BC Premier "angry" about recent incidents targeting Asian population

May 7 2020, 3:33 pm

After Vancouver police said earlier this week they are seeking a suspect who punched an Asian woman and knocked her to the ground in an unprovoked assault, as well as looking for a person who defaced the Chinese Cultural Centre in Vancouver with racist graffiti, BC Premier John Horgan said on Wednesday that “hate has no place in British Columbia. Period.”

Horgan made the comments while laying out the province’s restart plan, during a press conference on Wednesday.

Horgan said that when he heard of the two incidents that had taken place, he was angry.

“We need to stand together united against that type of racism whenever we see it,” he said. “COVID-19 does not discriminate. British Columbians should not discriminate either.”

If we’re going to get through this, Horgan continued, “we have to stop finger-pointing, put our difference aside, and work together to get it done.”

Horgan’s comments come after Vancouver police said this week they are looking to identify a suspect who allegedly assaulted an Asian woman in downtown Vancouver last month.

According to police, the suspect approached the victim at a bus stop near Granville and West Pender Streets. He then punched her in the face and fled on a transit bus.

Last week, Vancouver police said they are asking for the public’s help are in identifying a suspect, after several large windows at the Chinese Cultural Centre were defaced with what they describe as hateful graffiti on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside last month.

“It’s disheartening to report that these types of crimes are ongoing during the pandemic,” said VPD Const. Tania Visintin. “Our department takes crimes with such hate attached extremely seriously.”

ADVERTISEMENT