Man Harasses Group of Asians in Vancouver With Racist Anti-China Rant

June 11, 2020

A man in Vancouver, Canada was recently captured on film harassing a group of Asians with an anti-Chinese rant.

The man, who claims to be from Richmond, justified his racist rant by saying,“We’re frigging mad!”

What happened: Earlier this week, a group of friends were waiting for their lunch at the Vancouver Convention Center when a man approached them and started talking about his views on China and Chinese people. Among those who witnessed the appalling behavior was Facebook user Carol, who detailed how the incident took place and shared the video taken by her friend.

“We were just minding our own business at Waterfront waiting for lunch… It’s unfortunate we were picked on by this gentleman,” Chiu wrote in her caption.
She immediately told the man that none from her group was from China because she “wanted to shut down the conversation.”
Her friends started filming the encounter when it became apparent that the man would not be leaving them alone.
In the video, Chiu can be heard arguing: “But you understand, it’s a little bit sensitive right now when we are picked out just because we look Chinese.”
The man respond “We’re frigging mad… When the Chinese immigrate, that’s a conscious decision, right? They immigrate here, they learn English, right? They accept Canadian culture, and they act accordingly, right? They don’t change Richmond or wherever else they go into Little China.”
The man’s problematic view is further emphasized in his next lines: “We expect them to learn English, and we expect them to blend into the Canadian culture… They are no longer in shing ging or bing bing or ding ding – whatever you want to call it.”
The latter part of the clip showed a crowd of bystanders around the man as he continued to justify harassing total strangers with clearly offensive rhetoric, referring to how the Chinese community is culturally insensitive and how they “propagate” when they move to a new place: “I made my views known. This is a free country. We’re mad. We’re mad at China. We’re mad at the Chinese government.”
The man, who claimed that he’s a lawyer and a graduate from the University of McGill Law School, eventually walked away after the group asked for his name and the law firm he belonged to.

The aftermath: The video soon went viral and attracted varying opinions from social media users. Some condemned the man for invading their space and ranting on Chinese people, while others also criticized how the group handled the situation.

Chiu addressed the criticism by saying they merely reacted in “defense mode” in a bid to shut down the conversation as soon as possible.
“In retrospect, I should have just shut him down by telling him it is not okay to pick on people just because they look a certain race,” she wrote. “I will learn from this, and I will do better in the future.”
Chiu also thanked those who went out their way to help them, saying: “ It’s unfortunate we were picked on by this gentleman, but I’m thankful we had allies who chimed in to help us.”
She then encouraged others to speak up when faced with a similar situation: “Granted, the dude did not say anything racist to us… simply yelled at us cuz he was mad at the Chinese government…BUT whenever you see anything that’s discriminatory or racist or harassment, say something! be the solution! That’s the Canadian way!”
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, acts of racism against people of Asian heritage have increased in Canada’s largest cities.
In a later post, Chiu advised against harassing the man in retaliation for his actions.

Feature Image via Carol

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