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VOL 39 NO 2 JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020 FREE 38 YEARS YOUR VOICE
My best of 2019 Strengths of the API community worth remembering — Second and final part of my year-end reflections —
Awkwafina and Bong’s ‘Parasite’ make Golden Globes history
Photo by George Liu/NWAW
By Jonathan Landrum Jr. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Andrew Yang high-fives Assunta Ng
I love the new year because it is not only a time to have new goals and be forward-looking, it’s also a time of reflection and appreciation of the gifts we’ve received. My best of 2019 list interestingly does not always feature events that made the front page of the Northwest Asian Weekly, yet it still highlights the progress, strengths, and beauty
of our community. These are things worth sharing.
A really empowering day May 3, 2019 was a special day for the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community. Presidential candidate Andrew Yang visited Seattle, encountering a rally of over 1,000 at Gas Works Park, a small group meeting in Bellevue, and a fundraising see BLOG on 10
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Awkwafina poses in the press room with the award for best performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy for "The Farewell" at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
UW study on LGBTQ+ elderly seeks more AAPI participants By Carolyn Bick NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Molly Silvestrini, Research Assistant, IDEA (left) with Dr. Diane Biray Gregorio, Research Scientist, IDEA
One of the reasons why Filipino American researcher Diane Biray Gregorio is so passionate about her work for the University of Washington School of Social Work’s IDEA study is because she owes the fact that she can be an out and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community to the struggle and work of the LGBTQ+ elders who came before her. Another is that she and her
family have gone through the very same obstacles and experiences as many of the people involved in the study –– not only the toll it took on the relative who acted as the caregiver, but also the stigma of talking about mental health and associated diseases that is prevalent in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. “My [relative] didn’t really want people to know, he didn’t want [his caregiver] to tell
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Awkwafina said she had a “mind-blowing” experience after learning backstage she made history at the Golden Globes. The rapper and actor last Sunday became the first woman of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy film for her starring role in “The Farewell.” She’s best known for her comic role in “Crazy Rich Asians.” Born Nora Lum to a Chinese American father and a South Korean immigrant mother, Awkwafina grew up in Queens, N.Y. Awkwafina believes she has more to prove. “It’s pretty mind-blowing,” she said. “It feels incredible. There’s also another feeling see AWKWAFINA on 14
Families of 2 Seattle crane collapse victims sue companies
see IDEA on 12 Sarah Wong
SEATTLE (AP) — Family members of two of the four people killed in the April crane collapse site have filed wrongful death suits against companies involved in crane operations at the South Lake Union construction site. Sierra skeleton ID’d as ghost of Japanese internee Matsumura 5
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NWAW must-reads: stories about being yourself 7
“The Grudge”: This movie made me excited for John Cho to die onscreen just so it would end 8
Sam Cho makes history, talks about acceptance 9 and 11
see WONG on 4
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38 YEARS
JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
■ NAMES IN THE NEWS
David DQ Lee and Karen Vuong featured in Seattle Opera’s 2020/21 season
David DQ Lee
Karen Vuong
Countertenor David DQ Lee and Soprano Karen Vuong will debut at Seattle Opera this season, performing as the Refugee and Tina, respectively, in “Flight” next month. Lee is Canadian Korean. Vuong is a Vietnamese American from New York. Flight is a 1998 opera based in part on true events.
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston was one of 10 people inducted last month into the California Hall of Fame. Houston is best known for her “Farewell to Manzanar,” a memoir about her experiences as a young girl in a California internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston Houston compared the racism directed against Japanese Americans to some current views on minorities. “Today, there are all too many politicians and irresponsible media who find scapegoats to blame for the country’s problems and more and more I think, those scapegoats are immigrants,” she said.
It depicts an omniscient air traffic controller who watches over a bustling departure lounge with jaded flight attendants, a couple on vacation, a mysterious older woman, an Eastern European diplomat, and his expectant wife, all of whom must wait out a storm.
Lorena González first pregnant Seattle City Council president On Jan. 7, Councilmember Lorena González became the unanimously-elected president of Seattle City Council and the first pregnant president in its history. González will be leaving for maternity leave starting Jan. 13 and returning on March 23. Her colleague, Theresa Mosqueda, is also currently on maternity Councilmember Lorena González leave. In González’s absence, the council will have interim council presidents.
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
Photo from Californiamuseum.org
Wakatsuki Houston joins California Hall of Fame
From left: Madrienne White, Cindi Shiota, and Karen Yoshitomi
Government Relations Manager Madrienne White presented Native artwork to JCCCW Executive Director Karen Yoshitomi in appreciation of her letting them use JCCCW space.
Tukwila’s Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson sworn in by Justice Yu
Muckleshoot meets with API community members to teach and discuss On Dec. 12, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe (MIT) conducted a discussion bureau for more than a dozen people, organized by Shiota Services Principal Cindi Shiota and API community member Will Lew in Seattle regarding the Muckleshoot Tribe. The event was held at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW). The discussion enlightened and dispelled some common misconceptions, one of which is that the MIT is one homogenous tribe. The MIT’s membership is composed of descendants of the Duwamish and Upper Puyallup people who inhabited Central Puget Sound for thousands of years before non-Indian settlement. After the discussion, Shiota and MIT’s Public and
Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson with her parents and Justice Mary Yu, from left: Celeste and Eduardo Delostrinos, Cynthia, and Yu
New Tukwila City Councilmember Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson was sworn by Justice Mary Yu on Jan. 6 at Tukwila City Hall. Yu has been Delostrinos Johnson’s mentor since she was an undergrad at the University of Washington, continuing throughout law school. Delostrinos Johnson also currently works for Yu and for the Supreme Court.
SEE MORE.
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■ COMMUNITY NEWS
JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
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Upcoming Census Bureau recruitment events in King and Snohomish Counties, pays $16–$23/hr The U.S. Census Bureau is now recruiting hundreds of temporary Census Takers in Washington in advance of its Nonresponse Follow-up Operation for the 2020 Census. The pay rate is $16–23 per hour. The primary purpose of the Nonresponse Follow-up Operation is to count people in person at housing units who have not self-responded to the decennial census questionnaire. Census Takers visit and enumerate those households. The decennial count influences how more than $675 billion from more than 100 federal programs are distributed to states and localities each year. This temporary position is a good fit
for students (aged 18 and older), retirees, holiday seasonal workers, and gig workers.
Recruiting events in King and Snohomish Counties Recruiters and staff from the Seattle and Everett Area Census Offices will help people apply for Census jobs and answer questions about the process at multiple locations in Snohomish County and King County on Jan. 10 and 11. There will also be staff to explain how people can keep their current jobs and work for the Census and to talk about the importance of the 2020 Census and what
participation means and the returns it can bring to people in their communities. The local recruiting events will be at the following locations: Friday, Jan. 10 and Saturday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Rainier Beach Pool and Community Center, 8825 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98118 Friday, Jan. 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. King County Veterans Programs Services Division, 6450 Andover Park West, Tukwila, WA 98188
Everett Area Census Office 1000 Southeast Everett Mall Way Suite 401, Everett, WA 98208 Saturday, Jan. 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kent Regional Library 212 2nd Avenue North, Kent, WA 98032 Everett Area Census Office 1000 Southeast Everett Mall Way Suite 401, Everett, WA 98208 People can also apply online at 2020census.gov/jobs. For more information about 2020 Census jobs, call 1-855-JOB-2020. For Spanish, dial 9.
