PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 38 NO 1 DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019 FREE 37 YEARS YOUR VOICE
Top 10 Asian American and Asian achievements of 2018 By Nina Huang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
John Liu
Kevin Thomas
William Tong
2018 was another big year for Asian Americans and Asians. There were a lot of significant election firsts, awards handed out, and notable achievements across the entertainment, political, scientific, education, and philanthropic sectors.
1. Firsts for politicians of Asian descent
Andy Kim
Joe Nguyen
Susheela Jayapal
Tina Maharath
Cyndi Nguyen
Despite political tensions with the Trump administration, it was still a relatively successful year for several Asian American politicians. There were several historic wins in the country this past November election. Taiwan-born John Liu and Indian American Kevin Thomas, both Democrats, became the first Asian Americans elected to New York’s state senate. Chinese American William Tong became the first Asian American to win a statewide office in Connecticut with his election as Attorney General. Andy Kim (D) became New Jersey’s first Asian
4 arrested as police serve search warrants on encampment tents
American congressman, after he defeated two-term incumbent Tom MacArthur in the 3rd congressional district. Vietnamese American and local hero Joe Nguyen (D) became Washington’s first Vietnamese American legislator and the district’s first person of color to hold that position. Tina Maharath (D) is the first Lao American state senator in the United States in her home state of Ohio. Her victory also marks Ohio’s first Asian American state senator and first Asian American woman in the general assembly. Susheela Jayapal became the first South Asian to be elected as a member of the Board of Commissioners of Multnomah County in Oregon on May 15. She is the older sister of U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Seattle), who was the first ever Indian American woman elected to the House of Representatives. Cyndi Nguyen, who moved to the United States from Vietnam when she was 5, was sworn in as the first Vietnamese member of the New Orleans City Council on May 7. see TOP 10 ACHIEVEMENTS on 15
FBI: Scammers may be targeting Chinese citizens on student and work visas By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Photos from SPD
The FBI’s Seattle Division said scammers are defrauding individuals in Washington state by imitating various Chinese law enforcement agencies, and they are targeting Chinese citizens on student visas at local colleges and universities, as well as Chinese Drugs, cash among the items seized
Police show a knife found in one of the tents
SEATTLE — Responding to reports of violent crime and community concerns, Major Crimes Task Force (MCTF) detectives conducted a drug trafficking investigation focusing on criminal activity occurring in encampments in the Chinatown-International District. This investigation culminated on Dec. 19, with SWAT teams from both Seattle Police and King County Sheriff’s Office serving search warrants at three encampments located between 8th and 12th Avenue South, along Dearborn Street. Detectives arrested four men believed to be selling heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine out of these encampments. Inside the first tent, detectives arrested a 50-yearold man for drug violations. He was in possession of
25 grams of heroin, small amounts of crack and meth, and $1,400 in cash. In the second tent, police arrested a 36-year-old man wanted for felony narcotics warrants and a 26-year-old man wanted for misdemeanor warrants. Investigators found numerous edged weapons in the tent, along with three grams each of meth and heroin and $400 in cash. Police arrested a third man in the tent, a 53-yearold man, for drug violations. He was in possession of a small amount of heroin and methamphetamine, as well as $900 in cash. The third tent was unoccupied, but detectives found a white powder that they believed to be cocaine. This continues to be an active, ongoing investigation. Detectives expect to serve additional search warrants in the days and weeks ahead.
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citizens on work visas. In 2018, at least five people were told, via email or text message, that they were under investigation in China for money laundering or other crimes, and that they were required to send money to the law enforcement agency supposedly investigating them. Victims have been told they can see SCAMMERS on 11
INSIDE STORIES
AT THE MOVIES Does DC’s latest sink or swim? » see 8
TOP 10 READS Recommended books in 2018 » see 9
TOP 10 BLOG Publisher Ng recalls the best news for the Asian community in 2018. » see 10
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37 YEARS
DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
■ NAMES IN THE NEWS
Tomio Moriguchi
Julie Ann Oiye
Keiro Northwest announced on Dec. 14 that Tomio Moriguchi, former CEO of Uwajimaya and cofounder of Keiro Northwest, accepted the position of board president. Outgoing Board President Frank Fukui said, “Tomio and his contemporaries did what was once thought impossible, and Keiro is still here despite the challenges of the industry and the changes to our community.” Past Board President Julie Ann Oiye has accepted the position of vice president. CEO Bridgette Takeuchi said, “This is an exciting time for Keiro Northwest. Tomio and Julie Ann bring a unique combination of legacy and heritage, while being progressive and forward thinking.”
Mayor Durkan nominates Mariko Lockhart
Mariko Lockhart
Mayor Jenny Durkan announced on Dec. 19 she is nominating Seattle Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Interim Director Mariko Lockhart to a permanent position, pending confirmation by the City Council. “For her entire career, Mariko has proven time and again that she is committed to advancing equity across education, affordability, and the criminal justice system,”
said Durkan. “With Mariko at the helm of OCR, I am confident that the City of Seattle will continue to center the voices of our most vulnerable residents, and expand opportunity for our marginalized communities.” Lockhart began leading OCR in January 2018. Under her leadership, the department has made critical contributions to the mayor’s work to reform the city’s policies on harassment, discrimination, and other forms of misconduct. She previously served as the Director of the City of Seattle’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative.
