Racist video of MD delegates sparks call for apology

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A racist video conversation between two Maryland state delegates about their colleague sparked the House speaker to call for an apology.

“Reducing a colleague to harmful stereotypes, questioning his loyalty because of where he was born, and mocking the way he speaks is disrespectful and unbecoming of anyone entrusted with public service,” Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s, wrote in a Friday letter to Dels. Brian Chisholm, R-Anne Arundel, and Mark Fisher, R-Calvert. “It echoes a long and painful history of discrimination that has no place in Maryland or in the House of Delegates.”

Fisher has posted segments of a video series entitled “Dumbest Bill in America,” in which Chisholm has appeared, to his social media.

In an episode of “Mark and the Millennials” posted to his X account April 30, Fisher and Chisholm alleged that Chinese-born Del. Chao Wu, D-Howard and Montgomery, is a spy for the Chinese Communist Party, frequently using the derogatory term “Chicom.” They discussed a piece of legislation sponsored by Wu last year that would have required developers of generative artificial intelligence to post specified information on their websites detailing data and datasets used to train their artificial intelligence products.

The legislation, which was co-sponsored by Dels. Heather Bagnall, Terri Hill, Bernice Mireku-North, N. Scott Phillips, Sheila Ruth, Matthew Schindler, Lily Qi and Natalie Ziegler, did not receive a committee vote.

Fisher said the information that would have been required to be published under Wu’s bill would qualify as a “trade secret.”

In the episode, Fisher shows a video of Wu providing testimony during the bill’s hearing before the House Economic Matters Committee, during which he said that over the past decade, generative AI has experienced “exponential growth with a market size increase by 690%.”

Chisholm responded by saying, “There’s a saying in China that, ‘Only catch fish in muddy water.’ ” As he spoke, he mimicked an Asian accent.

“China knows they can’t take us down with tanks and bullets and all that. They kind of have to backdoor,” he said. “So they send in spies — people like Chao Wu — and try to gain intelligence, correct? That’s the goal. The fight right now is who can get the intelligence faster.”

The Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus sent a letter in response. 

“I am a proud new American and a public servant,” Wu, a member of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus, wrote in the letter. “False accusations and far-right conspiracy theories will not distract me from my work for Maryland families, who deserve serious, data-driven, and practical solutions, not fear, division, or personal attacks.”

In an interview with The Daily Record on Monday, Wu said the comments made by Chisholm and Fisher are “racist,” and that he is “disappointed and sad” but appreciates the support offered to him by Peña-Melnyk and the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus.

Chisholm, Fisher and Wu are up for reelection this year, but only Chisholm’s primary race is contested.

As of Monday afternoon, the video was still live on X and YouTube.

Fisher said in the episode that he researched Wu and found an article published in The Washington Examiner, a self-described conservative outlet, with a headline that reads, “Democratic state representative headed CCP front group in college.”

In the article, The Washington Examiner pointed out that Wu served as the president of the University of Maryland’s chapter of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, linking to a report from the U.S. State Department saying that China established the organization to “monitor Chinese students and mobilize them against views that dissent from the CCP’s stance.”

“If you are someone who moves from a communist country to the United States, you know what you never do? You never, ever, ever register as a Democrat because the Democrats are most like the communists that you just fled,” Fisher said. “So if you register as a Democrat and then you run as a Democrat? I’m pretty sure you’re a Chicom.”

Wu told The Daily Record he was a chair of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association for one year, during which he helped other Chinese graduate students find places to live and learn how to pay tuition and register for classes.

“I have no regrets or anything,” Wu said. “I appreciated other people who helped me when I moved to find a place to live [and] pay tuition here.”

Further alleging that Wu is a spy, Fisher noted in the video that upon receiving his doctorate, the Democrat served as a fellow for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under President Barack Obama and held a position as an electrical engineer at Maryland Aerospace, a defense contract firm that Fisher said works on projects “for the Army, Navy, Airforce and NASA.”

“In addition to that, he also worked for different entities that worked on drones,” Fisher said. “How interesting.”

According to a 2008 article from SpaceNews, a trade publication for the global space industry, Maryland Aerospace Inc. develops satellites and space hardware in hopes to facilitate initiatives for NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. Bloomberg reports that Maryland Aerospace Inc. serves companies in the Asia Pacific region, including the Philippines.

Wu’s LinkedIn confirms that he served as an ORISE Fellow for the FDA from May 2009 to January 2010 and that he worked as a senior electrical engineer for Maryland Aerospace, Inc. from February 2010 to March 2011. Additionally, Wu worked as an aviation software engineer for Garmin from April to June 2011.

Asked by Fisher what he thinks about Wu’s job history, Chisholm said, “It’s scary as hell.”

Further, Fisher asked how Wu won his seat representing Howard and Montgomery counties. “You can barely understand what he’s saying” because of his accent, he said.

Chisholm responded that “maybe” Wu “is much more intelligent than we give him credit for” and is constantly sending information back to China.

“Well, maybe we’re just stupid as a country,” Fisher said in return.

Pointing to discriminatory policies that the United States has historically implemented, like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Wu said Asian Americans across the spectrum have been “treated as perpetual foreigners, which is really sad.”

In an email exchange Monday afternoon, Fisher sent The Daily Record a link to a statement from the Freedom Caucus saying that Peña-Melnyk is “wasting time writing private letters to police the speech of elected representatives on a podcast” while Marylanders “suffer under record taxes and a collapsing budget.”

In a text message to The Daily Record on Monday, Heather Mizeur, a spokesperson for Peña-Melnyk, dismissed the Freedom Caucus’ statement as “a deflection tactic to avoid taking accountability for their deeply troubling comments,” adding that they are “completely out of step with the heart and soul of Maryland.”

In a statement to The Daily Record Tuesday morning, Chisholm said that his discussion with Fisher was not about race, ethnicity or “someone’s background,” and that the conversation regarding Maryland links to China has become more important following the speaker’s admonishment.

“Marylanders deserve transparency,” said Chisholm. “This conversation is not about whether Delegate Fisher and I should be scolded for asking questions. It is about whether Delegate Wu is willing to answer them.”

The Maryland General Assembly adjourned April 14.

This story has been updated.