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White House press secretary Jen Psaki is accused of peddling lies promoted by the Chinese Communist Party and its state-run propaganda media outlets.
Psaki falsely claimed that a spike in violence against Asians in the U.S. is fueled by “hate-filled rhetoric” about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
This is a baseless claim that has been repeatedly debunked. A Wall Street Journal investigation found that fake social media accounts driven by the Chinese government are pushing this lie to undermine the plausible “lab-leak” theory.
There is a rise in anti-Asian violence in the US during the pandemic, but its occurring largely in blue-state cities.
For example, the two most recent incidents of violent crime against Asians were both in New York City and committed by career criminals with long rap sheets that stretch long before the pandemic.
The attack against Christina Lee, who was the Asian woman stabbed to death in her Chinatown apartment building in New York last week, was allegedly carried out by Assamad Nash, who had 27 prior criminal counts.
Prosecutors called it a “sexually motivated” crime. It had nothing to do with speculation about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
The attack against Michelle Alyssa Go, who was the Asian woman murdered by being pushed in front on a train, was carried otu by a disturbed homeless man with prior arrests.
Again, the motivation was not speculation about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Free Beacon reports “there is little to no evidence that resentment over China’s role in the coronavirus pandemic is responsible for the surge in violence against Asians.”
Ignoring the facts, Psaki said, “We’ve seen this rise, unfortunately, because of hate-filled rhetoric and language around the origins of the pandemic.”
She was responding from the briefing room to a question on the 339 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes since Joe Biden took office.
More on this story via Free Beacon:
Psaki is not the first to push the unsubstantiated link between speculation about how the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, and violence toward Asians. Allegations of that unfounded link grew to a fever pitch last spring and were trumpeted during #StopAsianHate rallies across the country.
The effort was amplified by English-language Chinese propaganda outlets such as China Daily. In April, the state-run paper highlighted that “protesters denouncing racism against Asians have again filled the streets in Manhattan as New York sees some of the most sustained agitation in the United States for a stronger response to hate crimes that have become more frequent during the coronavirus pandemic.” China’s Global Times that same month wrote that “racism runs deep in the heart of quite a few Americans” and linked the uptick in violence to making China the “scapegoat” for the coronavirus…
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The surge in attacks also came after the election of President Joe Biden, who has declined to pin blame on the Chinese for the coronavirus. Psaki said Biden remains focused on taking action to stop violence against Asians.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Psaki’s remark and the Chinese propaganda effort.
