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(CHINADAILY) 25 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science members of Asian descent have written toAcademy leaders protesting "tasteless and offensive skits" mocking Asians during the 88thAcademy Awards late February, according to Los Angeles Times.

"We are writing ... to express our complete surprise and disappointment with the targeting ofAsians at the 88th Oscars telecast and its perpetuation of racist stereotypes," said the letter,signed by members including two-time Academy Award winning director Ang Lee, actressSandra Oh of Grey's Anatomy, actor George Takei of Star Trek and former academygovernors Don Hall, Freida Lee Mock and Arthur Dong.

The letter, addressed to academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Chief Executive DawnHudson, the board of governors, and Oscar telecast producers Reginald Hudlin and DavidHill, became public on Tuesday in a story by Variety, as the Academy's 51-member boardwas meeting for the first time since the telecast.

The awards ceremony was packed with racially charged material related to the#OscarsSoWhite controversy. In one, host Chris Rock introduced three Asian children asAcademy accountants, followed by ad-libbed comments and a derogatory joke about Asiansby presenter Sacha Baron Cohen.

"If you watched the Oscars the word diversity seemed to mean black and white. That was it,"said Takei during an phone interview with Los Angeles Times. "We were absolutely aghast tosee they compounded that by having a joke about Asian American children. How insensitiveand how ignorant."

The Star Trek star said Asian academy members began emailing each other about initiating aprotest the night of the show.

"I grew up in prisons behind barbed-wire fences largely because of those stereotypes," Takeisaid. "Asians were depicted as merciless villains to be laughed at. Now the stereotype iswe're silent numbers counters or depicting child labor."

Documentary filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña said she and other Asian Academy memberswere surprised to see jokes of such nature in a year where a call for diversity was at thecenter of attention.

"Everybody was excited because we knew that the academy was responding to#OscarsSoWhite," Tajima-Peña said. "We were excited to see the telecast to see what wasgonna happen. It kind of blindsided us. It was such a contrast to the language of movingforward, recognizing that this culture is multi-racial, multi-ethnic. It wasn't even funny. It's justdredging up really idiotic stereotypes."

In the letter dated March 9, 25 members asked the board to respond to their criticism andtake "concrete steps" to "preclude such unconscious or outright bias and racism toward anygroup in future Oscar telecasts."

A spokeswoman of the academy has responded through a statement.

"The Academy appreciates the concerns stated, and regrets that any aspect of the Oscartelecast was offensive," the statement read. "We are committed to doing our best to ensurethat material in future shows be more culturally sensitive."

David Magdael, a member of the Academy in its public relations branch, said he wassurprised when he saw the show.

"When that skit came up in the middle of the Oscars, we all went like, 'What?' There was acollective, 'That didn't just happen.' We found a lot of people who said, 'We're not going toaccept this sort of joke anymore,' especially right after Cheryl Boone Isaacs gave that speechabout diversity," comments Magdael during an interview with The Hollywood Reporters.

A complete list of academy's members is not on public records, however according to a 2016Times analysis, Asians account for just over two percent of the academy's membership.

Here's the full text.

March 9, 2016

Cheryl Boone Isaacs, President

Dawn Hudson, CEO

Members of the Board of Governors

Reginald Hudlin and David Hill, Oscars® Producers

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

8949 Wilshire Boulevard

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

RE: "Oscars: Why Make Cheap Jokes at the Expense of Asians?"

(Hollywoodreporter.com)

"The Oscars anti-Asian racism was alive and well."

(PsychologyToday.com)

"Asian-American Jab at Oscars reveals deeper diversity woes"

(Associated Press, Salon.com)

Dear Cheryl, Dawn, Members of the Board of Governors, Reginald and David:

We are writing as Academy members of Asian descent to express our complete surprise and

disappointment with the targeting of Asians at the 88th Oscars telecast and its perpetuation ofracist stereotypes.

In light of criticism over #OscarsSoWhite, we were hopeful that the telecast would provide theAcademy a way forward and the chance to present a spectacular example of inclusion anddiversity.

Instead, the Oscars show was marred by a tone-deaf approach to its portrayal of Asians.

We'd like to know how such tasteless and offensive skits could have happened and whatprocess you have in place to preclude such unconscious or outright bias and racism towardany group in future Oscars telecasts.

We look forward to hearing from you about this matter and about the concrete steps to ensurethat all people are portrayed with dignity and respect.

We are proud that the Oscars reach several hundred million people around the world of whom60% are Asians and potential moviegoers.

Sincerely,

Don Hall, Sound Branch, John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation, Academy Governor, 18years

Freida Lee Mock, Documentary Branch, Academy Award® winner, Academy Governor, 6years

Arthur Dong, Documentary Branch, Academy Award® nominee, Academy Governor, 4 years

Ang Lee, Directors Branch, Two-time Academy Award® winner

Chris Tashima, Shorts and Feature Animation Branch, Academy Award® winner

Christine Choy, Documentary Branch, Academy Award® nominee

David Magdael, Public Relations Branch

France Nuyen, Actors Branch

George Takei, Actors Branch