KENNEY OWES ALBERTANS AN APOLOGY
Author of the article:Jason Herring
Publishing date:Jan 01, 2022
Author of the article: Jonny Wakefield
Author of the article:Jason Herring
Publishing date:Jan 01, 2022
The Chinese community held a rally to demand Jason Kenney to make a public apologize about his Wuhan Bat Soup controversial comments at the McDougall Center in Calgary on Saturday, January 1, 2022.
Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
Members of Calgary’s Chinese community are demanding a public apology from Premier Jason Kenney for what they describe as racist comments made in a recent media interview.
More than 60 people gathered outside of McDougall Centre on a frigid New Year’s Day morning to condemn Kenney’s comments, in which he told Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell in a year-end interview , “What’s the next bat soup thing out of Wuhan? I don’t know.
Attendees held signs with lines like “Racism is a disgrace to Alberta” and “Zero tolerance for anti-Asian hate” as a series of speakers took to the mic with concerns the premier’s comments will worsen discrimination against Chinese Canadians, a group which faced an increase in vitriol following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We gather here to voice concern on Jason Kenney’s irresponsible and toxic comments,” said Jiannong Wu during the rally. “(This type of language) has provoked a significant increase in hate crimes against Asian people in general and Chinese in particular.”
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was first identified in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. A viral video which circulated shortly afterwards purported bat soup in a Wuhan wet market was the origin of the virus, but that claim was quickly debunked .
Kenney’s press secretary Justin Brattinga said Kenney gave an apology for the comments in a Dec. 24 interview with LifeCalgary, a local Chinese-language outlet which publishes on the Chinese WeChat social media platform. Their interview with Kenney was published Wednesday.
“I do want say that by the way, if anybody did take offence, that I apologize to them, if they took offence, certainly none was intended,” said Kenney in the interview, quotes from which were provided by Brattinga.
“I’m sorry if people felt offended by what I said, that was not my intention. And I certainly want to thank the Chinese Canadian community in Alberta for the tremendous care that it has shown in being responsible during COVID.”
In an earlier statement to CTV, the premier’s office had defended Kenney’s comments, saying it was “obviously ridiculous” to call his words racist.
Wu works at the Foothills Medical Centre as a medical technologist. He said he’s faced racism as a front-line worker since the start of the pandemic, including from one patient who demanded he speak English when he was already speaking the language, and from another who refused his care altogether.
Members of Calgary’s Chinese community are demanding a public apology from Premier Jason Kenney for what they describe as racist comments made in a recent media interview.
More than 60 people gathered outside of McDougall Centre on a frigid New Year’s Day morning to condemn Kenney’s comments, in which he told Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell in a year-end interview , “What’s the next bat soup thing out of Wuhan? I don’t know.
Attendees held signs with lines like “Racism is a disgrace to Alberta” and “Zero tolerance for anti-Asian hate” as a series of speakers took to the mic with concerns the premier’s comments will worsen discrimination against Chinese Canadians, a group which faced an increase in vitriol following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We gather here to voice concern on Jason Kenney’s irresponsible and toxic comments,” said Jiannong Wu during the rally. “(This type of language) has provoked a significant increase in hate crimes against Asian people in general and Chinese in particular.”
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was first identified in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. A viral video which circulated shortly afterwards purported bat soup in a Wuhan wet market was the origin of the virus, but that claim was quickly debunked .
Kenney’s press secretary Justin Brattinga said Kenney gave an apology for the comments in a Dec. 24 interview with LifeCalgary, a local Chinese-language outlet which publishes on the Chinese WeChat social media platform. Their interview with Kenney was published Wednesday.
“I do want say that by the way, if anybody did take offence, that I apologize to them, if they took offence, certainly none was intended,” said Kenney in the interview, quotes from which were provided by Brattinga.
“I’m sorry if people felt offended by what I said, that was not my intention. And I certainly want to thank the Chinese Canadian community in Alberta for the tremendous care that it has shown in being responsible during COVID.”
In an earlier statement to CTV, the premier’s office had defended Kenney’s comments, saying it was “obviously ridiculous” to call his words racist.
Wu works at the Foothills Medical Centre as a medical technologist. He said he’s faced racism as a front-line worker since the start of the pandemic, including from one patient who demanded he speak English when he was already speaking the language, and from another who refused his care altogether.
Members of Calgary’s Asian community gathered to protest comments made by Premier Jason Kenney in a year-end interview.
PHOTO BY JASON HERRING /Postmedia
He said he fears Kenney’s comments will provoke further hatred, and said a broad public-facing apology is necessary.
“I think it’s intentional, because (Kenney) is trying to cover up his failure to handle the pandemic,” Wu said. “I would like him to come out on television, facing the mainstream media to apologize to us and to the province, because his job is to unite us rather than divide us.”
