[Photo / CRI online]

Around 2,000 Chinese-Americans took part in a march in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Oct. 15, with 40 participants allegedly carrying guns in an effort to protest crimes targeting the Chinese-American community.

The march was partially in response to American rapper YG’s performance at a local theater in Philadelphia. The rapper's 2-year-old song, whose lyrics encourage people to rob Chinese neighborhoods, has outraged many. YG's controversial music video features someone breaking into a home with a picture of an Asian family.

On Sept. 21, a petition submitted to “We the People,” the official website of the White House, called on the U.S. government to ban the controversial song. The petition has garnered 109,561 signatures as of press time. Any petition that collects over 100,000 signatures within one month is guaranteed to receive a response from the White House, though no official response has been delivered so far.

“Despite our endless effort to ban this appalling song, YG is still at large. We want all of society to hear our voices and take seriously the crimes that target our communities,” a participant surnamed Wang told People’s Daily Online.

Social media platforms including WeChat have been used by Chinese-Americans to offer updated information about protest activities. “Greater Philadelphia Chinese Gun Club (GPCGC),” a Wechat account that encourages the legal use of guns among Chinese-Americans, issued an announcement on Oct. 13, calling for Chinese communities across the U.S. to openly and legally carry guns during the march. The group's leadership viewed such a move as demonstrating a refusal to play the victim.

“The reasons for carrying guns during the march are as follows: We want criminals to understand that we are armed, and we strongly oppose crimes against Chinese-Americans. We also hope to spread awareness among our community, letting people know that we can use lawful methods to protect ourselves,” said Li Ran, a committee member of GPCGC, in an interview with CRI.cn.

Many citizens and officials outside of the Chinese-American community have also shown support for the march. City Councilman David Oh, who is Korean-American, said he has called for an Oct. 31 Council hearing on violent crimes that target Chinese business owners, NBC News reported on Oct. 16.

Chinese-Americans have been increasingly active in protesting for their civil rights in recent years. In February, over 10,000 people participated in rallies around the country to protest the indictment of Chinese-American police officer Peter Liang, who was accused of fatally shooting an unarmed black man.