
• About 3 in 10 Asian Americans in California reported difficulties in accessing health services, and cited financial cost, lack of awareness about options, lack of insurance, and limited English proficiency as the most salient challenges.
  
• Doctors, government health agencies, and friends/family remain by far the most trusted sources of medical information for Asian Americans. Only 37 percent of Asian Americans trusted social media apps for medical information.​
  

MENTAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY WELL-BEING: 

• Suicide ideation increased between 2018/19 and 2020/21 for Asian Americans, as for many other groups, with increases especially pronounced among non-U.S. citizens.
  
• Yet the share of Asian Americans receiving mental health services did not change before and after the onset of COVID. 
  
• Major barriers for finding mental health services include lack of knowledge about available options, financial cost, lack of insurance, and limited options in their neighborhood. 
  
• Fear of gun violence is a significant contributor to community anxiety and the lack of well-being.
  
• Even before the 2023 shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, California, Asian Americans and NHPIs were the groups most worried about becoming a victim of gun violence.
  

EXPERIENCES WITH HATE 

• One in 4 Asian Americans in California reported having ever experienced a hate crime or hate incident, with Southeast Asians reporting the highest levels of experiences with hate. 
  
• Among those who had ever experienced hate crimes or hate incidents, most had done so before 2020.
  
• Asian American men were significantly more likely than Asian American women to be threatened or harassed (16% vs.10%, respectively) and also more likely to have been mocked or had offensive physical gestures made towards them (15% vs. 9 %, respectively).
  
• About 1 in 5 Asian Americans in California worried "all the time" or "often" about being a victim of a hate crime, with worries especially high among Filipino Americans.
  

A mural in New York City.

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS

• Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders all saw higher poverty rates, and lower labor force participation rates, in 2021 than in 2019.
  
• The labor force participation rate for Indian Americans increased slightly between 2019 and 2021, while Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese Americans saw statistically significant decreases.
  
• The share of NHPI homeowners with mortgages who were burdened with housing cost (spending 30% or more of household income on housing) increased from 35% to 45% between 2019 to 2021.
  
• Asian Americans in California report relying mostly on friends or family members for assistance in accessing quality or affordable housing, with government agencies a distant second.
  
• About 2 in 5 Asian American respondents indicated that they had difficulty finding quality or affordable education, with financial cost as the most common reason across groups.
  

"AAPI Data's report, Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Health, Mental Health, and Social Services for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders shines a bright light on the alarming health disparities of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities and point to the social determinants of health and mental health that we, California, must collectively and immediately address," said Nkauj Iab Yang, director of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs.

"Now, more than ever, we must work together to change state policies and programs to meet the needs of the AANHPI communities. This is life or death, and we cannot afford any more lives taken prematurely in order to take action."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

BTS meets with President Biden to talk about inclusion and against anti-Asian hate

SCREEN CAPTURE / MSNBC

BTS held a brief press briefing before meeting with President Biden.

For a brief period Tuesday, the White House was the center of the BTS universe as the world's most popular K-pop band met with the most powerful leader in the world.

The seven-member boy band visited the White House to share their message against the anti)Asian epidemic.

Before meeting President Biden, the group met with the White House press corps

"Today is the last day of AANHPI Heritage Month, we join the White House to stand with the AANHPI community and to celebrate," band member Kim Seok-jin said through a translator.

The translator interpreted for Jimin, who said, "We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes including Asian American hate crimes. To put a stop on this and support the cause, we'd like to take this opportunity to voice ourselves once again."

"It’s not wrong to be different. I think equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences," added Suga.

The White House’s official video of a BTS-less briefing last Thursday, for instance, had garnered fewer than 16,000 total YouTube views as of Tuesday afternoon.

The White House’s official video of a press briefing usualy garners about 16,000 viewers. As BTS took the sstage, viewership shot up to 310,000.

BTS' meeting with the President in the Oval Office was closed to general media apparently because Biden's social media team wanted exclusive coverage. 

WHITE HOUSE

The wildly popular K-pop group, BTS, met with President Biden in the Oval Office.

During the brief meeting, the group expressed their dismay at the continuing hate directed at AANHPI and thanked him for signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act earlier this year.

In return, the President thanked BTS for their work and the use of their enormous platform to work against the anti-Asian attacks and xenophobia.

The group's visit with Biden was the latest example of this White House leveraging the power of celebrities to bring attention to key priorities. Last July, Olivia Rodrigo was enlisted to help promote COVID-19vaccinations.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

K-pop's BTS to meet with President Biden

South Korean pop group BTS.

Worldwide music artists BTS will be paying a visit with President Biden May 31 to "discuss Asian inclusion and representation" and the alarming rise in anti-Asian attacks, according to the White House.

"President Biden and BTS will also discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion and BTS’ platform as youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world," the White House said.

The visit with the popular K-pop boy band will be in conjunction with the White House recognition of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month which concludes May 31. The group members are RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook,

“President Biden has previously spoken about his commitment to combating the surge of anti-Asian hate crimes and signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in May 2021 to provide law enforcement with resources to identify, investigate, and report hate crimes and ensure that hate crimes information is more accessible to AA (Asian-American) and NHPI (Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) communities. President Biden and BTS will also discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion and BTS’ platform as youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world. Additional details to follow,” the statement continued.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, there have been over 11,000 hate incidents against AANHPI, according to Stop AAPI Hate, which began collecting reports of anti-Asian incidents in March 2020.

Anti-Asian American hate crimes rose 339% in 2021, according to the preliminary results from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

BTS, which popularized the music genre known as K-pop, is known for its philanthropic endeavors and its huge, rabid fan base known as The Army.

During the 2020 Presidential campaign, BTS fans used the power of social media to reduce attendance at some of Donald Trump rallies.

As the Atlanta spa shootings where six Asian women were killed in 2021, the group tweeted: "We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look," they added. "We were even asked why Asians spoke in English."

"We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason," the statement continues.

"Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks.

"But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away at our self-esteem."

The group concluded by offering their "deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones." 

It is not the first White House visit by music artists of Asian descent. Last year, pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo, a Filipino American, visited Biden to help encourage her fans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.