VOL 40 NO 34 | AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021 by Northwest Asian Weekly

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

VOL 40 NO 34 AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

FREE 39 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Vietnamese American woman files suit against neighbor

Photo from PR INK, Inc.

Photo from Colin Wong

AMIDST UNCERTAINTY, ASIANS FIND “HOME” THROUGH GUNS

Left: Miriam Chung, at a shooting range, is mulling a gun purchase. Above: Colin Wong tells his daughters, “First, walk away, then use pepper spray. Self defense is a state of mind.”

By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY The flat, cold metal grip was reassuring in his hand. Xiaohu Qian had not touched a gun since college when the Chinese government, in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre, whisked students away to military camps for train-

ing. But living in the United States now, working as a Microsoft software engineer, he felt the brunt of the pandemic with the absence of government. “Even Costco was out of water, rice, and toilet paper, and I knew that this was a sign that the government would not be there for us if it couldn’t even ensure a supply chain,” he said, asking for a pseud-

onym because of his work. “But guns were plentiful.” Thus, like thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of Asians and Asian Americans in our region, he became a gun owner for the first time recently. “They basically felt unsafe,” said one Chinese community leader, who knows a half-dozen individuals who recently purchased guns. She also asked for anonymity given privacy concerns. At Low Price Guns, in Bel-

levue, where Qian purchased a Sig Sauer P320, the manager, who asked to go only by his first name, Rick, said that the clientele is usually 30% Asian. But during the first six months of the pandemic, that rose to 75-80%. “There were lines out the door every day, it was a whirlwind,” he said. “We saw a huge uptick and sold thousands of guns. They cleaned us out.”

Described as calm, respectful, and creative, it’s no surprise that Katherine Tai’s appointment to the position of United States Trade Representative (USTR) on March 18, 2021 was approved 98-0 by a usually-polarized Senate. However, what makes her appointment celebratory is that Tai is the first Asian American woman to serve in this position. Calling the timing of her appointment challenging would be an understatement. Tai must broker deals that had spiraled into tariff wars under the previous administration while the U.S. prepares to recover from the pandemic and the Biden-Harris

(see LAWSUIT on 11)

(see GUNS on 15)

Talking trade with Ambassador Tai By Janice Nesamani NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Thi Pham of Shoreline says she has endured years of harassment and threats from her white neighbor—because of her race. Now she has filed a civil lawsuit against Jan Myers, 72, who was arrested earlier this year after Pham recorded Myers, on April 5, using racially derogatory and threatening statements.

Photo from Seattle City Council

Photo from Miriam Chung

Thi Pham (right) with her attorney, Jeff Campiche

government aims to Build Back Better. Tai’s job is to negotiate trade deals that open the U.S. economy to new opportunities, while safeguarding the interests of our workers. On Aug. 5, 2021, Tai visited the Washington State University (WSU) Breadlab and met with labor leaders and union representatives to understand their needs that will inform the policies she crafts.

Immigrant perspective Tai’s parents were born in China, moved to Taiwan, and then immigrated to the U.S. She was born in Connecticut and grew up in Washington, D.C. Fluent in Mandarin, Tai graduated (see TAI on 13)

Kshama Sawant

Push for recall Sawant effort The Recall Sawant campaign is gearing up for its final signature-gathering push. Last week, it said it hit a “significant milestone” with volunteers collecting more than 13,000 unverified signatures. The goal is to collect 14,000 signed petitions through August before submitting to King County Elections. If it qualifies for the ballot, King County Elections will assign a date for the recall election, likely sometime between Nov. 11–Dec. 26. “We know that Sawant will go to no end to protect her political career, but this campaign is about holding Sawant accountable for her record of legal and ethical violations while in office, and we will not be deterred,” the campaign said in a news release. 

Ambassador Katherine Tai

■

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39 YEARS

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS Image from RVC

RVC co-executive directors

From left: Chris Rhodes, Anbar Sheikh, Roshni Sampath, and JoJo Gaon.

RVC announced JoJo Gaon, Anbar Mahar Sheikh, Roshni Sampath, and Chris Rhodes as new co-executive directors, celebrating its shared leadership approach. “RVC was formed to disrupt systems and traditional ways of doing things that have been harmful to communities of color. One of our strengths lies in having multiple strong leaders who really know our communities, our operations, and our vision,” said Rhodes. Formerly known as Rainier Valley Corps, RVC started as a nonprofit in 2015, to transform leadership through leadership-development fellowships for people of color in the Seattle area. 

Seattle artists selected for statewide award Several Seattle artists, including Gabrielle Kazuko Nomura Gainor and Sinae Joy Cheh, have been selected as part of the prestigious Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program (HAAP). Created to encourage people to learn a traditional trade, craft, or skill, HAAP conserves and helps carry on cultural traditions important to Washington communities. Through the program, a skilled master artist mentors an apprentice, spending over 100 hours together during the program year. Gainor will be learning the Kagura tradition, a sacred

Gabrielle Kazuko Nomura Gainor

Filipino Community Village

lic and private grants. FCV is open to seniors aged 55 and over who meet the income qualification requirements. 

Nelson Dong named one of PSBJ’s 2021 Directors of the Year

Sinae Joy Cheh

Japanese dance performed during Shinto ceremonies and rituals. Cheh will be teaching the gayageum, a traditional instrument created in the ancient Korean Kingdom of Kaya. 

Filipino Community Village opens The Filipino Community Village (FCV) held an open house for prospective residents on Aug. 14. The new affordable housing building is five stories tall and a mixed-use complex—adjacent to the Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. The $36 million development was made possible by pub-

Nelson Dong, a senior partner in the Seattle office of Dorsey & Whitney and head of its National Security Practice Group, has been named one of eight PSBJ’s 2021 Directors of the Year. Dong will be honored on Sept. 9, at the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle for his service as a board member for two Nelson Dong nonprofit groups, the Washington State China Relations Council in Seattle and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in New York City. Both organizations focus on the improvement and promotion of business, educational, and cultural ties between the United States and China. Dong has also served as an adjunct professor of international law at the Seattle University of Law School. He is a graduate of Stanford University and the Yale Law School. 

THANK YOU! Dear Friends, The Seattle Chinatown-International District (CID) has been significantly impacted by Covid-19 and anti-Asian crimes, resulting in an economic downfall. Many restaurants and businesses were forced to close this past year, some permanently. As part of our effort to increase traffic and welcome more visitors back to the CID, we partnered with the City of Seattle, King County, State of Washington, local businesses and many of our wonderful friends to help organize a multicultural event on Aug. 7 at Hing Hay Park. It was a very successful event attended by several thousands of people. Most importantly, there were many first-time visitors to CID—it was great to see long lines in front of businesses. In June 2019, we raised money for more surveillance cameras, but because of some in the community who are against facial recognition, we lost our equipment placement contract. We refunded most of the money to the people and businesses in Chinatown with $16,198.84 left over. I am grateful for the trust from donors—some of them decided to leave the donation in our account so we can do some special events for the community. With volunteers and the support of the city, county and state's help, we had a very successful CID celebration on Aug. 7. I also want to thank the following for their support in making this event a success. Benjamin Lee, President of Hong Kong Association of Washington Foundation, Dora Chan and Anthony Yeung, Vice Presidents of Greater China Hong Kong Business Association of Washington (HKBAW), Walter Vining, Alex Vining, and Claudette CabralAure from Seattle Public Utilities. Also thanks to Amazon, Seattle Public Utilities, and Seattle & King County Public Health for their support and sponsoring the event.

