‘I don’t deserve to be labelled as a racist’
Former B.C. Liberal candidate says post about NDP’s Singh was wrong but misunderstood
The federal Liberal party is shutting the door on its former candidate in the Burnaby South byelection after she expressed second thoughts about resigning and claimed a controversial campaign post to a Chinese social-media site was widely misinterpreted.
Karen Wang, who until Wednesday was the Liberal candidate running against NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in the highly anticipated byelection, resigned over comments she made on WeChat about Singh’s ethnicity. Later, she asked the prime minister to let her run after all.
But the party has decided against letting Wang run under the Liberal banner.
“Recent online comments by Karen Wang are not aligned with the values of the Liberal Party of Canada. The Liberal party has accepted her resignation as a candidate, and she will not represent the Liberal party in the Burnaby South byelection,” wrote Braeden Caley, Liberal party spokesperson, in an email Thursday.
Caley did not respond to questions about whether the Liberals will run another candidate in the byelection.
Wang, a daycare operator who was selected last month to run for the Liberals in one of the country’s most diverse ridings, urged voters on Saturday via the Chinese social-media network WeChat to vote for her, “the only ethnic Chinese candidate in the riding,” rather than her opponent Singh, “of Indian descent.”
She apologized to Singh on Wednesday, after the Star published details of the WeChat post initially published in Chinese, and stepped down as the Liberal candidate in the riding.
Elections Canada confirmed Wang formally withdrew from the byelection Wednesday by submitting a written statement.
In a phone interview Thursday, Wang said she has the “heart and passion” to serve Burnaby South and that she would consider running as an independent. She said she will decide after consulting with her family and supporters.
In the meantime, Wang said she wants to explain the WeChat post so that people understand she is “not racist at all.” She said the post was written in Chinese by a campaign volunteer and that the terms were meant to be translated as “Chinese Canadian” and “Indian Canadian.”
The Chinese word for Canadian does not appear in the WeChat post.
“We mentioned the fact that Singh is from the — he is Indian Canadian and he has Indian background,” she said.
“Normally, the Chinese language has a tradition … The media always point out what cultural background this candidate has. That’s a tradition,” she said. “I didn’t mean any disrespect to him.”
After the Star reported about the WeChat post this week, Wang said her campaign manager and others came to her house to discuss the situation. She said she was told “it had come to the point” where she needed to resign.
“I accepted. I said it is in the best interest of the party,” Wang said.
After a sleepless night on Wednesday, she said she wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal party to express second thoughts about her resignation. She said she also wanted to explain her view on the WeChat post.
“At this time, I just feel so discouraged and misunderstood; I feel so hurt,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if I run or not. I feel the need to explain to people and just tell the people the truth and to be honest.”
Wang held a press conference Thursday afternoon outside the Burnaby public library. She took questions for about 20 minutes, telling reporters she felt hurt and misunderstood, while occasionally tearing up.
“I (made) a mistake but I don’t deserve to be labelled as a racist,” she said.
Speaking to reporters during a campaign stop at Simon Fraser University earlier Thursday, Singh declined to comment on the Liberal party’s decision not to take Wang back as a candidate, saying it was up to that party to decide.
He said he wants to “move forward” from Wang’s WeChat comments and focus on election issues in Burnaby South, such as housing.
“Politics that divide along racial lines hurt our communities,” he said. “They’re not where we want to go; they’re not the kind of community we want to build.”
In a statement Thursday, Green party Leader Elizabeth May said it’s not too late for the Liberals to do the “right thing” by not running anyone against Singh. May announced last year that her party would follow the so-called “leader’s courtesy” by giving an opposing party leader a pass when they try to win a seat during a byelection.
News of Wang’s resignation was met with mixed reactions from Burnaby’s large Chinese-Canadian community. Some members of the community told the Star Wednesday they were disappointed by Wang’s apparent attempt to persuade voters on the basis of race.