VOL 40 NO 41 | OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

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VOL 40 NO 41 OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

FREE 39 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Violent temple attack Local Cambodian community is now speaking out Members of the local Cambodian community are making their voices heard after a series of videos were posted online showing a Buddhist nun being assaulted at a Tacoma temple.

“We are tired of being scared,” Savong Lam said during a Zoom call on Oct. 5.

While the virtual meeting was in response to the attack, which occurred last month, she was referring to the violence against the greater Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, specifically since the beginning of the pandemic.

The call included more than 100 community members, city, state, and national lawmakers, and representatives from public and private organizations and agencies from throughout the Puget Sound region.

For Lam, a member of Tacoma’s Cambodian community who works with the Khmer AntiDeportation Advocacy Group and Khmer Language Arts and Culture Academy, her request was simple.

“We need you to work with us.” She said this means concrete support and a commitment from leadership at different levels—from public and private agencies— to really work with the Cambodian community and

Provided by Chea Poeuv

By Samantha Pak NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Judge John H. Chun

Judge Dale Ho

Judge Florence Pan

Screenshot from video of nun being attacked

By GENE JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS

provide resources to come up with long-term solutions to stop the violence against the community. Lam doesn’t know what that looks like, which is why they need to start having the conversation.

The Oct. 6 call was the start of that conversation.

Sameth Mell with the Equity in Education Coalition, who facilitated the call, said they plan on holding these

SEATTLE (AP) — President Joe Biden on Sept. 30 announced the nominee for the extremely shorthanded federal bench in Seattle: Washington state Court of Appeals Judge John H. Chun.

Biden has stressed the importance of ethnic and professional diversity in his nominations. Chun, a son of Korean immigrants who has served on the appeals court since 2018, would be the first Asian American man to serve as a judge in the district.

see VIOLENT ATTACK on 11

see JUDGES on 11

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster dose recommended for some OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has begun offering booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to certain individuals following recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices, and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.

At least six months after completing the primary Pfizer vaccine series, the following individuals should receive a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine: • People 65 years of age and older, • People 18 years of age and older living in a longterm care setting, and • People 50 – 64 years of age with underlying medical conditions or those at increased risk of social inequities.

Additionally, the following individuals who completed a Pfizer vaccine series at least six months ago may receive a Pfizer booster dose:

Biden picks Chun, Ho for federal judge roles; Pan confirmed

King County Elections certifies recall petition for Kshama Sawant On Sept. 30, King County Elections (KCE) certified the recall petition filed earlier this year against Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant. A total of 10,687 valid signatures from Seattle City Council District 3 registered voters were required to send Kshama Sawant the recall issue to voters.

Petitioners submitted over 16,000 signatures to be verified in early September.

In a news release, KCE said it “follows a comprehensive verification process that includes

Dr. Shireesha Dhanireddy

see BOOSTER SHOT on 13

see SAWANT on 14

Why get the COVID vaccine now?

“So we can go out and hang with friends again.”

Everyone ages 12 and older is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine is safe, easy, and free - no insurance or appointment needed.

KingCounty.gov/vaccine

■

audrey, fl ynn, & no va ce n tr al di st ri ct

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39 YEARS

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

Don Mee Choi named 2021 MacArthur Fellow

Aw a r d - w i n ning poet and translator Don Mee Choi received a coveted MacArthur Foundat ion Fellow “Genius Grant.”

Don Mee Choi The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the recipients of this year’s prestigious fellowships on Sept. 28. The foundation awards fellowships to people who have shown exceptional originality and dedication to their creative pursuits.

“This doesn’t feel real to me,” said Choi, who teaches at Renton Technical College. “I’m grateful and very fortunate to have this tremendous support that will enable me to keep doing my creative work.”

Choi will receive an unconditional scholarship of $625,000 paid over five years.

In her three volumes of poetry and numerous essays, she explores themes of dislocation, fractured identities, trauma, and memory, while amplifying civilian voices that have been obscured by the history and looming threat of war in her homeland, South Korea. 

board, after so many meaningful years of serving and making connections,” she said.

Rice received her master’s in public administration and a Ph.D. in higher education administration.

She is a Regent Dr. Constance W. Rice at the University of Washington, as well as City of Seattle Commissioner for the Early Learning and Education Levy funds.

Rice is married to Norman B. Rice, former Seattle mayor. 

Chef Nakajima launches teriyaki sauce line

Three-time James Beard Award semi-finalist and ‘Top Chef’ Season 18 finalist, Chef Shota Nakajima is launching a premium teriyaki sauce under the name Make Umami.

Born in Seattle, Nakajima started cooking at the age of 16. He opened the highly acclaimed Adana (originally Naka), which was the recipient of ‘Best New Restaurant’

Photo by Becky Chan

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS

Chef Shota Nakajima

in The Seattle Times. Nakajima was also awarded Star Chefs ‘2020 Seattle Rising Star Chef,’ among other accolades.

The sauce is now available for purchase at Uwajimaya grocery stores in Seattle, Renton, and Bellevue, as well as Beaverton, Oregon and at Shota’s Taku on Capitol Hill for $8.99 per 12-ounce bottle.

A portion of sales proceeds will be donated to World Central Kitchen. 

New light rail stations

The Northgate Link Extension opened

on Oct. 2 with new stations in Northgate, the University District, and Roosevelt.

The U-District station features a sign that says “welcome” in Chinese and other languages. It is a 20 minute ride from the Chinatown station.

Both U-District and Roosevelt stations are underground. The Northgate station is elevated and will act as a transit hub with frequent bus connections, a park-and-ride, and a bicycle and pedestrian bridge to North Seattle College. 

Photo credit Robert Celski

Celski inducted into the Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame

Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility in Ellensburg

J.R. Celski

Three-time Olympic medalist J.R. Celski was inducted into the PolishAmerican Sports Hall of Fame on Sept.

16.

In addition to the Olympic medals, the Federal Way native has won 11 World Championship medals, 26 World Cup medals, and set two world records including the 500 meters, in which he was the first person to break the 40-second barrier.

His father, Robert Celski, said that J.R. “is now a member of both the Polish and Asian Halls of Fame. We’re proud of him!” 

SAM elects new chair

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) announced on Sept. 29 that Dr. Constance W. Rice has been elected chair of the museum’s board of trustees— the first person of color in that role. Rice has served on the museum’s board since 1995.

“It’s an honor to step into this leadership position on the museum’s

We aspire to lower our carbon emissions to net zero by 2045 and help others do the same.

TOGETHER, we can go beyond net zero carbon.

Learn more at pse.com/TOGETHER

YOUR VOICE

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

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■ COMMUNITY NEWS Police commander demoted over Seattle protest blames racism SEATTLE (AP) — A recently demoted Seattle police commander is suing the city of Seattle and interim police Chief Adrian Diaz, alleging discrimination and unfair blame for a flashpoint “pink umbrella incident” during police clashes with racial justice demonstrators.

Capt. Steve Hirjak Capt. Steve Hirjak contends in his lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court last week, that Diaz made him the scapegoat for the misconduct of another commander and punished him unfairly compared to other white officials, The Seattle Times reported. That commander, Lt. John Brooks, ordered riot-gear-clad officers to unleash tear gas and blast balls into a crowd on June 1, 2020.

The incident—a moment in Seattle’s George Floyd demonstrations captured on video and shared across social media—erupted near the department’s East Precinct after an officer’s tug of war with a protester over a pink umbrella.

The clash drew public outrage and led to an investigation

by the city’s police watchdog group.

The city’s Office of Police Accountability found Brooks broke department crowd dispersal protocols by ordering the heavy-handed tactics against a largely nonviolent crowd.

Diaz overruled OPA’s recommendations and blamed and demoted Hirjak, a 27-year officer and the department’s first Asian American assistant chief, who was the city’s overall incident commander for the protests.

“Defendants discriminatorily demoted Mr. Hirjak from his position as an Assistant Chief back to the rank of Captain, treating him differently than similarly situated White officers,” according to the lawsuit, filed by attorney Toby Marshall. “This demotion resulted in lower pay, loss of reputation, diminution of future career opportunities, and emotional distress.”

Dan Nolte, a spokesperson for the city attorney’s office, said Hirjak’s claims are being fully investigated. “The City takes its obligation to provide a workplace free of harassment and discrimination seriously,” he told the newspaper in a statement.

Hirjak’s suit contends Diaz and former Police Chief Carmen Best falsely blamed and mistreated him

multiple times while ignoring and promoting other white commanders who engaged in improper conduct during the tumultuous period.

The lawsuit cites multiple examples of such disparate treatment. It says Brooks, who, besides being found solely responsible for the improper orders during the pink umbrella incident, also racked up 14 misconduct complaints during the protests. Nonetheless, he was promoted to captain, the lawsuit says.

And, under the command of Assistant Chief Thomas Mahaffey, whom Best chose to replace Hirjak as incident commander during the protests, “SPD was held in contempt of court on four separate occasions for the use of tear gas,” the suit said.

