It was Taiwan, not Gaza, that got top billing as Chinese-speaking grandpas took meticulous notes throughout the evening.
by Yujie Zhou March 15, 2026 (MissionLocal.org)
Supervisor Connie Chan, a self-described “Chinatown daughter” and the only major Chinese American candidate in the race to replace Nancy Pelosi in Congress, leaned into identity politics at a Saturday forum in front of more than 200 residents at Chinatown’s Victory Hall.
“This is a historical moment for us, for our community to take our voice from San Francisco to Washington, D.C,” said Chan who talked about immigrating with her single mother and a brother to San Francisco’s Chinatown without knowing a single word of English. “I understand our pain and I understand our voices.”
Although there have been two earlier forums, Saturday was the first time the three leading candidates shared a stage since Jan. 7. In that forum, State Sen. Scott Wiener’s failure to clearly answer a question about genocide in Gaza created a backlash. Wiener now uses the word genocide in regard to Gaza.
It was Taiwan, not Gaza, however, that got top billing on Saturday night. The audience listened closely to the candidate’s answers, with Chinese-speaking seniors taking meticulous notes on slips of paper throughout the evening.
Taiwan is the foreign policy issue that figures most prominently among Chinese American voters, who account for more than 16 percent of the electorate in California’s 11th congressional district. Whoever wins this race will replace Rep. Pelosi, who in 2022 became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island in 25 years. That visit aggravated mainland China’s government, which subsequently encircled the island with unprecedented military exercises.
“I do not agree with her decision,” said Saikat Chakrabarti, a centimillionaire candidate, who received the loudest applause and cheers of the evening in response to that question on Pelosi’s visit.
Chinese American voters here largely saw the visit as inflammatory. They rank maintaining peace with China around Taiwan as a top priority.
“That was a provocative action, and the absolute worst thing that could happen right now is a full-on war with China,” Chakrabarti added.
He said he sees a bipartisan hawkishness towards China in Washington, which has resulted in a Cold War that led to an increase in anti-Asian hate within the United States. “In Congress, I will fight to stop the Cold War with China,” he said. The audience burst into applause.
In January, however, Chakrabarti was the only candidate who, when asked whether the United States should use force to defend Taiwan if it was invaded by China, said yes, it should. Both Wiener and Chan sidestepped the question.
Wiener got booed, a bit, when he said he supports Pelosi’s decisions.
Chan, who needs both Chinese votes and Pelosi’s endorsement, avoided directly answering the question, simply emphasizing that the Taiwan issue “is deeply personal” given her years in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and said the United States should be an agent for peace. “I advocate for us to really make sure that we encourage Taiwan and China that direct dialogue is important.”
For much of the evening, the candidates stressed their bona fides. As the only Cantonese speaker, Chan had an apparent advantage, doubling her speaking time by deftly interpreting her own answers into Cantonese. The other candidates relied on interpreters.
Wiener emphasized his contributions to the Chinese community, citing work on affordable housing, expanding access to healthcare, acupuncture benefits, protecting funding for Muni and BART, reinstating eighth-grade algebra, pushing back against anti-Asian hate, fighting against vehicle break-ins, and delivering resources for the Chinese Hospital, the Chinese Cultural Center, Wah Mei School, and Portsmouth Square.
The list he wanted to present was so long that the time-up alert rang before he finished.
Chakrabarti, who has spent less time courting Chinese American voters and only finalized his Chinese name months ago, tried to dazzle the audience by spotlighting his resume: a Harvard University graduate, a main contributor to Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, a leading role on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 congressional campaign, and an author of the Green New Deal.
An unexpected participant was Marie Hurabiell, whose resume is in a league of its own compared to the other three. Hurabiell was a Trump appointee to the Presidio Trust board, remained a registered Republican until 2022 and wrote in a June 2025 social media post that “Trans women are NOT women.”
“For one end of the spectrum, there are three people in the race. The entire rest of the spectrum … there’s no one,” Hurabiell said in an interview. She said she entered the race two weeks ago because she felt compelled to “give people a choice.”
During the forum, Hurabiell was often the lone candidate who did not blame Trump for the current state of affairs with China. Hurabiell also runs the pressure group Connected SF, and previously ran unsuccessfully twice for the City College Board of Trustees. Chakrabarti frequently invokes Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez; Hurabiell does not criticize President Donald Trump, and she is running on her association with Mayor Daniel Lurie — her campaign website claims Connected SF played a key role in electing Lurie.
Hurabiell believes a significant portion of the Chinese American community belongs to the spectrum that she represents, so at Victory Hall she pointed to the ideological similarities. “We have stood shoulder to shoulder in these fights,” she said at her first forum, referring to the 2022 recall of former District Attorney Chesa Boudin, the 2022 recall of school board members, and the fights for algebra in school and to keep merit-based admission at Lowell.
The forum was co-hosted by San Francisco’s three Chinese political clubs, the Chinese American Democratic club, the Edwin M. Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club, and Rose Pak Asian American Club. “All three clubs have worked very hard over the past several weeks to make this event possible,” said Jeremy Lee, president of Rose Pak Asian American Club.
To protect the monolingual Chinese-speaking audience and non-Chinese speaking candidates, moderators warned all interpreters that they would be replaced if their interpretation was materially different from the candidate’s statement three times. It worked.
On several occasions, the bilingual organizers and campaign staff pointed out inaccuracies in the nuanced political translation, and interpreters corrected them immediately.
Throughout the forum, Chakrabarti emphasized cutting the military budget and ending corruption in Congress, including banning members of Congress from doing insider stock trading and ending corporate money in politics. “I’m also the only one willing to take on not just Republicans, but a corrupt Democratic establishment,” he said. He also committed to doing town halls multiple times a year when he becomes San Francisco’s representative.
Chan pledged to fight for working families and a future that has free City College for all. “We will take our working people’s agenda, our immigrant agenda from Chinatown, from San Francisco, and all the way to Washington, D.C.,” she said.
Wiener, who recently unveiled an ambitious housing platform to build eight million homes over the next decade, returned repeatedly to housing policy.
After being led for four decades by a leader “who has moved mountains for San Francisco,” said Wiener, who does the city need next?
Wiener’s answer: “We need someone who wakes up every morning thinking, what am I going to do for San Francisco today? That is what I do.”
An earlier version of this article included guidelines the Scott Wiener campaign sent to previous debate organizers, but not the organizers of this event. The reference has been removed.
Join the 3,300 readers who keep Mission Local free for all!
Because of you, Mission Local reached and surpassed our $300,000 year-end fundraising goal. All we can say is thank you.
Thank you for choosing to invest in a local newsroom rooted in San Francisco’s communities — one that listens first and reports deeply.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to give, it’s not too late to be part of this community. Your contribution today helps sustain the reporting our city relies on all year long.
We’re grateful you’re here — and we’d be honored to have you join our donors.
Latest election coverage
Sunset Dunes park supporters face an election with no clear candidate
S.F. ethics probe flags lapses in Mark Farrell’s 2024 mayor campaign
Meet the District 2 Candidates: Should S.F. loosen rules for planting and removing trees?
Yujie ZhouStaff reporter
Yujie is a staff reporter covering city hall with a focus on the Asian community. She came on as an intern after graduating from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and became a full-time staff reporter as a Report for America corps member and has stayed on. Before falling in love with San Francisco, Yujie covered New York City, studied politics through the “street clashes” in Hong Kong, and earned a wine-tasting certificate in two days. She’s proud to be a bilingual journalist. Find her on Signal @Yujie_ZZ.01More by Yujie Zhou