ACRS music video
Photo by John Liu
New president and VP at Keiro NW board
85° Bakery Cafe storefront
Tukwila, and Lynnwood. Nicknamed the “Starbucks of Taiwan,” 85°C specializes in fresh breads and pastries, as well as Asian-style brioche buns infused with fruit and Western-style sweets like apple pie and macarons.
New Kin On Board Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) released its very first music video about the agency in November. The original song “The First One There,” performed by AAPI musicians Daniel Pak and Geo Quibuyen, looks at how ACRS came to be, what it has stood for over the last 45 years, and its role in the community today. ACRS turned 45 in 2018 and the music video was part of a yearlong digital and video campaign. You can see the video at acrs.org/acrs45.
85°C Bakery in ID holds soft opening
85°C Bakery Cafe held a soft opening at its new store at 5th Avenue and Jackson Street beginning the last week of December. The chain, which has more than 1,000 stores worldwide, operates three other locations in the area, in Federal Way,
Stella Leong (left) and Dennis Lam (right)
Kin On announced on Dec. 24 the election of Dennis Lam as its new board president. Lam is the founder of the Law Offices of Dennis Lam and has served on the Kin On Board for more than 20 years. Along with Lam, Hannah Wong will be 1st Vice President, Sherwin Tsao 2nd Vice President, Wendy Zheng Secretary, David Lee Treasurer, and Stella Leong Immediate Past President. The newly elected officers will serve from 2019-2020.
Starting Jan. 1, 2019 A new way to take care of the people who take care of your business. Phuong Tran, Lava Java
Employers of all sizes must start collecting premiums for Paid Family & Medical Leave on January 1. This statewide insurance program will give every eligible employee access to up to 12 weeks of paid leave starting in 2020. It’s easy to get started, and there are special grants available for small businesses.
Get your business ready at paidleave.wa.gov
asianweekly northwest
YOUR VOICE
■ COMMUNITY NEWS
DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
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ICHS mourns passing of founding volunteer Jan Ko Fisher By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Jan Ko Fisher, one of the founding volunteers for International Community Health Services (ICHS), passed away on Dec. 7. She was the longest serving board member in ICHS’s history, filling that role since 1975. ICHS CEO Teresita Batayola said, “[Jan] was our direct connection to ICHS’s past. She represented our soul. She was always quietly supportive, always there, and deeply proud of ICHS.” Ko Fisher graduated from the University of
Washington in 1971 with a medical technologist degree. She had worked as a clinical laboratory scientist at Seattle Children’s Hospital for many years, starting in 2001. She had been recruited to the cause by Dr. Allen Muramoto, another activist and founder honored by the ICHS Foundation in 2017. One lasting legacy Ko Fisher leaves behind is her active involvement helping ICHS create a brand-new 40,000-square-foot medical and dental clinic in Shoreline in 2014. She served as co-chair of the fundraising steering committee. In 2018, Ko Fisher was honored at ICHS’s 45th
anniversary Bloom Gala with a Sapphire Award, recognizing her extraordinary leadership. “She was such a sensitive, sweet, happy person,” said Jon Nakagawara, ICHS co-founder and ICHS’s first director. “I’ll always treasure that memory of her personality.” Hiroshi Nakano, a long-time ICHS board member, added, “Jan was a low-key, consistent, committed board member, who was devoted to the cause of serving our patients. She will be missed by all of us.”
Jan Ko Fisher
Seattle firm sues federal government for denying H-1B visa By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY SEATTLE — Architecture firm, MG2 Corp., is suing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in federal court over the agency’s decision to deny a work visa to one of its employees. MG2 said USCIS violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it denied its H-1B petition amendment on behalf
of Bharath Raj Kumanan, a database manager who had been promoted. H-1B visas are reserved for temporary foreign workers with advanced degrees in specialty occupations. Kumanan, an Indian citizen, had been approved for an H-1B visa in his previous role as a database manager three years ago, according to the lawsuit. MG2 says USCIS failed to consider the company’s “extremely detailed” statement describing what the new position entails when the agency
Vehicular homicide suspect caught at Canada border crossing BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say a Kent man was arrested at the Canadian border on a warrant stemming from a seven-vehicle crash in 2017 that killed one person. The Bellingham Herald reports 35-year-old Sandeep Singh was taken into custody on Dec. 16 in Blaine by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations for a felony vehicular homicide warrant. Singh is accused of driving a semi trailer while intoxicated near Tumwater,
in connection with the crash. Singh is a citizen of India who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States. He was booked into Whatcom County Jail on a National Crime Information Center warrant. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Jason Givens told the newspaper that Singh was sent back to the United States by the Canadian Border Services Agency. It wasn’t known if he had an attorney.
said in its denial that the job description was “generic in nature.” The complaint called USCIS’s denial “arbitrary and capricious.” USCIS said that Kumanan’s new role didn’t qualify as a specialty occupation, which is necessary to obtain an H-1B visa.
