Chinese Americans hold first anti-violence protest with guns
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Chinese Americans rally against violence in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 15, 2016. [Photo: CRIonline]

Some 2,000 Chinese Americans from eastern United States paraded in Philadelphia on Saturday to protest against violence, with about 50 people carrying guns.

It was the first time Chinese Americans have protested with guns.

The rally was a reaction to increasing violence against Chinese Americans as well as a rap song explaining how to target and rob Chinese people.

African American rapper YG's 2014 music video "Meet the Flockers" showed burglars wearing bandanas breaking into a home with a picture of an Asian American family of four sitting at the table.

The lyrics says 'First, you find a house and scope it out...find a Chinese neighborhood, cause they don't believe in bank accounts'.

The music video has been viewed more than 400,000 times on YouTube during the last two years.

Protesters walked from the city hall to Chinatown on Saturday before a show of YG's East Coast concert tour in Philadelphia, calling out against crime and violence.

A Chinese American surnamed Huang joined the rally as he had experienced break-in theft twice. He said the music video had brought his nightmares back.

"The song teaches African Americans to target Chinese," said Huang. "I'm afraid that more and more young African Americans would conduct crimes because of this song."

Li Ran, one of the organizers of the rally who held guns, said they have two purposes. "The first one is telling those who want to target Chinese that we are armed and we are firmly against crimes targeting Chinese. The second one is telling Chinese that, as law-abiding citizens, we can use legal measures to protect ourselves," said Li.

Many Americans, both African and Caucasians supported the rally, said Li.

All the guns in the rally had yellow flags on them, showing that they were unloaded. "It showed we carry guns to defend ourselves, not against violence by violence," said Hua Qiang, a Chinese American lawyer from south California.

According to Hua, crimes targeting Chinese descents have been increasing in the US lately. There have been nearly 100 criminal robbery cases targeting Chinese in the Greater Philadelphia area this year, and there are also many such cases in other areas in the US, said Hua.

A petition to ban "Meet the Flockers" sent to the White House has attracted more than 100,000 signatures, reaching a number that requires a response from the White House.

Reports and complaints have also been sent to YouTube and its holding company Google, urging to censor the song and delete it from the website.

 

Author： 　　　Source：CRI　　　 Editor：Yang Fan