Irene Cheng can’t forget the recent stabbing death of a 64-year-old Asian American woman who was out walking her dog in Riverside.

“She doesn’t deserve to end her life like this. Imagine how her family is going to face it. Their lives suddenly changed,” said Cheng, president of the Chinese American Club of Laguna Woods.

“What happened to her, it may happen to me someday.”

It was with those thoughts in mind that Cheng, 84, addressed the Laguna Woods City Council last week during a discussion of anti-Asian hate experienced across the nation.

Emotions ran high as a handful of members of the public spoke emphatically Wednesday, April 7, urging the council to pass a resolution denouncing anti-Asian hate crimes, rhetoric and hateful acts.

The resolution, which later passed with broad support, was introduced by Councilman Ed Tao, a resident of Laguna Woods Village.

“I am very concerned about the rise in anti-Asian speech and actions,” Tao said. “Asians are a very important part of the world community, with a long history and  profound cultural heritage. Hate crimes and violence against any group is bad enough, not to mention to single out … such groups as the Asian Americans who have contributed so much to our country.”

Cheng spoke tearfully via Zoom during the meeting.

“When I see that Asian people are brutally attacked, it makes me angry and scared, and I ask myself, where is the social justice? Where is the human rights?” the 10-year Village resident said. “I feel that I am living in fear. This has got to be stopped.”

Peter Chong of the Korean American Association of Laguna Woods delivered an impassioned speech from the podium inside council chambers.

“Many Asians are afraid to go outside the walls of Laguna Woods Village,” said Chong, 77, who has lived in the Village for nine years and in the United States for 46 years.

Chong said that walking on the beach recently he was saddened to see no other Asians around. “I know why. Because we are afraid of people,” he said.

Though Chong stands more than 6 feet tall and practices martial arts, the anti-Asian crimes in the news recently have even him concerned about safety: “I always pay attention. I’m careful, because I feel scared.”

That fear felt by many Asian Americans surprised and saddened some at the meeting.

“It’s good that this came up and that we’re talking about it because it makes us more aware of  it,” Councilwoman Carol Moore said.

Lt. Gene Inouye of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the first Asian American chief of police services for the city of Laguna Woods, noted that the last hate crime reported in the city was a church vandalized in 2019.

“We’re very fortunate to live in a very diverse community down here in South Orange County,” he said.

Still, Inouye said after Chong spoke, “I never want you to feel (fear), and I want to assure you that Laguna Woods is a very safe city to live in and to work and to shop.

“I guarantee you, that if something like that does happen to you or a loved one or a friend, the Sheriff’s Department will pursue that person,” he said.

Chong said in an interview later that he does feel secure within the city of Laguna Woods.

Nelson Kwon, president of the Korean American Association, which he believes has around 1,500 members, agreed with Chong about the Laguna Woods community.

But in an interview, the six-year Village resident recounted being confronted about a month ago by a Caucasian man in a parking lot of another Orange County city who demanded to know what kind of passport he holds.

“I finally yelled back at him, ‘I have a U.S. passport,’” said Kwon, who has lived in the United States since 1984.

Council members said that although passing the resolution is a good first step in addressing anti-Asian sentiments, more needs to be done.

“I’m glad that the council is taking this action because it’s important for us to take a leadership position, especially now that bad things are happening all across the country,” Councilwoman Cynthia Conners said. “Our citizens are living with fear and concerns, and I think we need to step up and do something about it.”

Conners talked about some of the actions she herself will take and suggested that individual residents also can start off with a personal approach. She suggested building friendships, getting to know neighbors, interacting in the course of pursuing a shared interest or club activity, and approaching neighbors and offering to go walking with them outside the Village.

“I just think it’s important to make some friends who don’t look like me,” Conners said. “We can’t change the world, but we can change our neighborhood and we can change ourselves, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

Chong said in the interview that Asians also need to do their part to improve relations and “need to open themselves up more.”

Cheng, who has lived in the United States for nearly 50 years, said she sent emails to members of the around 500-strong Chinese American Club, encouraging them to “make friends with their neighbors, even if their English is poor. Just smile and say simple greetings. Don’t just close the door and do their own things together. This is why people say, ‘Go back to China!’”

Cheng said she also has urged club members to report any crimes, hateful rhetoric or acts directed at them. She said people are reluctant to report incidents to police because of the language barrier, worries of not getting a fair trial, and mostly out of a fear of revenge.

Chong and Kwon both said they believe the pandemic has played a role in the rise of anti-Asian hate incidents and that once the pandemic is over, the incidents may stop.

“Everybody is stressed, emotional. That’s why they act out,” Chong said. And some Asians can make “good targets,” he said, because they’re smaller in body size, they’re shy and they’re easy to attack.

“I feel deep pride being an American,” Chong said. “But this is not the American way. We have to come together for the nation.”

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