The lawsuit’s allegations largely echo those in a $5.48 million damages claim Hirjak filed against the city in July, which gave the city and Diaz an August deadline to agree to mediate Diaz’s claims. Under state law, damage claims must be filed at least 60 days before a government entity can be sued. 

Man wounded in Chinatown-International District shooting Police responded to an encampment near the ChinatownInternational District after a man was shot in the leg.

The 32-year-old was reportedly walking near 10th Avenue and South Lane Street around 1 a.m. on Sept. 28

when he was struck in the leg by a bullet.

He was able to walk to a friend’s tent in a nearby encampment and bandage his wound. An hour later, the victim called 911. Neither the victim, nor anyone else at

the scene, were able to provide police with additional information about the circumstances of the shooting.

Medics transported the man to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. 

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OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

■ NATIONAL NEWS California city apologizes for 1887 Chinatown destruction

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The city of San Jose was once home to one of the largest Chinatowns in California. In the heart of downtown, it was the center of life for Chinese immigrants who worked on nearby farms and orchards.

More than a century after arsonists burned it to the ground in 1887, the San Jose City Council on Sept. 28 unanimously approved a resolution to apologize to Chinese immigrants and their descendants for the role the city played in “systemic and institutional racism, xenophobia, and discrimination.”

San Jose, with a population over 1 million, is the largest city in the country to formally apologize to the Chinese community for its treatment of their ancestors. In May, the city of Antioch apologized for its mistreatment of Chinese immigrants, who built tunnels to get home from work because they were banned from walking the streets after sundown.

“It’s important for members of the Chinese American community to know that they are seen and that the difficult conversations around race and historic inequities include the oppression that their ancestors suffered,” San Jose Mayor

Sam Liccardo said.

The apologies come amid a wave of attacks against the Asian community since the pandemic began last year.

Other cities, specifically in the Pacific Northwest, have issued apologies in decades past. California, too, apologized in 2009 to Chinese workers and Congress has apologized for the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was approved in 1882 and made Chinese residents the targets of the nation’s first law limiting immigration based on race or nationality.

The city had five Chinatowns but the largest one was built in 1872. Fifteen years later, the city council declared it a public nuisance and unanimously approved an order to remove it to make way for a new City Hall. Before officials acted, the thriving Chinatown was burned down by arsonists, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and displacing about 1,400 people, according to the resolution.

“An apology for grievous injustices cannot erase the past, but admission of the historic wrongdoings committed can aid us in solving the critical problems of racial discrimination facing America today,” the resolution reads.

The Chinese started coming to California in large numbers during the Gold Rush in the mid-1800s. They worked in mines, built the transcontinental

■ TECHNOLOGY

Parents in China laud rule limiting video game time for kids

By ZEN SOO AP TECHNOLOGY WRITER Li Zhanguo’s two children, ages 4 and 8, don’t have their own smartphones, but like millions of other Chinese children, they are no strangers to online gaming.

“If my children get their hands on our mobile phones or an iPad, and if we don’t closely monitor their screen time, they can play online games for as long as three to four hours each time,” he said.

Not anymore.

Like many other parents, Li is happy with new government restrictions that limit children to just three hours weekly of online gaming time—an hour between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday most weeks.

The restrictions, which took effect earlier this month, are a tightening of 2019 rules that banned children from gaming overnight and limited them to 90 minutes most weekdays.

Experts say it’s unclear if such policies can help prevent addiction to online games, since children might just get engrossed in social media instead.

Ultimately, they say, it’s up to parents to nurture good habits and set screen time

limits.

The new rules are part of a campaign to prevent kids from spending too much time on entertainment that communist authorities consider unhealthy. That also includes what officials call the “irrational fan culture” of worshipping celebrities.

The technology restrictions reflect growing concern over gaming addiction among children. One state media outlet has called online games “spiritual opium,” an allusion to past eras when addiction to the drug was widespread in China.

“Adolescents are the future of the motherland, and protecting the physical and mental health of minors is related to the vital interests of masses, and in cultivating newcomers in the era of national rejuvenation,” the Press and Publications Administration said in a statement, alluding to a campaign by Chinese President Xi Jinping to cultivate a healthier society for a more powerful China.

Government reports in 2018 estimated that one in 10 Chinese minors were addicted to the internet. Centers have see GAME ADDICTION on 14

railroad, toiled in farms and helped develop the abalone and shrimp industries. By 1870, there were about 63,000 Chinese in the United States, 77% of them residing in California, according to the resolution.

Chinese immigrants faced racism and were forced out of towns. They were denied the right to own property, marry white people and attend public schools.

They also were subjected to violence and intimidation and denied equal protection by the courts.

In San Jose, an episcopal church where Chinese immigrants attended Sunday school was burned to the ground, Chinese laundries were condemned based on being housed in wooden buildings and the first state convention of the AntiChinese League was held there in 1886, according to the resolution.

Connie Young Yu, a historian and author of “Chinatown, San Jose, USA,” said her grandfather was a teenage refugee from the 1887 fire. Her father was born in the last existing Chinatown built in San Jose. The community was established in a new location with the help of German immigrant John Heinlen, despite threats to his life. But that Chinatown, known as Heninlenville, disappeared after the Chinese population dwindled.

Yu said the official apology gives her

an “enormous sense of reconciliation and a sense of peace.”

“This is beyond an apology. It is taking responsibility, which is a beautiful thing to me,” Yu added.

Gerrye Wong, who helped found the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project in San Jose, said she, Yu, and other community members will formally accept the apology at a ceremony on Sept. 29 near the former Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose, which was built where the destroyed Chinatown once existed. In 1987, city officials dedicated a plaque at the site to mark the fire’s 100th anniversary.

Wong, a retired teacher, said the apology from the 10th largest city in the country is a teaching moment because this history was not in textbooks or taught in schools.

“As a fourth-generation Chinese American myself, I didn’t know any of this and Chinese people never talked about it,” she said.

“In this anti-Asian hate environment that we see today, it’s a great step forward because it will bring attention to not only our hardships but also what Chinese communities have contributed to this country,” she added. 

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

YOUR VOICE

■ WORLD NEWS

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New landmark recognizes Chinese contributions to Yosemite

Photo provided by Donna Leong

Associated Press

Dedication of the laundry building at Yosemite

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A century-old building originally used as a laundry by Chinese workers at Yosemite’s iconic Wawona Hotel has been restored and turned into a visitor’s attraction, recognizing Chinese Americans’ contributions to the early history of the national park.

Officials unveiled a new sign on Oct. 1 marking the Chinese Laundry Building in Yosemite Valley, the Fresno Bee reports. New exhibits inside tell the story of Chinese workers who helped build Tioga Road and Wawona Road, critical infrastructure that made tourism to the park possible.

The building—later used as a storage facility—is part of a cluster of structures

that will make up the new Yosemite History Center, which will tell the histories of immigrants who made the park what it is today, said Park Ranger Adam Ramsey.

“Chinese people have been a big part of communities throughout the Sierra Nevada for a really long time, and it’s about time that we started sharing that history here in Yosemite,” Ramsey said.

According to research conducted

by Park Ranger Yenyen Chan, in 1883 Chinese workers helped build the 56-mile Tioga Road in just 130 days. The stunning route across the Sierra Nevada reaches 10,000 feet in elevation and serves as one of the park’s main roads.

Chinese workers were also employed in Yosemite as cooks, laundry workers and gardeners.

Many first came to California during

the Gold Rush, bringing with them skills learned in China about construction, engineering, agriculture, medicine and textiles that made a significant impact in America’s early success, Chan said.

She said Yosemite’s Chinese history and their contributions were erased from memory because of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act passed by Congress to prevent any more Chinese from entering this country in search of work. The law blocked Chinese immigration for 60 years in this country.

Members of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, who supported the building’s renovation, said they were gratified to see Yosemite include the Chinese in the park’s origin story. see YOSEMITE on 14

China-#MeToo - Bystanders harass Chinese woman going public in #MeToo case HUIZHONG WU and SAM McNEIL ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese woman was shoved by antagonistic bystanders as she headed to court on Sept.

14 in one of the few remaining (hash)MeToo cases from a tamped-down movement whose legacy remains uncertain.

Zhou Xiaoxuan, a former intern at Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, became the face of the country’s (hash)MeToo movement after going public with accusations against a prominent CCTV host in 2018.

Since then, the movement has been largely shut down by authorities as activists found their online posts censored and faced pressure from authorities when trying to hold protests, but Zhou has continued to speak out.

“I’m very thankful for everyone, whether we win or lose, I’m very honored to have experienced these last three years,” Zhou said to reporters outside the court, as unidentified men and women came up and tried to push her along.

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One woman yelled “pandemic safety,“ trying to prevent Zhou from speaking, while a man questioned whether it was appropriate for her to speak alone.

A transgender woman who tried to hold up a sign saying “Standing Together” was quickly surrounded by police and had the sign ripped out of her hand. She said later that police then asked for her national identification number.

