Moving Beyond the Past
May 25, 2000
Like most of our editions, this week’s AsianWeek shows the diversity in our community as well as the myriad of issues facing us. On the lighter and happier side, there is the phenomenon of greater API representation both out on the field and on the big screen. In a trend that began with Hideo Nomo, the all-American sport of baseball now boasts a long roster of Asian players including Los Angeles’ Chan Ho Park and Colorado’s Masoto Yoshii. Meanwhile at movie theaters, Asian actors are finally being seen and heard, not only at traditionally API events like this month’s Visual Communications Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival, but also at mainstream Hollywood premieres, such as the opening for Jackie Chan’s Shanghai Noon.
Does all this mean that at last we have arrived? The answer is ‘no.’ Indeed, other events of this past week clearly show that the struggles of our present mirror our past. Over 50 years ago Japanese Latin Americans were ripped from their homes and sent to internment camps in the United States. Today, that group is still fighting for justice (reparations and an apology), while another man, Wen Ho Lee sits shackled in jail, allegedly for the mishandling of nuclear secrets though there is no evidence any information went to China or even beyond his computer. Other equally disturbing news: Buford Furrow, the killer of Filipino postman Joseph Ileto, refers to his victim as a “Chink or Spic” in an interview with law enforcement officials; Amtrak defends its practice of questioning suspicious looking foreigners in an effort to trap “illegal aliens.” And at SUNY Binghamton—administrators announce the wrestling team will be required to attend diversity and conflict resolution workshops. That decision, however, comes after three members of the university’s wrestling team attack four Asian American students, another is accused of an off-campus assault incident, and still other members are accused of participating in a brawl at a Denny’s restaurant.
These events should not cripple us in powerless defeat, but rather they should spur us to speak out and move the Asian American experience toward true equality.
A Bad Month
May 25, 2000
Have we all forgotten Wen Ho Lee, our accused spy? Last week an internal Justice Department review concluded the FBI bungled the investigation by narrowly focusing on Lee, missing opportunities to look for other national security breaches.
Now that’s cause for celebration.
It also points out the emerging double standard that appears to exist between Lee’s treatment and that of former CIA chief John Deutch. Deutch, you’ll recall, had up to 1,000 pages of classified material on his home computers, mixed in with a few porn Web sites and such.
That was called merely being “sloppy.”
Lee, on the other hand, was accused of being a spy. Never mind there was no evidence that the nuclear scientist passed on secrets to the Chinese or anyone. The only indisputable fact is that Lee is Chinese American. Asian American.
It could happen to any of us. So where are the Asian Americans to the rescue?
Lee has been held without bail since December, in solitary confinement and under tight security in Santa Fe, N.M. He can’t even get CSPAN to watch Congress vote PNTR to China—which his attorneys could point out, is more than Lee gave them.
And I thought I was having a bad month. Yes, it’s just about over. Another Asian American Heritage Month, and not one card.
Not even an e-card.
And despite my clamoring earlier this month, it wouldn’t have been so bad if I were exposed to a few seconds of a coconut half-shell bikini top. Nada.
I did go to an employee gathering at one of those Silicon Valley dot- coms. Pizza was served, a few of them topped with pineapple. Considering the number of Asian Americans in the company, it could have been an AA month celebration. If someone had bothered to mention it.
Yes, another year, another AA month. At the start, we spend time talking about why we need it. Then when nothing celebratory or eventful happens, the reality kicks in and we’re left with the rest of the month wondering if there’s even such a thing as an Asian American.
Is there?
When the Census Bureau allows self-description on its forms, what is an Asian American?
The official census term is Asian and Pacific Islander. API. But, as the criticism goes, that term doesn’t get across the “American” part. That’s a given, you say? When’s the last time someone asked to see your green card?
But instead of Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) actually used by some to be all-inclusive, others have come up with the streamlined Asian Pacific American. APA.
Not bad, and the one I prefer, but people get lazy. So we have AP. Asian Pacifics. Not the wire service, or defunct eastern grocery chain.
Or AA, which makes sense to confuse us with alcoholics drunk with their obsession. So are we. Are you ready for Asians Anonymous. Maybe we ought to just give this thing up?
Anathema, you say?
If you look at the community, most of us still cling together ethnically. Ask a crowd of Vietnamese if they’re Asian American, and you’re liable to get blank stares.
They’ll say, “I’m Vietnamese.”
As a Filipino, if I go to a group and say, “Hey we’re Asian American,” I’m apt to hear someone say, “With the Japanese?”
The Koreans would say that too.
And the Hmong would just be happy if someone asked their opinion. But they’d say Hmong before Asian American.
Where does that leave us? Nowhere. It’s ethnic death. It’s also the reason we need to either move on, or wholeheartedly adopt some kind of pan-Asian phrase.
The best reason to come together is that we are nothing alone.
Current census estimates put us at 4 percent of the American population with 11 million Asian Americans (my default term until we can figure out something we can all say).
That’s a lot. But still small. There are 6 million Dutch in American. Ten million Poles.
When was the last time you saw someone arguing there aren’t enough Polish legislators in this country?
The difference is they’re white. And we aren’t. They blend. And we—are still Asian.
According to the 1990 census, our largest groups are the 1.5 million Chinese, and the 1.4 million Filipinos. But both groups make up barely a speck.
So we need an umbrella political term. It may be artificial. But if it’s a real umbrella, it’s probably made in China. The point is we need something to put us under one label.
If you don’t like the umbrella, then maybe look at it as a giant hotel, like the places we hold our beauty pageants. We’re all under one roof. But we go into our separate rooms. Still, the marquee is clear‚ in neon lights we’re “_____________.”
Asian Pacific Americans?
Such is the search for a term that fights dysfunction. Sure, we identify with individual ethnicities. Hey, I’m my own Filipino Asian construct: An “Aspanic!”
But reality demands a Pan Asian term. Certainly for political reasons, numbers mean strength. But consider when one needs an umbrella. Or an umbrella term. When it rains what do you rely on? In times of adversity, is it better to stand alone or together?
Example: Some guy gets mad at Japan for taking his auto job, so he shoots a Chinese person. (Chinese is America’s default Asian.) When “they all look alike,” any target will do. Xenophobia has no time for the fine distinction, “Are you Malay or Thai, or what?”
This is our dilemma. We want to have our individual “roots pride.” But being American forces us together. We need to let people know we’re not foreigners. And yet we need to let each other know we’re not the enemies of our ethnic histories.
We are thrust under a term of convenience. Originally, it was for white politicians to get a handle on us. But increasingly, it must become a term for us to exert our own power—on them.
To date, we haven’t been so good at it. Just remember your fellow Asian American, Wen Ho Lee.
Redress: An American Issue
May 25, 2000
Those of us raised on fast-paced half-hour sit-coms are not used to scenarios that proceed unevenly or haltingly. On television, problems are solved in 30 minutes. In real life, they may go on for decades.
Here in the real world in Washington, D.C., the API community is watching the latest chapter unfold in the struggle for redress for Japanese Americans interned by our own government during World War II. Against all odds, Japanese Americans were granted reparations for their wartime incarceration by an act of Congress in 1988. Yet even that monumental effort did not result in complete justice. As well crafted as that legislation was, the interpretation of the resulting regulations was too narrow. Some people were left out, and now those people are back, asking to get the redress that so far has been out of their grasp.
Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) recently announced in a press conference in his district in Los Angeles that he was going to introduce the Wartime Parity and Justice Act of 2000, a legislative initiative to provide “redress to individuals of Japanese ancestry who were abducted by our government from their homes in Latin American countries and interned in the United States during World War II” and to others deserving redress but not deemed eligible under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
The Japanese American redress movement of the 1980s was one of the most successful social justice efforts of all time, for a number of reasons:
First, it was a clear case of discriminatory treatment by the federal government, as documented in official government sources uncovered by Michi Weglyn, Aiko and Jack Herzig, and other scholars.
Second, it affected a group that subsequently went on to gain public support through the wartime valor of the 44th Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Battalion, which suffered heavy casualties fighting in the European Theater of engagement.
