The Kids Are Not Alright, and It is Our Fault
A family serves as the first line of defense in the battle of ideas.
Right before Tuesday’s election, the New York Times published an eye-opening article illustrating how older Chinese immigrants rallied behind Andrew Cuomo, while their college-graduated children opted for the socialist ideals of Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s mayoral race.
Among those older Chinese immigrants was Song Ying, a courageous individual who, in 1976, swam for eight hours across the treacherous waterway from mainland China to Hong Kong. This act of bravery was not unusual; in fact, Chen Bingan, the author of The Great Exodus to Hong Kong, reveals that for nearly two decades—from the 1950s, shortly after Communist China was established, to the 1970s—countless mainlanders risked their lives to escape the crushing despair brought on by Mao’s oppressive regime. They plunged into the “deep and dirty” waters of Dapeng and Shenzhen Bays, swimming the harrowing four kilometers (approximately 2.5 miles) to a place of safety. Tragically, the number of those who lost their lives in pursuit of freedom is still unknown.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faced significant embarrassment due to the mass exodus from Shenzhen, prompting the regime to deploy police and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers to tightly control the border. They resorted to brutal tactics to stop mainlanders from fleeing. In just the first six months of 1979, more than 100,000 mainland residents were captured and imprisoned in Shenzhen.
Nevertheless, it is estimated by Chen that around two million mainlanders successfully reached Hong Kong during the subsequent two decades, and this influx of labor not only demonstrated their resilience but also played a critical role in driving Hong Kong’s economic success.
After fleeing to Hong Kong, Song and her husband made the courageous decision to migrate to the United States with little more than hope. Starting from scratch, they built a successful life: Song became a journalist for a local Chinese newspaper, while her husband launched a small telephone business. Their harsh experiences have profoundly shaped their political beliefs.
Song sees socialism as a curse, having narrowly escaped its grip in China, and she is deeply concerned that Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist mayoral candidate, poses a serious threat to the freedoms and opportunities she cherishes in her new home, as reported by the New York Times.
The Democratic Party’s adoption of far-left policies, such as open borders and defunding the police, has catalyzed a notable shift in the political alignment of Chinese Americans, particularly among older immigrant communities. In the 2022 New York state governor’s race, the New York Times reported that “voters in Asian neighborhoods across the city shifted 23 percentage points to the right compared to 2018.” Remarkably, Chinese enclaves in Sunset Park and Bensonhurst in Brooklyn turned Republican for the first time in over ten years.
This trend persisted through last year’s presidential election, with support for the Democratic candidate among Chinese Americans plummeting from over 70 percent in 2020 to just 53 percent in 2024. This significant shift underscores a growing discontent with the current Democratic policies and highlights an emerging political realignment.
The New York Times report highlights a disturbing trend: the children of those who survived socialism, particularly those educated at elite universities, are increasingly rallying behind Mamdani and the socialist policies he proposes, such as free childcare and rent freezes. This generational political gap is not uncommon in immigrant families. For instance, Song’s two sons, graduates of Cornell and MIT, have distinctly different political views from her own. What accounts for this divide?
Two key factors contribute to this situation. First, many older generation Chinese immigrants, like Song, who fled socialist regimes often choose to keep their past experiences private. They may find the memories too painful to share or wish to protect their children from the harsh realities of oppression. Rather than discussing their histories, they emphasize the importance of education and academic achievement. They firmly believe that by attending prestigious American colleges and universities, their children will acquire the essential skills needed for success and secure promising jobs after graduation, thereby fulfilling the American dream they themselves sought.
Many older generation immigrants fail to recognize that numerous American colleges and universities are deeply entrenched in radical leftist ideology. Over the years, leftist professors have infused Marxist concepts, including Critical Race Theory and anti-American sentiment, into their teachings. As a result, the children of Chinese immigrants often lack the context to challenge these ideas; they are not exposed to the historical lessons about the dangers of Communism and Socialism, either through their education or from family discussions. Consequently, like many young Americans, these children are unaware of the true nature of communism and socialism. They mistakenly view these ideologies as synonymous with compassion, equity, and endless free services.
It’s striking that post-election data from New York City’s mayoral race reveals that a significant majority of young voters with college degrees supported the socialist candidate, Zahan Mamdani. For older Chinese immigrants who call this city home, Mamdani’s victory represents a deeply unsettling reality. They risked everything to escape the grips of socialism, only to see their children embrace it.
While it’s important to approach this issue with sensitivity, one must recognize that these older immigrants bear a degree of responsibility for not sharing their harrowing experiences under Communist rule. By failing to impart lessons from the past and completely rely on higher ed institutions, these older immigrants might have inadvertently left their children vulnerable to the allure of dangerous ideologies.
A family serves as the first line of defense in the battle of ideas. Parents have a vital responsibility to engage in tough conversations with their children, rather than leaving their education to schools alone. In today’s world, even a degree from an Ivy League university is often just an expensive piece of paper, not a true indicator of knowledge or wisdom. Thus, it is crucial for the older generation to openly share their experiences and challenges. By doing so, they empower the younger generation with the insight and resilience needed to identify and confront these ideologies effectively.
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