The hearing was the final one in a lawsuit brought by Zhou against CCTV host Zhu Jun, whom she accuses of groping and forcibly kissing her in 2014. She is asking for a public apology as well as 50,000 yuan ($7,600) in damages While the movement no longer has protests and lawyers and others helping victims take legal action, some people are still pushing to get justice for victims of sexual violence, even if they do not cite the (hash) MeToo label.

A series of sexual assault and rape accusations in recent weeks has drawn national attention. The most prominent was an accusation of sexual assault made

by an Alibaba employee against two men. ChineseCanadian singer Kris Wu was also arrested in Beijing on suspicion of rape over accusations made online.

In August, accusations posted online by victims led separately to the detention of a math teacher on charges of forcible molestation and the firing of a popular TV host at Hunan Television. Shanghai police, who initially declined to press charges in the latter case, have said they have reopened the investigation.

“These incidents are a part of (hash)MeToo, without a doubt,” said Lu Pin, the founder of Feminist Voices, an online publication that was shut down by censors in 2018. “Without (hash)MeToo, it’s impossible to imagine these types of things coming out.”

After the (hash)MeToo movement swept China, authorities responded with legal changes that activists and legal experts say have not yet led to real change on the ground. They defined sexual harassment in the country’s civil code, a massive effort approved in 2020 see #METOO on 13

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39 YEARS

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR OCT 7

DOUG BALDWIN AT RENTON ROTARY CLUB 12-1:30 p.m.

Fairwood Golf and Country Club, Renton $20 rentonrotarysecretary@ gmail.com 2021 SCIDPDA ANNUAL FUNDRAISER 6-7 p.m.

Free to attend bit.ly/scidpda2021 MICHAEL SHIOSAKI AT SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT ROTARY 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Contact club member or email club for Zoom meeting link at rotaryofseattleid@ gmail.com seattleidrotary.org THROUGH NOV 20

BETWEEN AND WITHIN: NEW WORK BY JIYOUNG CHUNG ArtXchange Gallery, 512 First Ave. S., Seattle 5-8 p.m. artxchange.org 5TH ANNUAL JAPAN WEEK 5-6 p.m.

Pre-registration is required Register at https://bit.ly/ JW2021WWII More info, JapanWeek@ bellevuecollege.edu

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16 & 17

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5TH ANNUAL JAPAN WEEK 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Pre-registration is required Register at https://bit.ly/ JW2021WWII More info, JapanWeek@ bellevuecollege.edu

NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE PRESENTS 8TH ANNUAL SEATTLE CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Streaming at nwfolklife.org/scf

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SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Seattle Asian Art Museum Free admission Advanced registration required volunteerparktrust.org/event/ saam-free-fridays/all

U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: TRENDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. Business 5-6 p.m.

Register at https://bit.ly/3CXon8C

VIRTUAL COOKING DEMONSTRATION WITH CHEF SHOTA NAKAJIMA AS PART OF UWAJIMAYA’S 93RD ANNIVERSARY 6:30 p.m. facebook.com/Uwajimaya

THROUGH OCT 12

21

UWAJIMAYA’S 93RD ANNIVERSARY 10% off storewide, even on sale prices

14 CRAZY WOKE ASIANS, ONE NIGHT ONLY 7:30-10 p.m.

Unexpected Productions Improv $25 unexpectedproductions.org SEATTLE MAYORAL DEBATE Topic: The economy Broadcast on local television and radio

15 FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS Seatac Community Center, 13735 24th Ave. S., SeaTac 6 p.m.

IT’S A GREAT PUMPKIN NIGHT Seatac Community Center, 13735 24th Ave. S., SeaTac 6-9 p.m.

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

TASVEER SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL Northwest Film Forum tasveer.org

SEATTLE MAYORAL DEBATE Topic: Public health and safety Broadcast on local television and radio

ESTELA ORTEGA 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Free on Zoom For Zoom meeting link email club at rotaryofseattleid@gmail.com

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6

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26

2

HARVEY HAWKS 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Free on Zoom For Zoom meeting link email club at rotaryofseattleid@gmail.com

THROUGH OCT 24

AISAYA CORBRAY 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Free on Zoom For Zoom meeting link email club at rotaryofseattleid@gmail.com

DEC

4

24

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SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Seattle Asian Art Museum Free admission Advanced registration required volunteerparktrust.org/event/ saam-free-fridays/all

NOV

MINH-DUC NGUYEN AT SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT ROTARY 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

For Zoom meeting link email club at rotaryofseattleid@gmail.com

THE HOLIDAY BAZAAR Seatac Community Center, 13735 24th Ave. S., SeaTac 9 a.m.-3p.m.

APCC’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 5:30 p.m.

Greater Tacoma Convention Center asiapacificculturalcenter.org

SEATAC’S ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING FESTIVAL Seatac Community Center, 13735 24th Ave. S., SeaTac 5:45-8:30 p.m.

View the solution on page 14

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YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

asianweekly northwest

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CID Night Market

By Ashley Chen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

along with McDonald’s and boba.” The diversity of the market really brought cultures together, one of the hallmarks of the night market.

Here were some of my favorites:

Glow Tea

Joyce Hwang

Photos provided by Ashley Chen

Enter the gates of the ChinatownInternational District (CID) and witness the return of Seattle’s vibrant cultures at the night market! Take a look around.

You’ll definitely find a small souvenir to take home. Or take a smell around. The aroma of BBQ spring rolls has filled every nose on the street.

Due to the pandemic, the CID Night Market was cancelled last year. Because vaccination rates have gone up recently, the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area was able

to host a night market on Sept. 25.

Two blocks were closed off just for the occasion, populated with trucks and booths. Eric Pham, a first-time visitor to this year’s market, cites how he “saw a variety of diversity, including white and Black people.” Not only that, there were “a lot of food stands that served Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese food,

strange shape for a simple drink, but the drink actually lights up! At the bottom of their cups is a pressable light switch that activates colored lights throughout the drink, as if it lit up the streets and the hearts of the visitors of the night market.

Website: glowteainc.com

One of the first places I visited was Glow Tea. The line extended about half a block for at least four hours. Their drinks are the pinnacle of boba aesthetic. The most striking element of their boba is the shape of their cup. Instead of sticking to a traditional tall cup, Glow Tea opted for a light bulb. A light bulb might seem like a

A booth that caught my attention was that of Joyce Hwang. The booth was filled with cute, colorful vinyl stickers that seemed perfect for my laptop. Stickers are great gifts for friends. Many of my friends have laptop stickers or a collage on their water bottles. Even though all of these stickers are on the cute side, Joyce Hwang makes many different genres of stickers. There’s something for everyone.

Joyce Hwang also creates other art objects, including but not limited to see CID NIGHT MARKET on 15

9 3 R D A N N I V E R SA RY SA L E

10% Off S TO R E W I D E * even our sale prices!

Plus take an additional 10% off items from our gift department*!

October 6-12, 2021 *Excludes: Alcohol, Books, Gift Cards, Gifts to Japan, Magazines, Newspapers, Shipping Fees and Stamps. Not valid on previous purchases. Discount can not be combined with any other coupons or promotions including Chinook Book.

No additional discounts for Senior Tuesdays, College Night or Case Discounts.

Not Valid at Other Businesses or Tenants of Uwajimaya.

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asianweekly northwest

■ SPORTS

39 YEARS

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

Preserving the past of Nikkei Sports

By Jason Cruz NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY The Northwest Nikkei Museum and the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington hosted a Speaker Series in September which highlighted the past accomplishments of Nikkei pioneers in sports. The rich history of sports clubs established by Japanese Americans reflects its strong community ties.

Entitled “Hidden Histories of Nikkei Sports,” the Zoom talk educated participants of the robust accomplishments of Japanese history.

There were three representatives from three different organizations, each with a different story.

The first presentation discussed the Rokka Ski Club. The club started in 1936 by an individual who loved to ski and wanted to share his experience with others. Rokka, which means six-sided snowflake in Japanese, disbanded during World War II. After the war, there was renewed interest in skiing again and the club was reformed in 1950. In 1959, the Rokka Ski School was created to help those wanting to join but not knowing how to properly ski. They joined the Professional Ski Instructors Association in 1961 to become certified instructors.

The organization had about 600 members, offering three buses each to Snoqualmie and Crystal Mountains.

In 1993, Rokka started teaching lessons in the Japanese language. To this day, Rokka still teaches in Japanese and

English.

On behalf of Rokka, Nancy Kitano’s family had been skiing with the club for a total of over 50 years.

“One of the great things about Rokka is that you join and it’s a big family,” Kitano explained. The organization currently operates at the Summit at Snoqualmie at Summit West, teaching from age 5 up to adults. Kitano became a ski instructor for Rokka. All of the instructors are volunteers and do it out of love for the

sport.

“One of the cool things that I’ve enjoyed is watching our students start at the age of 5 floundering around…and eventually grow up to become our new instructors.” At the end of each season, there are special training sessions to help cultivate the next generation of ski instructors.

In addition to their winter activities, Rokka holds bike rides and a golf tournament during the summer.

King County Executive Dow Constantine has declared Sept. 26, 2021 officially as Shiao-Yen Wu Day. It is with deep gratitude and pride for me to accept this honor.