Third, the movement benefited from a race-conscious social justice ethos that had emerged since the 1950s, and an Asian American consciousness that emerged in the 1960s.
Fourth, it combined the wisdom and energy of the nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) with the legal skills and greater sense of entitlement of the sansei (third-generation Japanese Americans).
Fifth, it grew out of a distrust of government that was fostered in the post-Watergate years.
Sixth, it became a cause célèbre to a broader social justice community, both secular and religious, which was critical of government because of the Reagan Administration’s opposition to many of this community’s goals.
Seventh, it benefited from a multi-faceted strategy that included a legislative strategy, a coram nobis courtroom strategy focused on clearing the names of those who had lost cases in the wartime Supreme Court, and a class action courtroom strategy (William Hohri et al. versus the United States).
Finally, it included public education that took place all over the nation on campuses, in civic organizations, in religious circles, and in professional organizations. The effort ultimately made a new generation aware of the dangers of mass-based injustices, and led to camp survivors getting $20,000 and a governmental apology.
In retrospect, however, the movement did not go far enough. Japanese Latin Americans kidnapped from their homes in Peru and other countries were not included because they were “illegal aliens” at the time of the internment—despite the fact that they came here against their wills and United States officials took away their passports, making them stateless. More fundamentally, some backers of the 1988 redress bill felt that getting redress for the domestic Japanese Americans was difficult enough; including the international dimension of the Japanese Latin Americans was felt to be too difficult. Others did not know the history of the Japanese Latin Americans, or did not want to speak up for a group that was not “Americanized” (English-speaking, with birth or long residence in the United States) during the wartime internment.
Whatever the reason for their exclusion in 1988, however, now is the time when all Japanese Americans—and all Asian Americans—can show the full measure of their compassion and thirst for justice. The fact that a Latino Congressman is backing this bill is just as significant as the fact that Congressman Mike Lowry, an American of European ancestry, backed the first redress bill in 1979.
This is an American issue, not just a Japanese American issue. It affected the Japanese Latin Americans, the Japanese American railroad workers, and others who were affected in ways that the bill describes.
Congressman Becerra estimates that the total cost will be $100 million or less, including over $40 million that was not allocated under the 1988 act’s provision for a Redress Education Fund. He is to be commended for his sense of justice.
For more information or to support the bill, contact the following CFJ members: Mariko Nakanishi: tel/fax: 323/549-9425; P.O. Box 251425, Los Angeles, CA 90025; email: mjnakanishi@hotmail.com or Grace Shimizu: tel/fax: 510/528-7288; P.O. Box 1384, El Cerrito, CA 94530; email: jpohp@prodigy.net.
SUNY Monitors Wrestling Team
May 25, 2000
Administrators order actions after racial attacks
By Heather Harlan
Following an attack at SUNY Binghamton against four Asian American students that allegedly involved members of the university’s wrestling team, school administrators ordered all members of the team participate in programs on diversity, conflict resolution and alcohol awareness.
Administrators at the university will also informally review the wrestling program on an on-going basis and conduct a formal review in June 2001, said Lois DeFleur, president of SUNY Binghamton.
On Feb. 27, three members of the team allegedly assaulted four Asian American students outside a dormitory while yelling racial slurs. One of the victims, John Lee, suffered a fractured skull, cerebral hemorrhaging and a concussion. The other three were less seriously injured.
One of the alleged assailants, Chad Scott, was indicted on third-degree assault charges by a Broome County grand jury. Charges against two other wrestlers, Nicholas Richetti and Christopher Taylor are still pending before the grand jury.
Richetti has been expelled from the University and Scott was suspended for two years. Disciplinary charges against Taylor were dropped.
The incident was one of several violent episodes this semester that were allegedly perpetrated by members of the wrestling team. One wrestler was accused of being involved in another assault in downtown Binghamton, and earlier in the month, members of the team reportedly participated in a brawl at a nearby Denny’s restaurant.
After the attack on the four Asian Americans, DeFleur ordered a review of the wrestling program. A report prepared by Joel Thirer, the university’s director of physical education, was handed over to DeFleur last week. It listed six recommendations to be implemented beginning next September.
The recommendations include that members participate in conflict-resolution and alcohol awareness programs as well as “additional programming that specifically deals with heightening sensitivity toward diverse ethnic groups and the negative implications of violence and hate crimes,” according to a statement issued by the school’s Office of University Relations.
Katie Ellis, a university spokesperson, said that alcohol was a factor in the attack on the Asian Americans. Ellis said that all varsity athletes already receive some alcohol awareness counseling, but that extra programming will be provided especially for the wrestling team.
The report recommended that present members of the wrestling team be strongly discouraged from socializing with previously suspended or former members of the wrestling team who are still attending the university, and from going to places where problems have regularly occurred.
Wrestling coaches are also being directed to focus on recruiting students who have not only excellent academic credentials and exceptional athletic skills, but also possess “the ability and desire to be good citizens of the University,” and to take a more careful look at the behavioral profiles of prospective recruits, the prepared statement said.
President DeFleur accepted all of the report’s recommendations, Ellis said. Thirer said there will be harsh consequences for both students and coaches if any future disciplinary problems occur that involve student athletes.
“Any varsity athlete failing to comply with existing rules and regulations regarding personal conduct will face immediate suspension from his or her team, including potential loss of athletically related financial aid if any is being received,” said Thirer. “If any of the intercollegiate coaching staff is unable to maintain appropriate levels of control over their athletes, then it is possible to reexamine the status of their employment contracts.”
Some Asian American students expressed skepticism about the recommendations. Peter Van Do, President of the Asian Student Union, called the review of the wrestling program a “token statement.”
“The administration needs to do more in educating students about diversity through its curriculum, and in supplying services to the needs of its students who are underrepresented,” said Van Do. “That includes hiring faculty and staff who are trained in Asian American affairs.”
The lawyer representing the Asian American students said it was “too early to tell” if the new programs would help deter future bias incidents at the university.
“I applaud their first step in making sure the wrestling team gets monitored,” said Sin Yen Ling of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). “But we don’t know yet what exactly they will be trained on in these programs.”
Stroke Prevention—An API Priority
May 25, 2000
By Diana Lau
Traditionally, May is the National Stroke Alert Month. However, for health professionals, educating the public on the disease continues year round. Last month, St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco conducted a free community blood pressure screening during the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco. There, some 465 people were screened for high blood pressure, of whom 270 had Asian names.
At this event and other free screenings, many people have been unpleasantly surprised by these blood pressure screening results: either they did not know that they had high blood pressure, or they learned their blood pressure was not under control. Both are major risk factors for stroke.
Because stroke is one of the most debilitating diseases, the American Heart Association has put a major emphasis on decreasing the incidence of stroke by 25 percent by the year 2008, and the American Stroke Association has been created as a division of the American Heart Association in support of this ambitious goal.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the world, and it is the most frequent cause of disability. Moreover, the cost of stroke in 1999, including hospitalization, physician fees, rehabilitation and lost productivity, was estimated at $45.3 billion.
Stroke is most commonly caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain (75-85 percent of all stroke cases), but in some, bleeding in the brain due to the bursting of blood vessels can cause stroke. The incidence of bleeding stroke is known to be slightly higher in people of Asian descent than in those of other racial backgrounds.
From the stroke fact sheets published by the American Heart Association, it is estimated that about 600,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. About 500,000 are first attacks and 100,000 are recurrent attacks.
Although stroke has a significant mortality rate, most victims do survive the first attack, many with residual disability that inflicts a tremendous impact on the society. Those with moderate to severe impairments have a diminished quality of life. And about half of all stroke victims develops one-sided weakness or paralysis, and need assistance in daily activities.
Of the many risk factors attributed to causing strokes, the most important one—which is preventable—is high blood pressure. Unfortunately, according to a 1997 study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), only 68 percent of the people with high blood pressure are aware of it, and 54 percent are being treated. Only about 27 percent are adequately controlled, which leaves 73 percent of the individuals with uncontrolled high blood pressure as potential stroke victims.