Bipartisan bill to honor Chinese American WWII vets signed By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY On Dec. 20, President Trump signed into law the Chinese American World War II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act — giving Chinese Americans who served in the six branches of the U.S. Armed Services during WWII the honor and recognition long due to them. More than 18,000 Chinese Americans served during WWII for the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act was still in force when the United States first entered the war in 1941. The bill passed the House five days before the 75th anniversary of the 1943 Magnuson Act, which repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Cathy Lee, vice president of Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) of Seattle, told the Northwest Asian Weekly that CACA Seattle spearheaded the effort by persuading members of the congressional delegation to cosponsor the bill. CACA National President Davace Chin said, “Notwithstanding discriminatory treatment under the Chinese Exclusion Act, tens of thousands of Chinese American men and women enlisted in the military during our country’s hour of need in WWII. We are extremely grateful and appreciative for Congress’ recognition of the loyalty, service, and sacrifice made by Chinese American veterans. This highest honor is poignant and bittersweet.” See related Editorial on 11
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DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
37 YEARS
■ NATIONAL NEWS
Ex-restaurant owner sentenced for forced labor PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former owner of Thai restaurants who fraudulently obtained visas to bring cooks from Thailand and then compelled them to work long hours with minimal pay has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Paul Jumroon pleaded guilty in February to forced labor, conspiracy to
commit visa fraud and making and subscribing a false federal income tax return in 2013. Jumroon owned Curry in a Hurry in Lake Oswego and Teriyaki Thai in Ridgefield, Washington. Paul Jumroon pleaded guilty in February to forced labor, conspiracy to commit visa fraud and making and subscribing a false federal income tax return in 2013.
University student accused of poisoning roommate EASTON, Pa. (AP) - A former Lehigh University student has been accused of poisoning his roommate. Prosecutors announced on Dec. 20 that 22-year-old Yukai Yang will be charged with attempted homicide and related offenses. Authorities say Yang, a chemistry major, sickened his roommate with thallium and possibly other chemicals last spring. Juwan Juwan Royal Royal experienced symptoms that included Yukai Yang dizziness, shaking and vomiting, and his blood tested positive for thallium. Yang was already facing an ethnic intimidation charge for allegedly scrawling racist graffiti in their dorm room. Royal is black. Yang, an international student from China, is no longer enrolled at Lehigh, and his student visa has been revoked.
U.S District Judge Anna J. Brown said she didn’t believe his actions were premeditated but the result of Jumroon’s “ignorance of the United States laws” and his drive to succeed economically. He apologized in court on Dec. 19.
WANT TO BE A PART OF OUR TEAM? NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FREELANCE WRITERS. ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND FOOD FEATURES ARE GREAT, BUT YOU MUST ALSO BE ABLE TO WRITE ABOUT GOVERNMENT, COURTS, CRIME, BUSINESS, EDUCATION, HEALTH, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES AFFECTING THE ASIAN-PACIFIC ISLANDER (API) COMMUNITY. EVEN BETTER IF YOU CAN COVER BREAKING NEWS UNDER TIGHT DEADLINES (SAME-DAY TURNS), WITH MINIMAL SUPERVISION. FLEXIBLE HOURS. JOURNALISM DEGREE PREFERRED BUT NOT REQUIRED. SEND RESUME AND WRITING SAMPLES TO: RUTH BAYANG, EDITOR@NWASIANWEEKLY.COM
ECA SATURDAY MATINEE
RED FIRECRACKERS: THE LEGEND OF THE FIRST CHINESE NEW YEAR Saturday, February 23, 2019 | 11:00 am | $10 / $2 Arts for Everyone
Internationally-renowned Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company tells the story of the origin of Chinese Lunar New Year in this spectacular, all-ages production. With dazzling props, colorful costumes, mesmerizing music, fantastic acrobatics, and lively dance, this heartwarming performance highlights the intrinsic values of coming together, courage, hard work, and ingenuity.
No charges against Chinese billionaire in alleged assault By The Associated Press M I N N EA POLIS (AP) — Minnesota prosecutors said on Dec. 21 that Chinese billionaire Richard Liu will not face charges after a woman accused him of rape while he was attending a University business Richard Liu program in August. Liu, founder of the Beijing-based e-commerce site JD.com, was arrested Aug. 31 on suspicion of felony rape and released within hours. He returned to China. Prosecutors said that “profound evidentiary problems” would have made it “highly unlikely” that any charge could have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In a statement, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that as prosecutors reviewed surveillance video, text messages, police body camera video and witness statements, “it became clear
that we could not meet our burden of proof and, therefore, we could not bring charges.” Liu was in Minneapolis for a weeklong residency as part of the University of Minnesota’s doctor of business administration China program. The four-year program in the university’s management school is geared toward high-level executives in China and is a partnership with Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management. Liu’s attorneys have said he is innocent. JD.com has said Liu was falsely accused. Liu, known in Chinese as Liu Qiangdong, is a prominent member of the Chinese tech elite , with a fortune of $7.5 billion. He is part of a generation of entrepreneurs who have created China’s internet, e-commerce, mobile phone and other technology industries since the late 1990s. The son of peasants, Liu built a Beijing electronics shop into JD.com, China’s biggest online direct retailer, selling everything from clothes to toys to fresh vegetables. He has continued to lead the company see LIU on 13
ECA PRESENTS
NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY & AHN TRIO, “A QUEST FOR FREEDOM” Saturday, February 23, 2019 7:30 pm | $34–$59
Inspired by the personal stories of Nai-Ni Chen, a Taiwanese choreographer-dancer who emigrated to America, and the Ahn Trio, three sisters born in Seoul, Korea, who moved to New York, this captivating multicultural production examines leaving one’s home, family and friends to embrace new dreams and freedom. Pre-Show Artist Talk: 6:00–6:40 pm (FREE) 10% discount for Seniors 62+ & Military on ECA Presented Events!
