Anti-Asian Rhetoric Is On The Rise, Activists Say. They Have A Plan To Call It Out

A new campaign led by prominent Asian American advocacy organizations aims to stamp out anti-Asian rhetoric on the campaign trail and in state legislatures.

Chinese Americans for Affirmative Action and Stop AAPI Hate says through the “Stop The Blame campaign” they’ll monitor political debates and campaign speeches for racist language. And they’ve created a new website to call out candidates who use hate speech to score political points. The public is urged to follow along to help “take direct action against discriminatory anti-Asian legislation.”

“We know that in election years, there is racist, xenophobic rhetoric that has been used against our communities,” said Stop AAPI Hate co-founder Manju Kulkarni. “So we want to be prepared should that happen again in 2024.”

The groups say anti-Asian political rhetoric can give rise to anti-Asian sentiment, noting that after former President Trump first used the phrase “Chinese virus” in March 2020 on the platform “X,” formerly Twitter, racist hashtags increased by 174 times.

Recent years have seen several prominent Chinese Americans from Southern California targeted by right-wing media and politicians. California Democratic Congress member Judy Chu’s loyalty was challenged by a Texas House Republican after she defended Chinese American banker and Biden appointee Dominic Ng against claims by the conservative Daily Caller that he had ties to front groups for Chinese intelligence. Rep. Lance Gooden questioned whether Chu should have security clearance or access to classified briefings "until this is figured out."

But the “Stop the Blame” campaign’s focus goes beyond electoral politics. The groups want to raise awareness about the proliferation of bills around the country to ban Chinese citizens from buying land near military bases.

The bills’ also target citizens from other countries. Florida, for example, recently passed a law that also bans sale of property within 10 miles of military installations to citizens from Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia and North Korea. But penalties for breaking the law are the most severe for Chinese citizens and those who sell to them.

Kulkarni says their campaign will support local groups fighting property bans – now proposed or passed in more than 30 states.

“There's a fine line between addressing legitimate national security threats and to score political points,” Kulkarni said. “Unfortunately, we have seen too many times, political leaders crossed the line at the expense of our safety and our rights.”

Chu in a statement supporting the “Stop the Blame” campaign called the land ownership bans unconstitutional and “sickeningly reminiscent” of the Alien Land Laws that barred Asian immigrants from buying property, as well as the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II who were seen as potential spies.

“While there are specific, legitimate threats that some foreign governments and their state-owned enterprises pose to our national security, our elected leaders must not inflate or mischaracterize threats to justify anti-Asian racism and discrimination,” Chu said.

The “Stop the Blame” campaign is also pushing to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which Kulkarni says as written allows for warrantless spying and surveillance of citizens, including Asian Americans. The part of the act governing the program – Section 702 – is up for renewal this year.