PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 40 NO 10 MARCH 6 – MARCH 12, 2021
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Asian couple Local Myanmarese protest a world gone dark assaulted in Community shows opposition to Feb. 1 coup
Chinatown
Photo by Han Bui
Photo credit: UW B/MSA
By Ruth Bayang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Protesters at a Feb. 21 demonstration at Westlake Park hold signs supporting Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s recently deposed heat of state.
A hand outstretched, three fingers up and pointing toward the sky. In Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games” trilogy, it’s a gesture symbolizing thanks, admiration, and goodbye. But in the Southeast Asian country of
THE INSIDE STORY COMMUNITY NEWS Deems Tsutakawa passes 3
COMMUNITY NEWS Mary Matsuda Gruenewald: Author, health care pioneer dies 4
BUSINESS Japan Airlines to reinstate partial Seattle schedule in March 2021 4
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Seattle Dances: Laughs, inspiration, and hopefully homeless relief 8
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Myanmar, it’s become a symbol of protest. On Feb. 1, elected leaders in Myanmar (also known as Burma) were deposed through a military-backed coup d’état. What should’ve been the country’s first parliamentary session of the year instead became the
The Seattle Police Department is currently reviewing surveillance video from businesses near 7th and King streets in the Chinatown-International District. They are investigating a bias crime against an Asian couple on the night of Feb. 25. Tanya Woo, a volunteer for C-ID Community Night
see MYANMAR on 12
see CHINATOWN on 9
The Paper Tigers
a kung fu movie that makes a Seattle hometown proud By Kai Curry NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY It’s not often that a movie successfully accomplishes multiple objectives, yet “The Paper Tigers,” our own Seattle-based and Seattle-born film, does just that. The love child of writer, director, and editor Bao Tran, and his friends and colleagues, many of whom have ties to the Emerald City, “The Paper Tigers” is a tribute to the place where Bao grew up and a tribute to martial arts. It’s a comedy that at the same time drives home important gung fu values of honor and integrity. Many cities provide the backdrop to movies, yet if it’s not an internationally familiar location, such as London or Paris, it’s often
Photo by Mark Malijan
By Madison Morgan NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Seattle’s Chinatown-International District
From left: Ron Yuan as Hing, Alain Uy as Danny, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins as Jim at their first kung fu match—or beimo—back together again in “The Paper Tigers.”
difficult to distinguish one place from another—and in fact, filmmakers often endeavor to obscure the exact place their films are made, changing names of build-
ings and never revealing any distinguishing details. Not so “The Paper Tigers.” Local viewers will enjoy the many recognizable shots of Seattle that pop up
throughout the film, and it will give non-locals a view of our city that they will not see PAPER TIGERS on 11
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