Dear All
The Scottish National Party isn’t a party of fairness,
equality and social justice; I have been saying this for some time, I have my
own experiences to draw on which has helped shape my views.
Now, someone else has taken the opportunity to do public
about how the SNP discriminate against people, Scotland’s only Chinese SNP
councillor has quit the party.
Yen Hongmei Jin says she was subjected to a “racist attack”
and “bullying”, this is extremely bad.
Ms. Jin who represents the Lochar ward on Dumfries and
Galloway Council says she was forced to resign because the party’s top brass
failed to protect her, this isn’t an isolated incident; this isn’t unusual.
One of the fantasies produced by the SNP is that they
welcome people from all backgrounds and all religions, again this is the public
face of the SNP, it is also a lie.
Yen Hongmei Jin says that in a period of six months the party’s
HQ in Edinburgh which is run by Peter Murrell took no action to help her or
indeed protect her.
When I sought help from Murrell, the husband of unpopular
Nicola Sturgeon, the silence was deafening.
I was supplied evidence I was the victim of a vicious nasty
smear campaign which was ignored by Government Minister Derek McKay, and Ian
McCann Corporate Governance and Compliance Manager, this led to me to Murrell,
and like the others he refused to act.
Is there racism in the SNP, I think many people would form a
hard line view of Yes, and judging by what happened to Yen Hongmei Jin, it
appears that cover ups are still alive and well since I was a past member from
2012.
The former SNP councillor plans to run as an independent
candidate in next year’s Scottish parliamentary elections.
I think the people of Dumfries and Galloway should rally
round and provide assistance to this young woman.
So, what was Yen Hongmei Jin’s ‘crime’ to provoke what she
describes as a racist attack?
She was organising a Burns supper for members to meet and
socialise, she didn’t expect to get an e-mail response sent to her included the
lines:
“Bunch of arseholes – supposedly Scottish too”, “They can
stick their club right up their rectum” and “Pity we have to suffer them at
Palmy.”
Ms Jin said the incident had left her “isolated” and with no
option but to resign and to further destroy the lie that women matter in the
SNP used as an election tool by Nicola Sturgeon, Ms. Jin has reported the
matter to the Police.
Ms Jin said also regarding the lack of assistance coming
from SNP HQ.
“At least they could have contacted me to say that this is
being dealt with. I just feel isolated. They are trying to shove it under the
carpet. If the party knows about it and they don’t take any action, how can
they prove that they are not discriminating? The way I’ve been treated is
definitely racist. It’s disgusting. I have handed it in to police.”
She added:
“The SNP has let me down and consistently failed in its duty
of care towards me.”
That is what you can expect from Nicola Sturgeon and her
husband Peter Murrell, the guy who ignored me and treated me with utter
contempt was Ian McCann, then listed as theCorporate Governance and Compliance Manager.
Could he be this is the same Corporate Governance and
Compliance Manager who ignored Yen Hongmei Jin when she claimed she was allegedly
subject to a racist attack?
One thing in the SNP is that their modus operandi doesn’t
change, it is a party within a party, a nasty vicious cult operating in
Scotland which is no longer relevant to the people or indeed serving the
people.
Yen Hongmei Jin also said:
“It takes strength to stand up against evil and I’m doing it
for myself and thousands of other people from other cultures who compose this
country.”
Ms. Jin is exactly right, she is standing up to ‘evil’
alright, evil that goes right up to the top of the SNP leadership.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The
Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
16 comments:
Hateful SNP racist shower. Well done to you Ms Yin. x
Response from Emma Harper Convener &
Henry McClelland Vice Convener
of Dumfriesshire SNP Constituency Association on the Councillor Yen Hongmei Jin story in todays Scotsman sent to papers.
Dear Editor,
In response to last week’s press coverage, the Executive of the SNP Dumfriesshire Constituency Association, which represents the five local SNP branches and over a thousand local members, writes to clarify some points. We were never made aware of a “racially abusive email” that is alleged to have been sent by an un-named individual to Councillor Yen Hongmei Jin in February 2015. We still have not seen it and only know what Cllr Jin has given to the press.
