It has become clear that the only tool in the Republican toolbox is fear. They want us afraid of each other. But it doesn't end there. A concerted effort is being made on the right to identify China as the biggest threat we face in the world today.
I'm not here to defend anything China is doing, and a case can be made that President Biden is being tougher on that country than all of Trump's hair-raising rhetoric. But in their quest to spread fear, Republicans have taken a page from Senator Joe McCarthy's book and started attacking Chinese Americans.
The case in point starts with a letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray accusing Dominic Ng, a banker that Biden appointed to serve on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council, of being tied to two Chinese intelligence front groups.
Their claims are based on an article in the Daily Caller by Philip Lenczycki, who suggested that Ng was executive director of the China Overseas Exchange Association (COEA) until 2017 and still serves in that capacity at the related China Overseas Friendship Association (COFA). Lenczycki goes on to write that both are considered fronts groups for the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a CCP agency responsible for both influence and intelligence operations. Of course, he also includes the fact that Ng donated money to the Biden Victory Fund and the DNC.
Before taking a look at those claims, it is helpful to note that Dominic Ng is president of East West Bank in California. He transformed that institution from a small savings and loan association with $600 million in assets into a full-service commercial bank with total assets of $62.6 billion. Ng has received numerous awards for his work in banking, the arts, and philanthropy.
Ng was born in Hong Kong and came to the United States to attend college. But here's a critical part of his heritage (emphasis mine):
He grew up as the youngest of six children in Hong Kong. His parents were among the 1 million people who fled there from communist China in 1949 and were forced to remake themselves. Ng’s mother, who came from a wealthy family in Shanghai, suddenly found herself penniless. His father drove a school bus; his mother sewed school uniforms.
Obviously Ng's parents weren't particularly fond of "communist China."
When it comes to the Daily Caller's accusations, here's Ng's response to the specifics.
In a statement Thursday, the East West Bank said Ng was not an active member of either of the groups cited by the Daily Caller. Ng had been invited to take an “honorary position” in the China Overseas Exchange Association in 2013, one of the two groups, but never attended COEA meetings or paid membership dues, the bank stated. Ng withdrew his name from the group, “citing non-participation,” according to the bank.
“Mr. Ng has had no connection with COFA or ever agreed to serve as an executive director of COFA,” East West Bank added, referring to the China Overseas Friendship Association.
Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the first Chinese-American woman elected to Congress, issued this statement (emphasis mine):
As with every presidential appointee, Dominic Ng, who is Chinese American, has undergone an extensive vetting process and sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution and serve the American public. He has had a distinguished career as Chairman and CEO of East West Bank for 32 years. We are extremely disturbed and outraged—but not surprised—that some of our Republican colleagues in Congress would undermine his candidacy and even question his loyalty to the United States based entirely on loose claims of association trafficked on extreme-right outlets with extensive histories of spreading misinformation.
For that, Rep. Chu came under attack herself.
“I think that Judy Chu needs to be called out,” Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Tex.) told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday. “I question her either loyalty or competence."
That wasn't the first time. The same author at the Daily Caller has leveled similar accusations against Congresswoman Chu in the past.
These attacks on Chinese-Americans are coming at a time when Asian-Americans are being subjected to increased levels of violence in this country. They are beyond shameful! Whether it's the reporters/editors at the Daily Caller or Republicans who spread their lies, I have one thing to say to them:
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