Nation Briefs
April 29, 2005
Texas’ ‘Jap’ Roads May Be Out
AUSTIN, Texas — Rep. Martha Wong (R-District 134) has introduced House Bill 1536, to eliminate all “Jap” roads in the state of Texas by prohibiting derogatory names and designations on public property.
“I think that when [these ‘Jap’ roads] were named, people didn’t think it was derogatory. But times have changed,” Wong told the Pacific Citizen. “I thought that this bill would be a good way to end this business.”
A wave of “Jap Road” repeals began when Jefferson County changed the name of its street using the term. That was followed by Fort Bend County, and now being done in Orange County.
The bill requires a two-thirds majority to take effect immediately. A simple majority means the bill would take effect Sep. 1. Wong’s legislation currently appears to enjoy widespread support across racial and party lines.
Khan Wins Illinois Township Race
Moin Moon Khan, an Indian American computer specialist who once set up a Bihar cultural association, has won the race for trustee of York Township in Illinois.
Khan came to the U.S. in 1986 from Muzaffarpur in Bihar. He was the first non-Caucasian to be a Republican Party nominee in DuPage County, and the first Indian American to win on that party’s county ticket.
“My passion is politics and interacting with people,” Khan said. “My election will provide political voice to one-fourth of the residents of York Township, who speak about two dozen languages and practice a dozen religions, yet they are not represented.”
Khan, president of the American Muslims for Peaceful Co-existence, is recognized in the Muslim American and Asian American communities for his moderate and patriotic views.
Census Releases Report on Mixed Race America
As part of a series of Census 2000 special studies, the census reports that that 7.3 million people, or 2.6 percent of Americans, reported being of more than one race.
The largest race combination is white and some other race, which represented 32 percent of the mixed heritage population. Some other race is anyone not classified in the five basic races of white, black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
The next three largest combinations are white, AI and AN (17%), white and Asian (12%), and white and black (11%). 31 percent of the mixed race population is Hispanic. The census does not count “Hispanic” as a race category.
About 70 percent of those with mixed Asian races lived in non-English-speaking homes.
Connerly’s Michigan Initiative Challenged for Fraud
Civil rights advocates have filed a court challenge against an anti-affirmative action initiative known as the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI), authored by conservative activist and former UC Regent Ward Connerly.
Members of Operation King’s Dream, organized by the Michigan chapter of By Any Means Necessary, claimed that voters signed the petitions under false pretenses.
One of these voters was Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Robert Ziolkowski. Reportedly, he “was solicited to sign a … pro-affirmative action initiative in opposition of MCRI.” After the judge understood the true nature of the petition and confronted the signature gatherer about “her misrepresentations, she said that was what she was told to say when she was hired.”
MCRI is nearly identical to California’s Prop 209, which passed in 1996.
Tule Lake, Granada Camps to Become Landmarks
The Landmarks Committee of the National Park Service (NPS) Advisory Board unanimously approved two World War II Japanese American internment camp sites as national historic landmarks: Granada Relocation Center in Grenada, Colorado, and Tule Lake Segregation Center in Modoc County, California.
The Committee explicitly acknowledged the sites for its historical significance and architectural integrity.
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) lauded the Committee’s approval. “Recognition of these sites for their historic significance is the culmination of a great deal of work by the local communities, by former internees and other Japanese Americans,” commented JACL National President Ken Inouye.
Hmong Resettlement to End
WASHINGTON — The current resettlement program for Hmong people from Thailand is the last planned, the State Department said.
Without explaining why, the department issued a statement that said, “There are no plans for an additional Hmong resettlement program once the current Wat Tham Krabok program concludes.”
The Wat Tham Krabok program was stopped for a month this year because tuberculosis was diagnosed in some of the resettled people. The project began again with more rigorous health screening. There are an estimated 5,000 of 15,000 refugees to be resettled from that camp.
Wyoming Refuses to Return Philippine Bells
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Gov. Dave Freudenthal has quashed an effort to return two church bells to the Philippines that were taken by U.S. troops more than 100 years ago.
