By Annie Chan

Aurorae Khoo’ new dark comedy Fayette Nam is a rare gem, bridging cross-cultural barriers with a grace every American should observe.

The play features a first generation Chinese immigrant mother and her rebellious pyromaniac, ivy-league bound daughter’s love triangle with a young black soldier gone AWOL before he’s deported to Iraq. Their triangle love affair is the strongest mechanism used to keep the audience in their seats for these three characters’ intimate pursuit to resolve this complex relationship.

Lisa Kang, who plays the mother, pulls off an amazing portrayal of the southern belle. Kathleen Mendoza’s role is over exaggerated at times leaving audience to question her direction in the play. Jon Gentry’s representation as an Oakland native and young soldier gone AWOL lacked refinement but he manages to capture the innocence of a boy not yet a man. Kenneth Ronquillo’s small role as a mama’s boy is a well-portrayed key element of the play, representing the love and courage the other main character’s seek.

Khoo effectively challenges her audience to answer her question: “Will they discover what they are each looking for before it’s too late?” Fayette Nam’s trailer doesn’t do half the justice they should deserves.  This play is a diamond in the rough waiting to be discovered.

The play is running now until July 11 at the Thick House, 1695 18th Street.  For more information call  415-401-8081 or visit www.thickhouse.org

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Hawaiian comedian Andy Bumatai and popular local band PULSE will be performing at the “Friends Reunited” 2^nd Annual Dance to benefit the Asian Women’s Shelter.  This event will be on Saturday, August 8, 2009, 8:00pm – 12:00am, at Hotel Kabuki, 1625 Post St. San Francisco. 

The Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS) was founded in 1988 to provide immediate crisis services to domestic violence survivors and children, especially those who are immigrants and refugees. AWS connects these women and children to legal, medical, and long-term services, and has provided thousands of shelter bed nights to them.  100% of women and children improve their nutrition and health while residing at AWS.  AWS is committed to every person’s right to live in a violence-free home.  Please support and join us in creating a future free from violence.

Andy Bumatai is a Hawaii based comedian and actor.  Bumatai has recorded a number of comedy albums.  His first album won a Hoku award for “Most Promising Artist” and he went on to win three more for “Best Comedy Performance”.  He is currently Executive Producer of Nighttime Productions, and produces and stars in his own Hawaii based online talk show, “The Andy Bumatai Show”.

The talented PULSE band started in S.F. Japantown over 25 years ago, and is still going strong playing Funk, R&B and Rock music.  They are a favorite at Bay Area community events and clubs.  PULSE remains true to its goal of providing exciting music with veteran musicians Billy Shen on guitar, Carey Huang on keyboards, Derrick Tong on bass, Arthur Wong on drums, and vocalists Mel Banez, Eva Chew, and Cris Dumandan-Garcia. 

An AWS former resident says it best, “Since the first day I moved to AWS my world has turned from darkness, paranoia, and fear into a better life.  No longer do my children and I have to cry.  Now the three of us have only smiles, music, and laughter.  We have learned more about human rights, law, communal living, and language.  We have a second chance in life.”

If you’d like more information about this topic, or to buy tickets or sponsorships, please call June Wong at 415-271-3290 or email June at AWSdance@yahoo.com.  

www.SFAWS.org

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Compiled by Melissa He

NATION

Immigrants Have Growing Role in Virginia Politics

New Americans – naturalized citizens and the US-born children of immigrants – now make up about 6.4% of the total voting population in Virginia, according to research by the Immigration Policy Center that was published recently.  That figure is even higher in Northern Virginia: about 12.5 to 18.5% of the voting-age population.

Candidates do seem to be getting the message.  Both gubernatorial candidates in this year’s state races say they are reaching out to immigrant communities.

Most of the immigrant voters in Virginia are tending toward the Democratic Party now, according to exit poll data from the November 2008 presidential elections.  Data also finds Vietnamese-Americans and older Koreans tend to be the most conservative. Indians vote almost exclusively Democratic, while Chinese tend to be swing voters.

Candidates who try to use illegal immigration policy as a wedge issue, typically Republicans, tend to lose both in the immigrant communities and the election overall, according to America’s Voice.

With proper outreach, it is possible for either party to gain the immigrant vote, experts say.

-Loudoun Times

Call for nominations: Outstanding Woman of the Year Award

Boston – Asian Sisters Participating in Reaching Excellence (ASPIRE) is proud to present the 2nd Annual Outstanding Woman of the Year Award, recognizing young Asian American women who are leaders and role models in their communities. ASPIRE is looking for a female high school or college student of Asian American descent who is a proven leader with the initiative and determination to make a change for their community.

The Grand Prize winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to Boston to attend the AAWIL Conference where she will receive the award from ASPIRE’s high-profile keynote speaker, the opportunity of a lifetime to spend a day with an Asian American female mentor of her choice from ASPIRE’s network, and a featured profile in ASPIRE’s website, with the chance to tell her story to Asian American women everywhere.

For more information or to submit a nomination, visit www.girlsaspire.org/award. All entries must be received by July 31, 2009.
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BAY/CAL

EVENT: 2nd Annual Safe Fest
DESCRIPTION: Join for children’s arts & crafts and games, safety workshops, Porto-Loteria (Bingo), free raffle prizes and a SFFD fire truck!
DETAILS: Free, Sat. 7/18, 1-4pm, Parlega Park Rec Center, 500 Felton St. San Francisco
CONTACT: Shirley, (415) 504-5675 or email Shirley.pnsc@gmail.com

EVENT: 16th Annual Pistahan Parade and Festival
DESCRIPTION: The largest celebration of Filipino Americans in San Francisco is back and bigger than ever, featuring the return of the popular Adobo Cook-off and balut eating contests, delectable Filipino cuisine and desserts, cultural exhibits, and the 2nd annual SF Filipino American Jazz Festival. The Pistahan Parade will take place 8/8.
DETAILS: Free, Sat. & Sun. 8/8-8/9, 11-5pm, Yerba Buena Gardens, Mission (btwn 3rd & 4th St.), San Francisco
CONTACT: Angela Pang, (415) 321-5894 or visit www.pistahan.net

EVENT: OCA-OC’s Backpack and School Supplies Drive and BBQ Picnic
DESCRIPTION: Please join OCA-OC in giving children in need the tools to succeed!
DETAILS: Free admission for kids 12 & under or with donation; $15 without, Sat. 8/11, 11-3pm, 4 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA
CONTACT: www.oca-oc.org

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ARTS

EVENT: Stand Up for APAture (Co-presented with hoboFish Improv)
DESCRIPTION: Come to Stand Up for APAture, featuring hoboFish improve, Kamikaze Theory, stand-up comedians Josef Anolin and Edwin Li, plus musical parodies by Alexander Shen. Proceeds benefit Kearny Street Workshop’s 11th Annual APAture Festival.

DETAILS: $5-15, Sat, 7/11, 7-9pm, 1436 Howard St, San Francisco
CONTACT: www.kearnystreet.org
EVENT: Present Tense Biennial: Panel Discussion Contemporary Art, Community and Public Space
DESCRIPTION: Join Present Tense artists, community partner organizations and exhibition curators for a casual and lively discussion about the goals, inspirations and challenges of the nine Chinatown storefront installations that are part of the exhibition.
DETAILS: Free, Sat. 7/25, 1-3pm, Chinese Culture Center (Hilton Hotel, 3rd floor), 750 Kearny St. San Francisco
CONTACT: (415) 503-0520

EVENT: 2009 Filipino American Jazz Festival Kickoff Concert
DESCRIPTION: Kickoff “sneak preview” concert for the 2nd Annual Filipino American Jazz Festival featuring Charmaine Clamor and Mon David among others.
DETAILS: Free, Thurs. 7/16, Yoshi’s Oakland, 510 Embarcardero W., Oakland, CA
CONTACT: www.sfpinoyjazzfest.com

EVENT: Closer Than Ever
DESCRIPTION: An all Asian American revival of Closer Than Ever, the classic 1989 musical revue featuring self-contained songs which deal with aging, mid-life crisis, second marriages and unrequited love that won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical.
DETAILS: $12-20, 8/8-8/30, GTC Burbank, 1111-B W. Olive Ave Burbank, CA
CONTACT: (323) 993-7245 to RSVP or visit www.gtc.org

EVENT: Karaoke Idol Fundraiser
DESCRIPTION: A fundraiser to support Lodeston’s 10th season and the production of Closer Than Ever.  Come out to sing and compete for cool prizes.  Don’t want to sing? Cheer on your favorites while enjoying free appetizers, raffle prizes, drink specials and great friends to hang with.
DETAILS: $10-25, Sun. 7/19, 6pm-midnight, Café Bleu 3470 W 6th St. Los Angeles, CA
CONTACT: (323) 993-7245 to RSVP or visit www.gtc.org
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SPORTS

EVENT: Sacramento Monarchs Filipino Heritage Game 2009
DESCRIPTION: Tickets to the Monarchs vs. Storm game include Monarchs Special Edition Filipino Heritage Game T-shirt with a portion of the proceeds from ticket package sales benefiting a local Filipino community organization.
DETAILS: $20/ticket
CONTACT: Michael Ramos, (916) 928-3634

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GLOBAL

Green Power Takes Root in the Chinese Desert

DUNHUANG, China — As the U.S. takes its first steps toward mandating that power companies generate more electricity from renewable sources, China already has a similar requirement and is investing billions to remake itself into a green energy superpower.

