Taylor Tinsley of OAN
Wednesday, May 29, 2024 1:30 p.m.
A progressive district attorney in California’s Bay Area is facing a recall election this November amid allegations of cultural appropriation.
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Alameda District Attorney Pamela Price canceled an event she was scheduled to hold on Tuesday to announce her Chinese name. The event was scheduled to be held at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.
The press conference (and its cancellation) came after a former staff member accused Price last year of being “condescending and disrespectful” towards Asian people.
Price was accused of cultural appropriation shortly after first announcing the event.
The district attorney first revealed his Chinese name in April 2023, when he took out a full-page ad in the Chinese-language World newspaper.
“I think this is ridiculous. It’s cultural appropriation and pandering of the highest order,” said Charles Huang, founder of the National Association of Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors.
However, adopting Chinese names is not uncommon.
Vice President Kamala Harris did this when she was running for district attorney in 2003. Her Chinese name is He Jinli.
Bay Area politicians are handpicking Chinese names to appear on the ballot, garnering support from Asian American voters.
The city elections department began cracking down on the practice last year, and now candidates must provide evidence that they’ve been using the name for at least two years.
Price is also facing a recall election this November, largely due to rising crime in Oakland.
“Her actions and the elimination of these enhancements and the reduction of charges to release violent offenders really highlight and demonstrate her actions to protect the Asian American community,” Huang added.
There is also an effort to unseat Oakland Mayor Shen Tao (D-Calif.).
“It’s over for Thao,” one of the recall organizers said Wednesday.
A group calling for Thao’s removal, OUST, has already collected more than 30,000 signatures but said it wanted thousands more before submitting it to the electoral commission in July.
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