By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent
The Committee of 100 today released a new study documenting the historic contributions of Chinese Americans despite racism and economic barriers.
The rise of anti-Asian hate since the onset of COVID-19 inspired the group of 100 influential Chinese Americans leaders to commission the report to tell the “untold story” of their community.
“Despite the fact we’ve been here almost two centuries, we’re seen as the perpetual foreigner,” said Zhengyu “Z” Huang, President of the Committee of 100, said to AsAmNews.
The report found one in five Chinese Americans during World War II, volunteered to serve in the U.S. military.
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Based on the number of Chinese restaurants alone, 45,000, Chinese food could be considered the national cuisine.
Yet as tensions increase between the US and China, Chinese Americans get caught in the political cross fire, the group explains. It condemns inflammatory rhetoric from political leaders which shifts blame on “people who are American citizens who happen just to look Chinese.”
In the last few years, federal investigators have taken an aggressive approach in weeding out economic espionage. The Committee of 100 believes Chinese Americans have been targeted and racially profiled in some of these cases. Incidents of non-disclosure which C100 says would normally be handled with fines or other penalties have been prosecuted as criminal offenses “under the guise of national security.”
The documented cases of anti-Chinese and anti-Asian sentiments and incidents numbered 3,000 in the early months of the pandemic. The Committee of 100 hopes the data and stories in its report will illustrate the contributions of Chinese Americans to all aspects of American life.
The report conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit found 1 in 10 Chinese American households lives below the poverty line.
One in 10 Chinese American households also have trouble speaking English, adjusting to life in the United States and getting educational opportunities.
Chinese Americans also make up 3 percent of the professional class, but make up less than 0.3 percent of those in board rooms.
“This study brings to the forefront the complexity of our lived experience as proud Chinese Americans and tells the untold stories of our community’s impact on-and continued struggles within American society, said H. Roger Wang, chair of Committee of 100.
The group hopes to seize on the historic moment inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement to look at the present and the future in the context of history. C100 believes our past explains both the now and their community’s future.
“It’s really not just about the contribution. It’s also About how we contributed despite the obstacles and the challenges,” Huang said to AsAmNews. “Now that is very important because we still face the perpetual foreigner stereotype. As you know, we still face the model minority stereotype, we still face the bamboo ceiling, right. So that is why it’s important for everyone to know that the contributions were made in spite of those challenges.”
The report found Chinese Americans founded or serve as c level executives in 20 of the Fortune 500 companies. Chinese Americans contribute about $240 billion in growth domestic product growth and employ about 1.3 million Americans.
Chinese American and Asian American culture have also become a part of the fabric of American culture. KPop remains popular with America’s youth. American audiences love watching kung fu movies and rom coms such as Crazy Rich Asians.
“People are beginning to realize that American culture itself, which for a very long time was seen as purely Western is actually better when it incorporates all these wonderful elements,” Huang said to AsAmNews.
“I do believe that this is one of those times that Chinese Americans and Asian Americans are waking up to the fact that we can create our own voice, we can create our own narrative. And by creating our own voice and our own narrative, we actually help enrich this country.”
You can download the full report here.
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Wow! Thank you AsAm for this article and making the report available to us! In the final editing of my book Red Altar that follows 3 generations of one Chinese family that started the fishing industry in 1850 in Monterey County, Ca. and how they survived the violence and legal racism, adding a list of contributions made by Chinese Americans was always going to be a part of my addendum. Thank you this committee and thank you AsAm.