ec4arts.org | 425.275.9595 410FOURTHAVENUENORTH EDMONDSWA98020
asianweekly northwest
YOUR VOICE
■ WORLD NEWS
DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
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US returns 3 disputed bells taken from Philippines in 1901 By JIM GOMEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS MANILA, Philippines (AP) — For over a century, the Bells of Balangiga have not rung in the Philippines, a silence that the president last year called “painful.’’ Now, the revered bells will once again be heard in the country. Hundreds of Filipino villagers in 1901, armed with bolos and disguised as women, used one of Balangiga town’s church bells to signal the start of a massive attack that wrought one of the bloodiest single-battle losses of American occupation forces in the Philippines. The U.S. Army brutally retaliated, reportedly killing thousands of villagers, as the Philippine-American War raged. After the violence, the Americans took three church bells as spoils of war that Filipinos would demand for decades to be handed back. On Dec. 11, a giant U.S. Air Force cargo aircraft brought the Bells of Balangiga back to the Philippine capital in a poignant ceremony that saw U.S. defense officials and the American ambassador to Manila return the war relics 117 years after they were seized. A military brass band played the Philippine national anthem, followed by “The Star Spangled Banner.’’ The treaty allies then swept aside a dark episode in their long relationship with joint photographs and handshakes. “It is my great honor to be here at this closing of a painful chapter in our U.S. Ambassador Sung history,’’ U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim Kim
said. “Our relationship has withstood the tests of history and flourishes today.’’ U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the handover is an important gesture of friendship and is in America’s national security interest. Some U.S. veterans and officials had opposed the return of the bells, calling them memorials to American war dead. At the Dec. 11 handover ceremony at a Philippine air force base, the bronze bells stood atop a red platform like silent symbols of a bygone era of hostilities, as American and Philippine flags flapped in the wind. Officials from both sides called for a minute of silence for the war dead. The bells are revered by Filipinos as symbols of national pride, and their arrival on a U.S. C-130 plane and the ceremony were shown live on national TV. Two of the bells had been displayed for decades at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and the third was with the U.S. Army in South Korea. After being colonized by Spain for more than three centuries, the Philippines became a U.S. possession in 1898 in a new colonial era that began with the outbreak of the Philippine-American War. American occupation troops seized the bells from a Catholic church following an attack by machete-wielding Filipino villagers, who killed 48 U.S. soldiers in Balangiga, on central Samar island off Leyte Gulf, according to Filipino historian Rolando Borrinaga. The Americans retaliated, with a general, Jacob Smith, ordering troops to shoot villagers older than 10 and turn the island into a “howling wilderness,’’ Borrinaga said. Thousands of villagers were reported to have been killed. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has had an
Critique of Thai Miss Universe gown linked to royal insult BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai social media influencer who criticized a gown worn by her country’s Miss Universe contestant could end up in court after another online personality filed a complaint with police charging that her thumbs-down fashion comment defamed the royal family. Kitjanut Chaiyosburana, a businessman and politician, said that he filed his complaint after seeing a Facebook post by Wanchaleom Jamneanphol, who disparaged a blue dress designed by Princess Srivannavari Nariratana, a daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Miss Universe Thailand, Sophida Kancharin, wore the gown during a Dec. 5 promotional event that was part of the pageant, won in Bangkok on Dec. 18 by the Philippines’ Catriona Gray. Police Col. Siriwat Deepor, spokesman for the Technology Crime Suppression Bureau, said the defamation complaint had been received and would be investigated. Wanchaleom has deleted the critical post and apologized on Dec. 18 to Princess Srivannavari in another Facebook post. “Your Royal Highness Sirivannavari Nariratana, I, Wanchaleom Jamneanphol, did not have any intention to insult or disrespect the high institution,’’ Wanchaleom wrote, employing language used exclusively to address Thai royalty. “I feel deeply guilty and sorry for what had happened.’’
Police could forward the complaint to prosecutors as a violation of the Computer Crime Act, which carries a punishment of five years in prison and fines for spreading false information and damaging national security. Similar cases have also been treated as lese majeste, or insulting the monarchy, punishable by three to 15 years’ imprisonment. “I acted as a Thai to protect the country’s reputation and to set an example,’’ complainant Kitjanut told The Associated Press. “So many times people make careless comments and it ends with just an apology.’’ Kitjanut and Wanchaleom are both popular figures in Thailand’s online LGBT community. Wanchaleom is a transgender woman with over 500,000 followers on Facebook and Kitjanut is a transgender man with more than 400,000 Facebook followers. Kitjanut said that he did not want to criticize a fellow member of the LGBT community because people outside already have a negative view of them, but that he acted because he wants justice. “There are people saying why is a tomboy criticizing a trans,’’ he said. “But for me, it’s not about protecting your own group of people, but about right and wrong. She (Wanchaleom) is a big influencer and she has a large following. So she should set a good example for others.’’
antagonistic attitude toward the U.S. and has revitalized ties with China and Russia, asked Washington in his state of the nation address last year to “return them to us, this is painful for us.’’ “Give us back those Balangiga bells. ... They are part of our national heritage,’’ Duterte said in the speech, attended by the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats. Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that with the resolution of the issue, “It’s time for healing, it is time for closure, it is time to look ahead as two nations Philippine President should with a shared history as Rodrigo Duterte allies.’’ Duterte has referred to violence by Americans in Balangiga and on southern Jolo island in the early 1900s in public criticism of the U.S. government after it raised concerns about his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs in which thousands have died. A breakthrough on the bells issue came with an amendment to a U.S. law banning the return of war relics and memorials to foreign countries. That allowed the homecoming of the Balanggiga bells, said Lorenzana, who saw the bells last year in Wyoming, where he was notified by Mattis of the U.S. decision. “The Bells of Balangiga will once again peal, it will still remind the people of Balangiga of what happened in the town square more than a century ago,’’ Lorenzana said. “But we would also look at that history with more understanding and acceptance.’’
