Attack on US senator's wife triggers China race row

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Aides to top Republican Senator Mitch McConnell voiced outrage after a left-leaning group suggested he supported China over the United States due to his Taiwan-born wife.

Mr McConnell, who faces re-election next year, is married to former labour secretary Elaine Chao. She was born in Taiwan to parents who fled mainland China and immigrated to the United States as a child.

Progress Kentucky, a pressure group opposed to Mr McConnell, posted a message on Twitter which noted that the Senate Republican leader was married to Ms Chao and quipped: "May explain why your job moved to China!"

The group also linked to a press release in which China's Premier Wen Jiabao thanked Ms Chao's father, businessman James Chao, for business deals that helped benefit the Asian economy's shipbuilding industry.