US House candidate calls for China students to be banned from Texas universities
- Shelley Luther, who previously ran for Texas Senate, is facing strong criticism over her views, which one US state representative said could incite racial violence
- Luther says her comments are directed at China-born students because ‘CCP members should not have access to our schools’
A Texas business owner, whose recent tweet that “Chinese students should be banned from attending all Texas universities”, is facing strong criticism, including from a US state representative who says the statements are hateful and could incite violence.
“No more communists,” the tweet by Shelley Luther said.
Luther gained national attention in 2020 when she was arrested after refusing to close her salon in violation of Governor Greg Abbott’s Covid-19 orders designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“Texas taxpayers should not be subsidising the next generation of CCP leaders,” she wrote, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. “It’s common sense: CCP members should not have access to our schools.”
Luther is running for House District 62, where she is challenging Republican incumbent Representative Reggie Smith in the March primary. She previously ran for Texas Senate.
Houston Democrat Gene Wu said her statements were “ignorant, hateful, and incite violence against not only Chinese Americans, but all Asian Americans”.