VOL 38 NO 52 | DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

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

VOL 38 NO 52 DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

Photo by John Liu

Compiled by Ruth Bayang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

A lion dance honors the reopening of the historic building with its original exterior

10. Louisa Hotel on King Street near Seventh Avenue reopened in June as an 85-room apartment building. The 110-year-old building survived not only the city’s building boom, but tragedy. In 1983, 13 people were killed there in what became known as the Wah Mee Massacre. In 2013, a Christmas Eve fire damaged seven businesses on the street level.

Andrew Yang in Seattle 2.0

By Ruth Bayang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Andrew Yang got a rousing reception at an evening fundraiser in downtown Seattle on Dec. 16, from more than 100 supporters. It was Yang’s second visit to this city this year.

Held at the Escala condominium complex, Gary Locke introduced the Democratic presidential candidate to the eager crowd, who paid $500, $1,000, and $2,000 per ticket to attend. The evening’s goal of raising $100,000 was exceeded.

“I cannot believe I just got introduced by Gary Locke!” see YANG on 12

Photo by Angelie Chong

Top 10 local stories in 2019 affecting or involving AAPIs

FREE 37 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Gary Locke and Andrew Yang embracing at a Dec. 16 fundraiser in downtown Seattle.

ID seniors upset

They were named in a letter challenging the ISRD election

By Ruth Bayang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

9. Longtime community leader and educator Betty Patu resigned from the Seattle School Board in May, saying it “was time for someone new to come in.”

Patu, who moved to Seattle from American Samoa as a child, said being on the board gave her the opportunity to push back on the mistreatment of students of color in the school district.

Lori Matsukawa

8. Lori Matsukawa, anchor at KING 5 for 36 years, retired in

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see TOP 10 on 16

see SENIORS on 16

ISRD votes in confusion Coordinator says public outreach not “mandated”

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Photo by John Liu

Betty Patu

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods was set to announce its decision on Dec. 18, on the challenge to last month’s International Special Review District (ISRD) election. As of press time, the decision had not yet been released.

Four of the six people named in a letter by InterIm, accusing a fellow community member of influencing voters in the election, have come forward and said that’s not true.

Pei Lan Wu is one of the people named, along with Zhu Hua

Huang, Hui Lan Huang, Cui Ping Zhong, Winly Tang, and Eliza Guan. The community member accused of telling people who to vote on election day, which violates ISRD rules, is Beth Ku. When asked if anyone interviewed or questioned her in the last two weeks about the ISRD election issue, Wu said, “Not at all.”

Wu, 80, has lived in the Chinatown-International District (ID) for 20 years. She told the Northwest Asian Weekly that on the morning of Nov. 19, the day of the ISRD election, she had foot pain. “[The polling station] was very crowded and had long lines.

ISRD meeting attendees listen intently.

Confusion about the correct protocol for voting marred the decision by the International Special Review District (ISRD) board to recommend that a construction project be approved by the city.

Coming at the end of a two-and-a-half hour hearing on Dec. 10 that followed two years of review, two of the three members of the board

present voted to recommend that the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON) approve the proposed demolition of the Four Seas restaurant and, in its place, allow InterIm to construct an eight-story apartment and retail building provisionally named “Uncle Bob’s Place.”

However, the vote was interrupted several times by confusion about the proper rules to follow. And, in the end, it was see ISRD on 15

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

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DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

37 YEARS

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS Most Influential People 2019

Ambika Singh

Aparna Rae(L) and Sage Ke‘alohilani Quiamno(R)

Lawrence Kimura was awarded the Accenture Student Consultant of the Year award.

The event also celebrated 25 influential people who have helped to build and shape the Consulting and Business Development Center. They included Northwest Asian Weekly publisher Assunta Ng, Phyllis Campbell, Leslie Lum, Nate Miles, and Tomio Moriguchi.

The Impact Awards recognize business, civic, and student leaders who are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in business. 

Satpreet Kahlon

The yəhaw̓ Curatorial Team of Satpreet Kahlon, Tracy Rector, and Asia Tail, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal were named among Seattle’s Most Influential People 2019 by Seattle Magazine.

Also included in a “Ones to Watch” list were Aparna Rae and Sage Ke‘alohilani Quiamno, founders of Future For Us, an organization committed to advancing women of color in the workplace; Ambika Singh, CEO of Armoire, a high-end wardrobe rental service; and Yin Yu, an immigrant from Taiwan who is fighting gentrification in Seattle’s International District. 

guests.

Tickets are available at foundation.rtc.edu/events/ celebrity-chef 

Lloyd Hara’s 80th

A farewell reception

Lloyd Hara (middle) with wife Liz Anderson (second from left) and his family.

2019 Impact Awards

Photo by Assunta Ng

From left: Bruce Harrell, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, and Sally Bagshaw.

A reception honoring the service of outgoing Seattle City Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw, Bruce Harrell, Mike O’Brien, and Abel Pacheco was held on Dec. 12 at City Hall.

Bagshaw served for nine years; Harrell, 12 years; O’Brien, nine years; and Abel Pacheco, seven months — he was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Rob Johnson. 

From left: Leslie Lum, Phyllis Campbell, Tomio Moriguchci, Nate Miles, and wife Leslie Harper-Miles

Lloyd Hara celebrated his 80th birthday on Dec. 8 at a friend’s home in Queen Anne.

Approximately 60 friends and family members attended the party.

Before his retirement, Hara served as Seattle Port Commissioner, Seattle City Treasurer, and King County Assessor. He also founded the Seattle International District Rotary Club and is a past president of the Japanese American Citizens League, Seattle Chapter. 

Historical exhibit at ICHS ID clinic

Celebrity Chef Dinner with Angie Mar

The University of Washington (UW) Foster School of Business held its annual Impact Awards on Dec. 5 at The Westin Seattle.

Seattle native and chef Angie Mar will serve as Renton Technical College (RTC)’s Celebrity Chef at two events on Jan. 28.

OSECHI RYORI Japanese New Year Good Luck Food

ICHS Board chairperson Gildas Cheung (sixth from right) and Foundation Director Ron Chew (fifth from right) unveil an exhibit honoring ICHS’s Chinatown roots.

A permanent historical exhibit opened on Dec. 10 in the lobby of the International Community Health Services (ICHS) flagship clinic. The collection of early documents, photos, and artifacts memorializes a rapidly-disappearing Chinatown-International District, as it tells the story of the health center.

The exhibit was made possible by an $80,000 grant from Historic South Downtown and traces the growth of ICHS through its 46-year-long history.

Oshogatsu (New Year) in Japan is a day spent celebrating the New Year and enjoying traditional “Good Luck” foods known as Osechi Ryori. Many of the Osechi Ryori foods are symbols or wishes for the upcoming year. Kuromame (black beans) are eaten for good health, Yude Ebi (shrimp with bent backs) for a long life and Datemaki (sweet egg omelette) for knowledge just to name a few.

Call or place your order in our deli department by Saturday, December 28th.

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Photos provided by ICHS

65.95 Chef Angie Mar

Mar is the owner and executive chef of the Beatrice Inn in Manhattan. She is celebrating the release of her new cookbook, “Butcher + Beast: Mastering the Art of Meat,” and she will prepare an intimate, multi-course dinner prepared with RTC Culinary students for 48

ICHS employee Thu Ngo stands next to her photos in the exhibit panels.

Early founders and community activists, like Sister Heide Parreño, Bruce Miyahara, and Bob Santos, sought to provide affordable health care for the neighborhood’s residents, most of whom were lowincome first-generation Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrants.

“Those early residents are all gone now,” said Ron Chew, ICHS Foundation director. “We continue to honor their spirit and what they meant to the founding of our institution.” 

YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

Seattle high school could be named after Al Sugiyama

By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY The Seattle Public School District is considering renaming a school after the late Al Sugiyama. The school, currently called South Lake High School, would be renamed Alan T. Sugiyama High School at South Lake, if approved.