Through a combination of carrots and sticks, Beijing is starting to change how this country generates energy. Although coal remains the biggest source of energy and is almost certain to stay that way, the rise of renewable energy, especially wind power, is helping to slow China’s steep growth in emissions of global warming gases.

This year China is on track to pass the U.S. as the world’s largest market for wind turbines — after doubling wind power capacity in each of the last four years. Other green energy projects, like burning farm waste to generate electricity, are sprouting up all over the country.

This oasis town deep in the Gobi Desert along the famed Silk Road and the surrounding wilderness of beige sand dunes and vast gravel wastelands has become a center of China’s drive to lead the world in wind and solar energy.

-nytimes.com

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Profession (s): Journalist, Author

Education: Private school, England; Public school, Montreal, Canada; homeschooled

Contribution (s): Edith Maude Eaton, known by her pen name of Sui Sin Far, was the first writer of Asian descent published in America. She was the eldest daughter and second child of fourteen. Her father, Edward Eaton, was an English businessman who had met her mother, Grace “Lotus Blossom” Trefusis, the adopted daughter of English missionaries, in Shanghai. The interracial marriage was considered an extreme social taboo in both cultures. At age seven, Eaton and her family left England and immigrated to Hudson City, New York, and in the early 1870s, settled in Montreal, Canada. Edith had gone to private school in England then to public school in Montreal until eleven, then continued her education at home. Because her father was unable to find steady work, the family moved from place to place and was unable to continue to afford formal schooling. Nevertheless, Edith and her younger sister, Winnifred (writing as Onoto Watanna), both became successful writers, and another sister, Sara, co-wrote a cookbook with Winnifred.

Edith Eaton started her career at the Montreal Daily Star newspaper as a typesetter at 18. Her first short stories were published in the Dominion Illustrated in 1888. Despite her Caucasian appearance, Edith openly identified herself as a Chinese American in her writings. She wrote under the pseudonym Sui Sin Far, a childhood nickname that means “water lily” or “narcissus flower” in Chinese. In the mid 1890s, she moved briefly to Jamaica as a journalist, where she contracted malaria, from which she never fully recovered. She also continued to suffer from an enlarged heart due to childhood rheumatic fever.

Until 1909, she lived in Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco writing stories, newspaper articles, and doing secretarial work. Her work appeared in the New York Post and Good Housekeeping among other publications. In 1909, she moved to Boston where she compiled a full-length selection of short stories, Mrs. Spring Fragrance, which was published in Chicago in 1912. Many of her short stories dealt with the struggle of Chinese American women for equality or with the struggle of biracial people between hostile cultures. She said her many travels were linked to the feeling of not belonging either to East or West. In one true short story she described a society dinner party where several guests expressed extremely prejudiced views about the Chinese only to become horrified and apologetic when Eaton quietly announced, “I am a Chinese.” In 1913, Edith Eaton, stricken by bad health, returned to Montreal. She died there on April 7, 1914. The Chinese community of Montreal raised the money for a monument in her memory.

Publications:
Mrs. Spring Fragrance (1912)
Chan Hen Yen, Chinese Student (1912)
A Love Story from the Rice Fields of China (1911)
The Bird of Love (1910)
An Autumn Fan (1910)
Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian (1909)
A Chinese Ishmael (1899)

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Compiled by Beleza Chan

Nation

Civic and Community Orgs Call on NYC DOE to Protect Youth from Harassment and Bullying

A group of five civic and community advocacy organizations recently released a white paper and report card showing that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) is falling short on its duty to protect public school students from bias-based harassment and bullying.

Dignity Now: The Campaign to Stop Bullying and Bias-Harassment in New York City Schools, a white paper by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the New York City Bar Association’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Committee, uses legal analysis and students’ first-hand accounts to conclude that though Mayor Bloomberg and the DOE have made strides toward ending the problem of bullying and biased-based harassment in the schools, more effort is necessary.

The DOE’s School Environment Survey Report for 2006-07 reflects widespread harassment and bullying in the city’s schools. According to the survey, 76 percent of sixth to 12th grade students reported seeing students “threaten or bully other students at school.” Nearly half the students surveyed said bullying happened “some of the time,” and an additional 29 percent say it happens most or all of the time.

Pervasive harassment and bullying make schools hostile places, undermining students’ ability to flourish. Students who are routinely harassed and bullied often struggle to develop the self-confidence and social skills needed to succeed in life.

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Arts

“Art of Laughter” - The Kyogen Theater of Japan

Event: AsiaAlive Event
Description: Theater-kyogen literally means wild speech or comical tales-with Izumi Junko and Miyake Tokuro from Japan. They will demonstrate performance techniques and discuss their career as the first female performers in this male-dominated field. Daughters of the 19th generation head of the Izumi school of Kyogen, Izumi and Miyake have opened the stage for women while strictly following the traditions of their art.
Details: Free, July 9-19, Thurs. - Sun., 12 p.m. - 4 p.m., Asian Art Museum

Special Kyogen Performance

Event: AsiaAlive Event

Description: AsiaAlive artists Izumi Junko and Miyake Tokuro, along with their brother Izumi Motoya, will present a special performance of kyogen (literally wild speech or comical tales). Izumi Motoya is the 20th generation head master of the Izumi School of Kyogen. One of two kyogen schools in Japan, the Izumi School has a history of 571 years. Also appearing on stage is Izumi Kyoko, the daughter of Izumi Junko, making her US stage debut at the age of six.
Details:$5-$22, July 16, 6:30 p.m., Asian Art Museum

Intergenerational/Interdisciplinary Writers Lab Final Public Reading

Event: Kearny Street Workshop
Description: A public reading by emerging writers from unique literary workshop with two of SF’s oldest interdisciplinary arts organizations. Twelve selected students will participate in workshops led by accomplished writers and artists Jewelle Gomez and Truong Tran, attend special exhibitions and performances, have the opportunity to perform/read work at a public event, and be published in online anthology.
Details: Free, July 8, 7 p.m. - 9 p. m., Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia Street, San Francisco
Contact: 415-503-0520

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Name in English: Emerald Yeh
Gender: Female
Birth Place: Princeton, NJ

Profession (s): Anchorwoman, Writer, Reporter

Education: B.A, Journalism, University of Hawaii; M.A., Journalism, Columbia University

Award(s): 9 Emmy Awards in broadcast journalism, several others from the Radio and Television News Directors Association, and the Associated Press Television and Radio Association. 1987 UPI (United Press International) for “Best Feature”; 1999, “Women Who Could Be President” Award, League of Women Voters of San Francisco; “Woman Warrior” award by the Pacific Asian American Women Bay Area Coalition.
Community awards from the State Attorney General, Youth Advocates, Association of Children’s Services, CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Foster Children), Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Asian Women’s Shelter, Asian Perinatal Advocates, Organization of Chinese Americans, Nihonmachi Legal Outreach, and the Chinatown Community Development Center.

Contribution(s): Emerald Yeh began her career as a news anchor in Hawaii for KITV. She then worked for CNN in Atlanta, and ultimately settled at San Francisco’s KRON where she worked for nineteen years.
In addition to her work in the media, Ms. Yeh has made a variety of charitable contributions. She is a founding board member of the Asia Pacific Fund, and has also served on the boards of the United Way of the Bay Area and the Center for the Pacific Rim at the University of San Francisco.
Ms. Yeh is also a strong advocate for the protection of the children of alcoholics. Her groundbreaking documentary, “Lost Childhood: Growing up in an Alcoholic Home” airs as part of a public awareness campaign she founded.

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The goal was to educate the large Asian population in the neighborhood about the disease. Hepatitis B is responsible for one-in-four liver cancer cases among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. 

One side of the bag carries the “B a Hero” logo of the SF Hep B Free campaign, which encourages all San Franciscans to be a hero by simply getting tested for the hepatitis B virus and encouraging their friends and families to get tested as well. The other side of the bag displays the hepatitis B message in four languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.

Kenneth Lam, Branch Manager of the neighborhood’s Sterling Bank and Trust helped translate in Cantonese to neighborhood shop owners, the importance of getting tested and vaccinated for the disease. Lam said it was important for him to participate in the merchant walk, because one of his family members has the disease. He says he has not yet been tested, but plans to soon.

“This was a great chance to educate the community on a grass roots level about this disease and the resources that are available to them,” said Shirley Chen, program assistant for the Portola Neighborhood Steering Committee.