Community Blood Pressure Screenings
In an April 1999 news release Trends in Hypertension, Claude Lenfant, M.D., NHBLI Director, mentioned that “the majority of coronary heart disease and stroke occurs at lower stages of hypertension.” It is, therefore, not enough to just control high blood pressure. Rather, how well it is controlled is what counts.
During St. Mary’s screenings, many individuals who were found to have high blood pressure were aware of their condition and were on medication, which they claimed they took as prescribed. However, it is a well-known fact among clinicians that patient non-compliance is the most common risk factor in causing uncontrolled blood pressure. In addition, one should never assume that treatment is effective. Often times it takes multiple trials to find the right combination of drugs and dosages to control high blood pressure. And as one ages or health condition change over time, medication will need to be fine-tuned again.
Controlling High Blood Pressure
Both African Americans and Asians have a high prevalence of high blood pressure and need to stay on alert for the symptoms of stroke. The southeastern part of the United States. has been coined the “Stroke Belt” due to the high concentration of African American stroke victims living in those areas. There is a potential for the formation of an “Asian Stroke Belt” in areas such as New York and California where there is a high concentration of Asians.
That may be preventable, though. Treatment for high blood pressure follows a risk-stratified approach, which takes into consideration factors such as smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, age, or organ damage.
For most individuals, initial counseling on lifestyle modification is tried for up to 12 months, and if the blood pressure is still not under control, then drug therapy will be implemented.
Lifestyle modifications used to control high blood pressure include quitting smoking, losing weight if needed, eating a low sodium and adequate potassium diet, limiting alcohol intake, and exercising for 30-45 minutes at least four times a week.
It is highly advisable for individuals with high blood pressures to keep two items handy at home: a blood pressure measurement kit to facilitate frequent blood pressure measurement and a scale for monitoring body weight to avoid excessive weight gain.
For more information about stroke prevention, symptom recognition, and other relevant information, contact your local division of the American Heart Association, or visit the web site at www.americanheart.org.
Diana Lau, RN, MS, CNS is the Special Projects Coordinator, St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco, Immediate Past Chair, Board of Directors, American Heart Association, San Francisco Division Host/Producer, Health Talk Segment, Chinese Star Radio, FM 90.3.
Building Trust
May 25, 2000
Candidate vies to become first API New York City Council member
By Janet Dang
In the Flushing area of New York City, Asian Americans make up nearly half of the population. But it’s no surprise to many residents there that no Asian Americans represent that electoral district—or any of the other 50 citywide districts in New York City.
That may soon change, however. At 33, Democrat John Liu is campaigning for city council. Winning a seat in District 20 would make him the city’s first Chinese American—and Asian American—city council member. It is Liu’s second bid for the seat. In 1997, he lost to a 12-year incumbent, coming in second place and defeating one other Asian American candidate.
“It was surely the volunteers, the organizations, and that we just knew how to maneuver within the system,” he recalled.
With the incumbent terming out next year, Liu, who’s backed by a group of young professionals and armed with a list of endorsements, has a good shot come election time in 2001.
In New York City, where ethnic politics is “no less ethnic than anywhere else,” Liu said he is confident he will receive the vast majority of the Asian American vote.
Though the Asian American population in Flushing is sizable (about 40 percent), its Asian American voting population is estimated to be only 10 percent.
Comprised of about 50 percent Chinese Americans, 35 percent Korean Americans, and the rest Filipino and Southeast Asian—the Asian American population is a relatively recent group, Liu said, with many just striving for economic security. “Voting and the democratic process comes later on,” he said. “When we’re secure, that’s when we ask what’s next.”
Liu, a self-described “Flushing boy” immigrated to Queens from Taiwan when he was 5 years old. He joined his father, who was already in the United States earning an MBA. The young Liu grew up in New York like the majority of the immigrant population, going through the public schools, and later attending State University of New York, Binghamton.
Today, he with his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, live in Queens only a mile away from his first home in the United States.
For Liu, attaining a seat on the city council would be just another step along his path of public service. In junior high and high school, he devoted his time to volunteer work and community organizing, and while in college he was active in student government.
Today Liu works as a consultant in Manhattan for PriceWaterhouse Coopers LLP. He also volunteers by doing community organizing and neighborhood outreach as the president of the North Flushing Civic Association, a neighborhood group which tackles residents’ concerns, from public safety and municipal services to neighborhood beautification.
Though Liu’s experience mirrors that of many others in the API community, he doesn’t want them to support him in his council seat bid based on his ethnicity. But he added: “I do think that we need Asian American representation in the form of an Asian American member.”
The fact that there hasn’t been Asian American representation in a legislative office in New York City has made the community apathetic toward voting, Liu said. Only when an API wins an election will Asian Americans “say, ‘Yes, we can make a difference,’” But until then, he added, it’s hard to get people to vote.
“We recognize that the Asian American population isn’t large enough to make or break a candidate,” Liu said.
With that understanding comes the next challenge: building coalitions and bridges with the rest of the neighborhood, and winning over the district’s largest voting bloc—the ethnic whites, including Jews and Irish and Italian Americans.
It is a strategy that Liu has long followed. A 1997 campaign flyer, in fact, shows Asian American, Latino, black and white voters lending him their support. One elderly white woman was quoted as saying, “We trust him.” The flyer reflects the mantra of his campaign then and now, that “people have a lot in common,” Liu said. “Too often, the past representatives in this area have pointed out the differences…I honestly believe we have a lot more in common than we have differences.”
New Reparations Plan for Japanese Latin Americans
May 25, 2000
By Brendan Riley/AP
Art Shibayama was just 13 when he and other family members were forced from their home in Peru in 1944 and put on a ship for a three-week voyage to the United States—and an internment camp in Texas.
The Shibayamas and tens of thousands like them who lost their freedom and property were guilty only of being of Japanese ancestry and living in the Americas at a time when the United States was at war with Japan.
They were rounded up and placed in camps either out of fear they might assist Japan in the war effort or, in other cases, to be used as part of prisoner exchanges. Many, including the Shibayamas, were held long after World War II had ended.
The U.S. government compensated most of the victims and their families for their losses. But many others, including Shibayama, a 69-year-old retired service station operator in San Jose, Calif., were left out. Now there’s a new congressional effort to help Japanese Americans and Japanese Latin Americans who didn’t benefit from earlier reparations.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, drafted a measure to pick up where the original restitution plan left off when it expired in 1998 after providing $1.65 billion in benefits to victims. A 1998 court settlement plus supplemental appropriations from Congress provided $50 million more for the Japanese-ancestry victims of wartime excesses.
Becerra says his proposal is a final, necessary step.
“We toyed with the lives of a lot of people, a lot of good people. And since we’ve already admitted wrong there’s no reason that we can’t let justice, if it exists, apply to all of them equally,” he said.
Becerra isn’t sure of the amount he will propose, but said it won’t come close to the earlier restitution plan. Money’s not the issue anyway, he added.
“These are people who deserve to have some justice. When you tell people what happened to them, they say ‘you’ve got to be kidding.’ That’s what we’re fighting against.”
Leaders in the push for the legislation include Grace Shimizu, whose father was taken from Peru—where he had lived for 20 years—and confined in the same camp near San Antonio where the Shibayamas were held for over two years.
The families were kept in one of several federal camps that, along with 10 relocation camps, held people of Japanese ancestry during the war years. Most were in the West.
“It will wrap up all the concerns so that we can close this chapter on a positive ending,” Shimizu said.
“Injustice continues for people whose civil liberties have yet to be vindicated,” added Fumie Shimada, another advocate of Becerra’s bill. Her father was fired from his job as a railroad machinist in Sparks, Nev., in 1942 after more than two decades on the job.
The U.S. government moved against Kametaro Ishii, Shimada’s father, and hundreds of other Japanese Americans holding West Coast railroad or mining jobs contending they were national security risks.
For Shimizu’s father, Susumu Shimizu, the Shibayamas and at least 2,600 others like them from Latin America, the plan was to exchange them for American citizens trapped in Japan at the start of the war.
Hundreds of Japanese who had spent years in Latin America, including Shibayama’s grandparents, were involved in the little-known exchanges. “They went back to Japan. I never got to see them again,” he said.