Al Sugiyama’s daughters, Mari and Alysa, wrote in an email that they have visited the school and “believe it is Al Sugiyama exactly the kind of school our dad would have been proud to be a part of. Student focused, strong social justice mission, able to help students find their individual pathways to success, much like all the great work that our dad led at the Center for Career Alternatives.”

Sugiyama, the first Asian American on the Seattle School Board in the 1990s, died after a battle with cancer almost three years ago.

Bob Watt, a Sugiyama family friend, wrote the following letter in support of the renaming to Seattle School Superintendent Denise Juneau.

I write to you to convey my complete, enthusiastic support for renaming South Lake High School to “the Alan T. Sugiyama High School at South Lake.”

Alan (Al) Sugiyama, a lifelong Seattleite, died on January 2, 2017. Al was the first Asian American elected to the Seattle School board, he was the first Asian American to serve as chair of that board and he devoted his life to helping secure justice for people from every background. Al played a critical role in the success of the first education summit hosted by Mayor Norman B. Rice. That success resulted in the passage of the

first Families and Education Levy, a legacy that lives on today.

Al’s list of accomplishments is long, starting with his activism to call attention to the issues of racism and inequity affecting Asian Americans when he was a college student. He founded the Center for Career Alternatives in 1979 and led that organization for 30 years. During that time, he helped thousands of people, from every racial and economic background, gain the skills they needed to land a job so that they could contribute to their families. That work and his devotion to helping young people is why putting his name on South Lake High School is so right.

Or as Al would say so “right on to the right on.”

The leadership team at South Lake is enthusiastic in their support for this renaming. $15,000 has already been raised and is sitting in an account at the Alliance for Education to help defray any costs associated with the name change and as the beginning of a fund to help support the staff and students at South Lake. In my many years of civic involvement in Seattle, I have never seen a better way to honor the life and legacy of such a remarkable man. I urge you to approve this name change as soon as possible. Thank you.

Sincerely, Bob Watt The Sugiyama sisters are urging supporters to write more letters addressed to Juneau, and to email them directly to Dr. Joe Powell, the vice principal at South Lake. He will bundle up all the emails and letters and get them into the right hands at the district office. Powell’s email is jjpowell@seattleschools.org.

You may also make a financial contribution to this effort.

Checks can be made out to the Alan T. Sugiyama School fund at the Alliance for Education, at 509 Olive Way Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98101. Online donations can be made at alliance4ed.org/ connect-with-us/donate/school-account. Select “South Lake HS Renaming (Al Sugiyama) – 59102” in the “to Group” box and the gift will get to the right place at the Alliance for Education.  Staff can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

■ SPORTS

MELBOURNE, Australia — High emotions, fierce hugs from Tiger Woods, this time as a winner both ways in the Presidents Cup. Woods capped off a big year that began with his 15th major at the Masters by playing and leading his U.S. team to another victory in the Presidents Cup on Dec. 15 at Royal Melbourne.

The first playing captain in 25 years, he opened the 12 singles matches by beating Abraham Ancer to set the Presidents Cup record with his 27th match victory, and set the tone for the rest of his team.

The scoreboard was filled with American red scores all day as they rallied from a two-point deficit to win the Presidents Cup for the eighth straight time against an International team that faltered at the worst time.

Matt Kuchar delivered the

clinching putt, a 5-footer for birdie that assured him a halve against Louis Oosthuizen and gave the Americans the 15 1/2 points they needed to win. “For us to be in a hole, to come back and win this thing ... to win it as a team, but to do it with Tiger Woods as our captain was just a huge thrill,” Kuchar said.

They result was 16-14, and at least this one was a contest. The U.S. victory two years ago at Liberty National was so resounding that it nearly ended on Dec. 14.

International captain Ernie Els was determined to turn it around.

He created a new logo for the International team. He relied heavily on analytics. It still wasn’t enough.

“I followed a plan, and it didn’t quite work out, but we came damn close,” Els said.

Woods hugged everyone hard, players and vice captains alike, wearing a smile not seen since he

walked off the 18th green at Augusta National after becoming a Masters champion again after injuries that nearly ended his career.

Patrick Reed, whose caddie was benched for shoving a fan who had cursed Reed from close range, built a 6-up lead through seven holes before eventually putting away C.T. Pan to win for the first time last week. Webb Simpson, who played with Reed as they lost all three team matches, never trailed in beating Byeong Hun An. Everyone on the U.S. team contributed something.

With so much red on the board, Tony Finau might have been his team the biggest boost. He was 4 down through 10 holes against Hideki Matsuyama, won the next four holes and earned a half-point.

The Americans are 11-1-1 in the event. The only International victory was in 1998 at Royal Melbourne. 

3

Man pleads not guilty in Sikh Uber driver attack

Grifin Sayers

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — A Bellingham man pleaded not guilty on Dec. 13 to a hate crime after the assault of a Sikh American Uber driver.

The Bellingham Herald reports 22-yearold Grifin Sayers entered the plea in Whatcom County Superior Court to charges of malicious harassment and assault.

Court documents say on Dec. 5 the driver took Sayers to get fast food and cigarettes, then brought him back to his apartment.

Documents say Sayers then grabbed and choked the driver while making comments about the driver’s dark skin and Indian descent. The driver escaped and called 911.

The driver told police he believes his race prompted the attack, records said. see SAYERS on 14

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DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

37 YEARS

■ NATIONAL NEWS Chinese migrants found hiding in appliances at US crossing SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eleven Chinese migrants were discovered hiding in furniture and appliances inside a truck stopped by agents as it entered the U.S. from Mexico at a Southern California border crossing, federal officials said.

At least one person was crammed inside a washing machine and another was curled up inside a wooden chest, according to photos provided on Dec. 9 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Authorities searched the truck on Dec. 7 at the border crossing between Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, the federal agency said.

The truck driver, a 42-yearold U.S. citizen, was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling, a Customs and Border Protection statement said. He was not identified.

The 11 Chinese citizens were detained pending criminal and immigration proceedings, the statement said.

Funerals set for Hmong American men shot at California party FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Four California men shot at a backyard gathering of family and friends will be laid to rest this month with traditional Hmong funerals, as police continue to search for two assailants, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

The victims were killed Nov. 17 when unknown gunmen entered a Fresno home through an unlocked gate and opened fire with semiautomatic weapons on people watching a football game in the yard.

All were of Hmong descent and the

shooting has rattled the central California city, home to the second-largest Hmong community in the U.S. A Hmong funeral can last several days with mourners singing songs and playing traditional instruments including the geej, a bamboo pipe instrument, according to the Fresno Bee. The ceremony’s length stems from the belief that mourners help lead the spirit of the deceased back through places that person visited throughout their life before reuniting with their ancestors’

spirits in their Hmong homeland of Laos and Thailand.

Many Hmong consider the funeral to be an important final stage of life. Family members pay respects by presenting a deceased loved one with food and drinks and by burning paper “heaven money’’ believed to be useful in the afterlife. Burials occur on the funeral’s final day.

A service started on Dec. 6 for Kou

“These are human beings that smugglers subject to inhumane conditions that could have deadly consequences,” Pete Flores, director of field operations in San Diego for Customs and Border Protection, said in the statement. “Fortunately no one was seriously injured.”

Six Chinese nationals were found last month at the same border crossing concealed behind a false wall in a truck trying to enter the U.S., officials have said. 

‘The Mandalorian’ gives female directors a chance to shine

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP ENTERTAINMENT WRITER

see HMONG on 13

Asian American groups demand NBC to fire Jay Leno after ‘eating dogs’ joke Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) and the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) want NBC to cut ties with Jay Leno amid an America’s Got Talent investigation after his joke which stereotyped Asian Americans.

