"Like most minority groups, we're accustomed to dealing with subtle forms of racism," Thanh Ngo, a lawyer with the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco said about the attack Mr. Wu. "But it's striking to see such a blatant act. A lot of people are very frightened."

Like many of the more recent crimes, the attack on Mr. Wu involved a young white man.

Still at issue is whether Mr. Page is competent to stand trial. A psychologist hired by the public defender's office told a judge last week that Mr. Page was seriously disturbed, and a hearing has been set in January to determine his competency. Meanwhile, Mr. Page, who is being held in the Marin County Jail, has been charged with attempted murder with bail set at $1 million.

In another incident in May, across the bay in Los Altos, John Lee, 28, an American of South Korean ancestry, stopped at a gas station. There he was approached by a white man, Justin Adams, who began taunting him by putting his hands together and bowing "Buddha-like," squinting his eyes and mimicking an Asian accent. According to police and court records, Mr. Lee confronted Mr. Adams and two other whites, saying his antics were not amusing. Mr. Adams then punched him several times, kicking Mr. Lee to the ground. One Mr. Adams's companion's kicked Mr. Lee in the head, and the third man punched Mr. Lee as he lay on the pavement.

The three men were later arrested. Two pleaded guilty to battery. Mr. Adams pleaded innocent to charges of committing a hate crime. The case, which went to trial in October, resulted in a hung jury. The local District Attorney's office has announced plans to try Mr. Adams again.

National Asian Pacific-American Legal Consortium said in its report: "Many incidents begin as simple name-calling and escalate into further violence resulting in serious or fatal injuries. Further, racist hate messages alone cause real psychological and emotional damage on their victims."

Elaine H. Kim, a professor of Asian-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and chairwoman of the comparative ethnic studies department, said Asian-Americans have faced a distinctive type of racism in the last 100 years, a feeling on the part of the white population that "you can't be here."

"My mother came to Hawaii in 1903 as an infant, and she could not become a citizen until 1952," Professor Kim said. "I think it's always tied to resentment. If you don't make it, you get kicked down. And if you make it, you get kicked down. It's really a Catch 22."