October 28, 2020
Earlier this year, Montreal Chinatown’s iconic gates and other landmarks in the area were damaged after the community was unjustly blamed for the coronavirus pandemic, according to Global News.
A second wave of violence and hatred has just pushed some community leaders and business owners over the edge.
Many members of the Chinese community in Montreal are scared and looking for more police protection following the unexplained rise in vandalism and break-ins in a supposedly liberal country like Canada.
“We had a couple of break-ins in the month of August,” said JC Spa owner Eileen Hu. Her second-floor spa on De La Gauchetière Street has been the target of three robberies and one attempted break-in, reports Global News.
While the current wave of break-ins only resulted in petty theft, business owners are becoming more agitated. “We felt very targeted; the employees were extremely frightened,” Hu continued to explain.
According to leaders in the Montreal Asian community, the second-wave of vandalism and break-ins are a direct result of restaurants and bars being forced to close earlier this month.
“Since the pandemic, we are facing lots of racism against the Chinese community,” said director of Chinese Family Services of Greater Montreal Xixi Li, adding six stores at Place du Quartier, a Chinatown shopping mall, sustained broken windows and minor damage despite having a security staff present and CCTV on site.
Canada’s rise in anti-Asian violence is hard to explain. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not directly blame China or the Chinese people for the pandemic. In the United States of America, all violence toward Asian-Americans is President Trump’s fault. By that logic, Prime Minister Trudeau must be transmitting some kind of low-key, passive-aggressive racism toward Asian Canadians for the people to be acting up like that.
According to Global News, only three police reports have been filed with the local station 21 regarding racial incidents in Chinatown since March. Community leaders suspect many incidents have gone unreported.
“Right now Chinatown is having a difficult time to survive and on top of the vandalism that’s going on people are scared,” stated Chan Association of Montreal president Jimmy Chan.
“We already have to deal with difficulties with the pandemic, all the restaurants close down people are losing their job, and we do not need extra stress,” Chan continued.
Montreal mayor Valerie Plante’s office issued the following statement late Monday afternoon, condemning the recent acts of violence.
“The acts of vandalism that have taken place in Chinatown are unacceptable. Now more than ever, we need to stand and work together fight racism and support local businesses,” the statement read.
“The Chinese community contributes to Montreal’s resilience, its culture and is integral to the richness of our metropolis. We are in communication with the SPVM, who work with the Ville-Marie borough to implement appropriate measures and ensure public safety.”
Feature Image via Global News