The Wyoming Veterans Commission voted 7-4 to return the bells and to make replicas for the state, but the Wyoming Veterans of Foreign Wars and others, have long opposed returning the bells.
U.S. troops seized three bells in 1901 in retaliation for an attack by Filipino insurgents. Two of the bells are on display at F.E. Warren Air Force Base outside Cheyenne; the third is with the 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment in South Korea.
The Philippines has long sought return of the bells, which many Filipinos consider to be symbols of the country’s struggle for independence. It would take an act of Congress to return the war trophies.
Arizona Senator Endangers Akaka Bill
HONOLULU — After finally being released from a key senate committee by one Arizona senator, Arizona’s other senator, John Kyle, a Republican, has initiated another legislative maneuver to kill the federal Native Hawaiian recognition bill.
Sen. John Kyle (R-Ariz.) has requested 45 hours to debate the issue on the Senate floor. But Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is unlikely to allow that large a bloc of time for discussion, so the bill could get stalled again.
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which approved the bill last month, has also not yet filed its report.
Until it does, the Senate cannot take a floor vote on the bill which would grant Native Hawaiians the same rights of self-government enjoyed by American Indians and Native Alaskans. The measure also would allow Hawaiians to form a native government.
Jindal’s Register Jingling
U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal has been a congressman for barely four months, but his fundraising is rivaling that of seasoned veterans and far outstripping Louisiana’s other freshmen in Congress.
Jindal (R-Kenner), reported having $949,767 in the bank after the first quarter of fundraising, second in the Louisiana delegation only to 10-term veteran U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery (R-Shreveport), who once employed Jindal as an intern.
The $400,710 Jindal collected between Jan. 1 and March 31 ranked him the 15th most prolific fundraiser in the 435-member House.
U.S. to Admit 13,000 East Asian Refugees
The United States will accept 13,000 refugees from East Asia in fiscal year 2005, with 10,000 of the slots designated for Lao-Hmong from Thailand, the State Department says.
The remaining admissions will include primarily Burmese and Vietnamese. The U.S. government and the government of Vietnam have also agreed to allow some Vietnamese refugee immigration to be announced later in the year.
Since 1975, over 1.4 million Indochinese refugees have been resettled in the United States. The majority (900,000) were Vietnamese, but significant numbers of Lao (highland and lowland) and Cambodians (Khmer) were also resettled.
In fiscal year 2004, 8,079 refugees entered the United States from East Asia. The majority were Lao-Hmong from Wat Tham Krabok in Thailand.
Korean Paper War in New England
BOSTON — A heated newspaper competition is emerging in the growing Korean American community between the established New England Korean News, published by the 15,000 member Korean Society of New England, and the Boston Korean, recently started by an ex-editor of the Korean News.
Myong Sool Chang says he is targeting his new 20-page weekly at low- and moderate-income readers. He cites statistics that 15% of Korean families live in poverty, but only 1.4% receive governmental financial assistance.
The 32-page New England Korean News plans to go from biweekly to weekly, and also plans to launch a website, something the Boston Korean doesn’t have.
Timmy Chang Signs with Cardinals
Tempe, ARIZONA — Joining a quarterback stable that includes Kurt Warner, Josh McCown, Chris Lewis and John Navarre, former Hawai‘i quarterback Timmy Chang signed with the Arizona Cardinals April 25 after failing to be selected in seven rounds of the National Football League draft.
Chang was one of several undrafted rookies signed, along with cornerback Aaron Francisco of BYU.
Chang set NCAA Division I career passing and total offense records as a four-year starter with the Warriors. He received several free-agent offers before deciding to sign with the Cardinals. He reports to mini-camp this week, said Steve Dubin, Chang’s agent in Los Angeles.
“It presents a really good situation,” said Dubin, who declined to discuss the terms of the signing bonus or the length of the contract.
The NFL does not guarantee the contract.
“You still have to make a team [to receive a salary],” Dubin said. “You have to get on a roster to get paid. It’s different from baseball.”
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