City of Seattle looking for partners to help address policy changes impacting immigrant and refugees The City of Seattle will be launching Rapid Response efforts to address policy changes that could have significant negative impacts on immigrant and refugee communities. The City has appropriated $375,000 for a one-time Rapid Response Fund in 2020. The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs in consultation with community partners have identified strategies and activities to enable them to respond quickly to the expected Supreme Court decision on DACA as well as impending rule changes to public charge, immigration fee increases, and the elimination of immigration fee waivers.
There are currently the following opportunities for partnership:
In-person DACA legal consultations
munities and have an interest in keeping these communities informed and directing them to needed services, please visit seattle.gov/iandraffairs and complete their LOI by Jan. 24.
If you are a legal service provider with experience and interest in providing legal consultations and screenings for potential forms of relief for DACA-impacted families, please visit seattle.gov/iandraffairs and complete their Letter of Intent (LOI) by Jan. 24.
Public Charge Workshops
Organizing and Outreach
Questions and comments can be directed to Oksana Bilobran at oksana.bilobran@seattle.gov.
If you are organizing within immigrant and refugee com-
If you are interested in organizing community education workshops to explain rule changes related to public charge to community members, please visit seattle.gov/iandraffairs and complete their Google form by Jan. 24.
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asianweekly northwest
JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
38 YEARS
■ NATIONAL NEWS
6 arrested in killings of 4 men at California backyard party The Associated Press FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Police in California announced Dec. 31, 2019 that they have arrested six suspected gang members in the shooting deaths of four men last month at a backyard gathering of family and friends that they believed was a rival gang’s party. The victims were killed Nov. 17, when gunmen entered the back of a Fresno home through an unlocked gate and used semi automatic weapons to open fire on people watching a football game in the backyard. Four people were killed, and six people were wounded. Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall said at a news conference that the suspects are all self-admitted
members of the Mongolian Boys Society gang and that they were retaliating against a rival gang called the Asian Crips that they believed was responsible for killing a member of their gang hours earlier. One of the people at the house was an affiliate of the Asian Crips, but was not active in the gang, Hall said, though the Mongolian Boys Society believed it was a gang party. Five people left the party before police arrived and authorities are still working on identifying them and whether they had gang ties, Hall said. Billy Xiong, 25, of Fresno, was arrested on suspicion of mail theft on Dec. 17, and authorities found one of the weapons used in the killing of the four men, Hall said.
His brother, Randy Xiong, was the gang member who was slain 16 hours before the mass shooting. “We know now that this was a retaliatory shooting towards the gang believed responsible for Randy Xiong’s death,” Hall said. Fresno police served 19 search warrants on Dec. 26, recovering the other gun used in the slayings, which had been stolen from Oklahoma, Hall said. Besides the two guns used in the attack, authorities also recovered 12 other weapons and $46,000 in cash believed to be tied to drug activity. Also arrested were Anthony Montes, 27; Jhovanny see BACKYARD PARTY on 14
■ WORLD NEWS LGBTQ community in India joins in on citizenship law protests NEW DELHI (AP) — More than 1,000 members of India’s LGBTQ community, rights groups, and their supporters marched through the streets of the capital on Friday to protest a citizenship law that excludes Muslims. Describing themselves as “Citizens Against Bigots,” they carried placards and shouted slogans accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of pursuing policies aimed at forcing people to prove their citizenship and putting people from marginalized communities at risk.
WONG from 1 Gusting winds knocked the crane over April 27, after workers prematurely removed pins holding sections together, leading to a tragedy that state regulators called “totally avoidable.” Lawsuits have also been filed by two people who were injured, and Seattle police continue to investigate. The collapse killed two ironworkers working on the crane, as well as Alan Justad, 71, a former city planning official, and Sarah Wong, a 19-yearold Seattle Pacific University (SPU) student. According to an SPU statement previously released, Sarah Wong was a freshman who intended to major in nursing and lived on campus. The Seattle Times reports Justad and Wong’s families filed suits in King County Superior Court in late December against Morrow Equipment,
India’s main opposition parties, led by the Congress party, say the Modi government is trying to consolidate its Hindu base, which constitutes more than 80% of India’s 1.3 billion people. Muslims comprise nearly 14% of the population. The new citizenship law and a proposed National Register of Citizens have brought thousands of protesters out in the streets in many cities and towns since Parliament approved the measure on Dec. 11, leaving at least 23 dead in clashes between security forces and the
GLY Construction, Northwest Tower Crane Service, Omega Morgan and Seaburg Construction, the five companies responsible for operating and dismantling the crane. The lawsuits seek unspecified damages. Two other people, Sally Beaven and Ali Edriss, jointly sued the same companies in December. Beaven and Edriss claim they were injured as a result of the crane collapse. The state Department of Labor and Industries faulted and fined GLY, Northwest Tower Crane and Morrow for failing to adequately supervise the crane disassembly, train workers and follow manufacturer procedures. GLY CEO Todd Herb said in a statement his company welcomes “a thorough, fair and transparent review” of safety procedures as a result of the lawsuits. GLY was the general contractor on the jobsite. None of the other companies offered comment.
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protesters. The law allows Hindus, Christians, and other religious minorities who are in India illegally to become citizens if they can show they were persecuted because of their religion in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. It does not apply to Muslims. Thousands of Hindus, too, have joined the protests to assure the minority Muslims that they are not isolated. The governing Hindu nationalist party downplays the protests, saying they are orchestrated by opponents.
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Photo by Ansel Adams for the U.S. Library of Congress
■ NATIONAL NEWS Sierra skeleton ID’d as ghost of Japanese internee Matsumura
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A skeleton found by hikers this fall near California’s second-highest peak was identified Friday as a Japanese American artist who had left the Manzanar internment camp to paint in the mountains in the waning days of World War II. The Inyo County sheriff used DNA to identify the remains of Giichi Matsumura, who succumbed to the elements during a freak summer snowstorm while on a hiking trip with other members of the camp. Matsumura had apparently stopped to paint a watercolor while the other men, a group of anglers, continued toward a lake to fish. His body wasn’t found for another month, and the tragedy was overshadowed in the immediate days after his Aug. 2, 1945 disappearance when the United States dropped the first atomic bomb, hastening Japan’s surrender in the war. Matsumura was one of more than 1,800 detainees who died in the 10 prison camps in the West, though it’s one of the more unusual deaths. While his burial in the mountains was well known among members of the camp and his family, the story faded over time and the location of the grave site in a remote boulder-strewn area 12,000 feet above sea level was lost to time. Lori Matsumura, the granddaughter who provided the DNA sample, was surprised when Sgt. Nate Derr of the Inyo County sheriff’s office contacted her to say they believed her grandfather’s remains had been discovered. After all, he had been found nearly 75 years ago and buried. “It was a bit of a rediscovery,” she told The Associated Press. “We knew where he was approximately because we knew the story of what happened. So we knew he was there.” As a girl, she was haunted by a photo her grandmother showed her of the pile of stones where her grandfather was buried beneath a small marker in the remote mountains. “Once in a great while, she would bring it out and say, ’Oh, this is all they could bring of your grandfather.’ And my aunt would say, `No, don’t show her that picture,’” Matsumura said. “It did scare me. I’m like, ’Oh, my God, that’s my grandfather under there.”’ Her aunt, Kazue, told her that her grandfather was known as “the ghost of Manzanar.” “To this day, it seems like he’s not passed away,” Kazue, who died two years ago at 83, told the Manzanar National Historic Site. “It seems like he’s gone someplace, because I didn’t see his body.” It was by accident on Oct. 7 that Tyler Hofer and a friend stumbled upon the remains on their way to the top of Mount Williamson. The two were off course on a crude route through the jumble of granite boulders in a basin of lakes when Hofer looked down and
Photo by Daniel Mayer
By Brian Melley THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cemetery shrine at Manzanar Japanese internment camp. The inscription is in Japanese and means “monument to console the souls of the dead.
