State Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco called on conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh to apologize to the Chinese community today for mocking Chinese President Hu Jintao’s speech.
Limbaugh was complaining today on his show about a Fox News broadcast that omitted translation of Hu’s words, and spent 18 seconds speaking gibberish Chinese.
“Normally they translate every couple of words, but Hu Jintao was just going chin chong, chin chong cha…” he said before continuing to mimic the language.
Yee chairs the state Senate Select Committee on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs and said Limbaugh owes the Chinese community an apology for his “pointless and ugly offense.”
“His classless act is an insult to over 3,000 years of cultural history, and is a slap in the face to the millions of Chinese Americans who have struggled in this country and to a people who constitute one-quarter of the world’s population,” Yee said in a statement.
“His comments… are sadly indicative of the bigotry that has often plagued his commentary and lined his pockets.”
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee attended a state dinner tonight at the White House at which Hu, President Obama and the First Lady were present.
Janna Brancolini, Bay City News
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