People attend a rally against racism and violence on Asian Americans in Flushing of New York, the United States, March 27, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
China hopes that the United States could honor its commitment to protecting human rights and severely crack down on discrimination and hate violence against ethnic minorities including Asian Americans in the United States, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on an article published by the New York Times on the rising anti-Asian violence in the United States.

Zhao said recent years saw consistent increase in cases of hate crimes against ethnic minorities including Asian Americans in the United States, resulting in a lot of tragedies.

Especially since the outbreak of the pandemic, some politicians in the former U.S. administration have made overt and implied xenophobic remarks, used the name targeting a specific region or group of people to replace the name of novel coronavirus and spread false information and racist remarks, leading to systematic racial discrimination and hate crimes against Asian Americans, according to the spokesperson.

Racism exists in the United States in a comprehensive, systematic and consistent manner, said Zhao, adding that the white racists, neo-Nazis and members of the Ku Klux Klan openly use racist slogans, advocate white supremacy and incite racial discrimination and hatred.

In U.S. history, there was the genocide and massacre of native Indians, and U.S. law enforcement brutality has resulted in frequent cases of African American deaths, said Zhao, adding that social discrimination against ethnic minorities broadly exists, while racial discrimination is deeply rooted in U.S. workplaces.

China hopes that the United States could honor its commitment to protecting human rights, severely crack down on discrimination and hate violence against ethnic minorities including Asian Americans in the United States, effectively protect the rights of ethnic minorities, and take measures to free ethnic minorities from discrimination and hate crimes so they can no longer live in fear of violence.