Celebrities call on the UK Government to acknowledge East and South East Asian Heritage Month in the UK.

Britain’s East and South East Asian Network (besea.n) has sent a letter to the Government to ask it to officially recognise East and South East Asian (ESEA) Heritage Month in the UK, which will take place throughout September, for the second year running.

The open letter includes signatures from Marvel stars Gemma Chan and Benedict Wong, comedian Phil Wang and Harry Potter actor Katie Leung, along with well-known activists, educators and community organisers Patrick Vernon OBE, convenor of Windrush75 and Nova Reid, author of popular anti-racism book The Good Ally.

The support follows the recent announcement of the programme of events up and down the country to mark the month-long celebrations.

Gemma Chan, British-Chinese Marvel actor, said: “It’s more important than ever that we recognise the contributions and history of all communities that are a part of modern Britain. ESEA Heritage Month is an important celebration that allows our community to proudly connect with and embrace their ESEA heritage.”

Chan has been vocal in her support for the ESEA community, previously backing the Stop ESEA Hate campaign, which raised over £110,000 for grassroots organisations tackling racism against ESEA communities.

Mai-Anh Peterson, co-founder of besea.n, the organisation that launched ESEA Heritage Month, said: “We launched ESEA Heritage Month last year in response to the 179% increase in hate crimes towards ESEA people in London at the start of the pandemic*, a trend that has been reflected in other parts of the country. Our aim was to provide a safe space to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of ESEA people in the UK, as well as bringing joy to the community.”

As early as the 17th century, the UK has been to be home to those from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.

besea.n, a grassroots movement championed by volunteers of different ESEA backgrounds, launched the inaugural ESEA Heritage Month in September 2021, in which over 70 events were hosted, reaching almost 10,000 people. This year the organisation hopes to reach even more people, encouraging communities to host their own events in celebration.