SACRAMENTO – Organizers of the campaign to revoke Governor Gavin Newsom repeatedly called the coronavirus a “Chinese” virus last year, echoing the rhetoric that Asian American leaders say has fueled racist attitudes and violence.
On its website, the recall campaign referred to the virus as “Chinese Communist Party Virus (CCP)”, and some political agents who worked on the effort used similar language.
The language appeared among a list of reasons to revoke Newsom, along with an apparent reference to immigrant-owned companies that received stimulus money during the pandemic.
“Funding $ 50 million worth of illegal foreign-owned businesses because CA received federal funding for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus [Covid-19/Corona]”Said the website.
The recall organizers said Sunday night that they planned to remove the reference. Randy Economy, a spokeswoman for the recall committee, said the campaign apologized “if anyone was offended” by it.
“Our campaign is not to divide Californians, but to unite California by removing this divisive governor,” said Economy. “The people will not tolerate personal attacks manufactured and unpleasant by Governor Newsom.”
Asian American leaders say the wave of violence and harassment that has hit their community in the bay area and across the country has been exacerbated by former President Donald Trump and others’ references to COVID-19 as the “China virus”.
“This is the racist rhetoric that is directly responsible for the increase in anti-Asian harassment, verbal harassment and physical attacks,” said Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group. “It is deeply painful, especially after the Atlanta murders, where six of the eight victims were Asian women.”
The Stop AAPI Hate has documented nearly 3,800 hate incidents against Americans of Asian origin since the pandemic began, including beatings and murders.
Courtni Pugh, political director of the Newsom campaign to oppose the recall, said that “the vile and racist attacks by the recall group endanger AAPI Californians.”
Orrin Heatlie, the retired Yolo County sheriff sergeant who started the recall campaign, said he understands why the referral has raised concerns.
“In the light of these attacks and this violence, we are just as concerned as they are,” said Heatlie of Asian Americans.
The reference to China is not the only one that appeared on the recall campaign website. Recently, in June, the same page on reasons for revoking Newsom said that California had the “highest gas tax in our nation BEFORE the Chinese Crown virus”. This reference was later deleted, according to an archived version of the site.
Stephen Frank, a conservative consultant and blogger who was the media relations coordinator for the recall, called the virus “Wuhan flu” in several tweets. Last summer, Frank posted an article on the increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans in which he wrote: “Yes, it is wrong to intimidate or abuse someone. But what is being done are chips, a little here, a little there ”.
Frank said he keeps his comments. “The reality is that the coronavirus came from China, it came from Wuhan. It’s just being precise, ”he said.
Frank is no longer listed on the recall campaign website, and Economy said the recall effort “has no association” with him now.
Robin Emerson McCrea, the recall’s chief financial officer, also made references to “Chinese flu” and “Chinese viruses” in Facebook posts. Economy said that “personal comments that people make on Facebook posts are not a direct reflection” of the campaign’s stance.
Tom Del Beccaro, a former president of the California Republican Party, called the coronavirus a “CCP virus”, an apparent reference to the Chinese Community Party, in opinion articles posted last year on the Conservative website, Epoch Times. Del Beccaro chairs two political committees, Rescue California and California Revival, which financed the recall, although it is no longer part of the official campaign.
Del Beccaro said he was referring to the Chinese government’s lack of transparency during the first COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019, which critics say has contributed to the spread of the disease around the world.
“My reference was to a specific government, not to a race or other category of people,” said Del Beccaro in a text message. “So, avoid attributing anything to a race or other category of people.”
Dustin Gardiner is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @dustingardiner