The event was for many celebrations. I hosted simultaneous celebrations of the 110th National Day of Republic of China (Taiwan), and the National Film Competition Awards at my house.

I’d like to thank all the distinguished guests for coming to the ceremony: Director-General Daniel Kuo-ching Chen and State Rep. Mia Gregerson, Bellevue City Councilmember Janice Zahn, Seattle Port Commission President Peter Steinbrueck and many community leaders.

Last but not least, I’d like to thank James Bush for presenting the proclamation on behalf of Executive Constantine.

— Shiao Yen Wu President WPI Real Estate Services Inc.

The second presentation featured Masaru Tahara who spoke about the Tango Club, a fishing club, which began in the 1930s. Tahara wrote a book about the club entitled, “Tengu – Tales Told by Fishermen & Women of the Tengu Club of Seattle.” The club was established due in part to fishing competitions (known as derbies), excluding people of color from the events. Tahara discussed how Japanese Americans were experienced in both freshwater and saltwater fishing.

Membership was around 240-250 individuals participating in this “practical and enjoyable sport.” However, the club abruptly ended on Dec. 7, 1941, the date of the attacks on Pearl Harbor.

After World War II, Tengu Club was re-established in November 1946 with a fishing derby. Many people joined the club after returning from internment camps.

“The social environment was still not kind to them,” Tahara said of the first fishing derby after the war, “Surprisingly, 172 people showed up.”

In the 1940s and 1950s, the Seattle Times held salmon fishing derbies in which nine Nikkei members of the Tengu Club won prizes. Despite the antiJapanese sentiment post-World War II, the organization prided itself on including all races and genders participating in club activities.

The final presentation included Kerry Yo Nakagawa of the Nisei Baseball seen NIKKEI SPORTS on 13

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

YOUR VOICE

■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

asianweekly northwest

9

The 2021 Met Gala

st e b it e r o w o h w n e m o w The Asian and the ones who to tally did not

From CL’s Instagram account

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

lackluster and boring in. I’m sure if you follow the Met Gala, you already have a lot of your own opinions on which outfits slayed and which ones were like yawwwn, but you haven’t heard my hot take. So here we go.

Naomi Osaka

Man, I don’t have much snark for you in this column, and I am disappointed in myself too. Here’s a bunch of earnestness, sigh!

OMG, there are so many Asians at the Met Gala now! Mom, we’ve made it!

This year’s Met Gala theme was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” and it seems like something broad enough to either really shine in or be super

CL

SLAYED: Naomi Osaka — I love it when people go all out at the Met Gala and wear something super daring versus something brainlessly pretty. Naomi Osaka really

we nt for it. There are layers and layers of stories and thought that went into her look, and I love that it takes time to analyze and pore over. Beautiful!

CL — I love how this South Korean music artist is not American but yet seems to really get America. I love the tighty whities. Love the buckets of denim. Love the styling.

Gemma Chan — At first I was seriously like, “WTF is this Dragon Lady dress?” and then I realized she did it on purpose and was like, whoa, the ovaries on Gemma Chan. Love the reclamation.

YAWN: Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Mindy Kaling — Hello, purple-blue prom dress.

Sunisa Lee — A gymnast and gold medalist, who wore a gold-upon-goldupon-gold dress. It’s too on the nose, man. And are YOU also getting some American imperialist vibes from how reverently and non-ironically gold this dress is? Just me? Okay.

Rosé Park — She’s a YSL brand see A-POP on 15

Gemma Chan

Angle Lake in. m 48

Northgate

Playing on the ice and playing on the water, now closer than ever. From the practice rink in Northgate to the shores of Angle Lake, three new Link light rail stations are connecting neighborhoods like never before. northgatelink.com

ST 16096 Northgate-AngleLake_NWAW_9.75x7.25_Open_eng_v1.indd 1

Pub/s: Northwest Asian Weekly

8/17/21 3:52 PM

Traffic: 9/27/21

Run Date: 10/7/21

Color: CMYK

Author: TH

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asianweekly northwest

39 YEARS

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG

The big kids at

Photo by George Liu R. J Coughlin and his Ikea LEGOs store

Photo by Assunta Ng

Diego Baca's masterpiece, GBC Tower, which cost him $10,000 and millions of pieces of LEGOs.

In a strange world of misfits, Harry Potter found company with Transformers, weird game characters, and dolls near an Ikea store.

These were part of a display at BrickCon at the Seattle Center on Oct. 2. BrickCon is an annual LEGO exhibit for fans. You would think that kids packed the room.

Instead, I met another kind of kid—big kids in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and even 50s. There is a difference between an adult and child who engages in LEGO. To adults, LEGOs are much more than toys.

They call themselves builders. Their play often demonstrates complex challenges, immense creativity, and problem-solving skills. They have the money and resources to build an entire LEGO world at home with thousands of pieces, and one project can cost as much as $10,000. If the miniature is too big, the builder has to figure out the logistics to disassemble the artwork and re-assemble it quickly, so it can be moved to exhibition sites.

So passionate are these builders, they spend days, months, or even a year forming something from scratch to complete their vision, in addition to their day job. Talk about patience.

Constructing LEGOs is actually growing one’s patience and endurance.

Tyler Tsujii‘s dystopian

“Building with LEGOs has always been a great stress reliever prior to the pandemic but even more so now,” said LEGOs builder Tyler Tsuji. “Whether following instructions for a set, or free building a MOC (My Own Creation), I’ve found the process to be very relaxing.

“Since the pandemic started, I’ve spent more time organizing and building with my LEGO collection.”

It’s easy to throw a movie on in the background and start sorting parts or start building a robot or something, said Tsujii.

“LEGO bricks have always gotten me through hard times,” said Mariann Asanuma, LEGOS author and builder. “Sorting bricks is very therapeutic, as is building and designing for me.”

Asanuma said she joined a group called SORTLUG—a worldwide community of LEGO fans—and that group is coming up on its first anniversary. They meet regularly over Zoom.

Asanuma said her friends from all over the world in the LEGO community helped her get through these past 18 months as she

Photo by Assunta Ng

Photo by George Liu

By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Michael Kuroda’s LEGOS creation

really felt isolated.

What these adult players had in common is, they all started to play LEGOs when they were kids.

If you give LEGOs and a puppy to a child, which one gets the attention?

RJ Coughlin began playing with LEGOs when his dad gave it to him, as well as a puppy for Christmas. “I was 3 or 4 years old. I had so much fun making cows, sheeps, and all kinds of animals (with the LEGOs). I completely forgot about the puppy.”

Of Filipino and Chinese descent, Coughlin’s job is related to his hobby. Could it be that he enjoyed LEGOs so much that he decided to work for a toy company? Coughlin proudly showed off his masterpieces. One of them is Renton’s Ikea store. Yes, an actual model of Ikea was built with 3,000 to 5,000 LEGO pieces. It took him more than six months to finish. The process included several trips to Ikea, not to shop, but to take photos and then figure out the details, sizing it accurately. Amazingly, it is. see BLOG on 16

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

YOUR VOICE VIOLENT ATTACK from 1 meetings regularly throughout the year to continue the dialogue.

THE INCIDENT Just before midnight on Sept. 21, someone called 911 about a fight at Khmer Theravadin Buddhist Temple, located on the 1400 block of East 44th Street. When officers from the Tacoma Police Department (TPD) responded, they arrested a 53-year-old woman for aggravated assault. A second suspect, a man, fled the scene before police arrived.

The victim, Houn Nguon, 68, was taken to the hospital that night for her injuries and released shortly thereafter.

Although a third individual—another woman—was possibly involved in the assault, TPD public information officer Wendy Haddow said officers only had probable cause to arrest two individuals.

“If the investigation shows there is probable cause for another to be charged, the detective will forward that to the (Pierce County) prosecutor’s office.”

It started when the suspects came onto the temple grounds, using bolt cutters to cut the lock on the gate.

Nguon came out to tell them to stop in Khmer, also motioning with her hands since she does not speak English. The suspects did not stop and upon entering the parking lot, attacked Nguon. She said they hit and kicked her, pulled on her legs, and choked her. Nguon thought she was going to die and, at one point, she lost consciousness.

The first of three videos shows two assailants attacking Nguon and one of them can be heard repeatedly yelling, “Let me get her,” as well as expletives, including the F-word, B-word, and what sounds like the N-word.

Victor Tang, 80, an elder at the temple, was still onsite finishing up some work from an earlier event marking the Buddhist Hungry Ghosts Festival. Hearing Nguon’s earlier cries for help, he ran out to help and is also seen on video being assaulted, though his injuries did not require him to go to the hospital.

At one point, head monk and temple president Chea Poeuv, who recorded the videos, is heard on video repeating in Khmer, “Call the police.” He told the Northwest Asian Weekly that once he realized what was happening, he immediately thought to get it on video for evidence—especially as he thought the assailants were

JUDGES from 1 “Judge Chun’s accomplished track record—both as a state and county judge, and in private practice— demonstrates he has the knowledge, experience, and perspective to serve on the federal bench in Washington state with distinction,” said Sen. Patty Murray, said in a written statement. “If confirmed, I know Judge Chun would bring crucial background and insight to the federal judiciary, and continue to be an asset to our community.”

