Paul J. Fong[1] (Chinese: 方文忠; pinyin: Fāng Wénzhōng) (born August 5, 1952) is an American politician.

Fong was a full-term member of the California Assembly, completing three full terms of service as a public policymaker.

[7] Fong succeeded term-limited Democratic assemblywoman Sally Lieber, who was also the outgoing California State Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore.

[8] Fong won re-election in November 2010 by beating Republican Eric "Shooter" Hickok and Libertarian T.J. Campbell.

[14] Hawaii's former first lady Vicky Cayetano drew a similar comparison: "shark fin soup is about as cultural as bound feet.

"[15] However, State Senator Leland Yee argued that the bill constituted "the wrong approach and an unfair attack on Asian culture and cuisine... rather than launch just another attack on Asian American culture, the proponents of the ban on shark fin soup should work with us to strengthen conservation efforts.

Similar laws have been enacted in the states of Hawaii,[18] Washington,[19] Oregon,[20][21] and Illinois,[22] and in Venezuela,[23] Guam,[24] and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

[28] A poll commissioned by the Monterey Bay Aquarium found that 70 percent of the Chinese-American voters surveyed favored making it illegal to sell or distribute shark fins.

Opponents hired two lobbying firms, Lang Hansen O'Malley & Miller and Sloat Higgins Jensen & Associates, to guide their campaign against AB 376.

Fuller lists of the proponents and opponents are found in the Analysis of AB 376[31] released by the California State Senate's Committee on Natural Resources and Water.