Asian Americans[edit]

In response to the elevated rate of hate crimes against Asians during COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew Yang, a 2nd-generation Taiwanese immigrant who ran as a Democratic Presidential candidate in the 2020 United States presidential election, suggested in his Washington Post op-ed that "Asian Americans need to embrace and show our American-ness in ways we never have before. ... We should show without a shadow of a doubt that we are Americans who will do our part for our country in this time of need."^[36] This claim has been widely criticized by other Asian American public figures.^[37] David Inoue, Executive Director of the Japanese American Citizens League, accused Yang of "blaming the victim" and "fail[ing] to recognize the fundamental reality of the racism that leads to hate crimes" in his public letter^[38] also on Washington Post. Vox columnist Li Zhou suggested that Yang's comment "embody respectability politics" and "places the pressure for combating racism on people of color".^[39]