VOL 38 NO 50 | DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA

VOL 38 NO 50 DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

FREE 37 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Chinese American vets honored by Seahawks

The legacy of Larry Gossett— “endurance and consistency”

By Jason Cruz NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

see VETERANS on 13

Photo by Jason Cruz

Gene Moy is proud to tell you that he’s 102 years old (103 in April). Obviously, it’s a worthy accomplishment for the former World War II veteran.

Moy was one of six Chinese American WWII veterans honored during the twominute warning of the first half of the Dec. 2 Monday Night Football game featuring the Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings. The veterans will receive the Congressional Gold Medal and will be honored at a ceremony in Washington D.C. in the spring of 2020.

On Dec. 20, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law the Chinese American World War II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act, which awarded approximately 20,000 Chinese American veterans of WWII. The Act orders the creation of medals to recognize the Chinese Americans

Veterans honored at the Dec. 2 Seahawks game. From left (seated): Lip Mar, Bill Chin, Cal Fung, JB Chin, Tommy Lew, and Gene Moy. From left (standing): Seattle Asst. Police Chief Steve Hirjak, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, Seattle Senior Deputy Mayor Mike Fong, and Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scroggins.

As Keiro is sold, devoted volunteers forge ahead

Larry Gossett

Outside his house, there is wavy grass on the sidewalk.

A pile of chairs rides atop see GOSSETT on 12

Andrew Yang coming to Seattle again

By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is scheduled to attend a fundraising dinner at the Seattle home of spine surgeon and entrepreneur Jeffrey Roh this month.

Roh is the CEO of IntuitiveX and has over 15 years of experience as an inventor, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur. Dr. Roh is also a boardsee YANG on 12

Photo by Mahlon Meyer

Andrew Yang

Kamala Harris ends Democratic presidential campaign

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and NICHOLAS RICCARDI ASSOCIATED PRESS

Aki Sogabe at her booth selling her paper cutting wares

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY As she gazes across the room, her look becomes one of longing.

The older Japanese woman she is watching has hair like wisps of snow. She is gently fondling silk handkerchiefs and bric-a-brac with the care of a mother.

“Why did I do it?” said Ruth

■

Kimura, as she returned her gaze to the table in front of her.

Kimura, in her 50s, is the cochair of the Ayame Kai Arts and Crafts Fair and has been up since dawn for the past several days, baking apple pies and organizing dozens of volunteers. Today she has overseen hundreds of community members crowding see KEIRO on 11

Kamala Harris

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sen. Kamala Harris is dropping out of the race for the White House. She told supporters on Dec. 3 that she was ending her bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

“I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have

come to one of the hardest decisions of my life,” the California Democrat said. “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.”

A senior campaign aide said Harris made the decision on Dec. 2 after discussing the path forward with family and other top officials over the Thanksgiving holiday. see HARRIS on 5

412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • editor@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com

2

asianweekly northwest

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

37 YEARS

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS

toured the region this year to celebrate the Year of the Pig, has found her home at Pike Place Market.

To kick-off this year’s holiday lighting ceremony on Nov. 30, the International Lion Dance Martial Arts Team led a drumming procession followed by the lighting of a traditional Chinese red lantern hanging above Golden Pearl on the Market’s rooftop.

Golden Pearl was designed by artist Master Zuolie Deng and created in partnership with the Pike Place Market Foundation, Washington State Pacific Education & Culture Foundation, and Washington State Sichuan Friendship Association.

Golden Pearl symbolizes the Market Foundation’s value of inclusion. 

Ju Ju at Pike Place Market.

Photos by George Liu

Thanksgiving dinner for the elderly

Hundreds attended the Pike Place Market’s holiday lighting ceremony.

“Ju Ju,” or Golden Pearl, the Chinese Art Pig who

Peter Peng and John Zhang donated a Thanksgiving dinner to seniors at the House of Hong on Nov. 3.

Organized by Seniors in Action Foundation, more than 500 people attended.

Each guest received a gift of different Asian sauces and a can of tea leaves.

Two centenarians—King Wong and Ngook Hong Lee Huie—walked on stage and received a red envelope. 

Centenarians Ngook Hong Lee Huie (seated, left) and King Wong receiving red envelopes from John Zhang (left) and Perry Peng (right).

Photos by Assunta Ng

Chinese Art Pig at Pike Place Market

Hundreds of seniors attended the Nov. 26 dinner.

Bruce Harrell honored

Outgoing Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell received a long standing ovation on Nov. 22 during the 2019 Bruce Harrell Annual Breakfast of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

The event, held at The Westin Hotel in, Seattle, raised more than $400,000 to empower the community and change the lives of the individuals, one family at a time.

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best also presented Harrell with an award from SPD. The theme for this year’s Carmen Best annual breakfast was “Dream BIG!” with a special emphasis on bridging the gap between youth and technology. 

Perché No closing, owners Lily and David Kong retiring

Shared Joy is Double Joy Where together we live life to the fullest.

Our Asian-inspired assisted living and memory care community is perfect for those who share a connection through tradition, language, and cuisine.

Aegis Gardens brings you a culturally authentic lifestyle celebrating Asian cultures with no detail overlooked.

CARE BEYOND COMPARE With over 23 years of experience, Aegis Living has won the respect of hundreds of satisfied families who entrust us with the ones they love most. It’s our honor and privilege to care for your parent in this phase of their life and help them live joyfully in the moment.

Together, we look forward to the possibilities of each new day.

Chef David Kong and Lily

Call to schedule a tour.

Lily Kong and Chef David Kong announced on Dec. 1 that they will officially retire and close their Italian restaurant Perché No. The restaurant opened in Queen Anne in 1992, and a second location opened near Green Lake. The Kongs lost their Queen Anne lease in 2006.

David Kong, born in Malaysia of Chinese ancestry, always dreamed of building a restaurant from the ground up and the family did just that, giving photos from their Italian trips to the architect to recreate Italy in Seattle.

A farewell dinner and retirement celebration will be held on Dec. 18. 

425-786-0143

A Welcoming Gathering Place Our Stan Head Cultural Center offers daily events and classes or the opportunity to host your event to remember. www.stanheadculturalcenter.com

YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

asianweekly northwest

3

Asian American workers’ rights: The basics

By Kiley Morrow Three top leaders working for an Asian American advocacy group quit their positions in protest last month against the organization that fired 19 fellow coworkers.

These included civic teachers who were helping with immigrant youth mentoring and in-language legal help.

This organization not only provided education, but was also one of the largest Asian American organizations advocating for Asian Americans to exercise their rights as citizens.

Asian Americans have been part of the American labor force for a long time.

In fact, they had a very crucial role in developing the America that is today. But things weren’t always as peachy.

Back then, Asian Americans took low-paying service jobs—salaries that were significantly lower than that of their white counterparts. Despite unique histories, cultures, and languages, all Asian Americans were lumped together into one group by schools and society.

However, things changed for the better.

Between 1960 to 1980, Asian Americans

Despite the success in the workforce, some Asian Americans are still not fully knowledgeable about their rights as workers. In fact, some encounter disorganization within their own groups due to a lack of financial support.

Here are the basic workers’ rights you should know about.

Undocumented worker’s compensation

This refers to the amount you are paid when you get into an accident at work.

If you get confined or disabled because of that accident, you will be paid for the days where you missed work as well.

Depending on what state you are working in, you may be eligible to receive worker’s compensation — even if you are undocumented. If you get into an accident and you need medical treatment, your employer would need to pay for that.

However, you may not be eligible for job retraining. If your employer uses your status as a way to prevent you from filing a claim, you should hire a lawyer.

Sue only when appropriate

Discrimination is a no-no

You are entitled to an accident pay

saw an improvement in wages largely due to the anti-Asian discrimination laws.

Asian American workers, particularly Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos, had labor unions and carried out work strikes to protest unfair wages.

Beyond the 1980s, we would begin to see Asian Americans separated by two groups: those working in high status, high-paying jobs, and those in lowpaying, low status jobs. Today, Asian Americans hold positions that weren’t available to them before—industries like computer engineering, legal and financial, health care, and education.

owed to you by your employer.

Your immigration status is irrelevant when you file a wage claim.

You have the right to sue your employer if your legal counsel suggests that you do. But if you receive any form of compensation or appeal for a claim, it may weaken your case.

Undocumented workers have rights, too

If you are an undocumented Asian American, you still have certain rights.

For example, you are entitled to the wages

Whether or not you have legal authorization to work, you have protection against discrimination.

Employers cannot discriminate against workers by refusing to hire you, fire you, or harass you. This is against the law and you have the right to file a claim if losses were incurred during the time you were discriminated against. 

4

asianweekly northwest

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

■ WORLD NEWS

37 YEARS

50 children killed by measles in Samoa as outbreak worsens WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Samoa’s government said on Dec. 2 that another five children had died within the past day from a measles outbreak, bringing the death toll from the epidemic to more than 50 as authorities race to vaccinate the entire population.

