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[ 21 Years of News and History | Letters to the Editor | Comments from the Community About AsianWeek | Frank Wu | Emil Guillermo ]
Dear Editor: I received my first copy of AsianWeek recently and I must say, I am delighted! Certainly I would wish to express my gratitude for the incredible work that went into the census supplement as well! It was JUST what I was struggling to compile and you came through for me! Thank you so very much! I can only wish you great success in this publishing venture of yours… —Bob Knight
Battered women (September 1, 1983) Dear Editor: On behalf of Asian Women’s Legal Assistance and the Battered Women’s Assistance Program at Cameron House, I would like to thank you and Sheri Tan for the article entitled “Program Tries to Help Battered Asian Women” which appeared in the August 18th issue. The article was important in educating the Asian community about the existence of domestic violence and about the services that are available to battered Asian women. Again, thank you for the coverage and support. —Sharon C. Ngim
Reader’s complaint to Mayor Feinstein (October 26, 1984) Dear Mayor Feinstein: In the October 12, 1984 edition of Asian Week, I read that in your congratulating Self-Help for the Elderly for their exemplary work in obtaining a HUD grant for Chinatown housing, you referred to Director Annie Chung as a “sweet little Dragon lady.” I have no doubt that you intended this to be a compliment. However, as good as your intentions may have been, “sweet little Dragon lady” invokes all of the awful stereotypes that Asians have been trying to dispel. Asian women are often portrayed in the media as exotic dragon ladies or cute sweet little things. Ms. Chung, I think we would agree, is neither. Rather, she is a highly regarded, strong, competent Agency Director. As a supervisor and mayor, you have been very supportive to the Chinatown community. As a woman, you have been an excellent role model, proving to the public that women are able to be effective, solid leaders. I hope that in the future you will support Asian women in educating the public that we are neither “sweet and little” nor “dragon ladies.” —Elaine Chan Editor’s note: In the interest of accuracy and fairness, Feinstein was quoted in this publication as calling Chung “like a sweet dragon lady.” The mayor did not call her “little.”
Concern About “Big Trouble” (December 13, 1985) (Editor’s note: The following letter was sent by Secretary of State March Fong Eu to David Weitzner, marketing president for 20th Century Fox Films.) Dear Mr. Weitzner: I am deeply disturbed by newspaper accounts regarding the production of the movie “Big Trouble in Little Chinatown.” According to these reports, this movie perpetuates stereotypic misconceptions of Americans of Chinese ancestry and the communities in which many of them live. ümericans of Asian ancestry, including Americans of Chinese ancestry, have suffered generations of overt and subtle discrimination. Anything which encourages that discrimination must be avoided. Anything which encourages that discrimination must be repudiated by all men and women sensitive to the right of every individual to be treated with respect and dignity regardless of ethnic heritage. The film medium is one of the most potent forms of communication. It, therefore, must be handled with considerable discretion in order to avoid victimizing innocent people. There is, after all, a limit to one’s creative license beyond box office profits. I strongly urge you to take whatever steps are necessary, in consultation with representatives of the Chinese American community, to avoid the perpetuation of racist stereotypes in the movie “Big Trouble in Little Chinatown.” If such connotations cannot be removed from the film, then I urge that this ill-fated project be abandoned immediately. —March Fong Eu
More Liberal Arts (March 2, 1986) Dear Editor: In the April 11, 1986, edition of Asian Week there is an article by Catherine Diamond entitled “Lights, Action, Asians.” I read the article carefully and found it to contain information about a conference at UC Berkeley which concerned participation of Asian Americans in film. Like so many conferences, workshops and symposiums I have attended in recent years which have concerned the participation of Asian Americans in the entertainment arts and in the media, this conference seems to have reached the same general conclusions as the others. A desire seems to be expressed to see more persons of Asian ancestry become journalists, actors and technicians, but no one seems to come up with any real suggestions as to how to involve more Asian Americans in work that will allow them to enter such fields. Let’s hope that there will be a few far-sighted members in our community as well as in the general population who will give our young people the encouragement they need to put Asian Americans in this part of the mainstream so that we may enter the 21st century with many more persons of Asian ancestry pursuing viable careers in the entertainment industry and the media in general. With a little determination and persistence such a situation can be brought into reality. —Grant Nakano
