Andrew Yang condemns attacks against Asian Americans

New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang condemned the rise in violence against the Asian American community, noting that many Asian Americans feel “more at risk” than they have in years.

In a video published by The Associated Press on Friday, Yang detailed the measures he would take if elected mayor to ensure that Asian Americans feel safe in New York City.

“I would take the increase in anti-Asian violence very, very seriously,” Yang said. “I would fully fund the Asian Hate Crimes Task Force. It would not be a volunteer force. I would treat incidents as hate crimes when they, in my mind, clearly should be treated as hate crimes, and a number of incidents early in the pandemic were not treated as that.”

Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate, recalled a story he was told by a local Asian man who said he was attacked and punched after making eye contact with a person on the subway.

“Which is terrifying,” Yang said. “He said absolutely nothing to the person.”

Yang said recent incidents of violence have left the Asian American community on edge.

“Asian Americans feel targeted and more at risk than they ever have in my lifetime,” he said.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently denounced violence against Asian Americans and expressed her solidarity with the community.

“Our diversity is our strengths, our unity is our power. And we have unity on this subject,” Pelosi said last month.