A San Francisco Chinese restaurant owner and rapper who sparked a political controversy in 2023 claims he was the victim of a racist assault this week at his business.
In a series of social media videos, Chino Yang said he was attacked Thursday night while closing his Richmond district restaurant, ChinoYang’s Hunan and Mandarin Cuisine.
According to surveillance video, a woman walked into the restaurant around 10 p.m. and expressed surprise that it was closed, saying she had recently been in Tokyo, where businesses stayed open late.
“I was in Asia before, and you guys stay open late,” the woman said. Yang is heard saying that his restaurant closes at 9:30 p.m. and that he is Asian American, to which the woman responds, “You don’t like being known by that, that’s bullshit.”
Yang walks the woman out of the restaurant, and a fight appears to break out. Footage (opens in new tab) shows restaurant staff trying to pull a man away from the business owner. A woman’s voice can be heard shouting, “Asian bitch fuck you.”
“He tried to kill me in front of my business and my family,” Yang told The Standard. “I’m still alive, man!”
The fight was not captured on video, but Yang said the man slammed him into a door and put him in a headlock for about 10 seconds. A staff member intervened, telling the attacker that Yang has a heart condition and urging him to let go.
Yang believes the attack was racially motivated as he was treated “like a Chinaman from the 1800s.”
San Francisco police confirmed they responded to a call at 10:06 p.m. at the Clement Street restaurant regarding a reported assault. The man and woman fled in a vehicle. No arrests were made.
“I want to press charges,” Yang said in the video he posted after the incident. “The whole city, look out for your boy Chino Yang.”
In 2023, Yang drew attention for releasing a rap song, “San Francisco Our Home,” in which he criticized city leadership and called then-Mayor London Breed a “clown.” He later apologized after facing pressure to take down the post.