No More Hyphens (May 2, 1986) Dear Editor: I really deplore the frequent usage of the term “Chinese-Americans” when describing Americans of Chinese ancestry. The hyphenated name sounds like second class citizens. Many newspapers, of course, are using “Chinese-Americans” in order to save space. Many of us served in the armed forces, raised families and purchased homes in the good old U.S.A. There is no question that our jobs, our livelihood and our future are in this land of the free and the home of the brave. Therefore, I honestly believe that it’s more fitting and proper to use the logo Americans of Chinese ancestry. —James G. Jay
Silicon Bucks (June 24, 1988) Dear Editor: In the June 3, 1988 issue the section on Asians in Business focused on the “l987 Salaries of Top Asian Executives in Silicon Valley.” The article states that the data was taken from a Mercury News survey of the earnings of 73 executives in publicly held high-tech companies. It would have been of greater interest to your readers to see the entire salary survey, including the $2,140,000 annual salary of one CEO in Silicon Valley, so that valid comparisons could be made. I and many others in Asian Pacific communities are very proud of our Asian Pacific entrepreneurs, particularly in the Silicon Valley. But we also know that in this day and age qualified Asians are still not given the opportunity to be top level executives in corporations, despite their credentials, hard work and talent. Isn’t this one of the reasons many Asians are concentrated in the professions or have started their own companies? —Grace Ong Hing
News Needed On ‘New Majority’ (December 15, 1989) Dear Editor: I am a young Pilipina/Asian American, who greatly enjoys the paper’s reportings on the Asian American community. I believe that papers such as Asian Week are institutions which provide a safe forum for Asian American to discuss perspectives and exchange ideas in hopes that we all reach the highest denominator of unity and respect. However, I feel that the paper should have more coverage on the different members of the Asian American community such as Pilipinos, Southeast Asians—Hmong, Laotian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean and Asian Indians. In the near future they will comprise the new majority of California in 2010 along with other ethnic minorities such as Latinos, blacks and American Indians. Perhaps Asian Week could network with existing newspapers in those aforementioned communities? Again, I wish to express my support for the paper. Keep up the good work! —Lorna Sumaraga
‘Chinaman’ Explained (February 2, 1990) Dear Editor: I would like to comment on the racial epithet made by Pat Bowlen, owner of the Denver’ Broncos, as he ever so feebly attempted to slight the accomplishments of the 49ers and boost (or so he thought) the confidence of his own team as they prepare to meet in the upcoming Super Bowl. As an American of Asian descent, my initial feeling upon reading the quote “... and they’ve got a Chinaman for a wide receiver...What’s his name? Rice?” was not one of outrage, rather, it was more a sense of the stupidity and ignorance on Mr. Bowlen’s part. Nothing more, really. Not much could be said about a man practicing such amateurish psychology while divulging opinions and comments of his little mind upon the national media. However, there are questions to be raised by this comment and what better time than now? Racism and prejudice permeate every level of this so-called “melting pot” experiment in which we live in the United States. It is too easy to close one eye or sweep the dust under the carpet and pretend everything will come up roses. As the opportunity arises, therefore, we must seize the moment and explain why the very use of a word such as “Chinaman” in 1990 is unacceptable. The term “Chinaman” is a historically demeaning stereotype. It conjures up images of weak, deceitful and strange looking men with slant eyes and pigtails. The following quote from the Encyclopedia Britannica, seventh edition, volume six, published in 1842 gives this meaning for the word “China”: “A Chinaman is cold, cunning and distrustful; always ready to take advantage of those he has to deal with; extremely covetous and deceitful; quarrelsome, vindictive, but timid and dastardly.” When respected publications and official government action made an unfavorable image of the Chinese the official definition, the differences between cognitive images and institutional change became difficult for people to distinguish. —Federic Brown
