A running battle
Denied public campaign funding - many believe unfairly - John Liu remains hopeful of becoming the first Chinese-American mayor of New York, writes Rong Xiaoqing
On the morning of August 5, the end of a narrow street in Lower Manhattan was thronged with about 200 sign-bearing protesters and a dozen or so reporters. A regular scene in the hustle and bustle of New York, except most of the protesters were Chinese, as was the name on their signs: John Liu.
Many were chanting: "Give Liu the money."
For a largely quiet ethnic group often perceived as somewhat submissive, such a roar is rare, and it is even rarer that the mainstream media were there to listen. It was, though, a protest that failed.
In a building further up Rector Street, the city's Campaign Finance Board (CFB), which oversees the fundraising activities of political contenders, was meeting to decide who among this year's candidates for mayor would be eligible to receive public funds for their election campaigns. The fund, set up to limit the influence of wealth in politics, matches the money raised by candidates who opt to participate in the programme using a 6:1 ratio (relating only to the first US$175 from each New York donor) providing they follow strict rules on fundraising and spending.
After a short closed-door discussion, the board's chairman, the Reverend Joseph Parkes, solemnly announced its decision to the 30 or so people who had managed to get into the small meeting room. Liu, the city's comptroller, had become the only major candidate this year, and indeed in recent memory, to be denied their entire portion of the matching fund - a total of more than US$3.5 million and money his campaign had been counting on for the election this year.
Liu was already trailing four other candidates in the running for the Democratic primary - which will decide who will go head-to-head with a Republican contender - and the loss puts him at a huge disadvantage. He won't have the same ammunition as his rivals for advertising and other campaign activities - and the decision in itself taints his campaign.
Liu's supporters are seething with anger. Some have called the board members criminals. Others have vowed to donate more money and time to help him win.