Nora Chan

FOUNDING PRESIDENT, SENIORS IN ACTION FOUNDATION

YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

Hsu sentenced for $1.1M COVID relief fraud scheme SEATTLE (AP) — A suburban Seattle man who submitted nine fraudulent disaster loan applications in an effort to obtain over $1.1 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars was sentenced on Aug. 10 to two years in prison. Austin Hsu, 46, of Issaquah, pleaded guilty in January to a count of wire fraud and admitted to applying for small business loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, The Seattle Times reported. Federal prosecutors say Hsu, the owner and CEO of a company called chiropractic practice Back 2 Health

Bellevue, received funds from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program. He then used the names of current and former employees to apply for loans under the names of four other companies, and submitted fake federal tax filings, according to prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Six of Hsu’s nine loan applications were approved, and he fraudulently got more than $700,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, prosecutors said. Hsu has also been ordered to pay $25,000 in fines and about $709,105 in restitution. 

Man arrested in CID encampment shooting Police arrested a man at a Chinatown-International District (CID) encampment after he shot a resident of the encampment in an apparent robbery. Around 3:15 a.m. on Aug. 11, the 25-year-old man reportedly attempted to rob the victim at gunpoint inside a tent. During the robbery, the suspect fired a shot, striking the victim in the neck.

Officers arrived at the encampment, in the 700 block of 10th Avenue South, and found the victim sitting in a chair outside the tent. Police provided medical aid until Seattle Fire transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center. Police arrested the man—he appeared to be in a state of crisis and was taken to Harborview Medical Center for an evaluation. 

Man stabbed in ChinatownInternational District Police are investigating after a man was stabbed in an alley in the Chinatown-International District. The 49-year-old victim told police he was walking through an alley, near Maynard Avenue and Lane Street around 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 6, when a man struck him in the head and repeatedly stabbed him before going through the victim’s pockets. The victim told police he was able to get away before he passed out for an hour or two.

The victim, who sustained a large cut to his arm and stab wounds to his chest and back, described the location of the attack, and said the suspect was associated with a makeshift tent on top of a pile of rocks in the alley. Medics transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. Officers found the location of the attack, gathered evidence at the scene, and obtained information about a possible suspect. 

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$30M Equitable Community Initiative recommendations signed into law Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan signed into law the recommendations of the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force (ECITF) on Aug. 11—providing $30 million in investments to address long-standing inequities and disparities impacting communities of color. The ECITF directed the City’s largest-ever, self-determined effort to fund strategies that will help improve outcomes for the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. “Seattle has reached another milestone, furthering our commitment to address generational wrongs that continue to harm our communities of color. Coming out of the painful time after the murder of George Floyd, these community leaders went to work, harnessing the collective power of community voice to deliver strategies that will improve lives,” said Durkan.

The recommendations created by the 26-member ECITF focused on four areas or “pillars”—businesses, which will receive $7.5 million; education, $7.5 million; housing, $8.8 million; and health, $6.2 million. As part of her 2021 budget proposal, Durkan committed $100 million to address the deep disparities endured by BIPOC communities and caused by systemic racism and institutionalized oppression. Durkan launched the ECITF—a diverse group of people of color, community leaders representing a cross-section of industries including arts, business, health care, education, food, and environmental justice, and more—to spearhead the process of developing recommendations. The Task Force had full autonomy to determine focus areas. 

asianweekly northwest

■ HEALTH

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

39 YEARS

As the Delta variant surges, how long will vaccines last? By Nicholas Pasion NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

“This COVID vaccine is like a life jacket,” said Dr. Dong Heun Lee, a doctor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Hospital, where the number of hospitalized COVID patients have more than tripled over the past month as the Delta variant infects the unvaccinated. Lee said unvaccinated individuals face massive risk when they contract COVID-19. And with vaccination rates dropping quickly and another oncoming wave of COVID cases surging, spurred by the highly transmissive Delta variant, hospitals are once again filling up. But doctors, researchers, and medical professors all have the same message: get vaccinated. “A virus that has undergone mutation that enables it to transmit more efficiently will become the dominant one,” Dr. Deborah Fuller, a professor of microbiology and vaccine researcher at the University of Washington, said. According to the Washington State Department of Health, in the state of Washington, the Delta variant has become the dominant strain, making up about 85% of new cases in July. As of July 30, one in 172 Washington residents was estimated to have an active COVID-19 infection. Experts expect that number to continue to rise. An Aug. 13 news release stated that “Prevalence is approaching levels last seen in the win-

Third dose of COVID-19 vaccine recommended Health care providers can now offer third doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to certain immunocompromised individuals following recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices, and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.

ter 2020 surge.” The Center for Disease Control said vaccines are highly effective at preventing serious illness and death, including against the Delta variant. While some fully vaccinated individuals will still be infected in breakthrough infections, the vaccine still provides protection against serious illness and death. Still, after receiving the vaccine, the immunization’s efficacy wanes over time as our antibody responses begin to decay, Fuller said. The CDC is currently unsure as to how long after being vaccinated an individual’s antibodies will decay to the point of serious illness. “Because the vaccines are so new, and it’s still so recent, we don’t have enough data yet to know, at what point will the vaccines become less effective at protecting us from disease,” Fuller said. Researchers will be able to tell if vaccinated individuals’ antibody response is decreasing if there starts to be an increase in breakthrough infections and an increase in

vaccinated individuals contracting the disease. Fuller added that a second approach to testing vaccine longevity is to test the vaccine response empirically on animals. By vaccinating the animal, researchers are able to test the immune response at different levels and against mutated versions of the virus. She said the research her lab has done has shown that even low immune levels “are providing a significant amount of protection against disease.” “That’s actually a promising sign, that potentially these vaccines, at least in terms of the threshold of antibody that you need to be protected, could provide durable immunity,” she said. “But then the variants come in because then they can change that equation a little bit.” In response to the variants, researchers are designing and editing vaccines to address the mutations shown in newer variants. Fuller said by editing vaccines to match the dominant variants, researchers will be able to ensure better protection against newer and

more deadly variants. Among eligible residents, 75.7% of individuals in King County are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 81.5% have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Still, as the Delta variant infects more people, it is vital for individuals to get vaccinated against the virus. Lee said the number of COVID-19 infected patients at UCSF Hospital is on the rise, and among the hospitalized, a majority are unvaccinated. He said without the vaccine, people will be stuck in the water. “This COVID vaccine is like a life jacket when you’re swimming,” Lee said. “If you’re vaccinated, you’re safe in the water. If you’re not, I mean, you can swim, but there is a chance that you might drown. It’s really important to get everyone vaccinated.”  This health series is made possible by funding from the Washington Department of Health, which has no editorial input or oversight of this content.