saw what looked like a bone. Earlier in the day, the men had discovered a pile of bones beneath Shepherd Pass, where a herd of migrating deer had plummeted to their death two years earlier on a steep, icy slope. At first, Hofer thought the bone was more animal remains, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was a human skull. Hofer and Brandon Follin moved the rocks and found an intact skeleton with a belt around its waist and leather shoes on the feet. The arms appeared to be crossed over the chest. Hofer posted about his findings on a Facebook forum, describing inaccurately that the skull appeared to be fractured and the shoes were the type worn by rock climbers. He suggested it was a case of foul play. When contacted by the AP, the sheriff’s office said there were no signs of a crime. They said it was a mystery, though, because they had searched records of missing reports going back decades and said no one was known to be lost in the area that would fit that description. What officials didn’t say, though, was that by the time they had retrieved the bones by helicopter, they already had a hunch it might be Matsumura. While his story was little known, it got renewed attention when “The Manzanar Fishing Club” documentary film came out in 2012. Director Cory Shiozaki told the story about intrepid prisoners who would escape from the camp at night and slip into the mountains to fish for trout — sometimes for weeks at a time. A segment of the film on Matsumura’s death didn’t make the final cut. Still, Shiozaki often addressed the tragedy at the many screenings where he spoke and the story became more broadly known. In the final year of the war, the guard towers were no longer manned with armed soldiers, and people were free to leave the camp. The Matsumuras, like many others, had no home or business to return to, so they remained behind. When a group of fishermen planned to hike to the chain of lakes in Williamson Bowl, Matsumura insisted on tagging along. The trip leader didn’t want Matsu-
Entrance to Manzanar, Manzanar Relocation Center, 1942
mura, 46, to join them because he was older and not in great physical shape, but he eventually relented, Shiozaki said. The group of six to 10 men headed into the Sierra Nevada on July 29, 1945. At some point in the demanding trek, Matsumura stopped to paint a watercolor and said he would catch up later. A freak snowstorm blew in, and the fishermen retreated to a cave. When the weather cleared, they searched fruitlessly for Matsumura. Three search parties from the camp also failed to find him. During that period, his wife, Ito, worried so much that her hair turned the color of snow, according to Kazue, who was 10 at the time. “I felt sorry for my mom, you know,” Kazue told the National Park Service. “She couldn’t eat or anything. She had black hair, and it turned white all of a sudden.” Matsumura’s decomposing remains were found a month after he was lost by hikers from the nearby town of Independence. Members from the camp then hiked back up to bury him in a mountainside grave under a sheet his wife provided, according to the park service. Atop the granite stones placed on his body, was a granite column with a paper note attached to mark the site. In Japanese charac-
ters, it gave his name, age, and said, “Rest in Peace.” The burial party brought back clippings of his hair and fingernails, a Buddhist tradition when a body can’t be returned, for a ceremony at the camp. Rather than reopen an old wound in her family’s past, the finding has awakened interest in learning more about their story and time in the camp and sharing it with nephews and nieces, Lori Matsumura said. Until she recently saw a photo of the search party, Lori Matsumura never knew her father, Masaru, had played a role in looking for his dad. Her father never talked about the experience, and she now regrets not pressing him for more information. Like many who endured the hardship and humiliation of one of the darkest chapters of U.S. history when more than 110,000 people of Japanese descent — two-thirds American citizens — were imprisoned because of fear they would remain loyal to their ancestral homeland, Masaru Matsumura seemed bitter and rarely spoke of camp, Lori Matsumura said. see MANZANAR on 13
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JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
38 YEARS
■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR JAN 9 GET FREE HELP APPLYING FOR U.S. CITIZENSHIP ACRS, 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle 2 p.m. http://bit.ly/signmeup-acrscitizenshipclinic
11 SEATTLE PREMIERE OF AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY: OUR ISLAND’S TREASURE 321 16th Ave. S., Seattle 2 p.m. organizer@psara.org THROUGH JAN 11
ART EXHIBITION, “BRIGHTER FUTURE” Top floor, Arts at King Street Station, 303 S. Jackson St., Seattle Free admission seattle.gov/arts
12 ETHNIC COMMUNITY LEADERS ROUNDTABLE Ethiopian Community, 8323 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle 2–4 p.m. RSVP to rsvp@ ethnicheritagecouncil.org 206-443-1410
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2020 GOLDEN CIRCLE AWARDS — OCA Joy Palace Restaurant, 6030 MLK Jr. Way S., Seattle 5:30–7:30 p.m. $35–$50 liuchess@yahoo.com
U.S.–JAPAN FRIENDSHIP COMING OF AGE CELEBRATION Bellevue College 1–3:30 p.m. japaneseinamerica.org
DOCUMENTARY, “CHILDREN OF THE CAMPS” NVC Memorial Hall, 1212 S. King St., Seattle 12–4 p.m.
18 CAPAA JANUARY BOARD MEETING Asia Pacific Cultural Center, 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma 10 a.m.–2 p.m. TJCCS ANNUAL CRUISE GALA Pier 55 Seattle Waterfront 4–8 p.m. $60 https://bit.ly/2FzrLul SEATTLE WOMEN’S MARCH 2020 Location is to be announced online 11 a.m.–1 p.m. womensmarch.com
18 & 19 TET IN SEATTLE Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle 10:30 a.m.–6 p.m.
COMMUNITY BRIEFING — 2020 APA LEGISLATIVE DAY ACRS, 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle 5–7:30 p.m. AFTER HOURS: SUPPORTING OUR REFUGEE COMMUNITIES Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center, 440 5th Ave. N., Seattle 4:30–6:30 p.m. shorturl.at/koMX2
LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION & FAIR Wing Luke Museum, 719 S. King St., Seattle 10 a.m.–5 p.m. wingluke.org POP PUNK DIM SUM House of Hong Restaurant, 409 8th Ave. S., Seattle 12 p.m.–2 p.m.