Other Japanese Latin Americans were locked up in U.S. camps. Only a handful returned to Latin America. Most remained in the United States when the war ended.
Backers of Becerra’s bill include members of the Campaign for Justice. Formed in 1996, the group includes the National Coalition for Redress, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project. They estimate their efforts could help as many as 1,400 people, including those who lost their homes and jobs. It also would help the children of those whose lives were disrupted if the victims have since died.
In 1988, Congress acknowledged that U.S. wartime treatment of people of Japanese descent and , particularly the 120,000 who were rounded up and confined at internment camps was wrong.
The 1988 Civil Liberties Act provided for reparations, and some 80,000 survivors applied for payments for lost property and freedom. Most were paid $20,000 each under the restitution law that expired two years ago.
Many—but not all—of the railroad workers were included largely because of efforts by Shimada, a Sacramento, Calif., teacher who spent years tracking down proof of a government order for the railroads to fire her late father and other workers of Japanese ancestry.
Because they weren’t citizens or legal residents of the United States during the war, Japanese from 13 Latin American countries—mainly Peru—weren’t eligible for the $20,000 payments. But some received $5,000 as a result of the 1998 court settlement.
“But it’s not just the money,” said Shimizu, of El Cerrito, Calif., who cares for her 93-year-old father. “It’s more a feeling of appreciating the severity of the human rights violations that occurred.”
“Since the end of the redress program in 1998, different people in government are saying this chapter is closed,” she added. “And we’re saying, ‘No, not yet. Don’t close the door yet.’”
Shimizu and Shimada already have received restitution for their families. Now, they’re working to get those benefits for others who applied too late, were unaware of the benefits or were excluded on technicalities. They’d also like to get access to government files that might show what happened to some Japanese Latin Americans who simply disappeared.
“In some cases, family members were taken away and the families never heard from them again,” Shimizu said.
Shibayama has received no restitution or apologies, and he’d like both. His family was broken up and their successful textile imports and clothing business in Peru was lost.
After a 21-day sea trip on a transport ship—below decks most of the time—he, his parents and five brothers and sisters lived in two rooms in a barracks near San Antonio. For years, he fought the Immigration and Naturalization Service for U.S. citizenship—even after serving in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Korean War era.
Shibayama said he feels some bitterness, but still thinks “the United States is the best country to live in.”
“But people made mistakes, big mistakes. I was discriminated against so many times,” he said. “I was offered the $5,000 settlement but I opted out because it was another discrimination, a slap in the face. The offer said nothing about how we were brought here—not even an apology.
“I tell people what happened and they don’t believe it. They say, ‘We did that to you? No.’ I say, ‘Yes, you did.’”
Senate Passes Compromise Hmong Citizenship Bill
May 25, 2000
By Frederic J. Frommer/AP
The Senate passed legislation May 18 that would make it easier for members of a Laotian ethnic group to become U.S. citizens, agreeing on compromise language on who would be found eligible for citizenship.
The bill waives the English-language requirement for Hmong and other Laotians who were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency in Laos for covert military actions during the Vietnam war.
A similar version, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., has already passed the House. Backers of the bill hope to get a quick second vote in the House on the new Senate language, and avoid having to work out the difference in a House-Senate conference.
Supporters of the bill said that the Hmong have found it difficult to learn English because their language did not have a written form until recently.
Sen. Rod Grams, R-Minn., had raised concerns about the legislation because as it passed the House it would allow the Lao Veterans of America to certify who would qualify for the waiver. Grams’ substitute bill, which passed the Senate, called for the CIA or the Defense Department to make that decision.
Under the bill, the Justice Department, in determining whether someone is eligible for citizenship, “may consider any documentation provided by organizations maintaining records with respect to Hmong Veterans or their families.”
Amtrak Border Patrol Practices Examined
May 25, 2000
Issue of racial profiling raised
By Karen Ivanova/Great Falls Tribune
Chan Sung Zhen jumped ship in Seattle last October and made a beeline for the Amtrak station. Within hours, the undocumented immigrant was on the Empire Builder train, headed to Alabama with a recruiter of Chinese chefs he arranged to meet at the Seattle depot. But the gig was up when the train rolled into Havre, Montana.
Each day, uniformed Border Patrol agents hop on board Empire Builder trains to sniff out undocumented travelers during the train’s half-hour stopover at the Havre depot.
Nationwide, the sweeps have led to the arrest of 1,517 illegal immigrants on passenger trains and 11,821 on buses in fiscal year 1999. Started in 1924, they’re done at stations across the northern border, including Grand Forks, N.D., Detroit, Buffalo and sporadic inspections in Spokane.
But some civil rights advocates say such police questioning, especially on a train that doesn’t cross international borders, is a violation of passengers’ constitutional right to privacy and due process.
It’s also racial profiling, veteran Seattle immigration attorney Antonio Salazar said. “They just do it on their appearance, for no other reason,” Salazar said.
Of the 83 Amtrak passengers arrested in Havre between April 1999 and April 2000, only four were from countries with sizable Caucasian populations—one each from France, Israel, Bulgaria and New Zealand.
Forty-five of those caught were from Mexico. The rest hailed from Asia, Africa and South and Central America.
In Zhen’s case, immigration officials in Seattle had posted a lookout for him. But usually the agents aren’t working from tips. Walking down the aisles, they make casual conversation with passengers: “Hi. How ya doin’? Where are you from?”
Travelers with broken English, a foreign appearance, a nervous reaction or some other red flag may find themselves in a more serious conversation with an agent.
Border Patrol officials are calling the checks, started on the Empire Builder about 18 months ago, a success.
“[The train] gives us an area to focus our limited manpower,” said Robert Finley, chief of the Border Patrol’s Havre Sector, which includes Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
Similar checks on Greyhound buses in Billings helped bump arrests there by 60 percent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2000. Seventy-one undocumented immigrants were arrested on the bus from April 1999, about the time they started, to March 2000. Greyhound checks also are done on a limited basis in Glendive.
But the practice is worth a second look, said Judy Rabinovitz, senior staff counsel with the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project in New York.
“It definitely raises questions about racial profiling,” Rabinovitz said.
“We are a very diverse country. There are plenty of people who could be considered to look foreign even though they’re American. This treats them as second-class citizens.”
The Border Patrol says such allegations are unfounded.
The ACLU would have a tough time making a racial profiling case in Havre, Finley said. He said his agents never single out train passengers because of their race.
“Just because you may look Hispanic or you may look Nigerian or something like that we do not profile,” Finley said. “We’re very cautious about that.”
For good reason.
Police agencies across the nation, from the Border Patrol to local sheriff’s departments, have come under legal attack for racial profiling in recent years, particularly in traffic stops. Just last month, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 7-4 ruling that Border Patrol agents cannot use “Hispanic appearance” as a factor in stopping drivers near the U.S.-Mexico border.
But a foreign appearance in general is still acceptable as a reason for initial questioning, said Nicole Chulick, an INS spokeswoman in Washington D.C. An agent need only suspect that a passenger is not a U.S. citizen to ask for identification.
So how do agents decide whose papers to check, out of a couple hundred passengers on board the Empire Builder during its half-hour stopover in Havre?
Usually a combination of clues piques an agent’s curiosity, Finley said, such as broken English, or maybe a watch or other personal effect not widely available in this country. Evasiveness is another red flag.
“When someone who is in this country illegally sees someone in a Border Patrol uniform, they get damn nervous,” Finley said.
But because each case is different, Finley said it’s tough to define what raises an agent’s suspicion. Agents rely heavily on their experience, he said: “Over the years you develop a certain expertise.”
When the clues add up to “reasonable cause”—suspicion that would hold up under legal scrutiny—the agent will intensify the questioning and, if the passenger can’t produce papers, will likely run a computerized background check through the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
If a non-citizen forgot his or her passport or other documentation, agents can run a computerized background check, much like a highway patrolman on a routine traffic stop. The passenger doesn’t have to leave the train and is usually cleared in a matter of minutes.
“That to me is fairly innocuous,” said Stan Mark, program director with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York. “Not like the extreme stories on the southern borders.”
