“Cancelled” Zhao Runs for Florida Seat
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Yukang Zhao is running as a Republican candidate for Florida’s 7th Congressional District of Florida. The district includes Seminole County and much of Orlando, and it is currently represented by Stephanie Murphy. After immigrating to the United States in 1992, Zhao went on to attend Virginia Tech and the University of South Carolina. Later, Zhao became Director of Global Planning at Siemens Energy, and he authored The Chinese Secrets for Success after being personally touched by the devastation caused by the 2008 financial crisis. Today, he is a recognized Asian American leader and is the president of the Asian American Coalition of Education, an organization best known for their most recent lawsuit accusing Harvard of discriminating against Asian Americans. Yukong Zhao and his wife Wenlan Li have lived in Orlando since 1996. They have two children attending college in Florida and New York, respectively.
Zhao is quite proud of his Chinese heritage. However, he understands that China did not offer the same opportunities as the United States: Zhao’s father was politically persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. Startlingly, Zhao sees growing similarities between the Cultural Revolution experiences he had as a child and the contemporary United States political culture. According to Zhao, “The political correctness and ‘cancel culture’ we see today is destroying constructive dialogue.” Zhao cites examples of the violent and lawless removal of historical monuments as an example: “Utilizing political correctness to judge historical figures is a grave mistake. For example, former American president and Founding Father Thomas Jefferson had many deep flaws, yet he is still considered to be one of America’s top presidents because of his contributions to our society,” asserts Zhao. He believes that the historical figures under attack today should be viewed with respect to the period they lived in. Otherwise, almost all historical figures would topple to the standards imposed by the mob. Political correctness has also led to cancel culture, a phenomenon eerily similar to the “cult” surrounding Chairman Mao during the Cultural Revolution. This cultish mentality surrounding Chairman Mao superseded even blood relations. Zhao explains that during the Cultural Revolution, husbands would betray wives, wives would betray husbands, and kids would betray parents if family members did not comply with Maoist doctrine. “Recently, I heard of a CEO firing his own daughter because of hurtful comments made as a teenager,” recalls Zhao. The troubling incident demonstrates the unforgivable nature of cancel culture and the suppression of speech and dialogue, and it certainly doesn’t represent American values. As maintained by Zhao: “There are many radical progressives who want to take away the rule of law and freedom of speech: We need to defend America’s founding principles.”
"Utilizing political correctness to judge historical figures is a grave mistake."
Zhao’s experiences as an Asian American also qualify him to lead the growing fight against China. Recently, the Chinese government and World Health Organization have come under fire for their lack of transparency and failure to accurately report COVID-19 cases. Zhao elaborates, “China even censored doctors such as Li Wenliang who were trying to report to the public about the virus.” Zhao believes that the United States should hold China more strictly to international standards. In the trade and intellectual sphere, America should vigorously fight back against China. Zhao states, “America should reassess where our strategic medical supplies are produced. A lot of the medical supplies and PPE produced in China is defective. Therefore, we should be producing those supplies here.” Zhao believes that following these measures will help the U.S. combat the growing authoritarian regime. However, Zhao believes that until the federal government can find more experts regarding U.S.-China relations, these problems will not never be adequately solved: “I believe that we need more people like me who can speak both English and Chinese and have international knowledge about the subject matter. The skills that I possess can greatly benefit America.”
Zhao believes that he is a fighter for all Americans, but he acknowledges that he is a different breed of legislator: “Americans have been betrayed by so many politicians. They offer bandage solutions to complex problems. For example, Bernie Sanders wants to give students free college education because of skyrocketing tuition, but he never attempts to understand why tuition is rising so quickly in the first place.” Zhao promises to find concrete solutions and not just place “bandages” when in office. When asked about his chances of election, Zhao resolutely responds, “I’m confident in my chances. There are people who want to take down America’s institutions, and I believe that more and more voters realize that.”
Learn more about Zhao’s campaign at https://yukongzhaoforcongress.com
Donate to Zhao’s campaign at https://secure.winred.com/yukongzhao/donate
