As a member of Voice ESEA, I am cycling approx. 46 miles from Surrey to Brighton on 2 August (unless there is a torrential downpour) to fundraise and support the east and southeast Asian (ESEA) community, especially those who have been affected by the surge of hate crimes during COVID-19. [Side note: the longest journey I have ever cycled is 3 miles...]

All funds raised will be used to support the ESEA community in the UK via an initiative backed by Gemma Chan, Henry Golding and many others. If you want to know more about the initiative, please message me.

Whilst you're here, please sign the Voice ESEA petition to help us reach 100,000 signatures so that the matter of funding additional support for victims of COVID19 racism and anti-racism programmes can be discussed in Parliament!

During COVID-19, the Guardian reported that Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 21%. This figure may be an undercount as the Commons Library Briefing on Hate Crime Statistics stated that only 27.2% of victims of racist crimes had a self-classified ethnicity recorded. Some figures show there has been an 179% increase in hate crime in London at the start of the UK lockdown.

A recent poll found that Chinese people in the UK are the most common victims of racial slurs. Ipsos MORI reported that 1 in 7 people in the UK intentionally avoided people of Chinese origin or appearance.

These are just some of the statistics.

At the beginning of COVID-19, someone in North Greenwich threw something at me whilst shouting "COVID". But this is nothing when compared to what others have experienced in the UK:

Voice ESEA is a not-for-profit organisation that intends to eliminate racial discrimination against ESEAs by educating about, and amplifying voice of, ESEAs within the community. Voice ESEA's aim is for everyone to feel safe, respected and proud. Whilst you're here, please sign our petition! More information can be found through the link.

You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook.

Thank you for supporting this cause. Every little helps!