Samoa declared a national emergency last month and mandated that all 200,000 people living on the South Pacific island nation get vaccinated. The government has closed all schools and banned children from public gatherings.

In all, 53 people have died in the outbreak since late October, including one adult and two older teenagers.

Most of those who have died have been babies and young infants, including 23 children aged less than 1 and 25 children aged between 1 and 4.

The government said more than 1,100 people have been admitted to hospitals since the outbreak began and about 180 people remain hospitalized. Among those hospitalized are 19 children who are in critical condition.

Samoan authorities believe the virus was first spread by a traveler from New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that her country was doing everything it could to help curb the epidemic, including sending more than 50 medical professionals and thousands of vaccines to Samoa.

New Zealand Other countries including Britain Prime Minister have also sent teams and supplies.

Jacinda Ardern

Temple collapses in Cambodia, killing 3 PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Buddhist temple under construction in Siem Reap, home of Cambodia’s famed Angkor temples, collapsed on Dec. 2, killing at least three people and injuring 13 others, including two monks, police said.

The deputy chief of Siem Reap Provincial Police, Pheung Chendareth, said workers were pouring cement for the ceiling of the temple when it suddenly collapsed,

trapping the workers and two monks who were helping them.

He said the body of one worker was found under the debris and two other workers died at a hospital.

Workers told police that no other people were trapped, but rescuers said they would continue working until all of the debris is removed to make sure no one else was underneath, he said. 

No fee unless

you receive compensation

Holly Li Community Representative holly@hlg.lawyer Cell: (206) 369-8373 Chinese Language Direct Line: (206) 457-4202 Fax: (206) 457-4203

Seattle Office 505 5th Ave. S, Suite 330 Seattle WA 98104 Tel: (206) 625-9104 Fax: (206) 457-4203 Tacoma Office 1535 Tacoma Ave. S, Tacoma, WA 98402 Tel: (253) 627-8142 Fax: (253) 627-1835

We specialize: • Auto accidents • Pedestrians injuries • Slippery falls • Dog-bite injuries • Personal injuries and death • Motorcycle and bicycle injuries • Airplane clash We speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Toishaqnese, Korean and English

Ardern said the natural curve of infection rates meant that “sometimes things can be worse before they are better.”

Figures from the World Health Organization and UNICEF indicate that fewer than 30 percent of Samoan infants were immunized last year. That low rate was exacerbated by a medical mishap that killed two babies who were administered a vaccine that had been incorrectly mixed, causing wider delays and distrust in the vaccination program.

The government said about 33,000 people were vaccinated before last month and since then, another 58,000 people have been vaccinated. see MEASLES on 14

ATTENTION: OXYGEN USERS. Gain freedom with a Portable Oxygen Concentrator! No more heavy tanks and refills! Guaranteed lowest prices. Call the Oxygen Concentrator store: 844-495-7230.

DONATE YOUR CAR TO CHARITY. Receive maximum value of write off for your taxes. Running or not! All conditions accepted. Free pickup. Call for details, 855-635-4229.

ELIMINATE GUTTER CLEANING forever with LeafFilter. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today.

15% off & 0% financing for those who qualify. Plus Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-888-360-1582.

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

YOUR VOICE

asianweekly northwest

5

■ NATIONAL NEWS Hawaii could have more than 10 million annual visitors for first time HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii is on track to have more than 10 million visitors in one year for the first time in history, although that may not be reflected in dollar amounts, tourism officials said.

Hawaii Tourism Authority data showed there have been nearly 8.7 million visitors through October, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on Nov. 28.

The figure is a 5.5 percent increase over the 8.2 million arrivals through the same period last year, when the state’s annual count was 9.9 million visitors.

The 800,448 tourists who visited Hawaii in October was an increase of nearly 37,000 during the same month last year. The 4.8 percent increase is part of a decadelong growth pattern, officials said.

The growth reflects more tourists traveling to the state from the U.S. mainland and countries including Japan and Canada, officials said.

HARRIS from 1 Her abrupt withdrawal marked a dramatic fall for a candidate who showed extraordinary promise.

Harris, whose mother was Tamil Indian and whose father is Jamaican, launched her campaign in front of 20,000 people on a chilly January day in Oakland, California. She was one of three candidates of Asian American descent. Andrew Yang is Taiwanese American and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is the first American Samoan and first Hindu elected to Congress.

The first woman and first Black attorney general and U.S. senator in California’s history, Harris was widely viewed as a candidate poised to excite the multiracial coalition of voters that sent Barack Obama to the White House.

Her departure erodes the diversity of the Democratic field, which is dominated at the moment by a top-tier that is white and mostly male.

“She was an important voice in the race, out before others who raised less and were less electable. It’s a loss not to have her voice in the race,” said Aimee Allison, who leads She the People, a group that promotes women of color.

Harris ultimately could not craft a message that resonated with voters or secure the money to continue her run.

She raised an impressive $12 million in the first three months of her campaign and quickly locked down major endorsements meant to show her dominance in her home state, which offers the biggest delegate haul in the Democratic primary contest.

But as the field grew, Harris’s fundraising remained flat; she was unable to attract the type of attention being showered on Pete Buttigieg by traditional donors or the grassroots firepower that drove tens of millions of dollars

Spending by tourists was down for seven of the first nine months of 2019, followed by a small gain in October when spending rose 0.9 percent, or $12 million.

to Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

In her note to supporters, Harris lamented the role of money in politics and, without naming them, took a shot at billionaires Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg, who are funding their presidential bids.

“I’m not a billionaire,” she said. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete.”

Harris suffered from what allies and critics viewed as an inconsistent pitch to voters.

Her slogan “for the people,” referenced her career as a prosecutor, a record that was viewed skeptically by the party’s most progressive voters.

Through the summer, she focused on pocketbook issues and her “3 a.m. agenda,” a message that never seemed to

resonate with voters. By the fall, she had returned to her courtroom roots with the refrain that “justice is on the ballot,” both a cry for economic and social justice as well as her call that she could “prosecute the case” against a “criminal” president.

At times, she was tripped up by confusing policy positions; particularly on health care. After suggesting she would eliminate private insurance in favor of a fully government-run system, Harris eventually rolled out a health care plan that preserves a role for private insurance.

Michael Kraut, a Los Angeles defense attorney and member of Harris’s finance team, said Harris suffered early on from too many people telling her what to do.

“When she is truly being who she is, she soars,” he said before Harris withdrew from

October’s increase pushed the year-to-date spending up by $34.7 million to $1.32 billion, compared to $1.31 billion a year earlier.

Generating more tourist spending has been a difficult goal for the industry to achieve, said industry consultant Keith Vieira.

“That’s an ongoing challenge for the destination,’’ Vieira said. “We cannot have more and more visitors who are spending less and less.’’

Besides lodging and food, visitor spending includes shopping, car rentals and interisland travel.

The tourism authority’s goal has been to attract higher-spending visitors who contribute more to the state’s economy, rather than more visitors who spend less but have greater impacts on infrastructure, natural resources and communities, officials said. 

the race. “When she’s listening to everybody talk in her ear she doesn’t so much soar.”

Stumbles, often of the campaign’s making, continued to dog Harris into the winter, stymieing her ability to capitalize on solid moments.

Harris kicked off November with a well-received speech at a massive Iowa dinner, just a day after her campaign announced it would fire staff at its Baltimore headquarters and moving some people from other early states to Iowa.

Her message was regularly overshadowed by campaign aides and allies sharing grievances with the press.

Several top aides decamped for other campaigns, one leaving a blistering resignation letter.

“Because we have refused to confront our mistakes, foster an environment of critical thinking and honest feedback, or trust the

expertise of talented staff, we find ourselves making the same unforced errors over and over,” Kelly Mehlenbacher wrote in her letter, obtained by The New York Times. Mehlenbacher now works for businessman Bloomberg’s campaign.

Harris and her aides believe she faced an uphill battle— and unfair expectations for perfection—from the start as a woman of color. Her stump speech included a line about what Harris called the donkey in the room,” a reference to the thought that Americans wouldn’t elect a woman of color.

Harris often suggested it was criticism she faced in her other campaigns—all of which she won.

Her departure from the presidential race marks her first defeat as a political candidate.

asianweekly northwest

6

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

37 YEARS

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR THROUGH JAN 11, 2020 ART EXHIBITION, “BRIGHTER FUTURE” Top floor, Arts at King Street Station, 303 S. Jackson St., Seattle Free admission seattle.gov/arts

Tickets at topcontributors2019.bpt.me 206-223-0623

7

DEC

THE DANNY WOO GARDEN’S COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY Danny Woo Community Garden, 620 S. Main St., Seattle 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

KIN ON’S WINTER MAHJONG NIGHT Kin On, 4416 S. Brandon St., Seattle 6:30-9 p.m.

