Racial Politics in an Era of Transnational Citizenship: The 1996 'Asian Donorgate' Controversy in Perspective

The Asian American activist and political communities viewed 1996 as a watershed year, in which the Democratic Party took seriously its Asian American constituency—until the 'Asian Donorgate' campaign finance controversy complicated that representation. In the ensuing public discourse Chinese Americans, and by proxy all Asian Americans, were depicted as foreigners subversively attempting to buy influence with U.S. politicians. While neither disputing nor confirming the guilt of the individuals charged in this episode with raising illegal foreign campaign money, Racial Politics in an Era of Transnational Citizenship highlights the conflation of Asian transnational capital and government interests with Asian Americans and the resulting racialization, foreignization, and even criminalization of this large community. Scholar Michael Chang asks, Will the perception of the Asian American as the 'perpetual foreigner' continue to reproduce itself uncritically, heightening during times of media-supported nationalism? This incisive work contributes greatly to current debates on civil rights and on the meaning of 'citizenship' and 'belonging' among a transnational community and in a globalized world.