ICHS COMMUNITY KITCHEN C–ID Community Center, 719 8th Ave. S., Seattle 11 a.m. GET FREE HELP APPLYING FOR U.S. CITIZENSHIP ACRS, 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle 2 p.m. http://bit.ly/signmeup-acrscitizenshipclinic
MODEL MINORITY, AN ASIAN WOMXN COMEDY SHOW Columbia City Theater, 4916 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle 8–10 p.m. caracolcreative.com
FEB 1
24 TET CELEBRATION 2020 Vietnamese Student Association at UW Tacoma, 1900 Commerce St., Tacoma 6–10 p.m.
THE DANNY WOO GARDEN’S COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY Danny Woo Community Garden 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
THE PEKING ACROBATS TOUR Meydenbauer Center Theatre, 11100 NE 6th St., Bellevue 3 p.m. for family matinee 8 p.m. for evening performance $29/ticket bit.ly/2QORxQN
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4TH ANNUAL COLLEGE BOUND RESOURCE FAIR Bellevue College, C Building 9 a.m.–2 p.m. bellevuecollege.edu
IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE ADVOCACY DAY Washington State Labor Council, 906 Columbia St. NW, Olympia 8 a.m.–3 p.m. shorturl.at/pyCG4
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 NWAW’S LUNAR NEW YEAR COSTUME CONTEST Northwest Asian Weekly’s front door, 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle 11 a.m. For details, please go to nwasianweekly.com/events
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■ ON THE SHELF
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Stories about being yourself NWAW’s must-reads
By Samantha Pak NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“Camp Tiger” Written by Susan Choi, illustrated by John Rocco G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2019
Every summer, a young boy and his family go camping at Mountain Pond. While there, they will typically see animals such as eagles, salamanders, and chipmunks. But this year is a little different. For one, the boy is about to start first grade and as a result, his mother is encouraging him to do more things by himself — just like his older brother. And most different of all this year, the family encounters a tiger in the woods. Initially — as most people would be — the family is cautious about approaching the tiger. But the tiger proves it has friendly tendencies and spends the majority of the trip with the young boy. “Camp Tiger” is a sweet story about a
child who is nervous and anxious about starting something new. But as he and the tiger become friends, we see him slowly gain the confidence to do, as his mother encourages, things on his own, without his family’s help. And as the story progresses, Choi shows readers how the tiger helps the boy with this.
The boy and his family are nameless throughout the story, making it easier for young readers to imagine themselves as the boy. Growing up can be scary,
especially as children learn to be more independent. “Camp Tiger” is a story see SHELF on 12
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■ AT THE MOVIES
“THE GRUDGE”
A movie that made me excited for John Cho to die onscreen just so it would end By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Do you know what you do as a grieving parent and a cop, when you stumble on a death curse with an inescapable grip on all who befall it? Yeah, you make the most bewildering, most irresponsible decisions repeatedly, destroying all emotional connections with your audience until they are completely sick of watching you limp tiredly toward the grim finish line. “The Grudge” is a reboot of the American film series that kicked off in 2004, which was a remake of Japanese horror film series “Ju-On.” It features a really talented ensemble cast consisting of Andrea Riseborough (the grieving mother and cop), Demián Bichir (the cop’s partner), John Cho (nice real estate agent who goes into cursed house), Betty Gilpin (real estate agent’s wife and business partner, pregnant), Lin Shaye (dying and/or aging woman in grips of dementia — or she’s just crazy), Frankie Faison (husband of dying and/or aging crazy and/or haunted woman), and Jacki Weaver (assisted suicide consultant). The premise of the movie, which gets explained via interstitial text in the first few minutes of the opening
sequence, is that when someone dies in great rage, a curse is born: the Grudge. What this means is anyone who enters a cursed house
becomes infected with the Grudge and will start being see THE GRUDGE on 13
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YOUR VOICE
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Congratulations to Sam Cho!
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The first Korean American Commissioner of the Port of Seattle.
We are so proud of you!
Photos by Don Wilson/Port of Seattle and Assunta Ng/NWAW
Sam Cho getting sworn in by Port of Seattle Commission President Stephanie Bowman, in English Sam Cho getting sworn in by his mother, Kathy, in Korean, on Jan. 6 at the Port of Seattle
Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho and Dr. Jeffrey Roh
Sam Cho (right) and the other commissioners, Fred Felleman, President Stephanie Bowman, Ryan Calkins, and Peter Steinbrueck
Sam Cho and Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss
In the Port of Seattle’s atrium
Port Commissioners Fred Felleman (left) and Sam Cho sworn in the same day Sam Cho and the other commissioners, Fred Felleman, President Stephanie Bowman, Ryan Calkins and Peter Steinbrueck
Sam Cho with Korean community leaders
The Cho family, from left: Kathy (mom), Charlie (dad), Sam, and Willy (brother)
Sam Cho with Korean community leaders
This pictorial is sponsored by JEFFREY ROH MD, MBA, MSc Chief Executive Officer & Board Chair at IntuitiveX Port of Seattle Commission hold its first official meeting at the Port.
asianweekly
38 YEARS
JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
Photo by George Liu/NWAW
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banquet of 500 people. The Asian Weekly was the only media covering all three events. It was one of the most inspiring days for me as an Asian American, to witness one of our own running for the highest office in the United States. At the beginning, Yang’s campaign wasn’t really oriented toward Asian Americans. Instead, it was the reverse. Like many Asians, Wayne Lau, a Seattle community leader, flocked to him. Of the 17 presidential candidates, Lau only donated to Yang. He is inspiring — a non-politician with an unconventional message. And yet, as a son of immigrants, his background is similar to ours. Yang was raised to go after the American Dream, and he is raising the profile of Asian Americans to another level. We need more Andrew Yangs in our Asian community, to run for office, speak for us, break stereotypes — and to be willing to serve in public service.
three decades of leadership. He was a rock for Kin On — providing the nursing home with stability, vision, and a financial foundation.
She earned a standing ovation. I have seen her grow from a young girl to a confident and capable leader. Her father, Sen. Bob Hasegawa, is more than proud of Toshiko.
The most beautiful “Pig”
Best travel to Asia
Photo by Felicity Wang
BLOG from 1
Chinese seniors — an emerging force Numbers can project strength. The voice of Chinese immigrant seniors in the International District (ID) is louder than ever. They are now a powerhouse. With close to 1,000 senior residents, their votes matter in Chinatown-International District elections. Activists, businesses, and organizations courted their presence at protests, campaigns, and rallies. Seniors played a key role in lobbying Seattle City Hall to support the police contracts and food coupons for the elderly. They also spoke out at International Special Review District board meetings. We salute the seniors for their involvement and boldness!
Photo by George Liu/NWAW
Kin On, still going
Zuolie Deng painting Miss Golden Pearl
In 2019, the Year of the Pig, Chinatown welcomed Pike Place Market’s pig in the community for a makeover. With the magic hand of artist Zuolie Deng, an ordinary fiberglass pig was transformed into a beautiful Chinese pig with lots of colors, cultural symbols, and a new identity. Her English name is now Golden Pearl. Her Chinese name is Ju Ju. Ju means pig and pearl (two different Chinese characters pronounced the same). She stayed in the ID, on and off, for many months. The golden pig is now back home at Pike Place. She was high on the rooftop of the market surrounded by Christmas trees and lights last December.
Former Kin On CEO Sam Wan dangles a red packet wrapped in lettuce for the lion.