The SF Hep B Free bags were donated by Hayward-based Tri Star Plastic, Inc.  Tri Star CEO Andrew Chen’s father was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B several years ago and underwent a successful liver transplant.  Now, Chen says he wishes to do whatever he can to let people know about hepatitis B, which, left unmonitored and untreated, can cause cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer and liver failure. 

“This was a good start, but a lot of work still needs to be done to educate the community about hepatitis B, which is manageable and preventable,” said District 10 Supervisor Maxwell. “It is important for people to get tested and become informed about Hepatitis B.”

http://www.sfhepbfree.org

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To serve and expand the franchise’s global fan base, the Oakland Raiders recently announced an unprecedented sponsorship of AirAsia, the largest low-fare airline in Asia.

The highlight of the sponsorship is an AirAsia A340 airliner named “Xcellence” that is adorned with Raider imagery, including the Raider shield on the tailfin and an eye patch on the nose of the plane. AirAsia will also host a  “1,000 Seats Courtesy of AirAsia” web-based contest in which students will be chosen at random for the opportunity to win free tickets to Raiders home games. Program and contest details will be made available on Raiders.com and AirAsia.com.

“We are absolutely thrilled with our new relationship with AirAsia,” said Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask. “It is a unique and audacious relationship between two truly global organizations. As always, we eagerly seek creative opportunities to serve and interact with our fans throughout the world and we are delighted to work with AirAsia on  this creative endeavor.”  

An industry leader in providing content for international fans, The Silver and Black maintains a global presence and communicates worldwide through the team’s official web properties which feature original and translated content in six different languages - Tagalog, Japanese, German, Chinese, Spanish and English. The Raiders have a fan following throughout the world and have increased the NFL’s popularity worldwide by playing in American Bowls in London, Tokyo and Mexico City.

AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with 122 routes covering more than 65 destinations. Within seven years of operation, AirAsia has carried over 70 million passengers and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to 80. The airline today is proud to be a truly Asean  (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, servicing a network stretching across all Asean countries, China, India and Bangladesh. 

 “We are very excited to associate ourselves with a great, iconic team like the Oakland Raiders as they reflect our own endeavor for excellence,” said AirAsia Group CEO Dato Sri Tony Fernandes. “This is AirAsia’s latest effort in boosting our brand globally via our extensive route presence across Asia. With AirAsia’s Airbus A340 Oakland livery plane, we would be able to deliver just that and further enhance our brand.”

The Raiders are celebrating the organization’s 50th season in 2009 and begin the campaign on Monday Night Football against the San Diego Chargers on September 14.

For tickets call 1-800-Raiders or visit Raiders.com.  

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People who have emerged as fresh faces of leadership in the LGBT community in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8 are being honored. API Equality-LA is being recognized for its organizing work in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communites. In particular, API Equality-LA was nominated to recognize its work with API Christian and other faith communities, its efforts to ensure that API ethnic media provides balanced coverage on the marriage equality issue, and its work to build a strong coalition between APIs and other communities of color. This is the second award that API Equality-LA has recently received, following on the May 2009 award for its work that was bestowed by the Pride and Heritage Committee in Washington, D.C

“We are thrilled that Councilmember Rosendahl should honor us in this way,” said API-Equality Co-Chair Doreena Wong. “We truly appreciate the recognition of our past efforts and the encouragement this provides for our continuing work to win back marriage equality.”

[Note: Photo shows API Equality-LA members with Mike Bonin from Councilmember Rosendahl’s office. Photo, L-R: Tim Ky, Mike Bonin, Deanna Kitamura, Doreena Wong, Ellen Kameya, and Harold Kameya.]

API Equality - LA is a coalition of organizations and individuals working to build support for equal marriage rights and fair treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the greater Los Angeles Asian and Pacific Islander community. For more information, call 323-860-7348 or visit, http://apiequalityla.org/

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San Francisco - Greg Macabenta, Baylan Megino and I answered the call of Rudy Asercion, Executive Director of the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, to attend the public hearing of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 22 to speak out in favor of providing city funding to West Bay, the community non-profit agency that provided services last year to 3500 Filipino families in the South of Market (SOMA) district of San Francisco.

Rudy had sent out an SOS email expressing outrage that the Filipino community had been totally excluded from the $9-M of city funds that would be allocated to various community agencies throughout San Francisco. Every ethnic community in every section of the city would receive their share of city funds, all that is, except for the Filipino community which was completely shut out.

The public hearing would begin at 5 p.m. and Rudy lined up early to get us speaking cards so that we could express our support for the inclusion of the Filipino community in the allocation of community funds. When Greg, Baylan and I arrived at the second floor of City Hall, Rudy was there with our speaking cards informing us that “we’re no. 4″. We were relieved to think that we would be among the first to speak as we saw over 400 people lined up all over City Hall carrying their own speaking cards ready to advocate for funding their various community programs.

After waiting in line outside the chambers of the Board of Supervisors for about an hour, we learned to our frustration that before our “group 4″ could speak, groups A to Z and 1 to 3 would speak first. Wow! Greg, publisher of Filipinas magazine, still had the July issue of his magazine to “put to bed” that evening so he couldn’t wait hours to speak. He asked Rudy’s permission to leave which Rudy gave, grateful that Greg had shown up to express his support.

All the ethnic groups from every part of the city were represented among those waiting to make their pitch for funding to the Supervisors. We were not the only Filipinos there as idealistic young Pinoy students from San Francisco State were poised to speak on behalf of the Veterans Equity Center (VEC), and young Pinays from the Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS) were also there to speak of the high incidence of domestic violence in the Filipino community. Representatives of a Filipino workers group providing support to exploited Filipino caregivers were there as well to make their case for funding.

Every one would be allotted one minute to speak and then the bell would ring which would alert the speaker to end his or her speech. While everyone more or less kept to the time requirement, a few would greatly exceed it, prompting a second bell.

It was about 10 p.m. when were told to line up as “group 4″ would soon be called. A dozen speakers later and it was finally our turn. Rudy Asercion spoke first and described the vast array of services provided by West Bay to serve the poorest of the poor of SOMA including after-school tutorials, financial literacy and healthy lifestyle programs as well as life skills training. West Bay had collaborated with the Filipino Senior Center, the Filipino Family Resource Center, the South of Market Clinic and the SOMA Employment Center to present a comprehensive package of services for the Filipino community.

Rudy was followed by Baylan who pointed out that Filipinos comprise more than 6% of the San Francisco city population and that we have “the highest teen pregnancy rate, the highest dropout rate, the highest mortality rate due to domestic violence, and the highest mortality rate in several types of cancer”. She expressed shock that given the basic needs of our community that no grant funds were recommended for any of the Filipino community organizations.

Then it was my turn. As a former elected official of the city for 18 years, I personally knew many of the Supervisors. In my speech, I described the history of West Bay as the most empowered and empowering Filipino community agency in the SOMA district. By 2005, after 35 years of solid work in the community, West Bay had been duly recognized by four city departments as the agency that best served the SOMA community and was properly awarded $468,501 in city funds for its various programs.

But then in that year 2005, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a West Bay employee was involved in a Medicare scam in the South of Market district. This news article provided the district’s supervisor, Chris Daly, with the excuse to ask the Board of Supervisors to freeze the city funds that had already been allocated to West Bay until, he said, West Bay was cleared of any involvement in the Medicare fraud.

For two months the various city agencies that funded West Bay, together with the FBI, investigated the Medicare scam charge and determined that only one West Bay employee (out of 30 West Bay employees) was involved and she had already resigned. West Bay, they concluded, had nothing to do with the scam. Despite this clearance, however, the Board did not restore the funding back to West Bay, which was then forced to lay off all of its employees and to eliminate the programs that had been effectively serving the community since 1969.

But the Filipino community would not let West Bay die. Slowly but surely, over the years, under the leadership of Rudy Asercion, West Bay came back, once again serving the needs of the most underserved community in the city.

As my time was running out, I prepared to sum up. “Supervisors, I urge….” Then the bell rang and as I was about to finish my sentence, Supervisor John Avalos curtly cut me off saying “Thank you!” as if to say “Next!” Avalos did not do this to any other speaker. I looked at Avalos and remembered that he was Daly’s chief deputy in 2005 when Daly cut off the funds to West Bay. No wonder.

Later, as Rudy, Baylan and I left the chambers, one of the Supervisors, Bevan Dufty, ran after us to apologize for the discourtesy extended to me. He asked for more information about the programs of West Bay and promised to do what he could to restore the funds to West Bay.

(Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com or mail them to the Law offices of Rodel Rodis at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127. For past issues, log on to Rodel50.blogspot.com).

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Compiled by Melissa He

Commerce

Despite Their Success, Asians Not Rising to Heights of Silicon Valley’s Corporate World

A first-of-its-kind “census” of local executives by Buck Gee and Wesley Hom shows that while Asians make up more than a third of the work force at some of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies, they are far less prominent in the boardroom or the highest executive offices: Asians represent about 6% of board members and about 10% of corporate officers of the Bay Area’s 25 largest companies.