The CA deplores racism. If the CA received evidence of racism by a member, the CA would report it to the Party's National Secretary, in accordance with Party rules. Councillor Jin did not bring this to the attention of the CA, in spite of attending two meetings since she said she received this email. Nor did she alert her colleagues in the SNP council group. However after she received this alleged email in February she had a letter published in the May edition of SNP Magazine Independence praising the party's approach to equality and announcing her intention to seek a seat in parliament.
We are saddened that Cllr Jin chose to take this matter to the press only after she failed to pass the candidate assessment for potential parliamentarians. The assessment process for Holyrood is conducted nationally and the local party has no role in it. We know however that it is tough, in order that the best candidates progress to the next stage. Many hard-working activists, including SNP councillors, fail to get through the process. Those who fail are given feedback and often go on to pass candidate assessment at a later date. Many who do pass are from ethnic minorities and become successful parliamentarians such as Humza Yousaf MSP and Tasmina Ahmed Sheik MP.
When Cllr Jin failed the assessment she resigned from the SNP and attacked the party in the media. Three weeks later, Cllr Jin has again approached the media, this time accusing SNP colleagues of bullying and racism without evidence. If she received a racist email from one un-named individual we condemn that unequivocally. But one rogue individual does not represent the party locally or nationally.
The CA is concerned that last week’s press coverage reflects unfairly on our hard-working, committed local membership, which is made up of people from many nationalities and backgrounds. Many of our activists have spent their whole lives fighting racism and will continue to do so. There should be no place in Scotland for racism.
Yours sincerely,
Emma Harper Convener,
Henry McClelland Vice Convener
on behalf of Dumfriesshire SNP CA
Wonder what the response from Sturgeon is going to be? No doubt, some of the conspiracy theorists will say that Ms Yin is some sort of long term Labour plant, who timed her resignation with Sturgeon's visit to China etc etc.
No, the truth is that a highly motivated young woman, with a strong sense of community spirit, has been forced out of a party that supposedly speaks for all of Scotland.
The SNP are already considered highly xenophobic towards England, and are considered a such when you visit England. Now this racism accusation is far more serious. What's next? Are the SNP trying to create a country where the elite rule and the masses only do menial work? The comparison with North Korea is getting scarily true. A single police force a government hell bent on intruding into our lives, and an education system that is frankly a fucking disgrace.
Stugeon is NOT in control of the party. She is a figurehead, nothing more. There are individuals within the party who want control, and wonderful individuals like Ms Yin are not wanted, simply because they are more concerned about their constituents, rather than the party.
Hi Freddy
Patently Emma Harper and Henry McClelland appear to be gifted with the ability to read the mind of Ms. Jin to judge it was because she failed selection.
What does that issue have to do with her complaint of being ignored by SNP HQ run by Peter Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon's husband?
I think I will do a reply to this before the end of the week and take their piece apart.
George
Looks like Yens been wasting your time as no e-mail exists all fabricated by herself
Silly girl!
Dear Anon
"Looks like Yens been wasting your time as no e-mail exists all fabricated by herself
Silly girl!"
You have access to her email account?
Also can you explain what she means by saying:.
“The way I’ve been treated is definitely racist. It’s disgusting. I have handed it in to police.”
If it doesn’t exist, what did she hand to the Police?
George
I've seen the email and it has no racist remarks at all.
But hey-ho keep writing your drivel as its quite funny
Dear Anon
"I've seen the email and it has no racist remarks at all.
But hey-ho keep writing your drivel as its quite funny"
This begs the questions:
1/ Are you allowed to see it?
2/ If not, someone broke the Data Protection Act 1998.
3/ If you are allowed, then discussing the alleged contents is also a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 surely?
I don't think you have seen it or you would have put up the entire contents of the email to prove your point.
This is this funny?
George
Hello George. I hope your health continues to improve. I just found out that something called the Scottish Independence Party has appeared. This is, apparently, because the snp is not considered to be sufficiently committed to the cause of independence. They are, allegedly, going to put up candidates for every Holyrood seat next year unless sturgeon commits to having another referendum in the manifesto. The new party has a website and is making aggressive noises on the web. Do you think this is simply to pressurise sturgeon and do you think that pressure will be successful?
