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VOL 39 NO 51 DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
FREE 38 YEARS YOUR VOICE
Chipped, but not broken First COVID-19
vaccines arrive in Seattle this week
Photo by Janice Nesamani
Photo from WA DOH
Business at nail salons continue to lag due to coronavirus effects
UWMC Montlake campus Pharmacy Administration Resident Derek Pohlmeyer, left, and UWMC Pharmacy Director Michael Alwan transport a box containing the Pfizer coronavirus vaccines toward a waiting vehicle headed to the UW Medicines other hospital campuses on Monday morning, Dec. 14.
Empty seats at Wynn Nail Spa
By Janice Nesamani NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY You’ve had a rough work week and a reward sounds good—for most women (and some men), there’s probably nothing more comforting than sinking into a plush massage chair and entrusting your hands and feet to the care of a
nail technician at one of the many nail salons across the city. A warm soak and some TLC later, your hands and feet look and feel ready to take on the world again. But in a world where we have retreated into the safety of our homes, rely on the protection see NAIL SALON on 12
“We are ready to go,” Gov. Jay Inslee said during last Sunday’s news conference, referring to the COVID-19 vaccine. “We believe that we can take our first shipments hopefully tomorrow and the first vaccinations start in our state safely as early as Tuesday.” The day after this press conference, 3,900 doses of
Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine arrived at the UW Medical Center. This delivery was among the first in Washington state. About 62,400 doses in total have gone out to 40 health facilities across the state. Here in Seattle, among the first to be dosed with the vaccine see VACCINE on 9
Chinese American World War II vets take life in stride, even while receiving highest honor
Courtesy of Gene Moy
By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Gene Moy
■
This month, 75 years after the end of World War II, U.S. Congress awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal to the Chinese American veterans of World War II in recognition of their patriotism, loyalty, and courage during a time when our nation denied citizenship to Chinese immigrants. The medal was presented on Dec. 9 by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, in a virtual ceremony. This award puts the veterans in a direct line with George Washington, who was the first recipient. As many as 20,000 Chinese Americans, including 40% without citizenship, served in World War II. Today, there are only somewhere
between 300-550 still living, according to the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA), which spearheaded and led a decade-long campaign that culminated in the bill. The bill, enacted into law on Dec. 20, 2018, was bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Congressmembers Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA). “Without this ceremony, many people may not be aware that Chinese Americans had served,” said MingMing Tung-Edelman, the founder of the Seattle chapter of CACA. For others, it had personal significance. “My father, Captain Moon Chen, served during World War II and
inspired me to follow in his footsteps,” said Major General William S. Chen, U.S. Army Ret. “Chinese Americans served across the U.S. Armed Forces— Army, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine. The award of the congressional gold medal completes the story arc for the Chinese American World War II veterans and paves the way for future generations to serve. They are a source of inspiration and motivation for our younger generations.” The ceremony also encouraged and educated family members to look through their veteran parents’ documents and increase their understanding of their stories, said Tung-Edelman. see VETS on 9
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asianweekly northwest
38 YEARS
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
■ NAMES IN THE NEWS Batayola reappointed to Seattle Colleges Board of Trustees
Teresita Batayola
Teresita Batayola was reappointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to serve a second term on the Seattle Colleges Board of Trustees. Trustees are responsible for overall policy and leadership of the colleges and must be confirmed by the state Senate. Batayola is president and CEO of International Community Health Services. Her reappoint-
ment was effective Oct. 8. “Education is one of the few equalizers for better lives. I am thankful to have the opportunity to help Seattle Colleges continue to be the difference for underserved communities,” she said. An active public speaker and advocate for affordable health care and health equity, Batayola earned the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World Award, presented in October 2019. In 2014, she was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for increasing access to health care coverage. In 2010, she was named an outstanding leader in health care by Seattle Business Magazine.
Yow sworn in as youngest WOC mayor of California city Jocelyn Yow was officially sworn in last week as the mayor of Eastvale, the youngest woman of color to ever serve as mayor of a California city. Yow, 25, was elected to the Eastvale City Council in 2018 and served as mayor pro tem before becoming
mayor this year. She is the daughter of a Vietnamese refugee and a Malaysian immigrant who brought their family to settle down in Eastvale in 2011. Yow is also the new mom of a 6-month-old baby boy. Jocelyn Yow
First Asian American justice on CA Appeal Court Judge Truc T. Do was nominated by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Dec. 8 to serve as an Associate Justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One. If confirmed, Do will be the first Asian American woman justice in the court’s history and the first Judge Truc T. Do Asian American to serve in division one of the court. Do was also the first Vietnamese American judge ever appointed to the San Diego County Superior Court when she was appointed in 2018. She earned a juris doctor degree from Stanford Law School.
Tony Pham out as ICE director Tony Pham, the acting director of the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), will step down at the end of the year after assuming the post in August. Pham thanked the Trump administration for appointing him as acting ICE director, calling it “the single highest honor” of his career.
Tony Pham
“I have gotten to meet with many extraordinary employees across the United States,” he said in a statement. “I will continue to be that tireless advocate for the hard working men and women at ICE.” He cited a desire to be closer to his family in Virginia in a statement announcing his decision.