Let’s Learn To Work Together (May 15, 1992) Dear Editor: In the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots, we heard something disturbing from a Korean friend, something that was verified by Elaine Woo’s Los Angeles Times article on Tuesday, May 5. Some Asian Pacific Americans who are not of Korean descent are adopting an “I’m not Korean” stance out of fear that they will become targets of racial hatred. This parochial attitude disturbs us greatly because it was adopted by other Asians as Japanese Americans were herded off to concentration camps during World War II. This was also the attitude of many Asian Pacific Americans when boatloads of Southeast Asian refugees began arriving on our shores. Most of the time we are proud of our Asian Pacific heritage, proud of our collective historic courage in the face of injustice, adversity and persecution. Then something like this reminds us that we can be just as small minded and insensitive as anyone. If we see any Asian wearing an “I Am Not Korean” button, we may resort to a little violence of our own. When are we going to learn? Sure, we are a diverse group—many languages and cultures—but we are also a group with much in common. There simply aren’t enough of us to go it alone, so let’s work together. How can we be part of the solution if we can’t even support one another? —Maeley Tom & Georgette Imura
Practice What You Preach, Mr. President (February 5, 1993) Dear Editor: I am a retired faculty member from the Ohio school system. Being the first Chinese American in the whole Midwest to be teaching in our Ohio system has been a real challenge, privilege and honor. My three sisters, brother, son and wife are all residing in San Francisco or on the West Coast. We have read your paper Asian Week for quite some time. The provocative, timely, interesting and challenging articles have been great! Keep up the good work! I had recently sent a copy of the following passage to the Organizations for Chinese Americans in Washington, D.C. in regards to the recent change of presidents from George Bush to Bill Clinton: The Wheel That Squeaks Get The Oil! During the latest appointments by President Clinton, he pointed out to the American public that it would be a cross-representation of our American society. Now that the list has been finalized and appointed, what happened to the role of the Asian American sector? Did we have only talkers and not doers? Was it all bark and no bite? Why make promises that can’t be fulfilled? Does it mean that while a candidate is seeking office and making promises, he only tells you what you want to hear, but never fulfills them? Not one Asian American was appointed to an office by the President-to-be! It seems that law-abiding citizens who do not make waves through pressure tactics and lobbying are just shoved by the side and simply forgotten! What is good for the goose—is good for the gander! Let’s practice and live the golden rule in every phase of American life and living. Would the establishment, so to speak, like to have treatment of this type done to them in the same way? This is food for thought to think about and ponder as the Clinton administration begins. —William Lee
Back Off Asian Male Losers! (April 22, 1994) Dear Editor: Thank goodness for Jenny Butterfield and her lucid thoughts and analysis on why foreign women who marry Western men should not be called “mail order” wives (AsianWeek, April 8). My friend, who is Vietnamese, recently left her abusive Chinese husband from the Philippines to marry a cowboy in Wisconsin. I was so thrilled for her, and ever since their marriage, she has never been happier. She is an example of the many Asian women trying to earn a better life by marrying a Westerner. Some of these women are decent individuals, like my friend who worked as a waitress, but unfortunately was entrapped at the hands of a controlling and lascivious husband who treated his dog better than her. Can’t these radical feminists realize the innocent dreams and hopes that my friend and thousands of other women carry? It seems that the women of my family, including myself, have discovered and experienced better lives by outmarrying. When I told my mother that I was going to marry a non-Chinese man, she was shocked and baffled. In her mind, what did I find in a Western man? I told her that my fiancé was handsomer and more exciting than any other Asian man I had ever dated. He could actually make me laugh, unlike any other man. After my mother heard this, she gradually came to accept my fiancé. It is interesting how some Asian men have actually tried to discredit or disregard Asian women like myself who have chosen this marital path. They claim that I am a “sellout” and “whitewashed,” but I just ignore this, since being happy is all that matters. After all, my own experiences with Asian men indicate that they would rather want to accuse others for taking “their” women, while being completely oblivious to their character deficiencies. —Annie J. Chan
