Since the start of the pandemic, the Metropolitan Police found that Asian hate crime has risen three-fold. However, many incidents stay unreported due to feelings of hopelessness, the normalisation of hate, a distrust of law enforcement, and inaccessibility of reporting.
To find out more, we had the valuable opportunity to speak to singer-songwriter and activist, Jason Kwan (he/they), to learn about his experiences as an Asian queer, non-binary person, and how active bystanders can play a vital role in both combatting discrimination and celebrating Asian joy.
Note: This article discusses racially motivated hate crimes.
In March 2021, Jason published a series of TikTok's discussing their personal experience of Asian hate. In these videos, Jason speaks about having first experienced Asian hate at the age of fourteen after moving from Hong Kong to the UK. Whilst Asian hate crime is clearly not a new phenomenon, for Jason the significant rise in hate incidents since the start of the pandemic led him to speak out. His hope was that by releasing these videos, people would be encouraged to “stand up to racism and be an active bystander.” He says, “Even before COVID really hit the UK, there was already so much racist language around the disease. The message was that we were diseased as people. It became more than just ‘COVID is a sickness’, it became a cultural thing.”
When asked about whether enough has been done to tackle Asian hate, Jason answers by sharing a personal experience from the pandemic: “I had a person come up and try to fight me because I was East Asian. Following verbal abuse, he swung at me, I ducked, and I ran out of the train carriage before breaking down, crying.”
These horrible stereotypes were exacerbated through the media and by people wanting to blame someone for what is happening in the world - we were seen as easy targets.
Unfortunately, with London accounting for a quarter of all UK hate crimes in 2020, this experience is unsurprising in the context of COVID-fuelled racism. However, Jason is clear that this rise did not occur in a vacuum, but rather represents the ubiquitous role of the media. “These horrible stereotypes were exacerbated through the media and by people wanting to blame someone for what is happening in the world – we were seen as easy targets. […] We looked at the number of articles talking about COVID, and the image was always of an East Asian person wearing a mask. This was a ‘Chinese disease’, a ‘Chinese virus’. When Trump called it the ‘Chinese virus’, the UK press didn’t do anything to suppress that; this then led directly to violence.” And, of course, they aren't wrong; 56% of Britons were found to blame China for the pandemic. "Before, during, and after lockdown a lot of my Asian friends experienced micro-aggressions and outright racism. People were actively discriminating against East Asian faces. Over here, everyone just generalises all East Asians as Chinese; all East Asians were treated the same in that way.”
When considering whether their queer identity played a role in the attack he experienced on the tube, Jason reflects that since he was wearing ‘straight-passing’ clothes, he “knew that this was provoked by [his] face.” However, it’s clear from our discussion that Jason’s queer identity and their ethnicity often intersect.
“Everywhere I go I’m making a political statement because I am being myself. I realise that I’m the only ‘this’ or the only ‘that' – queer, non-binary, East Asian. As someone who is femme presenting most of the time, and East Asian presenting all the time, I have a lot of presumptions put on me and I have to work to undo them. […] I often have to adapt the way that I express myself and code switch between the language I use, what I chose to wear, my mannerisms, my gender expression; I feel like I have to monitor it. It can be very tiring.”
So, what can be done?
Throughout our conversation, Jason makes it clear that it doesn’t have to be this way – we can all take action to support marginalised members of our communities. When asked what he would say to someone witnessing Asian hate, Jason says, “It’s one thing to have the bravery to speak up about your experiences, but it’s another thing to be ignored. Consequently, the worst thing you can do is do nothing. By doing that you’re only reinforcing that that was okay.”
“People need to ask themselves when you see situations like this, do you care? If you don’t know what to do, then educate yourself on what you could do. Show solidarity and compassion.”
In terms of what this education might look like, Jason begins by highlighting that “everyone, when they see racism or discrimination, should do something about it, period.” Breaking down the practicalities of what that ‘something’ might look like, they first highlight that you should begin with your own safety and the safety of the other people involved. “If we’re talking about a physical situation and you don’t feel safe intervening in that space, then you shouldn’t. Sadly, we’re not superheroes. But, as much as you can, try to deescalate a situation by diverting attention and focus away from the aggressor and what they're trying to say or do. I would say that a safer thing to do is to delay before checking on the person who is being harassed/experiencing the racism and speak to them directly. Sometimes a helpful interaction can be something as gentle as eye contact and a smile; it does not have to be verbal.”
Moving online, Jason considers that, because you’re likely not facing immediate physical danger, it may be safer to directly intervene if you witness something. “You can definitely message a person, join in on the commenting thread – stand up and explain. This is where allyship should come into play. You use your education and knowledge to take off the burden of educating the person to support the person who is being harassed.”
“Often, I don’t have the energy to engage with people who are being racist online, and I do appreciate it when my non people of colour friends jump in. I’m already dealing with the emotional trauma. Allyship should always be active just like bystander should always be active.”
Our communities are rallying; even though we have experienced a lot of hardship, we are still finding so many things to be joyous about and grateful for.
As our conversation draws to a close, Jason pauses before adding one final comment. “In the last few years there has been such a rise in Asian hate crime, and then the intersection of Asian queer hate crime, I think the thing not to forget is that there has been a lot of Asian joy. Our communities are rallying; even though we have experienced a lot of hardship, we are still finding so many things to be joyous about and grateful for. And it’s important for allies to support our Asian joy.”
Want to learn more about how you can be an active bystander? Why not complete our online module and sign-up to one of our live workshops? Our Active Bystander Programme aims to give you, as a student, the knowledge and practical skills to be an Active Bystander in your community – that is, learning to be aware of others' behaviours and, when the behaviour is inappropriate, choosing to challenge it in a safe way.