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US-China relations
China

Most Chinese-Americans say racial discrimination and hate crime fears plague their life, survey finds

  • Community members are increasingly active politically, multilingual at home and more diverse economically than widely portrayed, study also reveals
  • First-of-its-kind survey by civic group Committee of 100 and Columbia University drew on 6,500 respondents from 46 states

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Michelle Lee (left) and Ida Chen hold a banner in New York’s Chinatown to protest anti-Asian hate in April 2021. Photo: AP
Mark Magnierin New York

Lotus Zhang, an English-Chinese hospital interpreter who lives in New Jersey and works in Manhattan, said never in her life has she been attacked physically.

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“But you’re seen as different,” she said, dressed in a pink and light blue blouse and a white fleece. “Especially when you’re walking out of the hospital, it can be hostile.” Recently, she added, waning alarm over Covid-19 had reduced tension somewhat, although not entirely.

Nearly three quarters of Chinese-Americans report experiencing racial discrimination in the past year while 55 per cent worry about hate crimes or harassment, according to a study released on Thursday by the civic group Committee of 100 and Columbia University.

The study, titled “The Fight for Representation: The State of Chinese Americans Survey”, also found that Chinese-Americans were increasingly active politically, often speak multiple languages at home and were far from homogenous even as society frequently typecasts them as monolithic.

Gary Locke, Committee of 100 chairman and a former US ambassador to China, says Chinese-Americans are under-represented in politics and policy despite comprising a fast-growing ethnic group. Photo: Jason Redmond
Gary Locke, Committee of 100 chairman and a former US ambassador to China, says Chinese-Americans are under-represented in politics and policy despite comprising a fast-growing ethnic group. Photo: Jason Redmond

“The Chinese-American population is one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States, yet it remains under-represented in politics and policy, and underserved in healthcare, education and social services,” said Gary Locke, president of Washington state’s Bellevue College and the Committee of 100 chairman, in a statement.

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