Among rally attendees was Irfan Sabir, NDP MLA for Calgary-Bhullar-McCall, who described Kenney’s comments as a racist dog-whistle.
“(Kenney) is dividing people and creating fear and hatred among our communities. That’s unacceptable. That’s irresponsible,” Sabir said.
Also Saturday morning, members of Edmonton’s Chinese community gathered for a similar rally outside the Alberta legislature.
He said he fears Kenney’s comments will provoke further hatred, and said a broad public-facing apology is necessary.
“I think it’s intentional, because (Kenney) is trying to cover up his failure to handle the pandemic,” Wu said. “I would like him to come out on television, facing the mainstream media to apologize to us and to the province, because his job is to unite us rather than divide us.”
Among rally attendees was Irfan Sabir, NDP MLA for Calgary-Bhullar-McCall, who described Kenney’s comments as a racist dog-whistle.
“(Kenney) is dividing people and creating fear and hatred among our communities. That’s unacceptable. That’s irresponsible,” Sabir said.
Also Saturday morning, members of Edmonton’s Chinese community gathered for a similar rally outside the Alberta legislature.
TEMP -31 C.
Amid protests, Kenney walks back 'bat soup thing out of Wuhan' commentAuthor of the article: Jonny Wakefield
Publishing date: Jan 01, 2022 •
Members of Edmonton's Chinese communities gathered outside the Alberta Legislature on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, to protest Premier Jason Kenney's remarks about "bat soup" as a source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia
Article content
Premier Jason Kenney is walking back a recent remark about the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic after protests from Alberta’s Chinese communities.
In a year-end interview last week with Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell , Kenney made reference to “the next bat soup thing out of Wuhan” as part of a longer response about new COVID variants.
Members of Edmonton and Calgary’s Chinese communities protested on New Year’s Day demanding an apology.
Alice Yang, a Grade 12 student and an organizer of the Edmonton event, said the comments inflame anti-Asian prejudice. The rally attracted around 40 participants.
“We believe that his comments were extremely racist and unfounded in any scientific theory, and not something a public figure should say,” she said. “This rally was made for the purpose of him to publicly apologize for his remarks.”
Such statements allow those with anti-Asian attitudes “to rationalize the racism that they feel, because they can go ‘yes, our premier would agree with me,'” she said.
ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE PRESS SECRETARIES ANWSERING FOR THEIR BOSS
In a statement Saturday, Kenney’s press secretary Justin Brattinga said the premier apologized for the remarks in a Dec. 24 interview with Life Calgary, a local Chinese publication.
“I do want to say that by the way, if anybody did take offence, that I apologize to them, if they took offence, certainly none was intended,” Brattinga quoted Kenney as saying.
“I’m sorry if people felt offended by what I said, that was not my intention. And I certainly want to thank the Chinese Canadian community in Alberta for the tremendous care that it has shown in being responsible during COVID.”
The statement comes after Kenney previously defended the bat soup comment. In a statement to CTV News last week, acting press secretary Harrison Fleming said “it is obviously ridiculous to suggest that these widely reported scientific theories are ‘racist,'” adding the premier’s comment “underscored that there is no way to predict what the catalyst of a future pandemic will be, or how future variants might evolve.”
“The premier’s comment obviously referred to the widely reported theory that the first human infection of COVID-19 resulted from transmission between an infected bat and a human in the Wuhan region of China,” Fleming told the broadcaster.
COVID is believed to have originated as a bat virus , though its exact origins remain mired in controversy. An article in The Guardian newspaper Friday summarized: “the search for the origin of the COVID pandemic has come in the middle of a global controversy that has mixed public health, domestic politics and international diplomacy.”
Initially, it was believed the virus jumped to humans at a seafood market in Wuhan. Among the pandemic’s first debunked viral videos was a clip claiming to show a woman in Wuhan eating a bat with chopsticks. The video was in fact shot in Palau, an island nation several thousand kilometres away.
Later, the idea that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology gained currency. A World Health Organization investigation — which was bogged down by allegations of political interference — initially said the lab leak theory was “extremely unlikely” and that the virus probably began in animals. By August, however, the WHO was saying all theories remained “on the table,” and a report by U.S. intelligence agencies was inconclusive about how the virus originated .
Yang said the premier’s Dec. 24 statement is not good enough, saying he needs to make a public apology in person.
“I’m sorry if you are offended isn’t an apology,” she said. “It doesn’t recognize the effects of his words and the issues with what he said … It just feels like what I’ve struggled with during the pandemic, and the racism that other Chinese people have faced, isn’t an issue in his eyes.”
— with files from Jason Herring
Article content
Premier Jason Kenney is walking back a recent remark about the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic after protests from Alberta’s Chinese communities.
In a year-end interview last week with Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell , Kenney made reference to “the next bat soup thing out of Wuhan” as part of a longer response about new COVID variants.
