Transcript: Mayor Adams Delivers Remarks At Flag-Raising Ceremony For ASEAN

August 8, 2023

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Thank you so much. And as I look over all of the amazing countries, the South Asian countries, ASEAN, it was established in 1967 in Bangkok, and it showed the significance of coming together, including countries from Thailand, from the founding fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

I look at all of the countries who are here, Myanmar, Cambodia, I look at many of them on this list. And many of them I know from here in New York. But I also know because I visited your countries, I also know that what you bring to this country is something that you have harnessed and you have grown it in your home country.

And America is the only country on the globe where you are told, as you embrace this culture, you don't have to abandon your culture. In fact, you encouraged to bring both cultures together, to bring that energy, that unique product in New York City, that is an accumulation of all of our different foods, our sounds, our spirits, our ways of religious philosophies and concepts.

This great experiment, we call the American dream, comes to life when we raise the flag today of ASEAN because you are an accumulation of several different countries together. And you knew long before others, that if we only respect each other's individuality, we can learn how to embrace our unity. And so I'm proud to be here at Bowling Green. This is the foundation of America's and New York City's economic strength right here in Bowling Green.

When we raise the flag here, we're also raising the energy and spirit of our diversity. That is what makes us great, our diversity. And I thank you for participating in today's flag raising. And it is a symbol of our strength, our power, our tolerance, our acceptance of how we live together. If we can live together in the greatest city in the world, then you can live together in the cities, in the states, and your homelands.

And so to all of you in all the amazing different countries that are represented today, I want you to join me as I tell the people on the line, many of them are visitors from other places, tell them while they're here, we want them to do one thing, we want them to spend money, spend a lot of money in New York. So thank you so much. I'm looking forward to raising the flag.