By May Chow | AsianWeek Staff Writer
The underrepresentation of Asian Pacific Americans in politics in California and throughout the country is the impetus for change in the political system, according to members of the National Asian American Republican Coalition (NAARC).
On Dec. 21, NAARC held its annual meeting in the City of Industry in Southern California. Called the State of Asian Pacific American Community Conference, the meeting’s main purpose was to provide a forum for the public to address issues affecting the APA community.
Elizabeth Szu, Western Region Chair of NAARC, said many of those that attended addressed the state’s budget cuts and the adverse effects on their businesses.
“Acupuncturists were very vocal during the meeting because many are being forced to close shop,” Szu said. “Those that are in the acupuncture profession are the first to feel the effects of the budget cuts.”
Joseph Chen, the national deputy chair of NAARC, said since most acupuncturists are APAs, this was a main concern at the conference. Chen said part of the reason for the conference was to give APAs an outlet to address this issue and their worries.
“They need to and want to come out to voice their concerns,” Chen said. “We can’t just stand by idle and accept the budget cuts and the effects on acupuncturists and other small business owners.”
Chen said that although he’s part of the NAARC, he doesn’t necessarily push APAs to be affiliated with the Republican Party. He said his main goal is for APAs to get involved in politics, since the APA community is burgeoning.
“The goal of NAARC is to form a community. APAs are underrepresented in the private and public sectors,” he said. “Because of this disparity, we are discriminated against and face unequal treatment.”
Currently, in Los Angeles County, there is a lawsuit against several Chinese restaurants brought upon by a group of nonprofit attorneys who allege these restaurants engaged in unfair labor practices. But Chen believes that the only reason the Chinese restaurants are targets is because they’re owned by APAs.
“Currently there is a campaign called Friends of Community Initiative, which is looking into why these lawyers are suing the restaurants,” he said. “We believe these lawyers have this sentiment that APAs rarely fight back and will just settle and back away quietly.”
Chen said many in the APA community are questioning why these restaurants are targets and also questioning whether or not this lawsuit would have been brought against restaurants that were owned by non-APAs.
Szu said NAARC is hoping to get the younger generation of APAs involved in politics because those that were before them were too busy trying to survive in a foreign place. She added that many APAs don’t participate in the political system — either as candidates or voters — because they think America is the same as their home countries.
“Many immigrants come here and all they concentrate on is surviving and providing a better life for their family,” she said. “But we want to let APAs know that by getting involved in America’s political systems, they can help themselves and their families. What they need to understand is that America is a democracy and there is a certain amount of power in the peoples’ hands.”
NAARC is the nation’s only APA Republican coalition whose goal is to encourage and empower APA Republicans in the political process.
“Party politics is the way to go, and is the vehicle for the empowerment of APAs,” said Chen. “I define party politics as a way of addressing the needs of the APA community and the foundation for democracy.”
Chen said many APAs affiliate themselves with the Republican Party because of conservatism and focus on family and education. But Chen said that just because he’s a Republican doesn’t mean that he agrees with everything the Republican Party does.
“Of course, we [APAs] support affirmative action because it benefits us,” he said. “Many people think of Republicans as white, conservative men and many of these men are against affirmative action, but we don’t agree with that because this hurts the progress of not only those in school but also those in the professional world.”
NAARC’s focus now is on the 2004 presidential elections.
Reach May Chow at mchow@asianweek.com.
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