Washington, DC - OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates is outraged to hear that Senator Marsha Blackburn tweeted a xenophobic and sinophobic statement on December 3, 2020, commenting that “China has a 5,000 year history of cheating and stealing. Some things will never change …” Fueling racism and anti-Asian sentiment is not a new occurrence this year, as many attacks towards Asian Americans have risen due in part to COVID-19 and strained relations with China. This racist comment is a direct attack towards Chinese and Chinese Americans living in the United States, diminishing their culture and heritage to “cheating and stealing,” and simply serves to add fuel to the anti-Asian violence prevailing during this pandemic.

“This is not the first case of sinophobia in the United States. Due to our complicated diplomatic relationship with China, there are some who feel encouraged to make false and hurtful generalized statements towards anything that appears Chinese.” states Sharon M. Wong, OCA National President. “Asian Americans have been used as scapegoats, excuses, and reasons to be treated as perpetual foreigners. This detrimental behavior will not change unless we understand and study the history of AAPIs in this country, and change the conversation around blame and perpetual foreign-ness of AAPIs. This starts with the rhetoric that elected officials use, and we demand that Senator Blackburn reflect and apologize for her actions.”

OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national civil rights organization dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).

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