Advocates and Nebraska lawmakers are defending a reporter after Gov. Jim Pillen said her story about environmental concerns at his farms wasn’t worth discussing because the reporter was from “communist China.”
The Asian American Journalists Association, the chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and some state lawmakers have condemned Pillen and demanded that he apologize to Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu.
The comments, which received a flood of publicity this week when the online media organization’s executive director wrote a scathing column, is just the latest in the nation in which an elected official has personally attacked a reporter. The scrutiny the story is getting also comes amid a wave of pandemic-driven anti-Asian racism and new laws restricting foreign ownership of farmland.
Pillen’s staff has not responded to emails or phone messages seeking comment, although he likely will be asked about it Friday during a news conference to discuss the hiring of people with intellectual disabilities. News about his remark has spread widely published through the U.S. and even in Chinese news outlets.
It all started last month when the Free Press published Xu’s story revealing that 16 of Pillen’s farms recorded nitrate levels at least five times higher than what is considered safe to drink. His children now operate the business called Pillen Family Farms, which the Free Press reported consisted largely of hog barns.
A company official told the Free Press in a statement that the company worked closely with state regulators and was dedicated to ensuring “groundwater is protected.”
“No. 1, I didn’t read it. And I won’t,” Pillen, a Republican, responded days later when asked about it on a radio show. “No. 2, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from communist China. What more do you need to know?”
Xu recalled in an interview Thursday that she was “shocked and saddened” when an editor…
Read the full article here