CBS White House reporter Weijia Jiang is writing a memoir CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang is working on a memoir about her experiences as a Chinese American. One Signal Publishers, a Simon & Schuster imprint, announced on Dec. 10 that Jiang’s “Other’” would come out in Spring 2022. “In rural West VirWeijia Jiang ginia where I grew up, most residents had never laid eyes on Chinese people until they saw my parents and me,” Jiang, 37, said in a statement. “In various newsrooms where I have worked, no one looked like me. And in the Trump White House, I stood out as the only Chinese American reporter regularly interacting with the president.’” Jiang has been a White House reporter since 2018 and has clashed several times with President Donald Trump, who once called her “so obnoxious” as she attempted to ask a question about North Korea.
YOUR VOICE
■ COMMUNITY NEWS
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
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Sign up for 2021 democracy vouchers Be sure to request before Dec. 31
SEATTLE — The City of Seattle Democracy Voucher Program encourages Seattle residents to sign up for their Online Democracy Vouchers ahead of the 2021 election. In 2021, the mayor, city attorney, and
two city council (at-large) positions will be on the ballot. Democracy Vouchers will be mailed on Feb. 9, 2021 to Seattle registered voters and those who applied for the program. Residents can request Online Democracy
Vouchers before Dec. 31 and will receive an e-mail reminder to conveniently access their vouchers online. The Online Democracy Voucher Portal is available in 16 languages: English, Amharic, Khmer, Traditional Chinese,
Simplified Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, Lao, Oromo, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Thai, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. Request your Online Democracy Vouchers before Dec. 31, 2020 by visiting www.seattle.gov/democracyvoucher.
UW gets $1.8 million for Taiwan Studies Program
Daniel Kuo-Ching Chen
Daniel Kuo-Ching Chen, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Seattle, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) of cooperation with Ana Mari Cauce, President of the University of Washington (UW), in a virtual signing ceremony held on Dec. 8. Based on the MOU, the Taiwan government provided $1.8 million for the UW to strengthen
its Taiwan Studies Program and launch a Taiwan Arts and Culture program. The $1 million “Taiwan Studies MOFA Endowment” and $800,000 in additional grants will establish Taiwan Arts and Culture program, which covers Taiwan’s political economy, society, literature, history, language, art, and culture, and will employ new media to expand its reach and enhance cooperation capacity.
Taiwan Studies Program within the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, established in 2017, is dedicated to research, teaching, and outreach about the history, society, language, and culture of Taiwan. There are 500 Taiwanese students and about 1,700 Taiwanese alumni of the UW.
KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received by the King County Procurement Services Section, electronically, through the County’s E-Procurement system, until 2:00 PM of bid opening date for the following listed bids. Instructions on how to submit a bid electronically are provided on the County’s website or by following this link: https://www. kingcounty.gov/~/media/depts/finance/procurement/Documents/EProcurement_Supplier_Solicitation_User_Guide_Rev1_2020_ Final_11062020.ashx?la=en King County registered Suppliers interested in bidding on current solicitations must log in to their Supplier Portal to view any current bid opportunities, express interest, communicate with the Buyer via Message app and/or successfully submit a bid through the E-Procurement system prior to the Close date and time indicated in the solicitation. King County encourages minority business enterprise participation. King County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its programs, services, and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. KC000013 OPENS: 01/14/2021
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asianweekly northwest
38 YEARS
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
■ NATIONAL NEWS
Biden, Harris named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ WASHINGTON (AP) — Time magazine has named President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris its “Person of the Year.” Time’s editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal says Biden and Harris won the honor for “changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater
than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world.” Felsenthal notes, “Every elected President since FDR has at some point during his term been a Person of the Year, nearly a dozen of those in a presidential election year. This is the first time we have included a Vice
President.” Time’s other Person of the Year candidates were President Donald Trump; frontline health care workers and Dr. Anthony Fauci; and the movement for racial justice.
■ WORLD NEWS HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, the 73-year-old Hong Kong media tycoon and advocate for democracy, was denied bail on Dec. 12 after being charged the previous day under the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s new national security law. Lai faces a charge of collusion with foreign elements to endanger national security, apparently for tweets he made and interviews or commentaries he did with foreign media. The Apple Daily, a feisty pro-democracy tabloid owned by Lai, said he is accused of asking a foreign country, organization or individual to impose sanctions or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
Photo from Wikipedia
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai denied bail, U.S.’s Pompeo tweets support
Jimmy Lai
His case was adjourned to April 16 at the request of
prosecutors, who said police needed time to review more than 1,000 tweets and comments made on his Twitter account, the Apple Daily reported. The newspaper said his charge sheet listed several foreign politicians who followed Lai on Twitter and cited commentaries he wrote and interviews he did with foreign media. Lai, who was already being held on other fraud charges after police raided his media company, could be seen handcuffed to a chain around his waist as guards led him to a van to go from prison to court. He wore a navy blazer and an openneck shirt. Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong
earlier this year after stormy protests in 2019 that started over an extradition bill and expanded to include demands for greater democracy in the former British colony. The new law outlaws secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to intervene in Hong Kong’s affairs. It has constricted free speech in the city, and democracy activists see it as a way to suppress dissent. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that the security law “makes a mockery of justice.’’ He called for Lai’s release, saying his only crime is speaking the truth about China’s authoritarian Communist Party government.