Despite the growing prominence of Asians at Silicon Valley tech companies, they have made no gains in the share of seats on the boards of large tech companies since 1999, the study finds.

The executive census and a related paper - “The Failure of Asian Success in the Bay Area” - say several social factors hold Asian managers back, including cultural deference to superiors, which U.S. managers may view as a worker lacking confidence or knowledge; a lack of strong English skills; and a failure of some Asian workers to invest enough effort in networking.

-Silicon Valley Mercury News

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Sports

Rockets Could Lose Yao for Season or More

As the NBA draft approached, the fear isn’t that he’s just lost for next season, but longer. With four surgeries in three years, the Rockets worried they were reaching a breaking point.

For now, the Rockets have privately told league peers it could be a full season before Yao might be able to return to basketball. Multiple league executives, officials close to Yao and two doctors with knowledge of the diagnoses are describing a troubling re-fracture of his navicular bone. Three pins were inserted a year ago, but the foot cracked in the playoffs and isn’t healing.

Houston has long been fearful that Yao’s responsibilities to the Chinese national team were rapidly contributing to his breakdown. Yao wouldn’t have missed the Beijing Olympics for the world, but it was clear he wasn’t fully healed in those Games.  Now the darkest fears are close to confirmation: It isn’t just a season on the brink for Yao Ming, but perhaps a career.

-sports.yahoo.com

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Nation

U.S. Senate Confirms Harold Koh as Legal Adviser of Department of State

Washington, DC - On Thursday, June 25, the U.S. Senate confirmed Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh as the legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State. Koh will head up the department’s legal staff, advising Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a variety of issues.

Koh is the first Asian American to serve in the post of legal adviser and the fourth Asian American appointee under the new administration.

Koh is a leading expert on public and private international law, national security law and human rights. He is also a veteran to the Department after having served as an assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration.

More than 56 Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations across the country pushed for Koh’s confirmation. Koh was confirmed with a 62-35 vote.

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Bay/California

CA Legislators Draft Resolution to Recognize and Apologize to Chinese Americans

Sacramento - Assembly members Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) and De León (D-Los Angeles) spoke with media recently to discuss their joint authored Assembly Concurrent Resolution 42, which recognizes contributions Chinese made to California and offers the first formal apology for unjust laws occurring up to the 1960’s.

ACR 42 is an apology from the State of California to Chinese Americans for unjust laws and discrimination dating from the Gold Rush Era to the 1960’s.  Such unjust laws included foreign miner’s tax on all gold found, prohibition to marry the person of their choice, Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibition to buy a home and work for a state, county or city entity.

ACR 42 also recognizes the work Chinese in California performed on the Transcontinental Railroad and the Delta levees, and their contributions to the success of California’s fishing and agricultural industries.

EVENT: Filipino Community Solidarity Rally
DESCRIPTION: Rally to support funding of SF-based Filipino nonprofits
DETAILS: Wear white if possible. Tues. 6/30, 5pm, SF City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place (Post St. side), San Francisco
CONTACT: Rudy Asercion, rudyasercion@gmail.com or 415 724-0641; Jose Pecho, jose@jpinvests.com or 925.286.6607

EVENT: 4th Annual Leland Avenue Street Fair
DESCRIPTION: Join the Visitacion Valley community for a day of fun, food, and music, as a variety of talented artists, musicians, vendors, craftspeople, and charitable organizations line the streets of downtown Visitacion Valley to celebrate our place in San Francisco.
DETAILS: Free, Sunday September 27, 2009, 10am to 4pm, Leland Ave @ Bayshore
CONTACT: http://vvboom.vvcdc.org/festival.html

EVENT: “Friends Reunited” 2nd Annual Dance Benefit
DESCRIPTION: Hawaiian comedian Andy Bumatai and popular local band PULSE will be performing at the benefit for Asian Women’s Shelter.
DETAILS: $30, Saturday, August 8, 2009, 8:00pm - 12:00am, at Hotel Kabuki, 1625 Post St., San Francisco
CONTACT: (415) 271-3290 or email AWSdance@yahoo.com for tickets or sponsorship opportunities

EVENT: Tanabata Festival or Star Festival
DESCRIPTION: The Tanabata Festival is observed throughout Japan with decorations of bamboo branches and personally handwritten wishes written on colorful strips of paper. Legend has it that it is a romantic Chinese tale between two heavenly beings. The Princess Weaver or Shokujo (Vega Star) and the Cow Herder or Kengyu (Altair Star) meet on the eve of July 7th upon the winged bridge of magpies along the Milky Way. Wishes are written to the heavens in celebration of their yearly reunion.
DETAILS: Free, 7/1 - 7/31, Kinokuniya Bldg, Kintetsu and Miyako Malls, Japantown, San Francisco
CONTACT: Geri Handa, (415) 309-7789

EVENT: 2009 Interdisciplinary / Intergenerational Writers Lab Online Anthology Release Event & Public Reading
DESCRIPTION: To celebrate the new publication and the completion of the intensive 8-week writing lab, IWL students and instructors will share their new work at a public reading.
DETAILS: $10-20, Wed., 7/8, 7-9pm at Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia Street (at 15th St  & 16th St), San Francisco
CONTACT: (415) 626-2787 x.108 or visit www.theintersection.org

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Arts

Asian Americans Take Center Stage in Enigmatic “Kelland”

Los Angeles - Author Paul G. Bens, Jr., crafts in his first novel a story centered on the themes of loss and betrayal.   Characters Minh and Toan Ngo, brothers who, along with their parents, escape from Viet Nam near the end of the war come to represent the heart and soul of the story.

Combining elements of horror and mystery with current events, Kelland actually centers on four unique story lines: Minh, Toan, a little boy named George, and Melanie, a mother reeling from a recent tragedy in her life. Each of them meets Kelland, an enigmatic stranger with the power to expose all the secrets of their lives, and the common thread tying all the divergent stories together.

Readers can find out for themselves all the mysteries of Kelland on its September 1, 2009 release.

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Profession(s): U.S. Broadcast Journalist

Education: B.A. in Journalism, 1969, University of Maryland, College Park;
Honorary doctorate degrees from Brown University, Providence College, Wheaton College, and Norwich University

Awards: Metro Area Mass Media Award, American Association of University Women (AAUW), 1971; Outstanding Excellence in News Reporting and Public Service Award, Chinese-American Citizens Alliance, 1973; award for best TV reporting, Los Angeles Press Club, 1977; award for outstanding TV broadcasting, Valley Press Club, 1977; Emmy Awards, 1978, 1980, and 1987; Peabody Award, 1980; Newscaster of the Year Award, Temple Emmanuel Brotherhood, 1981; Portraits of Excellence Award, B’nai B’rith, Pacific S.W. Region, 1980; First Amendment Award, Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, 1981.

Contribution(s): Connie Chung is credited with setting off a boom in female Asian American network newscasters.
Chung’s network television career has spanned NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Chung was a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite in the early 1970s and later left for the Los Angeles-owned and operated station of CBS, KNXT (now KCBS). She then moved to the nation’s second largest local markets, southern California. Chung also anchored the CBS Newsbriefs for the west coast stations from the KNXT studios at Columbia Square during her tenure there.
Chung returned with great fanfare to network news as NBC created a new early program, NBC News at Sunrise. She co-hosted NBC’s American Almanac with Roger Mudd and then left NBC for CBS where she hosted Saturday Night with Connie Chung.
When Chung became the co-anchor of the “CBS Evening News” in 1993, she was the first Asian American and the second woman after Barbara Walters ever to be named to the coveted post of nightly news anchor at a major network. During that time, Chung also hosted a side project on CBS, Eye to Eye with Connie Chung. Chung then jumped to ABC News where she co-hosted 20/20 and began independent interviews, a field which would soon become her trademark.
Chung was a popular guest host of the morning program, Good Morning America, briefly hosted her own show on CNN entitled Connie Chung Tonight, and in 2006, Chung and Maury Povich (her husband since 1984), began hosting a show titled Weekends with Maury and Connie on MSNBC.
Chung is the only person in history (male or female) to have served as a substitute anchor for all three network nightly newscasts (NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News and ABC World News Tonight) as well as all three network morning newscasts (Today, CBS This Morning and Good Morning America).

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The event attracted over 1,200 of eager job seekers, all looking for a glimpse of hope in these tough times.   Candidates ranged from new immigrants to seasoned professionals.  Employers were able to pick out many resumes that they deemed well qualified for their open positions. Sixteen major employers with over 250 job openings participated, including:  All Day Homecare, Inc., CBS Radio, Safeway, California Public Utilities Commission, United Commercial Bank, Radio Shack, the San Francisco Police Department, U.S. Army, and the San Francisco Airport

The purpose of the career fair was to bring jobs into the community and help with the city’s economic recovery.

Funded by the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Chinatown Neighborhood Workforce Center - a program part of the Chinese Newcomers Service Center, strives to recruit the most qualified candidates for employers.  At the same time, the center provides career orientated services to job seekers; including workshops, career counseling and job referrals.

