Ep 132 | What to Do if You Are the Target of Asian Hate Part One

May 31, 2021

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

May is Asian heritage month and Talking Taiwan was one of over 100 organizations and groups that participated in United We Stand, the 42nd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, organized by CAPA the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans. Usually festival is a one-day outdoor event held in New York City, but this year it was run virtually online for the entire month of May.

As I thought about how Talking Taiwan could go beyond just being another virtual booth in the festival, and give back to the community, I realized that we could put together an online event simply by inviting some of our past guests, namely Suelain Moy, Steven Lee and Peter Yang Zhao for discussion and Q&A on the topic of: What to do if you are the target of Asian hate. And with the help of my friend Chris Chen, who’s a part of CAPA, the festival’s organizing committee, we added another panelist Chris Kwok, an attorney doing a lot of great work related to anti-Asian hate.

The event was held on May 17th and recorded. We are sharing it here in two parts. This is part one featuring a discussion with our panelists. Part two will be the Q&A discussion that followed.

Panelist bios: Christopher M. Kwok, is a mediator and arbitrator with JAMS, Board Director and Issues Committee Chair for the Asian American Bar Association of New York, and an Adjunct Professor at Hunter College/CUNY and New York City College of Technology/CUNY. Sergeant Steven Lee, is a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, a whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption, and Anti-Asian Hate Crime Activist. Suelain Moy, is a New York City mother, writer, journalist, author, and editor who wrote “The 16 Safety Guidelines for the Parents of Asian Children.” Peter Yang Zhao, is an Anti-Asian Hate Crime and Tourette Activist.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

United We Stand, the 42ndAnnual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, organized by CAPA the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans
Panelist Suelain Moy talks about an anti-Asian hate incident that happened to her and her son
Suelain’s practical tips for dealing with harassment on the street
How parents should talk to their kids about how to protect themselves
Where to report Asian hate incidents
When reporting a hate crime, what constitutes a hate crime
When reporting a crime it is important to mention all the details and speak up about what exactly happened
Why Asian hate crimes have been underreported
You don’t have to file a police report in the precinct where it happened
The anti-Asian hate incident that happened to panelist Peter Yang Zhao’s wife
Peter’s Tourette activism and mention that May 15-June 15 is Tourette’s Syndrome month
Why what happened to Peter’s wife was considered a criminal case
The difference between a criminal and civil case
How AALDEF does not offer personal direct legal services but does impact litigation
What is impact litigation
The MinKwon Center does offer personal direct legal services, but only in very specific areas
How the timing and prevalence of Asian hate crimes impacted how Peter’s wife’s case was handled
When filing a police report the perpetrator is given your information by the district attorney’s office within 48 hours, so it’s not necessary to give all of your personal information (e.g. address or date of birth), you can just give your first name and an email address
How Asians need to be more politically active and speak up