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SACRAMENTO – Organizers of Governor Gavin Newsom’s recall campaign have repeatedly called the coronavirus a ‘Chinese’ virus over the past year, echoing rhetoric that Asian American leaders say has fueled attitudes racist and violence.
On its website, the recall campaign called the virus a “Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus” and some political agents who worked on the effort used similar language.
The wording was among a list of reasons to recall Newsom, with apparent reference to immigrant-owned businesses that received stimulus funds during the pandemic.
“Funding businesses owned by illegal foreigners in the amount of $ 50 million because CA received federal funding for the virus from the Communist Party of China (CCP) [Covid-19/Corona]The website said.
The organizers of the recall said Sunday evening that they plan to remove the reference. Randy Economy, a spokesperson for the recall committee, said the campaign apologizes “if anyone has been offended” by it.
“Our campaign is not to divide Californians, but to unite California by removing this divisive governor,” Economy said. “The people will not tolerate the nasty personal attacks fabricated by the Newsom government.”
Asian American leaders say the wave of violence and harassment targeting their community in the Bay Area and across the country has been exacerbated by former President Donald Trump and others’ references to COVID- 19 as a “Chinese virus”.
“It is racist rhetoric that is directly responsible for the rise in anti-Asian harassment, verbal harassment and physical assault,” said Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group. “It is deeply painful, and especially following the Atlanta murders where six of the eight victims were Asian women.”
Stop AAPI Hate has documented nearly 3,800 incidents of hate against Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic, including beatings and murders.
Courtni Pugh, political director of Newsom’s campaign to oppose the recall, said the “vile and racist attacks by the recall group endanger AAPI Californians”.
Orrin Heatlie, the retired Yolo County Sheriff’s sergeant who launched the recall campaign, said he understood why the reference had raised concerns.
“In light of these attacks and violence, we are just as concerned as they are,” Heatlie said of Asian Americans.
The reference to China was not the only one that appeared on the recall campaign website. As recently as June, the same Reasons to Recall Newsom page reported that California had “our nation’s highest gasoline tax BEFORE the Chinese Corona virus.” This reference was then cleaned up, according to an archived version of the site.
Stephen Frank, a consultant and conservative blogger who was the media relations coordinator for the recall, has called the virus the “Wuhan flu” in several tweets. Last summer Frank published an article on the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans in which he wrote, “Yes, it is wrong to harass or mistreat anyone. But we make small potatoes, a little here, a little there.
Frank said he stands by his comments. “The reality is that the coronavirus came from China, it came from Wuhan. It’s just fair, ”he said.
Frank is no longer listed on the recall campaign website, and Economy has said the recall effort has “no connection” to him now.
Robin Emerson McCrea, chief financial officer of the recall, also referred to the “Chinese flu” and “Chinese virus” in Facebook posts. Economy said that “the personal comments people make on Facebook posts do not directly reflect” the campaign’s stance.
Tom Del Beccaro, former chairman of the California Republican Party, called the coronavirus a “CCP virus,” an apparent reference to the Chinese Community Party, in opinion pieces published last year on The Epoch Times, a site Conservative web. Del Beccaro chairs two political committees, Rescue California and California Revival, which funded the recall, although he is no longer part of the official campaign.
Del Beccaro said he was referring to the Chinese government’s lack of transparency during the first outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan at the end of 2019, which critics say contributed to the spread of the disease in the world.
“My reference was to a particular government and not to any race or other class of people,” Del Beccaro said in a text message. “Therefore, it avoids attributing anything to any race or other category of people.”
Dustin Gardiner is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @dustingardiner
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