In contrast to the sad news about the closing of Keiro NW, a skilled nursing home founded by Japanese Americans, Chinese nursing home Kin On Community Health Care is financially sound and operating well. Its newly opened assisted living quarters was completed last year. It will also be celebrating its 35th anniversary on March 14 at the Hyatt on Lake Washington. Thank you to all the Kin On founders such as the late Ark Chin, Ben Woo, Ed Wong, and Executive Director Fred Yee, and long-time dedicated volunteers such as Anne Wing. The list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Sam Wan, Kin On’s executive director for more than
Photo by George Liu/NWAW
The best speech
Sen. Bob Hasegawa (left) and Toshiko Hasegawa
I have the privilege of attending more than 40 community events each year. I saw some awesome speakers. I’m picking Toshiko Hasegawa’s keynote speech at the annual InterIm dinner to feature here as the best because she is the youngest of the speakers I’ve seen. Hasegawa is the executive director of the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs and the youngest cabinet member of Gov. Jay Inslee. Hasegawa’s thoughtful presentation covered many grounds. At the age of 31, she didn’t just address the older generation, but also the younger crowd in the audience. Her delivery was flawless and eloquent.
2019 was an exciting year for Asian airlines flying non-stop to Seattle, including Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Japan Airlines (JAL). Why they decided to begin flying Seattle the same year was more than just a coincidence. A JAL executive said the airlines “likes to go where the competition is.” The airlines’ move not only energized Seattle and Asia tourism, they save travelers a lot of time when going to Asia. I still remember how Cathay Pacific’s executives hosted a pleasant lunch for a small group of media at a downtown condo with an 180-degree view of Puget Sound. The conversation was lively and informative. JAL’s inaugural flight at the SeaTac Airport was celebrated with much fanfare. Its passengers loved the souvenirs.
A most memorable photo Seniors in Action founder Nora Chan
Photo provided by James Wong
API seniors pose for a group photo before heading to City Hall
From left: James Wong, Amy Lee, Nora Chan, and Tomio Moriguchi
and former Uwajimaya chairman Tomio Moriguchi were rivals in 1998 due to her objection of the closing of South Lane Street, which is now a part of Uwajimaya. In December 2019, I saw them pose for a photo together for the very first time. What brought them together is their belief that market-rate housing plays a significant role in the vibrancy and livelihood of ChinatownInternational District.
The most touching moments at fundraising events The Denise Louie Early Childhood see BLOG on 15
JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
YOUR VOICE
■ EDITORIAL
asianweekly northwest
11
This needs to stop, Americans detained by own government over the weekend This past weekend, there were reports of Iranian Americans experiencing increased screening when returning to the United States from Canada by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — as many as 200 across the country. According to news sources, Iranian Americans were held at Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine near the border for as long as 12 hours, while other American citizens who were not of Iranian descent were allowed smooth travel. It has resulted in many Iranian Americans cancelling vacation plans and international trips due to fear of detainment — or worse. The actions of CBP appear in response to a U.S. airstrike last Friday that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the foreign wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a move that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zari described as an act of “international terrorism” on the part of the United States. Analysts have speculated that Tehran would likely consider Soleimani’s death an act of war. While the increased scrutiny on Iranian Americans and the killing of Qassem Soleimani appear to relate to one an-
other, CBP’s official stance is that they do not. CBP has stated that while there is enhanced security at ports of entry into the United States, there is no “directive” from headquarters to detain Iranian Americans. Yet, even journalist and historian John Ghazvinian, a U.S. citizen and interim director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania, who was born in Iran, said on Twitter that he was pulled aside for additional screening after landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York over the weekend. Negah Hekmati, who was coming back to Washington after skiing and visiting with family in Canada, was held for five hours by immigration authorities, along with her family and friends. She said that they took her family’s car keys and passwords. She said that officers questioned them all extensively on their social media accounts and her husband’s military history. She said her kids were terrified. But CBP still wants to maintain that there is no directive from high up to detain Iranian Americans. On page 5 of this week’s paper, there’s a story about how the skeletal remains of Giichi Matsumura, who was im-
prisoned at Manzanar, one of 10 American concentration camps where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II because the government feared these individuals would remain loyal to their ancestral homeland. What is happening to Iranian Americans is this foreboding echo of the past. What we often like to tell children in school is that we learn history so that we aren’t doomed to repeat it. What we sometimes neglect to push as hard on is that we also must hold those who look to perpetrate tragedies of the past accountable and call things what they are. Iranian Americans are being detained, not merely “screened.” What is happening to them is unfair and excessive and also pointlessly discriminatory — and also probably completely illegal. It is unbelievable that we have to tell an agency to stop doing something that is illegal — but we must. We must call on CBP to stop targeting citizens immediately, based on heritage alone. We must examine what policies, procedures, and rhetoric are in place that allows this to continue happening. We have to speak up for others.
■ COMMENTARY By Sam Cho SPECIAL TO NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Editor’s note: This is an edited version of remarks made by Seattle Port Commissioner Sam Cho on Jan. 7 as he was sworn into office. Cho is the only person of color on the commission and in his re- Sam Cho marks, touched on reports of Iranian Americans being detained at the U.S. border.
Photo by Don Wilson/Port of Seattle
Sam Cho, on the importance of embracing and continuing to celebrate diversity
I’ve come to realize that there is a reason why when we have good news, we feel the need to share it with everyone. It’s not just because Facebook makes it so easy, but because our experiences are collectively enhanced when they are shared with one another. So I want to thank everyone who have come here today to share and enhance this experience. In the late 80s, a young unsuspecting couple from South Korea immigrated to the United States through the Port of Seattle. And just a little over 30 years later, within a single generation, their son was just sworn in as a Commissioner at the Port of Seattle. That couple is obviously my parents. My mom who just administered my oath in Korean. And my dad who
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is here with us as well. You know, by nature of running for the Port Commission, I’ve had to go to just about every corner of King County and meet with voters from all walks of life. And one of the things I’ve come to appreciate is that we are very fortunate to be living in a county that is so prosperous and diverse. But in that same realization, I also recognized that my being here is complete happenstance. I’m here because I happened to be born to parents who had the courage to leave their home to seek a better life for me and my brother. I happen to grow up in a safe neighborhood with good schools. In other words, I was dealt a pretty good hand. I don’t want to make my remarks today political, but I feel compelled to mention that as I’m sure many of you have heard over the weekend, there were reports of Iranian Americans being detained for long periods of time by the CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol) near the Canadian border. These days, I’m forced to wonder if my parents tried to immigrate to this country today, would they be stopped at that border? What if it was North Korea instead of Iran? If they immigrated today, would they find the same success? Would I have been dealt the same hand? Would a future me be standing here?
Now, I know that I’m relatively young, but I’ve been in enough important rooms to know that at the core of every conflict are differences. Differences in policy. Differences in priorities. Sometimes differences in values. But I also know that it’s okay to have differences. Over the next four years, I have no doubt that I will have differences with colleagues and stakeholders and that’s OK. But I’m reminded of a speech that John F. Kennedy once gave at my alma mater — American University — in which he said, “If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” I ran for this office because I see in the Port, an institution that serves as the gateway to the Pacific Northwest, the single largest economic engine that can create opportunities for families regardless of the hand that they are dealt. An institution that has an outsized role in tackling climate change and ending human trafficking. And so I hope that in the next four years, we can work towards solving some of our greatest challenges and creating a Port of Seattle that is not just a safe place, but one that embraces and continues to celebrate diversity.
