Fox News host in 'Chinamen' uproar should resign: senator

California state Senator Ted Lieu and local Asian-American communities called for Fox News host Bob Beckel to apologize and resign after he claimed on air that "a bunch of Chinamen" is threatening US national security.

"As usual, we bring them over here and teach a bunch of Chinamen - Chinese people - how to do computers and then they go back to China and hack into us," Beckel said Thursday during an episode of The Five, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Lieu described Beckel's speech as "racist" and "xenophobic."

"His comments have no place in America, and this is at least the second time he has used racial slurs. He must resign immediately," Lieu said.

In a written statement released Saturday, the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs (APAPA) said it denounced the outrageous incident and is demanding an official apology from both Beckel and Fox News.

"It is incredible that someone fostering such racial prejudice is allowed to host a nationally televised program in this day and age. It is not his first offense, having used derogatory language to describe 'Orientals' in a program last year," APAPA founder and National Chair CC Yin said.

Other organizations, such as United for a Better Community, Chinese United, United Asian Americans For Activism and the Silicon Valley Chinese Association, have also issued similar statements, according to World Journal, a Chinese-language newspaper headquartered in New York.

Beckel said on the same show last year that once after he went swimming, his "eyes blew up" and "it made me look Oriental," according to the Los Angeles Times.