The San Francisco Election Commission recently swore in a Chinese immigrant who was not a citizen of the United States. This raised some national security worries because a U.S. senator had earlier warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping is now playing the “long game.”
Kelly Wong is a Hong Kong-born immigrant rights activist who came to the United States in 2019 to pursue a doctorate. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors overwhelmingly approved her appointment on February 14.
She is thought to be the first non-citizen to hold a commission post after California voters approved a ballot issue in 2020 to abolish the citizenship requirement to serve on San Francisco boards.
“It’s like there are voices in my brain telling me that I can’t succeed. You lack competence. You’re a foreigner.” This is not your nation,” Wong remarked.
She said, “If I can do it, anyone can do it.”
Not able to vote, Wong is one of seven people in her new position who will oversee the policies of the Department of Elections.
She will oversee polling places, mail-in ballots, voter registration, and election monitoring.
According to the Epoch Times, Wong stated on her since-deleted LinkedIn page that “this appointment represents a milestone for all immigrant and underprivileged populations around San Francisco.”
“Representation is important: being in leadership roles is the best way for the thousands of immigrants who live in the city to have our voices heard in politics.”
She said, “I have a strong commitment to making sure that everyone, regardless of immigration status, has a voice in determining our city’s destiny.
Wong stated that she hoped to see more voters who are not native English speakers and immigrants turn out on election day.
She told KQED, “Even though I speak English fluently, I still have trouble figuring out a new system, let alone engaging in political discourse and activities.
Nevertheless, because the commissioner position is unpaid, Wong also plans to continue working for Chinese for Affirmative Action, a group founded in 1969.
Its website lists its objectives as “defending the political and civil rights of Chinese Americans” and “promoting multiracial democracy in the United States.”
The group’s previous responsibility was to exert pressure on the government to change laws to allow non-citizens to vote within San Francisco school elections, provided that their children attended a public school.
In response to Wong’s appointment to the elections board, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) voiced concern about what he believes to be President Xi Jinping’s “long game,” citing the 452 Chinese people who have been detained at the southern border in just the last three days, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.
“Look, they’re murdering Americans with fentanyl by flooding our borders with it,” he declared.
