SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of residents and local officials have rallied in San Francisco Chinatown to protest against what they say is racism targeting the Chinese community in connection with the global coronavirus outbreak.

Officials from major Chinese community organizations including the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA), the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the "Comfort Women" Justice Coalition (CWJC), and other local groups came together to oppose racial profiling and bigotry against Chinese Americans.

California Senator Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin appeared at the rally to show solidarity and support for Chinatown businesses and merchants.

"San Francisco is a city of tolerance and a city of acceptance. But the one thing that we will not tolerate and people will not accept is xenophobia and racism," said Peskin, who represents Chinatown and other parts in the city.

He urged San Franciscans to "be local, buy local and shop local" by backing Chinatown shops and merchants, which have seen a decline in tourism and business due to fears of COVID-19.

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself," he stressed.

Wiener expressed his solidarity with the Chinese community, opposing hatred and stereotyping against Chinese Americans.

Another San Francisco supervisor Sandra Fewer, who is a first-generation Chinese American, told the audience that the Chinese community is the "strongest" when people stay together.

"And together, we can keep people safe, and we can also have a healthy economy," she said, asking San Francisco Chinese Americans to be united and not be divided by fear.

Retired San Francisco judge Julie Tang, who is also co-chair of the CWJC, said, "We are here to really demand not only economic justice, but also freedom from racism, discrimination and xenophobia."

"We are saying no to all these horrible things that are happening as a byproduct and a fallout of the coronavirus," she added.

After the rally at Portsmouth Square in Chinatown, local officials and business leaders led the protesters in a demonstration that marched through the streets of Chinatown to the downtown business district of Union Square.

Kevin Chen, owner of the famed Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company in Chinatown, told Xinhua that his store has also experienced a downturn in business as fewer customers and tourists were willing to go out shopping amid panic about the coronavirus.

"We marched here at Union Square to tell other communities in the city that we are Chinese, not viruses," he said. "The virus happened to occur in China, just as it could have in any other place in the world."

Amy Townsend, a tourist visiting from the south-central state of Oklahoma, said she had heard about businesses suffering in Chinatown because people were fearful of the virus.

"We felt really badly about that, because it really doesn't make sense to me," she said. "Everybody should know that we don't support bigotry or racism against the Chinese community."

"I'm very much in support of the Chinese people and, actually, we were planning on going later today to Chinatown, shopping or dining," she added. Enditem

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