#219 Anti-China Language; OK Governor Fact-Checked; Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act; More
In This Issue #219
· Survey Says Politicians' Anti-China Language Prompted Anti-Asian Violence
· Investigative Report Contradicts Oklahoma Governor's Rhetoric On China Buying Up Land
· 80th Anniversary of Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act
· News and Activities for the Communities
Survey Says Politicians' Anti-China Language Prompted Anti-Asian Violence
According to NBC News, a new poll revealed that most potential 2024 voters in battleground states believe that politicians’ use of anti-China rhetoric was responsible for the previous spike in violence toward Asian Americans. The results of the survey, conducted by the National AAPI Power Fund, is proof that voters “see through the scapegoating,” EunSook Lee, director of the organization, said. The poll, which was conducted in September, surveyed 900 likely 2024 general election voters across eight battleground states including Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, in addition to California. It showed that 61% of likely voters believe politicians’ anti-China rhetoric, casting the country as an economic and national security threat, contributed to anti-Asian violence.
The study also included surveys from Lake Research Partners that showed participants want to “hear solutions and not place blame,” Joshua Ulibari, partner at the research firm, said in a news release. “It’s important that candidates and organizations know that anti-China rhetoric doesn’t foster any short-term or long-term gains,” Ulibari added. “Candidates can and have won without pointing fingers at China or skirting responsibility for inflation and job creation.”“We know that anti-China rhetoric doesn’t just affect Chinese people. It affects Asian Americans because the public can’t distinguish between someone who’s Chinese and someone who’s not,” Stephanie Chan, director of data and research at the nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate, said. “We’ve seen how the political rhetoric then translates into even what people mimic and say when they are committing a hate act. So we are definitely bracing for that.”Read the NBC News report: https://nbcnews.to/3SBn8GTAccording to AsAmNews, China bashing loomed large at the third Republican Presidential debate Nov. 8 in Miami, Florida, setting off fears of a fresh wave of anti-Asian American hate crimes.
“We have significant concerns about the 2024 election in the current political landscape, and believe hate crimes and incidents will continue to be an issue,” Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, told Ethnic Media Services. The web portal, which allows victims to report hate attacks or incidents in one of several Asian languages, has logged over 11,500 reports since its inception in March, 2020.Read the AsAmNews report: https://bit.ly/49z8R3C
Investigative Report Contradicts Oklahoma Governor's Rhetoric On China Buying Up Land
According to Investigate Midwest, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt told a Fox News reporter his state’s land was under threat from the Chinese “Communist Party.” Thousands of acres were being bought by China-based companies and individuals to build marijuana farms, if not for more nefarious purposes, the Republican governor said. Stitt was correct that Oklahoma has seen more land purchases by foreign companies or individuals than most other states. In fact, between 2015 and 2021, the amount of foreign-owned land in Oklahoma increased by more than 300%. Only Nebraska had a bigger jump.
Across the country, lawmakers in statehouses and in Congress have been raising the alarm over the growth in foreign-owned land, often claiming the Chinese government is behind the purchases in an effort to control food supplies or spy on critical U.S. infrastructure. Some of the strongest rhetoric has been in Oklahoma, where the state’s rapidly growing medical marijuana industry has provided officials a political opportunity to seize on anti-Chinese sentiments that have intensified in recent years, especially among many Republican voters.But in Oklahoma, the growth in foreign-owned land pointed to by Stitt has little to do with marijuana farms or Chinese companies, according to records from the United States Department of Agriculture.Instead, it’s almost entirely from companies in Canada and Europe that bought or leased land to build wind and solar farms.The only Oklahoma land owned by a Chinese company in USDA’s records is a combined 2,571 acres held by Smithfield Foods, a large pork producer that moved into the state several years ago. Chinese companies did not account for a single acre of growth in 2020.Across the country, dozens of other states have also recently considered new laws to stop the growth in foreign-owned land, with some efforts explicitly targeting property owners with ties to China.