Lai, the highest-profile person charged under the security law, has also been arrested for other alleged offenses this year. He has been charged with taking part in unauthorized protests and with fraud over alleged violations of office lease terms. He has advocated for other countries to take a harsher stance on China, and met with Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence in the U.S. last year to discuss the extradition bill, which the Hong Kong government eventually withdrew. Pence also tweeted about Lai, saying the charges against him are “an affront to freedom loving people around everywhere.”
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YOUR VOICE
■ AT THE MOVIES
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
asianweekly northwest
Latest ‘Ip Man’ installment hits its mark, hard By Andrew Hamlin NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
I had to laugh at the first review I found of this latest installment of the “Ip Man” saga, available from Magnet Releasing on Dec. 11. The reviewer suggested that nobody in the film looked like a real fighter. And that’s worth a guffaw, since whatever the film’s flaws (a slightly too-pat martial arts story curve tucked inside historical intrigue), every fighter in the film looks very much like a real fighter. Dennis To, who competed in wushu tournaments before he ever accepted dramatic film roles—and was at one point the youngest wushu champion in Hong Kong—is seemingly everywhere in the thick of battle, throwing out every limb in combinations which seem (but of course aren’t) completely spontaneous. The fight choreography from Sun Fei makes elegant sense, which is more than I can say for a lot of action films, which seem to put the camera in too close, pull it out too far, or point it at some trivial bit of a larger exercise. The underpinnings of the story here (the third outing for To as Ip Man) make such an interesting tale, historically, that
I almost wished director Li Liming and his co-screenwriter, Shi Chingshui, had opted for a more realistic tack. The Wing Chun master, best known to modern eyes and ears as the man who taught Bruce Lee, really did work as a police officer in his native Foshan starting in 1917. And he really did teach the Wing Chun fighting style to friends, family, and some of his fellow officers. Not surprisingly, though, realism goes out the window under the gun of martial arts action. Ip Man has to fight his way through a crowd of assassins—and these particular assassins carry deadly weapons. Ip Man has to face insurmountable
odds to defeat seemingly-undefeatable warriors. The challenges, all standard orders of business in such a screen story, at least come off fresh and exhilarating. Director Li manages a fresh wrinkle by rapid cutting between one of the film’s setpiece fights, and Ip Man’s steadfast wife Cheung Wing-sing (played by Chang Qinyuan) delivering their oldest child: A wry juxtaposition between the struggle of birth and a struggle to the death. Further complications ensue. Some revolve around a Chinese gangster boss found dead in his cell. Ip Man gets the blame, and the gangster’s daughter, Qingchuan (Yuan Li Ruo Xin), vows revenge.
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Western audiences probably won’t know Yuan Li Ruo Xin, with only two earlier films under her belt. But her steely fury and nuanced fighting skills (bolstered by a lifetime of ballet training) make her one of the film’s most commanding presences. Her single-mindedness renders her extremely dangerous, and she doesn’t always reason through her actions. But in battle, she’s never less than breathtaking. Also, in another nod to history, the Japanese begin showing up in Foshan, as they did elsewhere in China. And they begin making their preferences known. The script gets some mileage out of the Japanese officials’ strutting pride in their own karate fighting style, and how Chinese fighting styles could never equal such mastery. All of them have another thing coming, of course. And the film, at a brisk (not-quite) 90 minutes, gets to the big finish quickly and easily. I wished for more historical accuracy. I wished for a greater understanding of the period, the setting, and Ip Man’s fascinating life. But the “Kung Fu Master” movies know what it has to do to entertain, and it hits all of its marks. I just wonder if I’m the only one left hoping for just a little bit extra, a deeper bite to its vitality. Andrew can be reached by info@nwasianweekly.com.
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asianweekly northwest
38 YEARS
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT A-pop’s 2020 hall of fame/shame The brightest and the very worst—from a truly craptastic year
Man, this Bong Joon-ho is a legend! This year, his film “Parasite” was the first nonEnglish language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture—earning Bong a good amount of congratulations, but also a lot of racism scorn from internet trolls. And President Donald Trump! (Trump said he wanted to know why a foreign film won the Oscar. Similarly, I want to know how he feels about losing the presidency.) Also, my fave part of Bong’s Oscar campaigning was how he rolled his eyes
Photo by Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Bong Joon-ho
the entire time because he knew he was already a big deal internationally and Americans hate to read. Never forget that, about the awards, he said, “It’s a little strange, but it’s not a big deal. The Oscars are not an international film festival. They’re very local.” I’m telling you! A legend!
Sandra Oh
I feel like I include Sandra Oh on this list every year? I’m too self-conscious to check, but yes. I’m a hardcore Oh-head. In 2020, Oh’s star power just kept growing. She was nominated for an Emmy again for her role in the critical hit, “Killing Eve.” And she has so many new, interesting, and exciting projects in the works, such as a sister comedy with Awkwafina and a Sam Raimi horror called
“Killing Eve,” actress Sandra Oh poses backstage in the press room with her 2019 Golden Globe Award.
“Umma.” Fans of “Grey’s Anatomy” just need to accept the fact that their Cristina Yang is not coming back to guest star. She’s too busy to mess with y’all!
