Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Asian American Scholar Forum Condemn U.S.-China Legislation Rooted in Xenophobia
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Stop AAPI Hate media@stopaapihate.orgAsian American Scholar Form media@aasforum.org
September 11, 2024 — Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, and Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF), issued the following statement in response to today’s series of votes on U.S.-China legislation in the House of Representatives. While a number of these bills fall outside the scope of our domestically-focused civil rights organizations, we do share deep concerns regarding legislation that could potentially have harmful impact on the Asian immigrant and Asian American community in the United States.
Specifically, we are deeply concerned by the passage of H.R. 1398, The Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024 and H.R. 9456, The Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024. These bills are two of more than two dozen being considered for a vote in the House this week as part of what has been problematically dubbed "China Week".
The quotes below can be attributed to Cynthia Choi, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Co-Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action; John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; and Gisela Kusakawa, the Executive Director of Asian American Scholar Forum.
“Today, members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to advance a bill (H.R. 1398) that would reinstate the China Initiative — a defunct program that was proven to be a failure. Originally a Trump-era initiative sold as a national security measure, the China Initiative instead turned out to be a witch hunt. It was eventually dismantled due to its ineffectiveness and widespread discriminatory practices that fueled the unjust racial profiling of Asian Americans. As our groups have noted, it destroyed the careers and lives of many scholars, scientists, and researchers who were wrongfully investigated and accused. Not only did the China Initiative devastate individuals and their families, but it also exacerbated an already-documented chilling effect on scholarship and imperiled our ability to retain and attract diverse talent. We strongly condemn the bill’s passage in the House and call on the Senate to reject its advancement.
“This China Initiative legislation is just one of more than two dozen bills that are receiving votes in the House this week as part of what’s been dubbed ‘China Week.’ In anticipation, we led over 60 fellow civil rights and Asian American academic organizations in a letter earlier this week urging Congress to oppose any legislation seeking to reinstate the China Initiative.
“In addition to the China Initiative, the House also considered H.R. 9456, a bill that would expand the range of transactions the Secretary of Agriculture must report to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). This bill would apply to transactions involving all legal immigrants and refugees from China and other targeted countries and moves beyond the more narrowly focused language of recent legislation, which specified covered transactions by foreign governments or entities of concern. This broad approach could overburden CFIUS and increase risks of racial profiling and discrimination. Instead of addressing national security concerns effectively, H.R. 9456 will perpetuate a harmful legacy of anti-Asian exclusion and scapegoating, reminiscent of past discriminatory practices that targeted specific racial and ethnic groups.
“The U.S. has a long history of anti-Asian scapegoating — of blaming everyday Asian people for the actions of foreign governments via inflammatory rhetoric and discriminatory policies. It’s a long-standing political tactic used by those in power to unfairly ‘other’ Asian people, manufacture suspicion and fear against them, and leverage that fear to manipulate Americans into supporting their agenda. Anti-Asian scapegoating has led to devastating consequences, as we saw with the Immigration Act of 1924 that banned all immigrants from Asia, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and more recently, the backlash against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most Americans can agree that national security and economic security are important issues, and there are indeed responsible ways for our elected leaders to tackle them. However, we believe ‘China Week’ is being executed in bad faith and goes against our shared American values of freedom and equality for all. Rather than focusing solely on the actions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government, multiple pieces of legislation also seek to target everyday Americans and immigrant families who have done nothing wrong, simply because of their race, ethnicity, or national origin.
“Today, we are once again witnessing an alarming rise in anti-Asian political rhetoric and legislation that is threatening the safety and rights of millions of Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S. As the policies of ‘China Week’ and the harmful rhetoric surrounding it have demonstrated, it is clearly part of the anti-Asian scapegoating playbook. ‘China Week’ is rooted in xenophobia and unless we hold our leaders accountable for it, our nation is bound to repeat the same horrific mistakes of the past.”