CNWC plans to host similar large-scale career fairs once every quarter.  Employers interested in participating are welcome to call (415) 421-1388 for details.

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But its greatest achievements of the last decade, under the leadership of artistic director Tim Dang, have had less to do with star power on stage than with the people watching them. Dang has guided East West Players’ evolution from a 99-seat experimental theater into a full-fledged regional theater, based in a 240-seat venue. East West Players has become a multicultural hub, where diverse audiences come together for thought-provoking performances reflecting a broad spectrum of human experience.

Dang is expanding the public’s understanding of “Asian American” culture by providing a stage for Vietnamese, South Asian, Korean and Japanese American characters, among others. Dang also has infused diverse perspectives into old theater standbys such as his hip-hop and anime-inspired production of Pippin. Dang’s emerging playwrights contest has shined a spotlight on new and diverse talent within the community.

From his perspective, the theater must evolve as new generations are less tied to traditional lines of identity. After a production about the marriage of a Japanese American woman and an African American man, played by Danny Glover, biracial couples told Dang they’d never been so comfortable holding hands in public as they did in the East West Players’ courtyard. Through such productions and efforts to partner with non-Asian theaters and artists, Dang provides a space for dialogue and collaborations that reflect the multicultural population of California.

Dang also creates opportunities for socializing among his multicultural audience, nearly half of whom are non-Asian. One successful strategy has been his implementation of social hours before performances that feature music, drinks, food and the opportunity to discuss cultural themes. Under Dang’s leadership, East West Players has brought theater to diverse student groups, both through a touring company and intensive school workshops, aimed at bridging the gap among students of different racial backgrounds.

Dang is currently preparing for a 2011 national conference of Asian American theater groups, the second he has helped organize. Through such convenings, he hopes to inspire new partnerships that will expand possibilities for and exposure to Asian American theater.

For increasing understanding of and appreciation for California’s diversity and creating new opportunities for Asian American artists, Tim Dang is a recipient of a 2009 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award.

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Compiled by Beleza Chan

Nation

NAPABA Celebrates the Confirmation of Florence Pan 

as Associate Judge for the District of Columbia Superior Court



Washington, DC - The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is pleased that Florence Pan was confirmed by the Senate to be an Associate Judge for the District of Columbia Superior Court on May 22, 2009. Judge Pan is the first-ever Asian Pacific American to serve as a judge in the District of Columbia.

In addition to prior service for the District of Columbia, Judge Pan possesses experience working for the United States Department of Justice, and clerking for former Judge Michael Mukasey of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Judge Ralph Winter of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Pan is a graduate of Stanford Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.

NAPABA would like to thank President Obama for nominating Judge Pan and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for confirming her.

New Hmong Studies Fellows at the University of Minnesota Announced

Minneapolis - The Program in Asian American Studies and the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota announced recently the selection of the University of Minnesota’s first Hmong Studies Postdoctoral Fellow and Graduate Fellow for 2009-2010.

Leena Her, currently a visiting assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, will be the Hmong Postdoctoral Fellow. An educational anthropologist, Her has a Ph.D. from Stanford University and was a Fulbright Scholar in Laos. Her research interests include comparative analyses of educational opportunities and disparities amongst Hmong youth in Laos and the United States.

Alisia Giac-Thao Tran, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology at the University of Minnesota, will be the Hmong Studies Graduate Fellow. Her research interests include minority mental health and parental racial/ethnic socialization amongst Asian American populations.

Funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the Hmong Studies Postdoctoral Fellow and Graduate Fellow will help the University of Minnesota contribute to its leading role as an intellectual center for Hmong Studies in the United States.

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Bay

Oldest Chinese Radio Station in Bay Area Closes

San Francisco - “Mandarin Radio Station,” which was started on Feb. 15, 1977, will stop broadcasting by the end of this month. The Sing Tao Daily reports Junxiong Chen, founder and president of the station, who’s in his 80s, said his age and his family members’ opinion are the two main reasons for the decision. Chen said the business pressure has been growing in the past 10 years. Though there are half a million Chinese Americans living in the Bay Area, they speak different languages, including Cantonese and English. The radio station doesn’t have a large audience pool. At the same time, newer radio stations and other media like TV, newspapers and magazines have made it much more competitive to gain advertisements.

-Sing Tao Daily

Hyphen’ Issue #17 Release Party

Event: Issue Release Party
Description: The event will feature performances from iLL-Literacy, Jane Lui, Mandeep Sethi & Povan, and Neko Punch. Be sure to pick up a copy of the Family issue to check out stories on unconventional families, MSG’s bad rap, Fobby chinese moms, iLL-Literacy and much more!
Details: $10-$20, July 3rd, 111 Minna, San Francisco
Contact: hyphenmagazine.com

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Global

Ambassador Visits Jailed U.S. Journalists in North Korea

Washington - The Swedish ambassador met with two imprisoned U.S. journalists in Pyongyang recently, a U.S. State Department spokesman said, in their first meeting since a North Korean court handed the reporters their 12-year sentence.
The spokesman said he could not provide details of the conversation between the Swedish ambassador and current TV journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling.
The Swedish ambassador met with the journalists in March and May. He last visited them June 1, said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. The ambassador has requested more access to the journalists, but has not received it.
Families of Ling and Lee expressed gratitude that North Korean officials permitted the Swedish ambassador’s visit.
The Swedish ambassador represents U.S. interests in the country because the United States does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea.

-CNN.com

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Connie Chung led the way for many Asian American women with her pioneering work in broadcast news starting in the 1970s. Her work covering national political conventions and putting together investigative stories showed that Asian American women were fully capable of covering serious news stories. By the 1980s, many news programs across the country were being co-anchored by Asian American women. This was ascribed to the “Connie Chung effect.” She became the first Asian American woman and only the second woman after Barbara Walters to become the nightly news anchor of a national TV network in 1993.

Emerald Yeh has been a strong advocate for the San Francisco Bay Area community since the 1980s. After working as a TV news anchor in Hawaii, and then with CNN in Atlanta, she became a TV news reporter and then TV news anchor in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her major strengths have been in investigative journalism, producing hard hitting documentary pieces highlighting social problems such as alcoholism and the children in families affected by it. She has also worked and contributed to many local charity organizations.

Going back in history we have Edith Maude Eaton, a pioneering woman journalist and writer of the 19th Century who was proud to admit to her half-Chinese heritage at a time when Chinese were the open targets of lynching and legalized discrimination. She made her own living and was independent, something that was rare for women in the 19th Century, let alone Chinese American women. She was the first writer of Asian descent published in English in America.

Special mention goes to Laura Ling, the younger sister of one of our previously featured heroes, Lisa Ling. Laura Ling is an investigative journalist who has worked with “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “National Geographic Explorer,” and CNN. In March 2009, she and Korean American TV editor, Euna Lee, were detained by North Korean authorities while visiting the border between North Korea and China. While it is still unclear what exactly happened they were convicted by a North Korean court of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years hard labor in June. Efforts to release them have been complicated by the hostile standoff with the international community over North Korean nuclear weapons. Our best wishes and hopes for their release soon and a peaceful resolution to this crisis.

For more Chinese American Heroes please visit: chineseamericanheroes.org

Name in English: Sam Chu Lin
Name in Chinese: 趙帝恩
Name in Pinyin: Zhao Di-en
Gender: Male
Birth Year: 1939-2006
Birth Place: Greenville, Mississippi

Profession(s): Television and Radio Reporter, Journalist

Education: B.A., Journalism, Communications, Michigan State University

Award(s): National Headliner Award for the television documentary “Chu Lin in an Old American Name”; the Golden Mike Award; Community Achievement Award from the Los Angeles chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans; Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asian American Journalists Association; 2005, Spirit of America Award, Chinese American Citizens Alliance. He also won numerous awards from the Associated Press, United Press International, the Los Angeles Press Club, and the Radio and Television News Association

Contribution(s): Sam Chu Lin led the way for Chinese Americans in broadcast journalism, being one of only three Asian Americans. More importantly he was one of the first journalists who forced his way into the consciousness of many Americans as a highly visible Chinese American appearing on both the national and international news. He first hosted a radio show in 1956 in his Mississippi hometown after convincing sponsors to support him. In the 1960s, he first reached a national audience working for CBS News in New York and began to appear on national radio and television broadcasts. Over his forty year career, he worked for all four major broadcast networks and was a frequent contributor to numerous Asian American magazines, as well as mainstream newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times.
Sam Chu Lin was the first CBS reporter to broadcast nationally the news about the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Lin also fought to produce documentaries about Asian Americans including a program on ABC titled “Asian American-When Your Neighbor Looks Like the Enemy.”
Sam Chu Lin believed that journalism should be educational, and that “informing and helping others is what makes journalism exciting.” He felt that journalism was a “chance to use your roots for a positive purpose.” US Secretary of Transportation and former Congressman Norman Mineta said, “Throughout his career, Sam stood strong against discrimination and helped break down negative stereotypes, all the while conducting himself with a great amount of integrity, credibility, and enthusiasm. Sam was proud of his Chinese American heritage. He wasn’t shy about using his roots to make the entire Asian American community, and indeed the world, a better place, and today thanks in part to Sam, doors and minds that were once shut to Asian Americans are now open and accepting.”