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“On the one hand, the unique risks are distinct experiences of trauma or isolation or stigma that LGBTQ+ elder folks experience, but, at the same time, one of the strengths is community — is a real diversity of different ways that people care for each other.” — Biray Gregorio
IDEA from 1 people, even though people could tell that something was changing about him. So she (his caregiver) was really isolated,” Biray Gregorio recalled. “They were retired in the Philippines, at this point. At least here, there’s the Alzheimer’s Association, and there are other support groups. There’s nothing there.” Enter the IDEA study. IDEA, which stands for Innovations in Dementia Empowerment and Action, and is connected to Aging with Pride, is a free, six-week study program in which a caregiver-care recipient pair is matched with a coach. The coaches are trained to help both the caregiver and the person experiencing memory loss come up with strategies to solve problems that may arise. “The caregiver, in that situation, feels a tremendous amount of pressure. And, frequently, the caregiver themselves experiences health challenges, as a result of being a caregiver, because it’s so demanding and stressful,” Biray Gregorio said. “One of the things that happens to people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease is that they experience behavioral challenges. There could be wandering, there could be mood changes at certain times of the day, there could be different kinds of confused or aggressive behaviors, and that’s really, really difficult for a caregiver to deal with.” They also teach different communication strategies. Instead of trying to contradict a person experiencing dementia, who might, for instance, believe a deceased relative is coming to visit later, the coaches teach the caregivers to “validate the person’s experience, and redirect them to another object of their attention, as opposed to fighting with them about that, and creating a whole bunch
SHELF from 7 that can help youngsters cope with those anxieties — whether it’s going to school for the first time or making new friends. In addition to the beautiful story, this book includes gorgeous illustrations. From the natural scenery of Mountain Pond, to the detailing on the tiger, Rocco does a fantastic job of bringing Choi’s story to life.
“The Key to Happily Ever After” By Tif Marcelo Gallery Books, 2019
The de la Rosa family has been creating happily ever afters in the Washington, D.C. area through their wedding planning business, Rings & Roses. And now, sisters Marisol, Janelyn, and Pearl have taken over after their mother — who ran the business for decades — retires and moves to the Philippines. And while the sisters have been a part of Rings & Roses for years, they quickly discover that working for the family business is not the same as running the family business. From dealing with mood-swinging brides and controlling grooms, to the day-today ups and downs that come with trying to run a business (and with family, nonetheless), the sisters are tested at almost every turn. Marcelo gives readers insight into the world of weddings and for those who have never really been involved in planning one (like yours truly), it can be a lot and way more complicated than you’d realize. In addition to the business side of things, the sisters go through quite a bit on the personal side, ranging from budding relationships to sisterly riffs. While you will most likely find “Happily” in the romance section, the story focuses more on the
38 YEARS
of other behavioral problems,” Biray Gregorio said. The coach also teaches low-impact exercise, in order to help both the caregiver and the person experiencing memory loss stay strong and mobile. This helps to prevent injury, improve a person’s mood and brain function, and reduce stress, Biray Gregorio said. The only requirements to participate in the study are that one of the pair must belong to the LGBTQ+ community. The person with memory loss must be at least 50 or older, and feel that the memory loss is interfering with everyday life. One of the main factors of this study, Biray Gregorio said, is that they are looking at not only the unique risks facing LGBTQ+ elders, but also the strengths cultivated within that community. “On the one hand, the unique risks are distinct experiences of trauma or isolation or stigma that LGBTQ+ elder folks experience, but, at the same time, one of the
relationships among the sisters. There are times when it looks like the three of them may never speak to each other again and Marcelo does a great job of portraying the complexities that come with sibling relationships. Mari, Jane, and Pearl are all strong individuals, but they are even stronger together. The story jumps between Mari’s and Pearl’s points of views and Marcelo has created two complicated, multifaceted women. We learn how past events have shaped them and their relationship with each other and how that has affected how they view romantic love. I only wish we were able to see Jane’s perspective as the middle sibling, dealing with the drama her two sisters bring into their lives.
“Naturally Tan” By Tan France St. Martin’s Press, 2019
Before the world knew him as one of the
strengths is community — is a real diversity of different ways that people care for each other,” she said. “There’s families of origin, but then there are chosen families, families we create.” If the pair successfully completes one of the five phone surveys associated with the study, they are given $25, for a total of $125. Biray Gregorio said there is still plenty of room in the program. Currently, there are only 40 pairs involved. The target is 255 pairs. Biray Gregorio believes the stigma against talking about mental health in the AAPI community makes it difficult for those within the community to ask for help, regardless of whether they are the caregiver or the one receiving care. This only compounds the problem, she said, and highlights the dearth of mental health resources available for communities of color, particularly if they belong to the LGBTQ+ community. Though this is changing for the better, she said, there still needs to be more emphasis on creating culturally appropriate resources and mental health education for LGBTQ+ elders in different communities of color. Communities of color need to talk about this issue, she said. “People don’t understand that it’s an illness. It’s the change in the functioning of someone’s brain. It’s not because an elder is just trying to be stubborn or rebellious,” Biray Gregorio said. “If we were able to talk about it and understand the illness, and understand how the illness affects our behavior, affects the way we communicate with one another, then I think that would really be helpful, instead of creating difficult dynamics within families.” C.E. can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.
members of the Fab Five on “Queer Eye,” Tan France was a boy from South Yorkshire, England. Growing up in a predominantly white community was difficult enough as a South Asian, but add being gay and it was difficult for France to be himself — especially in a traditional Pakistani family. “Naturally” is an origin story as France shares with readers how he went from adding his own style to his clothes as a young boy, to joining the cast of “Queer Eye” and becoming one of the first visible LGBTQ+ South Asian people in entertainment — as well as meeting and marrying the love of his life, a Mormon cowboy from Salt Lake City. It wasn’t an easy road and France shows us what he went through to finally be happy with being himself — a struggle many people face. Fans of “Queer Eye” will enjoy a glimpse into France’s life and learning about what it can be like to be on a reality TV show. He also shares his do’s and don’ts when it comes to denim, some of the celebrity encounters he
has had, as well as the cultural differences he has observed between the United States and United Kingdom. And while that part of the story is fun and interesting to read, if you take that away, you get a story about acceptance and understanding. France does not sugarcoat his experiences with racism and bigotry, including a violent encounter he and a brother faced walking home one day. Reading about his experiences can be heartbreaking — even more so when you realize they were not singular and many other people have experienced and still experience similar encounters to this day. But instead of dwelling on the negative, France’s story shows readers what can come from the strength one gains from overcoming those experiences. Samantha can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.
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JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
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Predictions and advice for the week of January 11–January 17, 2020 By Sun Lee Chang Rat — Is something holding you back? Try your best to shift your focus from the past to the present.
Dragon — Does your partner bring out the best in you? A little push and pull are necessary to promote mutual growth.
Monkey — While it sounds counterintuitive, one way to allay your fears is to face what you are afraid of.
Ox — If you have nothing to prove, then why engage in the competition? The answer might surprise you.
Snake — You have defied the odds to get to where you are now, but there is more awaiting you around the corner.
Rooster — Have you been sounding the alarm to no avail? Find another method to get your message across.
Tiger — Out of a difficult situation, the truth emerges. In fact, that outcome alone might make it worth the discomfort.
Horse — Pleased that the quiet period is over? To get your creative juices flowing, you desire energy and movement.
Dog — Rather than continuing on in the same vein, see if your results improve by mixing it up a little bit.
Rabbit — Growing tired of a recurring conflict? Take steps to resolve it completely, lest it come back in another form.
