Suspect in attack on 65-year-old Filipina woman to face New York judge

NEW YORK—A New York man charged with assaulting a 65-year-old Asian woman in a hate crime was scheduled to appear before a Manhattan Criminal Court judge on Monday, as community activists demonstrated outside.

Police have identified Brandon Elliot, 38, as the man seen in a video kicking the woman to the ground and then kicking her head several times on March 29 near Times Square in Manhattan.

Elliot, on lifetime parole after serving a prison term for murdering his mother, was arraigned last week on two charges of second-degree assault as a hate crime and one count of first-degree attempted assault as a hate crime.

He was arrested at his New York City residence on March 30, police said.

"This attack would not have happened if he was not released," said Phil Wong, president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York, in front of the courthouse.

The New York Times identified the victim as Vilma Kari, an immigrant from the Philippines, citing a law enforcement source. An NYPD spokesman declined to confirm her identity. According to the Times, Kari suffered a fractured pelvis.

Hate crimes reported against Asian Americans increased 149% in 2020 in 16 major U.S. cities compared with 2019, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump often referred to the coronavirus as the "China virus" and the "China plague."

Concern over such crimes was heightened when six Asian women were among eight people shot dead last month at Atlanta-area spas. A 21-year-old man was charged with the murders. Police have yet to determine a motive.

(Reporting by Roselle Chen; Editing by Richard Chang)

-reuters-

New York City deploying Asian undercover force to combat hate crimes

NEW YORK - New York City plans to deploy an all-Asian undercover police team and expand community outreach in more than 200 languages to combat a rise in hate crimes against Asians, authorities said on Thursday.

"If you are going to commit a hate crime in New York City, we will find you," New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in unveiling the two-pronged plan to fight bias crimes.

"We are not going to tolerate anyone being targeted because of the color of their skin, the religion they worship, their sexual preference or anything else," Shea said.

Just days after a spate of assaults on Asian-Americans in New York City last weekend, Shea said he was ramping up the NYPD's undercover force with plain-clothed officers, all of them of Asian descent. Starting this weekend, they will patrol subways, grocery stores and other locations to stem anti-Asian incidents that total 26 so far this year, including 12 assaults, police said.

"The next person you target through speech or menacing activity may be a plain-clothed New York police officer - so think twice," Shea said.

The 26 incidents so far have resulted in seven arrests, police said. Those incidents included 12 assaults so far this year, three of them last weekend, police said. By comparison, at this time last year, there were no assaults reported against Asian-Americans, police said.

Because hate crimes too often go unreported, now anyone dialing 911 can utter a single English word for their native language - such as Mandarin - and police operators will help access translators who speak more than 200 languages, police said.

Advocates tied the surge in hate crimes to blame that has been placed on the Asian-American Pacific Islander community for the coronavirus spread. The community reported a spike in violence since March 2020, when then-President Donald Trump started repeatedly referring to COVID-19 as the "China virus" and "kung flu," which some said inflamed anti-Asian sentiment.

Hate crimes against Asian Americans rose by 149% in 2020 in 16 major cities compared with 2019, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. Violent incidents included people being slashed with a box cutter, lit on fire and verbal harassment, according to testimony at a US congressional hearing on anti-Asian violence convened this month.

The most deadly incident was this month's shooting spree at three Atlanta area spas that left eight people dead, six of them Asian women. A 21-year-old white man has been charged with multiple counts of murder, and police investigating motives have not ruled out the possibility that the attacks were provoked, at least in part, by anti-immigrant or anti-Asian sentiments.

-reuters-

Asian Americans lead in Internet-based TV use, study shows

Asian Americans, more than any other group, are using digital devices and streaming services for their television viewing, according to a report made public Monday.

The Nielsen company study said that Asian Americans are becoming key consumers and influencers in entertainment and gaming.

And Asian Americans are proving to be more tech savvy as their purchasing power widens, the report found. They are leaving behind live TV for Internet-based viewing at nearly double the rate of the total U.S. population.

The survey titled “Engaging Asian American Consumers at the Dawn of a New Decade” looked at people who identified as being Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone or in combination with another race.


It found that about 82% of Asian Americans subscribe to at least one streaming service, compared to 72% of the total population.

According to Nielsen, Asian Americans believe streaming platforms are where they will see more representation of people like themselves on TV.

The report cited Netflix, whose programming includes Ken Jeong and Ali Wong’s comedy specials and the “Ugly Delicious” food show hosted by chef David Chang.

On gaming, the report found that Asian Americans are 14% more likely to own gaming consoles than other U.S, residents.

The U.S. Asian American population is the fastest-growing group of all major ethnic and racial groups among eligible U.S. voters, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. They make up more than 11 million, or nearly 5%, of the electorate.

Asian American spending surpassed $1 trillion in 2019, according to Nielsen. That figure is projected to reach $1.3 trillion in 2022.

AP

PH is 6th top source of Silicon Valley talent

MANILA – The Philippines is the sixth largest source of talent for the global tech companies in Silicon Valley.

An infographic posted on the Bloomberg BusinessWeek website last Thursday listed the top 100 sources of “imported talent,” from both U.S. states and foreign countries.

Mexico emerged as the top talent source for tech workers in Silicon Valley, followed by U.S. states Texas, Arizona, Washington and Illinois.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek noted that while a third of start-ups in Silicon Valley are founded by Indian Americans, the Philippines managed to beat India in the Top 100 list. India ranked ninth, trailing China at No. 7 and New York at No. 8.

The U.S. state of Florida rounded up the Top 10.

According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Asian Americans became the majority of the tech workforce in Silicon Valley for the first time in 2010.

In 2012, 51 percent of Silicon Valley’s population spoke a language other than English exclusively at home compared to only 21 percent in the whole of the United States, the magazine said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com