Come meet our team and learn how you can get involved! Please join us to meet the AECOM/Aecon team (Federal Way Transit Constructors) and learn about design and construction subcontracting opportunities for the Federal Way Link Extension Design-Build project extending the existing light rail system 7.8Ǧmiles south from the Angle Lake Station in the City of SeaTac to the Federal Way Transit Center (FWTC), including three new stations with aerial facilities at Kent/Des Moines, Star Lake and FWTC and Guideway types including aerial, at-grade and retained cut and fill. Federal Way Transit Constructors S/DBE Outreach Event Project: Sound Transit, Federal Way Link Extension (FWLE) Design-Build Project, RFQ No. RTA/CN 0009-17 When: Wednesday, January 16, 2019 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Where: Federal Way Community Center, 876 333rd Street, Federal Way, WA 98003 Federal Way Transit Constructors is committed to the local community and will actively engage, identify and support training for potential small business firms and workers to participate on this project in a significant way. Our members have successfully implemented disadvantaged and small business programs that meet and exceed project goals and develop meaningful participation for local Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) and small businesses. Our team will reach out to local small and disadvantaged businesses to augment its self-performance capacity and utilize local and specialty subcontractors for a variety of tasks. To submit qualifications or expressions of interest, please visit: www.federalwaytransitconstructors.com or call Natasha Inglis at (925) 202-3291 or natasha.inglis@aecom.com An Equal Opportunity Employer
asianweekly northwest
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DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
37 YEARS
■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR DEC 31
FAMILY + DYNASTY, NEW YEAR END PARTY Dynasty Room, 714 S. King St., Seattle 9 p.m.-2 a.m. JOYA-E NEW YEARS EVE SERVICE Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple, 1427 S. Main St., Seattle 7 p.m.
JAN 5
30TH ANNIVERSARY MOCHI TSUKI Woodward Middle School, 9125 Sportsman Club Road, Bainbridge Island 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
206-491-2336
6 2019 NEW YEAR PARTY Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple, 1427 S. Main St., Seattle 12 p.m.
8 APA LEGISLATIVE DAY COMMUNITY BRIEFING PIERCE COUNTY APIC APCC, 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma 12-2 p.m.
10 SOUTHEAST ASIA BY SEATTLE FILM FESTIVAL 2018 UW, Thomson Hall Room 101 5-7:30 p.m. Free admission seac@uw.edu
FEB
5:30-7:30 p.m.
SHARON H. CHANG, “HAPA TALES AND OTHER LIES” Third Place Books Seward Park, 5041 Wilson Ave. S., Seattle 7-8:30 p.m.
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7-17
COCKTAILS & KARAOKE FOR THE SEATTLE ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL Kona Kitchen, 8501 5th Ave. N.E., Seattle 7-11 p.m.
11-20 TASVEER SOUTH ASIAN LITFEST Hugo House, Seattle Art Museum, Elliott Bay Book Co. For complete schedule, visit tsal.tasveer.org
“140 LBS. — HOW BEAUTY KILLED MY MOTHER” BY SUSAN LIEU Theatre Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave. S., Seattle 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets at theatreoffjackson. org/event/4778/140-lbs
19 MIRAI - SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS Uptown Cinemas, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle 11 a.m.-1 p.m. siff.net
12 2019 KUMAMOTO KENJIN KAI NEW YEAR PARTY 3001 24th Ave. S., Seattle 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
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14 APA LEGISLATIVE DAY COMMUNITY BRIEFING PIERCE COUNTY APIC APCC, 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma
FUKUOKA KENJINKAI HOSTS 2019 MOCHITSUKI Japanese Cultural & Community Center, 1414 S. Weller St., Seattle 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
9 CHIBI CHIBI CON 2019 The Evergreen State College, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia 12 p.m. ________________________
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■ COMMUNITY NEWS
Man shot in Chinatown homeless encampment SEATTLE — Officers responded to reports of shots fired at a homeless camp in the 1200 block of South Weller Street, just before 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 7. Residents of the encampment described the suspect as an Asian male who fled the scene before officers arrived. The witnesses also said a man claimed to have been shot before walking away.
Additional officers responding to the scene spotted two people, who matched the suspect’s description, attempting to leave the area in a gray SUV and immediately pulled it over. Witnesses confirmed the officers had the correct person. Hours later, a man walked into Harborview Medical
Center with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the stomach. Officers have booked the 43-year-old suspect into King County Jail for investigation of assault, drug charges, and a warrant. Officers also booked a 40-year-old man on several felony warrants.
