A group of young Korean, Chinese and South Asian professionals gathered at
A group of young Korean, Chinese and South Asian professionals gathered at a cozy Manhattan restaurant recently, gossiping about the scandal.
“Did Liu come under increased scrutiny because of perceptions of foreign money? Will there be heightened suspicion of untoward behavior by other Asian American candidates or of Asian money in American politics? These topics are on the mind of every Asian American,” said Bright Limm, President of Korean Americans for Political Advancement. “A lot of questions need to be answered but they have not appeared in the media yet.”
Limm’s group aims to maximize the political influence of the Korean American community. Last year, they mobilized a large turnout of Korean voters in State Senate District 11, contributing to the victory of State Senator Tony Avella.
John Liu is in hot water. The scandal began in October with a New York Times investigation which found a number of people Liu listed as donors denying they gave him money. Shortly thereafter, Liu’s fundraiser Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan was arrested and charged with conspiring to arrange a $16,000 political contribution to Liu under the cover of straw donors. Now the FBI and Manhattan federal prosecutors are investigating whether foreign money flowed into Mr. Liu’s 2009 campaign. The Foreign Agents Registration Act prohibits campaign contributions by foreign nationals.
Liu, the first Asian American to be elected to city-wide office was widely seen as poised to make history again by being elected the city’s first Asian mayor. Liu has not formally announced his candidacy, just calling it “2013 fundraising.” But one person close to Liu who preferred to remain anonymous, said if Liu stops right now, there is no other plausible Asian American candidate for mayor, at least in 2013.