In separate statements, the advocacy groups condemned the 69-year-old for Jay Leno joking that Simon Cowell’s pet dogs looked like something one would find “on the menu at a Korean restaurant.” It occurred during his stint as a guest judge on the 14th season of “America’s Got Talent,” four insiders present on the

taping claimed—with one adding that he did so in the presence of an Asian staffer.

Former judge Gabrielle Union reportedly called out the racist joke—which never made it on the air—among other problematic incidents, allegedly leading to her exit from the talent show.

John C. Yang, the president and executive director of AAAJ said, “Jay Leno is a repeat offender in denigrating a part of our Asian American community and it must stop.” Yang added he believes this type of humor is “so toxic because it is intended to minimize a community and somehow make that community seem less civilized.”

NBC has not responded to the latest backlash against Leno. 

Jao of spying and of counterrevolutionary activities, all owing to his work for AP. Sixty-eight years later, the AP on Dec. 11 recognized his sacrifice by installing Jao’s name on its memorial Wall of Honor for journalists who have fallen because of their work for the AP. Two of Jao’s children, Rao Jian and Rao Jiping, traveled from China to attend the ceremony. Also honored was Mohamed Bin Khalifa, a freelance photographer and video journalist killed in Tripoli, Libya, in January covering fighting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Star Wars’’ has faced criticism for having a lack of female directors, but the popular franchise is making an effort to place more women in the prominent role starting with the new series “The Mandalorian.’’

The Disney Plus series, which airs Fridays, broke new ground for “Star Wars’’ when Deborah Chow became the first woman during a Nov. 22 episode to direct a live-action story in the 42-year history of the franchise.

She had company this season from Bryce Dallas Howard, who later directed an episode.

The lack of women directors has drawn criticism not only to “Star Wars’’ but to the film and television industry as well. The selection of Chow and Howard is a move by the Lucasfilm property to show its

see JAO on 11

see CHOW on 13

Chinese journalist honored

By JOHN DANISZEWSKI ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP) — Y.C. Jao was a respected Chinese correspondent working for The Associated Press in April 1949 when Mao Zedong’s Red Army stormed into Nanjing, defeating the Nationalist forces of leader Chiang Kai-shek and paving the way for the Communist takeover of China.

A family man in his late 40s, tall and erudite with liberal views, Jao was an intellectual deeply committed to news, and

to modernizing journalism in China. He had studied at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism in the 1920s, before returning after 10 years to teach journalism and to start an English-language paper.

He was recommended to the AP as a local correspondent by the then U.S. ambassador to China, and worked under the supervision of Seymour Topping, the head of the AP bureau in Nanking, which was the capital city of the Nationalist Chinese government.

Jao’s passion for journalism led to his death. The new authorities ordered his execution in April 1951. They accused

Deborah Chow

DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

YOUR VOICE

asianweekly northwest

■ WORLD NEWS Taiwan probes visa scam allowing visits by Chinese officials

By RALPH JENNINGS ASSOCIATED PRESS TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan prosecutors say they have detained 10 people, including a former staff member of the China-friendly opposition party, and are investigating them on suspicion of falsifying documents to bring thousands of mainland Chinese to Taiwan, possibly including some who spied on the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.

The investigation comes just weeks before presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan in which Beijing has been accused of intervening in hopes of unseating independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen.

The suspects allegedly sent letters containing false information that allowed at least 5,000 people to visit Taiwan from China between early 2017 and June this year, according to Chen Yu-ping, spokesman for the Taipei city prosecutor’s office.

The letters issued by Taiwanese front companies and civic groups let the Chinese citizens enter for “professional exchanges“ as a way around the stricter vetting required had they applied to visit as tourists, Chen said.

Some of the visitors were “high-level’’ Communist Party officials and intelligence operatives “who would otherwise be barred from visiting,’’ the Taipei Times newspaper reported on Dec. 12. It said two were connected to the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department dedicated to infiltrating civic groups, ethnic

minorities and Chinese communities abroad.

The chief suspect, Hung Ching-lin, worked for the director of the Nationalist Party caucus of New Taipei City, the biggest in Taiwan, in 2008, a party media liaison said. Any work he did after that year was unrelated to the party, the liaison said.

The prosecutor’s office would not rule out that some arrivals had worked for the government or for China’s Communist Party, Chen said.

He declined to say whether prosecutors were investigating the suspects for evidence of spying or other activities that might hurt Taiwan politically.

China and Taiwan have been separately ruled since Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists retreated to the island during the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing insists that the two sides eventually unify and has threatened to use force to bring that about, despite government opinion polls in Taiwan that show that almost 80 percent of the people on the island reject the idea of unification under China’s authoritarian one—party Communist government.

The risk of spies runs high because hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese invest in China, and mainland Chinese blend in inside Taiwan due to ethnic and linguistic similarities.

Taiwan has allowed tourists from China for the past 11 years as a way to stimulate its economy, but frowns on giving entry to Chinese government officials who could take back sensitive information. Those who visit for professional exchanges, however, can avoid background

Violence flares at Indian citizenship law protest in Delhi

By SHEIKH SAALIQ ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW DELHI (AP) — Police fired tear-gas and struck demonstrators with batons on Dec. 15 in India’s capital city, where thousands, including students at the Jamia Millia Islamia University, protested against a new law that will give citizenship to non-Muslims fleeing religious persecution from several neighboring countries.

The third day of what had been a peaceful demonstration against the law, passed by India’s Parliament earlier this month, descended into chaos on the afternoon of Dec. 15. Three buses were set on fire, police officials said.

Chinmoy Biswal, a top police official, said that six police personnel were injured in the melee in an upscale enclave of south Delhi.

Student organizers blamed outsiders for the violence.

“We have time and again maintained that our protests are peaceful and nonviolent,’’ they said in a statement. “We stand by this approach and condemn any party involved in the violence.’’

The escalation came as authorities in India’s northeastern state of Assam on the border with Bangladesh,

where violence erupted after the law’s passage. Demonstrators fear an influx of foreigners will dilute native Assamese people’s political sway and culture. Five people have been killed in ongoing protests over the law that, for the first time in Indian history, grants citizenship on the basis of religion.

At Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi, where slogans such as “(hash)SecularIndia’’ were graffitied on buildings, many students told The Associated Press that the police fired tear gas inside the university’s library and beat up protesters before sealing all campus gates.

“We were treated like criminals.

Scores were injured and I escaped from the campus to save my life,’’ said student Tufail Ahmad.

Outside campus, the area around Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, a predominantly Muslim area, was deserted with shops and houses latched tight after the violent protests.

A trail of stones that video footage showed protesters pelted earlier in the day at police lay with debris of broken glass and splatters of blood.

Videos shared with the AP from see DELHI on 13

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checks aimed at identifying state or party officials.

Since 2016, Taiwan’s armed forces have stepped up development of submarines and aircraft that could be used to repel any attack from the more powerful China, but the island’s defense remains highly dependent on the armed forces of chief ally, the United States.

Despite their violent history with China’s ruling Communists, the Nationalists advocate close relations with Beijing and advocate eventual unification. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party officially advocates Taiwan’s formal independence and Beijing has sought to increase economic, diplomatic and military pressure on the administration since Tsai took office in 2016.

Taiwanese authorities may never know what the thousands of Chinese did on their trips because they went home months or years ago, analysts said.

“You need to see who each person was and check each one, plus these people already left so there’s some difficulty in checking them out,’’ said Liao You-lu, professor of department of criminal investigation at Central Police University in Taiwan.

Police also raided three travel agencies in Taiwan before prosecutors took the case last week, Chen said.

Hung’s wife and a daughter were among those detained for questioning. Other suspects were connected to travel agencies.

The suspects had earned a combined NT$10 million (US$330,000) by charging NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 fees to get the letters, domestic media said. 

