> AsianWeek Market Report
> Suspect in triple murder of Korean immigrants due in court
> In Immigrant Rights Movement, APA Organizations Strive to Build Solidarity
> Anheuser-Busch Awards $30,000 to APAICS in Support of Frank Horton Fellowship
> Lower East Side Rezone Sparks Border War in Chinatown
> Former Asian Art Museum Director to Receive Order of the Rising Sun
> UC Alumnae Present 5 Scholarships
> ‘Doodle 4 Google’ Competition Winner Announced
> “Little San Jose” ‑ Vietnamese Take Silicon Valley Tech Culture to Vietnam
> Audrey Yamamoto Named CEO of Zeum
> Iyemon Cha Makes its San Francisco Debut
> International Networks Signs with STAR to Market 5 Indian Channels to MSOs in U.S.
> China Red Cross Questioned on Earthquake Relief Fund
Compiled by Ivan Natividad and Michelle-Linh Nguyen
AsianWeek Market Report
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Nation
Suspect in triple murder of Korean immigrants due in court
HACKENSACK, New Jersey - A man was charged with stabbing three members of a Korean immigrant family to death in their suburban New Jersey home Wednesday.
A judge outlined the murder charges against Kang-Hyuk Choi, who is charged with killing his 27-year-old friend and family.
Authorites say Choi killed the friend, then waited hours in his in the friend’s room before killing the friend’s mother and uncle.
Evidence in his friend’s diary led authorities to California, where the 32-year-old was arrested Sunday.
Authorities believe a fight over money led to the stabbing deaths.
- Associated Press
Minnesota to honor Hmong forces
ST. PAUL – Minnesota is planning to honor Hmong forces that helped the U.S. military in Laos during the Vietnam War.
The Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board are seeking designers for a memorial to honor Hmong forces.
The Minnesota Memorial to Special Forces in Laos would be located on the southwestern corner of the state Capitol Mall near the Minnesota Vietnam Memorial. The state would kick in $150,000, with supporters hoping to raise $300,000 more.
Many Hmong refugees settled in Minnesota and Wisconsin after the Vietnam War. Some coming as part of the immigrant group commonly referred to as the “Boat People”.
Chu Wu, who chairs the Committee for the Hmong and Lao Veterans Statue, says the former fighters need to be honored.
- Associated Press
In Immigrant Rights Movement, APA Organizations Strive to Build Solidarity
Sachiko Chermin, 54, and a handful of other members of the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens’ League took a stand for human rights in a May Day immigrant rights rally and march through downtown Santa Rosa, California.
“Today’s anti-immigration movement mirrors much of the same baseless economic rhetoric and race-based issues faced by the Issei and Nisei … It is for both the social and economic justice that the fair treatment of immigrants should be important to the entire APA community,” said Floyd Mori, the organization’s national director.
Organizations such as the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium are taking steps to magnify APA voices in the immigration debate. Despite these efforts, dissenting voices continue to sound within the APA community saying it is not an APA issue.
‑ Pacific Citizen
Anheuser-Busch Awards $30,000 to APAICS in Support of Frank Horton Fellowship
WASHINGTON, D.C. ‑ On behalf of Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Jim Cho, senior manager, Asian Marketing and Community Relations, presented $30,000 to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies to support the Anheuser-Busch Frank Horton Fellowship. The presentation took place at APAICS’ 14th Annual Gala in Washington, D.C.
The Anheuser-Busch Frank Horton Fellowship selects a college graduate each year that has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the Asian Pacific American community and seeks to pursue a career in public service. The Fellowship places the graduate in an office of a member of Congress or a federal agency.
The Gala paid tribute to Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), former Congresswoman Patricia F. Saiki, and Stewart Kwoh, Esq., president and executive director of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, who have distinguished themselves through service to their community.
Lower East Side Rezone Sparks Border War in Chinatown
NEW YORK CITY ‑ What was meant to be a meeting in the Lower East Side about zoning and building-height protection for just about everywhere in the area except Chinatown erupted into a screaming match between the David McWater, chair of Community Board 3, and at least 60 protesters declaring Mayor Mike Bloomberg a racist.
Wing Lam, the director of the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association, along with the newly formed Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the LES, contended during the meeting that the rezoning is part of Bloomberg’s city-wide plot to price out all people of color. McWater countered that residents’ concerns about gentrification are overblown and termed the protesters’ tactics “horseshit.”
Because of the way Lam and McWater have squared off, there may be little hope for a compromise as the rezoning plan goes through several more months of review.
‑ The Village Voice
BAY
Former Asian Art Museum Director to Receive Order of the Rising Sun
SAN FRANCISCO – Dr. Emily Joy Sano, the former director of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, will be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in recognition of her contribution to the introduction of Japanese art and the promotion of cultural exchange between Japan and the United States.
Sano served as the director of the Asian Art Museum for more than 12 years. She retired at the end of 2007.
Sano has gone beyond her responsibilities as the director of the Museum to promote a cordial relationship between the U.S. and Japan. She chaired the cultural committee during the 50th anniversary celebration of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 2001. In 2003, the museum hosted an exhibit celebrating the 150th anniversary of U.S.-Japan relations.
‑ The Hokubei Mainichi News
UC Alumnae Present 5 Scholarships
OAKLAND – The Japanese American Women Alumnae of UC Berkeley, a club of the California Alumni Association, presented scholarships and honored an outstanding alumna at its annual luncheon, held recently at Yoshi’s in Jack London Square.
