Appearing at a city hall flag-raising with China’s consul general, mayoral candidate Doug Ford said Tuesday that Toronto’s Chinese residents are fiscal conservatives who “want subways.”

“They’re extremely hard-working people, they have an entrepreneurial spirit, they helped build this city, they helped build this country, and I just want to pay my respects,” Ford told a reporter for a Chinese-language media outlet on city hall’s podium roof.

“I think any flag-raising ceremony is about being proud of your country. I think it’s great. We’re like-minded in the way that the Chinese community is very fiscally responsible. And I know one thing: they want subways. They don’t want anything else.”

Ford’s generalizations prompted a cheeky but pointed reply from rival Olivia Chow, who is from Hong Kong.

“I appreciate his salute of my hard-working nature, and that I've helped build this city,” Chow said in an email.

“As to public transit, his belief that Chinese-Canadians don't want anything else but subways must be the reason why he cut bus routes in northeast Scarborough. I guess he hasn't been on a bus in Scarborough and noticed the number of Chinese-Canadians on it.”

Ford offered a similarly sweeping assessment of the city’s Jewish community last year.

“Rob absolutely loves the Jewish community and they’re supportive, very supportive — they’re business people,” he told the Toronto Sun then.

Mayor Rob Ford was widely criticized in 2008 for saying that “Oriental people work like dogs” and are “slowly taking over.”

The flag of China was raised on city hall’s ceremonial flagpole in honour of the country’s National Day on Oct. 1. The city regularly raises the flags of foreign countries in honour of national days and other special occasions; Canadian flags always stay up on other poles.

A group of about 10 Hong Kong protesters demonstrated at the ceremony, one of them holding a sign that said “Hong Kong, fight for democracy.” Doug Ford would not directly respond to a question on the events in Hong Kong .

“I just want to focus on the ceremony today and congratulate the people for coming out today,” he said.

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