Taika Waititi
“Jojo Rabbit”
2020 was a weird year for movies and actors. Due to the pandemic, production on many projects were put on pause and many did not have new work come out in the last year. That didn’t stop Taika Waititi from being top of my mind. His Oscarnominated “Jojo Rabbit,” about a Nazi youth’s imaginary friendship with Hitler (played by Waititi himself) made its way to Netflix and opened a lot of people’s eyes to his body of work. He does more than make killer MCU superhero films! He also took part in Jason Reitnam’s star-studded home video remake of “The Princess Bride.” Taika has been tapped to do the “Akira” live-action remake. I am so excited!
Chrissy Teigen
progress forward professionally—her Cravings brand, her cookbook, her TV hosting duties, her political activism— she also bravely let us into her personal life by documenting and sharing the devastation she and her husband, John Legend, felt after the stillbirth of their baby, Jack. Her openness and vulnerability continues to put light on what is often silent pain that people suffer. She is such a treasure. (Fun fact that we keep forgetting: Chrissy is a local girl! She grew up in Snohomish!)
BTS and Blackpink
Screencap of “Dynamite” from YouTube
Image courtesy Fox Searchlight
THE FAMERS
Bong Joon Ho (right) reacts as he is presented with the award for best picture for “Parasite” from presenter Jane Fonda at the Oscars on Feb. 9. Looking on from left are Kang-Ho Song and Kwak Sin Ae.
Photo from Chrissy Teigen’s Twitter
Man, I can’t wait for 2020 to be over, too! Writing this roundup was kind of hard because the high points were hard to come by, the low points were plentiful, and everything—when it comes to Asian popular culture, constantly revolved around the pandemic and how every white person thinks that Asians are the problem. (Instead of white people’s pervasive racism being the problem.) Go figure. Let’s start with the good. Here are the folx that brought joy. And remember, Black Lives Matter.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Chrissy Teigen
Decider called Chrissy Teigen 2020’s woman of the year (not a real award, guys, don’t get confused)—and I can’t help but totally agree. Not only did she
BTS is a hugeass deal. They are Time magazine’s Entertainer of the Year. Their song “Dynamite” broke bananas YouTube records and they keep landing at the #1 spot on U.S. charts—three consecutive ones in three months— achieving this more quickly than any band since the Beatles. Similarly, Blackpink is the world’s biggest girl band—and that’s with only a debut album under their belt. Blackpink is the first-ever million-selling K-pop girl group.
THE SHAME-INDUCERS Trump, specifically how he kept calling COVID-19 kung flu
There’s lots of things to hate on when it comes to Trump, but for the purpose of this pop column, let’s focus on how he insistently wanted his legion of white supporters to never forget to be racist. That’s it. I have nothing else to say about this scumbag.
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams made it hard for me to continue enjoying his music because he talks all mega-racistly, and it’s hard to get over that. Back in May, near the dawn of the persistent U.S. apocalypse, Adams said on his Instagram: “Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold.”
Paul McCartney
I never enjoyed Paul McCartney’s music, so he didn’t ruin himself for me, when, near the dawn of the U.S. apocalypse, he told Howard Stern: “I really hope that this will mean the Chinese government says, ‘OK guys, we have really got to get super hygienic around here.’ Let’s face it, it is a little bit medieval eating bats.” He also went on to say: “I understand that part of it is going to be: people have done it for ever, this is the way we do things. But they did slavery forever, too. see A-POP on 10
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
YOUR VOICE
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38 YEARS
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
■ AT THE MOVIES
Diverse TV holiday season includes all-Asian Lifetime movie By Terry Tang THE ASSOCIATED PRESS In one scene from the Lifetime TV movie, “A Sugar & Spice Holiday,’’ a coworker says to Suzy, an Asian American architect in Los Angeles: “I didn’t know if Christmas was a big deal where you’re from.’’ Retorts Suzy: “I’m from Maine.“ A lot of viewers of a cozy Christmas film might just shrug off the insinuation that Suzy is somehow not American. But for an Asian audience, that brief exchange is a knowing reminder that microaggressions don’t take a holiday. They especially haven’t in the wake of the pandemic, which has triggered antiAsian racism and terms like “Chinese virus’’ and “kung flu.’’ “I think it’s great timing for us for this movie to be coming out now during the pandemic with the perception of the Asian culture and the `flu’ and all,’’ Canadian actor Jacky Lai, who plays Suzy, told The Associated Press. “I really do hope that this (movie)—with our faces—is able to hopefully be welcomed by people into their homes and see us as
just your American/Canadian friends.’’ “A Sugar & Spice Holiday,’’ which premiered on Dec. 13, may be the first feel-good TV Christmas flick to feature a mostly Asian ensemble. It’s one of several projects where cable channels are demonstrating a desire for inclusion this yuletide season. The shift comes a
year after the Hallmark Channel dropped an ad that included a same-sex couple. The fallout pointed to an overall diversity problem in the genre with not just the LGBTQ community, but communities of color. Recent months of racial unrest only added to the conversation within the entertainment industry about
representation. Tia Maggini, vice president of Lifetime Original Movies, says it was a coincidence that screenwriter Eirene Donohue, who is Asian American and had worked with the network before, came to them with the story pitch. “It was exciting to be presented with this particular point of view that has been long overdue for the Christmas movie genre,’’ Maggini said in a statement. Most important: The movie itself was actually funny and “full of Christmas heart.’’ Indeed, the rom-com has all the warm, familiar holiday movie tropes. Suzy returns to the small town where she grew up for Christmas, is persuaded to revive her baking skills for a local gingerbread house competition and is assisted by her former high school crush (Tony Giroux). Her father is played by veteran actor Tzi Ma. Despite a year filled with high profile film roles in “The Farewell“ and “Mulan,“ Ma didn’t hesitate to join a Lifetime movie. “It was the first time a Chinese American family was featured on a Christmas story,’’ Ma said in an email. “Lifetime has see SUGAR & SPICE on 12
