New York State Sen. John Liu shared a racist, expletive-laden voicemail that allegedly greeted him when he came to work on Monday, showing that even elected officials are not spared from being the targets of anti-Asian slurs.
Liu, who is Taiwanese American, purportedly received the message in his Queens office from a seemingly disgruntled constituent, who claimed that Liu had lost his vote over a “video from the park.”
“John, you lost my vote, you f*cking ch*nk piece of sh*t,” the anonymous caller said. “You lost my vote, you lost my whole family’s vote, you’re losing thousands of votes, f*cking a**hole.”
The caller ended his message demanding that Liu “go back to f*cking China where you belong… you f*cking useless piece of sh*t.”
In a Twitter post, Liu described the incident as “another day at the office.” But while the 55-year-old official has reportedly been the recipient of similar attacks in the past, explicit ones tend to stand out.
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“These last couple of years, I’ve personally urged Asian Americans and anyone who has faced bigotry to not let it go unnoticed and to call it out,” Liu told the New York Post. “And I had to do the same, especially when it was so explicit like this.”
It is unclear what the anonymous caller was particularly frustrated about. Liu, who currently chairs the state senate’s committee on education, most recently discussed the importance of reducing class sizes for better learning.
“From my own personal experience as a teacher and I continue to teach courses, when you have too many students, more than what the enrollment was supposed to be, it’s much more difficult,” Liu told Inside City Hall last month.
A bill sponsored by the senator to push the objective — and in the process, increase school funding by $1.6 billion a year — passed the legislature with an overwhelming majority. It now awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.
“Now is the time to finally, at long last, provide a sound basic education for every school kid in New York City with that money to reduce class size,” Liu added.
Hochul, meanwhile, denounced the latest attack against Liu.
“I’m so sorry you had to experience this, @LiuNewYork,” Hochul tweeted. “This hateful, offensive language is unacceptable. We will always stand strong with our Asian American and Pacific Islander neighbors as we continue to combat hate and racism in New York State.”
Comptroller Brad Lander also offered Liu support: “So sorry John that you, your staff, and so many New Yorkers have had to experience such hate. … As we committed together at the dragon boat festival this weekend — a beautiful celebration of Chinese culture in NYC — we will work ceaselessly for a city that’s safe for all.”
Featured Image via Sen. John C. Liu