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The boys sprawl on the ground and gracefully rise at the sound of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” kicking off an energetic five minute hip hop routine full of head spins, handstands, and other highlights from the show.

Quest Crew’s special performance was organized by CenterStage, a new promotions company focused on providing unique, upscale ages 18 and up events within the Bay Area.  

“Quest Crew is the hottest performance crew in the U.S., and as CenterStage is gunning for the title of best 18+ entertainment group in San Francisco, it was a natural pairing,” said Kingston Wu, CenterStage founder. 

Prior to their performance the popular group from one of TV’s hottest shows, hosted a meet and greet, signing autographs and posing for pictures with adoring fans on June 19.

While previous America’s Best Dance Crew winners - JabbaWockeeZ and Super CR3W featured Asian members, Quest Crew on Mar. 5, became the first dance group to feature all members of Asian descent. Hokuto “Hok” Konishi and Steve Terada are Japanese, Ryan Feng is Taiwanese, Victor Kim is Korean, Ryan Conferrido is Filipino, Brian Hirano is Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese, Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval is Filipino, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese.

Formed in 2005, the crew has been working together with Quest Learning Center, a community facility located in Artesia, CA. Out of their desire to represent and promote the multi-purpose center which provides tutoring sessions, music lessons, dance classes, and social events, the group decided to name themselves Quest, says Feng.

The boys of Quest are no strangers to television. Conferrido, Konishi, Terada, Kim, and Sandoval all appeared on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance, with Conferrido becoming a finalist in season one and Konishi and Sandoval reaching the finals in the third season. Crew members each have substantial dance experience and have appeared on music videos, stage shows, movies, and television. Terada, notably, is an internationally acclaimed martial artist with nearly 30 world titles and says a lot of martial arts elements are relevant dance.

“We all have worked as dancers individually and it was always a dream for us to work together on a show like America’s Best Dance Crew,” said Feng, in an interview at Horizon Restaurant and Lounge prior to their club performance.

That dream came true this past January. During the two month competition, the crew consistently did well garnering praise from judges JC Chasez, Lil’ Mama, and Shane Sparks.

“When [host] Mario Lopez announced our names as the winners it was an out of body experience,” recalls Kim. “It was definitely one of the highlights of my life.”

Terada says that Asian males have long been portrayed in mainstream media as being “nerdy” and he is glad that the success of America’s Best Dance Crew has helped created a positive and “cool” image of Asian Americans.

Since winning the competition and the $100,000 grand prize, the group has been performing throughout the country and the entire crew is set to appear in the film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, due to be released on Christmas 2009. Konishi and Kim are also set to appear in the upcoming film Boogie Town.

For those aspiring to be dancers, Konishi advises, “if you love what you’re doing, never give up, keep going and you’ll get there.”

www.questcrew.com

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At a special news briefing held for Asian American and Pacific Islander press in San Francisco on Jun. 22, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed her May trip to China, tackling environmental and human rights issues.

This was Pelosi’s second visit in nearly two decades and first as House speaker. Her subdued tone and dodging of human rights issues during last month’s visit surprised many who remembered her last visit in 1991, where she unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square that read, “To those who died for democracy in China.”

The visit in May was markedly different.  Pelosi and Chinese officials met to try and find common ground in preparation for the December international climate negotiations held in Copenhagen, Denmark.  The U.S. and China are two of the largest carbon emitters and cooperation is key to cementing any kind of global energy reform.  Pelosi considers the climate issue a “game-changer in the U.S.-China relationship,” and indicated that discussions have been fruitful despite some disagreements over the required level of reduction. “Protecting the environment is a human rights issue,” she said.

Pelosi’s visit to China to discuss climate issues with top Chinese officials was seen by many as a significant shift in US-China relations under the new Obama administration, and as a symbol of change in global order to some.  Pelosi notes that her visit was positive as it exposed her to new technologies the Chinese have been developing and implementing to reduce environmental impact and pollution.

She stressed however, that while development in China is a “great” thing, she still sees a need for freedom of expression.

Pelosi brought attention to the Tiananmen protestors still incarcerated in Chinese prisons and called for an openness and transparency in the Chinese government, as well as accountability and justice.  The June 2nd House Resolution commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the protest calls for the release of protest prisoners and for a full investigation into the incident, and renews support for those who are imprisoned or are families of those who were killed or jailed for the incident.

In response to a question about how to address some Bay Area Chinese residents who are fearful of returning to China because of their blacklisted or exiled status, Pelosi answered that she hopes for change in the Chinese government.

The news briefing was organized by New America Media drew over 20 AAPI press.

“As an organization that believes in the strength of ethnic news, we believe that opening up a direct and continuing dialogue between the speakers and the ethnic communities is very important,” says a representative from New America Media. “The news briefing with the Asian media is a good start.”

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Compiled by Beleza Chan

Nation

Sam Yoon Receives Backing of Mayor Sukhee Kang

Boston - Boston City Councilor-at-Large and mayoral candidate Sam Yoon received the endorsement today of Sukhee Kang, the Korean-American Mayor of Irvine, California.

Kang, who was elected mayor in 2008 with the strong support of the Korean community, urged fellow Korean and Asian Americans to help Yoon in his bid for mayor of Boston this year. Yoon became the first Asian American to hold elected office in Boston when he won a citywide seat on the Boston City Council in 2005. If elected mayor, he would become one of the highest-ranking Asian-American elected officials in the United States.
Yoon said he was inspired by Kang’s victory in Irvine and is proud to receive the endorsement. The endorsement comes just days after Jun Choi, a Korean American, narrowly lost his bid for re-election as mayor of Edison, New Jersey. Kang says the timing makes it all the more important for Asian Americans to rally behind Yoon.

”I was elected as Mayor of Irvine as the first Korean American because of strong support from the Korean community,” said Kang. “I hope my close friend Sam will also receive that kind of support from you and will be able to win this meaningful race in one of the largest cities in America.”
David Le Fired From D.C. Summer Jobs

Earlier this week, the Department of Employment Services (DOES) fired the David Hoffman Agency, one of the contracted firms helping DOES find jobs for the Summer Youth Employment Program participants. Apparently the Hoffman Agency was having trouble placing all of the youths, so it started sending them “to development and construction companies to see if they were complying with a city law to employ District residents.”

The David Hoffman Agency is owned by a fellow named “David Hoffman,” whose (relatively new) firm has now suffered a public blow to its reputation over allegations Hoffman deems untrue, or incomplete.

While one cannot be sure of Hoffman’s motives, one might conjecture that it was “brutal revenge against DOES” that led him to call the Washington Post and inform them of the Twitter activity of one David Le, a contractor for DOES who was helping to oversee the Summer Youth Employment Program.

DOES fired this David Le on Wednesday, for racist comments on Twitter. -NBC Washington

Senate approves Koh nomination

The Senate voted 62 to 35 recently to confirm former Yale Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh for the position of legal adviser to the Department of State.

The vote ends an unexpectedly heated three-month confirmation battle in which some Republicans alleged Koh would subvert American sovereignty in favor of international law in his new position. This vote was split mostly along party lines, with five Republicans joining the Democratic majority in favor of Koh’s nomination.

Much of the criticism aimed at Koh centered on comments he allegedly made at a 2007 Yale alumni dinner indicating his support of the use of Shariah law in U.S. courts. Those at the event denied that Koh had made any such comments, but that did not stop the outpouring of criticism from conservative Republicans.

With his appointment now official, Koh will go on public service leave from his professorship, effective Friday.

