US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted a Lunar New Year reception at the White House amid recent mass shootings in California targeting Asian Americans in particular.
Speaking in front of red fans with gold Chinese characters symbolizing good luck, Biden began with a prayer and a minute’s silence in memory of the victims.
He then welcomed the audience, which included Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
“Jill and I are honored to welcome you to the first Lunar New Year reception of this magnitude at the White House, in your home,” he said. “It’s your house.”
Biden drew attention to the “deep hatred, pain, violence and loss” the community has faced with an increase in hate crimes against Asians, fueled in part by inflammatory rhetoric related to the coronavirus pandemic. coronavirus.
Twenty-two million or 7% of the US population identify as Asian, including in combination with another racial or ethnic category. According to the Pew Research Center, they list more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia as well as the Indian subcontinent as their origin.
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