Republican congressional women revoke Texas GOP candidate’s endorsements after ‘hurtful and false’ comments about Chinese immigrants

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“As the first Korean American Republican women to serve in Congress, we want to empower and uplift other community members (Asian American and Pacific Islander) who want to serve their communities,” said representatives of California. Young Kim and Michelle Steel a statement. “We spoke to Sery Kim yesterday about his hurtful and deceptive comments about Chinese immigrants, and made it clear that his comments were unacceptable.”

At a candidates ‘forum hosted by two Republican groups in Texas’ 6th Congressional District on Wednesday, Kim responded to a question about the immigration crisis in the United States by saying, “I don’t want them at all. here, “referring to potential Chinese immigrants.

“They steal our intellectual property, they give us coronaviruses, they don’t hold themselves accountable,” she continued, adding that “I can say that because I’m Korean”.

The women of Congress said in their statement on Friday that they “urged her to apologize and clarify her remarks, especially as hatred against the AAPI community is on the rise.”

“However, she did not publicly show remorse and her words were contrary to what we stand for,” they added. “We cannot in good conscience continue to support his candidacy. We will continue to speak out on behalf of our AAPI community.”

When contacted to comment on the revoked endorsements, Sery Kim said in a statement Friday: “I am shocked that in an effort to counter Asian-American hatred, the liberal media is targeting me, an Asian and an immigrant. , in an effort to paint myself as anti-Asian and anti-immigrant just for speaking out against the oppressive Chinese Communist Party. “

Kim, who served as Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration under former President Donald Trump, is running for the seat previously held by former Representative Ron Wright until his death in February following a diagnosis of Covid -19.
After approving it in March, Representatives Steel and Kim on Thursday condemned the Texas Republican’s remarks, calling them “unacceptable and hurtful” and noting that “discrimination and violence against Asians and Asian Americans must cease “.

Sery Kim told CNN in an interview Thursday that his comments the day before “were directed against the Chinese Communist Party and did not target Asian Americans, especially Chinese immigrants fleeing this oppressive regime.”

She added that she had not echoed any of her comments, and she maintained her remarks made at the event, which included a claim in an interview with the Dallas Morning News that anti-Asian violence has not worsened over the past year.

“The biggest difference right now is that people are filming it – and the media is choosing to report it,” she told the newspaper. “Asians have always faced violence. It is no worse than before.”

Sery Kim confirmed making the comments in an interview with CNN on Thursday. The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, reported in a study last month that anti-Asian hate crimes increased 145% from 2019 to 2020.

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