MULTICULTURAL HOLIDAY ARTS & CRAFT FAIR St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish, 1610 S. King St., Seattle 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

206-323-5250 stpeterseattle.org

5

WOVEN TOGETHER, STORIES OF BURMA/ MYANMAR Wing Luke Museum, 719 S. King St., Seattle 6-8 p.m.

6 NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY’S TOP CONTRIBUTORS DINNER, “UNITY & CELEBRATION” China Harbor Restaurant, 6-9 p.m.

ASIAN AMERICAN SANTA & LOCAL ARTIST GIFT FAIR Wing Luke Museum, 719 S. King St., Seattle 12-3 p.m.

THE SEATTLE-SURABAYA SISTER CITY ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY EVENING Hotel Nexus Seattle, 2140 N. Northgate Way, Seattle RSVP at 206-501-0996 sssca@seattle-surabaya.org

8

13

21

SEATTLE CHINESE WOMEN’S CLUB’S HOLIDAY GALA Hilton Bellevue, 300 112th Ave. S.E., Bellevue 5 p.m. seattlechinesewomensclub. com

VIETQ: KARAOKE SOCIAL Beer & Wine Source, 9601 16th Ave. SW, Seattle 7-10 p.m.

A BONSAI SOLSTICE Pacific Bonsai Museum, 2515 S. 336th St., Federal Way 4-7 p.m.

14

9 CELEBRATION TO HIGHLIGHT NEW INSTALLATION OF COMMUNITY-DEFINED ARTISTIC LANTERN Hing Hay Park, 423 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle 5-6 p.m.

12 C-ID HOLIDAYS POTLUCK Pioneer Barber Company, 314 6th Ave. S., Seattle 6-10 p.m. cidholidays.splashthat.com

JAN

PHILIPPINE HOLIDAY LANTERN FESTIVAL Dr. Jose Rizal Park 9 p.m.

4

16 ANDREW YANG IN SEATTLE 2.0 Home of Jeffrey & Grace Roh 6-8 p.m. https://bit.ly/2YiGBOz

20 WINTER SOLSTICE NIGHT MARKET Magnuson Park Hangar 30, 6310 NE 74th St., Seattle 4-10 p.m.

THE DANNY WOO GARDEN’S COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY Danny Woo Community Garden, 620 S. Main St., Seattle 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

19 U.S.-JAPAN FRIENDSHIP COMING OF AGE CELEBRATION Bellevue College 1-3:30 p.m. japaneseinamerica.org

MEGAN

JAC KS O N S TREET FAMI LY D ENTA L

Energy Palm Tarot

Nigel W. Saw DDS PC

Chakra Balancing Cleaning for the Mind, Body & Spirit

New Patients Welcome Routine Cleanings • Restorative Care Dentures • Consultations

(206) 775-0664

206.622.3840

One free question by phone. All readings are 98% accurate.

Most Insurance Plans Accepted 318 6th Avenue S. Suite 108 Seattle, WA 98104 Located at the corner of 6th & Jackson

View the solution on page 14

Assunta Ng

Account Executives

John Liu

rebecca@nwasianweekly.com

Ruth Bayang

kelly@nwasianweekly.com

Publisher assunta@nwasianweekly.com Associate Publisher john@nwasianweekly.com Editor editor@nwasianweekly.com

Han Bui Layout & Web Editor han@nwasianweekly.com

Rebecca Ip Kelly Liao John Liu

john@nwasianweekly.com

George Hira

ghira@nwasianweekly.com

The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: “To empower the Asian community.”

The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any advertisement, letter or article.

Subscriptions cost $40 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and $30 for 52 weeks of the Seattle Chinese Post. The NW Asian Weekly owns the copyright for all its content. All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reprinted without permission.

412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 editor@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

YOUR VOICE

■ HEALTH

asianweekly northwest

7

Chinese blood donors wanted

Photo provided by Wesley Tanoto

The Food and Drug Administration lifted a ban earlier this year that prohibits blood donation from those who had traveled to China in the last three years.

Wesley donating blood

As a result, Wesley Tanoto, program director of the Young Leaders Program (YLP) and incoming vice president at the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce, is motivated to increase the number of Chinese blood donors in the region.

Born in Jakarta, Tanoto is a fifth generation Chinese Indonesian. He moved to the United States almost eight years ago. In addition to his volunteering efforts, he works as a management consultant.

Blood donations and community work Tanoto first got involved with blood donation efforts during his senior year in college about four years ago, through a partnership between Bloodworks Northwest and the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Bloodworks Northwest chief medical officer Dr. Yanyun Wu reached out to Tanoto to create a team to launch outreach efforts to the local Chinese community.

Tanoto is now the program director for a professional development program with a focus on community involvement and business skills. It’s a highly selective program where 25 students are chosen every year to receive training and intern at various nongovernmental organizations (NGO) to help create strategies to benefit the community.

As a regular blood donor, Tanoto sees the value of blood donation. He sees it as beyond going to the blood center. For him, it’s more of the life-saving value of blood donation.

“That’s the very least that I can do to help the community. I would like to share that passion in saving lives with students at universities and college campuses.

I think if we, as a group, band together to make this like

a movement as a Chinese community, work together to generate more donors, and save more lives, that’s why I’m passionate about this,” he said.

How the ban influences blood donations Up until July 2019, there was an FDA policy banning anyone who had traveled to China in the past three years, from donating blood. Exceptions were made if the city they visited was a major city with good health infrastructure, and not high-risk malaria cities, Tanoto explained.

“The FDA defines malaria-endemic areas (i.e. areas that result in malarial deferral) as “any areas with malaria where the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis in travelers in the most current version of the CDC Health Information for International Travel (commonly known as The Yellow Book). In the current version of The Yellow Book, the CDC no longer recommends anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis for travelers to China,” according to the doctors of Bloodworks Northwest via John Yeager, senior media content strategist.

Wesley Tanoto

The lifted ban opens up a wider network of people who can donate blood. see BLOOD on 12

THOMAS DAUSGAARD, MUSIC DIRECTOR

DECEMBER 10

Kenny G

and the Seattle Symphony Grammy Award-winning saxophonist makes his Seattle Symphony debut!

CONGRATULATIONS

to all honorees of the Northwest Asian Weekly’s Top Contributors in 2019.

And thank you for what you’ve done for our Asian community.

Kenny G with the Seattle Symphony is sponsored by D.A. Davidson Companies

For Tickets:

seattlesymphony.org

BUCKLEYLAW.NET

Photo provided by Wesley Tanoto

By Nina Huang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

8

asianweekly northwest

■ HEALTH

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

37 YEARS

Jayapal, health expert, urge action on South Asian heart health

Rep. Pramila Jayapal

THE HILL: Taking Bold Action on South Asian Heart Health

By Pramila Jayapal and Gayathri Badrinath

Rep. Pramila Jayapal and global health expert Gayathri Badrinath co-authored an op-ed in The Hill this month to urge bold action to address the lack of awareness to the unique and growing heart health risks of South Asian Americans. Jayapal is the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the first South Asian American woman ever elected to Congress. Badrinath is the founder and CEO of Devyn, a company dedicated to advancing the health of women around the world.

South Asian Americans are the second fastest growing minority group in the country, and are four times more at risk of developing heart disease than the general population. They have a much greater risk

When asked what it means to be of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, or Nepalese descent, most South Asian Americans will talk about similar things: immigration, the culture of hard work, love of food and traditions, value of family and community. What you won’t hear about is the staggering epidemic of heart disease in our communities.

South Asian Americans are the second fastest growing minority group in the country, but are four times more at risk of developing heart disease than the general population. We have a much greater risk of having a heart attack before the age of 50 and we have emerged as the ethnic group with the highest prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, a very serious condition that

Congratulations to this years’ recipients!

Making a difference in our communities is one of the most impactful uses of our time and resources. It is with sincere appreciation that we congratulate this years’ deserving recipients of the Top Contributors Award. Your work does not go unnoticed.

Beacon Hill Branch 206-324-1884 2800 Beacon Avenue S | Seattle

U District Branch 206-632-3322 1200 NE 45th | Seattle

Columbia City Branch 206-722-6585 4800 Rainier Avenue S | Seattle

Eastgate Branch 425-747-7100 3712 150th SE | Bellevue

Rainier Beach Branch 206-725-6250 9325 Rainier Avenue S | Seattle

International District Branch 206-624-7581 601 S Jackson | Seattle

Jackson Park Branch 206-365-8200 14360 15th Avenue NE | Seattle

Downtown Seattle Branch 206-204-3446 425 Pike Street | Seattle

wafdbank.com |

@WAFDbank

Photo from IAWW’s Facebook Page

of having a heart attack before the age of 50 and are now the group with the highest risk of Type 2 diabetes.

In June, Jayapal and Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina introduced the South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act of 2019 to increase outreach, education, and awareness of this issue.

The following is the full text of the oped.

IAWW organizes regular yoga workshops for members of the community at its pop-up locations on the Eastside.

significantly increases the risk of heart disease. These trends are not limited to those of us who have immigrated to America either: by 2020, South Asians will make up 25 percent of the world’s population but 50 percent of global cardiovascular deaths.

