Tens of Thousands of Chinese Americans Protest Officer Peter Liang’s Conviction in New York City

On the lawn in Cadman Plaza Park near the courthouse in Brooklyn where Peter Liang, a former New York City police officer, was convicted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man a week ago, a crowd of allegedly 50,000 people gathered on Saturday.

"Justice! Justice! We want equal rights for all races!" The crowd chanted, while carrying signs bearing similar messages. Most of the protesters are Chinese Americans who travelled as far as New Jersey and Connecticut to participate in the demonstration. Some said they've even taken a day off from work to show their support.

"We are all here to witness this historic moment. There has never been any time in the history when over 50,000 Chinese Americans gather together for such a vast rally," said one of the protest organizers Phil Gim, who is from the Coalition of Asian Americans for Civil Rights.

Despite the prosecutors had described Officer Liang's behavior as reckless when he fired his gun inside a public housing complex during a so-called vertical patrol, many people from Chinese American community believed that Liang was targeted for prosecution because of his race. "We are here because we want equal justice for all, every minority, including Chinese Americans," said Wang Xianmin, who travelled from Westfield, New Jersey, with group of his friends to the rally.

Ms. Wen, who also lives in New Jersey but declined to give her full name, agreed with Wang, "we just want to let people know that Chinese Americans are not going to stay silent any longer." The lady also signed up on Twitter at the rally scene only for this event, to tweet her first social media post to support Peter Liang.

Many in the Chinese American community have long been considered quiet, but the outcry of a strong voice was evoked by this incident. "Black people are facing discrimination, too, but they have a bigger voice than us," said Lester Chang, a Chinatown native, "so we have to make sure we have equal voices as well."

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