Chun was a King County Superior Court judge for four years before joining the appeals court. He

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going to kill Nguon.

In a second video, the same vocal attacker yells, “Get the f— out of Tacoma.” The final video shows the female suspect being arrested, with Poeuv saying in Khmer, “There’s still her husband. Her husband comes and causes trouble, too.”

ONGOING ISSUES Last month’s assault was not the first time the temple has had issues with the suspect who was arrested.

According to Nguon and Poeuv, the suspect is one of four individuals living in rooms below the temple. They were brought in by a former temple board member, who Nguon and Poeuv said used to cause trouble as well.

That board member has left the temple and they have a restraining order against him, but temple leaders have not been able to evict the four individuals.

Nguon said they have bullied, harassed, and threatened her and others at the temple. The group has also cut the locks to the temple gate some 10-20 times in the past, she said, forcing temple leaders to buy new locks each time.

WAS IT A HATE CRIME? With the rise of anti-AAPI racism and violence in the last year and a half, especially against community elders, questions have been raised about whether this recent attack is a hate crime.

Haddow said everyone involved during the night of the assault identified as Asian, adding that the suspect who was arrested told officers she needed a Vietnamese translator. However, Haddow said, just because everyone involved was Asian, doesn’t mean a hate crime has not occurred.

With the investigation ongoing, Haddow said if detectives determine a hate crime has occurred, they will forward that information to the county prosecuting attorney’s office.

COMING TOGETHER AS COMMUNITY Once the videos of the assault were posted on Reddit on Sept. 26—by Connar Mon, a teen whose family attends the temple—it was clear to Lam that something needed to be done.

“How can we allow this to happen to our elders?” she asked.

previously worked as a litigator focusing on commercial and employment litigation at Summit Law Group and Preston, Gates & Ellis—now known as K&L Gates.

Chun served as a law clerk for Judge Eugene A. Wright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1994 to 1995. He earned his law degree at Cornell Law School in 1994 and graduated from Columbia University in 1991.

Chun currently chairs the Washington State Center for Court Research Advisory Board and he’s on the board of the Asian Bar Association of Washington Student Scholarship Foundation.

Biden also nominated Dale Ho to the U.S. District

asianweekly northwest

After learning about the attack, Lam and others began organizing a town-hall-style meeting on Zoom to give the community a space to be heard and heal. That meeting was held Sept. 29 and saw about 50 attendees with just one day’s notice.

In addition to community members, elected officials that attended include Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, City Councilmember Catherine Ushka, Pierce County Councilmember Marty Campbell, and Tacoma City Council candidate Joe Bushnell.

“This kind of behavior is not tolerated in the city of Tacoma. We’re not that city,” said Woodards.

While she didn’t have any immediate solutions, Woodards said she wanted to help temple leaders by putting them in touch with experts and attorneys who specialize in this area. She also told the Cambodian community that the city stands beside them.

Ushka and Campbell both added that a longterm solution would require everyone involved: the community, city and county council members, law enforcement at the city and county level, and more.

SILENT NO MORE During the meeting, people asked why it’s taken so long for issues of violence within the Cambodian community to come to light, noting feelings of invisibility and being overlooked.

In response, Silong Chhun, who facilitated the Zoom meeting, said that as a community, Cambodians tend to be more passive and keep their heads down, a possible remnant of the Khmer Rouge—as speaking up during the genocide often meant death.

But Lam sees this changing, pointing out how quickly people mobilized for the Sept. 29 Zoom meeting.

Everyone wants to do something, she said, and with social justice movements like #StopAAPIHate and Black Lives Matter following the murder of George Floyd, her community realizes, “We do have a voice and something can be done.”

Lam added that it’s also now up to the younger generation to get things done.

“Our elders, I think, want to support, but they need the younger folks to move the work.”  Samantha can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Court for the Southern District of New York.

Ho is the director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, and has argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, including a successful challenge to the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.

He was also recipient of the 2020 Asian Law Alliance Legal Impact Award and the 2019 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association President’s Award.

On Sept. 23, the Senate confirmed Florence Pan as a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C.—the first Asian American to hold a seat in that court system.

She is a former federal prosecutor who has served as a judge on the D.C. Superior Court since 2009. 

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received for KC000316, Transit Facility Improvements Work Order; by the King County Procurement and Payables Section, via the E-Procurement system, until 1:30 PM on October 25, 2021. Late bids will not be accepted. The public bid opening will only be conducted on-line following the Bid Close Date and Time; see Invitation to Bid Section 00 10 00 for details.

There is a 10% minimum Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Requirement.

This AGREEMENT is subject to the appropriations of the State of Washington.

The work under this Contract will be performed on a work order basis and consists of construction improvements at King County Transit Facilities. Sites include, but are not limited to, Transit Bases, Bus

11

Zone and Park and Ride lots located within King County. Work includes clearing; excavation; removal and disposal of existing site materials; placing, finishing and curing of unreinforced and reinforced concrete; paving with Portland cement concrete and/or asphalt concrete; construction of reinforced concrete retaining walls; handrailing; landscaping and other miscellaneous site improvements.

Estimated contract price: NTE $1,000,000 Prospective bidders can view more details at: https://kingcounty.gov/procurement/solicitations Complete Invitation to Bid Documents, including all project details, specifications, and contact information are available on our web page at: https:// kingcounty.gov/procurement/supplierportal

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asianweekly northwest

39 YEARS

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

■ NATIONAL NEWS Doctors grow frustrated over COVID-19 denial, misinformation

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH ASSOCIATED PRESS The COVID-19 patient’s health was deteriorating quickly at a Michigan hospital, but he was having none of the doctor’s diagnosis. Despite dangerously low oxygen levels, the unvaccinated man didn’t think he was that sick and got so irate over a hospital policy forbidding his wife from being at his bedside that he threatened to walk out of the building.

Dr. Matthew Trunsky didn’t hold back in his response: “You are welcome to leave, but you will be dead before you get to your car,”’ he said.

Such exchanges have become all-toocommon for medical workers who are growing weary of COVID-19 denial and misinformation that have made it exasperating to treat unvaccinated patients during the delta-driven surge.

The Associated Press asked six doctors from across the country to describe the types of misinformation and denial they see on a daily basis and how they respond to it.

They describe being aggravated at the constant requests to be prescribed the veterinary parasite drug Ivermectin, with patients lashing out at doctors when they are told that it’s not a safe coronavirus treatment. An Illinois family practice doctor has patients tell him that microchips are embedded in vaccines as part of a ploy to take over people’s DNA. A Louisiana doctor has resorted to showing patients a list of ingredients in Twinkies, reminding those who are skeptical about the makeup of vaccines that everyday products have lots of safe additives that no one really understands.

Here are their stories: LOUISIANA DOCTOR: ‘Just stop looking at Facebook’ When patients tell Dr. Vincent Shaw that they don’t want the COVID-19 vaccine because they don’t know what’s going into their bodies, he pulls up the ingredient list for a Twinkie.

“Look at the back of the package,” Shaw, a family physician in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Tell me you can pronounce everything on the back of that package.

Because I have a chemistry degree, I still don’t know what that is.”

He also commonly hears patients tell him they haven’t done enough research about the vaccines. Rest assured, he tells them, the vaccine developers have done their homework.

Then there are the fringe explanations: “They’re putting a tracker in and it makes me magnetic.”

Another explanation left him speechless: “The patient couldn’t understand why they were given this for free, because humanity in and of itself is not nice and people aren’t nice and nobody would give anything away. So there’s no such thing as inherent good nature of man. And I had no comeback from that.”

People who get sick with mild cases insist that they have natural immunity.

“No, you’re not a Superman or Superwoman,” he tells them.

He said one of the biggest issues is social media, as evidenced by the many patients who describe what they saw on Facebook in deciding against getting vaccinated. That mindset has spawned memes about the many Americans who got their degrees at the University of Facebook School of Medicine.

“I am like, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ I shake my head, ‘No, no. That is not right, no, no. Stop, stop, just stop looking at Facebook.”’

DALLAS ER DOCTOR: Baffled at how he’s ‘lost all credibility’ with antivaccine patients Dr. Stu Coffman has patients tell him they are scared about vaccine side effects.

They don’t trust the regulatory approval process and raise disproven concerns that the vaccine will harm their fertility. He said the most unexpected thing someone told him was that there was “actually poison in the mRNA vaccine”—a baseless rumor that originated online.

He is confounded by the pushback.

“If you’ve got a gunshot wound or stab wound or you’re having a heart attack, you want to see me in the emergency department,” he said. “But as soon as we start talking about a vaccine, all of a sudden I’ve lost all credibility.”

He said the key to overcoming hesitancy is to figure out where it originates. He said when people come to him with concerns about fertility, he can point to specific research showing that the vaccine is safe and their issues are unfounded.

But he says there’s no hope in changing the minds of people who think the vaccines are laced with poison. “I’m probably not going to be able to show you anything that convinces you otherwise.”