But the Border Patrol should be using more definable guidelines for deciding when to check a passenger’s ID, Mark said.
“There must be some criteria that can be articulated,” he said. “You just can’t have someone saying, ‘Well, they have 15 years of experience.’ It can’t be just a gut feeling.”
Amtrak customers haven’t complained about the checks, said Kevin Johnson a spokesman in Amtrak’s Chicago office. Amtrak checks are also done on a limited basis in Spokane.
“The thing (agents) have been very good about is we insist that they do not delay the train,” Johnson said. “They’re very efficient in what they do.”
But the end results still trouble David Harris, a professor of law and values at the University of Toledo College of Law. Harris is senior justice fellow at the Center for Crime, Communities and Culture and a frequent national commentator on racial profiling. The Border Patrol does, in fact, enjoy a more relaxed constitutional standard to police for aliens inside border states, Harris said. Agents can stop drivers miles from the nearest border crossing and even seize their cars if they don’t have papers.
Harris questions why 95 percent of those arrested in Havre between April 1999 and April 2000 are minorities.
The Border Patrol says it questions people of all races and the arrests are simply a reflection of the aliens who happen to be riding the Empire Builder. Though still a small percentage of arrests, checks on other Amtrak routes uncover more European and other Caucasian aliens, they point out.
Fifty-four percent of the undocumented immigrants apprehended on Amtrak in the last year were Mexican, mirroring federal estimates that 54 percent of illegal aliens in the United States came from Mexico.
Yet “that’s the same explanation given in all kinds of cases where we end up with a disproportionate impact on certain ethnic groups,” Harris said. “You can’t take that at face value. There’s a relationship between where you look for things and where you find them.”
In November, a few weeks after Zhen was arrested, Havre agents caught a second chef, Guo Qiang Chen, en route to New York. Chen also had jumped ship in Seattle and was traveling with a man who said he was going to employ him at one of four restaurants he owned on Long Island.
A month later, Havre agents caught Darbara Singh on his way to Chicago. Singh told agents he paid $15,555 to be smuggled from India to Sea-Tac Airport. He entered with a valid passport and visa supplied by a smuggler.
Most of those nabbed on the Empire Builder entered the country legally and overstayed, Kemp said. Whatever their situation, they enjoy the same constitutional right as U.S. citizens to ignore the agent.
“Nobody’s forced to talk to us,” Kemp said.
If a suspect clams up, the Havre Border Patrol may notify agents at a later stop, perhaps investigating the case in the meantime by checking Amtrak passenger rosters or seeking clues from the INS at the train’s city of origin, Kemp said.
Salazar questions how many foreigners, on a train in the middle of Montana, are comfortable exercising their right to remain silent.
“They don’t,” Salazar said. “Because they’re scared or intimidated.”
An All-American Pastime
May 25, 2000
Asian and Asian Americans in Major League Baseball
By Anthony Hayes
This spring the New York Mets’ Benny Agbayani accomplished something that every young baseball player dreams of: He hit a grand slam home run to win the first game of the major league season before 60,000 screaming fans.
The twist is that Agbayani, 28, and a native of Hawaii, was in Tokyo, Japan when he hit the historic shot against the Chicago Cubs. It was the first major league game to ever be held outside of the Americas or Hawaii. It’s fitting that Agbayani, who is Filipino and Samoan American, is a true child of the Pacific Rim.
“It meant a lot to me because I was on the Pacific when I hit it,” the player says. “Japan and Hawaii have a great connection going on. Heck, they own half the Islands. When my career ends, I think they will remember me back there.”
The Agbayani home run in Japan was just the latest bulletin in a long series of news flashes in the past few years touting Asian and Asian American baseball players.
First Came Hideo Nomo
The phenomenon began in 1995 when lefty Hideo Nomo bolted the Japanese major leagues, joined the Los Angeles Dodgers and proceeded to set the baseball world on its ear with his dazzling pitches and corkscrew delivery. Prior to Nomo, the last foreign-born Asian player in the big leagues was Masanori Murakami. Murakami pitched for the San Francisco Giants from 1964 to ’65.
But Nomo was different. At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Nomo led the National League in strikeouts in his first season with the Dodgers and posted an outstanding 2.54 earned run average. Nomo won N.L. Rookie of the Year award honors. In 1996 he had another outstanding season, winning 16 games, including a no-hitter at home run happy Denver. After Nomo, Asian players weren’t considered inconsequential 98-pound weaklings. It was, as the T-shirts and banners proclaimed, “Nomo Mr. Nice Guy.”
Since then teams have searched throughout Asia for the next Nomo. From Korean sandlots to Taiwanese college diamonds, wherever baseball is being played, there’s a good chance an American scout has passed through.
Currently there are many Asian players in the majors. They include Los Angeles’ Chan Ho Park, Kansas City’s Mac Suzuki, Seattle’s Kazuhiro Sasaki, Anaheim’s Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Byung-Hyun Kim of Arizona, Colorado’s Masoto Yoshii and Montreal’s Hideki Irabu. Nomo is now with Detroit where he remains a very effective starting pitcher.
“Without Nomo, this would not have happened. He became a bigger star here than he ever was in Japan,” says Lenn Sakata, 48, a former major league infielder and current manager of the Bakersfield Blaze, a San Francisco Giants minor league club. “It would have been different if he struggled. Nomo boosted confidence in the players over there that they could come to the states and do well.”
Sakata is something of a sensei (teacher) when it comes to the history of Asians and Asian Americans in baseball. A fourth-generation Japanese American from Hawaii, he played in parts of 11 major league seasons with four different teams. Sakata also had the unique opportunity to play and manage in the Japanese professional leagues. He spent the four seasons, 1994-’97, managing the Chiba Lotte Marines, a Japanese minor league team. Today, players such as Agbayani seek his advice.
Though playing in the United States is seen as a viable option for many Asian prospects, Sakata says a good percentage of Japanese players still look at playing in America with caution.
“Some are afraid to come over. They are making a good living there, and the United States is still somewhat of the great unknown,” Sakata says. “The players over there have become more independent. Guys are holding out for more money—something they didn’t do before.”
Some baseball critics have speculated that major league clubs have signed Asian players in part for their drawing power at the turnstiles—and once the novelty of seeing Asian players wears off, fewer teams will pursue them. Eric Kubota, the international scouting director of the Oakland A’s and one of a few Asian Americans working in baseball operations for a major league team, doubts many teams would be that calculating, but he says clubs have noticed the drawing power of Asian ballplayers.
“I don’t think a team would make a player move solely for public relations reasons. But on the other hand, I think the Los Angeles Dodgers management is very aware that when Chan Ho Park pitches at Dodger Stadium it helps attendance,” Kubota says.
Asian Americans Underrepresented
But there’s an odd twist to the Asian invasion of major league baseball. While the recent Asian imports have proven to have major league skills in overseas teams, big league scouts have traditionally ignored and continue to overlook Asian American players.
Only a handful of American-born-and-raised players of Asian heritage have appeared at the big league level. The current Asian American players list includes Agbayani, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Danny Graves and Chicago White Sox pitcher Jim Parque. Atlanta’s Bruce Chen was born and raised in Panama.
In spite of that, Asian Americans have had a long and interesting history in baseball, in leagues of their own. In the 1920s, a semi-pro league of Japanese Americans flourished on the West Coast. The teams’ impact didn’t approach that of the Negro Leagues, but they were very popular with the Japanese American community. Teams would travel from town to town on weekends and compete in privately owned ballparks. Occasionally the clubs competed against barnstorming all-star teams composed of such baseball legends as Babe Ruth. During World War II, the games continued in the internment camps, and baseball is often credited in helping raise spirits in those dreary locales, far from home.
Later, Asian American ball players paved the way for today’s players. Sakata, all-star pitchers Ron Darling and Atlee Hammaker, and outfielder Mike Lum were among them.
Agbayani, a husky, 6-foot, 225-pounder who sports an intricate tattoo on his left bicep combining a traditional Polynesian pattern and motif of baseballs and bats, says making the adjustment to professional baseball was difficult.