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DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

37 YEARS

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR THROUGH DEC 29, 2019 FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD TOUR 44 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue 12:30-8:30 p.m. hellokitty45.com

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

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JAN 4

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

18 CAPAA JANUARY BOARD MEETING Asia Pacific Cultural Center, 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

18 & 19 TET IN SEATTLE Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

FEB

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

15 SEATTLE NIGHT MARKET: LUNAR NEW YEAR Magnuson Park Hangar 30, 6310 NE 74th St., Seattle 12-10 p.m.

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

24 TET CELEBRATION 2020 Vietnamese Student Association at UW Tacoma, 1900 Commerce St., Tacoma 6-10 p.m.

30 MODEL MINORITY, AN ASIAN WOMXN COMEDY SHOW Columbia City Theater, 4916 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle 8-10 p.m. caracolcreative.com

21-29

8 APCC’S 22ND ANNUAL NEW YEAR CELEBRATION FEATURING VIETNAM, COUNTRY AND CULTURE Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall 11 a.m.-6 p.m. asiapacificculturalcenter.org LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION Hing Hay Park, 423 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

3RD ANNUAL SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL DIRECTED BY CYRUS KHAMBATTA, JAEWOO JUNG, AND KYOUNG-SHIN KIM Capitol Hill’s Erickson Theatre $18-$30 seattleIDF.org

29 JAPANESE IKEBANA HEADMASTER HIROKI OHARA AT NW FLOWER & GARDEN FESTIVAL 2020 Washington State Convention Center, 705 Pike St., Seattle 11:45 a.m. on the DIY Stage Tickets at gardenshow.com

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■ EDITORIAL

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Bring on the bulldozers!

The International Special Review District (ISRD) board decided on Dec. 10 to move forward with the final design and demolition of the Four Seas Restaurant on 714 South King Street.

Developed by InterIm, a new building will rise in its place—provisionally called Uncle Bob’s Place. It will have eight stories with commercial space on the lower levels and 100 percent of affordable housing units above. InterIm will manage the housing, while the Chan family, owner of Tai Tung Restaurant and the former Four Seas Restaurant, will manage the commercial space.

Three blocks away on 614 Maynard Avenue South, there has been massive pushback against the demolition of the Bush Garden building. Developer Vibrant Cities wants to build Jasmine, a 17-story development consisting of micro retail and market-rate condos. Among the most vocal opponents against the Bush Garden demolition has been InterIm, which is bulldozing Four Seas, and activist group Chinatown-International District (CID) Coalition.

JAO from 4 for the AP. Jao’s story was almost lost to AP’s history. It came to light when a nephew, Jilong Rao, wrote to AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt in 2018, calling attention to Jao’s death. He enclosed a copy of an official document—a Chinese court’s rejection of the family’s 1983 request that Jao be rehabilitated posthumously on grounds that there was no evidence he ever engaged in espionage.

The court had ruled that the verdict would stand. It said it had been proven that Jao would write regularly to the AP in Hong Kong even after its American correspondents were expelled from the country. The court claimed that these letters contained “rumor, calumny and counter-revolutionary speech’’ and amounted to collecting intelligence “on behalf of imperialism.’’

Rao’s letter to Pruitt was the catalyst for reexamining Jao’s forgotten history. There was little mention of him in AP’s corporate archives, but his surviving colleague, Topping, now 98, who was a veteran of AP’s foreign service and later the longtime managing editor of The New York Times, remembered Jao immediately and was able to flesh out the story.

Jao had worked as Topping’s assistant in Nanjing, then known as Nanking. After the Communists took power, American correspondents for AP were banned from working in the country and left for Taiwan or for the British possession of Hong Kong, both outside the Communists’ grasp.

When Topping departed Nanking, he left Jao the keys to the AP bureau. Jao himself apparently never considered leaving. He did not feel he was in personal danger, according to his son, Rao Jian. Rather, he saw himself as a potential bridge between the new Communist authorities and the AP. Caught up by the talk of “liberation,’’ Jao initially looked upon the Communists’ arrival with optimism, Topping wrote in one of his books, “On the Front Lines of

This seems to contradict InterIm’s position on new development. In an interview with the Northwest Asian Weekly in November 2017, InterIm Director Pradeepta Upadhyay said the organization is not against progress or new development, but against displacement.

There is nobody to displace at Bush Garden so it’s baffling as to why InterIm is so opposed to Jasmine. I can take a guess: it’s not low-income or affordable housing. I wish InterIm would just be honest and say they are antimarket rate housing.

Here at the Northwest Asian Weekly, we support the demolition of both Bush Garden and Four Seas, and we support both projects. It shouldn’t be either or—either lowincome housing, or nothing.

Low-income and affordable housing already make up more than two-thirds of all housing in the ChinatownInternational District (ID). The ID needs a mix of lowincome, affordable, market-rate, and retail. The ID needs diversity—not just of races but of all income levels, and

the Cold War.’’ “As the summer wore on, however, and the Communists began to tighten their controls, he began discreetly to voice sour observations. When I left Nanking, ... he was distrustful of the Communists,’’ Topping recounted.

Topping left Nanjing in September 1949. In January, Jao traveled to meet with Communist authorities in Beijing on AP’s behalf to ask for a visa for Topping to resume reporting on China for AP. Soon after, Jao wrote a letter to Fred Hampson, the former AP bureau chief in Shanghai who was then in Hong Kong, talking about the result of his trip and about his unease.

“I must in the interest of truth say that Peking is not a very pleasant place for American correspondent to live in. ... The prolonged and violent antiAmerican propaganda has some effect among the Chinese,’’ Jao’s 1950 letter said.

“While a foreign correspon-

dent must exercise care to avoid being expelled, a Chinese writing for a foreign press needs to exercise double care. True it is that he cannot be expelled, but worse things can happen to him. You therefore can readily understand my wish that as soon as we open here a foreigner be appointed, so that I can confine myself to the duty of a translator and interpreter.’’

Within a few months, Jao was summoned for communist indoctrination sessions and asked about his ties to AP. He wrote to Hampson that he was under pressure to join a communist publication, where he would be expected to write propaganda. Not long after, all contact between Jao and the AP ceased, although his family said he continued to send letters to the AP openly in the Chinese post.

In February 1951, with hostility between the United States and China heightened by the Korean War, the Chinese began a massive internal purge.

diversity of ideas, not “my way or the highway.” We need new buildings and to let go of the ones that are literally showing their age and in Bush Garden’s case, a safety hazard. We also support the proposal to locate the Bush Garden restaurant at Uncle Bob’s Place. The late and beloved community leader, Bob Santos, was a well-known regular at Bush Garden and he loved karaoke. Bush Garden was the first restaurant to have a karaoke bar in the country.

James Wong, the CEO of Vibrant Cities, has also offered a spot for Bush Garden in Jasmine. No matter where it ends up, it’s important that a space for the community become available. Since the closure of the Nagomi Tea House in 2018, such a space has been lacking. It may be more feasible to locate it in Jasmine, as the Four Seas location has less than 1,000 square feet to work with. Jasmine could additionally provide a public space and perhaps a photo gallery in that space of the history of Bush Garden.

An already incredible community, the ID has an opportunity to thrive even more. 

Citizens were urged to denounce counterrevolutionaries, and a wave of executions followed mass trials.

Jao’s son said he was not too worried, even when they came to arrest him. He told his wife he would be home soon.

On May 5, 1951, the Liberation Daily of Shanghai reported that Jao was among hundreds of people seized by the secret police on April 27 in raids in Nanjing, Hangzhou, and two other cities.

An AP story on the Liberation Daily report identified Jao as a “well-known newspaperman’’ and a former employee of AP. “We never heard anything from Jao, or anything about him, thereafter,’’ wrote Topping.

Jao, though, had already had been executed. His family later learned the date of death: April 29, 1951.

The bereaved family never got over it, and Jao’s children suffered persecution for much of their lives afterward, Jilong Rao said. Jao’s mother died

brokenhearted shortly after his execution, and his wife—who took up sewing to support their children—died in the 1960s in part from grief and hardship.