They now seem to be calling Ms Jin a liar. Pretty grim really, but hey ho, that's the sinister SNPee for you.
The matter was reported to SNP HQ on the 6th February 2015 by the Convener of Lochar Branch. The initial reporting was acknowledged by SNP HQ. The notion that it should then be reported to our local Constituency Association who were absent for a period of more than two years and held their first AGM on the 14th of June 2015 ready for the nomination period (Joan McAlpine)(Councillor Yen) for them to re-report the matter is more than bizarre. The paper trail is clear to SNP HQ. I am also happy to confirm that Councillor Yen was approved to be a prospective candidate for GE15 and also for Holyrood 16...the response from the local CA fails to give you the timeline and events leading up to the close of nominations. This response was not agreed by all five branches. Locally lots of people are resigning from the SNP in response to this matter. The answer of CA was to set up a facebook page, post their response in direct contradiction to SNP HQ who had no comment because it was a police matter, then delete some comments and responses from voters in the region and let the ambiguous wording suffice. Follow the timeline at the top and you may begin to question all this? The rest is in the hands of the police. It is also worth noting that Councillor Yen agonised over this decision until it was clear that HQ were going to sit on it and fail in their duty of care. Furthermore the issue highlighted was also of bullying...All this is in the public domain but lets be clear, there is more to this than meets face value. Councillor Yen is very respected in her ward and does some tremendous work. I can also confirm that Joan McAlpine went forward as the sole nominee!
Dear Truth man
Thank you for taking the time to post to the blog.
I hope that Ms. Yen will stand in the Holyrood election in 2016 and that those members who left the SNP will come forward and be activists for her bid.
It is unfortunate that Ms. Yen has suffered but she is not alone in that regard.
As to Joan McAlpine, she is just a disgrace and has no business in public office, but she is linked to Alex Salmond.
Her experience of being ignored is exactly the same as mine, Ian McCann completely ignored my complaints as well, along with Derek Mackay.
George
We all remember photogenic Joan McAlpine don't we, using taxpayers money to get her then "secret boyfriend's wife" to take her photo, £1800 quids worth, she did pay it back, but in any other job, she'd have been SACKED, but then she's another SNP crony, so anything goes.
I want to stress that as Secretary of the EMCC Scotland (Scotland's parliament for Black and Minority Ethnic groups). I have had many dealings with Joan McAlpine MSP and with Cllr Yen and her husband Sitki Nalci who have both been members of our organisation. I am 100% in support of the local SNP and the MSP in this case. I am sure that Cllr Yen is wrong about her allegations of racism. I do not believe she has faced any in Dumfries SNP given that they chose her to be a councillor in 2012. In the 5 years I have known both of them neither Yen nor Nalci have ever raised issues of racism in the SNP with me or within the EMCC - which is the perfect forum to have done so. Having met and talked with them both at SNP conferences they have always emphasised how well in with the party's movers and shakers they are. Doesn't quite fit the picture she painted of 'bullying' and 'exclusion'. I also know Joan McAlpine is 100% a champion for human rights and anti-racist causes and that Cllr Yen's accusations are a pile of ...nonsense. What this is about really is that an ambitious political activist has tried lamely to use the race card to further their own advancement by unseating a popular and successful local MSP, Meanwhile failing to deliver for the BAME communities they claim to speak for. We in the EMCC are about building a different kind of leadership in BAME communities - a leadership committed to principles of service delivery, social advancement, integration and equality through self-organisation. What has happened in the DGMA is symptomatic of a kind of 'leadership' we can all do without.
Dear EMCC
I notice that you didn't give your name.
I notice also that Graham Campbell connected to SNP MP Anne McLaughlin is a member.
Finally, I notice you support Joan McAlpine but don't support Ms. Jin who is from an ethnic minority.
Maybe you should shut up shop.
George
I'm afraid Ms Yen's thwarted ambition has led to this badly fo used attack on her old colleagues.
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