Much of what we know about these risks is thanks to relatively new research and, sadly, the increasing numbers of personal experiences of heart disease in our own families and communities. South Asian Americans often present with different risk factors than other populations, leading to delays in diagnosis. They are less likely to

be overweight or obese, even though they are at high risk for cardiovascular disease with high blood pressure or cholesterol.

It is past time to address the lack of awareness of too many Americans of the unique health risks of South Asian Americans. We need greater awareness, education, and outreach to South Asian American and medical communities across the country to address the stunning rise in heart disease that will hurt our economy and take even more lives if Congress does not act quickly. see HEART HEALTH on 14

YOUR VOICE

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

■ WORLD NEWS LGBT activists in China seek to change marriage civil code

By YANAN WANG ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING (AP) — It was only after her partner’s death that He Meili realized the full meaning of marriage.

As a lesbian couple in China, He and Li Qin kept their ties largely unspoken, sometimes introducing themselves as cousins. This rarely bothered He until Li succumbed to complications from lupus in 2016, and Li’s parents demanded that He hand over the deed for their apartment and other property documents under Li’s name.

He, a 51-year-old nonprofit worker in southern China’s Guangzhou city, has joined LGBT activists and supporters in an appeal to lawmakers to allow same-sex marriage, using a state-sanctioned channel to skirt recent government moves to suppress collective action.

“I realized if LGBT people don’t have the right to

marry, we have no legal protections,’’ she said. “Others will also experience what I did—and be left with nothing.’’

Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, space for civil society and advocacy has shrunk. Human rights activists and their lawyers have been detained, while internet censorship has increased.

LGBT activists have turned to a novel tactic: submitting statements to the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, which is soliciting opinions from the public on a draft of the “Marriage and Family’’ portion of the Civil Code.

The Marriage and Family section is among six draft regulations for which the legislature began seeking comments at the end of October. As of Nov. 28, the website showed that more than 200,000 suggestions had been submitted either online or by mail, the greatest number of any of the outstanding drafts.

A teacher wrote about experiencing discrimination at his workplace; others wrote about not being allowed to make medical decisions for their ailing partners.

“This is not just a symbolic gesture,’’ said Peng Yanzi, director of LGBT Rights Advocacy China, one of several groups running the campaign. “It really has an impact on our everyday lives.’’

Peng’s organization has outlined a desired revision to the language in the Civil Code, changing the terms throughout from “husband and wife’’ to “spouses’’ and from “men and women’’ to “the two parties.’’ Rather see MARRIAGE on 14

asianweekly northwest

9

Gao, the world’s f irst Asian male supermodel, dies Godfrey Gao, who made headlines in 2011 as the first Asian man to ever model for Louis Vuitton, has died at age 35.

Gao made his American film debut in 2013’s “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” and he also starred in a number of popular Asian films and TV shows.

He was filming a reality show in China on Nov. 27 when he suffered a heart attack Godfrey Gao | Photo from Gao’s Instagram account and died, according to reports.

Gao’s good friend Darren Jiang told a newspaper in Singapore that Gao was planning to propose to his girlfriend Bella Su on Nov. 28.

Born to a Malaysian mother and Taiwanese father, Gao was raised in Vancouver, Canada. His body was sent from China to Taiwan on Dec. 2, and his funeral will be held on Dec. 15, according to his management agency, Jetstar Entertainment. 

10

asianweekly northwest

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG

37 YEARS

Immigrant seniors vote activist candidates out in Chinatown election

By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Photo by Anna Hou Community seniors stand in line to vote.

The assumption was that young Asian American activists who dominate the English media would be the natural winners of the election. And the disadvantaged immigrant and non-English speaking senior residents would not play a role in it, as they struggle to adapt to their new environment, complicated by the culture and language barriers. The International District (ID) consists of Chinatown, Japantown, and Little Saigon.

Photos by Rebecca Ip/SCP

I never expected so much drama in a small neighborhood election board such as Chinatown. But last month saw one of the most controversial election years since the International Special Review District (ISRD) board was established by the City of Seattle in 1973. The election outcome was dramatic, muddled with conflict.

Faye Hong in front of the Historic Chinatown Gate during the 2008 grand opening.

Faye Hong serving 1,000 meals for seniors at the House of Hong in 2015.

Just look at the recent Seattle City Council election.

Didn’t young voters push the young and progressive candidates to victory? Yet, the ID election outcome reversed that pattern—all activist candidates lost. It must have been a nightmare for them. The older and moderate candidates won the Nov. 12 election. The turnout was record-breaking for the ISRD, whose mission is to preserve the history of the neighborhood through building designs.

Young activists have repeatedly accused developers of gentrification, displacement, and eliminating affordability. They also claim their immigrant grandmothers need protection from such development.

Surprisingly, grandmas do have a mind of their own.

When they make up their mind, they act. Instead of casting votes for the activist candidates, they came in droves to vote them out.

Low-income and affordable housing make up 68 percent (more than 20 buildings) of all housing in the ID, compared to only 32 percent market-rate housing.

The activists who favor low-income and affordable housing in the ID have organized protests this year against market-rate developments, such as the Koda Condominiums’ groundbreaking on 5th Avenue South and South Main Street and the Jasmine project at 614 Maynard Avenue South (Bush Garden and its adjacent garage). Both projects are Asian-owned.

What has changed over the past few years with these residents? My interviews with them in their native language reveal they are no longer passive, sitting on the sidelines. They have a clear vision of what they want the neighborhood to be. They understand it is important to see BLOG on 15

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

YOUR VOICE KEIRO from 1 the halls of the Blaine Methodist Church, milling around dozens of vendor stands, eating 300 apple pies in less than two hours, and cavorting with other families, chatting and kibitzing.

“Why did I volunteer?” she said. “I didn’t have a community.”

Kimura grew up in West Seattle, far from the Japanese American community. Her father, a jumpmaster at parachute school and a decorated veteran of the 442nd regiment, retired there from Kentucky.

Until she found Ayame Kai, a Japanese American fundraising club, she felt isolated.

“It’s more than just fundraising,” she said. “They welcome you, and for just 10 dollars, you can join and they give you an apron,” she said.

She was wearing hers, the same as the older woman behind the counter she had been gazing at on the far side of the hall, where she was selling trinkets and handmade silks—anything to remind a passerby of Japanese culture.

Ayame Kai was founded 40 years ago and raises money for Keiro Northwest. But it’s not clear how much longer it will be around. The nursing home on 1601 Yesler Way was sold on Nov. 21 for $11 million, according to the King County Recorder’s Office.

Now only Nikkei Manor, an assisted living facility, remains. Even that’s uncertain, how long it will run.

Bryce Seidl, interim CEO, wrote in an email, “The reality is that the future of Nikkei Manor is dependent upon being able to establish a sustainable business operation.”

This was in response to a question about whether the community would trust the new management given the lack of transparency in the past.

“The future of any enterprise depends upon being able to be economically sustainable over time.”

Seidl committed to being “open and transparent with families and volunteers going forward.”

In the old days, said Kimura, Keiro would present Ayame Kai with a wish list. The volunteers would raise money and pay for things like an extra lift for patients needing help out of bed. Or they would subsidize teaching in adult day care.

But now Kimura realizes the long run of Ayame Kai contributing to Keiro may someday be over.

“We may have to change and take a look at where our money is going,” she said. “There are other places where money can be raised and donated for. There are other elder care places. Those are the things we have to decide,” she said.

Seidl said Keiro is still working with Ayame Kai. “We continue to work alongside these volunteers on a daily basis, and see them as a key partner in building a

better future for assisted living at Nikkei Manor.”

No matter what, Ayame Kai will stay together, Kimura said.

Even the arts and crafts fair, held on Nov. 17, showed how far the group will go for the community.

Hundreds of people showed up from nearly dawn to pack the halls of the church, a traditionally Japanese American community. They waited outside in a line to eat the apple pies and takuan (Japanese pickles) made by the Ayame Kai volunteers.

The day before, about 60 volunteers showed up, according to Kimura’s count, to roll the dough, cut apples, and bake the 300 pies. When they were gone within two hours, she wasn’t surprised. It happens every year.

One community member said a spirit of cohesion still united the community despite the many challenges it has faced now and historically.

“It’s still a community and I’m always impressed that what they always have in common is this solidarity,” said Nikki Louis, board member of the New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League and a professor of creative writing and Asian American literature. Louis grew up in Seattle and was visiting her daughter.

“Demographically, we’re dwindling,” she said, citing intermarriage and dispersal to the suburbs. “Most of us from the Little Tokyos and Japantowns of mid-20th century America don’t live where we grew up anymore.”

“But in New Mexico, in Salt Lake City, Portland, Ontario, many of the communities I’ve worked with, that solidarity is there and now there is a pride in being Japanese American that was not there when I was a child,” she said.