Adding Jao’s name to the AP’s wall of honor is an overdue act, said AP Executive Editor Sally Buzbee.

“Y.C. Jao was killed in a turbulent time in China, but that cannot erase the fact that he died in the cause of independent journalism,“ Buzbee said. “We honor his courage and the ultimate price he paid to report about China for AP’s worldwide audience.’’

Jao’s name and Khalifa’s will appear among 35 other names of AP journalists who died for their work since the founding of the news cooperative in 1846.

“My father sacrificed his life for his work for the AP. It is certainly right for AP to hold a ceremony. It will console the spirit of my father in heaven.

All my sisters and brother feel the same,’’ said Jao’s eldest son, Rao Jian. 

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DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

■ AT THE MOVIES

By John Liu NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

After the stellar box office run of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” in 2017, the same cast is back in an all-new adventure with a few additions and some new concepts.

Jumanji has added veteran actors Danny Glover and Danny Devito, and rising star Awkwafina. Ever since I saw the trailers, I was excited to see if “Next Level” could recreate the same magic.

Here is a quick refresher if you are not familiar with Jumanji. This is a sequel to the 2017 movie where Martha (Morgan Turner), Spencer (Alex Wolff), Bethany (Madison Iseman), and Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain) get sucked into a video game where they had to retrieve the Jaguar’s Eye gemstone. They succeeded and became friends.

In 2019, the four friends have gone off to college, but keep in touch by group texting. Martha, Bethany, and Fridge set up a reunion, but Spencer ignores them and does not show up. They look for Spencer at his house where they bump into Eddie (Danny Devito), Spencer’s grandpa, and his good friend Milo (Donald Glover). After looking in the basement, they discover a busted Jumanji game console and assume Spencer had been sucked in. The three friends activate Jumanji, but this time, Eddie, Milo, Martha, and Fridge are sucked into the game. Thus begins a hilarious adventure with new personalities for our lovable video game cast: Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), Mouse Finbar (Kevin Hart), and Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black). Our heroes are joined

YANG from 1 exclaimed Yang as supporters cheered.

“I remember as a young Asian American looking up and see you as governor, as Secretary [of Commerce] ...I thought, wow, that’s incredible. And now to be introduced by you is such an honor and privilege. I feel like the torch is being handed off to me and I know exactly what to do with it!”

Yang and Locke embraced before Yang took the microphone.

Yang said his campaign raised $10 million in the last quarter in increments of only $30 each.

“So this is a very cheap, wholesome gang to join. Our fans are almost as cheap as Bernie’s,” he joked, referring to fellow presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. Yang said the money raised will go toward heavy advertising in the state of Iowa, which he described as “still very much up in the air,” and a “purple” state.

Forty-thousand manufacturing jobs were lost in Iowa alone, Yang stated.

“That’s how you go from purple to Trump winning by 8 points [in 2016].”

Trump’s campaign message was, “Make America great again,” to which then-challenger Hillary Clinton responded, “America is already great.”

But Yang said Clinton’s message did not ring true for many Americans.

“We have to acknowledge the depth and severity of the problems that many Americans are facing.”

While the nation is seeing record high corporate profits and GDP, Yang said that also comes with record high anxiety, stress, depression, financial insecurity, suicide, and drug overdoses.

“We are laser-focused on solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place,” said Yang.

The evening followed the Seattle Salon Series format— which is a short stump speech by the candidate, followed by three questions—the same questions have been asked of candidates who have come to Seattle, according to Ambassador Suzi LeVine, deputy national finance chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

“The Seattle Salon Series is a way to meet the Democratic presidential candidates and support the Democratic infrastructure needed to ensure one of them wins,” said

by Ming Fleetfoot (Awkafina) and Seaplane McDonough (Nick Jonas) and must recover the Falcon’s Heart gemstone from Jurgen the Brutal (Rory McCann).

“The Next Level” starts with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart acting as Danny Devito’s and Danny Glover’s personality, respectively. Fridge and Martha have previous Jumanji experience so they are right at home. This scenario feels exactly like some teens teaching their grandparents how to play a video game.

I really enjoyed the chemistry between Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson taking jabs at each other as 60-year-old personalities. Now add in Awkwafina, Nick Jonas, and switch their personalities around, and that is the perfect storm for comedic moments. Given Awkafina’s previous movie roles, she is a good fit with the original cast and her quirkiness really sold whoever’s personality was in her at the time. I was pleasantly surprised at how much screen time she got.

Unfortunately, with so many characters, it is hard to do much more than a generic video game plot and simple

LeVine. “We want to help donors get to know them and choose which one(s) to support. At the same time, we want to ensure that we establish the infrastructure of grassroots organizers and technology now so that whoever wins the nomination has everything they need to win— including strong state legislatures, the House, and the Senate.”

LeVine, who served as United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under the Obama administration, sat on Yang’s right while her husband, Eric LeVine, sat on Yang’s left.

They asked: 1. What is your best campaign pitch to the 100,000 or so swing voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, who voted for Trump in 2016 but voted for Obama in 2012?

2. Please speak to your approach for handling key geopolitical powers, including Russia, China, and Europe —and your experience with foreign policy that informs it.

3. What will you do to ensure that all those who are supporting you also commit to and turn out to support the eventual nominee (if that’s not you)?

Yang’s responses: 1. “We have to rewrite the rules of the 21st century economy to include you, your family, your community— stop confusing economic value and human value and say, ‘Your country loves you, your country values you, and you and your kids are going to be alright.’” He said in 2016, the messaging from the DNC may have come across as condescending, pushing voters towards Trump and his more appealing “bring jobs back” message.

2. “It was [former Defense Secretary] James Mattis who said, the more you invest in diplomacy, then you have to buy less in ammunition. And that to me is exactly what we should be doing. Spend it on things that will make us safe and secure in the 21st century like infrastructure and try and secure our election equipment from Russian hacking.

Russia is not an economic threat, but they found an underbelly in terms of our election infrastructure. After I’m president, I’ll make those [security] investments and also send a very clear, unambiguous message to Russia saying, ‘If you continue to try and undermine our democracy, we

37 YEARS

character development. Before Spencer ended up in Jumanji, he appeared to be having problems adjusting to his college life and his relationship with Martha suffered.

Ultimately, when we find the reason why Spencer jumped back into Jumanji, I was like, “Seriously?” THAT was the reason you are willing to “sacrifice” your life?

Another theme that has vanished was playing it safe on your last life. In Jumanji 2019, no one gives a second thought when they only have one life left. It is not established what exactly happens in Jumanji when losing your last life, but it is assumed you just disappear permanently.

The movie could have taken some dark turns, which would have greatly increased the entertainment value, but I am unable to elaborate without spoiling the movie. It likely would have led to a divisive ending, which most movies try to avoid because it can directly impact their bottom line.

Thank goodness for Awkwafina’s addition so I would not be reviewing yet another Dwayne Johnson movie for my API angle.

My final thought was with the Street Fighter video game featured in this movie again, it would be cool if one of the characters needed to learn a special move with some quarter circle motions to take down a villain. Too nerdy?

Hopefully that will be in “Jumanji: The Final Boss” in the future!  “Jumanji: The Next Level” is playing at theaters nationwide.

John can be reached at john@nwasianweekly.com.

will take that as an act of hostility and aggression and we will respond very unkindly. And I believe the American people would support me on that.

Regarding China: “They have more access to more data than we do because of their non-existent privacy protections. And their algorithms are set to get smarter, faster in part because they have billions of dollars in infrastructure that the government has subsidized… The best way to manage our relationship with China is to outcompete them. I would partner with tech companies and match resources. … We are 24 years behind our technology and we need to catch up as quickly as possible.”

3. I’m on the record that job one is getting Donald Trump out of office… I will support whoever the nominee is. I think I can be very helpful. This campaign is activating many people who are disaffected Trump voters, independents and libertarians, and Asian Americans. So I believe I can be helpful in defeating Donald Trump if I’m not the nominee.

