FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT
February 1, 2024 Isa Whalen, Isa.Whalen@sen.ca.gov
Lucy Khuu, Lucy.Khuu@asm.ca.gov
AAPILC Criticizes Dangerous Rhetoric by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton
SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (AAPILC) stands with the AAPI community against the dangerous rhetoric by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton.
On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, during a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on child safety online, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), questioned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who is Singaporean, about his citizenship and potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party. This line of questioning by Senator Cotton is not only ignorant, but it perpetuates xenophobia against the AAPI community.
Since March 2020, Stop AAPI Hate has reported over 11,000 acts of hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Many of these incidents have been correlated to xenophobic statements about China and Chinese people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our leadership at the local, state, and federal levels must be held accountable for the racist rhetoric they use that further exacerbates the acts of violence and hate against the AAPI community.
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Website of the California AAPI Legislative Caucus: https://aapilegcaucus.legislature.ca.gov