By CBC News |
Saying he was angry after hearing about recent incidents of hate crimes directed against people of Asian descent, Premier John Horgan implored British Columbians to stand together against racism on Wednesday.
“Hate has no place in British Columbia. Period,” the premier stated during a news conference to announce the province’s next moves in the pandemic.
“If we’re going to get through this, we have to stop finger pointing. Put our differences aside and work together to get it done.”
The Vancouver Police Department said 20 anti-Asian hate crimes have been reported to police so far this year. In comparison, there were 12 anti-Asian hate crimes reported in all of 2019.
Some of the incidents include offensive graffiti on the Chinese Cultural Centre, a verbal and physical assault on an elderly man in a convenience store and another assault on an Asian woman on Granville Street.
Doris Chow, a longtime volunteer in Vancouver’s Chinatown, says she’s experienced four or five racist incidents since January.
In one case, she was walking with a friend and a passerby directed racial slurs and derogatory remarks at them.
“It was very obvious that it was directed at us, and very obvious that it was because we were Asian,” Chow said.