■ NATIONAL NEWS
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to leave agency on January 20 By Tali Arbel THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, says he is leaving the telecommunications regulator on Inauguration Day. President-elect Joe Biden will choose a new Democratic head for the agency. A
new administration typically picks a new chairman. Pai has presided over a contentious FCC over the last four years. He undid net neutrality rules that barred internet service providers like Comcast and AT&T from favoring some types of online traffic over others in 2017 and championed other deregulatory efforts. He has also worked to free up spectrum for cellphone companies so they can roll out 5G, the next-generation wireless standard that promises faster speeds, and cracked down on Chinese telecom companies as national security threats. The incoming FCC is likely to try to reinstate net neutrality rules and focus on closing the “digital divide,’’ getting internet service to Americans who don’t have it because it’s not available or they can’t afford it. It’s likely not to act on a recent directive from the Trump administration to look at Section 230 in an effort to regulate social media companies like Facebook and Twitter. Section 230 shields internet companies from lawsuits about posts by users. The Trump administration has see PAI on 10
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YOUR VOICE VETS from 1 RESPONSE FROM VETERANS
I’d have to wait until after the shop was closed. That’s all,” he said. Lip Mar, 93, who was born in Seattle, opened a Chinese restaurant in Idaho after the war. There, he met and fell in love with one of the waitresses. But she was white. And it was illegal for them to marry. So the couple moved to Seattle, where the marriage was legal.
Courtesy of Gene Moy
DISCRIMINATION?
Sgt. Gene Moy oversaw cooking for hundreds of soldiers at a time as they prepared for battle
Courtesy of Lip Mar
Even so, veterans in the Seattle area slated to be awarded gold medals sloughed off suggestions of facing overt discrimination. They recounted instances that were anecdotal, both before and after the war, when scholars say discrimination surged mostly heavily. Gene Moy, 103, arrived from Guangdong at the age of 13 in Lewiston, Idaho and skipped grades after starting school, as he accelerated his English language learning. To him, the racism seemed subtle.
Lip Mar as a hospital corpsman in Oakland, Calif.
“When I went to get a haircut,
Still, at least part of these veterans’ sangfroid, looking back at any discrimination they faced, came from what they described as confidence born of serving in the military. “Being in the army gave a little more confidence—you feel more like an American,” said Moy. “You were out spending your time defending your country, and you should get some credit for it.” During the war, both insisted that they were treated fairly. Moy was made a mess sergeant and, after first cooking for soldiers in basic training for two years, island-hopped to oversee the cooking for those fighting in the Pacific Theater. He met his first real girlfriend while he was stationed in the Philippines. But he was shortly shipped out to join the occupation of Japan. For his part, Mar signed up to be a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy. As such, he treated sailors coming back from battle with severe injuries. His first assignment was in the burn ward, in a naval hospital in Oakland, Calif., where he would peel off the dressings of scalded men and treat them with ointment. However, he was soon transferred to the tuberculosis ward, where he contracted the disease and ended up being hospitalized with it for three years. “We didn’t do anything, we just lay in bed,” he said. Scholars say Chinese Americans encountered much less discrimination in the
VACCINE from 1 will be UW Medicine employees who are at the highest risk. The death toll from COVID-19 has exceeded 300,000 people in this country. The Food and Drug Administration gave the vaccine emergency approval just last Friday. It’s predicted that the vaccine will be more widely available in the spring and summer. It has still not been determined which populations or demographics will be prioritized, but it’s likely that essential workers, seniors, and others at-risk of severe illness
military. “Although many Chinese Americans in the military experienced some degree of discrimination, mostly offcolor remarks, the majority of the veterans assigned to mixed units claim that they did not encounter overt discrimination,” wrote Scott Wong, a professor at Williams College, in his book, “Americans First: Chinese Americans and the Second World War.” It was a major departure from decades of anti-Chinese racism. THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT CACA launched a campaign several years ago to have lessons about the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was passed in 1882 and suspended Chinese immigration, incorporated into the Washington state high school curriculum. In 1886, bands of armed vigilantes, led by the mayor of Tacoma, burned down Chinese homes and forced Chinese immigrants onto trains. The riots spread to Seattle. In her book, “Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans,” Jean Pfaelzer recounts that some Chinese, threatened by increasing violence, bought Winchester rifles in bulk to defend themselves. Between the turn of the century and the war, economic hardship coupled with bigotry forced many Chinese Americans to return to China seeking jobs, according to “American Exodus Second-Generation Chinese Americans in China, 1901–1949,” by Charlotte Brooks, a history professor at Baruch College. In the end, though, most of them returned to the United States, having failed to find a foothold in China. “The Nationalists didn’t really accept them as fully Chinese,” she said in an interview. The advent of the war with Japan forced a change in
would get high priority when the vaccine rolls out. By the end of this month, another 222,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will arrive in Washington state. “We believe that if everything goes according to plan, we’ll have most people in Washington vaccinated by mid-summer,” said Michele Roberts, one of the leaders of the Washington state Department of Health vaccine planning group, in a statement. Information from The Seattle Times and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Courtesy of Lip Mar
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
While in corps school in San Diego, Lip Mar poses with friend Maye Luke
