Asian civil rights groups were among the demonstrators during the latest large “Occupy Wall Street” protest on October 5 protest in New York City. Starting three weeks ago, Occupy Wall Street movement has spread to 200 cities in the United States. The protesters, including Chinese, Koreans, and Filipinos told Sing Tao Daily that the demonstration gave them a great opportunity to voice the needs of their communities.

Asian advocacy groups including Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAC) and New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) joined the protest, voicing a range of different concerns from immigration to discrimination. Weng Xianling from New York Chinatown Resident Association, a branch of CAAAV, said the group joined the movement because it felt the government has favored the needs of big banks over the needs of local residents. She said many low-income Chinese residents in Chinatown were evicted due to lack of legal protections. Weng said it is great that there was not an organizer or a theme for this protest, so each advocacy group can voice their own needs.