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The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: “To empower the Asian community.” The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any advertisement, letter or article. Subscriptions cost $40 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and $30 for 52 weeks of the Seattle Chinese Post. The NW Asian Weekly owns the copyright for all its content. All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reprinted without permission. 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 info@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com
asianweekly northwest
YOUR VOICE
DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
■ WORLD NEWS
7
US sportswear traced to factory in China’s internment camps HOTAN, China (AP) — Barbed wire and hundreds of cameras ring a massive compound of more than 30 dormitories, schools, warehouses and workshops in China’s far west. Dozens of armed officers and a growling Doberman stand guard outside. Behind locked gates, men and women are sewing sportswear that can end up on U.S. college campuses and sports teams. This is one of a growing number of internment camps in the Xinjiang region, where by some estimates 1 million Muslims are detained, forced to give up their language and their religion and subject to political indoctrination. Now, the Chinese government is also forcing some detainees to work in manufacturing and food industries. Some of them are within the internment camps; others are privately owned, state-subsidized factories where detainees are sent once they are released. The Associated Press has tracked recent, ongoing shipments from one such factory inside an internment camp to Badger Sportswear, a leading supplier in Statesville, North Carolina. The shipments show how difficult it is to stop products made with forced labor from getting into the global supply chain, even though such imports are illegal in the U.S. Badger CEO John Anton said that the company would source sportswear elsewhere while it investigates, and the U.S. government said on Dec. 19 it was reviewing the reports of forced labor at the factory. Chinese authorities say the camps, which they call training centers, offer free vocational training for Uighurs, Kazakhs and others, mostly Muslims, as part of a plan to bring minorities into “a modern civilized’’ world and eliminate poverty in Xinjiang. They say that people in the centers have signed agreements to receive vocational training. The Xinjiang Propaganda Department did not respond to a faxed request for comment. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman accused the foreign media of making “many untrue reports’’ about the training centers, but did not specify when asked for details. “Those reports are completely based on hearsay evidence or made out of thin air,’’ the spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said at a daily briefing. However, a dozen people who either had been in a camp or had friends or family in one told the AP that detainees they knew were given no choice but to work at the factories. Most of the Uighurs and Kazakhs, who were interviewed in exile, also said that even people with professional jobs were retrained to do menial work. Payment varied according to the factory. Some got paid nothing, while others earned up to several hundred dollars a month, they said — barely above minimum wage for the poorer parts of Xinjiang. A person with firsthand knowledge of the situation in one county estimated that more than 10,000 detainees — or 10 to 20 percent of the internment population there — are working in factories, with some earning just a tenth of what they used to earn before. The person declined to be named
CCTV via AP Video
By DAKE KANG, MARTHA MENDOZA and YANAN WANG ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this image from undated video footage run by China’s CCTV via AP Video, Muslim trainees work in a garment factory at the Hotan Vocational Education and Training Center in Hotan, Xinjiang, northwest China.
out of fear of retribution. A former reporter for Xinjiang TV in exile said that during his month-long detention last year, young people in his camp were taken away in the mornings to work without compensation in carpentry and a cement factory. “The camp didn’t pay any money, not a single cent,’’ he said, asking to be identified only by his first name, Elyar, because he has relatives still in Xinjiang. “Even for necessities, such as things to shower with or sleep at night, they would call our families outside to get them to pay for it.’’ Rushan Abbas, a Uighur in Washington, D.C., said her sister is among those detained. The sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, was taken to what the government calls a vocational center, although she has no specific information on whether her sister is being forced to work. “American companies importing from those places should know those products are made by people being treated like slaves,’’ she said. “What are they going to do, train a doctor to be a seamstress?’’ ——— The predominantly Muslim Uighur and Kazakh ethnic minorities in China live mostly in the Xinjiang region bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, with a legacy dating to ancient traders on the Silk Road. In recent decades, violent attacks by Uighur militants have killed hundreds and prompted the Chinese government to blanket Xinjiang with stifling security. About two years ago, authorities launched a vast detention and re-education campaign. They also use checkpoints, GPS tracking and face-scanning cameras for surveillance of ethnic minorities in the region. The slightest perceived misstep can land someone in the internment camps. Men and women in the complex that has shipped products to Badger Sportswear make clothes for privately-owned Hetian Taida Apparel in a cluster of 10 workshops within the compound walls. Hetian Taida says it is not affiliated with the internment camps, but its workforce includes detainees. As China faced growing international pressure about the detention camps, its
state broadcaster aired a 15-minute report in October that featured a “vocational skills education and training center’’ in the southern Xinjiang city of Hotan. “Terrorism and extremism are the common enemy of human civilization,’’ the China Central Television program began. In response, the report said, the Xinjiang
government was using vocational training to solve this “global issue.’’ Wu Hongbo, the chairman of Hetian Taida, confirmed that the company has a factory inside the same compound as the training center featured in the China Central Television report. Hetian Taida provides employment to those trainees who were deemed by the government to be “unproblematic,’’ he said, adding that the center is government-operated. “We’re making our contribution to eradicating poverty,’’ Wu told the AP over the phone. The 20 to 30 trainees at the factory are treated like regular employees and make up a small fraction of the hundreds of people in its workforce, he said. Trainees featured in the state television report praised the Communist Party for saving them from a criminal path. “I don’t dare to imagine what would have happened to me if I didn’t come here,’’ one Uighur student said. “The party and government found me in time and saved me. They gave me a chance to reinvent myself.’’ The segment said that in addition to law and Mandarin-language classes, the training center collaborated with companies to give trainees practical experience. Trainees were shown hunched over sewing machines in see INTERNMENT CAMPS on 12
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DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
■ AT THE MOVIES
37 YEARS
‘Aquaman’ a visual feast for the eyes, just don’t think too hard and you’ll be fine
By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
scientist, and Ludi Lin, who does a really great job, but I couldn’t tell because they made him look white as hell in this movie!), there were a crap ton of nods to East Asian culture that seemed to be in there for no other reason than Wan just felt like it would be cool. Willem Dafoe plays Nuidis Vulko, who is basically Aquaman’s Obi-Wan, and he pretty much sports hair that is reminiscent of a chonmage or some other Asian warrior topknot. He teaches young Aquaman how to fight with a trident, and he could’ve been all white about it and made him just stab people with prongs all the time, but instead, he was super Asian and elegant about it. All of the fight scenes in “Aquaman” are dancelike and look like some sort of Asian martial art. The underwater fight sequences were filmed on wires, so the feel of it was really reminiscent of Hong Kong action movies. Atlantis also looks like every Asian city ever, but underwater. I was surprised to see how technologically advanced Atlantean society is — because I was expecting Little Mermaid visuals — but Atlantis was washed in just a bunch of bright, colorful, cool neon lights.