Members of Edmonton and Calgary’s Chinese communities protested on New Year’s Day demanding an apology.
Alice Yang, a Grade 12 student and an organizer of the Edmonton event, said the comments inflame anti-Asian prejudice. The rally attracted around 40 participants.
“We believe that his comments were extremely racist and unfounded in any scientific theory, and not something a public figure should say,” she said. “This rally was made for the purpose of him to publicly apologize for his remarks.”
Such statements allow those with anti-Asian attitudes “to rationalize the racism that they feel, because they can go ‘yes, our premier would agree with me,'” she said.
ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE PRESS SECRETARIES ANWSERING FOR THEIR BOSS
In a statement Saturday, Kenney’s press secretary Justin Brattinga said the premier apologized for the remarks in a Dec. 24 interview with Life Calgary, a local Chinese publication.
“I do want to say that by the way, if anybody did take offence, that I apologize to them, if they took offence, certainly none was intended,” Brattinga quoted Kenney as saying.
“I’m sorry if people felt offended by what I said, that was not my intention. And I certainly want to thank the Chinese Canadian community in Alberta for the tremendous care that it has shown in being responsible during COVID.”
The statement comes after Kenney previously defended the bat soup comment. In a statement to CTV News last week, acting press secretary Harrison Fleming said “it is obviously ridiculous to suggest that these widely reported scientific theories are ‘racist,'” adding the premier’s comment “underscored that there is no way to predict what the catalyst of a future pandemic will be, or how future variants might evolve.”
“The premier’s comment obviously referred to the widely reported theory that the first human infection of COVID-19 resulted from transmission between an infected bat and a human in the Wuhan region of China,” Fleming told the broadcaster.
COVID is believed to have originated as a bat virus , though its exact origins remain mired in controversy. An article in The Guardian newspaper Friday summarized: “the search for the origin of the COVID pandemic has come in the middle of a global controversy that has mixed public health, domestic politics and international diplomacy.”
Initially, it was believed the virus jumped to humans at a seafood market in Wuhan. Among the pandemic’s first debunked viral videos was a clip claiming to show a woman in Wuhan eating a bat with chopsticks. The video was in fact shot in Palau, an island nation several thousand kilometres away.
Later, the idea that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology gained currency. A World Health Organization investigation — which was bogged down by allegations of political interference — initially said the lab leak theory was “extremely unlikely” and that the virus probably began in animals. By August, however, the WHO was saying all theories remained “on the table,” and a report by U.S. intelligence agencies was inconclusive about how the virus originated .
Yang said the premier’s Dec. 24 statement is not good enough, saying he needs to make a public apology in person.
“I’m sorry if you are offended isn’t an apology,” she said. “It doesn’t recognize the effects of his words and the issues with what he said … It just feels like what I’ve struggled with during the pandemic, and the racism that other Chinese people have faced, isn’t an issue in his eyes.”
— with files from Jason Herring
Alberta’s Chinese community continues push for apology from Premier Kenney
By Matthew Conrod Global News
Posted January 1, 2022
It’s been over one week since a Postmedia story was published that contained a controversial remark made by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
While speaking with Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell, Kenney made what many believe was an insensitive comment regarding the origins of the COVID-19 virus in Wuhan, China.
READ MORE: Calls for Alberta premier to apologize for comments made in year-end interview
On Saturday, members of Calgary’s Chinese community gathered outside of the McDougall Centre to call on the premier to make a formal apology.
Some of those in attendance feel Kenney’s comments contributed to the discrimination and anti-Asian hate that some Chinese citizens have experienced since the start of the pandemic.
“People cannot express their anger with China,” said Jiannong Wu. “They express it with us.”
Another protestor, Rona Kong, feels the comments have added to her already feeling ostracized by her ethnicity.
“For him to say this it makes me feel almost scared to say that I’m Chinese.” said Kong.
“I also feel ashamed of this province in a way.”
On Saturday, the premier’s press secretary told Global News that Kenney had made an apology during an interview on Dec. 24.
“I do want say that by the way, if anybody did take offense, that I apologize to them,” the emailed transcript of Kenney’s apology said. “If they took offense, certainly none was intended.
“I’m sorry if people felt offended by what I said, that was not my intention. And I certainly want to thank the Chinese Canadian community in Alberta for the tremendous care that it has shown in being responsible during COVID.”
READ MORE: Calgary seeing rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, incidents: police, community members
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley and other members of the caucus have called for Kenney to further address the comments.
“I think it’s critically important for this government to make that statement and make it clear that people from Alberta come from many different backgrounds, cultures and talents and they all belong here” said Alberta NDP MLA Irfan Sabir.
Wu feels the premier failed in his duties as leader of the province.
“His job is to unite us, not divide us.”
