ASIANS and Asian-Americans have been the target of bias from people who blame China for the coronavirus (Shutterstock).

A resolution condemning discrimination and acts of bigotry against Asians and Asian Americans tops the agenda of Wednesday’s meeting of the Westminster City Council.

The council will take up a resolution proposed by Councilmember Carlos Manzo (District 2). It would denounce “coronavirus (COVID-19) discrimination” aimed at people of Asian ethnicity as a consequence of the pandemic.

A study in 2020 reported that 30 percent of Americans had seen someone blaming Asians for the pandemic. Of Asian Americans, surveyed, 60 percent said they’ve witnessed the same sort of abuse.

Physical assaults, refusal of service and vandalism have been aimed at people of Asian descent because COVID-19 is believed to have emerged into the human population in China, and then spread worldwide.

Some political leaders, including former president Donald Trump, have referred to the illness as the “China virus.” Some public figures – including Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz – have suggested that the global health crisis is deliberate, or a “plandemic.”

Westminster has a population that is about 50 percent Asian of which most are of Vietnamese background.

Also on the agenda are appointments to city boards and commissions and considering the restructuring of the Westminster Homelessness Task Force.

The council will meet via teleconference at 7 p.m.