Fine Looking Asian Dude Talks Back (April 29, 1994) Dear Editor: As an Asian male (and proud of being one), I can only react to the recent letters by Ms. Jenny Butterfield [April 15] and Ms. Annie J. Chan [April 22] with anger and pity. Anger because both, in my opinion, have insulted and demeaned us Asian men. Pity because they too are Asian, but obviously possess lack of pride in being one. What total b.s. they have written in Asian Week! I and my Asian brothers do not appreciate at all the fallacious and downright stupid idea that Asian women would be better off marrying Western men. Furthermore, why did the feminist movement come about in the first place? Because Western men were viewing females as “possessions and property,” the very reason why Ms. Chan feels so strongly against us. There are certainly many Western men who still maintain those views, in spite of what she may think. As for our perceived lack of “handsomeness,” it is terribly pathetic to see how both have succumbed to the white, male-dominated society’s values and definitions of beauty and desirability. The fact is there are lots of us fine looking Asian dudes running around, but due to Ms. Butterfield’s and Ms. Chan’s myopic vision (thanks in great part to the white male’s propaganda), they are unable to appreciate our finer qualities. Too bad for them. In reference to Ms. Chan’s remarks about others describing her as selling out and being whitewashed, if she’s feeling she’s being unfairly attacked, she should consider this: “If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and quacks like a duck, by golly, it just might be!” —Terry Lee
Statue Of Bigotry Rearing Her Ugly Head (April 28, 1995) Dear Editor: The Organization of Chinese Americans’ Bay Area chapter deplores the heightened incidences of mockery, racial bigotry and stereotyping directed lately against Americans of Asian descent. Specifically, the following racial belittling of Asians are disturbing and ought to be condemned by all decent Americans: 1. Two weeks ago, at a conference with authors Joe McGinn’s and Dominick Dunne, defense counsel Robert Shapiro, commenting on the testimony of Los Angeles Police Department criminologist Dennis Fung, a Chinese American, began distributing fortune cookies and mocked Mr. Fung’s surname, saying the fortune cookies are from “Hang Fung Low” restaurant. Co-counsel Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. also purportedly poked fun at Mr. Fung’s surname by saying that he is “having Fung!” 2. On April 4, U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato, appearing on Don Imus’s New York radio show, attempted to mimic a false Japanese accent and referred to Judge Lance Ito as that “little Judge Ito.” 3. Last September and October, in San Francisco, deejay Gary Bryan of KFRC aired a racist song parodying Lance Ito. Singing “Ito, Ito” to the tune of thc Dixie Cups’ “Iko, Iko,” Bryan pretended that he was Ito, mimicked an accent and recited lines like “I eat fish on a stick,” “Ito, he don’t budge. That’s right, I no budge.” 4. Last month, Sonoma Valley School Board President Jason Breaw, in a culturally stereotypical presentation of Chinese culture before some school children, dressed in a Fu Manchu outfit, complete with white mustache and goatee, and assumed the name “Who Flung Pooh.” He was accompanied by his 12-year-old daughter (“Who Flung Dung”) and her 12-year-old friend (“Who Flung Hash”) —George Ong
Ending Discrimination (June 28, 1996) Dear Editor: Pablo Wong’s article “Affirmative Action for Discrimination?” (“Voices,” June 21) struck a positive nerve with me. As a Vietnamese American, I too, have been the subject of discrimination and I understand that something has to be done to alleviate racial bias in the U.S. today. Affirmative action was created to bring greater equality to our country. Unfortunately, it has only served to further divide the country by replacing discrimination with more discrimination through race-based preferences. Preferences and quotas in such institutions as university admissions and job hiring further perpetuate discrimination by labeling certain groups as failures while turning away the best qualified candidates because they do not belong to the racial group that receives benefits and advantages. Only when all races in society are in a state of true equality can further progress in race relations begin. This November, the California Civil Rights Initiative will allow voters to end discrimination and preferential treatment based on race. —James Nguyen