American attitudes toward Chinese Americans. For instance, Life Magazine came out with pictures claiming to allow readers to distinguish between Chinese and Japanese. Still, some Chinese American organizations were unwilling to participate in racist narratives that distinguished them from Japanese, as Wong describes in “Americans First.” On the other hand, many were forced to carry cards or buttons that signaled they were not Japanese, Wong recounts. The three main factors that contributed to a lessening of racism against Chinese Americans in the mid-1940s, he writes, were the strategic need for China as an ally that forced policy makers to distinguish Japanese from Chinese, the celebratory tour of America by Madame Chiang Kai-shek, and the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943. POST-WAR Moy and Mar said they did not experience any discrimination in the military. “They all sort of evened it out in the army,” said Moy. But after the war, discrimination continued in many areas, such as housing practices. Still, U.S. foreign
9
policy at least brought discussion of some discriminatory practices against Chinese Americans into the national media, according to a paper by Brooks, “Sing Sheng vs. Southwood,” published in the Pacific Historical Review. A case in California, in which a neighborhood voted not to permit a Chinese American family to settle there, was brought to national attention after leaders such as former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt said that such discrimination could be used as negative propaganda against the United States. As the States fought the Korean War, Roosevelt and others worried that communist regimes would use such cases to convince Koreans and other Asians that the United States did not live up to its democratic and pluralistic ideals at home, according to Brooks’ paper. Unlike other ethnic groups, however, some Chinese Americans were allowed into the mainstream economy after the war. Moy worked at Boeing for 28 years and then went into the restaurant business. Mar went to drafting school and found work at the Northern Pacific Railroad. Later, he also opened a restaurant. For Mar, his restaurant served as a community, until recently. Located in Edmonds, other business owners, such as the owner of the bait shop, would regularly come in. They became friends. And eventually they began regularly going down to Palm Springs together for golfing. While both men achieved prosperity with large extended families, the echo of the early years still rings in their voices. Sitting in the atrium of his house, which he built with his brother in 1955, remembering the war, Mar seemed unfazed by the recent celebration of his service. “To me, that was life, you just did what you had to do,” he said. Mahlon can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
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KinG CoUnTY FLooD ConTRoL DiSTRiCT Chief Engineer $112,856 - $151,779 Annual This position will remain open until filled however, the screening process will move quickly. in order to be considered for the first round of interviews please submit your application materials no later than January 5, 2021 before 11:59 pm. The King County Flood Control District is looking for a highly skilled and motivated individual, to conduct engineering review, technical oversight and quality control for the implementation of the King County Flood Control capital improvement projects and operating work programs. The Chief Engineer analyzes and reviews technical engineering, project and program work from service providers who implement river and floodplain management projects and programs on behalf of the King County Flood Control District. The successful candidate is a leader with a proven track record of using environmentally sensitive techniques used in river and floodplain management projects in the Pacific Northwest. This is an exciting opportunity to join the King County Flood Control District staff and play a role in improving levee protection, flood water conveyance and capacity and foster effective partnerships with communities within King County. This position requires a self-starter with a keen political acumen and experience working with service providers, local jurisdictions, tribes, and other parties to identify and prioritize projects and programs for implementation and ensure the Flood Control District understands the broad spectrum of issues facing the County, as well as the people they serve. The Chief Engineer is a salaried, at-will, overtime exempt classification that reports directly to the Executive Director but is responsive to all members of the Board of Supervisors. HoW To APPLY: To apply and view a complete job announcement and apply, go to www.kingcounty.gov/jobs A King County application is required to be considered for this opportunity. Interested applicants must complete the supplemental questions and submit a resume and letter of interest with your application.
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Alison Roman
Alison Roman, a super duper white woman and a cookbook author, got really ticked off this year because she hates sellouts. She hates it when people get a whiff of success, let it go to their heads, and then start monetizing everything and making lots of money.
PAI from 8 gone after the law, alleging with no evidence that social networks censor conservatives. The FCC has three commissioners of the majority party and two in the minority party. It currently has two Democratic commissioners, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, one of whom Biden could choose to elevate to chairman or choose someone from outside the agency. Pai and another Republican commissioner, Michael O’Rielly, are leaving the
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As a white lady, Roman is not about that. She also happened to publicly call out two really beloved Asian women as examples of sellouts: Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo. Teigen, I can sort of understand (though I don’t agree with Roman), because Teigen’s brash and opinionated. But Marie Kondo has literally done nothing to nobody! It’s like insulting a teddy-bear-child!
agency. O’Rielly is leaving because the White House pulled his nomination after he said he wasn’t sure the agency had authority on Section 230. Congress is weighing the nomination of another Republican, Nathan Simington. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve at the Federal Communications Commission,“ Pai said in a statement. “To be the first Asian American to chair the FCC has been a particular privilege. As I often say: only in America.’’
