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. <\/p>\n
In a series of social media videos, Chino Yang said he was attacked Thursday night while closing his Richmond district restaurant, ChinoYang\u2019s Hunan and Mandarin Cuisine.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in Asia before, and you guys stay open late,\u201d 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, \u201cYou don\u2019t like being known by that, that\u2019s bullshit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yang walks the woman out of the restaurant, and a fight appears to break out. Footage (opens in new tab)<\/a> shows restaurant staff trying to pull a man away from the business owner. A woman\u2019s voice can be heard shouting, \u201cAsian bitch fuck you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe tried to kill me in front of my business and my family,\u201d Yang told The Standard. \u201cI\u2019m still alive, man!\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Yang believes the attack was racially motivated as he was treated \u201clike a Chinaman from the 1800s.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to press charges,\u201d Yang said in the video he posted after the incident. \u201cThe whole city, look out for your boy Chino Yang.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, Yang drew attention<\/a> for releasing a rap song, \u201cSan Francisco Our Home,\u201d in which he criticized city leadership and called then-Mayor London Breed a \u201cclown.\u201d He later apologized after facing pressure to take down the post.<\/a><\/p>\n