Goat — On the fence about a potential new acquisition? First determine whether it is a need or a want.
Pig — Infusing an element of practicality into an interesting idea will give it a much better chance of being adopted.
WHAT’S YOUR ANIMAL SIGN? RAT 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 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.
THE GRUDGE from 8 stalked and haunted by the ghosts that died a violent death, eventually leading to their own deaths. The Grudge is like a virus, a disease with an inevitable conclusion — of which there is no cure. There’s a bleakness to the concept as well as a certain rigidity. Because the concept is narrow, there is little room for surprises. Maybe because of this, director Nicolas Pesce made a scary movie with exactly no surprises. It rolls out really predictably. It’s also pretty scary. It scared the crap out of me because I’m a wuss and very susceptible to great sound design and jump scares. (These are the moments when everything is dark onscreen, and there’s really tense orchestral music as the protagonist breathes really heavily and looks wide-eyed down an empty hallway in terror. And they see nothing. But then they round a corner and the freaking face of a corpse leaps out at them at the same time the music shrieks and the corpse screams.) I hate jump scares so much. In addition to anxiety attacks, they give me the sense that I’m being completely manipulated. It’s like a friend randomly jumping out of the bushes, grabbing you, and screaming, “See! Told ya I’m scary!” After you get over the near-heart attack, you want to punch your friend in the face and be like, “That was cheap. Real cheap.” That’s what this movie feels like. Getting punked by some harmless creep waiting in the bushes over and over. It’s the kind of fear that rolls out over the movie’s runtime — but doesn’t linger after you leave the theater. It doesn’t stick with you because the movie didn’t make you think about anything. This movie, which pulled out so many horror movie visual tropes, made me angry as I was watching it. I’m sick of looking at impossibly dark houses. I’m sick of torrential rain at night and blue skies the next day. I’m sick of characters that don’t make one good decision ever. I’m sick of creepy little girl children with long dark, wet hair covering their faces. I’m sick of little boy children who don’t have the sense that their mom
MANZANAR from 5 He had been close to graduating from high school when his family was sent to Manzanar. After his father’s death, Masaru Matsumura had to support his mother and three siblings when they returned to Santa Monica. He had to take a job as a gardener as his father had done. Kazue Matsumura said her mother, widowed at 43,
is having a breakdown so they should freaking tell their teacher so that CPS can come and take their ass away from their mother. I’m sick of the irresponsible way that mental health is portrayed and further stigmatized in these movies. (The protagonist visits a psychiatric hospital at one point, a place full of disturbed and seemingly violent men who howl scarily at her, not at all reminding us that people with mental illness are among some of the most vulnerable individuals in society, but rather reminding us that people with mental illness are individuals who are so far beyond our empathy that they should be quarantined and caged like animals.) Seriously, this movie just pissed me off. I know, I know. You wanna know about John Cho. Well, he features in one of the side stories and he plays an all-around good guy who goes up to a house that o ne-hundred percent is clearly haunted. Multiple times. He’s the dude when, presented with really compelling evidence to GTFO of the death house, decides to go upstairs to look in the bathtub full of black water instead. So I actually have no sympathy for his character here. (I still love you, John Cho.) Here are some other random asides: — The movie is set in 2004, but strangely looks like it’s set in 1994. I don’t know what that’s about, except for maybe director Pesce wanted to set the movie in a more analog era and felt handcuffed by the franchise’s timeline. In any case, it was real distracting — but admittedly really beautiful and sad-looking. The movie is an hour and a half. Its tight editing ensures that the plot moves at a clip — maximizing jump scares almost right away. The byproduct of this efficiency is that there’s literally no time to give a crap about any of the characters because we don’t know them as people. I couldn’t wait for everyone to die because I did not care about any of them. Over the years, many Asians have casually observed to me that it’s hard to remake Asian horror for American audiences because East Asian cultures have a different kind of relationship with ghosts and the supernatural. We like, take it way more seriously and it’s more mythic and generational, I think. A lot of the feeling of horror
depends on understanding context and the subtext of the culture. I think for this reason, there is always something dull, soulless, and perfunctory about American remakes of Asian horror because certain concepts are impossible to translate. There are some people of color in this movie. There’s Faison, Cho — and there’s Bichir, who is Mexican American and gallivants around the film giving exposition like a champ in a Mexican-Spanish accent. All of their last names are white as hell and that was distracting as hell. Cho’s character’s last name is Spencer. Bichir’s character’s last name is Goodman. Real Anglo. I know white people don’t care about these details, and that’s why these are their names in the movie. I bet Pesce wrote this movie with white people in mind but then cast Cho and Bichir and forgot to rename them ‘cause why bother? The problem is that people like me spend the entire movie wondering if Cho’s character is like, a South Korean adoptee or something. Or maybe he’s a major feminist and took his wife’s last name? Maybe Bichir’s character was also adopted? Or maybe his father witnessed a serious crime and then was put into witness protection by the FBI in the ‘burbs but the family still held onto their cultural roots, as evidenced by the Roman Catholic imagery everywhere in that dude’s mom’s house? There’s also Faison’s character who was apparently married to a white woman for decades because they are both in their 70s. Their characters could’ve been married before anti-miscegenation laws were struck down — and weirdly enough, not once did this guy allude to race as he was reflecting, as his wife was losing her grip on reality and dying from an unnamed terminal illness. It was weird, man. Colorblindness is weirdly contrived sometimes.
worked two or three jobs, according to the oral history she gave Manzanar. Ito Matsumura was 102 when she died in 2005. She was buried with a lock of her husband’s hair and his name on her gravestone. Most of what Lori Matsumura knows of the camp came from her grandmother and an aunt who lived across the street from the little home where she grew up in Santa Monica.
Now that her curiosity has been sparked, Lori Matsumura has no one to ask about their experiences in camp or the impact of her grandfather’s death on the family. Her father died last summer at age 94, the last of his generation. “I wished I would have dug a little deeper and found out more stories from my dad,” she said. “He didn’t talk about it much. I wished I would have asked more questions.”
“The Grudge” is out in theaters right now. Check local listings and showtimes. Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly.com.
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JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
EMPLOYMENT
KCHA will accept Bids from Qualified General Contractors for the Munro Manor Waste Line Project located in Burien, WA. See website for details at www.kcha.org/business/ High-End Asian restaurant.Need construction/open/ good Line Cook with so so English. Looking wok chef to work KCHA will accept Bids from immediately, Little English ok. Hard Qualified General Contractors working person, team work. Will for the Wayland Arms Electrical pay high. Good benefits, Panels Replacement Project healthcare, vacation and bonus. located in Auburn, WA. See web- Call 206-227-8000. site for details at www.kcha.org/ business/construction/open/
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AWKWAFINA from 1 that you are going to do more. I hope this is just the beginning.” Awkwafina shifted course to play a young woman in a Chinese family that is keeping their matriarch’s cancer a secret from her in director Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell.” She said she particularly related to the film. “Immigrants in this country who were raised to
38 YEARS
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feel very American ... and when we go back where, you know, we’re told that you don’t belong here and you go back to where you belong,” she said. “You feel like a stranger there and this constant feeling of being lost in translation. And I think that’s what really resonated with me in ‘The Farewell.’” The win is part of a breakout two-year run for the 31-year-old actress, who had a breakthrough year in 2018 after appearances in “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Ocean’s 8.”