-Yale Daily News

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Bay

5FF Comedy Marathon at Purple Onion

Event: Comedy Marathon
Description: NYC Friars Club Roaster Susan Alexander hosts 5 Funny Females, Friends, Filipinos & Frijoles and brings together a variety of stand-up comedians of various backgrounds with hilarious different points of view to San Francisco’s legendary Purple Onion. Featuring Susan Alexander (Host), Nancy Lee, Caitlin Gill, Sandy Stec, Samantha Chanse, Chris Burns.
Details: $20, June 26, 8 p.m., The Purple Onion, 140 Columbus, San Francisco
Contact: reservations@5funnyfemales.com

3rd Annual Prohibition Poker

Event: Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament: A Benefit for Kearny Street Workshop
Description: You can’t just walk in the door to this speakeasy, tough guy. You gotta have the password, see? And to get the password, you gotta bring the goods. The sugar, the scratch, the dough. But don’t worry, it’s going to a good cause. Your $40 donation to Kearny Street Workshop gets you a seat at our Prohibition Poker tournament. All guests are welcome-but to play, you’ve got to reserve your seat. In the back room, we have our blackjack lounge where smalltimers and guests can grab a beer and try their hands at blackjack.
Details: $40, June 26, 8 p.m. -12 a.m., PariSoma, 1436 Howard, San Francisco
Contact: http://www.kearnystreet.org/poker/

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Arts

Goh Nakamura and Jane Lui perform together

Event: Goh Nakamura and Jane Lui
Description: Critically hailed Bay Area favorite singer/songwriter Goh Nakamura will be playing a show with the totally super-rad Jane Lui. “I’ve been meaning to play a show with Jane Lui for awhile- you might remember seeing her sing “Surrogate Valentine” with me at my birthday show at cafe dunord in January, or at one of the Kollaboration contests, where she won the first place prize in the Acoustic, and 1st runner-up in the finals, or in one of her awesome YouTube vids!,” says Goh. So, come join them for a night of music, banter, and guitar sacrifice.
Details: $10, June 30, 7 p.m. - 11 p.m., Cafe Du Nord, 2174 Market Street, San Francisco
Contact: http://tiny.cc/WXWu0

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Education: Bachelor of Science, Physics, University of California - Los Angeles, 1967; Master of Science, Physics, University of California - Los Angeles, 1968; Ph.D., Physics (fluid mechanics and solid state physics), University of California - Los Angeles, 1971,

Awards: 2007, Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, Chinese Institute of Engineers

Contribution (s): Taylor Gun-Jin Wang was the first person of Chinese descent to travel in space. Born in Shanghai, he moved with his family to Taiwan in 1952 where he got his elementary and high school education. He later moved to the United States in 1963 where he went to college and eventually earned a Ph.D. in Physics in 1971. He got a job with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) as a senior scientist in 1972 eventually becoming Program Manager for Materials Processing in Space. Dr. Wang is a leader in developing acoustic levitation as a method of containerless processing. Acoustic levitation is a method for suspending something in a given space using the intense sound waves. As microchips get smaller and smaller and run at faster and faster speeds it becomes more and more difficult to manipulate them without creating some microscopic flaw or introducing contamination that makes them useless. Containerless processing in zero gravity using sound waves offers the hope of eliminating some of these dangers and insuring continued growth in microchip processing power and the survival of this multibillion dollar industry.

Dr. Wang gained US citizenship in 1975, and published a paper on the dynamic behavior of rotating spheroids in zero gravity the next year. The paper caught the attention of NASA, and Wang was selected as Principal Investigator in 1983 for the Spacelab-3 mission, becoming one of the few scientists with no prior astronaut training to be selected before the Challenger disaster ended such recruitment in 1986. Dr. Wang flew on the Space Shuttle Challenger for seven days in 1985 where it docked with Spacelab-3 to make it operational. Dr. Wang performed experiments in drop dynamics and acoustic levitation. At mission conclusion, Dr. Wang had traveled over 2.9 million miles in 110 Earth orbits, and had logged over 168 hours in space.

In 1988 he left his post at JPL and went to Vanderbilt University. He is currently the Centennial Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Applied Physics Program and the Center for Microgravity Research at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering in Nashville, Tennessee. He continues his research in microgravity science and applications, drop physics, physical acoustics, and biotechnology

Publications/Patents:
Dr. Wang is the inventor of the acoustic levitation and manipulation chamber for the NASA Drop Dynamics (DDM) experiments and is the author of nearly 200 articles and holds 20 U.S. patents.

A.V. Anilkumar, T.G. Wang, and I. Lacik, ‘A novel reactor for making uniform capsules’, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 75 (5), 2001, pp. 581-589.

A.V. Anilkumar, A.B. Hmelo, and T.G. Wang, ‘Core centering of immiscible compound drops in capillary oscillations: experimental observations’, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 242, 2001, pp. 465-469.

Lacik, I., Anilkumar, A.V., and Wang, T.G., ‘A two-step process for controlling the capsule smoothness of polyelectrolyte-based microcapsules’, Journal of Microencapsulation, 18 (4), 2001, pp. 479-490.

A.V. Anilkumar, R.N. Grugel, J. Bhowmick, and T.G. Wang, ‘Suppression of thermocapillary oscillations in sodium nitrate half-zones by high-frequency end-wall vibrations’, Journal of Crystal Growth, 276, 2005, pp. 194-203.

Q. Deng, A.V. Anilkumar, and T.G. Wang, ‘Role of viscosity and surface tension in bubble entrapment during liquid drop impact onto surface of a deep liquid pool’, 2006, accepted for publication in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics for publication (Oct. 2006)

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Compiled by Beleza Chan

Nation

AALDEF Commends Iowa School District’s New ELL Classification Policy

New York - Addressing criticism from the misclassification of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) client Lori Phanachone as an English Language Learner (ELL), Storm Lake School District has created a comprehensive new ELL classification policy. Storm Lake will retroactively apply this new policy, which sets forth clear steps for identification and classification of ELL students as well as parental notice, to the approximately 1,000 ELLs currently enrolled in Storm Lake public schools.
Storm Lake erroneously classified Ms. Phanachone, a Laotian American student with a 3.98 GPA, as an ELL without assessing her actual English ability. This spring, the honors student protested Storm Lake’s faulty classification by boycotting a yearly ELL test, resulting in a 3-day suspension, revocation of her National Honor Society membership and extracurricular privileges, as well as a threat of further discipline. After AALDEF’s intervention, Storm Lake agreed to reclassify Ms. Phanachone as English proficient, lift all disciplinary consequences from her record, and restore her National Honors Society membership.
 
Lori Phanachone said: “I’m glad my taking a stand has led Storm Lake to improve its ELL classification policy. Now, other students who were misclassified under the old policy will have a chance to be reclassified as English proficient.”

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Bay

National HIV Testing Day is Jun. 27, as Schwarzenegger’s Proposed Budget Cuts Loom

San Francisco - Saturday, June 27 is National HIV Testing Day. Coordinated by the National Association of People with AIDS and started in 1995, this year’s National HIV Testing Day coincides with San Francisco’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Pride Celebration weekend. 

More importantly, National HIV Testing Day falls during a crucial time for all California HIV testing providers. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed $80 million in cuts to the State Office of AIDS includes over $8 million in California General Fund cuts to HIV counseling and testing programs and over $8 million in cuts to epidemiologic studies and surveillance with local health jurisdictions, including San Francisco. By proposing cuts to HIV services, the Governor will also be contributing to delayed HIV testing in the A&PI community by reducing the number of sites that provide culturally and linguistically competent HIV testing. 1 in 5 people living with HIV don’t know their HIV status; two-thirds of Asians and over half of Pacific Islanders have never been tested for HIV. A&PI Wellness Center tests 700 people on average annually, with a positivity rate of 1.5%. Of the 700 people the center tests, 64% are A&PIs, 75% are men, 14% are women, and 11% are transgender.

A&PI Wellness Center will be conducting free anonymous HIV rapid testing on Friday, June 26, 2009 as part its commemoration of National HIV Testing Day. The testing clinic is open to not just Asians & Pacific Islanders, but to all people seeking to find out their HIV status.

Additionally, as part of the SF Pride Celebration on Sunday, June 28, 2009, A&PI Wellness Center will be providing free HIV testing, as well as Hepatitis B and C screenings, at the A&PI Pavilion on Polk Street between Golden Gate Avenue and Turk Street. All clients who test will receive a specialized gift bag.

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Arts

A Blast! - a MYX Production

Event: The BlasSt!
Description: 24 Karat Milkcrate and MYX Music Label Present: The BlasSt! Featuring Super Producer Jake One and performances from Diz Gibran, Keelay and Zaire with Jern Eye and the Evangillest, Prince Aries, DJ Aron and more!! Brand New Video! Keelay and Zaire featuring Nightclubber Lang ˆ Slick Talk!
Details: June 25, Sutra, 443 Broadway, San Francisco
Contact: myx.com

Historic Photos of the Chinese in California

Event: Presented by the Chinatown Branch of the San Francisco Public Library
Description: Author Hannah Clayborn will speak about her new book, Historic Photos of the Chinese in California. With nearly 200 historic photographs gathered from notable collections, this book explores a century of Chinese progress in California with a special focus on San Francisco’s old Chinatown. A book sale and signing follows this event.
Details: July 18, 2:30 p.m. -4 p.m. , Chinatown Branch Community Meeting Room
Contact: sfpl.org

N.Y. Koreatown Karaoke Bars Sued Over Music

New York - American performance rights organizations, including the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc (BMI) are cracking down on several karaoke bars on 32nd Street in Manhattan’s Koreatown for the use of “unauthorized music,” reports the Korea Times.

For months, ASCAP and BMI have sent out fine notices to businesses that have been using music commercially without permission. The fine ranges from $1,000 to tens of thousands of dollars based on the size of businesses, the duration of unauthorized use and the number of karaoke machines. One business, called “A Karaoke,” which had been sued by a copyright organization while negotiating to reduce fines with them, was ordered to pay more than $40,000.