“No one on my team was from a similar background or culture. Some people thought I was Latin or black,” says Agbayani. “It got very lonely. I didn’t have anyone from my own race to talk to. In Hawaii, everyone gives you a hug. Here, they just give you a handshake. There’s no feeling of ohana [family].”
Darling, another Hawaiian product, was a standout starting pitcher for more than a decade with the Mets and the Oakland A’s. Now an up-and-coming broadcaster on the cable TV’s Fox Sports Net, Darling co-hosts the daily nationwide show “Baseball Today.”
Darling, whose mother is Chinese-Hawaiian, says scouts may find it easy to overlook Asian American talent.
“Scouts look for raw talent. If a player is extra fast or has a strong arm, he’ll get noticed. Scouts will get a feather in their cap if they find a kid who’s 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, who can throw the ball through a brick wall,” says Darling. “But just because he’s big and strong doesn’t mean he knows how to pitch, or has finesse and good control.
“On the surface, it looks better to recommend a player who looks like a big leaguer over a smaller Asian kid who might not throw as hard but knows how to throw strikes and pitch with finesse. I like to remind people of tennis player Michael Chang. He’s not the biggest tennis player and doesn’t hit the ball as hard as others. But no one has as much heart, and he knows how to win.”
Darling believes that the influx of Asian baseball talent from around the world will result in more Asian American prospects being inked.
“I think baseball has to start looking in their own backyard for hidden talent as well as around the world. I know for a fact that there are hundreds of Korean kids in L.A. who live and die with the Dodgers. After Chan Ho Park pitches, they go out to the backyard to play catch and they’re throwing the ball just a bit harder,” Darling says.
So why haven’t more Asian Americans succeeded in professional baseball? Sakata says old prejudices still exist regarding smaller ball players. The teams seem to forget that the baseball Hall of Fame is full of small players such as Phil Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese, Joe Morgan and Wee Willie Keeler.
“I used to hear a lot of cracks about my size,” Sakata says. “Because I was small, people thought I was weak. So at times, I think I tried to overcompensate by trying to hit home runs,” the 5-foot-9 Sakata says.
Baseball also has a reputation of harboring its share of intolerant rednecks. John Rocker’s recent infamous diatribe against minorities and gays—and the standing ovations he received at Atlanta home games after those comments—are proof that those attitudes still exist in the game.
“When I was playing I would hear ethnic slurs from the stands, especially in eastern cities like Cleveland and Detroit,” Sakata says. “There are always going to be mean bastards out there. Baseball provides a great learning experience in human relations. People come from all over the world and live together with one common link: the love of baseball.’’
Behind the Scenes
In addition, few Asian Americans have occupied front office or coaching positions in baseball. Wendell Kim of the Boston Red Sox is the lone Asian American with an assistant coaching position in the big leagues. Meanwhile, Oakland’s Kubota and Kim Ng, assistant general manager with the New York Yankees, are two of the first Asian Americans to work in baseball operations at the big league level.
Ng, 31, describes herself as a lifelong athlete. She grew up in New York City playing softball. Ng broke into professional baseball as an intern in the Chicago White Sox’s front office. She’s now in her third season with the Yankees, and the team has won the World Series during her first two seasons with them.
Today her duties range from player evaluations to contract negotiations. “In other words, everything it takes to put a winning team on the field,” Ng quips. As a woman and a minority, Ng belongs to two groups that have been scarce in baseball front offices.
“I think I will have more obstacles as a woman as opposed to being Asian. The Asian markets have opened up. We are very involved in Asia and have recently signed a Taiwanese prospect,” she says.
She’s optimistic that the recent influx of Asian talent will lead to more positions in coaching and front office jobs for Asians and Asian Americans. “I think the minority hiring efforts baseball is currently focusing on are on Hispanics and African Americans, because those are the players you see on the teams. I think once you see more Asians on the field you’ll see that reflected in more coaches and managers being hired,” Ng says. “I’ve never hypothesized why there aren’t more Asian Americans in baseball. It’s the same in football, basketball and hockey. I don’t know how much importance the game plays in the lives of Asian American kids.”
But even reliable vets like Sakata can’t get a break in the majors. He’s still a long way from joining Kubota, Ng, and Kim in the big leagues. Sakata manages at the single A-level of minor league baseball.
“I’m in kind of a year-to-year position. I don’t really know how I stand in the Giants’ organization,” says Sakata, who managed the Giants’ San Jose minor league club in 1999. “Will there ever be an Asian manager? I don’t know, I might be the only candidate to choose from.’’
Sakata was in a similar situation in Japan. Despite his Japanese heritage, Sakata says he was treated like any other foreigner. Each Japanese club is allowed a limited number of foreign players. Some Americans have had long and productive careers in Japan, but they remain outsiders or gaijin, wrote Robert Whiting in You Gotta Have Wa, his book on Japanese baseball.
Sakata agrees with Whiting’s assessment. “I don’t speak Japanese so I was just another American,” says the manager, who used an interpreter to converse with his players. “Despite being manager, I was not considered a member of the inner circle. Often I was not consulted on player moves. It was very frustrating.”
Sakata found that Japanese baseball and its style reflected the country’s culture. Some players have been known to strike out on purpose rather than risk hitting into a double play if they are not confident of getting a hit.
“It’s a very conservative style of play. The Japanese prefer to bunt whenever possible; some managers will bunt in the first inning,” Sakata says. “The Japanese managers are afraid of failing and losing face. So they take the conservative approach.”
But in spite of those differences, Sakata says all of the young ball players he comes in contact with have some common traits.
“They all want to learn and get better and make the major leagues,” he says. “Whether that’s in the U.S. or Japan, they want to be the best they can.”
Asian and Asian American Players in Major League Baseball:
Links to Profiles and Stats
(each of these links will open a new browser window at espn.go.com)
Arts & Entertainment Calendar
May 25, 2000
A regional roundup of events of special interest to Asian Americans
Regions: Northern Calif., Southern Calif., Rest of the West, East Coast
Arts
Asian Explorations Robert Apte, developer of the genre Photo-Icon-Ographs, will show his works on images of Japan, Korea, Bhutan from June 13-July 23. Apte focuses on hidden aspects of photographs enhanced with a computer. (Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara. 408-247-3754.)
Deep Memory Washington Square Gallery presents the works of John Yoyogi Fortes in a solo show that begins June 3. Fortes is an example of an Asian American artist whose work has evolved from American art to Asian American art. Born in Japan, he has lived most of his life in the Central Valley. His new works incorporate Filipino symbols. (Washington Square Gallery, 1821 Powell St., San Francisco. Open Monday and Tuesday by appointment; Wednesday-Thursday, 12 -7 p.m.; and Friday-Sunday, 12-5 p.m. 415-291-9255.)
Dreams of San Francisco: Paintings by Zhao Zhunwang The Chinese Cultural Center presents a collection of Chinese ink and brush paintings by local artist Zhao Zhunwang, to be held May 13 through July 2, featuring unique renderings of familiar San Francisco and Bay Area surroundings. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For information call 415-986-1822 or visit www.c-c-c.org online. (Chinese Culture Center, 750 Kearny St., Holiday Inn, 3rd floor, San Francisco.)
Etchings by Yoko Hara The Ren Brown collection will present the debut exhibit of Tokyo-based artist Hara. The gallery is open everyday, except Tuesdays, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (1781 Highway One, Bodega Bay. 707-875-2922.)
Experimentation Through Color Buchon Gallery will present two outstanding painters, San Francisco-based artist Ken Kirsch and Brooklyn painter Hiroshi Kimura. The exhibition runs from May 26-June 28. (Buchon Gallery, 540 Hayes St., San Francisco.)
Fan Ho The Mill & Short Gallery present a one-man show of photography and film by award-winning artist Fan Ho from May 19-July 1. Special events include a showing of The Miserable Girl, a film based on Dostoyevsky’s The Insulted and the Injured on June 6 at 7 p.m. (The Mill & Short Gallery, 555 Sutter St., 4th Fl., San Francisco. 415-398-3630.)
