Amanpour and Company

>> WHEN I FIRST INTRODUCED THIS BILL I COULDN'T GET A SINGLE REPUBLICAN TO SPONSOR IT, HOWEVER, WE WERE ALL WATCHING THE NEWS AND WATCHING ASIAN WOMEN AND ASIAN PEOPLE, PACIFIC ISLANDERS BEING KICKED, BEING SLAPPED, BEING SLASHED. ALL OF THAT. YOU COULD NOT HELP BUT RECOGNIZE THIS IS HAPPENING IN OUR COUNTRY, EVERY SINGLE STATE INCLUDING THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, SO AS WE PUT THIS BILL TO THE FLOOR, AND I CAN THANK CHUCK SCHUMER FOR REALLY FAST TRACKING THIS BILL, THERE GRUESOME DISCUSSION AROUND IT. I THINK THE REPUBLICANS DECIDED PERHAPS THEY SHOULD BE ON BOARD, TOO. BUT IT TOOK SOME TIME. NEGOTIATIONS PARTICULARLY BETWEEN ME AND SUSAN COLLINS, WHICH I REALLY WELCOMED TO GET THIS BILL ON THE FLOOR, WE HAD TO FEND OFF SOME DAMAGING AMENDMENTS AND ULTIMATELY EVERYONE BUT ONE REPUBLICAN WHO WERE PRESENT THAT DAY VOTED FOR THE BILL. >> YEAH, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M NOT EVEN SURE IT'S WORTH REALLY SORT OF TALKING ABOUT THAT ONE BECAUSE IT'S SUCH AN ABSOLUTE MINORITY. SO THE REAL ISSUE AND THE FACT IS THAT YOU HAVE WON THIS BATTLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. YOU KNOW THIS. 81% OF ASIAN-AMERICANS SAY VIOLENCE AGAINST THEM IS RISING IN THE UNITED STATES. THAT'S ACCORDING TO PEW. THE NUMBER OF HATE CRIMES INCREASED BY 150% IN 2020. THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE CAL STATE UNIVERSITY. THE GROUP STOP AAPI HATE GOT ALMOST 4,000 REPORTS OF THESE INCIDENTS JUST SINCE MARCH. OF COURSE, LEADERS IN MANY ASIAN COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, VOICING THEIR CONSTERNATION AND THEIR CONCERN ABOUT THIS. DO YOU HAVE ANY PARTICULAR SINGLE THEORY ABOUT WHY THIS HAS EXPLODED TO THIS LEVEL RIGHT NOW? >> START WITH THE FACT THAT RACISM IS NEVER FAR BELOW THE SURFACE. THE AAPI COMMUNITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN VIEWED AS THE OTHER, THE PERPETUAL FOREIGNERS SO YOU HAVE SOME LAWS, SUCH AS THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT BEING PASSED IN OUR COUNTRY, YOU HAVE THE INTERNMENT OF 120,000 ASIAN-AMERICANS DURING WORLD WAR II. WE HAVE THE MUSLIM BAN AND OF COURSE THIS -- THERE IS A SYSTEMIC RACISM AGAINST THE BLACK COMMUNITY, BUT THE ASIAN COMMUNITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEEN AS INVISIBLE.