In Congress, some have raised concerns about international espionage and highlighted the growing power of international agriculture corporations. Others have warned the rush to ban foreign ownership could harm immigrant farmers and ranchers.Read the Investigate Midwest report: https://bit.ly/3MCXRZc
80th Anniversary of Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into law on May 6, 1882, to prohibit the immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years. It marked the first time the United States prohibited immigration based on ethnicity and national origin.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was extended in 1892 for another ten years and then made permanent in 1902, each time with increasingly severe restrictions on immigration and naturalization. In 1943, at a time when the United States and China were allies during World War II, the ban on Chinese immigration and naturalization was finally repealed.However, immigration quotas remained, leaving a yearly limit of 105 Chinese immigrants. The Immigration Act of 1965 raised the quota to 170,000 immigrants from outside the Western Hemisphere, with a maximum of 20,000 from any one country. The Immigration Act of 1990 established a "flexible" worldwide cap on family-based, employment-based, and diversity immigrant visas.The Library of Congress has a large collection of historical documents on the Chinese Exclusion Act here: https://bit.ly/3QQZJQyThe 1882 Project, a nonpartisan, grassroots effort focused on educating lawmakers and the public on the Chinese Exclusion Laws and the impact such legislation had on the U.S. history, worked successfully with the 112th Congress. In 2011-2012, Congress condemned the Chinese Exclusion Act and affirmed a commitment to preserve civil rights and constitutional protections for all people: the Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 201, sponsored by Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, in 2011; and the House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution 683, authored by Congresswoman Judy Chu 赵美心 of California, in 2012.Five national organizations spearheaded the 1882 Project: the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, the Committee of 100, the Japanese American Citizens League, the National Council of Chinese Americans, and OCA. Read more about the 1882 Project: https://bit.ly/3j7StPa.
The 1882 Project was later turned into a non-profit foundation to promote public awareness of the history and continuing significance of the Chinese Exclusion Laws.This year is the 80th anniversary of the Repeal of Chinese Exclusion Act and also the 125th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on Wong Kim Ark 黄金德. Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco to parents who were both Chinese citizens. At age 21, he took a trip to China to visit his parents. When he returned to the United States, he was denied entry on the grounds that he was not a U.S. citizen. In a 6-to-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wong Kim Ark and affirmed the birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.The 1882 Foundation will host a commemoration and lecture at the Library of Congress in Washington DC on December 13, 2023. Visit the APA Justice Community Calendar for more information as it becomes available. Contact for the event is Ted Gong, Executive Director of the 1882 Foundation at ted.gong88@gmail.comMarty Gold served as pro bono counsel to the 1882 Project. He served as Floor Advisor and Counsel to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and was also counsel to Senate Majority Leader Howard H. Baker Jr. Marty Gold wrote a 616-page book titled "Forbidden Citizens: Chinese Exclusion and the U.S. Congress: A Legislative History" that traces the timeline and background of the exclusion laws.In collaboration with Marty Gold, Jeremy Wu 胡善庆, Co-Organizer of APA Justice, created a timeline visualization of the legislative history of the Chinese Exclusion Act in English here: https://bit.ly/4694kCa and in Chinese here: https://bit.ly/32VYbdm
News and Activities for the Communities
1. APA Justice Community Calendar
Upcoming Events:2023/11/15 1990 Institute Media Narratives - Evaluating U.S.-China Headlines2023/11/16 C100 Forum Debate: Has the Chinese Economy Slowed Down Permanently, Temporarily, or It Depends?2023/11/18 Inaugural Jimmy Carter Conversation on U.S.-China Relations2023/11/18-19 National API Elected Officials Summit2023/11/19 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall meeting2023/11/26 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall meeting2023/12/05 Rep. Gene Wu's Weekly Town Hall meetingVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details.
2. APA Justice Supports GWU Comments on NIH Draft Scientific Integrity Policy
APA Justice joined a coalition of 11 organizations in sending a 10-page comment to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on its draft scientific integrity policy. The effort is led by the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health at George Washington University (GWU). The coalition urges that the NIH scientific integrity policy contain:
1. Protections and accountability for grantees;
2. Commitment to equity for grantees and the scientific workforce;
3. More explicit procedures for investigating allegations;
4. Specifics that delineate scientists’ ability to communicate with the media and public about their areas of expertise, without leaving scientists vulnerable to bad-faith attacks;
5. Clarification of the scope and duration of scientific clearance procedures;
6. Penalties sufficient to deter wrongdoing and hold accountable all scientific integrity violators, including political appointees;
7. Specific protections from retaliation for those engaged in scientific activities that may put them at risk for reprisal;
8. Public availability of advisory committee members’ conflict-of-interest waivers;
9. A mechanism for addressing allegations that involve multiple agencies and/or high-level officials; and
10. Specifics regarding issues to be addressed by the Scientific Integrity Officer as opposed to other offices.
On a related note, the U.S. Senate voted by 62 to 36 to confirm Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to serve as the Director of the National Institutes of Health on November 7, 2023. She took office officially on November 9.
November 13, 2023