Himalayan Galleries The Asian Art Museum presents new audio-enhanced docent-led tours of the museum’s Himalayan galleries, which house its rich and varied collection of artwork from Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. These free tours are accompanied by music and chants from the region. Tuesdays through Sundays, 12:30 p.m. (Asian Art Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. 415-668-8928.)
International Art The Pacific Bridge Contemporary Southeast Asian Art will present Hands On: Cuba, Vietnam and California by artists Idilio Arnaud Lopez, Do Quoc Vi and Joel Bennett. An opening reception for the artists will be held on April 29 from 7-10 p.m. The exhibition will be on display through May 27. (95 Linden St., #6. Oakland. 510-451-8840.)
Lewis Suzuki Known for his range of colors, Suzuki’s works will be on display on June 3, 4, 10 and 11 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (2240 Grant St., Berkeley. 510-849-1427.)
MIX Exhibition The San Francisco Art Institute with Francisco Middle School and Gateway High School will present works from a project that brought students from various backgrounds together to create collaborative works. The show will continue until July 21, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (Mills Building, 220 Bush St., San Francisco. 415-551-7990.)
Printed Convictions The Mexican Museum will present a retrospective of the work of Juan Sanchez from May 13- Sept. 17. The solo exhibition will highlight 48 pieces that address the challenge Puerto Ricans face in examining their identities in the United States. (The Mexican Museum, Fort Mason Center, Bldg. D, San Francisco. 415-202-9700.)
Sasha Yungju Lee An exhibition of Lee’s work, which focuses on how women’s roles are portrayed by the mass media, will be on display from May 5 through June 7. (Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara. 408-247-3754.)
Small Wonders Chinese snuff bottles from Bay Area collectors will be on display at the Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco from July 15-Oct. 8. Admission is free. Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (Holiday Inn, 750 Kearny St., 3rd floor, San Francisco. 415-986-1822.)
Structure and Surface Contemporary Japanese textiles will be exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art through June 20. It features 75 works of astonishing complexity by the most influential textile artists, designers and manufacturers in Japan today. (SFMOMA, 151 3rd St., San Francisco. 415-357-4000.)
The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco offers visitors a rare glimpse of nearly 240 startling discoveries unearthed in China, including an array of jades, bronze sculptures and ornate silver and gold vessels. The exhibition runs from June 17-Sept. 11. (Asian Art Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. 415-668-8928.)
Visons of Home d.p. Fong Galleries presents the works of Zhang Shipei through June 10. (383 S. First St., San Jose. 408-298-8877.)
Wayne Thiebaud The California Palace of the Legion of Honor presents the a retrospective of works by Thiebaud in celebration of the artist’s 80th birthday. From June 10-September 3. (California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Golden Gate Park, 75 Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco. 415-750-3614.)
Works on Industrial Graphite Don Soker Contemporary Art exhibits the works by Japanese artist Shoichi Seino from June 1-July 1. Using photographs of the river delta printed on industrial graphite, these elegant minimal works are traditional in approach and contemporary in concept. (Don Soker Contemporary Art, 49 Geary St., San Francisco. 415-291-0966.)
Dance
Butoh In conjunction with the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center’s United States of Asian America Festival 2000, The Ballad of Machiko, a butoh solo performance will be featured on June 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. (Randall Museum Theater, 199 Museum Way, San Francisco) A workshop Butoh: The Silent Voice of Our Ancestors will be held in conjunction on June 3 from 2:30-5:30 p.m. (Japanese Cultural & Community Center, 1840 Sutter St., San Francisco) For more information and reservation, call JCCCNC at 415-567-5505 or e-mail at aimajk@yahoo.com.
Ethnic Dance Festival San Francisco will turn into the world’s dance capital from June 9-25 with three weekends of the finest ethnic dance companies in Northern California. (For information, log on to www.worldartswest.org. For tickets, call 415-392-4400.)
Shan-Yee Poon Ballet A dance extravaganza that includes excerpts from Sleeping Beauty and Coppelia will be performed on June 18 at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children. For more information, call 415-387-2695. (Carol Channing Theater, Lowell High School, 1101 Eucalyptus Dr., San Francisco.)
Smuin Ballet/SF This contemporary ballet company presents its spring repertory season throughout May. Included in the program are company premieres Medea and Shinju, as well as a world premiere performance of The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Tickets are $30-35. (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard St., San Francisco. 415-978-2787.)
The Dionysian Festival Mary Sano, Megan Nicely, Junko Sodeyama and Eri Majima will celebrate the 123rd anniversary of Isadora Duncan’s birth with dance performances on May 27 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12. For more information, call 415-357-1817. (Mary Sano Studio of Duncan Dancing, 245 5th St., Unit 314, San Francisco.)
Events
Dinosaurs 2000 Lawrence Hall of Science presents this exhibition featuring 16 lifelike robotic dinosaurs through June 4 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $2-6, free for children under 3. (Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley. 510-642-5132.)
Fiesta Filipina 2000 The Bay Area, home to the largest Filipino community in the United States, will host a celebration on June 11-12 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Produced by Asian Pacific Exhibits and Conferences, the 7th annual event will commemorate the 102nd anniversary of Philippine independence from Spain, featuring Filipino, Asian and Hispanic musicians and dancers, including Jocelyn Enriquez, Richard Gomez and Back Draft. Tickets are $7. (Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco. 650-757-4803.)
Japanese Cultural Fair The traditions of Japan will illuminate Santa Cruz’ Mission Plaza on June 24 for the 14th Annual Japanese Cultural Fair. Highlighting this year’s events will be performances by the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, the Okinawa Dance Academy and storyteller, Megumi Fleming. Admission is free. For information, call 831-475-2115. (Mission Plaza, between Highway 1 and the Town Clock, Santa Cruz.)
Made in the USA, Angel Island Shhh The Kearny Street Workshop and California State Parks, in association with the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and Angel Island Association present this exhibit exploring the identity secrets of Chinese immigrants detained and interrogated in the United States from June 17-Sept. 23. (Angel Island Immigration Station, Angel Island. 415-543-0520.)
Min-Sok Forum 2000 The Intercultural Institute of California, Korean Center, Inc., presents Korean Culture Goes Global: Technology, Tradition, Transculturism on May 26 from 12-4 p.m. Keynote speakers include Tae Hyun Yoo, Consul-General, Korea; Sund Dai Cho, Stanford University professor, and Robert Buswell, Director for the Center of Korean Studies, UCLA. Admission is free. (Golden Gate Club, Presidio, Bldg. 135, Fisher Loop, San Francisco. For more information, call Jack Suss at 415-441-1884.)
Thai Cultural Fair Wat Buddhapradeep of San Francisco and Thailand’s National Culture Commission, will present two days of traditional dance and music on June 3-4 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is $4. (Hall of Flowers, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. 650-615-9528.)
Film
Regret to Inform This Academy Award nominated film, which explores the devastation of war from the perspective of both American and Vietnamese women left widowed by the violence of Vietnam, is now available on video.
Music
Four Season Gay Asian Pacific Alliance will present an evening of song, dance and theater on June 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information, call 415-282-GAPA. (SOMARTS Cultural Center, 934 Brannan St.)
Jon Jang & James Newton Paul Robeson and Mei Lanfang, two heroes who fought racial discrimination with art, inspired Jang and Newton’s new work When Sorrow Turns to Joy. Jang and Newton will perform the world premier of the piece June 1-3 at 8 p.m. (Zellerbach Hall, U.C. Berkeley, Berkeley. 510-642-0212.)
Pan Pacific Stern Grove Festival will kick off its 63rd season with a performance featuring the Asian American fusion ensemble Hiroshima on June 11 at 2 p.m. For more information, call 415-252-6252. (Sigmund Stern Grove, 19th Ave. & Sloat Blvd., San Francisco.)
Rhythmix Experience the magical world of percussion featuring Carolyn Brandy, Janet Koike, Tina Blaine, Naomi True and Terri Wright. Inspired by the music traditions of Cuba, Japan, Africa and the Middle East, their inventive performances take cross-cultural expression to new level. On May 27 at 8 p.m. at the Dance Palace Community Center, Point Reyes Station, 415-663-1075. On June 2 at 8 p.m. at the Oakland Asian Community Center, 388 9th St., Oakland, 510-451-1132.)