Yang then answered some attendees’ questions, shook hands, and left. His next stop was Los Angeles, the site of the December Democratic presidential debate.

We cannot be more proud to have an Asian American, person of color, finally on the presidential stage,” said Locke.

Shari Song, one-time King County Council candidate, stated that Yang being “down to earth” is the reason she likes him.

Seattle attorney and ACRS board member Angelie Chong told the Northwest Asian Weekly that she and Yang attended Brown University at the same time. They were both political science majors.

“Andrew and I were also in the Brown Tae Kwon Do Club together,” Chong said. She was a black belt, while he was a beginner. “His roundhouse kick needs improvement,” she joked.

But she said Yang has her “full backing on his ideas and proposed policies for our country.”

The event was co-hosted by Maria Semple, Jeffrey and Grace Roh, Kimberly Watson and Glenn Draper, Gilonne D’Origny, Kerry Bosworth, Rahul Sood, John Wong, and National Finance Committee Co-Chair Haeryung Shin.  Ruth can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

YOUR VOICE

■ ASTROLOGY

asianweekly northwest

13

Predictions and advice for the week of December 21–27, 2019

By Sun Lee Chang Rat — Are you trying to be more efficient?

Streamlining your daily routine could add up to significant savings over time.

Dragon — Are things not quite coming together as you had expected? It’s not too late to salvage the situation.

Monkey — Don’t assume that a loved one knows how much you appreciate them. Take the time to write or say how you feel.

Ox — Something has caught your attention, but don’t act on it right away. It could merely be a passing fancy.

Snake — You are not one to cater to others’ demands, but an exception might be warranted if it is mutually beneficial.

Rooster — Are you just going through the motions today? This is a good day to just stick to the basics.

Tiger — Waiting for the right moment to share what has been on your mind? There is no time like the present.

Horse — Reluctant to move forward despite all signs saying go? Listen to your intuition instead of charging ahead.

Dog — Craving something that you should probably avoid? If at all possible, try to find a healthier substitute.

Rabbit — Nothing you have seen so far meets your standards. You might have to switch to another venue to get what you want.

Goat — If approaching the whole thing at once is daunting, break it up into more manageable sections.

Pig — Is your partner’s timetable not matching up with yours? You will have to be flexible to reconcile the two.

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.

DELHI from 5

HMONG from 4

students streaming past a police perimeter surrounding the campus showed scenes of chaos in the university library with police firing tear gas and students huddled under tables and locked inside bathrooms.

“Police have entered the campus by force, no permission was given. Our staff and students are being beaten up and forced to leave the campus,’’ said Waseem Ahmed Khan, a top official of Jamia Millia Islamia University.

Many of the injured students were taken to nearby hospitals, including Holy Family, where about 26 students were treated, according to Father George, the hospital’s spokesman.

“The police beat me mercilessly after pinning me down to the ground. My other friends weren’t spared either,“ said Mujeeb Raza, a student who was being treated at the nearby Al-Shifa hospital. 

Xiong, 38, who was hosting the party where the shooting occurred.

Xiong is survived by his wife and young daughter. He was described as a gregarious sushi chef who loved having friends and family to his home.

“He was a big part of our lives and he took care of every one of us,’’ his cousin, Chris Xiong, told the Bee. The funeral for Xy Lee, 23, began on Dec. 14. Lee was a popular singer in the community whose videos on YouTube have been viewed millions of times.

He used the money he made making

music to support his siblings—college students who work part time—and his parents, the newspaper said.

Funeral details for Kalaxang Thao, 40, were not included in the Bee’s story, per his family’s request for privacy.

Thao, who worked at a grocery store, is survived by two daughters, ages 2 and 5, and a pregnant wife. They moved to Southern California after he was killed.

The ceremony for Phia Vang, 31, was set to start on Dec. 21. Vang supported his parents and younger siblings with earnings from his job delivering clinical lab results. His

father Seng Vang shared a video with the newspaper of his son playing guitar alongside Lee, the singer.

The senior Vang said visitors would be welcome at the service.

“Please come and love my son,’’ Seng Vang said through interpreter Paula Yang.

Online fundraising accounts have been set up for all the families. A $15,000 reward is being offered for tips leading to the arrests of the two gunmen. Investigators haven’t identified a motive. 

PROMOTE YOUR REGIONAL EVENT statewide with a $325 classified listing or $1,575 for a display ad. Call this newspaper or 360-344-2938 for details.

CHOW from 4 commitment to put more women behind the camera.

“It feels like respect. We’re given a chance to show up,’’ said Howard, who directed the fourth episode of the series, which follows the journey of a Mandalorian bounty hunter along with an adorable green alien infant dubbed “Baby Yoda,’’ who wields Jedi-like powers. The series takes place about five years after the events of the 1983 film “Return of the Jedi.’’

Howard has been around film sets all her life as the eldest daughter of actor-director Ron Howard, who directed 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story.’’ The actress knows “The Mandalorian’’ is her biggest directing project to date, but the opportunity powered her to show that women can handle the pressure of directing a major franchise as well as any male counterpart.

“A movie set can seem like a rough place. It can seem like there’s a lot of pressure. It can be very intense,’’ said Howard, who starred in several films including “Jurassic World’’ films and “Rocketman.’’ At times, it can feel a little dangerous. Sometimes, people would feel like we would need to protect a female director in that circumstance. But no, you don’t have to protect. Just respect them. This is a sign of respect.’’

Chow said directing a splashy Star Wars property was a “challenge and privilege’’ at the same time. The Chinese Australian filmmaker—who previously worked on “Better Call Saul’’ and “Mr. Robot’’—believes her

and Howard’s directorial efforts on “The Mandalorian’’ can show a woman’s worth at the helm of a big project like Star Wars.

“It’s important to see that we all have a fair chance at this, and we can all do this well,’’ said Chow, who directed two episodes including one that airs Dec. 18.

She’s also tapped to direct the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series on the streaming service. “I’m hoping this first season of `The Mandalorian’ opens everybody’s minds to realize that we’re capable of doing it.’’

Based on the numbers, there has been some progress.

The television episodes directed by women grew to a record 31 percent, more than doubling in the past five years, according to the Directors Guild of America’s Episodic Television Director inclusion report covering the 2018-2019 season.

Disney/ABC companies gave the most directorial opportunities to women. Of their episodes, 40 percent were directed by women.

Howard gave credit to “The Mandalorian’’ creator Jon Favreau for opening doors for many in the industry and to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who she says has been working for years to create more behind-thecamera opportunities for women.

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’’ director J.J. Abrams hopes the increase in TV can translate into film, which had only 8 percent of women directors in 2018, according to the San Diego State University report. The number was a 3 percent drop from the previous year.

“When you look at the statistics of how few female directors are actually working, it’s shocking,’’ he said.

“You keep thinking ‘Oh it’s going to get better.’ It is, but not to the degree that it should.’’

Abrams applauded Disney for hiring more female directors in the past year. He said diversity is needed to deliver a different and sometimes better perspective “I know I’m a white dude who’s directed a bunch of movies. But to have women and people of color directing, there is a life experience and point of view that someone like myself cannot communicate, because I don’t know,’’ said Abrams, who chose Victoria Mahoney— who is Black—as his second director on “The Rise of Skywalker.’’

“I can understand it and intellectually embrace it,’’ he continued. “But that is something that audiences I think are increasingly demonstrating hunger for. It’s only good for business. It’s only good for storytelling.

So obviously, I think it’s a terrific thing.’’

Gina Carano, who plays Cara Dune, praised Howard for bringing balance to her character, who is a toughminded former Rebel shock trooper, and a feminine perspective.

“I’m a tough and strong woman, but I don’t want to look like a box,’’ she said with a chuckle. “I don’t want to look like a tank with no curves, no complementary thing.

