Daily Dose: 08/20/08

» AsianWeek Market Report
» A Family Suicide Risk in U.S. Asians?
» Labor Secretary Chao Applauds Decline in Worker Fatalities
» Two California Dems. Added to List of Convention Speakers
» Share Your Story Family Event
» Sarah Chang Closes Macedonia Art Festival
» Philippine Stars Join Forces in American Film Debut
» Yao Ming and China Fall to Lithuania in Olympic Basketball Quarterfinal
» Hua Guofeng, Who Briefly Ruled China, Dies

Compiled by Leila Kang and Ivan Natividad

AsianWeek Market Report

NATION

A Family Suicide Risk in U.S. Asians?

Psychologists at the University of California, Davis, say that conflict within the family appears to affect Asian Americans more adversely than other negative factors, such as depression or poverty — to the point of increasing their risk of suicide.

Previous studies have shown that sub-groups of the Asian American community — older Chinese women and students — have had higher rates of suicide compared to the nation as a whole.

Stanley Sue, the author of the new study, seeks to highlight how profound the impact of the family may be for many Asian Americans — something that many mental-health professionals may not fully appreciate when dealing with an ethnic minority that is often reluctant to seek counseling.

Studies suggest that Asian Americans are also less likely than other groups to use mental health services in cases where it may help, Sue says, preferring to rely on culturally acceptable traditions of discipline and family order.

— TIME

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>Labor Secretary Chao Applauds Decline in Worker Fatalities

WASHINGTON — In a response to today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report announcing a decline in worker fatalities, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao issued the following statement:

“This is continued evidence that the initiatives and programs to protect workers’ safety and health, designed by and implemented in this administration, are indeed working. In addition to a decline in the overall number of fatalities, the rate for 2007 declined to 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers. This is the lowest fatality rate in recorded OSHA history.”

The BLS report showed that the number of worker fatalities declined six percent from 2006. Although final results for 2007 will be released in April 2009, the preliminary figure for 2007 is 5,488 fatal injuries recorded in the United States compared to 5,840 reported for 2006.

— marketwatch.com

BAY/CALIFORNIA

Two California Dems. Added to List of Convention Speakers

SAN FRANCISCO — State Controller John Chiang and San Jose Congressman Mike Honda will both get to address the convention about economic security before Hillary Clinton and keynote speaker Mark Warner.

Chiang is considered a rising Democratic star, especially after refusing to cut state workers’ pay, despite an order from Governor Schwarzenegger.

His mentor, Honda, helped him get the slot and says their selection reflects the growing clout of Asian Americans.

“We’d like to present as many different faces during the convention as possible,” said Honda. “I suspect my face is a little bit different than most.”

Chiang said he is excited—and nervous—and working on his speech.
Honda is vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, so he was already playing a role at the convention, but for Chiang, the son of immigrants from Taiwan, it’s an unexpected honor.

— kcbs.com

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Share Your Story Family Event

San Francisco’s Advocates for Chinese Education is hosting a family event concerning Mandarin immersion education on Sep 20 in Palo Alto.

A panel from the Confucius Institute at San Francisco State University will address the challenges and rewards of parenting bilingual children. Families who are considering Mandarin immersion education for their youngsters are welcome to attend.

Refreshments and childcare will be provided. This event is free, with a suggested donation of $5. This event is made possible by a Parent Action Grant from First Five San Francisco.
For more information about ACE, including adult and children’s Mandarin classes, go to www.acesf.org

Date: September 20th, Saturday at 3-5 p.m.
Place: First Methodist Church of Palo Alto 625 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, Calif., 94301
Contact: 415-601-9939

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

Sarah Chang Closes Macedonia Art Festival

Korean American violinist Sarah Chang will close Macedonia’s most prestigious arts event, the Ohrid Summer Festival, which is now in its 48th year.

Chang will play Antonio Vivaldi’s famous “Four Seasons,” as well as works of the Spanish romantic composer Pablo de Sarasate. The songs would be a good fit for the enchanting atmosphere of the St. Sofia cathedral church where she will be performing, Chang told local media.

The famous violinist will be accompanied by the chamber orchestra from Slovenia’s National Philharmonic.

27-year-old Chang was born in Philadelphia, Penn. Her musical talent was discovered early, and she was soon regarded as a child prodigy on the violin.

Chang has collaborated with most of the major orchestras in the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic.

— balkaninsight.com

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Philippine Stars Join Forces in American Film Debut

GLENDALE, Calif. — Star Cinema and ABS-CBN International’s Starry Starry Store brings the Philippines’ hottest young stars: KC Concepcion and Richard Gutierrez in For the First Time, a film set to premiere in Alex Theatre in Glendale, Calif., on September 6 and in Fox Theatre in Redwood City on September 7.

For the First Time also kicks off the first of two KC-Richard film projects that resulted from the first-ever agreement between the Philippines’ staunchest television network rivals: ABS-CBN and GMA-7.

“We have been very fortunate and thankful for the strong and enthusiastic support our Filipino movie audiences in various cities and states have demonstrated towards the films we have brought to the U.S.,” says Kerwin Du, global head of theatricals for ABS-CBN.

For information on the theater, screening dates and tickets
alextheatre.org for Glendale, and call 1.800.227.9676 for Redwood City.

SPORTS

Yao Ming and China Fall to Lithuania in Olympic Basketball Quarterfinal

BEIJING — Lithuania ousted the Olympic hosts from the men’s basketball quarterfinals, beating China 94-68.
Sarunas Jasikevicius scored 23 points to lead Lithuania, while Houston Rockets center Yao Ming put in 19 for China.

The score remained close into the third quarter, but the Lithuanian shooters soon began knocking down 3-pointers to blow the game open.
By that stage, Yao, who scored almost half his points from the free throw line, appeared exhausted.

The result matches China’s best-ever finish in an Olympic basketball tournament and offers the team a chance to rebuild ahead of the 2012 London Games.

Lithuania next faces world champion Spain in Friday’s semifinals.

— Associated Press

GLOBAL

Hua Guofeng, Who Briefly Ruled China, Dies

BEIJING — Hua Guofeng, who briefly ruled China as communist founder Mao Zedong’s successor but was pushed aside as a prelude to reforms that launched an economic boom, died Wednesday at the age of 87, state-run media reported.

State broadcaster CCTV said that Hua died of an unspecified illness.

He took power after Mao’s death in September 1976 but saw his powers erode until Deng Xiaoping took control two years later. Hua was forced out as Communist Party chairman in 1981 and slipped into obscurity.

Shortly after Hua took power, Mao’s widow, Jiang Qing, and other members of the Gang of Four were arrested, marking the end of the violent 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. But it wasn’t clear whether Hua played any part in the arrests.

Born to a poor family in 1921, Hua became a guerrilla fighter in Mao’s communist movement at 15 when it was battling for survival against Chiang Kai-shek’s ruling Nationalists.

— AP