August 9, 2021 — In a program presented by Asia Society Northern California in partnership with several consulates general of Asian countries in San Francisco, politicians and government officials discuss paths forward to combat Asian hate and assess ways different communities can work together.

Toru Maeda, Consul General of Japan in San Francisco and Neil Frank Ferrer, Consul General of the Republic of the Philippines in San Francisco, issued welcoming remarks. The program also included a written message from California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis as well as a video message from Rob Bonta, Attorney General of the State of California.

Margaret Conley, Executive Director of Asia Society Northern California, moderated a discussion with three California Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus Members: California State Senator Dave Min, 37th Senate District; California State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, 66th Assembly District; and California State Assemblymember Phil Ting, 19th Assembly District. One topic of discussion was California Assembly Bill 557, which proposes the establishment of a toll-free, state-wide hotline and portal to report hate crimes.

T.V. Nagendra Prasad, Consul General of India in San Francisco; Wang Donghua, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco; and Sangsoo Yoon, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco  also made brief remarks. Lulu Wang, Asia Society Board Vice Chair and CEO of Tupelo Capital Management LLC, made closing remarks. (1 hr., 18 min.)

In The Press:
AS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA forum with eight Consul Generals and state and local officials about ways to combat racism and violence against Asian Americans the subject of a feature story in China Daily:
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202108/11/WS61133398a310efa1bd6681ba.html