Louis has worked with Japanese American communities as an oral historian, and is also a playwright. Her first play, about the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps, “Breaking the Silence,” was first performed at the University of Washington in 1986 to raise money for court cases involving the incarceration.

As a child, she survived one of the concentration camps she wrote about, and was released at age seven and a half, she said.

Standing outside in the cold, the wind tossing her hair, as the party wound down, she spoke of the sense of uncertainty facing the community now that Keiro has closed. It is, she said, a sign of economic changes in the 21st century, like gentrification.

“The dispersal of the ethnic communities has meant you no longer have ethnic clusters anymore, unless they’re recent immigrants.”

But Louis said the feeling of displacement was the same as it has always been.

“We are part of the dispossessed and we have spent all of our lives trying to prove we’re American because our faces

asianweekly northwest

are different, just like any people of color.”

She added, “It’s the same feeling, but it’s not the same story.”

For some, however, the feeling is anger and a sense of betrayal.

Gordon Shoji, in an email to Northwest Asian Weekly, said he had attended a recent meeting with representatives of the company that purchased Keiro. After the meeting, he wrote a poem that criticizes the third and fourth generations of Japanese Americans (“sansei” and “yonsei”). He was particularly critical of the fourth generation, who he described as “becoming uninformed and riding on the coat tails of those before them without respect, let alone appreciation.”

Furthermore, he wrote, “This is exactly what I believe to be the foundation of the Keiro issue.”

His poem, titled, “Society Creates the Criminal,” has the subtitle, “Assimilation [a generalization too often accurate].

Excerpts include: SANSEI... losing the culture...can’t speak the language but you love rice and you’re hell with chopsticks successful in education... business...politics content with growing wealth and position japanese hyphen american...but... beneath the veneer...the unspoken truth females coveted...males not respected as men created waves...demanded more than survival YONSEI... untouched by struggles of prior generations just old stories & the photos without soul reaping the harvest of your forebears toil oblivious to waves & survival.

Inside the hall, as the day ended and crowds dispersed, a few vendors remained talking with folks.

Down at the far end, surrounded by hanging colored prints and paper cuttings, a grey haired woman was speaking Japanese with a visitor. Her son, with a beard, was by her side, selling her work. She had been selling her work for more than 30 years, she said. She studied with a teacher once, long ago. But her paper cutting has been mostly self-taught, she added.

By the end of the day, she had sold out of her 70 calendars and all her “fortune” bags.

“They were very popular,” she said.  Mahlon can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

KING COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS ADVERTISEMENT Proposals will be received for E00644E19, Design and Construction Management for Cedar Hills Regional Landfill North Flare Station Electrical; by the King County Procurement and Payables Section, 3rd

WIN $3,000 IN CASH! Enter to win. Take our survey at www.pulsepoll. com and tell us about your household shopping plans & media usage.

Your input will help us improve the paper & get the advertising specials you want.

WERE YOU an Industrial or Construction Tradesman & recently diagnosed with LUNG CANCER? You may be entitled to a significant cash award. Call 844-5360393 for your risk-free consultation.

Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, until 12:00 PM on January 3, 2020.

Total Estimated Price: $375,000 All solicitation documents are published at: https://procurement.

kingcounty.gov/procurement_ovr/login. aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fprocurement_ ovr%2fdefault.aspx Contact: Regina Sparano, rsparano@ kingcounty.gov, 206-477-4807

www.buckleylaw.net d

Seattle Office 675 S. Lane St. Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104 Office: (206) 622-1100 Toll free: (800) 404-6200 Fax: (206) 622-0688

Our law firm has recovered over $200 million for clients

11

Tacoma Office Wells Fargo Plaza Suite 1400 Tacoma, WA 98402 (appointment only)

Our Attorneys & Staff Proudly Serving the Community

 Auto accidents  Back & neck injuries  Brain damage  Wrongful Death  Permanent Disability  Pedestrian Accidents  Quadriplegia/Paraplegia

 Slip & fall  Product Liability  Contingent fees (no recovery, no fee, costs only)  Same day appointments  Before & after work appointments available  Free initial consultation  Home & hospital visits available

Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum Selected as Super Lawyer Selected as Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the United States Member of Several Bar Associations

12

asianweekly northwest

GOSSETT from 1 the driveway. Behind them, hidden from the street, are signs, stacked together that say: “Larry Gossett for King County Council.”

He was the last Black elected official in Seattle. The man who replaced him is an immigrant.

And even the area in which he lives, the Central District, has changed so much that soon, even Gossett and his family may be the only Blacks left.

“The house across the way sold for $1.5 million,” he said, looking out from his living room. The new residents of the area work for Amazon or Microsoft and are from out of state.

His most visible legacy is his son who walks up from downstairs where he is staying while visiting during Thanksgiving. A dentist and a follower of Malcolm X, the son is healthy, confident, and protective of his father.

“So what are you going to write about my father?” he asked.

Gossett’s legacy spans 50 years since he helped found the Black Student Union at the University of Washington (UW), spread the formation of Black student unions at local high schools, shaped the Black Panther Party in Seattle, and began the process of forming ethnic coalitions that would reshape Seattle. He also helped enact criminal justice reform and pushed for affordable housing.

In 1968, Gossett was a student at the UW when two girls at Franklin High School were suspended because their hair was not “lady like” according to the principal. That meant, according to Gossett, it did not look like white people’s hair.

The protest, a sit-in led by Gossett and others, resulted in their arrests. They were in jail when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. And the outpouring of support when they came up before the judge was unprecedented in Seattle.

“Fifteen-hundred Black people came to an arraignment,”

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019 said Gossett.

This was at the beginning of the Black Power movement, when some Blacks thought that through revolutionary violence, they could defend themselves from over 300 years of oppression, violence, and subjugation.

Gossett, along with others, the year earlier had traveled down to California to learn from the Black Panther Party.

Though he did not choose the path that other leaders such as Aaron Dixon, the captain of the Black Panther Party in Seattle, chose, he was a mentor to those that did, said his wife Rhonda.

She hired 42 writers of color at the student newspaper at the UW when she was an associate editor, she said.

Instead of battling with the police and the FBI with guns, Gossett fought through boycotts, protests, sit-ins and eventually persuaded the UW to make massive changes to the number of marginalized students admitted and to its curriculum.

The university began to teach Black studies and other related subjects.

“Within a year [of seizing the UW administration building], the number of African American students at UW tripled, from 150 to 465, Native American students increased from 25 to 100, and Chicano students from 10 to 90. In addition, the University established a program in Black Studies, and doubled the number of African American faculty. Chicano Studies, Asian American Studies, and American Indian Studies programs would follow,” according to the University of Washington Civil Rights and Labor History Project.

Gossett went on to work for the university, to work within the system for change.

He later was part of the Rainbow Coalition when Jesse Jackson ran for president in 1988, a movement which garnered 40 percent of the Democratic vote in Washington when the population was only 3 percent Black, said Gossett.

After joining with leaders

BLOOD from 7

Building awareness

In the past few years, YLP volunteers have focused on educating and engaging people to donate blood. They even partnered with a Chinese social media influencer to raise awareness. Tanoto said they engaged about two dozen students, but only nine were eligible to donate in 2019.

They also hosted awareness events where a phlebotomist gave a presentation on blood donation. There were also trivia games and ways for both students and their parents to get more involved.

In addition, Tanoto said they even created a mobile app that streamlined the donor screening and application process. Potential blood donors are asked questions about their travel and medical history, and the app creates a more efficient and user-friendly donor experience.

Tanoto said that they garnered a lot of interest and sign-ups from Chinese people who had never heard of blood donations.

Councilmember Gossett's grandmother, who appeared white due to the predations of white slaveowners

from other ethnic communities, he and other activists were able to make inroads against the ruling establishment by organizing and protesting. After Metro was going to abandon a lot in the International District (ID), they successfully advocated having it turned into low-income housing, said Gossett. They staged a protest to make sure the Kingdome would not encroach upon the lives of those living in the ID. And he was instrumental in the creation of El Centro de la Raza, a nonprofit serving the Latino community.

When Norm Rice ran for mayor, he turned to the Rainbow Coalition to help him get elected, then appointed its members to key positions, said Gossett.

Impressed by the potential for social change brought about by coalition building, Gossett ran for King County Council. He was elected in 1994. Since then, he has pushed for reform of the criminal justice system.

According to “The New Jim Crow,” a book written by Michelle Alexander, the criminal justice system and the so-called war on drugs has created an “undercaste” in American society of Blacks. The word “felon” is a new word for a Black man, she wrote.

The undercaste, people who have been convicted of crimes in a system that continues and worsens the abuses of the Jim Crow laws, are not allowed access to the mainstream society either in jobs, opportunities, or

37 YEARS social mobility, she wrote.

But Dixon said in a phone interview that in fact most people, not just Blacks, are worse off now than they had been in the 1960s. He cited homelessness, poverty, and the opioid crisis, among other factors.

Gossett’s legacy has been to fight for all marginalized people, said Dixon.