Fun with Affirmative Action (July 5, 1996) Dear Editor: Pablo Wong performs a neat conjuring trick in his article “Affirmative Action or Discrimination?” (“Voices,” June 21) when he states his opposition to “using racial quotas, timetables, and preferences to promote equality.” In fact, no such policies exist. Quotas and preferences are illegal under current law. Mr. Wong’s strategy is typical of opponents to affirmative action who base their objections on a distorted version of actual policies. What affirmative action does mean is that employer, universities, and contractors try to expand the pool of qualified applicants by using aggressive recruitment techniques and setting flexible goals by which to evaluate their progress. Although I share Mr. Wong’s ideal of equal opportunity for all, the reality is that we are still far from being a colorblind—or gender-blind—society. The 1995 report of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission found that a “pattern of injustice” continues to exist in the workplace, and that Asian Americans are among the prime “victims” of the glass ceiling. White men constitute about 43 percent of the workforce, yet they hold over 95 percent of senior management positions. Affirmative action is essential to ensuring that jobs are genuinely accessible to qualified persons, without regard to their gender, race, or ethnicity. Finally, Mr. Wong’s most amazing feat is his transformation of Gov. Pete Wilson into a virtual champion of civil rights. To the contrary, Wilson’s flip-flops on the issue of affirmative action, his war on immigrant rights, and his support for the California Civil Rights Initiative all prove that he has been no friend to equal justice for all. —Irene Cheng
Thomson’s Trouble (July 25, 1997) Dear Editor: It’s hard to know where Sen. Fred Thompson, former movie actor, is going with his act. His opening remarks at the hearing repeat his tireless claim of having seen strong evidence that the Chinese government is trying to influence American politics, specifically the Clinton administration. His fellow Democratic senators on the committee have reviewed the same alleged evidence and do not agree with his conclusion. The public is not given access to the evidence and cannot judge for themselves, but can only watch while the members of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee play out their roles. Still and all, Sen. Thompson’s braying should draw the attention of summer-stock Shakespearean festivals. Somebody just might be needing an experienced actor to play the donkey in this year’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. —George Koo
Stars Wars—Asian Culture Without the Asians (June 10, 1999) Dear Editor: I’m surprised none of the activists for political correctness are up in arms over Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Even though the Jedi are named for Japanese knight, there are black and white Jedi of eight different species, yet no Asians! Queen Amidala was originally typecast for a Eurasian or Latina, and her outfits are pure geisha/Chinese empress. Is anybody else outraged? It’s not too late to start a controversy. —Arthur Hu
McCain Articles Were Incomplete (March 2, 2000) Dear Editor: I saw Emil Guillermo’s column, “South Carolina’s Race Lessons” (Feb. 24), on McCain and his use of a slur on Asians. But neither he, nor Jason Ma’s “McCain Apologizes for ‘Gook’ Comment,” nor the quotes in the section “Fallout and Damage Control,” comment on the fact that McCain was appealing to a particular constituency with the use of that word. In a word, he was appealing to bigots of whatever class or religion. Three days later he “apologized.” Bullshit. The bigots’ hearts were warmed by this public figure’s stance on race. His “apology” will have no affect on their take on McCain. The conservatives, ever retarded, will say, “Oh well, he’s sorry.” This McCain is a racist bastard. And unprincipled. —Antonio Perales
Fang Family Committed to Diverse Viewpoints (April 12, 2000) Dear Editor: Regarding the controversy over the purchase of the San Francisco Examiner by the Fang family—to my knowledge, both sons (James and Ted Fang) attended Lowell High School. They are thoroughly San Franciscan. If they can reflect the same high standards as shown in AsianWeek, which I regard as the most open and committed to diverse viewpoints as any ethnic newspaper, this can only be a big plus to Bay Area readers. —Philip Melnick
The letters above are abridged versions of originals.
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Letters from AsianWeek’s Readers
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