While authorized vaccines have proven to be more than 90% effective in protecting against most variants, emerging data suggest people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems do not always build the same level of immunity compared to people who are not immunocompromised. The third dose is not considered a booster, rather an additional dose for individuals who did not adequately develop immunities with the initial two-dose series. “A third dose of Pfizer or Moderna will provide those who need it extra protection and help shield some of our most vulnerable from the highly contagious delta variant,” said Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH. “Science continues to show vaccines are the best tool we have to protect our communities and slow the spread of COVID-19.” A person receiving a third dose should get it at least 28 days after dose two. When possible, the individual should receive the same vaccine as the first two doses, but may receive the other mRNA vaccine brand if the other vaccine is not available. At this time, no additional dose is recommended for people who had the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine. People who received J&J should not get a second dose of either J&J or a dose of an mRNA vaccine. Additionally, people with competent immune systems should not receive a third dose.

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON NOTICE TO PROPOSERS Proposals will be received for KC000318, Work Order Construction Management Services for Transit Facilities; by King County Procurement and Payables Section until 12:00 PM on September 8, 2021. This contract is funded by the Federal Transit Administration. There is a 15% minimum commitment for Washington State Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises Certified Federal Small Business Enterprise (SBE) firms on this contract. Total Estimated Price: $1,000,000 King County, in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d to 2000d4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all Proposers that it will affirmatively ensure that any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit proposals in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. This AGREEMENT is subject to the appropriations of the State of Washington. Prospective proposers can view more details at: https://kingcounty.gov/procurement/solicitations Contact: Kelly McKeever, kelly.mckeever@kingcounty.gov, 206.263-9389

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

YOUR VOICE

■ LOCAL NEWS

asianweekly northwest

Muckleshoot tribe weighs in on Duwamish recognition The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe launched a public information initiative last week to increase awareness and understanding of its history, culture, treaty rights and sovereignty, and to clearly illustrate its enduring legal and ancestral connection with its

Duwamish ancestors. On Aug. 9, more than 95% of Muckleshoot tribal members are of Duwamish descent and the tribe is federally recognized as a rightful successor to several of the Duwamish lands on whose behalf Chief Seattle signed the

Treaty of Point Elliott. In a news release, the tribe said that a group calling itself the Duwamish Tribal Organization “continues its decades-old efforts to garner public attention and support based on a misleading historical account and

rejected calls for federal tribal recognition.” It’s time to set the record straight, it said. “This scheme aimed at appropriating our culture in the name of our Duwamish ancestors has gone on long enough,” said

Muckleshoot Tribal Council Chairman Jaison Elkins. Advertisements have appeared in several Western Washington newspapers and online stating the tribe’s case and connecting people to an informational website: theRealDuwamish.org. 

■ NATIONAL NEWS

Sudoku maker Maki Kaji, who saw life’s joy in puzzles, dies

TOKYO (AP) — Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said on Aug. 17. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer. Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn’t want to think too hard.

Its name is made up of the Japanese characters for “number” and “single,” and players place the numbers 1 through 9 in rows, columns and blocks without repeating them. Ironically, it wasn’t until 2004 when Sudoku became a global hit, after a fan from New Zealand pitched it and got it published in the British newspaper The Times. Two (see SUDOKU on 16)

Photo from NIKOLI

By Yuri Kageyama

Maki Kaji

Malaysia’s king meets political leaders to select new PM KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s king summoned the heads of political parties on Aug. 17 as he swiftly began the task of selecting a new prime minister amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak. The resignation of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Aug. 16 after less than 18 months in office followed mounting public anger over what was widely perceived as his government’s poor handling of the pandemic. Malaysia has one of the world’s highest infection rates and deaths per capita, with daily cases breaching 20,000 this month despite a seven-month state of emergency and a lockdown since June. The monarch has ruled out a general election because many parts of the country are COVID-19 red zones and health facilities are inadequate. Muhyiddin was appointed caretaker prime minister until a successor is found. Leaders from at least six parties were seen entering the palace. They included opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and the heads of two other parties in his alliance, as well as the president of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s small opposition party.

The chiefs of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and an Islamic party which were part of Muhyiddin’s alliance were also summoned. The king plays a largely ceremonial role but appoints the person he believes has majority support of Parliament to be prime minister. Muhyiddin took power in March 2020 after initiating the collapse of the reformist government that won the 2018 elections. With a razor-thin majority in Parliament and an unstable coalition, he became the country’s shortest-ruling leader. The king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, also asked all lawmakers to individually submit the name of a preferred candidate for prime minister. This is somewhat similar to how the king picked Muhyiddin last year. The monarch interviewed all 222 lawmakers individually, then sought nominations from party leaders in an arduous process. His choice of Muhyiddin was disputed by the person he ousted, Mahathir Mohamad, and by the opposition. The selection this time will be another tough chore for the monarch because no coalition holds a majority. Anwar’s

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah

three-party alliance, the biggest opposition bloc, has nominated Anwar but has less than 90 lawmakers, short of the 111 needed for a simple majority. That’s also less than the 100 lawmakers believed to have backed Muhyiddin. Anwar received a boost on Aug. 17 when a party from eastern Sabah state with eight lawmakers said it would throw its support behind him if he is able to secure enough numbers. Other contenders include former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri from UMNO, the biggest party in Muhyiddin’s alliance with 38 lawmakers. But he may not get his party’s backing because he earlier led a faction backing Muhyiddin

against the party’s decision to pull its support. Local media said another possible candidate is Razaleigh Hamzah, an 84-yearold prince who was a former finance minister. Razaleigh, also a UMNO lawmaker, is seen as a neutral candidate who could unite the party’s warring factions. Meanwhile, Mahathir, 96, has called for a national recovery council to be formed and led mainly by professionals to resolve the country’s economic and health crises. The Bersih electoral reform group urged contenders to pursue political stability by offering multi party governance and institutional reforms, and not just conduct horse-trading over numbers and positions. “The endless political machination due to winner-takes-all politics in a de facto hung Parliament for the past one and a half years must now end to enable a more effective governance of health and economy. The new Prime Minister must quickly convene a special meeting and table a motion of confidence in himself to prove his majority,” it said in a statement. It warned that a short-sighted and self-serving government would be punished by voters in the next election. 

asianweekly northwest

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

39 YEARS

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR AUG 21, 31 RAY PFORTNER PHOTO WORKSHOP Seattle Chinese Garden Aug. 21, 7-10 p.m. Aug. 31, via Zoom seattlechinesegarden.org

20 THE NORTHWEST NIKKEI MUSEUM SPEAKER SERIES, “ASIAN AMERICAN REPRESENTATION IN MEDIA” Via Zoom 7 p.m. Register by 6 p.m. on Aug. 19 to receive the Zoom link, https://bit.ly/3fN4acg

24 FILIPINO YOUTH GRIEF SUPPORT GATHERINGS ORGANIZED TO SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITY From ages 12-24 via Zoom 5-6:30 p.m. Register at bit.ly/3efc65k INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT SPECIAL REVIEW BOARD, VIRTUAL MEETING 4:30 p.m. https://bit.ly/3mdJIFu

OCT

NOW THROUGH

SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM FREE FIRST FRIDAY 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Seattle Asian Art Museum Free admission Advance registration required volunteerparktrust.org

ASIA PACIFIC CULTURAL CENTER’S 24TH ANNUAL POLYNESIAN LUAU, INPERSON AND VIRTUAL EVENT Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Tacoma 3 p.m. asiapacificculturalcenter.org CID FOOD WALK SERIES Hing Hay Park 423 Maynard Ave. S, Seattle 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

