Chinese Grandma Who Was Assaulted by Caucasian Man Gives Away S$1.25m to Help Asian American Community

It’s no easy feat to let go of a moderate sum of money for a generous cause…

Let alone S$1.25m.

And yet, it appears that this particular 76-year-old elderly woman has done just that.

Which is made all the more incredible considering the circumstances that befell her, and the circumstances she is dealing with even right now.

Chinese Grandma Who Was Assaulted by Caucasian Man Gives Away S$1.25m to Help Asian American Community

According to Mothership, an elderly Chinese grandmother, who was attacked by a Caucasian man for possibly racial reasons, has opted to donate the S$1.25 million raised (for her) to the Asian American community.

The decision was announced on the GoFundMe website.

According to the grandmother’s catered page, the donated funds were intended to help the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders fight back against racism.

The donation was completed with her family’s blessings.

“We as a community cannot stay silent nor be silenced anymore,” the page wrote. “That is why our family plans to donate ALL funds generated in this GoFundMe to help the AAPI community recover, and combat racism.”

It should be noted that just three days prior to the announcement, Xie was still suffering from swollen eyes as an aftermath of the attack, and was bleeding from time to time.

She also cultivated fear issues and had to take medication to keep her heart rate in control.

Xie also began hallucinating about her impending ‘death’.

“The scariest part was that she kept repeating that one of our relatives that have passed away recently is going to take her to heaven with her (my deceased relative),” a previous update on the page stated. “She is having pessimistic thoughts and hallucinations.”

Recovering

Thankfully, it appears that the elderly woman is steadily recovering.

She has also insisted on donating all the raised funds, professing that they must “fight to the death if necessary” and that the issue is “bigger than her”.

“She said we must not submit to racism and we must fight to the death if necessary,” an update on 23 March 2021 wrote. “She also stated multiple times to donate all the funds generated in this GoFundMe back to the Asian American community to combat racism. She insists on making this decision saying this issue is bigger than her. This is my grandma, grandpa, and our family’s decision. We hope everyone can understand our decision.”

Assault

On 18 Mar 2021, it was reported that 76-year-old woman Xiao Zhen Xie had fallen victim to a suspected racist attack.

Just came upon an attack on an elderly Asian woman on Market Street San Francisco. Effort I got more details pic.twitter.com/5o8r0eeHE2

— Dennis O'Donnell (@DennisKPIX) March 17, 2021

She was waiting to cross San Francisco’s Market Street at a traffic light when a stranger punched her in the eye.

According to her daughter, Dong Mei-Li, her mother found the stick in the vicinity and started fighting back.

While she did not escape the assault unscathed, it was the alleged assailant who ended up handcuffed to a stretcher and sent to the hospital.

According to Li, her mother was “traumatised” and “very scared”.

After the assault, her grandson John Chen started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the elderly woman’s medical expenses.

Initially intending to raise USS$50,000, the goal was quickly surpassed within mere hours.

By the time an entire day rolled by, the fund had hit nearly US$700,000 (S$939,680).

Far From Being The Only One

Unfortunately, it appears that Xie was just one of several victims to have incurred racist attacks.

In the Bay Area, in particular, multiple unprovoked attacks on elderly Asian Americans have been reported this year.

It got so serious a special response team was put together to combat the crimes against the vulnerable population.

The police presence in the area is also being increased.

On 28 Jan, an 84-year-old Thai national was killed while taking his morning walk.

A 28-year-old man was also charged for injuring a 91-year-old man, a 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman in Oakland’s Chinatown area.

And on 23 Feb 2021, a 67-year-old man was reportedly attacked and robbed by three nineteen-year-olds.

Featured Image: Facebook (Morgan Xiao)