#Protesters gather in Times Square to denounce Asian-American violence

Dozens of protesters gathered in Times Square Sunday to condemn the recent spike in attacks targeting Asian-Americans in the Big Apple — including the shocking assault of a woman in Midtown last week.

“We need the whole country, all our allies to know what we’ve been going through,” Jack Liang, co-organizer of the “Times Square Take Over” rally, told about 100 demonstrators gathered in Midtown.

“Stop attacking our elders, stop attacking our sisters,” said Liang, of Brooklyn. “I’m right here. Fight me. Leave our elders alone.”

Billboards at the protest flashed #stopasianhate and stopasianhate.org messages during the afternoon gathering, while signs carried by the crowd read “We belong here” and “Racism is the deadliest virus.”

Demonstrators then marched to the West 43rd Street building where Vilma Kari, a 65-year-old Filipino woman, was brutally kicked and beaten while security guards watched from inside the safety of the Midtown office building.

The caught-on-video assault was just one of numerous recent attacks on Asian-American Big Apple residents.

“We’re letting the world know we are strong and united and we are looking to advocate change,” Oliver Pras, co-organizer of Sunday’s rally, told the crowd.

“At 200 percent uptick in violence against Asians since the beginning of the pandemic, 60 percent against women,” Pras said.