28-29 CELEBRATE LITTLE SAIGON STREET FAIR Friends of Little Saigon, 1227 S. Weller St., Seattle 11 a.m.-6 p.m. flsseattle.org

23 NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY’S UNITY IN VOICES EVENT, BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN BLACK AND ASIAN COMMUNITIES 5-7 p.m. Joyale Seafood Restaurant, Seattle (Also a virtual event) Free admission with proof of vaccination nwasianweekly.com

1-24

SEATTLE’S NIHONMACHI BOASTS NEW BUSINESSES FOR THE FIFTH ANNUAL “HAI! JAPANTOWN” CELEBRATION Wing Luke Museum, 719 S. King St., Seattle For details, please visit wingluke.org

TASVEER SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL Northwest Film Forum tasveer.org

SEPT 8 APDC SEPTEMBER MEETING, FEATURING SHOUAN PAN, GARY LOCK, AND MIA TUAN Via Zoom 8:30-10 a.m. https://bit.ly/3g9Kz6r

24 SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM FREE FIRST FRIDAY 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Seattle Asian Art Museum Free admission Advanced registration required volunteerparktrust.org/event/ saam-free-fridays/all/

DOUG BALDWIN AT RENTON ROTARY CLUB 12-1:30 p.m. Fairwood Golf and Country Club, Renton $20 rentonrotarysecretary@ gmail.com

SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM FREE FIRST FRIDAY 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Seattle Asian Art Museum Free admission Advanced registration required volunteerparktrust.org/event/ saam-free-fridays/all/

14 CRAZY WOKE ASIANS, ONE NIGHT ONLY 7:30-10 p.m. Unexpected Productions Improv $25 unexpectedproductions.org

NOV 4-14 VANCOUVER ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL Vancouver, BC, Canada vaff.org

Have an API community event you’d like to share? Please email us at han@nwasianweekly.com

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The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: “To empower the Asian community.” The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any advertisement, letter or article. Subscriptions cost $40 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and $30 for 52 weeks of the Seattle Chinese Post. The NW Asian Weekly owns the copyright for all its content. All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reprinted without permission. 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 editor@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

YOUR VOICE

■ AT THE MOVIES

asianweekly northwest

Zeus steps into the ring with anti-Asian hate By Kai Curry NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

“Fight me instead” was the challenge issued on March 31 by Manny Pacquiao to the perpetrators of racist hate crimes against women and the elderly. It is this same challenge that Chris Soriano, Filipino American filmmaker, brings to the screen in his movie, “Zeus,” scheduled to be available via streaming on Aug. 20, the day before Pacquiao’s next fight. “With all these hate crimes that I started seeing…because they were attacking and still are attacking the elderly, I said, ‘What if they beat up a Navy Seal?’ Then I said, ‘What if they fought a boxer?’ Maybe I could do some justice by…making a movie—even if it doesn’t get anywhere, at least to the people that feel like there’s no hope, I can create a unifying message... with all races,” Soriano told the Weekly. Soriano wrote, starred in, and

directed “Zeus” himself, in 90 days, during the pandemic. With no film experience, except one incomplete film called “Dynasty Boys”—after which he named his film company—and a background as the owner of a nonprofit that presented talks for the military, he took it upon himself to simply reach out to people

who might help. “They’re all ordinary people that, at the end of the day, if they believe in your mission, will help you.” Pacquiao was happy to come on board as executive producer, and Soriano also successfully recruited two more executive producers, JP Zarate and Steph-

anie Papagayo, after he saw their involvement in Seattle’s own locally- and Asian American-made film, “Paper Tigers.” “I admired what they were creating…and they also did it by themselves, independent filmmakers…They were very loving and sweet, and they were Filipino, too. I said, ‘Hey, it’s a

Hope. Care. Cure.™

Filipino party here!’” Soriano appreciated Zarate and Papagayo’s passion for Asian and Asian American representation, and when they told him, “That’s great what you’re doing, but we believe in you.” Papagayo and Zarate are both from Seattle and felt that getting behind Zeus was a great opportunity. “We were seeing media reports of…violence against the elderly, against Asian women, and that really affected us,” Papagayo explained. “We wanted…to assert ourselves in this activism…In May, we were presented with the movie ‘Zeus’ and the message behind it, and… we jumped on it right away… Then there was the Manny aspect. We’re big Manny fans…so that was an easy in.” “It’s our part to get Filipinos and Asians in the forefront, in leading roles,” Zarate added. “We have two daughters. Film and movies are such an influential (see ZEUS on 12)

Aliyanna living cancer-free

Some said Aliyanna wouldn’t make it past day one. But tell that to this bubbly two-year-old. Every child deserves the very best chance at a fulfilling life. For over 100 years, Seattle Children’s has been dedicated to compassionate care and groundbreaking research, so every kid can have the healthiest childhood possible. Because it’s not about beating the odds. It’s about changing them. For all kid-kind. SeattleChildrens.org

CHILD 15902 MissionBoost_Aliyanna_NWAW_9.75x7.25_eng_v1.indd 1

Pub/s: Northwest Asian Weekly

8/12/21 8:22 PM

Traffic: 8/16/21

Run Date: August

Color: CMYK

Author: TH

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39 YEARS

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

■ ON THE SHELF

For the love of sisters D AT I O N S N E M M O C E R K O O B N W A W ’S

By Samantha Pak NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

the dynamics between the two women, especially with Mimi as the older sister. We see the lengths Mimi would go to protect Alice. This made me think about my relationship with my own sister, as well as the dynamics between other sets of sisters I know, and whether any of us would do what Mimi does. Obviously, the circumstances in this story are exaggerated, but I do believe we would do what we could to be there for each other. In addition, readers get to see how Mimi and Marshmallow’s relationship has progressed. It’s fun to see how they’ve settled with each other and work together on the case. It’s got me looking forward to seeing what type of adventures the duo will get into in the future.

Mimi Lee Reads Between the Lines By Jennifer J. Chow Berkeley, 2020 Things are going well for Mimi Lee. Her pet-grooming business is thriving, things with her boyfriend Josh are going well, and she’s got a sassy and savvy cat who talks. So when Mimi stops by the elementary school, where her sister works, all she’s expecting is a fun girls’ night with Alice. The last thing she expects is a murder investigation. But that’s exactly what happens when Mimi and Alice discover Helen Reed, a fellow teacher at the school, slumped over in her car. As the last person to see Helen alive, the police are looking at Alice as the prime suspect. So Mimi knows she has to try and clear her little sister’s name— especially with one Det. Brown

Yolk (who had pegged Mimi as a suspect in a previous homicide case) leading the case. As she snoops around, Mimi discovers a long list of suspects. With the

help of Marshmallow, the aforementioned talking cat, and a cute kitten named Nimbus who appears on the scene, Mimi needs to work fast to get to the

bottom of the case. In this second installment of the Sassy Cat mystery series, it’s all about Mimi and her sister. Chow does a great job with

By Mary H.K. Choi Simon & Schuster Books, 2021 Sisters Jayne and June Baek (see BOOKS on 16)

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kingcounty.gov/vaccine Visit the website for information in 24 languages The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and free. Everyone over age 12 is eligible regardless of citizenship, immigration, or medical insurance status. Many vaccine sites do not require an appointment and transportation and childcare services are available. Get vaccinated and protect your community!

