Statement by Committee of 100 on Mass Shooting in Monterey Park, California

New York, NY (January 23, 2023) — Committee of 100, a non-profit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, today released the following statement on the mass shooting that took place in Monterey Park, California on the eve of the Lunar New Year Celebration:

“Committee of 100 is deeply saddened by the mass shooting that took place on the eve of Lunar New Year in Monterey Park, California. The pain, suffering, and horror that families and friends of those impacted are now experiencing are unimaginable. Our hearts are heavy with grief as we pray for the Monterey Park community in their time of great distress,” said Zhengyu Huang, President of Committee of 100.

Lily Lee Chen, the first female Chinese American Mayor in the nation, a long-time Committee of 100 member, and the former Mayor of Monterey Park said, “My heart is with the entire community of Monterey Park. What should have been a celebration of the Lunar New Year has turned into a horrific tragedy. In the Chinese language, the characters that compose the word “crisis” are danger and opportunity. It unfortunately sometimes takes a crisis like this to bring our communities together and enact meaningful change. When we work together to resolve difficult issues like this, we become stronger and turn our energy into power by building stronger coalitions. Today, this tragedy affected our Chinese American community, but gun violence is an issue that affects every American.”