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Myka and James Stauffer
These are the two horrible people who adopted a Chinese special needs child and documented it every step of the way so that they could gain popularity and monetize their brand—but then when said child proved to be too difficult to love, they decided to rehome him like a dog. Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly.com.
SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 4.
DECEMBER 19 – DECEMBER 25, 2020
YOUR VOICE
■ ASTROLOGY
asianweekly northwest
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Predictions and advice for the week of December 19–25, 2020 By Sun Lee Chang Rat—If you desire a leading role, then you must be willing to deal with the demands of such a position.
Dragon—Although you have a lot to say, a simpler and shorter message has a better chance of being heard.
Monkey—To the extent that you are able to take control and set parameters, don’t be shy about doing so.
Ox—While it has been generally beneficial to be tactful, there are times when you need to be more direct.
Snake—Keep your reaction to the latest developments in check. A calm, measured approach will serve you much better.
Rooster—While you may have gone for a more over-the-top display before, you now prefer a refined look.
Tiger—Does it seem like you are too predictable lately? Keep it interesting by doing something spontaneous.
Horse—You appreciate a spare, minimal aesthetic in your decor, but do warm it up with some greenery and comfortable pieces.
Dog—Are you slowly running out of excuses? It may be time to start what you have long been putting off.
Rabbit—Are you having second thoughts about a recent decision? New information is sufficient reason to reevaluate your choice.
Goat—When you stumble on the perfect match to your search, you owe it to yourself to stop and consider it.
Pig—A great deal is worth taking advantage of, but be careful that you don’t wind up with too much of a good thing.
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.
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Nomination Form Honoring health care workers Outstanding health care individuals including administrators, nurses, doctors, pharmacists, janitors, etc. Goal: To recognize outstanding Asian and BIPOC healthcare workers who have made significant contributions to his/her field during COVID-19. If any Asian and BIPOC employees in your organization have done an outstanding job exhibiting resilience, compassion, and going beyond her/his job responsibilities, you can nominate her/him. Limit to three nominees in each organization. Nominees will be recognized in a special issue of Northwest Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post on Jan. 21, and Jan. 28, 2021. Deadline: Dec. 28, 2020 for nomination Winners will be picked based on his/her leadership, innovations, mobilization of resources and manpower, mental health work, etc.
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Award Ceremony: Feb. 4, 5-6 p.m. Live Facebook award ceremony. Plaques and Chinatown International-District restaurant certificates will be mailed, or you may pick up at the Northwest Asian Weekly office, 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104. For any questions, please contact Assunta Ng at assunta@nwasianweekly.com. Name: Organization: Reasons for Nomination: Nominee’s Name: Nominee’s Phone Number: Nominee’s Email:
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asianweekly
NAIL SALON from 1
Photo by Janice Nesamani
of our facemasks, and subconsciously maintain a distance of six feet from others, something as routine as getting a manicure or pedicure is not as comforting as it once was.
Wynn Nail Spa
Just like restaurants and the travel industry, the nail salon industry has lost some of its varnish. Lynn Tran is the owner of Wynn Nail Spa in Issaquah. Pre-pandemic, a weekend appointment was something that would be tough to get, but if you did manage to make your way into one of their massage chairs, your nail technician would offer you a glass of wine to go with the pampering you were about to receive. Today, while she has managed to find some normalcy by swapping out her wine glasses for throw-away plastic cups and having masked and gloved technicians scrub away at customers’ hands and feet across plexiglass barriers, things weren’t looking too good a few months ago. “We all had to go on unemployment when the shutdown was announced in March,” Lynn said. In the summer, when things got better, she was happy that they could open—much better than keeping the shop closed. However, business was bad. “We saw an almost 50% decline in business when we opened, things got a little better in the summer, but then cases went up again and we now have to operate at 25% capacity,” Lynn said.