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39 YEARS

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG Why were there

so few Asian American athletes at the Tokyo Olympics? By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

the highest number of gold medals, as well as the total overall medals. Asian American athletes have done well by achieving two gold medals, and several silver and bronze med-

The Olympics may be over, and many celebrated the U.S. winning

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als. Yet, one unsettling trend still lingers in my mind… Have you noticed that there weren’t too many Asian Americans on Team USA? Of the 622 members, fewer than 15 were Asian Americans. That’s about 2%. Among them, only one was involved in a team sport—the rest were individual performances, such as gymnastics, badminton, karate, golf, and swimming. What are the barriers for Asian Americans to be accepted not only in the Olympics, but sports in general? There are a large number of Black athletes on Team USA, winning medals in diverse categories, and I am proud of them. I wish that Asian Americans had more opportunities in (see BLOG on 12)

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Below: Justine Wong-Orantes bumps the ball during a women’s volleyball preliminary round pool B match against Turkey. (AP Photos/Manu Fernandez)

YOUR VOICE

■ NATIONAL NEWS

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

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9,000+ anti-Asian incidents since start of pandemic By Terry Tang ASSOCIATED PRESS The frequency of anti-Asian incidents—from taunts to outright assaults—reported in the United States so far this year seems poised to surpass last year despite months of political and social activism, according to a new report released on Aug. 12. Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition that became the authority on gathering data on

(LAWSUIT from 1) Myers that day referred to Pham as “slant eye,” and yelled “Hey Miss Vietnam. You’re not going to live very long.” The King County Prosecutor’s Office eventually charged Myers with a hate crime and she pleaded not guilty. A judge released Myers on her own recognizance and issued a temporary restraining order, requiring Myers to stay at least 500 feet away from Pham. Sitting with her husband William Healy, an interpreter, and Seattle attorney Jeff Campiche at a news conference on Aug. 17, Pham said she doesn’t want what happened to her to happen to other people. “I hope it stops. That’s what I want.” Campiche said since Myers’ release in April, Myers has continued to stalk and harass Pham—in violation of the restraining order— which is set to expire on Aug. 30. “She is continuing to harass this family,” said Campiche. The lawsuit claims that Myers would frequently lie in wait until Pham was walking with her child or walking alone. The complaint states that Myers would then approach Pham by driving or backing her car up towards Pham, and shout things like, “You are not wanted here slant eye.” “My wife is scared to go outside. She’s scared to take our son into the backyard because she’s afraid she’ll be assaulted,” Pham’s husband said. “It’s really tough as a dad and a husband to have to watch that.” The lawsuit is seeking a minimum of $100,000 in civil damages and a protection order requiring Myers to stay at least 300 feet from Pham and her family. According to court documents, their homes are 60 feet apart. 

racially motivated attacks related to the pandemic, received 9,081 incident reports between March 19, 2020, and this June. Of those, 4,548 occurred last year, and 4,533 this year. Since the coronavirus was first reported in China, people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have been treated as scapegoats solely based on their race. Lawmakers, activists and community groups have pushed back against the wave of attacks. There have been countless

“When you encourage hate, it’s not like a genie in a bottle where you can pull it out and push it back in whenever you want. There’s too much perpetuating these belief systems to make them go away.” MANJUSHA KULKARNI

social media campaigns, bystander training sessions and public rallies. In May, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan

COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, expediting Justice Department reviews of anti-Asian hate crimes and making available federal

grants. Those supporters should not feel discouraged because the (see ANTI-ASIAN on 14)

asianweekly northwest

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

(BLOG from 10) the athletic field. What does the Asian community miss by not being able to participate in team sports, such as basketball, soccer, softball, lacrosse, baseball, and volleyball? Wait, I take it back. The only Asian American participating in the Olympics team sport was Justine Wong-Orantes. She and her team won a gold medal for women’s volleyball. I was ecstatic watching her excellent returns in the final game beating Brazil. And Wong-Orantes is known to be one of the best in the country for her position. The point is, how can we have more than just one Wong-Orantes? How can we nurture more young Asian Americans to dream big in sports? But the real question is, why aren’t more Asian American kids playing group sports? One obvious reason is the lack of role models. So far, I can name only one Asian American NBA star, Jeremy Lin. There are several prominent baseball players, but they are Asian nationals imported from Japan and Korea. Samoan American Tua Tagovailoa and Filipino American Doug Baldwin were successful NFL players. Currently in the NFL are Younghoe Koo, a placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons; Josh Jacobs (Filipino), a running back for the Las Vegas Raiders; and Taylor Rapp (Chinese), a safety for the Los Angeles Rams and former Husky. I watch sports programs only when they have Asian American players. Does that tell franchise owners that it is simply good business to expand their market by having an Asian American on their team? The stereotypical view is, Asian Americans are not big or tall enough for these major American sports. But the underly-

(ZEUS from 7) thing in our society…It’s different when our kids can say, ‘Hey, that person in this movie looks like me and acts like me. They eat the same foods that I do at home.’ Those are things that we would like to contribute.” Soriano promises lots of Filipino culture in the movie, both positive and negative. “A typical thing is that, if you’re not being practical with your dreams, it’s like a blasphemous attack on the family,” Soriano shared from his own experience as the child of a Navy dad and a nurse mom who wished he would also become a nurse. “If it’s not stable and secure—because a lot of the Filipino immigrants that came here came from poverty—why do you even exist? It’s the DNA of why you exist in America—because they brought you here.” In the movie, Soriano shows his character, Zeus, going against that. “How do they react when you actually become successful?” Soriano remembers that, growing up, there were few Filipino or Asian role models. Now, he has a chance to include them in his own film. Along with Pacquiao, another person Soriano looked up to was Cambodian bodybuilder, Randall Pich, who stars in the film as a muay thai fighter. “Sometimes you ask somebody, do you know what a Filipino is? Or where they’re from? They’ll be like, ‘Nah, they’re in Asia or someplace.’ …I didn’t see color growing up. I was like, ‘We’re all one.’ I’d even think I was a ‘cowboy’ and

ing cause is racism. I bet if Asian American youth were given opportunities, inspiration, and training, they would be just as promising as other athletes. In the last decade, I have observed the Sounders, Seahawks, and Mariners increase their Asian American fan base, as many have passed through Chinatown-International District to eat and shop before and after games. And several fans bring their kids along to see the games, although tickets are quite pricey. Don’t tell me none of those kids will aspire to play for these teams. And if the parents nudge them, kids would likely give more thought to those careers. To some extent, the problem lies with Asian parents. They tend to influence their children to pursue good-paying careers, rather than pursuing their passions. If their kids dream about playing for the Mariners, I bet their mom would say, “Son, you will never make it.” And they would likely tell their daughters, “No girls succeed in baseball.” Wrong! Kim Ng became the first woman and the highest-ranking female baseball executive for the Miami Marlins last November. She broke the gender and race barrier. Her passion for baseball began when she played stickball in the streets, and her father was the coach, according to Wikipedia. She also played college softball for four years. I have to confess that I was one of those typical Asian parents who would be less enthused about my sons’ involvement in sports when they were little. Like many Asian immigrant parents, I was old school. Subconsciously, I made my kids focus too much on academics. If I could do it over, sports would be an important aspect of their school life.