RELATED NEWS
Combatting anti-Asian racism through film and media
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
By Matthew Conrod Global News
Posted January 1, 2022
 |
| DOING NEITHER |
It’s been over one week since a Postmedia story was published that contained a controversial remark made by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
While speaking with Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell, Kenney made what many believe was an insensitive comment regarding the origins of the COVID-19 virus in Wuhan, China.
READ MORE: Calls for Alberta premier to apologize for comments made in year-end interview
On Saturday, members of Calgary’s Chinese community gathered outside of the McDougall Centre to call on the premier to make a formal apology.
Some of those in attendance feel Kenney’s comments contributed to the discrimination and anti-Asian hate that some Chinese citizens have experienced since the start of the pandemic.
“People cannot express their anger with China,” said Jiannong Wu. “They express it with us.”
Another protestor, Rona Kong, feels the comments have added to her already feeling ostracized by her ethnicity.
“For him to say this it makes me feel almost scared to say that I’m Chinese.” said Kong.
“I also feel ashamed of this province in a way.”
On Saturday, the premier’s press secretary told Global News that Kenney had made an apology during an interview on Dec. 24.
“I do want say that by the way, if anybody did take offense, that I apologize to them,” the emailed transcript of Kenney’s apology said. “If they took offense, certainly none was intended.
“I’m sorry if people felt offended by what I said, that was not my intention. And I certainly want to thank the Chinese Canadian community in Alberta for the tremendous care that it has shown in being responsible during COVID.”
READ MORE: Calgary seeing rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, incidents: police, community members
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley and other members of the caucus have called for Kenney to further address the comments.
“I think it’s critically important for this government to make that statement and make it clear that people from Alberta come from many different backgrounds, cultures and talents and they all belong here” said Alberta NDP MLA Irfan Sabir.
Wu feels the premier failed in his duties as leader of the province.
“His job is to unite us, not divide us.”
RELATED NEWS
Combatting anti-Asian racism through film and media
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Protesters in Calgary and Edmonton seek apology from Jason Kenney
Anti-racist protesters hold rally
Michael Franklin
CTVNewsCalgary.ca
CTVNewsCalgary.ca
Senior Digital Producer
Updated Jan. 1, 2022
It's a new year for Jason Kenney and his government, but the leader of the UCP is facing the same old battle for the favour of Albertans he fought in 2021.
This time, twin rallies are scheduled to take place in Calgary and Edmonton, calling for the premier to apologize for comments he made during a year-end interview.
Kenney was speaking with Postmedia's Rick Bell, sharing his thoughts on the challenges he faced throughout 2021. When the subject turned to the COVID-19 pandemic, the premier drew a reference to the city of Wuhan, China, the location where the first known case of the virus was detected.
"Who knows what the next variant that gets thrown up is? I don't know," said Kenney in the interview. "And what's the next bat soup thing out of Wuhan? I don't know.
Updated Jan. 1, 2022
It's a new year for Jason Kenney and his government, but the leader of the UCP is facing the same old battle for the favour of Albertans he fought in 2021.
This time, twin rallies are scheduled to take place in Calgary and Edmonton, calling for the premier to apologize for comments he made during a year-end interview.
Kenney was speaking with Postmedia's Rick Bell, sharing his thoughts on the challenges he faced throughout 2021. When the subject turned to the COVID-19 pandemic, the premier drew a reference to the city of Wuhan, China, the location where the first known case of the virus was detected.
"Who knows what the next variant that gets thrown up is? I don't know," said Kenney in the interview. "And what's the next bat soup thing out of Wuhan? I don't know.
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"I've learned from bitter experience not to make predictions about this."
Opposition members, including Alberta NDP Rachel Notley, were quick to call for an apology for the off-hand remark, which was criticized as being "racist."
While the premier's office attempted to defend the comments as "widely reported scientific theories," some Albertans are still demanding further action from Kenney.
"No one could believe our premier is so 'ridiculous' and arrogant," said a statement written on an online petition started by one of the groups.
"There is no such a thing as bat soup in Wuhan and there is even no credible link between COVID-19 and bats. His ridiculous remarks would definitely cause more racism, discrimination and hate towards the Chinese communities. We want an inclusive Alberta and he must apologize!"
KENNEY'S OFFICE RESPONDS
Despite what the protesters said in their statement, officials with the Alberta government say Kenney has already apologized for the comments, saying that no offence was intended.
During an interview last week, the premier addressed the topic directly and said he apologizes to anyone who was offended by the remark.
"That was not my intention," Kenney said. "And I certainly want to thank the Chinese Canadian community in Alberta for the tremendous care that it has shown in being responsible during COVID."
YEAH UNLIKE HIS CABINET AND BACK BENCHERS!
WUHAN WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR OPENING UP ALBERTA FOR BEST SUMMER EVER
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