China bashing will do no good to either U.S. or China

China bashing will do no good to either Americans or Chinese, said Jay Chen, 39th U.S. Congressional District Democratic candidate.

In an interview with Xinhua on the U.S. Presidential Election Day at his campaign branch office in Roland Heights, California, Chen said, "Some politicians, like my competitor Edward Royce, always want to describe China as our enemy, but that will do no good to the United States and to the Chinese Americans."

Born in 1978 in the United States, Chen is the youngest Asian candidate to challenge Republican incumbent Edward Royce in the district.

"It is a pity that some candidates want to bash China and attack that their competitors are too close to China, like Governor Mitt Romney who had criticized President Barack Obama," said Chen.

"My competitor Royce also resorted to this means. He attacked me that my support came from China. He intended to make the White voters in the U.S. feel afraid," Chen said.

He said there are White people who are doing business in China or with China. Chen said they can make donations to the candidates they support, and no one has questioned whether their money comes from China, but he was targeted by his competitor only because he is a Chinese American.

If elected, Chen said he would speak for the Chinese Americans in the United States. If similar discriminations and criticisms happen to them in the future, he said he will speak for them in the U.S. Congress.

Chen cited Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwan-born American scientist who worked for the University of California at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, as an example.

The scientist was wrongfully charged and imprisoned by the U.S. government in 1999 on allegation that Lee was assisting China. Later, the U.S. Federal Court ruled that Lee is innocent. However, at that time, no one at the U.S. Congress dared to speak for him. That shows that "if there is no representation from the Chinese community, there is no voice in the U.S. Congress," Chen said.

"I will speak for the Americans and that includes Chinese Americans in the U.S. Congress. I will advocate a better and friendly relationship with other countries including China. Since I can speak Chinese, I can help our country to remain a good and stable relationship with countries in Asia," Chen said.

As for the blame that China is responsible for the bad economy in the U.S., Chen said: "If China's economy is good, they can buy more products from the U.S. To help China become a more open economy is important because China is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. If China's economy is good, the U.S. will benefit. If China's economy is not good, the U.S. economy will also be harmed."

California voters will elect one U.S. senator and 53 members of the U.S. House of Representatives on the Election Day besides voting for the next president.

Judy Chu, the first and only Chinese American woman in the U.S. Congress, is running for re-election and may keep her position. Chen is the only U.S. Congressional challenger from the Chinese community in southern California.

A graduate of public schools and Harvard University, Chen is a small business owner and serves as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He is also a Hacienda La Puente School Board Member.