August 2nd, 2014

Roger Ailes, President

Fox News Channel Rockefeller Center

NY, New York

Dear Mr. Roger Ailes

The under-signed Chinese American and other immigrant organizations are deeply offended by and gravely concerned with Mr. Bob Beckel’s racist, xenophobic and inflammatory comments aired on your program recently. We come together to call for Fox News to fire Bob Beckel.

As leaders from the fastest growing immigrant communities, we have come together to further call for Fox News to make an apology to and to start a meaningful conversation with the affected communities to repair the damaged relationship and to ensure incidents of this nature will not happen again or go with impunity.

On your program “The Five”, co-host Bob Beckel recently ranted for a whole minute, using racist slur and inflammatory language to make the whole-sale accusation of “the Chinese”, particularly those working in our vital tech industry and studying on university campus, as “the single biggest threat to the national security of the United States.” He ended his rant with a hateful F-word hand gesture to China.

Words matter. This is not to be brushed off as causal unscripted comments, nor should anyone defend it as a case of freedom of speech. Mr. Beckel has a long history of using such derogatory and racial language on your program, which has no place in this country. More serious, his comments have helped create an environment of suspicion, fear and hate in this country toward the Chinese people and other immigrant communities, agitating our country to pick up a fight with China or with “the Chinese”.

And words have consequences. Our Asian American communities know too well the dangers of such xenophobic and inflammatory language and acts. From the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, to the Japanese encampment during the World War Two, to the Red Scare and “Un-American Activities” Congressional investigation in the 50’s, to the murder of Vincent Chin in the 80’s, and to Wen Ho Li case in the 90’s. Today, we will not allow such painful events to happen to us again on our watch!

If we will allow Bob Beckel to go on unchecked, what will be the next? If it allows this to continue to happen, how will Fox News earn our communities’ respect? And when will Fox News feel enough is enough with such xenophobic and inflammatory comments on our public airway?

It is now up to Fox News to do the right thing; we the leaders of the Asian American communities certainly hope and demand that Fox News will do the right thing.

Respectfully yours,

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