And he thinks he could change people’s minds about the vaccine if they could follow him around for a shift as he walks past the beds of the sick and dying, almost all of whom are unvaccinated.

KENTUCKY: Political views come into clear focus after diagnosis Dr. Ryan Stanton recently had a patient who began their conversation by saying, “I’m not afraid of any China virus.” From that point on, he knew what he was up against in dealing with the patient’s politics and misguided beliefs about the virus.

Stanton blamed people like far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for spreading some of the misinformation that has taken root among his patients.

Among them is that the vaccine contains fetal cells. Another said it “is a simple fact that the vaccine has killed millions.”

“In fact,“ he said, “that couldn’t be more wrong.”

It’s tough to watch, especially after living through the early surges. On his worst shift last fall, an elderly nursing home patient arrived, close to death. She hadn’t seen her family in months, so staff wheeled her outside in the ambulance bay so her relatives could say their goodbyes

from 20 feet away. He snapped a picture of the scene so he could remember the horror.

There was hope after the vaccines arrived, but then came the delta variant and a slowdown in immunizations.

“Really it amazes me the number of people who have this huge fear, conspiracy theory about vaccines and will honest to God try anything, including a veterinary medicine, to get better,” said Stanton.

MICHIGAN PULMONOLOGIST: Facebook post unleashes his frustration For Trunsky, the vaccine pushback grew so intense that he turned to Facebook to describe the ire he confronts on a daily basis at his hospital in Troy, Michigan. The post listed eight encounters he had in the two previous days alone in which COVID-19 patients explained misinformation-fueled reasons for not getting vaccines or made demands for unproven treatments.

Example No. 5 was a patient who said he’d rather die than take the vaccine.

Trunsky’s response: “You may get your wish.”

He has heard a litany of misinformation about the vaccine: They say it’s not proven and only experimental when in fact it is not. Others tell him the vaccine is a “personal choice and that the government shouldn’t tell me what to do.” He also has heard patients tell them they are too sick and didn’t want to risk the side effects of the vaccine. One young mother told him she wasn’t vaccinated because she was breastfeeding, although her pediatrician and obstetrician urged her it was safe.

She had to be hospitalized but eventually got a shot.

Others, though, take out their anger on health care providers. Some threaten to call attorneys if they don’t get a prescription for Ivermectin, commonly used by veterinarians to kill worms and parasites. The drug can cause harmful side effects and there’s little evidence it helps with the coronavirus.

He estimates that he has cared for 100 patients who have died since the pandemic began, including the man who threatened to walk out of the hospital.

ILLINOIS FAMILY PHYSICIAN: Traces misinformation back to Scripture, Nicki Minaj Dr. Carl Lambert hears lots of wild misinformation from his patients. Some come from the Bible interpretations; some originate from the rapper Nicki Minaj.

Some of it is the stuff of internet conspiracy theories, like there’s a chip in the vaccine that will take over their DNA. “Impossible scientifically,” says the family physician in Chicago. He also hears patients tell him that the vaccine will weaken their immune systems. He responds: “Immunology 101. Vaccines help your immune system.”

Recently he received a flurry of messages from patients who were worried about damage to their testicles—a rumor he ultimately traced back to an erroneous

tweet from Minaj alleging that the vaccine causes impotence.

“And I was like, ‘That’s outlandish.

That’s a bit outrageous.’ So a lot of just kind of counseling that I did not expect to have to do.”

Some of the misinformation is delivered from the pulpit, he said. People have sent him sermons of preachers saying the vaccine is “ungodly or there’s something in it that will mark you,” a reference to a verse in Revelation about the “mark of the beast” that some Christians cite in not getting vaccinated.

“There’s a mixture of like almost fear ... and saying, “Hey, if you do this, maybe you’re not as faithful as you should be as, say, a Christian.’”

Most common, though, is patients just wanting to wait, uneasy with how quickly the vaccine was developed. But he warns them, “Please do not try to wait out a pandemic. A pandemic will win.”

He said his job is “a lot of just dismantling what people have heard,” answering their questions and reassuring them that “vaccines work like this just like when we were kids.”

He has had some luck lately in changing minds. “I’ve had patients that maybe four months ago said ‘You are wasting your time. Dr. Lambert, I don’t want to hear you talking about it.’ And they’ll come back and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I’ve been watching the news. I’ve seen some stuff. I think I’m ready now.’”

UTAH DOCTOR: Fear of vaccine side effects, then fear of dying When Dr. Elizabeth Middleton talks to COVID-19 patients about why they aren’t vaccinated, they often cite fear of side effects. But as they get sicker and sicker, a different sort of fear sets in.

“They sort of have this sinking look about them, like ‘Oh, my God. This is happening to me. I should have been vaccinated,”’ said the pulmonary critical care doctor at the University of Utah hospital in Salt Lake City.

She hears often that the vaccine was developed too quickly. “Who are you to judge the speed of science?” she wonders.

Also frustrating is the idea among some patients that there is a “secret agenda” behind getting vaccinated. “‘There must be something wrong if everyone is forcing us to do this or everyone wants us to do this,”’ patients tell her. “And my response to that is, ‘They are urging you to do it because we are in an emergency. This is a pandemic.

It is a national and international crisis.

That is why we are pushing it.”’

Getting through to patients and their families is a “delicate line,” she says.

She tries not to disrupt the patient-doctor relationship by pushing vaccines too hard. But often the people who have been on ventilators need no convincing.

“They are like, ‘Tell everyone that they have to be vaccinated. I want to call my family. They need to be vaccinated.”’ 

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

YOUR VOICE

■ ASTROLOGY

asianweekly northwest

13

Predictions and advice for the week of October 9–October 15, 2021

By Sun Lee Chang Rat—Among the many options available to you, there will be only one that you can’t quite walk away from.

Dragon—Before sharing your opinion on a delicate matter, listen to the full story so you don’t miss an important detail.

Monkey—There are times when you want to march to the beat of your own drum. Don’t apologize for being yourself.

Ox—It’s natural to feel a little territorial at times, but there is also much to be gained from a worthwhile collaboration.

Snake—A missing ingredient can make a big difference. Check to be sure you have what you need before you start.

Rooster—You have avoided many of the pitfalls that have tripped up others. Remain cautious as the journey isn’t over yet.

Tiger—Are you craving variety today? Trying something new or different is the perfect way to awaken your senses.

Horse—You’re no stranger to taking the lead.

Sometimes that means making the hard call– even if you would rather not.

Dog—A ripple can turn into a wave before you know it. Better to smooth it out when it is still small.

Rabbit—If you are frustrated by the routes that you see before you, perhaps another perspective will reveal other alternatives.

Goat—The little things tend to add up quicker than you think. Resist spending more than you need.

Pig—The signs point towards go, but something is holding you back. Don’t let fear keep you from a promising opportunity.

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, 2021 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.

BOOSTER SHOT from 1 • People who are 18 – 49 years of age with underlying medical conditions, and • People 18 – 64 years of age who are at higher risk of COVID-19 exposure and transmission due to their occupational or institutional setting.

“COVID-19 vaccines continue to be highly effective in reducing the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death, even against the highly transmissible Delta variant,” said DOH Secretary Umair Shah. “As COVID-19 continues to evolve, booster doses will further protect vaccinated people who are at high-risk and those whose protection has decreased over time.”

Dr. Shireesha Dhanireddy, who is the lead clinical doctor for UW Medicine’s COVID-19 vaccination program said UW Medicine has been planning for these boosters for months.

#METOO from 5 that organized civil laws and promised certain rights to citizens.

Still, victims of sexual violence face legal and social obstacles to seeking justice.

“The messaging is quite strong ... and it’s saying to people that this is going to change things,” said Darius Longarino, a research scholar at Yale Law School.

“But on the ground, in the actual system, there’s still many pitfalls.”

In a recent report, Longarino and colleagues found only 83 civil cases in public databases that related to sexual harassment or molestation between 2018 and 2020. Of the 83 cases, 77 were brought by the alleged harasser against companies or the victim. Just six cases were brought by victims against a harasser.

Zhou’s case lingered in the dockets for two years before a Beijing court agreed to hear it last December. The second part of the hearing, originally scheduled for May, was canceled on the day by the court.

A few dozen supporters came to support Zhou, though many kept their distance because of the large number of

“We will be ramping up staffing in our larger vaccination clinics, but we also will make sure that the vaccine is available throughout our clinics, so that you can get it in your own clinic here at UW Medicine,” she said.

While Pfizer is the first vaccine to gain approval for a booster series in the United States, Dhanireddy expects that recommendations for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters will be available in the near future. In the meantime, mixing and matching vaccine types is not recommended.

“There are studies ongoing about mixand-match,” says Dhanireddy. “I think it would be hard to approve mixing and matching based on the lack of data that’s been published.”

Dangers of ivermectin

Some Americans are turning to a medication approved to treat parasitic

police. Many police were in plainclothes and stood on the street filming.

“I think having one more person is a form of support, and form of power,” said Sophie Zhou, who said she kept her distance from the court as she saw police asking for ID numbers.

