C100 urges greater Asian-American political engagement

The Committee of 100, a non-partisan leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia and the arts, on Friday urged greater political engagement in 2020 by Asian-Americans.

The organization, known as C100 and founded in 1990, issued a statement calling on all Asian Americans to "seize this historic moment to stand up, speak out, and exercise their rights as American citizens to participate in the political process as responsible members of the community".

"…So that we can live up to the ideals of this great nation," it said.

While C100 said in its statement that Asian Americans "can proudly celebrate'' that three Asian American and Pacific Islanders – Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris and Andrew Yang – had taken part in the televised debates of Democrats seeking their party's presidential nomination, it also noted "there has been considerable criticism of mainstream media by many Asian Americans for ignoring Yang in its coverage".

"From Yang consistently getting the least amount of debate speaking time despite polling higher than many of the other candidates on stage, to being mentioned in the media fewer times than other lower-polling candidates, and repeatedly misidentified by name and with the wrong photo," according to the statement.

C100 said that this has "angered many in the Asian-American community, resonating painfully with those who see in Andrew Yang's media marginalization a reflection of their own invisibility and limited success, from business executive positions, corporate boardrooms, and university leadership to media newsrooms, the debate stage and the silver screen."

"Despite their hard work and best efforts to be considered on their own merits and to be given nothing more than the same fair and equal shot as the next person, it is disheartening and infuriating when powerful institutions such as the media continue to perpetuate that invisibility, intentionally or not," the statement said.

The organization said it believes as guardians of fairness and equal treatment, the media has an obligation to the communities it serves to present the news in as neutral and unbiased a way as possible, and to conduct research and reporting with the highest of professional standards.

Recognizing their great power in shaping opinions, C100 called on the media to exercise their responsibilities "with extra due diligence, fairness, and sensitivity going forward".

The organization also called on all Asian Americans to take action to "counter the invisibility".

"C100 urges all Asian Americans to participate in the political process by voting, from the primaries all the way through the general election, regardless of which party or candidate you support,'' it said in the statement.

Although Asian Americans are the nation's fastest growing ethnic group, C100 said the group remains "politically overlooked" because its share of the electorate isn't commensurate with its increasing population in the United States.

"Voting is the surest way to assert our presence," the statement said.

C100 also called on Asian Americans to participate and be counted in the 2020 US Census as another way to become more visible.

"An accurate count will also help states and counties provide the required voter language assistance in accordance with the Voting Rights Act," it said.

"An under-count will result in Asian American communities being underrepresented and underfunded and will only continue to marginalize and disenfranchise Asian Americans not only in politics, public policy, and government, but also economically," it added.

"May 2020 be the year that unleashes the full visibility, strength and power of the Asian-American community as voting and engaged citizens of this great country."