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May 16-22, 1997
| Front Page | In
This Week's Issue | Subscribe | Special
| Archive | About
AsianWeek |
May 16-22, 1997
by Frank H. Wu
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Insti- tute (CAPACI) held its third annual fundraising gala last week in Washington, D.C. While CAPACI had expressed disappointment that President Bill Clinton, a guest at the first two gala events, did not attend, the dinner nonetheless is becoming an ever more important gathering of Asian Americans.
About 850 guests attended the festivities at the Washington Hilton hotel last Wednesday evening. President Clinton was traveling in Mexico, and Vice President Al Gore also was out of town. Many Cabinet members were traveling with President Clinton as well. CAPACI declined to accept a last-minute offer from the Clinton administration of a high-ranking speaker.
Despite the lower turnout compared with previous CAPACI dinners and the absence of any White House representative, an impressive array of Washington insiders and leaders from around the country turned in an appearance and talked about politics.
Among the many public figures present were former U.S. Rep. Norman Mineta, a California Democrat; former House counsel Cheryl Lau, a Nevada Republican; San Francisco attorney Dale Minami; Los Angeles civil-rights attorney Bill Lee; outgoing FCC Commissioner Rachelle Chong; dozens of Asian American appointees in the Clinton administration; and leaders of all the major APA organizations. A large contingent of Hmong and Laotian also attended, marking the integration of those ethnicities with other Asian American groups.
The mistress of ceremonies, actress Amy Hill, opened her routine by mentioning that she was "nervous" because of the recent campaign funding controversy. CAPACI itself has been implicated in the fundraising fiasco. According to the Wall Street Journal, Charlie Trie, an Arkansas businessman whose contribtions are being investigated, was a CAPACI board member and John Huang's wife, Jane, donat- ed a substantial sum of money to CAPACI last year.
Before the meal was served Hill joked, "Nothing is being served this evening, except chicken and fish"--no subpoenas. Many members of the audience did not immediately understand that she meant no subpoenas would be served.
With several local-television cameras rolling in the background, the two major speeches were delivered by co-chairs of the Democratic and Republican parties. Unlike the mass of media which roamed the floor of the CAPACI Inaugural Ball a few months ago, leading to hostile confrontations with a few of the guests, the handful of journalists were restricted to a press area.
Steve Grossman, the Democratic Party official who issued a press release in support of Asian Americans three weeks ago ("Better Late Than Never," April 25), repeated some of the sentiments of that statement. He said he wished to "express enormous appreciation to the Asian Pacific American community for its unwavering support" for the Democrats and for President Clinton. Calling Asian Americans a "wonderful constituency and partner," Grossman recalled the story of his grandfather, a Romanian Jew, coming to this country. He also announced that the Democratic Party had formed a committee to work toward including lawful permanent residents in the political process.
Patricia Harrison, the Republican Party official who has been appointed to work on minority outreach, spoke about tax and crime. She stated that Asian Americans should support the Republican Party because it would not pursue policies that "tax Peter to pay Paul, which will always have the support of Paul." She also discussed popular concerns about violence. Saying "Asian Americans are motivated by the same values that motivated my grandparents," Harrison described how her maternal grandfather had emigrated from Italy and Anglicized his name because Ellis Island officials could not pronounce his original family name. She added, "I don't think our hopes and our dreams are all that different from those of our grandparents and parents."
At the close of ceremonies, CAPACI presented its achievement award to the voter registration campaign that brought together 19 groups last year in an unprecedented, nationwide effort to register Asian Americans.
"We want to celebrate an important milestone in APA political empowerment which has been eclipsed by the political contribution controversy," said CAPACI Executive Director Francey Lim Youngberg. "[That is] the work of dedicated people on a bipartisan basis to ensure that members of our community become citizens, register to vote, and vote on election day."
The CAPACI dinner was the highlight of a busy week of conferences and meetings for APAs in Washington. CAPACI itself hosted a two-day public-policy conference, with panel discussions on campaign finance dominating the proceedings, which were broadcast by C-SPAN.
In addition, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association held a board meeting and Korean Americans gathered for the National Conference of Korean American Leadership. An ad hoc coalition of APA groups issued "A Call to Action," a package of briefing materials on the fundraising scandal.
The White House also held a briefing session for selected guests. In contrast to the 1996 briefing led by Vice President Gore, this year's session was led by Deputy Public Liaison Doris Matsui and a newly appointed spokesperson. The White House planned to discuss budget and education, but individuals who attended asked more difficult questions about Asian American involvement in public policy.
Perhaps the most signifi- cant event of the week, though, was a three-hour meeting to discuss the possibility of forming a national and pan-ethnic APA civil-rights organization. The discussion was called by former Congressman Mineta, now the chair of the CAPACI Board and a business executive.
Mineta, who has become a vocal and visible leader and spokesperson on the campaign finance scandal, coordinated a lengthy discussion among dozens of Asian Americans, representing diverse ethnicities, geographic regions, and political viewpoints, about the need for a group similar to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) or the Anti-Defamation League.
The individuals attending the meeting seemed unanimously to agree on the need for such a group. There was disagreement about the purpose of such a group, its potential funding, and whether it would be an umbrella group coordinating among many groups or if it would become a much more centralized group directing activities across the country.
Whatever the outcome, the CAPACI dinner has become much more than an opportunity to try out black-tie formal wear and traditional dress. It has become the principal networking event for the Asian Pacific American community.