Each year, the club awards $15,000 to $17,000 in scholarships. The Scholarship Committee was established in 1966.
This year’s scholarship recipients are all from UC Berkeley’s College of Letters and Science. They are: Alethia Yuri Miyake, undeclared; Amy Sumie Hanoa, undeclared; Amanda Nicole Tanimasa, undeclared; Liah Satomi Matsui, history major; Sarah Anne Miki Chihaya, Ph.D. candidate in comparative literature and graduate of Yale University.
The Outstanding Alumna Award was presented posthumously to Irene Miura (Class of 1960), who passed away last year at the age of 68. She served on the UC Board of Regents and the boards of the UC Berkeley Foundation and California Alumni Association.
‑ The Hokubei Mainichi News
‘Doodle 4 Google’ Competition Winner Announced
Grace Moon
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. ‑ Grace Moon, a 6th grade student from Canyon Middle School, has been announced as the national winner of the ‘Doodle 4 Google’ competition. The announcement was made at a celebration in Mountain View, CA for the 40 regional winners of the competition and their families.
Google launched the ‘Doodle 4 Google’ competition open to all K-12 students in the U.S. to imagine their own version of the Google logo, inspired by the theme “What If…?” Grace’s winning doodle, “Up in the Clouds,” was selected based on artistic merit, creativity, and expression of the theme from over 16,000 doodles submitted by students across the country.
In addition to having her doodle on the Google homepage for a day, Grace will receive a $10,000 college scholarship, and a $25,000 technology grant for her school.
The four national finalists (one from each grade group) were decided by an online public vote.
“Little San Jose” ‑ Vietnamese Take Silicon Valley Tech Culture to Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City has become a popular destination for longtime Silicon Valley residents.
“Everywhere I go, I see someone from the valley,” Henry Liem, a lawyer and instructor at San Jose City College, said while sitting at the upscale Mojo cafe.
Many of these returnees left Vietnam as children with their parents. For decades, the Vietnamese who settled in Silicon Valley and the leaders of Vietnam eyed each other with suspicion, if not hostility. Now Vietnam is luring them back as the country embraces a pro-business path similar to China. Overseas Vietnamese, particularly the younger generation, are responding by taking the 15-hour flight to launch start-ups and head up operations for multinational companies. They all want a piece of Vietnam’s hot economy.
- SiliconValley.com
COMMERCE
Audrey Yamamoto Named CEO of Zeum
SAN FRANCISCO – Zeum, San Francisco’s hands-on multimedia museum for kids, has appointed Audrey Yamamoto as chief executive officer. She assumes the position after serving over the past five years as the museum’s interim CEO, as director of marketing and development, and as director of programs and experience.
In addition to executing Zeum’s mission to foster creativity and innovation in young people, Yamamoto will be responsible for overseeing the development of Zeum’s next long-term strategic planning initiative, and creating and managing the organization’s annual operating plan and budget. She will also play a key role in cultivating relationships with funders and donors to support Zeum’s financial growth.
Prior to joining Zeum in 2003, Yamamoto served as chief operating officer and director of development at Plugged In, an East Palo Alto community technology center, and director of business development for RemiNet, an on-line service for non-profits.
‑ The Hokubei Mainichi News
Iyemon Cha Makes its San Francisco Debut
Iyemon Cha, Japan’s best-selling organic bottled green tea from Suntory, is making its U.S. debut in San Francisco this summer and will be distributed by Calistoga Beverage Company, a subsidiary of Nestlé Waters North America.
The tea is made from 100% USDA-approved organic tealeaves and comes in two varieties: Original and Roasted. It is the only bottled green tea in the world that contains matcha, stone-ground green tea of the highest quality that adds depth and richness of flavor and is the centerpiece of the Japanese tea ceremony.
Iyemon Cha is made entirely in Japan from 100% Japanese tealeaves, bottled in environmentally conscious glass bottles with a suggested retail price of US$2.75.
International Networks Signs with STAR to Market 5 Indian Channels to MSOs in U.S.
CENTENNIAL, Co. / HONG KONG ‑ International Networks, a subsidiary of Comcast, and STAR Group Ltd., a subsidiary of News Corporation and the leading media and entertainment company in Asia, announced an agreement for International Networks to represent five of STAR’s Indian channels to MSOs throughout the United States.
The five channels included in the agreement are:
STAR India PLUS: India’s number one Hindi pay-TV channel for seven consecutive years. Prime time programs include household-name soap operas as well as reality and game shows.
STAR India GOLD: Brings audiences Bollywood blockbusters.
STAR India ONE: Offers an innovative, diverse mix of programming and cutting edge production values that appeal to urban, upwardly mobile Indian audiences.
STAR India NEWS: Offers 24-hour Hindi news.
VIJAY: Tailor-made to cater to the distinctive culture of Tamil.
GLOBAL
China Red Cross Questioned on Earthquake Relief Fund
NEW YORK ‑ As people across the world donate to China’s earthquake victims, the Red Cross Society of China is being scrutinized over how they are managing the earthquake relief fund, reports the World Journal.
Some critics charge the China Red Cross with corruption, claiming the organization paid 13 million RMB (about $1.86 million) for 1,000 tents. But officials from China Red Cross deny the charges, saying they paid 1,174 RMB (about $168.2) for each tent on average, which is the lowest price they could find. Officials with the China Red Cross also deny charges that they are charging an additional 30 percent as an administration fee, saying they only charge 3 to 5 percent.
‑ New America Media
