- Zhang tried to escape when the group, whose members were aged about 16 or 17, started to punch him, leaving him with a broken nasal bone and septum.
- “I chased them out of the store to an intersection when some of them turned back, ready to hit me again. I backed off and told them I already called the police and ‘you can’t get away with this,’” he told Cambridgeshire Live. “They threw a can of drink at me and it hit my back. They again started to run away.”
- A passerby drove him to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Zhang has since required nasal surgery.
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- In the letter, which has garnered more than 1,000 signatures as of this writing, Zhang called on Zeichner to “unite and lead all the Asian students/residents, whether Chinese or Korean, Indian or Japanese, to combat the growing number of hate crimes towards Asians.”
- Zhang believes that the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit has exacerbated the violence against the Asian community and points to other hate crimes that have been committed recently around Cambridge students.
- “I was deeply shocked and saddened to learn of what happened and the injuries sustained because of the assault…I pledge to do what I can to help efforts in countering hatred in our city,” Zeichner said in a statement. “I am meeting the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Police very soon and will discuss with him how best we all can support Cambridge’s Asian community at this difficult time.”