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The cover of the Stop AAPI Hate report “The Blame Game” features this photograph of a bus shelter advertisement in New York City, part of efforts by the Asian-American community to raise awareness and discourage hate speech and action. Photo: MK Luff

Asian-American representatives seek an end to anti-Asian rhetoric ahead of US midterm elections

  • Report by advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate links a rise in inflammatory language to an increase in hate crimes against Asian-Americans
  • ‘We’ve seen how the rhetoric used about our communities … results in the harm and even murder of Asian-Americans,’ says US Representative Judy Chu

Asian-American leaders and advocates called on politicians and government officials Wednesday to stop anti-Asian rhetoric and scapegoating in the lead-up to the increasingly polarised US midterm elections on November 8.

“Politicians must be careful with what they say,” said Representative Grace Meng, Democrat of New York. “We ask this of politicians from all political parties.”

US Representative Grace Meng, Democrat of New York, speaking at a rally for an Asian-American hate crime bill in 2021, joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other officials. Photo: AP

Meng’s comments came as the activist group Stop AAPI Hate released “The Blame Game”, a report focused on recent inflammatory language by political figures and candidates in the elections. (AAPI refers to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.)

Voters will choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 34 of the Senate’s 100 members, in addition to legions of state and local officials.

According to the report, factors fuelling a rise in hateful words and deeds include the sharp decline in US-China relations, growing concern over Chinese espionage and a tendency to link Asians to the spread of Covid-19.

Even as deaths and illness from the coronavirus wane, the number of reported hate incident cases has doubled to over 11,000 since 2020, including 2,250 in which Asian-Americans were scapegoated for the pandemic.

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China is a source of growing economic, security and diplomatic concern for many Americans. But Meng and others in the 78-member Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus called on lawmakers and government officials to avoid using vague and overly broad anti-China statements.

They said it was important to be as specific as possible when referring to alleged Chinese espionage and actions by the Communist Party of China, to avoid fanning racism in the coming election and beyond.

The incidents the report cited included an online posting earlier this month by former president Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform slamming his former transportation secretary Elaine Chao, referring to her as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s “China loving wife, Coco Chow!”

Others included the all-caps tweet “CHINA GAVE US COVID” in March by Mehmet Oz, a doctor and Republican candidate for the US Senate in Pennsylvania. Trump has also continued to refer to the pandemic as the “China virus” in postings as recently as July.

01:02

White House says 'no question' Trump worsened anti-Asian sentiment

White House says 'no question' Trump worsened anti-Asian sentiment

The report referred back to June 2021, when Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida called China a “hostile foreign power” and said the duty of every governor included protecting against its threatening activities. “China remains the biggest threat,” DeSantis, considered a potential Republican candidate for president in 2024, said.

China has not done itself any favours concerning US opinion, between its aggressive military exercises in the Taiwan Strait after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei; its rapid military build-up; growing nuclear arsenal; repeated vows to dominate key industries globally; and claims of having a superior political and ideological system.

A Pew Research survey released last month found 82 per cent of American respondents had an “unfavourable opinion” of China, up from 79 per cent in 2020 – results similar to those in many European and East Asian nations.

But, advocates noted, it is Asian-Americans who too often get hurt by broad-brush, race-tinged statements uttered by their own elected representatives that spread bigotry and bias.

“There’s no question that the relationship with the US and China is complex, and there’s considerable tension,” said Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, a civil-rights group.

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“We’re not attempting to dictate foreign policy. But what we are saying is, no matter what an elected [official] or candidate’s policies are toward China or any foreign country, they are responsible for their words and the harm that extreme inflammatory language causes.”

Discussing the report, Representative Judy Chu, a California Democrat and chair of the Asian Pacific American Caucus, said that “the message we deliver must be one about American strength and increased opportunity, not one of fear and violence”.

“We’ve seen how the rhetoric used about our communities, not just in relation to Covid-19 but also around economic competition with Asian countries, results in the harm and even murder of Asian-Americans here at home.”

Community groups say anti-Asian violence and racism have surged since eight people were shot dead in Georgia in March 2021, including six Asian-American women.

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According to a survey by researchers Momentive and AAPI Data, at least three million Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders experienced hate incidents between March 2021 and March 2022.

As the threat has grown, Asian-Americans have tried to fight their corner. Better statistics on the racism problem are part of the response by a community often viewed as “invisible” and a “model minority”. But voter registration drives and campaigns to increase Asian-American candidates have expanded representation, even as public demonstrations and greater attention to legislation bolster awareness.

The Chips and Science Act aimed at countering China’s growing technological ambitions was originally called the “anti-China bill” and included four anti-Asian provisions that the caucus managed to remove. “We protested that this bill should be about America’s global leadership, and not xenophobic rhetoric,” said Chu.

Activists fear that the scapegoating of community members around espionage and distrust of the Communist Party is likely to grow as the pandemic wanes.

“Over 250 years, we’ve seen the devastating violence and exclusionary policies brought on by scapegoating in the arenas of public health, national security and related to economic issues,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of the civic group AAPI Equity Alliance. “We simply cannot allow history to repeat itself.”

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