[ad_1]
ATLANTA: President Joe Biden (pix) deplored an increase in anti-Asian violence in the United States after a deadly shooting in Georgia, and called on all Americans to unite against hate during a state visit yesterday.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met for more than an hour with leaders and state legislators from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, which has been rocked by the killings this week of eight people, including six women of Asian descent. , after a year of rising anti-Asian violence.
Hate cannot have a safe harbor in America. It must stop. And it’s up to all of us, all together, to make it stop, ”Biden said after the meeting, and asked US lawmakers to pass a Covid-19 hate crimes bill that would expand the Justice Department’s review of hate crimes exacerbated by law. pandemic.
Harris, the first Asian-American vice president in American history, linked the violence to the long history of racism in the United States and compared it to the attacks on Muslims after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
“Racism is real in America and it always has been. Xenophobia is real in America and it always has been. Also sexism, ”Harris said. “The president and I will not remain silent. We will not be left out. We will always speak out against violence, crimes motivated by prejudice and discrimination where and when it occurs ”.
A 21-year-old man has been charged in Tuesday’s killings at three spas in and around Atlanta. Investigators said the suspect, a white Atlanta-area resident, suggested sexual frustration led him to commit acts of violence. But political leaders and civil rights advocates have speculated that the killings were motivated, at least in part, by anti-Asian sentiments.
Advocates say the rise in attacks on Asian Americans is largely the result of the community being targeted by the coronavirus, which was first identified in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.
Yesterday, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said that the violence was exacerbated by the language used by former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly referred to Covid-19 as the “China virus” and the “kung flu”.
Biden ordered the American flag to be flown at half mast at the White House to honor the victims of the shootings in the Atlanta area.
Focus shift
The meeting with Asian American community leaders was a shift in focus from a trip originally planned to promote the recently enacted $ 1.9 trillion (RM7.8 trillion) coronavirus aid package.
Asian American voters make up one of the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups in the country and resulted in record numbers in presidential battle states in the 2020 elections, according to data from TargetSmart, a Democratic political data firm.
In Georgia, Asian American and Pacific Islander voters exceeded their 2016 total turnout by 58 percent, the firm said. These voters were key in leading Biden to success in states where the race was closed, such as Georgia, the firm said.
While on his way to Georgia, Biden tripped while climbing aboard Air Force One. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that he was “100 percent fine” and suggested that high winds in the Joint Base Andrews near Washington could have been a factor.
The Democratic president’s trip was initially part of the “Help is here” campaign, which began Monday to promote his promise of “gunshots and money in the pockets,” after enacting the Covid-aid bill. 19 last week. Biden has traveled to Pennsylvania and Harris has been to Nevada and Colorado to promote the benefits of the package.
Before meeting with Asian-American leaders, Biden and Harris received an update on the coronavirus at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where they thanked health officials for their efforts in the fight against the pandemic.
“This is a war and you are the front-line troops,” Biden said. “We owe you a debt of gratitude for all the lives you have saved.”
In his remarks after meeting with community leaders, Biden touted the benefits of the Covid-19 relief bill for Georgia, saying that state schools will receive $ 4 billion and the state government will receive $ 5 billion.
“That will keep a lot of police officers, firefighters, teachers and other first responders on the job,” he said.
Harris and Biden also met with Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia gubernatorial candidate whose efforts to get out of the vote are widely recognized for helping Biden lead the state last November and his fellow Democrats win two Georgia elections that gave them control of the United States Senate. .
“If anyone ever wondered if voting can change a country, Georgia just showed that it can,” he said. But he warned that the battle for the right to vote is not over.
A bill passed this month by the Republican-controlled Georgia House of Representatives would restrict polls, strengthen absentee voting requirements and limit early voting on Sundays, reducing traditional voter turnout programs “Souls to the Polls.” “in the black churches.
Republicans across the country are using Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in 2020 to back statewide voting changes that they say are necessary to restore the integrity of the election.. – Reuters
[ad_2]
