Race for Rep. Pelosi's seat goes to Chinatown where Taiwan takes stage

"This is a historical moment for us, for our community to take our voice from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. I understand our pain and I understand our voices. Supervisor Connie Chan emphasized her immigrant experience arriving in Chinatown without speaking English, positioning herself as uniquely qualified to represent the community's interests in Congress."

"Taiwan is the foreign policy issue that figures most prominently among Chinese American voters who account for more than 16 percent of the electorate. Whoever wins this race will replace Representative Nancy Pelosi, who in 2022 became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island in 25 years. That visit aggravated mainland China's government, which subsequently encircled the island with unprecedented military exercises."

"I do not agree with her decision, said Saikat Chakrabarti, a centimillionaire candidate, who received the loudest applause and cheers of the evening in response to the question on Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Chinese American voters here saw the visit as inflammatory. They rank maintaining peace with China around Taiwan as a top priority."

At a Congressional forum in San Francisco's Chinatown, Supervisor Connie Chan, the only major Chinese-American candidate, highlighted her immigrant background and connection to the community. Taiwan dominated discussion as the primary foreign policy concern for Chinese-American voters, who represent more than 16% of the electorate. Candidate Saikat Chakrabarti received strong applause for criticizing former Representative Nancy Pelosi's 2022 visit to Taiwan, which Chinese-American voters viewed as inflammatory and destabilizing. The race to replace Pelosi involves candidates addressing concerns about maintaining peace with China regarding Taiwan, a priority for this significant voting bloc.

Read at Mission Local