Well, if the alternatives are "the shifty Chinamen" or "the organized crime people who are the same ethnicity as everyone else," (presumably white,) I guess it's less racist? You're admitting that Asians exist with enough power and agency to affect your story, and if they're bad guys, well, at least they're bad guys in their country of origin, too, which you acknowledge by using the term their country of origin uses for them.

I guess? (This is my first time chipping into this thread. I have absolutely no stake in this; I'm just guessing what was meant by the comment you had trouble with.)