Congress member Michelle Steel is accusing her Democratic rival of having Communist sympathies. Jay Chen is responding with his own ads.
channel, meanwhile, invited Chen on one of its shows, during which he refuted Steel’s claims and proudly noted he is a veteran and a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.The Steel sign is printed in the same colors as the Chinese flag.
Many voters are picking up on the ruse behind such ploys, especially when they come from those who are not Vietnamese., redrawn last year to cradle Little Saigon, which spans multiple cities. The district, which also includes a sliver of L.A. County, now has one of the largest Asian American electorates in the country — 37% of its voting age population, with the largest group being Vietnamese American.
“We've been hearing from so many members of the Vietnamese community who are incensed by her attempt to exploit fears of communism,” Chen said. “They say, ‘You have to talk about this issue, because she's a total hypocrite when it comes to standing up to Communism.’” Most of Steel’s attacks are directed at Chen’s time on the school board of the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District in the San Gabriel Valley. In 2010, the board voted to adopt a free Chinese language and culture class at one of its middle schools. The Confucius Institute program was used in dozens of U.S. schools at the time. But some local residents objected, because the program had ties to the Chinese government, and the plan was scrapped.come under increasing scrutiny in the U.S.
found that in the run-up to the midterm elections, candidates from both major parties have been portraying China as a threat to national security and the economy — language that’s been echoed by perpetrators in anti-Asian attacks.Chen’s efforts to punch back with his own Communist-focused attack ads are applauded by supporter Trung Ta, a member of the, which has endorsed Chen.