According to the Korea Times, the music industry started to keep an eye on businesses in Koreatown two or three years ago, when the area became popular with young Americans.

Most Korean business owners don’t have a clear understanding of U.S. copyright law, according to one café owner.

American performance rights organizations require fees for businesses that repeatedly use their music for profit.

-The Korea Times

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A Fundraising Dance for the 36th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair

In the face of tough economic times, nonprofit community events everywhere are facing extreme challenges to their fundraising efforts. The 36th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair is turning to some all-star Asian American talent to help out.

On July 11, the Street Fair will host a fundraising dance at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco. Performing will be the Kanzaki Lounge All Stars, a band composed of some of the best-known  Asian American musicians in the Bay Area– Carey Huang, DerrickTong, Billy Shen, Colette Ikemi, Rich Aguon, Eva Chew, Chris Garcia and Jessie De Torres. Long time night lifers might recall that the Kanzaki Lounge was a wildly popular bar and music venue in Japantown that featured cutting-edge Asian American talent. 

The Street Fair is set for August 8 and 9 in San Francisco’s Japantown. In this, its 36th year, the non-profit event, which benefits Asian American and Pacific Islander community service and cultural organizations, is facing some of the most challenging times ever in terms of its fundraising efforts. The Street Fair has become a traditional summertime event in Japantown that not only supports community service organizations and artisans but also serves as a showcase for emerging Asian American performing artists.

In light of this Street Fair organizers hope that by drawing upon the talents of musicians like the Kanzaki Lounge All Stars, many of whom developed their musical art by performing at the Street Fair, they can build up the funds needed to support the annual event.  Says Grace Horikiri, executive director and president of the Nihonmachi Street Fair, “This dance is one way that folks can support the Nihonmachi Street Fair by buying tickets and enjoying a great night of music. They will see old friends and make new ones.”

This fundraiser will help ensure that the street fair continues its service to the Japantown community. “Your $30 support will definitely help us in offsetting logistical cost associated with producing the 2 day event in August,” Horikiri says. “We encourage everyone to tell their friends and truly come out for an evening that will sure to be a memorable experience!”

The Boogie Nights in J-Town dance will take place from 8 p.m. to midnight, and tickets will be $40 at the door and $30 during presale before July 1. Please email grace@nihonmachistreetfair.org to order your tickets today.

http://www.nihonmachistreetfair.org/

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The White House and members of Congress must move quickly on enacting a just and humane immigration reform package that will reunite families, reinvigorate the economy, and remove the term “illegal or undocumented immigrants” from the dialogue in this country. Ethnic media, which reaches over 60 million adults in the United States, calls on Congress to move decisively on immigration reform because there are few issues as important to the nation’s well-being as an overhaul of the inefficient, inhumane and economically debilitating immigration system. More importantly, we are also urging our readers and viewers to contact their Senators and Congressmen and let them know that immigration reform must be a national priority.

The immigration system is broken not just for 12 million undocumented immigrants, but also for specialized workers blocked from joining the American economy because of narrow quotas, and mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who must wait for years before being reunited with their families.

Our nation needs comprehensive immigration policies that will replace a broken system of raids and roundups with one that protects all workers from exploitation, improves America’s security and builds strong communities. It’s time to end the division between workers, which has allowed big business to exploit both sides. Clearly, working-class citizens and immigrant workers have much in common – dreams of better homes, education for their families and quality healthcare.  There is more that brings us together, than separates us.  United we can be a strong force for change, changes that that bring more workforce safety and humane conditions.  

Immigration is often portrayed as an explosive, divisive issue. In reality it’s not. Since the repeal of the national origins quota system in 1965, which discriminated against certain immigrants, a consensus has been building towards an immigration system that respects the country’s core values. These include economic opportunity, equality under the law regardless of ethnic background, and an embrace of the world’s most innovative, energetic and ambitious workers. Now, with the country facing serious competition from workers abroad, it’s more important than ever to create a world-class immigration system. It’s for the good for families, good for communities and good for America.  

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Profession (s): Physicist, Professor

Education: B.S., Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; M.A., Radio Communication, 1929, University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D, Physics, 1931, Harvard University

Awards: 1981, Honored by a dinner in his honor hosted by Deng Xiaoping, leader of the People’s Republic of China; member of Academia Sinica, Taiwan; Honorary professorships granted by five universities including Caltech, University of Science and Technology of China (1979), Shanghai University of Technology (1986), and Tsinghau University in China.

Contribution (s): Fascinated by microwaves of the electromagnetic spectrum, pioneering physicist Chih-Kung Jen made significant contributions to the study of physics and microwaves. He taught and influenced generations of scientists, with students that included Chinese American Nobel laureates C.N. Yang and T.D. Lee. He specialized in and made pioneering contributions to microwave spectroscopy, which studies the emission and absorption of electromagnetic radiation in atoms and molecules, useful in examining the inner structures of ozone and other atmospheric gases among other applications.

While still a Ph.D. student, Dr. Jen was the first to calculate the hydrogen atom’s value for electron affinity, or the level of energy change when an electron in the atom is detached. This calculation would be instrumental for scientists doing work in the fields of quantum mechanics and astrophysics researching the basic building blocks of the universe. Among his other scientific contributions, Dr. Jen’s research in the late 1920s provided experimental proof of the existence of the ionosphere, a heavily ionized layer in the upper part of the atmosphere that reflects radio waves enabling them to travel very long distances.

Dr. Jen returned to China in 1933 to teach at Tsinghua University. In 1937, along with his newlywed wife, he joined the “academic long march,” an exodus of students and teachers from Beijing and Tianjin westwards to Kunming to escape the invading Japanese. This was an arduous distance of 1200 miles over many mountains. Dr. Jen taught university classes in primitive conditions using only the available English textbooks for the next eight years, much to the distress of many Chinese language only students.

He returned to teaching at Harvard in 1946. In 1950 he became part of the physics team at the Applied Physics Laboratory at John Hopkins University conducting pioneering research in trapping free radicals. Free radicals are atoms, molecules, or ions with unpaired electrons. Because they are unpaired, these radicals are highly reactive and unstable. Dr. Jen helped in devising a way in trapping these reactive free radicals to study their structure and behavior. The study of free radicals has applications in combustion, plastics, atmospheric chemistry, biochemistry, and a whole range of different sciences and industries.

In 1972, Dr. Jen led the first delegation of Chinese American scientists from the U.S. to China, soon after President Nixon’s visit reopened relations. Dr. Jen’s groundbreaking visit opened up scientific exchanges between the two countries. Dr. Jen’s visit also led to arrangements being made for the first American students to study in China since 1949, the very first being his own daughter. As a scientific goodwill ambassador, Jen helped strengthen US-China relations and also helped improve scientific education in Chinese universities disrupted by the Cultural Revolution. He frequently returned to China to give lectures and seminars, drawing upon his scientific knowledge to help create a new generation of scientific scholars in China.

Philanthropy: Since 1989, the annual C.K. Jen Scholarship Prize is awarded to top graduating high school students in Shanxi Province in China, where Jen hailed from, to encourage them to persevere in their scientific studies.

Publications/Patents:
1929 “Measurements of the Height of the Kennelly-Heaviside Layer”
1933 “The Continuous Electron Affinity Spectrum of Hydrogen”
1944 “An Observation on the Ionosphere During the Solar Eclipse of July 20, 1944″
1948 “The Zeeman Effect in Microwave Molecular Spectra”
1951 “Rotational Magnetic Moments in Polyatomic Molecules”
1958 “Electron Spin Resonance of Atomic and Molecular Free Radicals Trapped at Liquid Helium Temperature”
1963 “Free Radicals”
1974 “Energy Transport in Ruby via Microwave Optical Experiments”
1981 “Zeeman and Stark Effect”
1981 “A Physicist’s View of Science and Technology in China”
1990 Recollections of a Chinese Physicist

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The Gala dinner is OCA San Mateo’s major fundraiser which raises money for its high school senior Scholarship and Speak & Lead with Pride (workshops designed to improve local high school students’ public speaking and leadership skills) Programs.

Achievement awards will be given to three outstanding members of the APA Community. This year the Organization is proud to honor Karen Clancy, a member of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Board of Trustees, Nancy Lim-Yee, Executive Director of San Francisco’s Chinatown Child Development Center, and State Controller John Chiang.

Frances Dinglasan and David Louie of KGO Channel 7 News will host the celebration. Fundraising events include a silent auction and raffle drawings. Among the entertainment will be singer Juliet Fernandez and the California Youth Chinese Symphony.

The Fundraiser will take place on Saturday, September 26th, 2009, at 6:00pm at the South San Francisco Convention Center, 255 South Airport Boulevard, South San Francisco. Tickets are $75 per person (OCA members) or $95 (non-members).

For further information, or to purchase dinner or raffle tickets, please contact:

Martin Jung, President
OCA San Mateo County Chapter
650-533-3065
mjung@pacbell.net
www.ocasanmateo.org

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