Locsin welcomes passage of US bill vs Asian hate crimes
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. welcomed the move of the United States of America (USA) Senate to pass a hate crimes bill to combat violence against Asian-Americans in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Locsin made the statement after the US Senate overwhelmingly passed on Friday (Philippine time) the said bill with 94-1 votes with Missouri Senator Josh Hawley casting the only no vote.
In a tweet, Locsin said America is now restoring "moral preeminence."
"Thank you, America; more to the point, America thanks you because you are trying to restore American moral preeminence," he said.
Attacks on Asian-Americans in the US have skyrocketed during the pandemic. On March 19, Locsin said hate crimes against Asians were a serious issue.
"It is a serious issue because guess where most of the wealth and power of the world is now? Asia," he said.
On March 30, Locsin was enraged after a 65-year-old Filipino woman was assaulted near Times Square in New York and was told that she did not belong in the US.
"That’s not heartbreaking, that’s enraging. And what goes around and kicks a lot will come around and get kicked a lot," he tweeted.
He said these actions will influence Philippine foreign policy.
"This is gravely noted and will influence Philippine foreign policy," he said.
"I might as well say it, so no one on the other side can say, 'We didn’t know you took racial brutality against Filipinos at all seriously.' We do," he added.