As councilmember, Gossett helped institute the drug court in King County, so that offenders could receive treatment and work instead of going to prison. He helped pass laws that did away with a new form of debtor’s prison. Before those changes, up to 11 percent of incarcerated people in King County were there because they could not pay their legal fees.

“Poverty was being criminalized,” Gossett said, “We had reinstituted debt prison in the U.S.” Gossett’s legacy in criminal justice reform reached even more broadly.

Through work release programs, electronic home detention programs, and other reforms, he helped reduce the numbers of those incarcerated by 24 percent for adults and 77 percent for youth.

According to Gossett, there were 2,880 adults incarcerated in King County in 1999, and 220 youth. This year, the numbers are down to 1,850 adults and 35 youth.

In the campaign, Gossett received criticism for his support for a new youth detention center.

But, he said, conditions housing detained youth were deplorable including the lack of a usable gym and poor sanitation.

Critics say the number of youths incarcerated are still disproportionately Black, a point that Gossett does not dispute.

In fact, the percentage of Black youth incarcerated has increased, although the number has drastically fallen. And Gossett says the goal is to have no youth incarcerated by 2021.

Gossett said he may be the only member of the King County Council that personally visits Black and other marginalized

Now that the ban has been lifted, with the right effort and marketing initiatives, he hopes to increase the number of donations.

Tanoto says the group’s target is to gain 50 new Chinese blood donors.

Anyone older than 16 years old (with parental consent) is eligible to donate blood.

Tanoto said that Bloodworks Northwest targets high school students to elderly folks, but due to the scope and limited resources of his project, they are focused on ages 16 to 30.

“It was a request from Bloodworks to diversify blood supply in the Pacific Northwest because people of different ethnicities have different blood composition,” Tanoto said.

Looking ahead to 2020, Tanoto said that they will continue to focus on similar marketing efforts, specifically around blood donor recruitment.

While the UW offers the largest amount of reach, Tanoto said they will also reach out to other college campuses in the area like Seattle University and Bellevue College.

“We’re going to address and focus our efforts on recruitment more than anything else. Our hope is to recruit more and more donors from the Chinese population, and we hope that what we’re doing next year will help other ethnic communities to replicate the model to impact the greater Seattle area,” he said. 

Looking ahead to 2020

Donors can schedule an appointment at any donor center by going online at schedule.bloodworksnw.org or by calling 1-800-398-7888.

There’s more work to be done in recruiting blood donors.

Citing the 2017 U.S. Census data, Tanoto said 120,000 people identify as Chinese in the greater Seattle area. There are about 250 Chinese donors out of the 3,000 total donors at the University of Washington (UW).

Nina can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

people in jail. He reads the cases against them, and shows up in court to advocate for them.

“Some of the judges, I’ve visited them so many times, that they’ve invited me to their retirement parties,” he said.

Dixon said this is indicative of Gossett’s approach.

“I think his legacy is that he’s been consistent for the last 50 years in striving for justice and equality, particularly for Black people, but all people in general,” he said.

“He has been one of the main persons, if not the only person, who Black people could go to when they had issues particularly in the county that they needed help with,” said Dixon.

“His legacy is endurance, and fighting for the rights of people... he never deviated from what he started 50 years ago.”

Now that Gossett is leaving the King County Council, he is writing his memoirs. He is exploring teaching at several universities in the area. And he has already been invited to be a consultant. This December is his last month in office.

He said he will continue to work for other parts of his legacy, which include affordable housing.

He pushed for 44,000 new units, but the work is unfinished.

One more symbolic accomplishment was his move to change what the “King” in King stood for. Originally, it designated the name of a senator from Alabama. Now, the county is the only area in the world that refers to the name of Martin Luther King Jr., said Gossett.

Like King, Gossett was transformed by his time in jail.

He was arrested eight times between 1968 and 1972, each time put in King County jail.

His office is on the site of the jail in which he was incarcerated for the first time in 1968.

“I remember looking out of the cell and I could see the water,” he said. “This is the same view.”  Mahlon can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

YANG from 1 certified, award-winning specialist and the director of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle.

Fellow co-hosts are Grace Roh, Maria Semple, Kimberly Watson and Glenn Draper, Gilonne D’Origny, Kerry Bosworth, Rahul Sood, and Yang’s National Finance Committee Co-Chair Haeryung Shin.

Tickets for the Dec. 16 event dubbed “Andrew Yang in Seattle 2.0” are $500, $1,000, and $2,000.

The $2,000 tickets are for those who wish to be listed as co-hosts of the event. Co-hosts will get photos with Yang.  Tickets may be purchased at secure.actblue.com/donate/ayevents-seattle2-1216

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

YOUR VOICE

■ ASTROLOGY

asianweekly northwest

13

Predictions and advice for the week of December 7–13, 2019

By Sun Lee Chang Rat — Do you want to be in control of how the game plays out? If so, start in an assertive rather than reactionary posture.

Dragon — The path of least resistance could also be less than satisfying. Set your sights on a more challenging option.

Monkey — Although you have had your ups and downs, you have held your own through it all.

Keep that resolve through the finish line.

Ox — When an old formula isn’t quite working for you, bring forward the good parts and rework the others.

Snake — You will be pleasantly surprised this week with a kindness repaid from a past consideration that you have paid.

Tiger — Are you having a difficult time understanding something new? Try shifting your frame of reference.

Horse — Having a hard time figuring out someone else’s motives? Coming to a resolution might not be as simple as you think.

Rooster — In order to come out ahead, you will need to keep an eye on the overall plan. A small deviation is acceptable, but the rest should stay in line.

Rabbit — Going farther away won’t necessarily bring you the change you seek. The same can be achieved closer to home.

Goat — Are you getting too far ahead of yourself in the beginning stages? It is important to focus on the here and now.

Dog — If you are granted a second chance, then take pains to avoid squandering it. You don’t want to test your luck again.

Pig — A keen observer by nature, you have seen plenty in your time. Put that knowledge to good use by sidestepping mistakes that others have made.

WHAT’S YOUR ANIMAL SIGN? RAT 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 OX 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 TIGER 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 RABBIT 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 DRAGON 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 SNAKE 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 HORSE 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 GOAT 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 MONKEY 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 ROOSTER 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 DOG 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 PIG 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019

*The year ends on the first new moon of the following year. For those born in January and February, please take care when determining your sign.

who volunteered or were drafted when the Chinese Exclusion Act was still in place.

The Chinese Exclusion Act precluded Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States. It was the first of its kind of laws which prevented a specific ethnic or national group from becoming American citizens.

The effort to get Chinese American veterans the Congressional Gold Medal was backed by a national campaign spearheaded by the Chinese American WWII Recognition Project.

The Seahawks, as part of honoring veterans, put aside a part of its in-game promotions to ensure that its fans do not forget the sacrifices made by veterans of the military.

“It’s an honor to have them here and it’s a great education for the fans,” said Seahawks representative Mike Flood to the family and friends gathered in a Seahawks suite prior to the game. Flood gifted the honorees with a ceremonial coin from the Seahawks.

Despite his age, Moy can still drive.

And he still loves dancing and named the cha-cha, tango, and waltz as some of his favorites. “He loves to dance,” said his son Cory Moy. “I eat lots of rice,” Moy jokingly said of his secret to living over a century. Born in Taishan, China, in 1917, Moy arrived in the United States with his father in 1931. He lived in Lewiston, Idaho, moving to Seattle.

He was drafted at the age of 18. Moy was a mess sergeant in the Army.

“I was a cook before I went in. When they found out, they put me in the kitchen right away.” Moy was in charge of feeding 200 to 300 people a day.

“I knew he was in the military, but I didn’t know how long,” said his son. “He told me of areas he went to.” Moy told his son about trips to New Caledonia, Japan, and the Philippines. “As far as I can remember, he was always the cook of the house.”

Moy ran a number of restaurants with business partners. One of his partners was James Locke, the father of former governor of the state of Washington, Gary Locke.

“As he’s getting older, I try to ask him how to make dishes, I’ve been trying to get them.” Cory noted that as a cook, his father

Photo by Jason Cruz

VETERANS from 1

Seahawks’ Mike Flood presents the 6 honorees with a ceremonial coin pre-game.

cooked based on “throwing things in,” with ‘dashes’ and ‘pinches’ rather than precise measurements.

Cory videotaped his father showing his son how to make a special salad dressing as a way to preserve the recipe and ‘keep it in the family.’ He also made a special chow mein dish that his son also wants to videotape.

Lip Mar will be 93 on New Year’s Day 2020. He laughed when asked about the key to his longevity.

“I drink,” Mar joked. Mar was drafted upon his 18th birthday and was given a choice to join any military branch—he chose the Navy. He was assigned as a Hospital Corpsman at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, Calif. where he treated American military personnel engaged in the Pacific theater. The war ended prior to Mar being shipped overseas. After he was honorably discharged, he opened up a restaurant in Edmonds, which he managed for 30 years. He then sold the business and went on to work for Boeing. Mar stated that he was a Seahawks season ticket holder when the franchise first started.

