New York, NY (October 19, 2023) — Committee of 100, a non-profit membership organization of prominent Chinese Americans, today issued the following statement condemning the remarks of Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen that he made about a reporter who developed a story on the environmental concerns at the Governor’s farms. For context, when asked about the story, the Governor stated:
“Number one, I didn’t read it and I won’t. Number two, all you’ve got to do is look at the author, author’s from Communist China — what more do you need to know?”
Committee of 100’s response:
“For Governor Pillen to dismiss the quality of the journalist’s work based on her national origin is discriminatory and racist. This type of behavior only contributes to the vicious cycle of hatred, bigotry and violence directed at Chinese Americans and the AAPI community here in the U.S. Word have meaning, and racially charged words have consequences. We urge groups and organizations across all communities to join with Committee of 100 in making such behaviors unacceptable in American life.”
Xenophobia in the U.S. towards Chinese Americans and the larger AAPI population often manifests across a myriad of words, phrases, and tropes. To help combat this issue, Committee of 100 crafted an anti-hate glossary as a guide for identifying terms, phrases, and imagery often associated with the Asian community. The glossary can serve as an accessible reference with examples to illustrate the types of language to combat and can be downloaded here: bit.ly/antihateglossary.
About Committee of 100
Committee of 100 is a non-profit U.S. leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, healthcare, and the arts focused on public policy engagement, civic engagement, and philanthropy. For over 30 years, Committee of 100 has served as the preeminent organization committed to the dual missions of promoting the full participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life and constructive relations between the United States and Greater China. Visit https://www.committee100.org/ or follow Committee of 100 on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram for more information.
# # #
Contacts:
Charles Zinkowski
Sr. Director of Marketing & Communications
czinkowski@committee100.org
Sam Jones
Manager of PR and Social Media
sjones@committee100.org
