拜登签署《COVID-19仇恨犯罪法》

当地时间周四（5月20日），美国总统乔·拜登（Joe Biden）签署了《COVID-19仇恨犯罪法》（COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act），该法以罕见的两党几乎一致同意的投票结果在美国参众两院获得通过。

拜登对议员们说：“沉默是同谋（Silence is complicity），我们不能成为同谋，我们必须大声说出来，我们必须采取行动。” “我对你们所做的感激不尽。我为你们感到骄傲。”

4月，该法案在参议院以94-1的投票结果获得通过。本周二，以364-62的投票结果在众议院获得通过。

自去年新冠疫情爆发以来，针对亚裔美国人的暴力犯罪激增。

这项法案由民主党参议员Mazie Hirono和民主党代表Grace Meng联合发起。法案要求司法部指定专门官员对仇恨犯罪报告进行审查，以加快审理进程。法案还要求司法部和卫生与公共服务部门合作发布指导意见，以提高民众对仇恨犯罪的认识。同时，司法部需和地方执法机构合作，并帮助各地完善仇恨犯罪在线报告系统。该法案还将为州和地方执法机构举报仇恨犯罪、扩大公众教育发布指导，以打击歧视性语言。

详见本公众号5月18日文章

美国众议院对打击仇恨亚裔犯罪法案进行投票

卡马拉·哈里斯（Kamala Harris）是美国第一位女性副总统，也是第一位非洲裔和亚洲裔的副总统，她在签署仪式上表示：“感谢帮助通过《 COVID-19仇恨犯罪法》的美国国会议员，历史将铭记我们国家采取行动与仇恨作斗争的这一天和这一刻。”

Biden, saying 'silence is complicity,' signs COVID hate crimes bill into law

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that overwhelmingly passed Congress in a rare show of bipartisanship following a spate of high-profile attacks on Asian Americans in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Silence is complicity and we cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act," Biden told lawmakers. "That's what you've done. And I can't thank you enough. I'm proud today."

The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 94-1 in April and the House of Representatives by 364-62 earlier this month. Both chambers are narrowly controlled by Democrats.

Reports of violence against Asian Americans have spiked since the start of the pandemic last year. 

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono and Democratic Representative Grace Meng, designates a Justice Department employee to expedite a review of hate crimes reported to police during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It would also provide guidance for state and local law enforcement agencies to report hate crimes, expand public education campaigns and issue guidance to combat discriminatory language in describing the pandemic.

In a sign of the return toward normality since the start of the pandemic, the bill-signing ceremony marked the first time a large group publicly gathered unmasked inside the White House since the start of the Biden administration in January.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman, the first African American and the first person of Asian descent to hold the office, opened the ceremony by thanking lawmakers, many of whom were present, for their work.

"To the members of our United States Congress on both sides of the aisle who helped pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, thank you," she said. "Because of you, history will remember this day and this moment when our nation took action to combat hate."