San Francisco World Music Festival Building bridges through exposure to the diversity of musical culture, this first annual event will feature over 20 different performance groups over the course of the 3-day Memorial Day weekend, and will also include classes, workshops, discussions, and ongoing performances through May 28. For tickets and information call the Clarion Music Center at 415-391-1317 or the Cowell Theater Box Office at 415-441-3687.
Readings & Lectures
Poetry Reading The Chinatown Photographic Society will present an evening with poet Genny Lim along with Judy Hamaguchi, Dan Wu and Amy Yuen on May 27 from 2-4 p.m. Admission is free. (Chinatown Community Arts Program, 750 Kearny St., 3rd floor, San Francisco. 415-543-0520.)
Theater
Asian American Theater Company Tongue in a Mood, an experimental Filipino American comedy group, will present Tsinelas Ballet, on May 25 and 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12. Kip Fulbeck, a slam poet, will present his one-man show I Hope You Don’t Mind Me Asking, But… on May 28 and 29 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more information about either show, call 415-440-5545. (SOMARTS Cultural Center, 934 Brannan St., San Francisco.)
Women Behind Walls Developed by the Braz-Valentine theater workshop at Chowchilla Women’s State Prison, this drama illustrates the experiences of five multi-cultural inmates, featuring the Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble, Teatro Familia Aztlan and Maiko Women’s Drum & Poetry Ensemble. The show runs June 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 at 8 p.m. and June 18 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15. (Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose. 1-800-642-8482.)
Arts
Gods and Goblins Paintings of foolish monkeys, wrestling gods, playful goblins and humorous caricatures make up this first major West Coast exhibit of folk art from Otsu, Japan. Ongoing. (Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena. 626-449-2742.)
Migration of Faith Tibetan Buddhist art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s permanent collection, featuring 23 rare manuscripts and paintings, will be on display through Sept. 4. Admission is $7. (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. 213-857-6000.)
Mingei of Japan An exhibition of objects of daily use from Japan made from a variety of material is on display including indigo-dyed textiles, brushes and cabinets. Also on display are works from Keisuke Serizawa, among other artists. Through June 2. For more information call 619-239-0003. (Mingei International Museum, Balboa Park, Plaza de Panama, La Jolla.)
More Than a Game The Japanese American National Museum presents this ongoing exhibit that tells the story of an immigrant group’s journey in America through the universal theme of sport using artifacts such as team uniforms, photographs, news clippings, interactive kiosks and videos. (Japanese American National Museum, 369 East First St., Los Angeles. 213-625-0414.)
The Four Seasons: Visual Haiku The symbolic collages of mixed media artist Julie Smith are inspired by the shapes, colors and textures of Japanese kimonos as well as the simplicity and depth of haiku poetry, on display from April 29 to June 11. For more information call 626-449-2742. (Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Robles Ave, Pasadena.)
Finding common ground in L.A. The Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles and the Mexican Cultural Institute bring together the works of Kyu Sam Lim and Sergio Ladron de Guevara from May 12-June 1. (Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles, 5505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. 323-936-7141.)
Theater
Follies East West Players will present the Broadway musical Follies for its final production of its 34th anniversary season May 17-June 11. Tickets are $35; they can be purchased by calling Telecharge at 800-625-7000. For more information call, 213-625-7000. (David Henry Hwang Theatre, 120 North Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles.)
Uncle Gunjiro’s Girlfriend Brenda Wong Aoki will perform this duet about the true story of the first Asian-Caucasian marriage in California, on April 30 at 7 p.m. at the Japan American Theater, 244 South San Pedro, Los Angeles; and on May 25 at 7 p.m. at the McCullum Theater, 73000 Fred Waring Dr., Palm Desert.
Arts
Asian Art Now The Las Vegas Art Museum will present a new exhibition of contemporary Asian art from May 3-July 9. The show will include works from Japan, Korea and Taiwan. (9600 West Sahara Ave., Las Vegas. 702-360-8000.)
Mountain Patterns: Survival of Nuosu Culture in China Patterned clothing, silver jewelry and lacquered wood utensils will be on display at this exhibit featuring the handiwork of the mountain-dwelling Nuosu people of Southwestern China. The exhibit runs March 2-Sept. 4; admission is $2.50-
Akiko Yano One of Japan’s most enduring musical artists, Yano will appear on May 26-27 at 8:30 p.m. She gained international attention for her work with Ryuchi Sakamoto. Tickets are $20; they can be purchased by calling 212-239-6200. (Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., New York City. For more information, call 212-625-3750.)
Dance
Bian Dan H.T. Chen and Dancers, a multigenerational cast re-interprets the Asian immigrant experience through bamboo shoulder poles used throughout Asia to carry heavy loads. The work is at once the most complex undertaking to date for the troupe and its most thorough initiative in community involvement. The show runs from June 1-11, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. Call 212-475-7710, for more information.
Asia’s New Economy
May 25, 2000
By Lenora Chu
“New economy.” The buzzword used by journalists, economists and Internet gurus alike to encapsulate today’s unusual economy symbolizes the radical change in the way we think, invest our money and do business.
And overseas? It turns out that in Asia, the business sector has shown an unprecedented shift toward conducting a more “western” style of business. A profound article in the Economist, entitled “The End of Tycoons” got me thinking about how the hot-wired global network is making it easier for corporations to implement time-tested examples from other countries of what works and what doesn’t, a la carte-style.
Indeed, after conducting centuries of business transactions on the merit of trust and a handshake, Asian business leaders are slowly transforming corporate cultures and methodologies.
Why? The reason for this transition is complex. First, the generation of Chinese businessmen that built vast empires from scratch—perhaps a decade or two older than America’s baby boomers—are now getting ready to pass the reins to the younger generation. And many of these sons, not to mention a few daughters, were educated in American universities like Harvard and Stanford, and are well versed in western ways of business administration.
The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s has also done its part to spur the change. Where Asian businessmen traditionally relied on “bamboo networks”—strong channels of family, friends and trusted banks—they now must look overseas for equity capital. And with this reliance comes familiarity with the western notions of shareholder value and stock options for compensation.
The crisis has also forced Asian governments to tighten their financial and regulatory rule. Insider and contract laws have become tighter and policies on competition more rigorous, essentially eroding the efficacy of the bamboo networks of family and trust.
And most importantly, the prominence of the Internet on the international scene has more befuddled than enlightened old-school Asian businessmen suddenly unsure of their corporate footing. Where the moguls of old grew their businesses by expanding into new industry sectors, the new heavyweights must find more innovative ways to remain competitive in today’s global marketplace. And many, if not most ventures that have found viability in the new Internet economy are American companies listed on NASDAQ.
Indeed, the Internet is the most influential force changing the Asian business landscape today. The Internet threatens the old business model, which relies on privileged information and Asian networks around the world. Its low barrier to entry also allows the rapid rise of new competitors. And Internet-related companies rely much more than old-economy businesses on concepts like shareholder value, venture funding and stock option compensation.
An old Chinese saying warns that in a family business, the first generation makes the money, the second spends it, and the third loses it. Unfortunately, this proverb has proven true in more than a few instances. For one, Aw Boon Haw’s empire—responsible for the popular Tiger Balm ointment—suffered an embarrassing power struggle amongst its heirs after the patriarch’s death in 1954. Today, the conglomerate is struggling to stay alive.
South Korea’s car manufacturer Hyundai seeks to disprove the proverb, illustrating the new way of westernized thinking. After founder Chung Ju Yung’s two sons fought viciously for the right of succession, Yung took the untraditional step of appointing the younger brother to the throne. He then took the measure of staffing Hyundai’s board with western-educated directors outside of the family, and ensured that this board, rather than the company’s top executives would have final say on management decisions.
Western business methods will almost certainly continue to rise in influence in Asia’s corporate ranks. The methods that have made businesses more efficient in the U.S.—such as shareholder access to management, regular company audits and merit-based outside hiring—will surely do the same for Asian companies. Here comes Asia!
