Whose Asian peril?

Thu, 24 Oct 1996 19:52:00 +0000

while Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich have made political hay over allegedly foreign funny money going into Bill Clinton's campaign coffers, Asian American activists have cried foul. They charge that John Huang, the controversial fund raiser for both Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, has been unfairly singled out by a racist media and a xenophobic Republican party. They say Huang should be defended as a symbol of the growing financial clout of Asian Americans and their efforts to empower themselves.
As a veteran Asian American activist, I am not so sure.
John Huang has raised big bucks from his former employer, the Indonesian-Chinese billionaire Mochtar Riady ($450,000); from Cheong Am America Inc., a South Korean company ($250,000); and from Hacienda Heights Buddhist Temple, which represents both Taiwan Buddhist as well as business interests ($140,000).
From my vantage, not only has Huang's work in no way benefited Asian Americans; it has contributed to a new moneyed politics that rips off Asian American communities.

Salon.com > Ling-chi Wang

Whose Asian peril?