She may now see an Academy Award nomination, though best actress winners in the Globes’ separate comedy category don’t always see Oscar nods. Additionally, ‘Parasite,’ directed by Bong Joonho became the first South Korean movie to win best foreign language film in the history of the awards. Historically, this foreign language film award has been handed out to European films.
SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.
BACKYARD PARTY from 4 Delgado, 19; Pao Vang, 30; Porge Kue, 26; and Johnny Xiong, 25. Sia Vang is wanted, police said. The chief didn’t say who the shooters were but that all six planned the attack. The six who were arrested are all being held on bail of $11 million each, and it’s unclear if they had lawyers yet who could speak on their behalf. All the victims were of Hmong descent and the shooting rattled the central California city, home to the secondlargest Hmong community in the United States. Killed were Xy Lee, 23, a popular singer in the community, and Kalaxang Thao, 40, who is survived by two daughters and a pregnant wife, according to a GoFundMe site.
Another victim was Phia Vang, 31, who supported his parents and younger siblings with earnings from his job delivering clinical lab results. The shooting occurred at the home of the fourth victim, Kou Xiong, 38, a gregarious sushi chef who loved hosting parties. Xiong is survived by his wife and young daughter. Both Vang and Xiong were children when they moved to the United States from Thailand as part of refugee relocation efforts. Hmong, an ethnic minority group from East and Southeast Asia, fought on the side of the United States in the Vietnam War. After the war, the United States moved them to places in Minnesota, California, and Wisconsin. In California, Hmong settled in Fresno and the Central Valley, where sponsors hoped they could find work given their agricultural background.
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The best food
RVCDF’s spread
To ensure all his dignitaries show up, Wayne Lau, executive director of Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, emailed a 20-item menu of his agency’s annual meeting to his guests prior to the event. I just couldn’t resist food. Obviously, I am a foodie.
Photo provided by Goodwill
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
The best surprise
APDC’s buffet line
What makes a great event? Surprises! But, how do you plant them effectively in annual events with a similar format, year after year? Goodwill’s annual dinner featured Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best as one of the models for its “Glittering Fashion Show,” and it was a smash hit. Most guests had never seen her in a dress. Most females in non-traditional jobs experience gender discrimination frequently. To project an image of professionalism and being one of the guys, Best has to be in uniform — just pants — no dress or skirt. It was refreshing to see her transformation, looking so graceful in an evening gown.
The other delicious reception was organized by the Asian Pacific Directors Coalition honoring City officials. It was truly mixed, with all kinds of Asian foods, including sushi.
The most creative desserts
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
Chief Carmen Best looking great at Goodwill’s gala
More tasty works of sugary art!
Lily Juang celebrated her retirement from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Affairs Office (TECO) in December at China Harbor Restaurant. Juang was a secretary for 35 years. Her title didn’t do her justice. She had served TECO and the community well. One travel agency said Juang had introduced the agency business opportunities. Another said
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
Photo by Rebecca Ip/SCP
The best behind-the-scenes worker
Lily Juang
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
Center held its annual fundraising dinner in October at Sodo Park. It was a smaller crowd of 230 guests (compared to the big gala of the ACRS or the Wing Luke Museum dinners, which are more than twice as big). Yet, the total amount raised was an impressive number: $190,000. I was also touched at Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC)’s fundraising dinner, held at the Bellevue Westin Hotel. Normally, clients of nonprofit agencies can’t afford to donate no matter how much they would like to give back. Over the years, I have witnessed some immigrants who have finally become successful move out of the ID to the suburbs and never even visited the ID again. None of them realized that they reached the American Dream faster because of job opportunities, low-rent housing and lower cost of living in the neighborhood, and free education for their kids. Amy Lee was different though. Amy is a former CISC client, who was not only present at the event — she donated $25,000 to the agency. What an example!
Juang has connected many organizations of diverse backgrounds together for cultural exchanges.
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
BLOG from 10
Top cake: Really cute Totoro cake! Bottom cake: Hood Famous Bakeshop’s Ube Cheesecake
Baby Yoda cake made by Tracy Luu
asianweekly northwest
15 Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
YOUR VOICE
Birdhouses up for auction at LIHI’s annual fundraiser
The Executive Development Institute (EDI) presented one of the most exquisite dessert auctions this year. Need I say more? Just glance at my photos. EDI trains diverse leaders to meet challenges professionally and personally. And the hosts were thoughtful. Every guest had an individually-wrapped tasty cookie on their plate. I am one of those guests who are not always thrilled to go to $150–$200 dinners where you still have to pay for dessert! (It’s not about the money, it’s about turning donors off.)
Seattle. Those bird houses were the most relevant auction items to what the agency’s mission is. They not only sold quickly, but were fun to look at and inspired bidders to think about their environment and nature.
The best party
The proudest audience
Geekwire co-founder and chair Jonathan Sposato hosts a party every year at his Queen Anne home. It was my kind of party — featuring a who’s who guest list, an interesting presentation of yummy food, tech and diverse professions, multiethnic and cultural guests, a 360-degree view of the Sound — and interesting conversation. Sposato is of Asian descent. He and his wife were gracious and generous hosts to allow guests to roam around their gorgeous home.
The most relevant silent auction items
The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) had its fundraising gala in November. What caught my eyes were its silent auction items: bird houses. The “tiny houses” symbolize the tiny houses LIHI builds in
Free bus to go from downtown to Chinatown to waterfront Thanks to Nora Chan, founder of Seniors in Action, you can now ride buses for free from Chinatown (next to the Chinese Historic Gate) to Pioneer Square, the waterfront, and more.
In 2019, world-renowned pianist Lang Lang not only got married in Europe to a Korean-German pianist, he also performed in Seattle on Oct. 9. About 40 percent of the audience were Asians. There were over 2,300 attendees. When he entered the stage, fans just roared with applause. His charisma is rare among classical musicians. His mesmerizing performance thrilled the audience. Let’s welcome not only 2020, but a new decade with hope, peace, joy, laughter, and fun. Assunta can be reached at assunta@ nwasianweekly.com.
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38 YEARS
JANUARY 11 – JANUARY 17, 2020
FEB 8 & 9 2020 9 AM – 9 PM
ASIAN ART MUSEUM REOPENING WEEKEND Today's Asian Art Museum is boundless. 2 days. 12 hours. 12 themes.
Reserve timed tickets visitsam.org/housewarming Major Sponsors The Boeing Company U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation
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Supporting Sponsor LMN Architects
Support for Seattle Asian Art Museum educational programs has been provided by Office of Arts and Culture, 1% for Art Program
Photo: ©️ Tim Griffith
IF YOU ARE 17 OR YOUNGER, PENALTIES FOR PURCHASING OR POSSESSING TOBACCO OR VAPOR PRODUCTS MAY INCLUDE:
THE LAW IS CHANGING CIVIL INFRACTION
ON JANUARY 1, 2020, YOU MUST BE 21 OR OLDER TO BUY OR POSSESS TOBACCO OR VAPOR PRODUCTS IN WASHINGTON.
MONETARY FINES
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Need help to quit? Asian Smokers’ Quitline is a free service for Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese speakers who want to quit smoking. Visit AsianSmokersQuitline.org.
Find additional tools and resources at apicat.org and doh.wa.gov/quit.