社評0618 四十年後陳果仁事件之省思

四十年後陳果仁事件之省思

四十年前住在密西根州汦特律市附近的華裔陳果仁被兩名白人汽車工人用捧球棍追打致死， 四十年後的今天亞裔美國人仍然處於憂慮及不安之中。

當陳果仁遇害時， 正值日本汽車製造商崛起和美国汽車業在崩潰之中 ，因而助長了反亞裔情緒， 隨著時間之推移 ，陳果仁事件已被逐漸淡忘。

如今， 由于疫情 中美關係破裂， 全美各地反亞裔事件激增之中， 此時此刻全美亞裔社區是吸取教訓和反省之時刻了。

當疫情開始之時 前總統川普等人反覆使用“中國病毒”“功夫流感”等不當詞彙 ，這些行為助長了對亞裔尤其是華裔之仇恨行徑， 這和四十年前陳果仁事件之氛圍十分相似。

最近在底特律地區的華亞裔社團將舉辦為期四天之系列活動，包括音樂、 電影及宗教儀式 ，以喚起人們對陳果仁事件之教訓。

今天亞裔在美國之移民人數還在不斷增加， 雖然我們在事業成就上令人括目相看， 但是我們在政治地位上仍然十分脆弱， 而且團結力量不夠。

我們要再度呼籲 ，亞裔社區應大力加強組織以爭取民權公平正義之全國性團體， 學習黑人 、猶太人之民權組織， 可以動員全國各大小城市之力量來維護我們應有之權利。

Vincent Chin Tragedy Forty Years Later

40 years ago, a Chinese American, Vincent Chin, was beaten to death with a baseball bat after being pursued by two white auto workers in 1982.

                                                                                                                                            The tragedy happened at the time of the rise of Japanese carmakers and the collapse of the Detroit auto industry that had contributed to a rise in anti-Asian racism.

Today with the 40th anniversary of the killing of Vincent Chin approaching this month, the surge in anti-Asian violence is a very big worry in the Asian community.

Since Covid-19 was first detected in China two and a half years ago, President Trump used terms like “Chinese Virus” and “Kung Flu” to describe the pathogen that started the pandemic, Asian Americans have been living daily with an increasing fear of racism.

The Chinese-American community in Detroit will host a series of activities, including music, movies and religious services to teach people the lesson that should be learned from the Vincent Chin tragedy.

We would like to once again call on the Asian community to vigorously support the national groups that strive for civil rights and justice. Learning from the African-American and Jewish civil rights organizations can help us to mobilize and strengthen the whole nation.

History cannot be forgotten. The Vincent Chin tragedy is a case we all should remember.