US President Joe Biden speaks after interviewing Asian leaders at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia on the 19th. Atlanta = AP Yonhap News
U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited Atlanta, Georgia, where the shooting took place on the 19th (local time). It has been three days since the disaster. President Biden, who held an 80-minute private interview with Asian leaders, strongly criticized racism and violence against Asian people.
President Biden, who gave a speech at Emory University on the same day, said, “I broke my heart while hearing about the harassment and violence that Asian Americans suffered during an interview.” “Whatever the motive for the crime, we know. Asians were attacked, criticized, victimized, and harassed. Women are suffering twice as much as men.” In addition, referring to the fact that Asian hatred increased rapidly during the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) pandemic, he tacitly criticized former President Donald Trump, who promoted hatred by calling Corona 19 a “Chinese virus”.
President Biden also compared racism and hatred to “ugly poison.” “The United States cannot be a refuge for hatred. All Americans must face prejudice, and silence is like conspiring,” he said. “We must stop hating,” he called for change. President Biden, who expressed his willingness to promote’gun reform’ shortly after taking office, emphasized the disaster as “an example of the public health crisis caused by gun violence in the United States.”
Vice President Harris noted that out of the eight victims of the Atlanta shootings, six were Asian and seven were women. He pointed out that racism and gender discrimination are prevalent in American society. Vice President Harris is also of Asian descent with an Indian immigrant mother. “Racism is real in the United States, and it has always been,” he criticized, saying, “The same is true of alien hatred and gender discrimination.” “The President and I will neither be silent nor stand by,” he said with encouragement, saying, “We will speak up against violence, hate crimes, and discrimination anytime, anywhere.”
President Biden’s visit to Atlanta was scheduled in advance in connection with the promotion of the economic stimulus plan that was recently passed through Congress, but on the 16th, three spa establishments near Atlanta killed eight people, including four Korean Americans, in an urgent need. An interview has been scheduled. Before leaving for Atlanta from the White House, President Biden also expressed his support for the Corona 19 Hate Crimes Act, which reinforces the government’s reporting and response to hate crimes and supports the Asian-American community.
President Biden’s move to cultivate a wide range of Asians reflects the rapidly growing Asian vote. In particular, Georgia, where Atlanta is located, has been a long-standing garden for the Republican Party, but in last November’s presidential election, it is a region that drove 16 electoral voters to Biden with only 0.24% of the votes, and is the number one contributor to victory. At the time, the gathering of non-white voters including Asians was a big driving force. The Associated Press said, “Biden and Harris comforted the community that helped achieve their presidential victory in Georgia and surrounding areas.”
Kim Pyo-hyang reporter [email protected]
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