Throughout, Zhou has pushed to make the court hearing a matter of public record and requested the court order Zhu Jun to appear, citing basic court procedures.

When she filed the suit in 2018, such complaints were treated as labor disputes or under other laws that didn’t relate directly to sexual harassment. Zhou’s was termed a “personality rights dispute.”

The court rejected a request by her lawyers to have her case heard under a legal provision enacted after she filed the suit that explicitly cites sexual harassment.

“I believe that justice in these basic procedures is a necessary path to take to get a fair result, and all the efforts we made before the hearing are not just for victory, but for a fundamental fairness,” Zhou wrote on her WeChat social media account. 

infections and skin conditions as an answer against COVID-19, despite the lack of data supporting ivermectin’s use against the novel coronavirus. That’s why the FDA urges against using ivermectin beyond traditionally prescribed uses.

UW Medicine clinical pharmacist Rupali Jain says misinformation and desperation are to blame for the increasing demand for ivermectin.

“Unfortunately, I think we’re at a state where there’s a lot of uncertainty, and I think people are grasping for anything that they think may be helpful,” he said.

Jain explains that when the formulation of ivermectin intended for humans is taken at the correct dosage for appropriate conditions, it is generally safe. Danger is created when people take doses far too large or seek out the highly potent formulation intended for animals. “[It] can be purchased at veterinary stores or grain stores, and unfortunately

NIKKEI SPORTS from 8 Research Project. He discussed Nikkei Baseball in the Northwest.

“I feel it’s a hidden legacy and amazing treasure,” said Nakagawa.

He discussed Frank Fukuda, who was one of the first pioneers of Japanese American Baseball. His teams toured Japan and showed the ‘American style’ of baseball to Japan.

In 1914, Fukuda and his team toured Japan and went on a 42-day tour playing different teams. Nakagawa stated that the team wanted to observe the Japanese culture and community.

He noted that Fukuda wanted to mesh the Japanese culture with the American culture, identifying the need to learn their Japanese heritage and customs. Not only did a Seattle team go to Japan, but other teams from Los Angeles, Alameda, Fresno, and Stockton, California went on tours of the country and became ambassadors of the sport.

this is a highly concentrated formulation of ivermectin,” said Jain. “We’re concerned that patients could have an overdose and have these toxicities, but then they could also be exposed to all these inactive ingredients that have not been tested in humans.”

An inappropriate dosage of ivermectin can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, and dizziness. More severe reactions are coma and death.

Health leaders agree that getting vaccinated is the safest, most effective way to protect against severe COVID-19 illness.  This health series is made possible by funding from the Washington State Department of Health, which has no editorial input or oversight of this content.

Nakagawa’s organization preserves the history of Japanese American Baseball through pictures and memorabilia. During the talk, Nakawawa displayed several old pictures of Fukuda and his traveling team of baseball players as they traveled from exhibition to exhibition.

All of the presenters detailed in their presentations and pictorials the strong sense of community through the experience of a sport/hobby that Japanese Americans felt passionate about. Through these activities, the participants felt more of a sense of identity and inclusion.  For more information on Rokka, visit rokkaski.com.

For more information on the Nisei Baseball Research Project, visit niseibaseball.com.

Jason can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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39 YEARS

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

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YOSEMITE from 5 “Something like this really resonates with a lot of people in my generation,” said Eugene Moy, a past

GAME ADDICTION from 4 sprung up to diagnose and treat such problems.

Under the new regulations, the responsibility for ensuring that children play only three hours a day falls largely on Chinese gaming companies like NetEase and Tencent, whose wildly popular Honor of Kings mobile game is played by tens of millions across the country.

Companies have set up real-name registration systems to prevent young users from exceeding their game time limits, and have incorporated facial recognition checks that require users to verify their identities.

In some cases, companies will do sporadic facial recognition checks while people are playing, and they’ll be booted out of the game if they fail.

Regulators also ordered gaming companies to tighten examination of their games to ensure they don’t include harmful content such as violence.

And they’ve set up a platform that allows people who hold Chinese ID cards to report on gaming companies they believe are violating restrictions.

It’s unclear what penalties companies may face if they fail to enforce the regulations.

And even if such blanket policies are enforced, it is also unclear whether they can prevent online addiction,

SAWANT from 1 researching each petition signer to ensure they are registered to vote in the district and that the signature on the petition matches the signature on the voter’s registration file.” Over 11,000 signatures were accepted through the verification process.

KCE has set an election date of Dec. 7, 2021. Ballots will be mailed to Seattle City Council District 3 voters on Nov. 17 and should begin to arrive in mailboxes in the days following.

“A number of factors influenced our decision to set the recall election on December 7. With both the November General and February Special elections being outside of the realm of possibility, we looked at dates that would reduce overlap between elections for our voters and sought to avoid the busy

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president of the society. “We’ve been here since the 1870s, so to be able to see this has deep meaning, because a lot of us, oftentimes, are relegated to the margins. We aren’t always perceived as being full-fledged Americans

when the reality is that people have been here for three, four, five generations, for 150 years.” 

given that game companies design their products to entice players to stay online and come back for more, said Barry Ip, a senior lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire in England who has researched gaming and addiction. Children may just switch to other apps if they are forced to stop playing games.

“There are many forms of digital platforms that could potentially hold a young person’s attention just as well as gaming,” Ip said. “It’s just as easy for a young person to spend four hours on TikTok in the evening rather than play games if their time is uncontrolled.”

Short-video apps such as Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, are extremely popular in China and are not subject to the same restrictions as games, though they do have “youth mode” features enabling parents to limit what children watch and for how long.

“Many parents attribute their children’s suffering grades to gaming, but I disagree with this sentiment,” said Liu Yanbin, mother of a 9-year-old daughter in Shanghai. “As long as children don’t want to study, they will find some way to play. Games may be restricted now but there’s always short video, social media, even television dramas.”

Tao Ran, director of the Adolescent Psychological Development Base in Beijing, which specializes in

treating internet addiction, expects about 20% of kids will find workarounds for the rules.

“Some minors are too smart, if you have a system in place to restrict them from gaming they will try to beat the system by borrowing accounts of their older relatives and find a way around facial recognition,” Tao said.

The new rules, he said, are a “last resort.”

Instead of relying on the government to intervene, parents need to take responsibility for limiting time spent on games, social media or the internet, experts say.

“The focus should be made on prevention, for example, informing parents about how games function, so that they are in a better position to regulate the involvement of their children,” said Joel Billieux, a psychology professor at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

Li, the father of two young children, said he plans to arrange piano lessons for his daughter, since she has shown an interest in learning the instrument.

“Sometimes due to work, parents may not have time to pay attention to their children and that’s why many kids turn to games to spend time,” he said. “Parents must be willing to help children cultivate hobbies and interests so that they can develop in a healthy manner.” 

December holiday season as much as possible,” stated Julie Wise, King County Director of Elections. “There’s no perfect date to schedule an election, but our hope is that voters will show up, turn out, and use their voice in this election just like any other.”

The recall will be the only question in front of voters on the Dec. 7 ballot, and the ballot itself will feature both the charges against Sawant and her response to them. Voters will then be asked to vote YES or NO. Sawant supporters have accused the recall campaign of waiting to submit its signatures in order to intentionally miss the Nov. 2 ballot, which includes the mayor’s race, among others. They say the delay is a tactic meant to dampen turnout among young voters and others likely to back Sawant. The recall campaign has denied that it desires low

turnout.

The recall petition accuses Sawant of using city resources to promote a “Tax Amazon” ballot initiative and letting demonstrators into City Hall during racial justice protests last year when the building was closed to the public because of COVID-19.

Sawant and her supporters have described the recall effort as a conservative attempt to thwart her work for the city’s workers and renters.

Sawant was elected in 2013 and won reelection in 2015 and 2019.

Unlike recent recall attempts in other states, voters do not choose a replacement candidate. Instead, Washington state law provides that the seat will be vacated and filled as any other vacancy, through an appointment process. 

SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

YOUR VOICE CID NIGHT MARKET from 7 prints, shirts, and journals. You can check out some of her other works at her website.

Website: joycehwang.com

Dyme Designs

northwest

Something about the Seattle Best Tea booth that caught my attention was one of their big signs. Even though they’re a Taiwanese-owned business, their sign was in Vietnamese. Chinatown is not only “Chinese,” it’s an International District with many different racial demographics and a diverse set of cultures.

The owners, Joe Hsu and Lydia Lin, established their Chinatown business in 1996.

Website: seattlebesttea.com

Seattle Best Tea

Tsuchronicl

Tsuchronicl had another set of fancy pins and stickers that I adored. The booth was lined with an array of anime-inspired art. I was lucky enough to pick up a Kitty Boba Pin because many of Tsuchonicl’s other pins are sold out on her website.

Tsuchronicl is owned by Alice, a parttime artist based in Seattle.

Website: tsuchronincl.com

Crawfish King

Single Sploot

Crawfish King was also very busy.

The food smelled really good and they installed a PA system just to make sure everyone knew when their food was ready.