Also honored was William “Bill” L. Chin of Seattle. The 94-year-old grew up in the Chinatown area as a youth and graduated from Broadway High School in 1943. He was drafted the same year and served in the Army with the 93rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron in the European Theatre. Chin participated in the Central European Campaign and in the Battle of Rhineland. He achieved the rank of radio operator, Tec 5. Bill was awarded the American and European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medals and the Good Conduct Medal.

Thomas Lew, 96, served in the Army from April 1943 to February 1946 as an expert sharp shooter in the amphibious tank unit. Lew served his foreign service in Luzon, Philippines, and achieved the rank of Sergeant. After the war, he received his degree in mechanical engineering and worked for Boeing until his retirement.

Cal Fung, 95, was 18 years old when he entered the Army in April 1943. He served as a Staff Sergeant and General Clerk, serving with the 176th Ordnance Depot Company in the European Theatre of Operations.

He supervised the work of six general clerks in the receiving and distribution of requisitions for automotive parts and for various maintenance companies. He served in five battles and campaigns during his service, including Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe. He received the European-AfricanMiddle Eastern Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged in December 1945.

Dr. William Chin was also 18 years old when he entered the Army in August 1943.

Prior to that, he graduated from Seattle’s Garfield High School. When a base officer asked for overseas duty volunteers in March 1944, Pfc. Chin stepped forward.

His division battled on the beaches of Normandy on the 4th of July, 1944. Chin battled his way through Northern France, the Rhineland, and into the fierce fighting of the Hurtgen Forest region, where, while on patrol with his platoon, was captured by the Germans on Nov. 30, 1944. After receiving a field promotion to Corporal, Chin was back in the United States on June 12, 1945.

He was honorably discharged Nov. 30, 1945. William’s awards and medals include the Combat Infantryman Badge, EuropeanAfrican-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Bronze Stars, WWII Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, and Good Conduct Medal. William went on to attend the University of Washington, graduating from the School of Dentistry, practicing for 35 years in the Seattle area.

William and wife Dorothy have four children, and recently celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary.

As the veterans were ushered down to the field from their suite, the anticipation

of being in front of a sellout crowd made it a very exciting moment. Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback and current XFL head coach of the Seattle Dragons Jim Zorn was in the tunnel entrance leading out to the field and made an effort to speak to each of the veterans prior to going out on the field.

Zorn had an extensive conversation with Mar. One could only imagine what Mar, the former season ticket holder, had to say about meeting the former quarterback in person.

The veterans were presented in the north end zone of CenturyLink Field, flanked by current military, as they received the adoration and applause of the crowd. The family and friends that accompanied them down to the field took pictures and videos with their cell phones to commemorate the moment. After the presentation, they were greeted by Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold Scoggins and Seattle Police Department Chief Carmen Best. Prior to heading back to their suite to watch the rest of the game, Seattle Seahawks long snapper Tyler Ott, who was coming back on the field to warm up early before the second half start, stopped to thank the veterans for their service.

Terry Nicolas, the Commander of the Veterans of Foreign War post in which they are members, stated that the night meant everything, “especially for these guys to be finally honored.”

“As an individual, they may not have done anything, but as a group, they managed to save the world.” Nicolas, a Vietnam veteran in the Marine Corps, added, “I truly believe that and if it not for these guys that were willing to get up and go [to war], we’d be living a different life.”

Seattle Senior Deputy Mayor Mike Fong said, “As a Chinese American, their service and sacrifice for our country fills me with pride. I am honored to have had the opportunity to meet each of them in person.”

“I think it’s just great that people are recognizing their efforts from 1944,” said Don Mar, Lip Mar’s nephew. “I think it’s wonderful. He’s really excited to be here and that’s the most important thing.”  Jason can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

14

asianweekly northwest

EMPLOYMENT

Kitsap Transit Assistant Trainer Plan, schedule, coordinate and deliver training and education programs for Operators & other CDL holders. Also plan, organize and implement the agency’s wellness program.

Sal: $4617-6208/mo, DOE. Job announcement, reqs, appl. packet & benefits info at http://kitsaptransit.appone.com/.

Closes: 4:00 pm Fri, 12/20/19 EEO/AA

Find us on Twitter and Facebook!

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

EMPLOYMENT

Lightel Technologies is looking for a bilingual (English & Mandarin) Purchasing Specialist with minimum 2 years experience. Please send resume to rick.choi@lightel. com

Wok Chef

High-End Asian restaurant looking wok chef to work immediately, Little English ok, Hard working person, team work. Will pay high. Good benefits, healthcare, vacation and bonus. Call 206227-8000.

MARRIAGE from 9 than adding specific language about same-sex marriage, the revisions seek to eliminate gendered terms from the legislation.

While activists and experts acknowledge that legalizing same-sex marriage is still a far-off reality in China, they said appeals through the official channel will push the government to take the demand more seriously.

“There’s a near-zero chance the suggested changes will be accepted and implemented, but this campaign makes China’s LGBT community’s demands for equality harder to ignore,’’ said Darius Longarino, a senior fellow at Yale Law

HEART HEALTH from 8 As the first South Asian American woman elected to Congress, and as a prominent health care entrepreneur and WomenHeart Board member, we are committed to addressing these trends and improving the heart health of those in our communities. That is why we have worked together to introduce The South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act, H.R. 3131, in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bipartisan bill will help educate the South Asian community about the risk factors for heart disease and then ensure that all those living with heart disease receive the care, treatment and culturally appropriate support they need. This legislation authorizes research on cardiovascular disease among South Asian populations living in the United States, urges U.S. medical

MEASLES from 4 The World Health Organization has set a target of wiping out measles from most of the world by next year.

It says the disease is entirely preventable thanks to a

EMPLOYMENT

Business Manager Applications now being accepted at University United Church of Christ University UCC is now accepting applications for Business Manager. This position provides expertise and guidance in financial, administration and personnel matters. For additional information on the position and the application process, click here: https:// universityucc.org/business-manager-opportunity/

Find us on Twitter and Facebook!

37 YEARS

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON NOTICE TO BIDDERS The King County Procurement Services Section, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, will receive sealed bids until 2:00 PM of bid opening date for the following listed bids.

To download a document, go to our web page at: http://www.kingcounty.gov/procurement. King County encourages minority business enterprise participation.

King County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its programs, services, and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

1283-19-JDH OPENS: 12/17/2019 Pipe Insulation Services 1290-19-JAS OPENS: 12/19/2019 Sportworks APEX 3 Bike Racks and Parts or Approved Equal

School’s Paul Tsai China Center who has worked on legal reform programs promoting LGBT rights in China.

Few legal protections are available for same-sex couples in China. One party can apply to be the other’s legal guardian, but those accompanying rights are just a fraction of those enjoyed by married couples, Longarino said.

LGBT advocates have garnered growing support from the Chinese public, using social media to raise awareness. They won a victory over the censors in April 2018, when one of the country’s top social networking sites backtracked on a plan to restrict content related to LGBT issues. Users flooded Weibo with hashtags such as “(hash)I’mGayNotaPervert’’ after the Twitter-like platform said “pornographic, violent

or gay’’ subject matter would be reviewed.

But misconceptions and discrimination persist. A 2015 survey by the Beijing LGBT Center found that 35 percent of mental health professionals in a sample group of nearly 1,000 believed that being gay is a mental illness. Around the same percentage supported the use of conversion therapy.

Friends told He that she could file a lawsuit to recover some of her and Li’s shared property. She hired a lawyer to start the process, which required painstaking documentation of their relationship and signed statements from their neighbors and friends attesting to their long-term bond. In the end, He gave up on the lawsuit. It was too exhausting, she said, to have to prove their love to everyone. 

schools to focus on cultural differences in diets as part of their nutrition curriculum, and creates grants to develop web portals of information on South Asian heart health and the development of culturally appropriate informational material for the South Asian community.

Heart disease knows no political party. That is why we are proud to see the South Asian Health legislation championed by Democrats, Republicans and a multitude of top medical and patient-centered organizations, including the American Heart Association, WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, and the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.

All of us understand that this is urgent. The South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act will help us gain a better understanding of heart disease and afford all of us the opportunity to thrive and live healthier lives. 

SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.

safe vaccine that has been in use since the 1960s, and that measles deaths worldwide decreased by 84 percent between 2000 and 2016 to about 90,000 annually thanks to better immunization. 

The American Legion Cathay Post 186

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Serving the community since 1946

cathaypost@hotmail.com

DONE RITE

PSYCHIC PALM & TAROT CARD READINGS MASTER HEALER & FENG SHUI SPECIALIST

206-487-8236

$10 off reading when you mention this ad

CARPET CLEANING

Tell past present, future, helps in love, marriage, business. Break your bad luck and troubles.

Re-store good luck.

