Zhao Xiaolan: Asian Americans should be respected not to bear the insults of racist speech

Source: China Overseas Chinese Network

According to a comprehensive report by the US "World Journal" on May 17, former US Secretary of Transportation Zhao Xiaolan publicly wrote an article on the 14th, starting from the hate email he received with the headline "Chinese women, get back to China", denouncing anti-Asian prejudice hatred and the outbreak of deadly violence. She also mentioned that she was born in Taiwan, and her family immigrated to practice the American Dream, but her ethnic traditions were often questioned.

In the article, published in USA Today, titled "Asian Americans deserve to be respected, not to suffer insults such as 'roll back to China,'" Zhao emphasized that Asian Pacific Americans are an integral part of the United States and deserve greater visibility and be heard.

A former secretary of labor and transportation, Ms. Zhao is the first Asian-American woman in the United States to be appointed to the president's cabinet and the longest-serving cabinet member since World War II.

Her article began, "On a beautiful spring day, my day began with a cup of coffee, birdsong outside the kitchen window, and a hate email titled 'Chinese Woman, Get Back to China.'" We are Americans. I was born in Taiwan, came to the United States at the age of eight, and became a citizen at the age of 19. And such a letter is not the first time, nor will it be the last. ”

She said that since the outbreak, anti-Asian bigotry and deadly violence have increased dramatically, and "even I am not immune from these malicious attacks, false statements and accusations of disloyalty to the United States." Every time my husband (Senator Mitch McConnell) took office, the opposition went against us by questioning my ethnic heritage without hesitation; even the media made baseless attacks on me and my family. ”

Zhao Xiaolan said that compared with Asians who have become scapegoats for the epidemic and continue to face physical and mental threats in the United States, her experience is only a small witch. Heartbreakingly, May is "Asia Pacific American Heritage Month," and the United States deserves to celebrate the achievements and contributions of the Asian Pacific American community.

Zhao Xiaolan recalled that when her father got the opportunity to study abroad, he went to the United States to practice the American dream. The father, who had no money to let his pregnant wife travel with his two daughters, went to the United States alone, and it took three years for the family to be reunited in the United States, "The first few years were difficult; we didn't speak English, and we lived in a small one-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York City." But my parents had faith in America as a land of opportunity. This is the common dream of millions of Americans. ”

Zhao Xiaolan said that Asia-Pacific Americans account for 7% of the U.S. population, and although there is insufficient ink in U.S. history books, AAPI has been an integral part of the United States for hundreds of years. She writes that the Asia-Pacific American community has become more aware of the need to be seen and heard more.

She said she would personally strive to secure more opportunities for Asian Pacific Americans. (Hu Yuli)