US Politicking, Chinese style

By David Dawson

Is the increasing presence of Chinese in the US translating into political influence？

未來(lái)，華人也許會(huì)成為決定美國(guó)大選的關(guān)鍵力量，

什么是他們最關(guān)心的政治議題？

In the wake of a comedy skit broadcast in October of 2013， thousands of Chinese-Americans， in a rare showing of political outrage， marched and held rallies. The target of their outrage was Jimmy Kimmel， who? hosted a late-night show in which a six-year-old child had suggested that a solution to Americas debt problem was “shooting cannons” to “kill everyone in China.”

A petition calling upon the White House to sack Kimmel gained enough signatures to warrant a formal response， in which President Barack Obama pointed out that free speech was protected and that the US respected China as a rising power.

It was a rare and unusual outburst from a demographic which is often overlooked. Frequently described as the “model minority” and surrounded by “tiger-mom” stereotypes of diligence and academic success， Asian-Americans have not typically been seen as a significant factor in election cycles.

But as one of the USs fastest-growing demographics， this seems certain to change with time. The real question is， however， whether it already has.

In 2008， when Hillary Clinton was squaring off against Barack Obama for the Democratic Party nomination， Asian-Americans flocked to her side in the California primaries. Making up just eight percent of the vote， they sided with Clinton in a three to one margin. Reports at the time pointed out that Clinton had spent years cultivating the Asian-American vote and had been the recipient of funds provided by Asian-American donors.

In the end， however， history proved it was not enough to clinch the nomination.

Professor Pei-te Lien， a professor of political science with the University of California， Santa Barbara， who specializes in Asian-American politics， said that the influence of the Chinese-American vote “was not an instant phenomenon but has been the result of a long and arduous process of politicization.”

She points out that there are three Chinese-American Congressional representatives： Judy Chu， Grace Meng， and Ted Lieu. In 2012， after more than two years of politicking， Judy Chu managed to help secure a formal apology from congress for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Professor Lien says that the two key issues for most Chinese-American voters tend to be education and jobs.

Given the rapidly increasing number of Chinese-American students studying in the US and the cultural emphasis on education， these are unsurprising priorities. But in terms of education， there are some particular wrinkles that concern Asian-American voters in particular， which is where the thorny issue of affirmative action enters the mix.

“I think concerns over the issue of affirmative action in college admissions （or fairness in accessing elite higher education） may tilt some to support candidates and ballot initiatives that openly oppose affirmative action，” Lien points out.

There has been extensive media coverage of this issue in recent weeks， with a number of articles highlighting the claim that students of Asian-American descent often need to perform more highly on college admissions tests than other minorities. This is said to be due to the already significant proportion of Asian-Americans in academia.

In an recent briefing， The Economist wrote， in a piece entitled “The Model Minority Is Losing Patience，” that， “49 percent of Asian-Americans have a bachelors degree， compared with 28 percent of the general population. Whereas Asian-Americans make up 5.6 percent of the population of the United States， according to the complaint to the Department of Education they make up more than 30 percent of the recent American math and physics Olympiad teams and Presidential Scholars， and 25 to 30 percent of National Merit Scholarships.”

This came after 64 Asian-American organizations united to lodge a complaint against Harvards admissions policies， claiming that their attempts to ensure racial diversity amounted to discrimination against Asian-American achievers.

It can be difficult， however， to ascertain the voting intentions of Chinese-Americans， rather than Asian-Americans as a whole. Few polling organizations ask respondents whether they are Chinese-American， and within the broader Asian-American community， there are of course， very significant differences.

“A big divide among Asian-American voters is their political partisanship. On the extreme ends are South Asians and the Vietnamese. The former tend to be solid Democrats and the latter are often solid Republicans，” Lien says. “The majority of Chinese-American voters are Democrats by partisanship， but most voting-age Chinese-Americans do not indicate a preference for either of the major parties.”

She added that there has been limited political outreach to this voting bloc.

There are numerous reasons why this may be the case—the many languages of Asian-American voters make preparing election pitch material a more difficult task requiring more time investment. A majority may speak fluent English， but in cases such as affirmative action， decisions may need to be made that go against other interest groups. There is also the fact that Asian-American lobby groups have often been fractured rather than a united bloc. Low voter turnout has also been an issue that has affected Asian-Americans in previous elections.

Lien points out that voting is just one form of influence that Asian-Americans may have on the electoral process into the future， and that Chinese-American residents-but-not-citizens—a not insignificant bloc given Chinas growing clout and presence on US campuses and the real estate market—may make their presence felt in other ways， such as campaign contributions or volunteering on campaigns.

Ultimately， there has been little effort thus far to engage with Asian-Americans， though this is likely to change. “With few exceptions， I dont think there has been much of an effort to reach out to Chinese/Asian-American voters，” Lien says. She did， however， say that， “candidates have appealed to Chinese American voters by preparing campaign ads and other materials in Chinese， hiring Chinese-speaking staff， and paying visits to key Chinese-American organizations and community events.”

Whether or not this becomes more common practice in future elections remains uncertain， but it seems like a safe bet if Chinese-Americans become the key deciders in future election contests.

Caption： Democrat Judy Chu at a mock swearing in with Nancy Pelosi after her victory over Republican Betty Chu