Controversial US Senator Kamala Harris and a group of other Democratic senators have introduced a resolution condemning of the use of terms such as “Chinese Virus” or “Wuhan Virus” to describe Novel Coronavirus describing it as racist.
According to the reports, Harris, who failed to win the Democratic party nomination to take on President Donald Trump in the November presidential race, has introduced the bill on behalf of a number of Democrats which calls on all public officials to condemn “all manifestations or expressions of racism, xenophobia, discrimination, anti-Asian sentiment, scapegoating, and ethnic or religious intolerance”.
Investigate hate crimes against Asians
The resolution also called to expeditiously investigate and document all credible reports of hate crimes, incidents and threats against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in the United States. The resolution also called the US to “recommit” to building an inclusive society by prioritizing language access and inclusivity in communication practices.
The resolution claims a study found that over 400 cases of anti-Asian discrimination related to coronavirus have occurred in the United States between February 7 and March 9.
The resolution specifically cited the use of phrases such as “Wuhan virus”, “Chinese virus” and “Kung-flu”. Harris’s resolution was also endorsed by other Democratic senators Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.
Republicans blame China for the global epidemic
The democratic party’s attempt to absolve China of its crimes by bringing a resolution comes at a time when Republicans have sought to hold China accountable for withholding information in the early days of coronavirus. US President Donald Trump has been at the forefront of holding Chinese responsible for the global epidemic coronavirus. President Trump has time-and-again blamed the communist country China for its deliberate act of withholding information regarding the spread of the pandemic.
Trump has in the past called coronavirus as “Chinese Virus” soon after rumours began circulating among Chinese officials that coronavirus found its origin in the US Army. The US President has also rejected objections from the media that the term might be “racist”.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Josh Hawley has introduced a bill that would allow Americans to sue the Chinese government over its coronavirus handing. “They suppressed the evidence. They suppressed the doctors. They jailed the doctors even. And now we’re dealing with this terrible disease,” the senator said.
He added, “So the victims of this disease in our country ought to be able to go to our courts and sue the Chinese government to hold them accountable and to get damages for it.”