then I was like, ‘Wait, there are no Asian cowboys here!’” …I pray that, through the films I make, I can showcase that ‘American’ could be being born here, pursuing what you want, creating what you want, and not including skin color.” Zeus goes by “Gorilla from Manila,” as a tribute to “Thrilla from Manila” and as a description of his fighting style, but his family tells him he’s just an “amboy.” Soriano believes the audience will relate not only to Zeus’s story, but to

39 YEARS

“Subconsciously, I made my kids focus too much on academics. If I could do it over, sports would be an important aspect of their school life.” ASSUNTA NG

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want children to play sports with the goal of being an Olympian. Not everyone can be Michelle Kwan or Apollo Ohno. I don’t applaud how the media play the medal game, pitting one country against another: Which country has the most gold medals? Nor do I like China’s or Japan’s emphasis on the gold medal. Those who received silver or bronze medals, got nothing back home—no prize money, publicity, commercial endorsements, or public celebrations. In Japan, the second and third place athletes had to apologize in public for making the country “lose face.” Such is the pressure and humiliation for athletes who don’t make it to the top. How unfair! And many of them have dedicated and sacrificed much of their youth in training for the games. Countries who refuse to honor athletes without achieving medals are short-sighted. Just being in the Olympics is an honor because these athletes represent their country as goodwill ambassadors and showcase the nation’s best. What we can teach our kids about sports participation is to be proud of their involvement, and de-emphasize winning and losing. Have fun first and make friends, results are secondary. Being in team sports develops character and skills. You learn to be part of a team through collaboration and cooperation. Studies have found that people who play sports

his own, as a Filipino American boy who tried to follow his parents’ dream—he was briefly a certified nursing assistant—but finally had to follow his own path. Bullied himself growing up on the streets of San Diego, Soriano has made it his mission to help others and to promote the unity of all people. He believes that, with the sport of boxing, participants can fight “the right way” and resolve their conflicts in a healthier manner. “The climate right now, with the elderly Asian people being

can handle stress better and are happy. Getting along well with people is an asset. You build sportsmanship, strategy, and leadership skills simultaneously. Children can also build life-long friendships with their teammates. The benefits of team sports for children’s mental and physical development can’t be underestimated. If you are one of those parents who discourage your kids from playing sports, think again. We need to change our perception towards the role of education and redefine great careers. Learning extends beyond books and grades. What books can’t teach, sports can. It teaches athletes to be confident, take risks, and not be afraid to make mistakes. It’s too late for me to parent my kids. However, it’s never too late for the younger generation to rethink what's best for their sons and daughters. Talk to them and expand both your and their horizons. And you will be surprised at what you both can discover. You never know—you might raise a future Jeremy Lin, Doug Baldwin, and even a future mayoral candidate Bruce Harrell, who was once a 1978 Rose Bowl champion when he played for the UW Huskies football team.  Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

attacked, that promotes fear, and in a fearful community, there’s less interaction, perhaps less empathy, or less love going around. I thought of having a film to showcase the intensity of these attacks but also—and this is all a case by case basis, each attack, they’re not one specific race—I wanted to showcase how people can still come together.” Soriano was not a trained boxer and learned firsthand the courage it takes to become one by training at a gym in Califor-

nia. His life, including the making of “Zeus,” has been an inspiring pattern of “going for it,” and doing what has to be done to be successful. “It takes a lot to even get in the ring…You have to have the guts to say, I’m gonna do this.”  For more information, visit zeusthemovie.com. Kai can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

YOUR VOICE

■ ASTROLOGY

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

asianweekly northwest

Predictions and advice for the week of August 21–27, 2021 By Sun Lee Chang Rat — In trying to optimize the leverage that you currently have, keep in mind that timing is key.

Dragon — Your impatience grows this week as progress seems very slow. Thankfully, you won’t need to wait much longer.

Monkey — Instant gratification is certainly tempting, but indulging too frequently could keep you from realizing long-term rewards.

Ox — Unless you are surrounded by mind readers, you must communicate clearly to push your agenda forward.

Snake — Regular maintenance can be somewhat tedious. That said, the trouble you avoid by doing it is well worth it.

Rooster — Are you talking to your partner, but not really hearing each other? Listen instead of trying to formulate your response.

Tiger — While plot twists might be interesting in movies, something decidedly different is likely more desirable in real life.

Horse — Staying on course could become difficult. Your strong spirit inspires you to solidify your resolve and redouble your efforts.

Dog — If you want to claim all the credit, then you must be willing to take responsibility and potentially take the blame.

Rabbit — Experience has taught you not to press your luck, even if it seems like the tables have turned in your favor.

Goat — Are you unsure how to interpret the latest news? Seek additional details to fill in the blanks.

Pig — Thinking about acting as a mentor? Sharing your knowledge will help another, plus you could gain valuable insights as well.

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.

(TAI from 1) from Yale and taught English in Guangzhou before she began practicing law and joined the federal government. As a second-generation immigrant growing up fully American, Tai thinks sometimes people like her, whose families came to America more recently, aren’t looked at and not necessarily expected to have a strong voice or to exercise leadership roles. “Over time, what that breeds in some of us—and should breed in all of us—is the desire to overturn people’s expectations, to be perseverant, and to lead with your strengths, things that you are good at, your ideas and your voice,” she said. Tai said her immigrant roots are a strength in her role. “It means to never give up and make sure you are heard in whatever room you find yourself, make sure that you work as hard as you can to deliver on the things that you know that you can deliver.”

Visit to Washington state Calling the Breadlab a special place and inspiring, Tai said, “I had an enlightening experience learning about their research, origins, vision for sustainability, nutrition, pragmatism, and innovations for the farmers who produce wheat.” For Tai, the visit reinforced how special the U.S. economy is in terms of human capital, innovation, and a positive vision for how to make the world a better place. “Just like everyone else in

“Over time, what that breeds in some of us—and should breed in all of us—is the desire to overturn people’s expectations, to be perseverant, and to lead with your strengths, things that you are good at, your ideas and your voice.” AMBASSADOR KATHERINE TAI

our economy, our farmers are looking for opportunities,” Tai said. “What I heard from the farmers that I met with is a desire for an overall economic and trade environment that they can operate in with confidence and that is very much the thrust of the Biden-Harris administration’s economic agenda—to create that environment for our stakeholders, including our farmers to prosper,” she said. The Biden-Harris administration’s effort to Build Back Better is worker-centric, so Tai met with labor leaders and union representatives to talk and listen. “We are working together with them to formulate our trade policies and make sure they work not just for our biggest economic stakeholders but also for the individual human beings who make up our economy,” Tai said. “All my meetings in the state are focused on reconnecting with America, with our economic constituents, and to make sure that as we are putting our trade policies together, they really reflect the interests, desires, and needs of our economy.”

