Furor as US lawmaker questions colleague's loyalty

A US congressman has sparked uproar among Asian-American lawmakers and groups after he questioned the loyalty of a colleague, the country's first Chinese-American congresswoman.

Representative Lance Gooden, a Texas Republican, said during a Fox News interview last week that Judy Chu, a California Democrat, should be denied access to classified sensitive information.

"I question her either loyalty or competence," Gooden said, suggesting that the FBI investigate her.

The remarks stem from Chu's defense of Dominic Ng, who was appointed by the administration of President Joe Biden to be a US member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council last year.

Ng, chairman and chief executive of East West Bank, of Southern California, became a target of a conservative news and opinion website, The Daily Caller, which early last month depicted him as a spy for China.

"It is based on false information spread by an extreme, right-wing website," Chu said in response to Gooden's accusation. "Furthermore, it is racist. I very much doubt that he would be spreading these lies were I not of Chinese American descent."

Chu's Democratic colleagues have endorsed her statement, and other Asian-American lawmakers and groups have condemned Gooden's remarks and demanded an apology.

The House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized Gooden, suggesting he was disloyal himself for siding with the majority of House Republicans who had voted in 2021 to overturn the presidential election result in favor of former president Donald Trump.

Dave Min, a member of the California State Senate, said, "Unlike Congressman Gooden, my friend Congresswoman Judy Chu has never tried to undermine our democracy, overturn an election result or encourage rebellion against the United States."

Asian Americans have been subjected to "an epidemic of anti-Asian hate", driven largely by anti-Chinese comments such as those Gooden made, he said.

Apology urged

"More Asian Americans of all ethnicities and backgrounds will be attacked and harmed because of his contemptible statement made on Fox News. This is unacceptable. I urge Fox News to publicly apologize for the comments made on its network and to refuse to invite Lance Gooden back for any future interviews until he apologizes and makes amends with the (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community."

Evan Low, a member of the California State Assembly, said Gooden's comments are dangerous and threaten the safety of Asian Americans because they have "real world consequences", emboldening "violent extremists and too often (leading) to violence against Asian Americans".

United Chinese Americans, a group advocating the rights of Chinese Americans, called Gooden's comments "McCarthyist, racist and shameful".

Gooden's remarks coincide with a bill in the Texas Senate banning citizens from China, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia from buying property.

The bill is "frightening", and Asian Americans are "rightfully afraid", said Justin Zhu, co-founder of the national group Stand with Asian Americans.

"Representative Gooden is creating a very real, very serious threat to Asian Americans. It has barely been three years since politicians began casting suspicion on Asian Americans for the pandemic, which led to a horrifying rise in attacks on our community.

"Words — especially the words of elected leaders — can and do lead to anti-Asian hate. With his comments casting suspicion on Representative Chu because she's Asian American of Chinese descent, Representative Gooden is callously putting Asian American lives at risk."