San Francisco Mayor London Breed returned to the city on Sunday after a week in China to foster economic and cultural ties with the region, despite the ongoing crisis in the city. .
Breed’s office said the mayor traveled to China and spent a week visiting multiple cities, including meetings with government, business and aviation officials.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng invited Breed to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference in San Francisco last year.
Ahead of the trip, Breed told local NBC station that one of his goals was to bring pandas back to the San Francisco Zoo, build a stronger relationship with Chinese authorities, boost tourism and draw attention to San Francisco businesses. He said there is.
“We think the economic opportunities for San Francisco will be significant with increased air travel, business opportunities and an increased number of pandas,” he said at a press conference.
Back home, Breed voters face issues that go far beyond zoo exhibits.
California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said, “Mayor London Breed’s decision to fly to China in pursuit of pandas is a threat to the safety of San Franciscans as the city faces rising crime and homelessness.” It’s a shameful shirking of their responsibility to ensure that this happens,” California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones told FOX News Digital. .
“Her misguided focus on photo shoots abroad only highlights her complete disregard for the urgent needs of those suffering in her own backyard.”
“If you asked a thousand San Franciscans what the biggest problem facing the city is, not a single one would say there are no pandas at the zoo. They will say they are fed up and tired of a broken government that ignores the problems of the city,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher told FOX News Digital.
“Mayor Breed should focus on fixing San Francisco’s death spiral, rather than beefing up the Chinese Communist Party’s PR campaign.”
Earlier this year, San Francisco city officials claimed that with the exception of 2020, the city’s crime rate is “lower than at any time in the past decade.”
According to FBI statistics, crimes reported to police in San Francisco decreased in 2023 compared to 2022 in most categories, but not as much as in other parts of the country.
The number of crimes reported in the city in 2023 was 50,744 across all categories. In 2022, San Franciscans reported 54,649 crimes, a 7.2% decrease from the previous year.
However, robberies increased by 14.8% in 2023 compared to the previous year, and auto thefts increased by 6.3% compared to 2022.
There have been 11,077 crimes in the city so far this year, a 29.7% decrease compared to the same period in 2022.
Doug Yeakel, a San Francisco International Airport spokesman, said the mayor’s visit could generate millions of dollars in air travel and boost the city’s economy, adding that three China-based airlines are currently at SFO. He said he looks forward to doing business.
“It’s something very powerful not only for our airport, but also for the local economy. We’re thinking about a single flight, but I’m thinking about foreign destinations like China and flights between the U.S. and SFO. We’re talking about daily flights,” Yakel told KTVU. “Annual revenue could exceed $175 million and create 1,200 jobs across the Bay Area, but that’s just one flight.”
Breed told KTVU that a cost estimate for bringing giant pandas to the city hasn’t been determined yet, but he’s confident it will happen.
“We are expecting a pair of pandas, and we have procured resources, obtained all permits, and worked with wildlife conservation organizations in Beijing to complete all paperwork and hope that the pandas will arrive as soon as possible. I look forward to it,” she said. she said.
Jones sent resources to Fox News Digital Breed, saying they should focus on other things.
“And we all know that the San Diego Zoo is world-famous for its panda exhibits. Mayor Breed should focus on restoring San Francisco instead of competing with San Diego for pandas,” Jones said. he added.
Gloria Chan, director of communications for the Department of Economic and Workforce Development, argues that having pandas at the zoo is in the city’s best interest.
“Securing official residency for the first giant panda in San Francisco is a huge victory for our city. San Francisco is an international destination and gateway to Asia Pacific. Pandas are here. “This strengthens our already deep cultural ties and honors the Chinese and API traditions that are central to San Francisco’s history,” said Chan.
“If Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors don’t make dramatic changes to homelessness, crime, drug abuse, spending, and reinventing downtown by attracting new businesses, San Francisco could soon become a second Detroit.” ” said Lee Ohanian.
According to the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, as of 2022, 7,754 people were homeless in San Francisco that year, a 3.5% decrease from the previous year. According to the report, 3,357 of these people are staying in evacuation centers.
In 2023, the city reported 810 people died from drug overdose.
Of those, 656 were related to fentanyl. Those numbers were more than double the national average for that year, The New York Times reported.
In November, U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey announced that the federal government was providing major resources to support the city’s drug trafficking epidemic.
The “all hands on deck” effort combines federal, state and local resources to increase arrests of street dealers, according to a press release.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also upped the ante by increasing federal charges against drug traffickers and holding dealers accountable, the release said.
Breed has also faced criticism from several celebrities.
During TNT’s alternate broadcast of the NBA All-Star Game in February, Charles Barkley criticized the city while speaking with Basketball Hall of Famer Reggie Miller.
Barkley asked Miller if he would choose to play in the cold in Indianapolis, where Miller spent his entire 18-year NBA career, or “to be around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco.”
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green called Barkley “crazy” and added that Barkley is “not welcome” in the city.
WNBA star Candace Parker defended San Francisco, saying, “We love San Francisco.”
“No, it’s not,” he answered. “You can’t even walk around there.”
San Francisco-based rapper and restaurant owner Chino Yan released a “diss track” accusing Breed of allowing the city to become “zombieland.”
“London Breed, you’re more than just a clown,” Yang raps in the song “San Francisco Our Home.”
“You were never there when we really needed you. You turned this wonderful city into Zombieland.” Yang then wrote, “Our beloved London… – Apologized for “spreading false information about Mayor Breed” and suggested that someone with “connections” to “top elites” had threatened him and his family.
“I am just a private citizen. Therefore, for the sake of my family and my loved ones, my closest friends, I am publicly candid about my actions and what I said in the video. I would like to apologize,” Yang said, according to CBS News.
Mayor Breed on Tuesday announced plans to institute a curfew in parts of the Tenderloin in an effort to curb crime in the area, the mayor’s office confirmed to KTVU.
The city announced that local law enforcement made more than 2,000 arrests for drug sales or drug use in the Tenderloin in 2023.
They also seized over 260 pounds of fentanyl.
The investigation will continue into 2024, and so far this year 350 people have been arrested for drug sales and drug use, according to the city.
“Our public safety efforts are making a difference, but there is still much work to be done,” Breed said. “We will not slow down in our efforts to make San Francisco a safer and more enjoyable city for everyone. It also includes providing resources.”
The city said these numbers do not include additional federal efforts being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mayor London Breed’s office and the San Francisco Police Department for comment.
FOX News’ Ryan Gaydos, Jeffrey Clark and Luis Casiano contributed to this report.