SUGAR & SPICE from 8 a tremendous Asian American following. It’s a way to say thank you to them.’’ In Hollywood, it can often feel like studios only cast Asians in narratives where there’s some kind of hardship or East-meets-West struggle. And with TV holiday movies, they’re almost nonexistent. Meanwhile, there are white actors who have made a baker’s dozen of them. Like any other group, Giroux says, Asians deserve to see themselves in lighthearted fare regularly. “I think it’s so important to have all sorts of stories with any culture—for them to have exposure to the stories of struggle but it’s such a delight to see something lighter, to see aspects of culture that aren’t surrounded with times of difficulty,’’ Giroux says. Giroux, who is Canadian, is also looking forward to queuing up a movie where his grandparents can see themselves. “I’m really excited for them to see a story that covers part of their story. My grandparents immigrated here from China in the ‘50s,’’ Giroux says. “That’s why being part of
“Earlier I had thirteen girls working for me, but now I have only eight,” Lynn said. Though she decided to cut hours instead of jobs. “Some of my girls left because their husbands got laid off, and they needed the insurance or because they had to make the decision to stay home and look after their kids who now had to attend school from home,” she said. “A few others left because they couldn’t make ends meet due to the reduced hours,” Lynn said, adding that she would really like to hire them back when things get back to normal. Lynn was very particular about having safety measures at the salon. Bottles of sanitizer greet you when you enter, masks are mandatory, and seats and equipment are sanitized after every customer. That’s what’s keeping employees safe and customers comfortable. “We have had to increase our prices by $5 to pay for the extra costs though,” Tran added. Waiting to get her nails done at Wynn Nails was Betsy Alementor, a retired paraeducator who’s a regular at the salon. “They make you wash your hands before you do anything, they have screens put up, and they make everyone wear masks. That’s important to me. I see how the pandemic has impacted them because I’ve been here when there were only two people in the salon,” she said. Lynn is cognizant that she is among the lucky few who have seen loyal customer support carry her through these tough times. Kathy Tran (no relation to Lynn Tran), who owns Seattle Nail Supply, a beauty supply store in International District, says her business has taken a hit because of the tough times being faced by nail salons in the city. “Honestly, my loyal customers are doing really badly, and I think it’s the same for every nail salon today,” Kathy said. She knows of many salon owners who have had to cut employee hours or ask them to share hours because business is so bad. “Sales have seen a 75% drop, and it’s roughly the same for salons,” Kathy said. “For my business, I have tried and succeeded in keeping all my employees working their normal hours. I have tried my hardest to do it, but it is difficult,” she said. In the meantime, Kathy has trained her staff to sanitize the store, wear masks, and use hand sanitizer to keep them safe. “I’m hoping that the vaccine comes out soon, so things can get back to normal,” she said. For Lam Huynh, who owns and runs Sen Salon on East Madison Street, the stakes are high. Hers is a family business that has been operational since 2004 and she is stressed by the downturn in business. “Our sales went down 25% and I had to let go of half of our staff.” Huynh has had to trim her budget and staff. “Without her regular volume of customers, she
this project is telling a story that I’m really a part of.’’ Lai grew up loving romantic comedies. She remembers unexpectedly getting emotional watching “Crazy Rich Asians,’’ the first major Hollywood studio film with an allAsian cast in 25 years. “You hear people say there hasn’t been a movie like this in 25 years. You hear those things. But it’s not until I sat in the theater and watched someone who looked like me on screen who wasn’t a ninja or a nerd but someone just like me. I remember the way it felt,’’ Lai says. ’’I am so excited that there’s another movie like that and hopefully we bring joy and open some minds with this movie and more opportunities.“ The movie is lovingly sprinkled with Chinese American nuances on script and screen. These include a photo of Suzy’s deceased grandma flanked by incense sticks and the entire family eating with chopsticks. And it is definitely the only Christmas movie to feature both gingerbread and stinky tofu, a beloved Chinese dish known for its pungent smell. “I love that we were able to kind of include a lot of nice details. ... It’s really a romantic comedy where the
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Photo provided by Lam Huynh
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northwest
Lam Huynh at Sen Salon
has resorted to opening an hour later and closing a little earlier, too.” Between scheduling efficiently and speaking to her landlord to allow her to pay lower rent until business picks up, Huynh has to ensure the health of her staff and customers. “So far, my staff is taking care of themselves very well. I often remind them to maintain social distancing and wash and sanitize their hands,” she said. So far, her salon has seen no infections and her customers are appreciative of the measures she has taken. When asked if she hopes the holiday season may have things looking up, Huynh is skeptical. “We haven’t seen a rise in sales during the holidays as people are still scared,” she said. To drum up business, she even offered a special Black Friday discount, but says with sales being low, she doesn’t have the bandwidth to offer any more deals. “Sales in winter are normally low and I don’t see things looking up until May,” Huynh said. “I hope the government can help, but so far we have to try to survive with what we have as there is nothing we can do. Everyone is struggling,” she said. While news of the vaccine has her looking up, she said, “I think some things are here to stay, I see us wearing masks and putting up barriers in our salons for a while.” While we’re all looking forward to the day when the masks slip off and the barriers come down, a little support may keep your local nail salon in business long enough to pamper you… when things get back to normal. Janice can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
characters happen to be Asian American,’’ says Jennifer Liao, the director. “It’s nice to make an Asian American movie that’s not necessarily completely frontloaded with having to carry the weight of cultural identity issues and things like that.’’ “Sugar & Spice’’ is not the only holiday movie expanding the definition of who can lead these kinds of flicks. A handful of networks, including Lifetime and Hallmark, have a Christmas-themed movie on their slate featuring a same-sex pairing. Tony winner Ali Stroker, who uses a wheelchair, stars in Lifetime’s “Christmas Ever After.’’ Does Liao feel pressure as “the first’’ even on such an innocuous project to bring in a sizable audience? “I feel like the pressure is more to deliver something that I and everybody else (who) worked on (this) can be proud of. That was really No. 1,’’ Liao says. Lai doesn’t see the point of getting caught up in things like ratings. “I think that it is really, really nice to hear when someone says `I got to see someone who looks like me on screen.’ That will never get old,“ Lai says. “We get more responses like that—for me, the movie did its purpose.’’