U.S.-China policy The USTR is currently reviewing its policy on China with businesses eagerly awaiting its release in the fall. Though she did not divulge details, Tai acknowledged that this issue was on everybody’s mind and the USTR has spent a lot of time and energy focused on it. “I feel a serious sense of responsibility for bringing a strategic vision to our relationship with China, in particular our trade given that this is my competency,” Tai said. While doing so, she is also ensuring the organization is working across the administration. “It’s to ensure that our strategy with respect to China is coordinated and ultimately effective in placing the American economy—our farmers, workers, businessmen, and fishermen on the strongest possible competitive footing as we can in the global economy—where we will be competing with China in the years to come.” Finding that balance is tough, but Tai’s response is to make U.S. policies very rational. “We have to define the challenge we are facing with China effectively. It is a very serious

challenge,” she said. “We have to approach our problems and challenges and also the formulation of our solutions and strategies with coherence and sobriety because at the end of the day, we need to have very rational policies and a very clear vision in order to ensure that we can navigate our way to a really strong position while competing.”

Digital trade With the modern economy and high volume of digital activity, many countries including the U.S. are grappling with how best to regulate this part of the economy and society. “A lot of us are experiencing this through the pandemic, in particular, where the digital nature of our economy is fueling a lot of our ability to be active,” she said. “This is an area that we are actively working on with our partners to establish rules and have conversations that we need to establish mutually beneficial relationships and to figure out the best ways to create rules for our economic activity,” Tai said. “This space has implications for more than just our economic values but both our political

and societal values, and it is an area that we have been engaging robustly with a lot of our trading partners in Europe and in Asia-Pacific,” she said. Tai feels the need for leadership and new thinking across the board in this area.

Economic recovery Trade will play an important role as the U.S. emerges from the public health and economic crisis that is both national and global in nature. Outlining her principle as she develops policies, Tai said, “One is that we stay very well coordinated with other parts of the economic policy apparatus as we develop our trade policies to ensure that we are aligned.” As an example, she refers to President Biden’s $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that was approved by the Senate on Aug. 10. “This is a tremendous opportunity not only for us as a nation but also for us in our position in the world. While our trade policies will be boosted by this initiative, our trade policies will need to support it as well.” Tai emphasizes the opportunity that we have at this moment. “We are coming out of a couple of really difficult years, both economically and in life experiences, and have an incredible opportunity to build back better and renew our society and the economic underpinnings of America in the way that has a potential to set us up for the years and decades to come.”  Janice can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

Have a response to our stories? Send us a letter to the editor: editor@nwasianweekly.com

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(ANTI-ASIAN from 11) data hasn’t shifted much, Stop AAPI Hate leaders said. “When you encourage hate, it’s not like a genie in a bottle where you can pull it out and push it back in whenever you want,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council. “There’s too much perpetuating these belief systems to make them go away.” Several factors contributed to the data, from an increase in incidents to a greater desire to report, according to Kulkarni. As the economy opened up more in the past few months, it meant more public interactions and opportunities to attack, she said. Also, a bump in reporting typically occurs after a high-profile incident like the March 16 Atlanta-area spa shootings that left six Asian women dead. “There, too, is where we saw some that were incidents that had taken place weeks or months before, but they just were either not aware of our reporting center or didn’t take the time to report,” Kulkarni said. The reports aggregated by Stop AAPI Hate are from the victims themselves or someone reporting on their behalf, like an adult child. Overall, the report found verbal harassment and shunning—interactions that don’t qualify legally as hate crimes—make up the two largest shares of total incidents. Physical assaults made up the third. But their percentage of the incidents this year increased from last year—16.6% compared to 10.8%. More than 63% of the incidents were submitted by women. Roughly 31% took place on public streets, and 30% at businesses. Many Asian Americans and others blame former President Donald Trump for ratcheting up the danger by talking about the virus in racially charged terms. While Biden has demonstrated allyship, there is concern that a U.S. investigation into the origins of COVID-19 could lead to more hostility and treatment of Asian Americans as enemy foreigners. “We understand that other nation-states are competitors to the United States, and a number of them do have authoritarian regimes,” Kulkarni said. “But the ways in which we talk about the people and the ways in which blame is assigned somehow looks different for communities of color than it does for, say, the Russian government or the German government.“ Many of the headline-making attacks over the past year and a half have been against elderly Asian people on both coasts. In most of those cases, a senior was beaten, kicked, shoved or even stabbed out of nowhere. Several such incidents have been

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caught on video. A U.S. Census survey released earlier this month found Asian American households were twice as likely as white households to admit they didn’t have enough food throughout the pandemic because they were afraid to go out—not due to affordability or transportation issues. In contrast, other racial groups’ households said they were experiencing food insecurity because of the pandemic. Asian American respondents didn’t say specifically if it was fear of racial attacks that kept them at home. Anni Chung, president and CEO of San Francisco-based Self-Help for the Elderly, says the seniors they help were hit by a “second virus that is a hate virus.” The nonprofit provides food and programs to more than 40,000 older adults in the Bay Area, most of them Asian. The organization went from transporting a pre-pandemic load of 400 meals daily to over 5,000 per day. Last year, they gave out 963,000 meals overall compared with 436,000 typically. “Sometimes when we talk to seniors, they say this hatred drove them to be stuck in their house even worse than the pandemic,“ Chung said. For them, the fear is more than a headline but something in their own backyard. “One of our clients was on the bus. Right before

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the man got off the bus, he just punched her,” Chung said. “She said no one—not the bus driver and a number of Chinese on the bus—went to her care.” Giving into that fear means seniors have missed important things like doctor’s appointments or exercise routines at the park. So, in June, with some funding from the city, Self-Help for the Elderly expanded a volunteer escort service to accompany seniors on errands or outings around Chinatown and other neighborhoods. It had more than 200 requests that month. The onslaught of verbal and physical assaults has drawn more skepticism than sympathy from some. Peter Yu, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Colorado who is also Chinese American, came under fire last month for characterizing anti-Asian hate crimes as exaggerated. “I would welcome him to look at the data and see there has been a significant increase,” Kulkarni said. “This may be a situation when people refuse to see racism or misogyny. I think they’re just really refusing to see reality and how unfortunately, in the U.S, we have allowed those forces to prevent people from living their lives.” 

SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.

(GUNS from 1) A study by California State University, San Bernardino, found that anti-Asian hate crimes rose by nearly 150% last year. While there is no official data on firearm purchases by Asian Americans, a survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation indicated that Asian Americans bought 42% more firearms and ammunition in the first six months of 2020 compared to the previous year. Interviews with Asian and Asian American gun purchasers and community leaders here suggest that the pandemic and systemic social ills either contributed to their decision to buy a firearm or, in some cases, changed the way they used it. It was no longer for recreation, but for self-defense. For Qian, during the first months of the pandemic, he threw himself into a maelstrom of educational events, organized on the Chinese social media app WeChat. Microsoft engineers and visitors from China would do “team building” by going to shooting ranges, he said. When friends came in from China, besides the usual rounds of shopping and sightseeing, they would also go in groups to shooting ranges. Colin Wong, another software engineer, who used to work for Google, arrived from Malaysia two decades ago and saw his coworkers in Texas reading gun magazines. “I thought they were crazy, but now it’s come full circle,” he said. Wong began purchasing firearms long before the pandem-

ic. His interest in hiking, after moving to Seattle, led him to consider hunting. “I thought, I’m doing all this walking and come home empty-handed, what if I could come back with some food?” he said. But it was the gradual increase in social instability, culminating in the pandemic, that heightened his desire to use his weapons for self-defense. Citing the homeless problem in downtown Seattle, and that the police are apparently hamstrung from acting by the city council, Wong recently concealed a small Glock in a belt holster when he took his family out to dinner there. In this sense, Wong’s concerns hewed him closer to the experiences of marginalized communities in the U.S. where gun ownership is sometimes met with a feeling of reluctant necessity, according to Christine Leibbrand, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Washington. “These experiences seem to be especially prevalent among people whom the U.S. institutions are failing—particularly Black individuals who report that law enforcement offers little support to their communities and, as we have seen, can be important risks to Black individuals' lives,” she said. In a perhaps parallel way, Asians and Asian Americans that have bought guns expressed concerns for their families in what appears to them an increasingly lawless atmosphere. Wong, for instance, is encouraging his three teenage daughters to learn to shoot.

