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New York Representative Grace Meng called out The Wall Street Journal for publishing a tone-deaf editorial by opinion columnist William McGurn in which McGurn questioned if there are "Too Many Asians."
The editorial was in response to a report from the Chinese government that its population declined for the first time since the 1960s.
McGurn suggested China's one-child policy—which it has in recent years tried to walk back in anticipation of pending demographic shifts—was imported by the West which once opined fewer Asians would need to be born "if humanity is to have a future."
The article has since been retitled "China and the Population Bomb That Wasn’t" but the article and its contents nonetheless angered Meng, who tweeted images of the article and its original headline to her Twitter followers.
She called out The Wall Street Journal's opinion section when she wrote, referencing recent mass shootings in California that specifically targeted members of the Asian community:
"Can you guys just pretend you care about Asian-Americans? It's never ok to put out a headline like this—but especially hurtful this week."
You can see her tweet below.
\u201cCan you guys just pretend you care about Asian Americans? It\u2019s never ok to put out a headline like this- but especially hurtful this week. @WSJopinion\u201d— Grace Meng (@Grace Meng) 1674651343
Many echoed Meng's criticisms and accused The Wall Street Journal of racism and exercising poor editorial judgment.
\u201cRacist with an capital R! #StopAsianHate\u201d— TheSara12525 (@TheSara12525) 1674750004
\u201cOne of the most ignorant and disgusting headlines that I\u2019ve seen\u201d— cosette eisenhauer (@cosette eisenhauer) 1674697901
\u201cWhat the heck!!?? \ud83d\ude21 Who would say something like that as a headline??\u201d— KaylaDouglasVA (@KaylaDouglasVA) 1674749513
\u201cI can\u2019t believe this headline went out this week. And in this reputable publication.\u201d— Stephanie Sheh (@Stephanie Sheh) 1674749094
\u201cWhat the heck!!?? \ud83d\ude21 Who would say something like that as a headline??\u201d— KaylaDouglasVA (@KaylaDouglasVA) 1674749513
\u201cSimply. Disgusting. This is indefensible and sickening @WSJopinion\u201d— Hiro \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea (@Hiro \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea) 1674749700
\u201cWTF @WSJ?! How about this for a headline: Are there too many white people? No wonder AAPIs are afraid of being attacked bc there is a target on our backs everyday. This headline should have never been allowed.\u201d— Jung Hee Choi (@Jung Hee Choi) 1674694783
\u201cThis is insane\u2026 could you imagine if WSJ said this about Black people? \ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— HumanityFirst \u2764\ufe0f (@HumanityFirst \u2764\ufe0f) 1674695922
\u201cThis headline was NOT okay. \nI'm glad they changed it, but that doesn't undo the fact that it was a true WTAF moment that they thought was a good idea to run with it - especially this week - in the first place.\u201d— Non-Parody KatiMae \ud83e\udd84\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc96 (@Non-Parody KatiMae \ud83e\udd84\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc96) 1674697122
Anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes have seen an uptick since the pandemic was politicized by former President Donald Trump and his administration, who regularly referred to the virus as "the China virus."
Last year, a study published in The American Journal of Public Health found Trump’s rhetoric led to a rise of anti-Asian sentiment online.
The study, which reviewed 1.2 million hashtags during the week of March 16, 2020—the first time Trump used the phrase “China virus” in a post—found there was a “massive increase” in use of the hashtag #chinesevirus in reference to the Covid-19 pandemic. #chinesevirus eventually overtook #covid19 in popularity.
Meng herself has previously spoken out about this spike and has described incidents of anti-Asian violence in her neighborhood in New York where she represent's the sixth congressional district, in Queens.
During a 2021 appearance on former Democratic President Bill Clinton's podcast, she said "as a mom, it just breaks [her] heart to have had to talk to my kids" about anti-Asian sentiment and violence, which she said "stems from false information and cowardly acts.”