Foreign Donation Furor Dampens Fund-Raising

Charlie Woo was worried it might be tough selling tickets to this weekend’s Chinese banquet at the Universal City Hilton, even though the star attraction was a popular young Democrat expected to become the mainland’s first Asian American governor.

Woo was right. Caller after caller pleaded last-minute family obligations, illnesses or other seemingly flimsy excuses. But a few admitted openly that they were simply fearful of having their names associated with a political event or candidate, no matter how worthy.

For Woo and other Asian American leaders in the Los Angeles area, the empty chairs at Saturday’s fund-raiser for Washington state gubernatorial candidate Gary Locke were disturbing evidence that Asian Americans are pulling back from politics, fearful of getting caught in a widening campaign against foreign influence in the U.S. political system.

The campaign donation controversy, which has sparked calls for a congressional investigation, stems from allegations that questionable contributions were made to the Democratic National Committee by the Riady family of Indonesia and others, primarily citizens of Asian countries.

Woo and other Asian American leaders fear critics are blurring the line between Americans of Asian descent, who have a legitimate right to political involvement, and foreigners who seek influence in the U.S. political system.

“It’s very easy for people who are not familiar with our community to say every Asian is foreign,” said David Lang, a partner in the Lang, Murakawa & Wong public relations firm, which specializes in political consulting. “They should come to Monterey Park, they should go to Westminster and see just how big the Asian American community is.”

For Locke, the grandson of Chinese immigrants, the controversy has already placed a cloud over a nationwide fund-raising tour.

Saturday’s crowd of about 200 people--which included such prominent Californians as Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, former Secretary of State March Fong Eu and Peter Woo, president of Los Angeles’ Chinese Chamber of Commerce--was about two-thirds of what was expected. An estimated $30,000 to $40,000 was raised for Locke’s campaign.

The highlight of Locke’s fund-raising tour is tonight’s glitzy reception at the Sheraton Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., which will feature First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Doug Richardson, spokesman for the sponsoring Democratic Governors’ Assn., said he had seen no sign of a drop-off in attendance. Locke also visited San Francisco on Sunday and will hold Asian American fund-raisers in Washington and New York today and Tuesday.

Last spring, Locke, who now serves as King County executive, met John Huang, the prominent Asian American fund-raiser who was removed from his role at the Democratic National Committee over alleged campaign finance violations. Huang was one of the sponsors of Locke’s Los Angeles fund-raiser but did not attend. He has been refusing to comment on the controversy.

Locke, a former prosecutor and state legislator with a squeaky-clean record, was not a major recipient of Huang’s fund-raising efforts and has not gotten any contributions from the Riady family, according to spokeswoman Judy Yu. She did note that Huang and his wife gave Locke a small personal donation, but she said it was “well under” the $1,100 Washington state limit for individual and corporate campaign contributions.

Locke called for a thorough investigation into the campaign finance charges, saying he did not expect his own campaign to be hurt badly. But he expressed the growing concern that the image of Asian Americans not be sullied by the allegations of impropriety by foreign interests.

“This appears to be a very specific incident,” he said. “I would hope nobody is painted with a broad brush.”

For Asian Americans, it is a sad, old refrain. During the backlash against Japanese investment into the United States in the 1980s, a pair of unemployed Detroit auto workers beat to death a young Chinese American man whom they mistook for a Japanese. Four decades earlier, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, 40,000 Japanese Americans were put in internment camps.

People like Charlie Woo, the chief executive officer of Mega Toys in El Segundo, believe that they are victims of a media frenzy spurred on by prominent Republicans, including presidential nominee Bob Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Woo is one of a number of wealthy Asian American contributors who have gotten calls in recent days from journalists questioning their citizenship, ethnic background, finances and political motivations.

“Just because of my last name, they question which country I’m from and question my patriotism,” said Woo, a U.S. citizen who emigrated from Hong Kong 29 years ago. “That’s totally uncalled for . . . for many others, it would be very intimidating.”

Asian Americans aren’t asking for special treatment, according to Woo and others. They agree that campaign finance violations by anyone should be investigated and punished.

But they argue that the latest attacks smack of racism, because they appear to be singling out people who are visible minorities, particularly of Asian descent.

This is particularly disheartening to Asian American leaders who have worked hard in recent years to spur community involvement in politics. Asian Americans who are registered voters have a good record of going to the polls. But in general, they have the lowest voter registration numbers of any ethnic group, according to a study by UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center.

Whipping up voter enthusiasm has been a slow process, partially because of the high percentage of recent immigrants and barriers of language and culture. Many of the newcomers grew up under authoritarian governments that made political participation a dangerous choice.

Officials of the Democratic and Republican National Committees said it is too early to know whether Asian Americans will beat a permanent political retreat or just take cover temporarily.

But one Democratic Party official fears the controversy could have a “chilling effect” on Asian American support, given the phone calls the party is receiving from worried donors.

In recent years, Democrats and Republicans have launched campaigns to recruit support from Asian Americans, who are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States.

Asian Americans also have been an important source of political donations, although it was usually done with little fanfare. That changed in recent years as they began trying to increase their clout by pooling their resources and targeting donations to parties or candidates that supported their concerns.

As their contributions escalated, so did their visibility. A 1988 Asian American fund-raiser in Los Angeles for Democratic presidential hopeful Michael S. Dukakis raised $100,000. Four years later, a similar function for a then little-known Arkansas governor, Bill Clinton, netted $250,000. Earlier this year, Asian Americans collected about a million dollars in one night for President Clinton’s reelection campaign.

Republicans also have benefited handsomely, according to Asian American fund-raisers. The largest bloc of “soft money” contributors to George Bush’s presidential campaign was Asian Americans, according to A Magazine, a New York publication aimed at Asian American readers.

At the same time, Asian Americans have become more vocal, pushing for a greater share of high-visibility political appointments and making their views known on such issues as anti-immigrant legislation, welfare reform, education and trade.

Lt. Gov. Davis, who has been out stumping for other Democratic candidates, including Mike Honda, an Asian American running for the California Assembly, told Saturday’s crowd that they have a responsibility as U.S. citizens not to back away from politics now.

“Doing any less would be a dishonor to your citizenship,” he said.

* DOLE PROPOSAL: Bob Dole calls for overhaul of political donation laws. A20