asianweekly northwest

Photo by Mahlon Meyer

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

YOUR VOICE

Low Price Guns saw an uptick in sales to Asians and Asian Americans from 30% to 75-80% during the first part of the pandemic

Miriam Chung, an entrepreneur with her own investing company, is worried about the safety of her young son and daughter. When she was growing up in the eastern coastal part of Malaysia, her father, who worked for the government, had a shotgun he would use to scare off intruders. Now, living in Olympia, her husband, an ER doctor, is often away during evenings, and she wishes she had something to protect her and her kids. Homeless people have wandered onto their property repeatedly over the past several years. But her 12-year-old son is always “getting into” her stuff. Through her husband’s work, she has known of many incidents of accidental shootings. And she worries about her son getting access to any firearms she might buy. One gun shop owner, who

preferred not to be named, said she recognized the need for education among the huge increase in first-time gun buyers among Asians and Asian Americans. She has laid out large warnings in multiple Asian languages in her store, urging new gun owners to buy safes or lock boxes. Rick, the manager at Low Price Guns, said that despite language barriers, he always emphasized the importance of training and would write down the names of shooting ranges where they had classes. As Chung mulls over the purchase of a firearm, she also is hoping to learn more. She recently decided to take her son shooting to educate him about guns. “I want him to learn to respect them, like you have to respect the sea,” she said. “It can kill you.” Coming from cultures where

most people don’t have access to guns, many Asians were intrigued by the opportunities here. And in many cases, the pandemic added an element of uncertainty that actually moved them to make a purchase. Qian said he practiced dry firing a rifle every day, and only at the end was allowed to shoot a few live rounds. After coming to the U.S., he became fascinated with guns “from an engineering standpoint.” It was not until the pandemic that he made up his mind to buy one. Gun store owners and managers say that the wide availability of guns—they can be purchased by those with work or even student visas—also contributed to the rush. “It was everybody under the sun,” said Rick.  Mahlon can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

asianweekly northwest

39 YEARS

AUGUST 21 – AUGUST 27, 2021

(SUDOKU from 5)

(BOOKS from 8)

years later, Japan rediscovered its own puzzle as a “gyakuyunyu,” or “reimport.” Kaji was chief executive at his puzzle company, Nikoli Co., until July and died Aug. 10 at his home in Mitaka, a city in the Tokyo metro area. Maki traveled to more than 30 countries spreading his enjoyment of puzzles. Sudoku championships have drawn some 200 million people in 100 countries over the years, according to Tokyo-based Nikoli. Sudoku was also never trademarked except within Japan, driving its overseas craze, Nikoli said. “Kaji-san came up with the name Sudoku and was loved by puzzle fans from all over the world. We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for the patronage you have shown throughout his life,” the company said in a statement. Born in the main northern island of Hokkaido, Maki started Japan’s first puzzle magazine after dropping out of Keio University in Tokyo. He founded Nikoli in 1983, and came up with Sudoku about the same time. Yoshinao Anpuku, who succeeded Kaji as Nikoli’s chief executive, said Kaji made friends easily and had a “unique and playful approach toward life.” “Our mission is to pursue Maki’s vision and possibilities,” Anpuku said. Nikoli has provided original puzzles to more than 100 media companies, 10 of them foreign ones. Major Japanese newspaper Mainichi in its obituary credited Kaji for starting the puzzle sections at bookstores, as well as introducing the word “Sudoku” into the Oxford English dictionary. Kaji is survived by his wife Naomi and two daughters. Funeral services have been held among close family. A separate memorial service is being arranged by Nikoli, but details were still undecided. 

couldn’t be more different. Three years older, June is the classic firstborn with a well-paying job in finance and a fancy but soulless apartment (according to Jayne). And if you were to ask June, Jayne is emotionally stunted, self-obsessed, has horrible taste in men, needs to get her life together, and needs to stop wasting their parents’ money. The pair used to be inseparable but now, even after moving from Seoul, to San Antonio, Texas, to New York together, they barely know how to act around each other. But then, June gets cancer and Jayne is the only one who can help her. All of a sudden, the two sisters who haven’t really spoken in years are thrown together by circumstance and have to figure out how to be sisters again. Throw in a case of swapping identities and what you get is a funny, yet emotional story about what it means to be family. “Yolk” is told from Jayne’s perspective and as a fellow younger sister, I related to her on many levels—from her insecurities about having a more-successful sister, to wanting to keep things from June because she’s embarrassed and doesn’t want to be judged. There were also little things like how June would tell (not ask) Jayne to do things for her and Jayne would automatically do it, like get her sister a glass of water. That’s definitely something that happens with me and my sister. One thing I especially appreciated about “Yolk” and the sisters’ relationship was how June’s illness may have had Jayne worried and scared for her sister, but it didn’t stop her from yelling at June and picking fights with her.

Getting sick can change how others may see and treat you so seeing Jayne sometimes forget about that and not give June any special treatment felt realistic, given the fact that they’d been estranged for a few years.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find By Joan He Roaring Brook Press, 2021 For three years, Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island, with no memory of how she got there or her life before she arrived. The only thing she does know is that she has a sister named Kay—somewhere out in the world— and Cee needs to find her. Elsewhere is Kasey Mizuhara, a 16-year-old STEM prodigy. She lives in an eco-city, built for people who protected the planet but now needs protection from the natural disasters that are on the rise, thanks to climate change. In exchange, residents have to spend at least a third of their time in stasis pods and conduct their business virtually to reduce their environmental footprint. Introverted Kasey doesn’t mind the lifestyle, but her more extroverted sister Celia would much rather spend time in the outside world. The last thing anyone would have expected, though, was for Celia to take a boat out to sea and never return. After three months, Kasey finally gives up hope, accepting that her sister must be dead. But this doesn’t stop Kasey from retracing Celia’s last steps. And that journey Kasey goes on is filled with twists that will take readers by surprise at each turn. “The Ones” is a story about the love between two sisters and the lengths they will go to find each other. He does a great job of showing that you don’t

have to always agree with someone or have everything in common with them in order to have a strong bond. Cee and Kasey are two very different people but their love is so strong, they would cross an entire ocean for each other. In addition to the two sisters’ bond, there’s the science fiction side of the story. While things definitely lean toward the fictional, the reason they exist in He’s universe—climate change and the damage humans have wrought on this planet—is very realistic. The measures taken here may be extreme but with crazy heat waves in the Pacific Northwest and now-annual wildfire seasons, stasis pods and eco-cities may not seem so far off, after all.  Samantha can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com