Nearly 75% of Chinese Americans experienced racial discrimination in past year, survey reveals
By Ana Yoo
May 3, 2023
A recent study has revealed that nearly 75% of Chinese Americans have experienced some form of racial discrimination at least once in the past year.
Around 6,500 individuals aged 18 and over across 46 states participated in the “State of Chinese Americans Survey,” which was conducted by Columbia University’s School of Social Work and Committee of 100, a nonprofit made up of Chinese American leaders in business, government, academia and the arts.
The participants’ data was analyzed in order to look at the health, economic and sociopolitical conditions of today’s Chinese American population.
The survey questionnaire consisted of 77 questions across various categories, including demographics, racial and cultural background, health, economic activities and insecurity, social engagement and political engagement.
While almost three-fourths of the participants said they perceive themselves to be an accepted part of American society, around 74% of all participants shared that they experienced some form of racial discrimination in the past 12 months.
Additionally, two out of three of these participants reported having safety concerns related to hate crimes or harassment, and almost half of them said that they have been treated with less respect than others.
Furthermore, over a quarter reported having been a victim of bias or hate incidents, which include being physically intimidated or assaulted, experiencing damage or vandalism to property and receiving racial slurs.
The survey, whose goal is to “showcase the demographic, economic, health, sociopolitical, and other characteristics and dynamics of the Chinese American population,” is reportedly the first and largest project of its kind to gather wide-ranging data on Chinese Americans.
Over 100 Chinese American and allied organizations across the nation supported the project and shared the survey in English, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese to reach more community members.
Columbia University’s School of Social Work and the Committee of 100 hope that the results of their survey will help show the opinions and needs of Chinese Americans to both policymakers and the public, as well as “develop timely and responsive policies, programs, and services to address those needs.”
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