Realistically, this might not make a heck of a difference, since Americans of Chinese descent account for only 1.5% of the population. But, could roughly 4 million effect an election? Since half of them live in NY state and California, no. They could very well influence others to do the same, though
Why Chinese-Americans like me are embracing the GOP
For a century, Chinese Americans have been among the least partisan and politically engaged ethnic Asian groups in America. Because we’ve lived largely in urban and suburban areas in coastal liberal states, we have tended to be affiliated with Democratic Party, even while espousing conservative values.
But over the last few years, I’ve witnessed more of my fellow Chinese-Americans abandoning the Democratic Party and generally becoming more politically conservative. There are several reasons for this, including Chinese Americans’ cultural conservatism and the Democratic Party’s slide toward socialism, which reminds many of us of the communism we fled in China.
The Republican Party is a natural home for Chinese-Americans, who tend to value free enterprise, individual responsibility, law and order, education and family cohesion. Many Chinese-Americans have been alienated by the Democrats’ emphasis on political correctness, social justice, wealth re-distribution and LGBTQ rights.
Chinese-Americans have often been the victims of the identity politics that Democrats have deployed over the last several decades through academia and the media—including the push to institute racial preferences in college admissions, which disproportionately hurts high-achieving Asian-American students.
Over the last decade or two, America has seen a strong inflow of immigrants from mainland China who came in search of freedom and better educational opportunities. Recent arrivals are beneficiaries of China’s economic boom, and they are more likely to favor individual liberty, limited government and low taxes. As Chinese-Americans have succeeded, they have become more conservative.
You could very much see this happening with other Americans of Asian descent, especially new-comers.
This has accelerated since the Obama presidency, as the Democratic Party has embraced messaging that advocates for socialist policies. These messages used to be subtle and thinly veiled; but now Democrats are more overt in their support for socialist policies such as the Green New Deal, 70 percent tax rates and single-payer, government-run health care.
Socialism and communism have repeatedly failed, resulting in death and suffering for hundreds of millions of people over just the past seventy years. It is a recurring cancer in modern history with examples in North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela. Even China’s success in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty was due in large part to its implementation of some capitalist reforms. But yet, the Chinese government continues to repress the Chinese people’s basic political and human rights. Like Cubans and Vietnamese, most Chinese arrived in America having had extremely negative experiences with socialism.
The author, Benjamin Yu, is an immigrant from mainland China (and went through the lawful process), running for California’s state assembly
2020 is shaping up to be a pivot point in America, a time of choosing between socialism and the capitalist polices that for decades have made America the envy of the world. For this reason, many Chinese-Americans, including me, are running for office as Republicans. We lived through socialism in an extreme form and understand the devastation and misery it causes. We believe we are the ideal candidates to stop socialism and bring generations of voters into an inclusive and diverse GOP.
Who better to know about the dangers than those who lived under it? Perhaps the GOP should enlist some folks who came from Venezuela to highlight this even more.
1st and 2nd generation immigrants have zero patience for traditional 150 year old guilt about slavery in North America.
As you guys know my wife is a Korean immigrant and naturalized citizen and I spent many years helping S.Korean, Chinese, Japanese and other Asians become “legal” and/or citizens. Up until this past year most who I ran across were registered Democrats. No so any more. Thay have been switching to the R team since Trup got elected. Oddly, most I knew didn’t like Trump and didn’t vote for Trump but now they seem to understand where the DemComs are going and don’t like it. They particularly hate “Bernie”.
Every election brings the fever dreams to the GOP of more support from minorities
It never happens
Asians (like Jews) will vote Dem 80% in 2020 just like they always do
Like blacks and Hispanics, we don’t need 80% of the Oriental vote. A third or more will be quite sufficient.
Can’t you just see the flop sweat? They’ve tried everything they could to panic people including a phony recession and none of it’s worked.
I live in a Jewish neighborhood.
It IS happening. Thank goodness.
“Who better to know about the dangers than those who lived under it?”
Too bad that rule doesn’t apply to liberals who flee California and New England. They seem perfectly incapable of recognizing that they continue to vote for the same things they ran away from.
Yes it is true ! We Dems have been sending many of our cadre south and it is paying off politically especially in Texas
6 GOP congress people are retiring
Cruz won by only 4%, a bad sign for an incumbent GOP senator
Texas is definitely purple and trending blue
The GOP there is old,white, dying and can no longer breed
John, the way that you write makes me think that you do not understand what common words like “we”, “send” and “cadre” mean. Or maybe you do know what those words mean, in that case you are just very non-credible. Why would you say things about yourself that cannot possibly be true?
Tell you what’s a bad sign, The One True Ted got a third of the black and Hispanic votes.
Pancho Vanilla thought he was going to be the next faux Kennedy and coast to the Senate.
John, you do realize the top three DemCom contenders are old, white, dying and can no longer breed don’t you?
Hillary got 80% of the Asian vote
You think that Asians are going to vote for Trump more in 2020?
Teach by socialism do you mean things like public schools and social security ? State regulated public utilities ? Things like that ? Public health departments ? Government loans to corporations that Ned temp help to survive like GM did ?
What exactly is socialism to you ???
Apparently, yes. It seems everybody is turned off by the Demos big swing to the hard Left.
The old people ate the primary beneficiaries of socialism
Medicare Medicaid social security benefits are socialism and Dems are seeking to EXPAND those benefits
Can the GOP afford to cut taxes and cut entitlements on their biggest base ?
Can the Demos afford to raise taxes on them?
First of all John, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are quasi-socialist programs made possible by the bounty of capitalism. Secondly, the beneficiaries of both Medicare and Social Security pay for their benefits all their working lives. They are NOT a gift from an all-embracing love of the government. And both would be illegal Ponzi schemes if run by any private company or institution.
The DemComs are only interested in “expanding” those programs to benefit people who are NOT Americans and who did NOT pay into them. It’s called “Buying Votes” and the DemComs have made an art of it. Can the DemComs afford to give their biggest bases benefits to foreigners for free?
Collecting taxes from capitalists and then spending it is not “socialism”, no matter how you spend the tax money.
How you spend that money is very important, Professor. If taxes are collected from capitalists then used for anything not benefiting those people then they are taking money according to their ability and giving it away according to someone else’ needs. Sounds socialist to me.
Notice we’re not getting scared by all of the John’s doom and gloom.
The bear suit is next.
We’re not scared, but Jeffery sure is.