Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Hillary Clinton Angers Asian-American Media
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign barred reporters with prominent Chinese-language news organizations from a fundraiser last week, angering some journalists who serve San Francisco's sizable Asian-American community.
Reporters from at least two Chinese-language newspapers and a crew from a Chinese-language TV station were denied admission to the event Friday when they arrived after a Secret Service-imposed cutoff time, according to the journalists and the New York senator's campaign.
The Chinese-language newspapers and some other media had not been included on the e-mail list from the campaign telling journalists to check in by 11:45 a.m. Friday, Clinton campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee said Tuesday. Elleithee said the campaign was sorry for the misunderstanding and would take steps to avoid a recurrence.
Reporter Portia Li of the World Journal, a Chinese-language paper run independently from offices in San Francisco and other North American cities, said that when she arrived about five minutes late a staff member asked her for two forms of identification. Li said she found that insulting because she never had to do so at similar events.
"She kept saying this is only open for local media, not foreign press," Li said. "I told her, I'm not foreign press. I'm local media."
Li added: "It's not about myself, it's about how the mainstream looks at Chinese (people) as a whole."
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign barred reporters with prominent Chinese-language news organizations from a fundraiser last week, angering some journalists who serve San Francisco's sizable Asian-American community.
Reporters from at least two Chinese-language newspapers and a crew from a Chinese-language TV station were denied admission to the event Friday when they arrived after a Secret Service-imposed cutoff time, according to the journalists and the New York senator's campaign.
The Chinese-language newspapers and some other media had not been included on the e-mail list from the campaign telling journalists to check in by 11:45 a.m. Friday, Clinton campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee said Tuesday. Elleithee said the campaign was sorry for the misunderstanding and would take steps to avoid a recurrence.
Reporter Portia Li of the World Journal, a Chinese-language paper run independently from offices in San Francisco and other North American cities, said that when she arrived about five minutes late a staff member asked her for two forms of identification. Li said she found that insulting because she never had to do so at similar events.
"She kept saying this is only open for local media, not foreign press," Li said. "I told her, I'm not foreign press. I'm local media."
Li added: "It's not about myself, it's about how the mainstream looks at Chinese (people) as a whole."
