Several Asian Americans expressed fears of anti-Asian backlash following the indictment of a former New York state official accused of working with the Chinese Communist Party.
New York State Sen. John Liu emphasized that former aide Linda Sun is innocent until proven guilty. Liu himself became muddled in a funding scandal during his 2013 mayoral campaign. In the end, two of Liu’s aides were convicted, but he himself never faced any charges.
“The federal government has a sordid track record of making accusations against accomplished Chinese Americans, only to drop all charges, with no regard to lives and careers destroyed needlessly,” Liu said to City & State New York.
But another Asian American political professional told the South China Morning Post that cases like Sun’s could be used to perpetuate stereotypes around Asian Americans, including the notion that they are never truly American and have dueling loyalties.
“I’m crestfallen. I don’t know a better way to describe it. It’s what racial minorities feel when a stereotype gets realized,” said Jeung, an Asian American Studies professor at San Francisco State University and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate.
“Here’s another real-life example of an old ‘Yellow Peril’ stereotype. It then reinforces the broader society’s view of Chinese Americans as suspects and as potential spies and as disloyal.”
Several said situations like these put the Asian American community in an uncomfortable position, as a select number of “bad apples” seem to lean into stereotypes while those with anti-Asian sentiments are excited by the new ammunition for their racist beliefs.
Amid the controversy, some far-right X users have spread unconfirmed information. One post questioned Rep. Grace Meng, (D-6) New York’s first Asian American congressperson, seemingly attempting to connect Meng to the Sun controversy because of Meng’s assistance in Sun’s hiring. Another post tied diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to the Chinese Communist Party, lending from Yellow Peril narratives that the U.S. is “ripe to be conquered.”
“Covering Chinese Americans with a blanket statement of fearmongering sets our country back,” said the Asian American civic group, Committee of 100 in a statement. “We hope that this incident does not fuel more stereotyping of Chinese Americans, increase use of racist tropes or violence, or incite policies to ban those of Chinese heritage from obtaining jobs, purchasing land or being trusted members of American society.”
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suggested slug: John Liu backs Linda Sun amid investigation
