Republican Lake Forrest Council member Benjamin Yu has been charged with two counts of misdomeanor domestic violence, specifically with injury on a spouse or co-habitant and false imprisonment. He was arrested July 1 and released the next day for the incident that happened in June. Yu will be arraigned August 23. Yu’s accuser is not his not his wife, but “someone he knows through mutual friends.”
“Let the legal system run its course,” Yu said to City News Service. “I strongly believe I am innocent in this case.”
Yu told KABC, “It is a private matter that has been running through the judicial process,” Yu said. “I’m privileged to be an American with my constitutionally protected right to due process,” he continued. “At this time, I request the respect of peace and privacy for all parties involved while letting this process play out.”
Yu, who has run for state assembly more than once, was elected to represent District 2 on the Lake Forrest City Council in 2022 for a four-year term. But as a candidate for State Assembly in 2020, Yu wrote this piece for The Hill.
He wrote:
“But over the last few years, I’ve witnessed more of my fellow Chinese-Americans abandoning the Democratic Party and generally becoming more politically conservative. There are several reasons for this, including Chinese Americans’ cultural conservatism and the Democratic Party’s slide toward socialism, which reminds many of us of the communism we fled in China.
The Republican Party is a natural home for Chinese-Americans, who tend to value free enterprise, individual responsibility, law and order, education and family cohesion. Many Chinese-Americans have been alienated by the Democrats’ emphasis on political correctness, social justice, wealth re-distribution and LGBTQ rights.
…
2020 is shaping up to be a pivot point in America, a time of choosing between socialism and the capitalist polices that for decades have made America the envy of the world. For this reason, many Chinese-Americans, including me, are running for office as Republicans. We lived through socialism in an extreme form and understand the devastation and misery it causes. We believe we are the ideal candidates to stop socialism and bring generations of voters into an inclusive and diverse GOP.
….
I get a feeling of déjà vu whenever I see politicians at the federal level and in California return criminals to our streets, water down our public education, strangle businesses with high taxes and burdensome regulations and increase dependency on government. It reminds me of my childhood and the Chinese government’s heavy-handed control over and mismanagement of almost every aspect of life.”
Here’s the interesting part. Irvine police arrested Yu for driving under the influence of alcohol on Oct. 11, 2021, and he was charged with two DUI misdemeanor counts in that case. A recent OC Register editorial asks “Why Southern California Politicians Can’t Stay Out of Jail” and cited only Democratic candidates. Yu was elected last November. Guess what you can’t find in the Orange County Register? There’s no story about Yu’s DUI arrest, because apparently that’s OK as Long as You Are a Republican. The Register never brought up the DUI arrest during the campaign even as Yu called for strong public safety measures.