Image: Aly Song / Reuters

Hate Crimes Against Chinese Increase as the UK Mourns with Coronavirus Deaths

The Coronavirus pandemic originated in Wuhan, Hubei province of China during December. Ever since the Chinese people have been facing racial discrimination in the UK which has skyrocketed recently.

More than 250 offenses against the Chinese people have been reported from January to March of 2020. Since the Coronavirus deaths are getting out of hand, hate crimes such as harassment, bullying, assaulting, and robberies are being reported every other day by the Chinese residents of the UK.

The victims have been verbally abused and blamed for the coronavirus pandemic which has affected millions of lives globally. After the first case of COVID-19 was reported in China, the victims have been harassed and spat on in the streets numerous times.

The racial crimes against the Chinese people have multiplied thrice since the outbreak than the past two years. While the economy is on the verge of crashing and coronavirus deaths are increasing exponentially, frustrated locals are targeting the Chinese community more frequently.

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The Chinese nursing students in the UK have been facing discrimination from their colleagues and some patients while being repeatedly told to go back to their country with their virus. It is also reported that the students are going through great mental stress as they are unable to talk about it to anyone.

The police have also revealed that not only the Chinese people have been the victim of these offenses but people of South Asian origin are also facing discrimination.

The Metropolitan Police which is the biggest British force has been reported more than 60 racial abuse offenses in the first three months of 2020. It was reported in Merseyside where an offender punched a victim in the face, took his mask, and ran away.

Around 50 hate crimes have been recorded by the British Transport Police against victims who ethnically appear as South Asian, Chinese, or Japanese in the span of three months from January to March which is equal to the hate crimes recorded in the entire previous year.

The police forces do not always record the ethnic origin of the victim due to which the reported cases are not as high as the actual number of crimes.

Numerous police forces including the Police Scotland, Greater Manchester Police, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland have not yet revealed the reported cases due to which it is expected that the actual number of offenses is way higher.

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Jonathan Mok, a Singaporean student was attacked in London’s Oxford Street and punched in the face repeatedly which caused him terrible injuries that he showed in the pictures he posted online.

According to the latest data provided by the government, there are more than 400,000 Chinese residents in England and Wales alone. The first COVID-19 case was reported in February in the UK and till now there have been more than 28,000 coronavirus deaths in the country.

It has been made strictly clear by the national police as well as the court that such racial crimes will not be tolerated and the community’s victim to these offenses will be supported against the targeted abuse. This rise in racial offenses has been credited towards the chaotic situation all over the country where the increase in coronavirus deaths is affecting millions of lives every day.