(425) 789-1974

$1,000/DAY

HONG LAW FIRM, PLLC

(737) 200-1055

Bankruptcy Chapter 7  Personal Injury Landlord-Tenant  Simple Wills

POSSIBLE ONLINE!

www.retirenow2018.com

206-856-8291  honglegal@gmail.com

Frank S. Hong, Attorney at Law avvo.com

» PERSONAL INJURY

» WRONGFUL DEATH

» AIRLINE DISASTERS

» DOG BITES

» BICYCLE ACCIDENTS

» PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS

Mandarin, Cantonese & Korean Interpreter available

206-625-9104

WEBSITE: HLG.LAWYER

YOUR VOICE

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

BLOG from 10

What the seniors are betting on is that the

stick together for their community. While Asian American activists paint them as marginalized, low-income, and helpless, the residents have become activists in their own way—by voting. They welcome a revitalized neighborhood, attracting more businesses and diverse people living, working, and visiting the ID.

newly elected board members won’t be one-

An unexpected candidate

Of the seven candidates running for the three ISRD board seats, only one has a long history of involvement with the ID, as long as four decades.

Former House of Hong owner Faye Hong’s name on the ballot surprised many community members. He is one of the three winners, including Matt Chan, a former business owner and community volunteer who lost last year, and Russ Williams, business owner who was reelected to the board.

Chan said, “I ran for the ISRD board because the CID is under heavy pressure to be redeveloped and in my position, I wanted to make sure the community had an advocate on the board.”

Whenever someone asked Hong to do something for the past three years, his response was, “I am retired.” At 78, Hong is one of the most respected leaders in the Chinese community. And he has been grooming younger leaders to take over much of his volunteer work. As founder of the 1,000 Dinners for Seniors in the ID (a 3-day event at the House of Hong that feeds over 1,000 seniors for free), he has raised money and organized the annual dinner since 2015. What Hong did was foster a sense of community among Chinatown seniors.

In 2008, Hong, capital campaign chair for Seattle’s Chinatown Chinese Historical Gate, succeeded in building the gate on South King Street and 5th Avenue South in just four years.

“For the last 40, 50 years, there were several attempts to raise the money to build the gate and it’s always fizzled,” Hong told the Northwest Asian Weekly in 2008. He had to conquer community skepticism and anger as former organizers took the money, and nothing happened. The gate now welcomes visitors to the ID, and has been featured in several tourist magazines.

The gate wasn’t the only thing Hong was involved with. He’s a co-chair for the Kin On Community Health Care Center and founding member of the Business Improvement Area (BIA) in the ID, which helps to attract more businesses, promote the ID, and perform other functions in the area.

If you Google Chinese media, Hong was a key donor and organizer of fundraising events to benefit victims of the 2011 Japan tsunami, Katrina, and the 2014 Oso landslide. He inspired some of the most stingy people to give to charitable causes related and unrelated to the Asian community.

Why did Hong break out of retirement to run for the ISRD board? His sense of duty. Like the late leader Al Sugiyama said, “If I don’t, who else will do it?”

“I know very few community members are willing to serve on that board,” he said. “So I have to step up.”

Why seniors vote?

”We didn’t understand why the Jasmine project (Bush Garden building) took so long,” said Chiang Hwa Liu, who has lived in the ID off and on for the past decade. Liu, 80, is a volunteer translator that translates from Mandarin to Cantonese and vice versa. She now lives permanently in the ID after helping

northwest

15

Each building has its own representative,” said Peng. “They inform seniors about different activities and events.” Do the seniors realize they are community organizers, sort of?

How did seniors learn about community organizing? They had learned through Nora Chan, founder of Seniors in Action Foundation—she has been organizing residents to participate in community events since 2006. Although Chan was in Hong Kong during the past few months, ID seniors have certainly applied those principles themselves.

However, immigrant seniors have hurdles to overcome. And they are frustrated.

“Not knowing English is a big disadvantage,” said Liu. “We don’t know what’s going on in our community, like at the ISRD meetings…” Most don’t talk like native speakers who speak with the microphone forcefully, not to mention some seniors have never held a mic before in their lives.

At the Oct. 22 ISRD meeting, Liu complained, “There were no translators. Our people were not given the chance to speak although we had close to 20 people signing up to speak.” And no one said anything on their behalf at the meeting. Even with translators, their message and the meeting discussion could get lost in translation. To be fair, the ISRD board has tried hard to provide translators. But at that meeting, the board was not expecting the seniors to show up. With new board members and a new year coming, I am hopeful that it will provide thoughtful leadership to move our community forward to build a healthy neighborhood. 

sided and ideology-driven— they won’t see every issue merely as black or white—they won’t be pressured or intimidated by protesters

to raise her grandkids in Kirkland.

“We support it,” said Liu. “It’s a good project. It’s been two years now. Why do they keep on stalling the project? I feel the Chinese community has no voice.

They (the ISRD board) don’t listen to us.

We have been ignored and bullied.” Over 300 residents and 63 businesses have signed petitions to support Jasmine and also showed up at ISRD board meetings.

Yet, the board said Jasmine needs to do more community outreach.

Moving from Beacon Hill to the ID, Auntie Guan, 74, who asked that her real name not be used, said this is the first year she voted in the ISRD election.

Guan said she felt that “the board is not balanced. The Chinese community needs to unite and fight for their rights.”

Liu Juan Li, who has lived in the ID low-income housing for 17 years, is thrilled with the election results.

“I support the Jasmine development to bring in small businesses and more people living in the community,” she said. “We need more new buildings in the area. We have too many homeless problems, too many car break-ins, businesses and seniors getting robbed.

Since the death of Donnie Chin (a hero and patrol volunteer), public safety has been a big problem.”

“There is nothing wrong with developing both market-rate and lowincome housing in Chinatown,” said Li, an active member of a Chinese dance group. Her husband is a volunteer Tai Chi instructor at the Bush Hotel.

Kam Tai Chun, 74, who has been voting for the ISRD board for 20 years, said she voted for Hong, Chan, and Williams.

“We all know what Faye Hong has done for the community.” Although she is concerned with the affordability issue, she said, “I support the Jasmine project because it will make Chinatown nicer, cleaner, safer, and better for the community.”

So why did the residents vote for the other two candidates, Chan and Williams, even though they don’t really know them? Their experience, some said. “I like their background,” said Chiu Feng Peng, 88, an active senior originally from China.

Li said, “I studied their profiles in Chinese (translation provided by the ISRD board). I like to vote for candidates who are older and have more life experience.”

Originally from Hong Kong, Liu has talked to different sources about Chan and Williams’ background and liked their connections with Chinatown.

What the seniors are betting on is that the newly elected board members won’t be one-sided and ideology-driven— they won’t see every issue merely as black or white—they won’t be pressured or intimidated by protesters at the ISRD meetings—and they would look at different angles and merits of any development to balance the needs of the ID. One senior, a property owner who asked not to be identified, said, “The ISRD board doesn’t really have that much power. [ISRD Coordinator]

asianweekly

Rebecca [Frestedt] is the one who guides the board.” A former employee of an ID nonprofit organization said, he was not surprised that Hong got elected, but was surprised that Tanya Woo lost.

Regarding displacement and affordability issues, he said, “There are so many lowincome and affordable buildings (more than 20) in the ID,” and there has been no displacement because Koda is on an empty lot, and Jasmine (Bush Garden) has no residents living there.

“I actually wasn’t surprised at the results of the election, especially when you consider who was qualified to vote in the election and who actually turned out to vote,” said Chan.

The ISRD election requires registered voters to be residents, property owners, or business owners of the ID. Each organization is only allowed four employees to vote.

Seniors are frustrated

The number of seniors who voted in the ISRD election is not known, but Peng said seniors from at least 10 ID buildings voted. Those buildings are located on the far west side of the ID, from 1101 South Weller to downtown on 4th Avenue South, four buildings in Japantown, to buildings on Maynard Avenue South.

Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

HOLIDAY food & gift guide December 4-17, 2019

YOUR DESTINATION FOR FUN & UNIQUE HOLIDAY GIFTS

teapots

kitchen electronics

bento boxes

toys & puzzles

FIND STOCKING STUFFER IDEAS UNDER $15

Asian bowls & dishes

Asian health & beauty

party platters

kitchen accessories

party platters

wine & sake

cookie sets

Visit our website uwajimaya.com to view our entire Holiday Food & Gift Guide

seattle

•

bellevue

seattle

•

bellevue

•

renton •

renton

• •

beaverton beaverton

•

•

uwajimaya.com

uwajimaya.com

16

asianweekly northwest

DECEMBER 7 – DECEMBER 13, 2019

37 YEARS

LILLY FOR BETTER At Lilly, we are constantly evolving the way we discover, develop and manufacture medicines to bring new treatments to the people who need them even faster – and expand access to these medicines for even more people around the world. lilly.com 2019 CA Approved for External Use PRINTED IN USA ©2019, Eli Lilly and Company. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Lilly-Northwest-Asian-Weekly-Ad-1.indd 1

2/13/19 11:56 AM