Website: crawfishkingwa.com 

The corgis from Single Sploot were adorable. Almost all the stationary sold at Single Sploot had corgis on them, ranging from car window stickers to washi tape.

Even when I was just walking by, someone mentioned how corgis’ butts are perfect. It was a really humorous comment, making the lively energy from the corgi stand spread throughout the entire night market.

Single Sploot is run by Linsey and Emi, a corgi mom and corgi duo.

Website: singlesploot.com

Photos by Ashley Chen

These last couple of places, I got a good glimpse at but didn’t have the time to go visit:

ToPo’s Tornado Potato

The line for Tornado Potato was comparable to the line for Glow Tea. Every couple of people that passed by was holding a stick with a spiral of potatoes.

Website: mytornadopotato.com

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

A-POP from 9 ambassador and notcoincidentally wore a Saint Laurent dress. She wore it like she’s just aiight on her job. She wore it like she had to show up and work a customer service shift.

It’s official, Ke Huy Quan is back! Goonies never say die!

For those of you not born in the 80s, Ke Huy Quan played Richard “Data” Wang in the movie, “The Goonies,” the greatest treasure-hunt-slashcoming-of-age film of all time. (I haven’t seen it in like, 20 years, by the way, so it only lives on in my mind’s eye. I’m open to the possibility that I am wrong and it hasn’t aged well.) From what I remember though, Data had an adorable lisp and was a really talented inventor that leaned into semi-violent hijinks and was an inspiration to Asian kids of the time who never ever saw themselves on TV or in movies ever.

Quan, the actor, also starred in a little movie called “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” in the 80s before he stopped appearing on screen and transitioned to a career as a stunt choreographer. Americans didn’t see him for almost 30 years,until “Finding Ohana” earlier this year, where he took on the role of George Phan!

And just in case you thought it was a fluke, Quan has another movie coming out soonish,

15

Ashley can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Dyme Designs was a unique store featuring every gemstone you could think of. The family running the shop seemed very educated in their craft. With every person that approached them about what a gemstone meant, they would be able to explain off the top of their heads the meaning behind the gemstone.

Dyme Designs is a family-run business inspired by Chinese culture and Asian art. You can find out more about them at their website.

Website: dymedesigns.com When Seattle Best Tea proclaims themselves to be the best tea in Seattle, they’re not exactly lying. The Taiwaneseowned shop offered delicious tea this weekend. I got a generic Black Milk Tea. The place was pretty popular given that they ran out of pearls when I got there.

The people running the booth were really kind and asked me if I was okay with not having pearls. The tea had even more flavor without them.

asianweekly

Mindy Kaling

Sunisa Lee

Rosé Park

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a sci-fi movie also starring Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis.

I can’t wait!

extends to Hollywood casting.

Like, it’s cool to cast Idris Elba as Heimdall because he’s a Black man taking on a role that has been traditionally written as white—but it’s not cool to cast Emma Stone as a based-on-reallife character named Allison Ng because that is punching down (a white person taking away a job that should’ve been given to a person of color).

So I don’t quite understand why we’re still casting halfwhite people in so many of the POC roles when there are like, more POC-y POCs they could be casting.

Peyton Elizabeth Lee, who is half Chinese and half white, plays the lead role in ‘Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.’ Her character, Lahela “Lee” Kameāloha, is a medical prodigy and is also supposed to be Native Hawaiian.

Lee, the actor, is not Hawaiian at

all.

But maybe I’m splitting hairs here. What do you think? Is this not that big of a deal?

Here’s an inelegant segue to some people doing this stuff in better style:

‘DOOGIE KAMEĀLOHA, M.D’ IS COOL AND ALL, BUT WHY IS THE LEAD NOT HAWAIIAN? Guys, you know how in comedy, the general rule of thumb is that you can punch up but you probably shouldn’t punch down—that is, you can mock and joke about those with more privilege to get the laugh but you probably shouldn’t mock those who are more systematically vulnerable and disempowered than your demographics?

Well, I feel like this principle

YO, ‘RESERVATION DOGS’ IS SOOO GOOD! “Reservation Dogs” is brilliant! And it is an FX on Hulu comedy series created by Sterlin Harjo, a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and Taika Waititi, who is Jewish and Maori and also the best Marvel superhero movie director of all time.

For their show, Harjo and Waititi pulled together an all Indigenous writing team, hiring only Indigenous directors. The cast and production team of

this show is also close to 100% Indigenous.

So I’m saying, I dunno why it’s so hard to find just one Native Hawaiian … (I’m shrugging sarcastically right now. Imagine it.)

WHO DAT ASIAN? JK, I KNOW WHO IT IS. IT’S DIANA BANG! Right now, a small screen adaptation of acclaimed comic series, “Y: The Last Man,” is rolling out new episodes every week and recently, we were lucky enough to be in the presence of Diana Bang, who plays Dr. Allsion Mann, a researcher who might be the only person in the world who might have some understanding about why all mammals on Earth with a Y chromosome spontaneously died at the same time—except for one cisgender man and his monkey! It’s a provocative concept and an interesting show to watch.

And Diana Bang is so fun to watch in this role! After seeing her play a North Korean propagandist in “The Interview” with no self-consciousness, I’ve been anticipating how her career continues to grow. I’m glad she’s doing really cool stuff.  Stacy can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly.com.

asianweekly

39 YEARS

OCTOBER 9 – OCTOBER 15, 2021

Mariann Asanuma and her brother Matthew at their booths

BLOG from 10 Coughlin’s dream is to have his model displayed at the Ikea store. His exhibit was made of six different sections. And he can assemble it and move it around swiftly.

“LEGO is endless creativity, endless recycling,” said Coughlin, who has a 12’ by 14’ room at his home to store his LEGO collection. Would he allow his own kids to play with his LEGOs? Coughlin said he doesn’t have kids. But if he did, his kid wouldn’t be allowed to touch his LEGOs. “He needs to have his own, and I have mine,” he said.

Sorting systems and storing strategies by color and by piece was one of the workshops at BrickCon. “There’s no right or wrong answer,” said Coughlin. “You make a system to fit you.”

Michael Kuroda of Bainbridge Island, a software engineer, also played with LEGOs in his pre-school days.

“I built [LEGOs] in high school. Then, in college, I took a robotics course.

LEGOs are similar to robotics using nano,” he said, so it rekindled his interest in building LEGOs again. Soon, he found a local LEGO group and connected with them. LEGOs build not only his satisfaction, but friendships with all kinds of fans.

“I like to build a lot of stuff on existing things, transform the real world 3Ds into LEGO versions, and have people enjoy it.” When spectators recognize what they are by looking at it because they look so real, that’s my satisfaction,” said Kuroda.

It’s an engineering challenge, too. You see an idea (based on a video game) and you can make this into something physical. Kuroda said sometimes, the idea takes a while to materialize, sometimes years. Once he has the answer, it doesn’t take long to bring his idea into fruition.

Another LEGO builder, Tyler Tsujii, a game developer, created many of his pieces and characters through video games. At the exhibit, he was reunited with an old friend from Bothell High School. His friend told the Asian Weekly that he was in awe when he walked into Tsujii’s LEGO room at his home when they were kids.

The LEGO world might be more skewed towards male, like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Well, you might not have heard of Mariann Asanuma of Utah, who is famous in the LEGO world.

Asanuma broke several glass ceilings.

As one of the first American women to be hired in the Model Shop at LEGOLAND in California in 2003, she was also the first Asian American female in the U.S. Master LEGO builders and the first Asian American female freelance LEGO artist at the age of 25.

She started playing with LEGOs when she was 6 years old, and Asanuma spent four years creating everything from a life-sized pirate and a 4-foot ladybug, to

A pyramid

her most famous model—the Miniland Las Vegas sign.

Asanuma quit LEGOLAND to venture out as an entrepreneur, even though the job was tough to get. She applied five times in more than two years. When she got the job, she started at the lowest job in the shop and spent time building a portfolio to prove she could make a Miniland figure before the company said yes.

Yet, Asanuma left because she wanted to get away from ”the corporate“ mindset.

She is also the author of two how-to LEGO books. At BrickCon, she was one of the few female vendors selling LEGO crafts.

For Asanuma, LEGOs run in the family. Her brother Matthew, who is 10 years

younger, is another LEGO builder, entrepreneur, and LEGO vendor.

I went to BrickCon looking for something new. It’s part of my survival strategies during Covid, to see and appreciate what’s out there in the world. While I might not be interested in playing with LEGOs myself, I discovered a group of eager folks who immerse themselves into playing, creating, and sharing ideas and innovations. It reminds us to play and dance more during adversity, a recurring theme in my blog. No matter what age you are, nurture the child in you.

A stubborn child who won’t give up until she reaches her goal can strengthen our character and willpower. Tasks and purpose keep us young at heart, feeling energized,

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16

northwest

A castle featured in the Harry Potter film

fulfilled, and optimistic. It is the essence of resilience.

After getting vaccinated, I go out and experience life differently every single day.

That’s how I beat Covid. When was the last time you did something exciting?  Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.