A Korean-American woman was killed in her home last Sunday, sparking a new wave of anger in the country, as anti-Asian racism has risen sharply since the start of the pandemic.
“That is the definition of a horrific crime. We stand with the Asian community today,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said on Sunday. A few hours earlier, a Korean American, Christina Yuna Lee, 35, was found dead in her bathroom at her home in Chinatown. The first elements of the investigation revealed that this resident of New York, who worked in a local music platform, was stabbed at least 40 times. The suspect, 25-year-old Assamad Nash, allegedly followed her home as she returned home at night. At the man’s arraignment Monday night, prosecutors said the attack was sexually motivated. However, they are continuing to investigate whether the victim’s origins played a role in this crime. The politicians, however, did not wait before denouncing a new racist attack, while anti-Asian hatred has been on the increase since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, indicates “USA Today”. Governor Kathy Hochul said, “We have seen too much violence against this community in New York in recent months. We need to make sure everyone is safe in our state.”
Christina Yuna Lee’s death comes just weeks after another Asian woman, Michelle Alyssa Go, died after being pushed in front of a subway train at Times Square station. The death of the latter also aroused strong reactions. A demonstration had even been organized to denounce the crimes against the Asian community. Christina Yuna Lee was herself a great advocate for this cause. Colleagues told the New York Post that she started working at their company the day a man killed several women at Asian massage parlors in Atlanta. She then explained to her new colleagues that she wanted to launch “work” within their music platform to make it more inclusive. “She hoped to start conversations about diversity and opportunities for creators from all walks of life in our company.”
To add to the amazement after this new crime, the former owner of the apartment where the victim lived told the “New York Post” that the memorial which had been erected in his honor in the street was vandalized during the night. Wednesday. “This morning the candles that we all lit for her during the vigil held in her honor and that we all left here were destroyed. The Stop Asian Hate sign has been torn down. A sign was torn. I threw it away,” commented Brian Chin.
Anti-Asian crimes on the rise
In early September, the FBI revealed new data showing that hate crimes against the Asian community had jumped 70% in the country in 2020 compared to 2019. This increase coincides with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which first exploded in China before affecting the whole world. At the time, Donald Trump had begun to call the disease a “Chinese virus”, blaming the Asian community and pushing this hatred on social networks in particular, according to a study by the University of California at San Francisco. .
Then, in early February, the Manhattan district attorney announced that his team was working on the highest number of crimes against people of Asian descent since a special unit was established more than a decade ago. His announcement came a day after a South Korean diplomat was attacked in the city. “Unfortunately, our office is currently investigating 33 racial hate crime cases motivated by anti-Asian bias, the most (highest number) we have had since our racial crimes unit was established in 2010” , said Alvin Bragg. It added that it had prosecuted “nearly four times more anti-Asian hate crimes” in 2021 compared to the previous year.
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