Chinese-Americans rally against Cafferty

LOS ANGELES, April 19 (UPI) -- Thousands of Chinese-Americans rallied in Los Angeles Saturday, calling on CNN to fire commentator Jack Cafferty.

Cafferty drew their ire for his April 9 comments in which he called Chinese goods "junk" and the country's government "a bunch of goons and thugs," the Los Angeles Times reported.

"We understand free speech," said Lake Wang, 39, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., one of the protesters outside CNN's offices. "But what if Cafferty said this about other racial groups? I think he would be fired. I think he's jealous of China."

A CNN spokesman told the Times Cafferty was "offering his strongly held opinion of the Chinese government, not the Chinese people."

"It should be noted that over many years, Jack Cafferty has expressed critical comments on many governments, including the U.S. government and its leaders," the spokesman said.