Bryce was really instrumental. ... Hopefully things will even out to the point where we’ll just say, ‘She’s a damn good director.’’’ 

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asianweekly northwest

EMPLOYMENT

The Workforce Development Council of Seattle King County is seeking an Accounting Technician to monitor subcontractors and perform other accounting duties. The job description and application instructions are at www.seakingwdc.org/About/ Careers. The WDC is an equal opportunity employer/program.

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DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019

EMPLOYMENT

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Hours 7am – 3:30 Monday – Friday Medical Benefits after 2 months Parking available or bus nearby Email peter@mistymtn.com or call Todd (206) 763-6762

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Northwest Asian Weekly is accepting applications for freelance writers. Send resume and writing samples to: Ruth Bayang editor@nwasianweekly.com.

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SAYERS from 3 Officers later found Sayers on the back porch of his apartment and arrested him, court records said.

Investigators believe he had been drinking, according to records.

When asked about the incident, documents say Sayers said he rode in the Uber driver’s vehicle, but denied assaulting him.

Sayers was released from Whatcom County Jail on Dec. 6 on $13,000 bail, according to court records.

“There’s a lot of uneasiness in the community,” said Jasmit Singh, a Sikh leader from Olympia. The

incident, he said, has left the local community feeling shaken. Singh said that there are a significant number of Sikh Americans in his area who turn to taxi driving and rideshare apps as an “independent way to earn an honest living.”

Washington state is home to over 60,000 Sikhs and 15 gurdwaras, or Sikh houses of worship.

Singh said the attack is “not an isolated case.” Hatefueled attacks against Sikh taxi drivers in Washington occurred in 2007 and 2012. Two years ago, a Sikh man was shot in his own driveway by an attacker who told him to “go back to your own country.” 

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YOUR VOICE ISRD from 1 not clear what authority was being invoked to govern the vote or why the issue needed to be resolved that evening.

After hearing a briefing from the InterIm team that included a slide show by the architect and then conflicting views from the community in favor of and in opposition to the project, the board members present were asked by ISRD Coordinator Rebecca Frestedt to take a vote.

The board was already diminished in number from its usual seven, but Frestedt had at the outset of the hearing told the Northwest Asian Weekly that a Seattle City attorney had said that there was a quorum even with only three board members present.

Frestedt said since a vote by two of the three board members would constitute “a majority,” the current board did comprise “a quorum.”

Yet trouble started almost as soon as the voting began.

Stephanie Hsie, the chair, called for a motion to pass the project. And then the second of the three board members in attendance, Sergio Legon-Talamoni, supported it.

Andy Yip, the vice chair, had earlier spoken against the project. He had asked the board to “table it” until more community discussion could be considered and a controversy over the composition of the board could be resolved. He remained silent as the initial vote proceeded.

It was at this moment that Hsie came to believe that she could not second the motion. It was not clear if this was because she originated the motion or if it was because she was chair. She appeared unsure what to do.

She looked to Frestedt for direction, and Frestedt concurred that she could not second the motion.

“So I think if there is not a second, then the motion would not move forward,” said Frestedt. “And there could be a second motion made.”

Following Frestedt’s direction, Hsie continued with proceedings.

“So I’m not hearing a second. Is there a second motion made?” asked Hsie.

Yip then raised a question about protocol.

Frestedt responded, “So absent a second, a motion will fail.”

Throughout the proceedings, a screeching that pulsated several times through various cellphones held by audience members blared in the small confines of the packed room.

Frestedt stopped and said, “It must be an Amber Alert.” Some community members worried aloud it was a fire alarm.

Yip then made a second motion that the project be tabled.

But neither of the other board members supported his motion. So again the motion fell to the floor. Silence reigned again for several seconds.

“So what happens now?” asked Hsie.

Extended laughter went up from the audience.

Frestedt, appearing perplexed, apologized to the audience and asked for a five-minute recess so she could consult her copy of Robert’s Rules of Orders to “see if this issue is addressed.”

“If not, I am actually going to make a call to a historic preservation officer because this is an important issue that needs to be resolved,” she said.

It was not clear why the issue had to be resolved during the briefing and could not be postponed. Initially, she thumbed through a binder on the table. But then she stood up with her cellphone and strode away from the table.

When the meeting resumed, she stated that the chair was able to vote on a motion. She cited her call with a city officer and added that a consultation with a website related to Robert’s Rules of Orders had

DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019 “helped” make the determination.

“It is accurate that a chair can be a member to help make a motion move forward,” she said.

Frestedt asked if the board would be willing to redo the voting. She asked Yip if he would withdraw his motion. Yip graciously acceded.

As before, Legon-Talamoni supported the first motion that had been made before the break, but now Hsie seconded it.

Frestedt declared that the motion passed and the project would be passed on for recommendation to the DON. Another apparent irregularity was that, in supporting the project, Legon-Talamoni read from what appeared to be a multiple-page document that had been written and printed before the hearing even took place.

The fact that he had it ready suggested that he had come to a conclusion about the project, and written out a detailed position, before hearing the community remarks. Indeed, he was at the table facing the community during the entire proceedings so he would have had no time to type up a position.

Yet his statement was detailed and elaborate, and Frestedt asked him to read parts that he had neglected to read. It was not clear if she knew about the contents of his statement before the hearing.

Community frustrations

The chief complaint of community members who attended the hearing was that they had not been given sufficient access to the outreach process by the ISRD. A young woman who only gave her first name, Mandy, said she was speaking on behalf of Brien Chow, outreach chair of the Chong Wa Benevolent Association. She and others complained of being intentionally excluded from receiving notifications from InterIm about hearings. As a result, they could not voice their concerns about the project.

“A dialogue has not been established with community residents and non-English speaking seniors early in the development process in order to share information about the project,” she read from a printed letter.

Betty Lau, who was representing the Friends of Japantown, said her group and others had been excluded from the process, and that when she inquired about it, was told that Interim practices “selective engagement.”

“This is not right because InterIm gets public funding,” she said.

She said she has sent numerous emails asking to be put on the email distribution list without result. And eventually, she received a cancellation notice for a meeting that she went to anyway and found it was still being held.

“InterIm didn’t want me to attend,” she said.

She said the project should be delayed until “thorough, community-wide engagement” took place.

Frestedt, at the close of the meeting, said that the ISRD had done nothing different in notifying the public about the project.

“This project like every other had been publicly noticed,” she said, adding that the ISRD had sent out emails and posted notices on the usual bulletin boards.

“I realize not everyone may be tracking that but I just wanted in full disclosure that we have publicly noticed this in the same way that we have for every other project,” she added.

Other community concerns voiced during the hearing included frustrations that the proposed building’s design did not accurately reflect an Asian theme.

InterIm, on the other hand, repeatedly stressed that the design of the proposed building was meant to complement the Wing Luke Museum across the street.

Legon-Talamoni, in praising the design at

asianweekly northwest

15

Historic districts and landmarks The International Special Review District (ISRD) is one of the city’s eight historic districts.

Both 714 South King Street (Four Seas building) and 614 Maynard Avenue South (Bush Garden building) are located within the boundaries of the ISRD. Neither is a designated Seattle landmark.

Four Seas is a non-contributing building within the Seattle Chinatown National Register (NR) District boundary, due to the age of the building (1962) being outside of the period of significance.

And Bush Garden is located outside of the NR boundary. It is a historic building — based on its age, not landmark status, which can be designated only by the Landmarks Preservation Board. Bush Garden’s contributing status has not been determined and confirmed by the ISRD Board. *Information provided by the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods

the end of the hearing, said the aluminum used at the base of the building “grounded” it. He also mused that it was hard to determine what constitutes an Asian building in the 21st century.

Another point of contention was the proposed name of the building.

Nora Chan, a community activist and founder of the Seniors in Action Foundation, which works to improve public safety in the ID, first asked why the Four Seas building had not been designated a historic building.