Visuals + action rating:
Story + dialogue rating:
I have two ratings for “Aquaman” because I was legitimately entertained and found this movie to be visually gripping. I will also never watch it ever again.
Jason Momoa is the first reason to watch this I have loved Jason Momoa since his “Baywatch Hawaii” days (1999-2001). I think he’s a really fun, charismatic actor who also happens to be Hawaiian and beautiful-looking enough to nab heroic starring roles — which is a big deal for any person of color. (In Entertainment Weekly’s recent Aquaman interview with Momoa, he talked about how people always want to hire him to play the villain because of his ‘look,’ which makes me roll my eyes. He also talked about how he got to audition for Batman with director Zack Snyder, and this is how he felt about it: “This is bullshit. I’m not a white guy. I ain’t playing Batman.”) So I think it’s really brilliant and meaningful that Momoa is playing a character that has always been super white, super blond, and super dorky. I imagine that a native Hawaiian might find things to criticize about how the culture was referenced in “Aquaman,” but since I unfortunately don’t have intimate knowledge of the culture, I found the Hawaiian nods in “Aquaman” to be numerous, really charming, and just fresh. It is so cool to go to a DC superhero movie and not just see a bunch of white people stuff. At the beginning of the movie, as the audience was given a lot of backstory, I realized that when an actor who is not white gets hired in a starring role, it also affects secondary and tertiary characters. It provided roles for other Pacific Islanders, like Temuera Morrison, who played Arthur Curry/Aquaman’s dad and who is the only character I ever emotionally engaged with in this movie. Momoa’s casting also provided roles for six young actors who played Arthur at different ages in flashbacks. And beyond just how he looks, Jason Momoa is honestly really great in this role. He has accomplished the gargantuan task of making Aquaman not look like a dorky
Now, the dicey bits: race and ethnicity
loser standing next to Batman and Superman. He makes Aquaman cool as hell. He is great in the action scenes (his stunt doubles were beyond great), and he is great at delivering dialogue that made me want to groan and die because it was so corny. Momoa even made talking to fish look cool. Like, do you know how hard this is? I don’t either. But it seems hard.
James Wan is the second reason to watch this The picture that “Aquaman” director James Wan (“Furious 7,” “Saw,” “The Conjuring”) paints is real trippy and super unexpected. Wan is Australian, Malaysian, and ethnically Chinese. A big deal wasn’t really made of an Asian helming such a big budget, high-profile superhero action movie, but guys, it is a huge deal! Directing big movies is such a job for a white man, and I realized this so hard as I was watching “Aquaman,” because so many things were such novelties. While there were no recognizably Asian characters in this movie (besides Randall Park, who plays a passionate and crazy
Hollywood movies tend to flatten the nuances of people to make them into heroes or villains. Hollywood tends to make white people super rich and super cultured, and they tend to make people of color poor and unrefined. “Aquaman” had this problem. Beyond Aquaman and his family, people of color inhabited really basic roles, like “naysayer” or “coward,” while white people had really meaty roles, like “Ocean Master with serious Mommy issues.” The non-white fakecultures depicted in the film, like the crustacean kingdom, the desert kingdom, or the scary hellfire kingdom, are also in ruins or not as technologically advanced. Also, Academy Award-nominee Djimon Hounsou played The Fisherman King (like, he’s an anthropomorphic fish, guys) who just gets bullied around by a bunch of white guys and takes it. It’s freaking Djimon Hounsou! I didn’t even know it was him because of all of the CGI. I only just learned this like, three seconds ago! Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played Black Manta, a villain who seemed extraneous in this movie, whose motivations for being so pissed at Aquaman seemed illogical and pointless. Ludi Lin plays Murk, a henchman. You cannot even tell he is Asian in this movie because they made him blond and blue-eyed. I think it’s because Atlanteans are really racist see AQUAMAN on 14
Netflix confirmed on Dec. 19 that it is moving ahead with a sequel to the romantic comedy “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” The sequel to the breakout hit will also feature actor Lana Condor, who was adopted from Vietnam months after her birth in 1997 and raised by a white family. First released in August, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is adapted from Jenny Han’s trilogy of young adult novels. It follows Lara Jean (Condor), a teenager who is mortified to discover that the secret love letters she once wrote, to five of her childhood crushes, have made their way to the boys in question.
