Asian-Americans face numerous hurdles to win greater acceptance and influence, experts say
- Speakers at Committee of 100’s annual conference say difficulties are not only racist stereotypes, but also in organising the AAPI community
- One way forward, analysts say, is to build power as a voting bloc; in the 2020 elections, turnout rose by 10 percentage points, well beyond any other ethnic group
The committee is a leading Chinese-American civic group and this year’s conference – held in San Jose, California and organised under the theme “Seeking Common Ground in Turbulent Times” – turned at times into a wide-ranging, soul-searching discussion.
Enduring more physical and verbal attacks in recent years, Asian-Americans, of whom Chinese-Americans comprise the largest part, have realised the importance of getting loud and defending themselves – not always a natural instinct for many who come from cultures that teach respect for hierarchy and deference to authority, experts at the conference said.
“There is a complexity in the identity of those who trace their origin back to China,” said Lanhee Chen, a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. “It’s very difficult to think of a ‘unified strategy’ when there are so many … nuances in the background.
“It will continue to be a challenge.”
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San Francisco steps up policing in Asian-American communities ahead of Lunar New Year
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 by the committee and Columbia University.