House Passes Resolution Condemning ‘Anti-Asian Sentiment’ Relating to COVID-19

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of cell (green) heavily infected with COVID-19 particles (purple), commonly known as SARS-CoV-2 or novel CCP virus, isolated from a patient sample on March 16, 2020. (NIAID)

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a resolution condemning anti-Asian sentiment.

“Since this pandemic began, there have been thousands and thousands of reports of discrimination and xenophobic attacks against Asian Americans in the united states, including in my district, which has one of the highest conservations of Asian Americans in the country,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said on the House floor in Washington before the vote. “As an Asian American myself, this is deeply personal and offensive to me.”

People who call the new coronavirus the Chinese virus “encourage bigotry and discrimination against Asian Americans,” he continued, adding, “To put it simply, promoting anti-Asian American sentiment or anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19 is un-American, which is why I am proud to co-sponsor this resolution and encourage my colleagues to vote yes.”

The Epoch Times refers to the coronavirus as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The virus causes the COVID-19 disease.

Introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), H.R. Res. 908 states that the 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders account for 7 percent of America’s population, and that some 2 million of them are working on the front lines in jobs in hospitals and elsewhere.

The use of terms like “Chinese virus” and “Wuhan virus” “have perpetuated anti-Asian stigma,” the resolution states, citing a study that found over 400 cases of anti-Asian discrimination between Feb. 9 and March 7.

The CCP virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan, a city in China’s Hubei province.

The resolution called on public officials to denounce and condemn all anti-Asian sentiment and for law enforcement to hold people who commit crimes against Asian-Americans accountable.

The House passed the resolution 243-164.

Many Republicans voted against it.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told colleagues before the vote: “We oppose this legislation. Everyone knows racism is wrong but that’s not what this legislation is about.”

He yielded to Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), who said “there’s no denying where the virus originated—it was China.”

“There’s no denying the Chinese Communist Party has done everything in its power to cover up their role in the pandemic,” he added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) supported the resolution, speaking on the floor before its approval.

“Sadly this bigotry is being fueled by some in Washington, and you would think, I thought this would be almost unanimous consent to condemn violence against Asian Americans,” she said. Even from the White House itself, which uses dangerous, false, and offensive terms to describe the coronavirus.”