A coalition of 200 Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders in Ohio are demanding that Democratic Senate candidate Tim Ryan pull his anti-China ad they say “stokes fear and anger” against Asian Americans.
“China is winning. Workers are losing,” declares Rep Ryan, the leading Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, in is ad.
A letter authored by “Asian Americans for Midwest Progressives” and signed by scores of people states the Ryan ad is “dangerous and unacceptable — and a losing strategy for Democrats campaigning for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat. Playing to right-wing nationalism and fanning anti-China hate will come at a cost at the ballot box in November, while writing off the fastest growing ethnic group in the state as acceptable collateral damage.”
Ryan said in an email sent to AsAmNews that his ad is being misconstrued.
“The recent rise in violence against Asian Americans is unacceptable. We still remember the horrific murder of Vincent Chin,” he said, “and we cannot allow it to happen again. What this ad is about is sounding the alarm on China’s communist government, which has subsidized major industries and manipulated their currency to displace workers here in Ohio. I will never apologize for taking on members of both parties to make sure we’re taking this seriously.”
Ryan states he supported a resolution in Congress condemning the anti-Asian hate attacks.
However, the AAPI coalition says his ad undermines his statement.
“Historic labor movements have always been the most successful when they build multiracial, cross-movement solidarity. Companies are cracking down on unionizing workers, and hate incidents against multiple marginalized communities remain at historic levels. Shifting blame away from policymakers and U.S. corporations (which made record profits in 2021), in favor of right-wing xenophobic dog whistles, is a reckless choice that we cannot support,” the letter concludes.
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