“It has held many culturally significant events for almost 60 years,” she said. She added that she had not been notified about the project.

She then said that the new building should carry the name of a Chinese American. She said that InterIm had a practice of naming buildings in other ethnic communities after people of the same ethnicity. She said there is not a single building in the International District (ID) that is named after a Chinese American person.

But a representative of the Filipino American National Historical Society, Maria Batayola, said Bob Santos, for whom the building is provisionally named, “kicked off the redevelopment of Chinatown” and is considered by many to be its mayor.

“He worked for all people,” she said.

Businessman Tony Au suggested the building be named after Ruth Woo who helped kick off many political careers, including former Governor Gary Locke, state Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, Martha Choe, the late Kip Tokuda, and Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu. She organized fundraising events at the Four Seas.

Why was InterIm’s project considered first? The city responds

Au asked Frestedt why the project was appearing for review before the board so quickly when another development, the Bush Garden/Jasmine development, was taking months.

In an email to the Northwest Asian Weekly, Lois Maag, the strategic advisor for communications, said the two projects are very different.

“The Uncle Bob’s Place development lies within the Seattle Chinatown National Register (NR) District which is located within the ISRD. The NR District considers the Four Seas building “non-contributing” to the historic character of its district. The building was constructed in 1962 which is outside of the “period of significance” of the NR District. For that reason, it was

easier for the ISRD Board to support demolition. In addition, when the project was reviewed by the ISRD Board at three separate meetings in which the public is invited to attend, there was no public comment in favor of keeping the building.”

Magg went on to say, “The Bush Garden/ Jasmine development is not within the NR District. So, in compliance with the code requirements for reviewing demolition of buildings in the district, the board needs to decide whether the building has architectural or historic significance. In the case of the Bush Garden building, there has been a number of public comments regarding the building’s historic significance to the community.”

When Au questioned Frestedt about the speedy decision, Frestedt allegedly said, “The mayor wants more affordable housing.” Maag confirmed to the Northwest Asian Weekly that the Mayor’s Office “has directed city departments to prioritize and expedite reviews of affordable housing projects to help address the housing crisis.”

Who is affordable housing for?

Another concern was the role of affordable housing in the ID. Supporters of the project said that the “affordable housing” units offered in the unit would bring back Asian Americans that had fled the ID in huge numbers. Jacqueline Wu of the Organization of Chinese Americans said that from 2010 to 2017, Asian Americans living in the ID had decreased by 20 percent while the white population increased by 107 percent.

Wu said the per capita income for the ID was $35,000, compared to $52,000 for the city of Seattle.

Still, it seemed clear that it was not only dispossessed Asian American residents of the ID that might have their eyes on affordable housing in the community.

A representative of the regional Northwest hospitality and hotel workers union, the Local 8, was among the last to speak.

According to its website, “Local 8 members work in hotels, restaurants, food service, and airport concessions. They include room cleaners, cooks, bartenders, bellmen, food and beverage servers, bussers, and dishwashers.”

He said his union represented “5,000 members between Seattle and Portland.”

“I just want to voice our support for this project,” he said. “This is exactly the type of project that we feel would benefit our members and the community.” 

asianweekly

DECEMBER 21 – DECEMBER 27, 2019 Suzuki moved from Japan to join the Mariners in 2001 and after spells with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins, returned to Seattle in 2018. He retired with the most hits of all Japanese-born players in MLB history. He also became the first Major League player to record at least 200 hits in 10 consecutive seasons.

TOP 10 from 1 June. Over her career, she covered the eruption of Mount St. Helens and the inspiring achievements of public servants like Gary Locke and Mary Yu. The first Asian American female news anchor in Seattle, Matsukawa most recently won a regional Emmy Award in 2018 for her series “Prisoners in Their Own Land,” about Japanese American wartime incarceration.

7. Five owners and operators were arrested and the massage parlors were shuttered in March in police raids in Seattle’s Chi natow n-I nter national District (ID) and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. Two dozen Chinese women were also removed from the illegal businesses, where men paid extra for sex acts, police said.

Seven of the massage parlors were in the ID, clustered around South Jackson Street.

6. The Washington State Legislature welcomed one of its most diverse groups of elected officials in state history in January. The most recent class includes a female majority in the House Democratic Caucus with women of color serving in both the House and Senate leadership ranks. The number of women of color in the Senate was doubled in 2018, and again in 2019.

5. Bruce Harrell announced

37 YEARS

Bruce Harrell

in January that he would not seek re-election. The longestserving Seattle City Council president and the first of Asian descent since the 1970s, Harrell was also the only Seattle mayor of Asian descent (for four days!). Harrell has served in a variety of leadership roles, representing kids and seniors, union members, nonprofits, and affordable housing companies.

Ichiro Suzuki

4. Ichiro Suzuki retired in March after a 28-season career in which he broke several Major League Baseball (MLB) records.

SENIORS from 1 There were many voters and the scene was chaotic,” said Wu. Some people, aware of her pain, tried to look for a place for her to sit, but couldn’t find a chair. Later, when she saw Ku, she told her about the foot pain.

“Ku immediately asked other seniors if they could let me vote first, so I didn’t have to stand and wait in line. There was nothing she said about the candidates,” said Wu. When asked who she voted for, Wu said she doesn’t know and doesn’t remember.

“It’s (the ballot) in English. I couldn’t tell who is who.”

When asked if she signed any documents in regards to Ku, “That’s another thing,” she said. “People asked me to sign different forms all the time. I never know what I am signing.”

Wu told the Northwest Asian Weekly she doesn’t even know what InterIm is. When informed that her name had been listed as one of Ku’s accusers, Wu became very upset.

“Whoever accuses Ms. Ku is wrong. I have to defend her because this is unjust. I have to fight for the weak. You (the Asian Weekly) have to find out who did this and get to the bottom of this.”

Scorecard handed out by InterIm

Andrew Yang

3. Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang made two campaign stops in Seattle.

The first one, in May, Yang spoke at a public rally at Gas Works Park and attended a fundraiser dinner with nearly 500 supporters immediately after, greeting the mainly Chinese crowd in Chinese. He came a second time in December, just three days before the sixth Democratic presidential debate.

2. InterIm Community Development Association challenged the results of November’s International Special Review Board

Another alleged accuser, Cui Ping Zhong, told Nora Chan she didn’t even see Ku that day.

Chan is the founder of Seniors in Action Foundation and has frequent interactions with the senior population in the ID. Chan also said that Zhu Hua Huang, the grandmother of InterIm employee Henry Liu who ran against Faye Hong, said she never talked to Ku. Hui Lan Huang said she went to the polling station twice on Nov. 19.

She left the first time because the lines were too long and she didn’t see Ku. Huang said she did see Ku when she returned the second time, and noticed that Ku was helping other seniors, but Huang herself did not speak to Ku. When asked to respond to these questions, InterIm policy analyst Derek Lum, who wrote the challenge letter, said it was fellow InterIm staffers who reported what the seniors allegedly saw Ku doing.

None of the staffers were available for comment, Lum said, as they were all on vacation and would not return until January 2020.  Ruth can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

District (ISRD) election, citing “multiple election irregularities.”

The election was held on Nov. 19 with 160 ballots cast. InterIm claimed that some members of the community influenced people on how they should vote, and pushed for the election results to be nulled. The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, which oversees the ISRD, was set to make a decision on the challenge on Dec. 18. As of press time, that decision had not yet been announced.

1. Keiro Northwest announced in May that it would close its nursing home. The building on 1601 Yesler Way sold for $11 million—the sale closed on Nov. 21. A community-based nonprofit and Seattle’s largest and oldest Asian Pacific Islander

senior care facility, Keiro NW cited “significant financial challenges over the last decade, triggered by the Medicaid Shortfall of 2008-2010” as the reason for closing. 

Photo by John Liu

16

northwest

Keiro Northwest building