AAPI groups are condemning the “redbaiting” from some political campaigns ahead of the 2022 elections. Redbaiting is a tactic used to invalidate political opponents by claiming they’re a communist.
Several AAPI candidates have been the victims of redbaiting over the past few weeks, The Guardian reports. In Southern California, Korean American, Republican Congresswoman Michelle Steel ran ads that claimed her Democratic opponent Jay Chen supported communist China.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice recently issued a statement calling on candidates to stop using “anti-Asian, sinophobic, and redbaiting language.” The statement was co-signed by several other AAPI organizations.
“In the remaining 24 hours leading up to election day, we call on political candidates to immediately cease the usage of anti-Asian, sinophobic, and redbaiting language in campaign messaging. Across the country, voters are looking for politicians who will stand up for our values and fight for our needs and aspirations. Anti-Chinese rhetoric does not deliver for voters nor does it offer real solutions to the problems we face,” the statement read.
The statement also expressed disappointment with Asian Americans like Steel who were using redbaiting as a campaign tactic.
“Redbaiting strategies are being used against Asian American candidates who are being falsely accused of affiliations or ties to the Chinese Communist Party simply because of their Chinese or Asian descent. These attacks have come from both sides of the political aisle and even among candidates belonging to the same parties. Most troubling, even some Asian American candidates are using this racist and xenophobic language against other Asian American candidates,” the statement read.
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