On Wednesday, a new survey revealed that an alarming 49% of Asian Americans fell victim to acts of hate in the U.S. last year, often unnoticed due to decreased national attention and limited reporting to authorities.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a surge of widely reported hate crimes against Asian individuals. However, the recent survey, exclusively shared with YSL News on Wednesday, indicates that the Asian American community continues to endure significant hate in various settings, ranging from parking lots and public transport to workplaces and educational institutions.

Conducted by Stop AAPI Hate and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, this report, set to be presented at a news conference in Washington D.C. in collaboration with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, surveyed 1,005 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander adults nationwide. The findings highlighted that nearly half of the participants encountered discrimination in 2023, while also demonstrating a strong resistance against it.

U.S. Representative Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, commented to YSL News that the report helps to address a data “void” and will aid legislators and the general public in recognizing ongoing trends in anti-Asian racism. She pointed to a notable increase in hate incidents against Asians coinciding with the spread of COVID-19, attributing some of this to inflammatory language used by former President Donald Trump, which “targeted us”.

While initial attacks during the pandemic have lessened, Chu stressed that alarming levels of discrimination persist within the community.

“Although hate crimes and incidents may not be as visible now, they continue to occur,” Chu said. “This emphasizes the importance of Stop AAPI Hate publishing this report.”

‘Racism didn’t start or stop with COVID’

Stephanie Chan, director of data and research at Stop AAPI Hate, informed YSL News that the discussion surrounding COVID-19 has shed light on a long-standing history of racism towards the Asian community. She noted a shift in the language fueling anti-Asian hate, moving from pandemic-related blame to more general xenophobic and anti-immigrant sentiments.

“This issue did not begin or end with COVID; we must confront the underlying systemic causes of anti-Asian and anti-Pacific Islander racism in the U.S.,” Chan stated.

The survey also indicated that racism remains a primary concern for the Asian American community, with 85% expressing apprehension about the current racial climate in the U.S.

Co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, Manjusha Kulkarni, pointed out that while hate against Asians may be evolving from individual attacks seen in the early pandemic to growing institutional discrimination, the report showed that 51% of victims experienced hate within various settings such as businesses, employment, housing, healthcare, education, or government.

“Hate transcends mere hate crimes,” Kulkarni asserted.

This month, the House passed a bill aimed at reinstating the “China Initiative,” an enforcement program established during the Trump administration to target alleged Chinese spies. The Justice Department terminated it in 2022, citing its contribution to anti-Asian bias and its adverse effects on U.S. recruitment efforts in critical fields.

Chu referred to this bill as akin to “a new McCarthyism,” which has resulted in Chinese American scholars losing their positions based on unfounded accusations of espionage.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis enacted a law last year that prohibits individuals tied to the Chinese government, political parties, and certain organizations from purchasing property unless they are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Legal filings from the U.S. Department of Justice last summer claimed that this law breaches the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, yet it remains in effect.

Violence against individuals in the Asian American community continues to be an issue, with 26% of respondents reporting they were physically assaulted. Recently, an Indiana woman admitted guilt in a federal hate crime case involving the stabbing of a Chinese American teenager on a city bus while hurling slurs.

Stop AAPI Hate also reported an increase in hate incidents towards South Asians following the outbreak of war in Gaza. In an example from October, a minor car incident escalated into a grave hate crime in Queens, New York, when a driver insulted a Sikh Indian man by calling him “turban man” and attacked him, resulting in a fatal fall.

‘We will not remain passive’

The newly released survey aims to provide a comprehensive overview of racism faced by Asians and Pacific Islanders. This includes inquiries about criminal acts like physical assaults, property damage, and violent verbal threats, as well as non-criminal offenses such as racial slurs that might be protected under free speech, alongside institutional discrimination.

Initiated in March 2020 amidst a surge of reported hate incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stop AAPI Hate was created by three organizations: Chinese for Affirmative Action, the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University, and AAPI Equity Alliance, serving as a reporting center for hate incidents against Asian Americans. In 2023, it documented 735 anti-Asian/Pacific Islander hate incidents; however, the new study emphasizes that this figure represents only the “tip of the iceberg.”

It highlights that a considerable portion of these hate incidents are never formally reported. Almost half of the respondents They mentioned that they did not disclose the incident to anyone, and an even smaller percentage — only 16% — took the step of reporting it to law enforcement.

According to the report, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders might hesitate to reach out to authorities due to a distrust in how law enforcement reacts, a lack of information, or concerns about backlash. Chan pointed out that some members of the community also face language barriers when trying to communicate with police.

This week, the FBI issued its 2023 crime report, revealing a slight rise in overall hate crimes compared to the previous year. The statistics are gathered from incidents reported to law enforcement across the U.S. Some types of discrimination highlighted in Stop AAPI Hate’s survey, like non-violent verbal abuse or being refused service at a business, may not be considered criminal and are thus less likely to appear in law enforcement data.

Stop AAPI Hate intends to carry out this survey annually to gain a comprehensive understanding of the discrimination faced by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Chan observed a remarkable surge in efforts to fight against hate, with nearly 75% of Asian Americans taking part in actions against racism such as educating others, attending protests, interacting with lawmakers, or contributing to organizations focused on racial justice.

“It’s uplifting to see that we are actively responding to this issue, and that AAPI communities are making strides in ways we haven’t seen before,” Chan noted.