Hello, Some Asians Eat Dogs
- Dear Editor: I am writing in response to the letter from TC Nguyen who wrote about a certain “racial stereotype that is untrue and unfair to Asians” (“Line in Rush Hour 2 is No Joke,” Aug. 9). I believe Nguyen failed to realize that the “Toto” line was spoken in Hong Kong, or at least in the setting of Hong Kong, where dog is a specialty. As terrible as it sounds to Asians born and raised in the United States, dog is a delicacy in several Asian countries. To deny that fact is to turn a blind eye at Asian culture. New Line should not send an apology as there is nothing wrong with that line.
- Ferdinand Tan
via e-mail
Tofu, Not Toto
- Dear Editor: I’ve never felt the pain of racism first hand, so I am reluctant to accuse letter-writer TC Nguyen of being overly-sensitive at the remark from Rush Hour 2 (“Line in Rush Hour 2 is No Joke,” Aug. 9). However, he might be interested to know that my understanding of the line was very different.
- The Chris Tucker character is so ‘ghetto-ignorant’ that he screams his lines in a manner that would have embarrassed Flip Wilson 30 years ago.
- So because Tucker’s character can’t for the life of him, differentiate between Beijing, Bangkok, and Tokyo, I interpreted the line to mean that he confused “Toto” with “tofu.” I think pulling out the reference to Dorothy’s dog would be considerably more clever than this character is written.
- When Jackie says “I’m going to ‘bitch-slap’ you back to Africa,” we’re not supposed to think that Jackie’s character is racist. (Though, on its face, this line is much more racist than the “Toto” line). The logic of these movies is that Tucker’s character is such a remedial fool, the only way one can communicate with him is to talk like that. It’s also worth asking why we’re expected to laugh when Tucker’s character is repeatedly kicked in the face by Crouching Tiger’s Zhang ZiYi.
- It should be pointed out, that Chinese people have laughed among themselves for years that “Cantonese eat everything with four legs, except a table, and everything that flies except an airplane.” My own Chinese wife tells me that she loves the “dog soup” served in Mongolian restaurants in Beijing. And who knows? If the thousands of dogs and cats, which are put to death every day in the United States, were instead, prepared to feed the poor, there might not be any hunger left in the United States. So, maybe the Chinese have something there after all.
M. Kevin Tutor
San Francisco
Don’t Jerk Journalists
- Dear Editor: I strongly disagree with Emil Guillermo’s characterization of the Asian American Journalists Association’s town hall meeting as “totally jerk-offian” (“The Real Asian American Journalists,” Aug. 9)
- Who is he calling a jerk-off? Just the following folks: Phil Ting, president of the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans; Sheila Chung, executive director of the Hapa Issues Forum; Sreenath Sreenivasan, a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, co-founder of the South Asian Journalists Association; Lynette Clemetson, national correspondent for Newsweek Magazine covering race and demographic issues; Glenn Magpantay, a Filipino American attorney with the Asian American Legal and Defense Fund who has analyzed the demographic and political and electoral power of Asian Americans; Henry Tang, the founding chairman of the Committee of 100 which commissioned the nation-wide survey that found one in four Americans harbor strong negative feelings toward Chinese Americans; K. W. Lee, an investigative reporter who now teaches journalism in ethnic studies departments throughout the University of California system; and Kristen Sze, the ABC7 news anchor/reporter who cared enough to moderate the town hall discussion.
- I share Emil’s disappointment with AAJA. We also agree in criticizing much of the organization’s programming, even to the point of discussing the merits of forming a different group. But linking the town hall to masturbation is wrong and discrediting.
Christopher Chow
San Francisco
Calling for Support for Taiwan
- Dear Editor: I am a Taiwanese citizen. In July, I went to America for the first time to study English as a second language. I have been here only four weeks, but in that time, AsianWeek has already become my favorite newspaper. However, I have a very important thought that I want to share with Asian Americans.
- Taiwanese are Chinese, too, like overseas Chinese are Chinese. If Mainland China promotes free will, then Taiwan’s independence could be avoided and the two sides would unite easily. I sincerely encourage the Asian Americans to support Taiwan in forming a democratic party. That will push the communist party in China toward a free way of life quickly.
Stephen Tu
Berkeley, Calif.
Thank You for Telling My Story
- Dear Editor: My name is Louie Bonpua, and I am the person who was highlighted on the cover of AsianWeek (“Ironman Louie Bonpua,” Aug. 9).
- I would like to give AsianWeek and writer Ed Moy my heartfelt gratitude for portraying a very positive story. In my recent experiences with the media, sometimes the story gets distorted with priority on drama and sensationalism. AsianWeek’s profile definitely has a positive effect on those who have read it and given me their well-wishes.
Louie Bonpua
Milpitas, Calif.
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