CC 11-16-2021 Item No. 2 Vice Mayor Chao's Personal Statement_Written Communication1
Lauren Sapudar
From:Kirsten Squarcia
Sent:Thursday, November 18, 2021 1:33 PM
To:City Clerk
Subject:CC 11-16-21 Item #2 - Vice Mayor Chao's Personal Statement
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Flagged
============
The Chinese Exclusion Act was racist, no doubt about it.
The current California Constitution states: “The State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential
treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the
operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” In 2020, I have campaigned against
Prop. 16 to preserve this clause specifically because I detest any policies that divide people by race, either in
the past, present or in the future, whatever was the “good intention”. I am glad that 57.2% of California voters
choose to uphold this equal treatment clause.
Throughout history, racism has been used by opportunist self-serving politicians to divide people. In this
incident, racism has been manipulated again for political gains by taking snippets out of a long discussion on
K-12 education in a members-only local parent group.
And their goal is to bring down me, an outspoken Chinese American woman who has always fought to give
voices to powerless grassroots residents.
And here I’d like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support by many of you. Those who supported me in
the past and even those who disagreed with me on some issues have expressed their appreciation of what I
do.
Today, Chinese Americans are still being treated as “forever foreigners” in our own country. Chinese American
scholars and engineers are targeted by the FBI, Homeland Security and the State Department, even after they
have passed security clearances. The kind of discrimination Chinese Americans face is not merely racism. It is
much more than that, and that was my point. Failing to see other factors affecting the discriminatory treatment
ignores the nature of the injustice many Asian Americans faced in the past and still face today, being treated
as “forever foreigners,” who somehow cannot be trusted as fellow Americans, and who can be scapegoated to
achieve other means. This is wrong. We are proud Americans, just like everyone else.
I am sorry that many people were misled by what they read in social media or headlines in the print media. You
are upset because you are against racism. And so am I.
I invite you to join me to stand up against all racist policies that divide people and also injustice against anyone
on the basis of race, ethnicity or country of origin, not only in the past, but also today and in the future.
We will solve complex problems facing us only through thoughtful consideration of the issues, while respecting
each other's viewpoints with fairness and civility.
Let's be role models for our future generations.
2
Let's make a commitment to a clean election in 2022 without dirty smear campaigns to demonstrate the
American values of democracy and freedom of speech.
Kirsten Squarcia
City Clerk
City Manager's Office
KirstenS@cupertino.org
(408) 777-3225