Anti-Asian racism locally and abroad condemned by regional Chair Karen Redman

Region of Waterloo Chair Karen Redman says regional officials are both saddened by a recent shooting in the U.S. that left eight people dead, most of them women of Asian descent,and troubled by a rise in anti-Asian language and violence amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The increased racist language from the onset of this pandemic with the virus being labelled a China virus ... has been incredibly damaging," said Redman during a pandemic media briefing Friday.

"We have seen this here in Waterloo region, as well, with some individuals being subject to racist comments on social media and emails containing inappropriate and abusive language."

On Tuesday night, awhite gunman killed eight peoplein Atlanta, including six Asian women.

Police have said the suspect in the shootings, Robert Aaron Long, 21, told them his actions were not racially motivated. But for Asian communities that have experienced an uptick in hate since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the violence is yet another painful blow.

Justin Kong, executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council's (CCNC) Toronto Chapter, said "the pandemic has seen an intensification of anti-Asianracism."

While incidents of anti-Asian racism are nothing new, he said, COVID-19 and the blame on China as the suspected origin of the virushas escalated that racism to a "frenzy."

During her remarks Friday, Redman saidanti-Asian violence is linked to White supremacy, xenophobia and imperialism.

Redman said long-standing issues of racism and inequality have been exacerbated by the pandemicand that the region hopes to identify and address these issues.

"The most important thing is to continue this advocacy beyond the pandemic by continuing to support racialized communities and making them visible outside of the conversations around COVID-19," she said.