Netflix issued the following announcement on Dec. 19: “To All The Fans I’ve Loved Before, I miss you. I know it’s only been a few months and I swear I wasn’t trying to avoid you, I just didn’t know how to answer your question without lying to you. The truth isn’t always simple or straightforward — and as we all know too well, dating contracts have a way of quickly getting complicated. But, the letters are out...it’s true. A To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before sequel is coming to Netflix.” Han also wrote “P.S. I Still Love You” and “Always and Forever, Lara Jean” as the second and third books in the trilogy.
Photo of the TV screen
‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ sequel confirmed
DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
YOUR VOICE
■ TOP 10
asianweekly northwest
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Top 10 reads of 2018 By Samantha Pak NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
who calls himself “the Old Musician” and claims to know what happened to Teera’s father during the Khmer Rouge. “Music” is a story about survivors, as readers see how the country of Cambodia and the Cambodian diaspora work to move on from tragedy. While stories about violent regimes are not hard to find, Ratner’s story features characters who were on both sides of the violence. She shows what it could have been like for those like the Old Musician and Teera’s parents, who embraced the Khmer Rouge’s promise of a democratic society, only to have no real way out once that promise was so horribly broken.
Well, another year is coming to a close and with that, (at least for me) another year’s worth of reading has come and gone — in short, a lot of books. Here, I’ve narrowed it down, in no particular order, to my top 10 reads of 2018. Happy holidays and even happier reading!
How to American By Jimmy O. Yang Da Capo Press, 2018
American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures By America Ferrera Gallery Books, 2018
does a great job of showing each character’s growth and how, despite the nature of their day jobs, they are just normal people who are imperfect, trying to live their best lives.
The Way You Make Me Feel By Maureen Goo Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018
Before Jimmy O. Yang joined the cast of “Crazy Rich Asians,” or even “Silicon Valley,” he was a young Chinese immigrant from Hong Kong trying to figure out where he fit in his new Los Angeles home. While “American” is a memoir with very specific details from Yang’s life — not everyone is nearly deported while on a trip to Tijuana, Mexico or works as a strip club DJ — there are also those common experiences among people with an immigrant background. Yang is just trying to fit in, while working to be true to himself. And to do this, he chooses to pursue comedy and acting rather than put his economics degree to good use, but as Yang put it, he’d rather disappoint his parents for a few years instead of disappointing himself for his whole life. And that’s a lesson we all can think about.
Heroine’s Journey By Sarah Kuhn DAW Books, Inc., 2018
With her power of emotional projection, it should be a no-brainer that Beatrice Tanaka would join her older sister Evie and Evie’s best friend Aveda Jupiter in their mission to protect San Francisco from supernatural baddies. Instead, Bea finds herself working at the bookstore, It’s Lit. But then a mysterious being starts contacting Bea, hinting that a new evil is coming to San Francisco. Now it’s Bea’s turn to become the superheroine she was meant to be. This is the third installment in Kuhn’s Heroine Complex series and as I’ve included her first two books in previous top 10 picks, it’s not a surprise to find this one on my list as well. “Journey” may be Bea’s story, but we get to see what everyone else has been doing since the last story. Kuhn
Math and work are everything to Stella Lane. But when her parents tell her they’re ready for grandchildren, the 30-yearold has to come up with a strategy. That strategy involves Stella, who is on the autism spectrum, “practicing” with a professional. So she hires Michael Phan, a half Vietnamese, half Swedish, escort with the good looks of a K-drama star. As with any good romance, we know Stella and Michael will begin to fall for each other. But what Hoang does so well is show how they fall in love. She gives readers some insight into what it can be like living on the autism spectrum and how that can affect one’s social interactions. Despite these differences, Hoang also shows that Stella wants what most of us want: to be accepted and loved for who she is. It was also great to read a romance featuring an Asian male love interest, which is not very common. But Michael was definitely swoon-worthy and it was great reading about the Vietnamese side of his family and see how they bring Stella into the fold.
Music of the Ghosts By Vaddey Ratner Simon and Schuster, 2017
Clara Shin goes through life making jokes and pulling pranks. She doesn’t take life too seriously, but when one of her pranks ends up in flames (literally), so do her plans to visit her mom in Tulum, Mexico. Clara is forced to spend her summer working at her dad’s food truck, the KoBra (named for his Korean and Brazilian upbringing). “The Way You Make Me Feel” is a coming-of-age story about a young woman who is thrust into the deep end of life, after spending a decade and a half in the shallow end. The story has a little bit of everything, from female friendships and teenage romance, to a super-sweet fatherdaughter relationship. Personally, the latter was my favorite part of the book, as some of the things Clara’s father, a teenage-punkturned-businessman, did for her reminded me of some of the things my parents did for me when I was younger.
The Kiss Quotient By Helen Hoang Berkley, 2018
Stories about the immigrant experience are fairly common. But it’s not often we find stories in which people embrace their cultural heritage or what it is that makes them considered “different.” But “American Like Me” is an anthology of such stories, collected by America Ferrera. Among the stories are tales by Padma Lakshmi, Randall Park, Michelle Kwan, Kumail Nanjiani, and Kal Penn, who all share what it is they love about their culture. From hilarious to heartwarming, there are stories of parents who have sacrificed for their children, as well as stories about those children (who have now grown up) and the pride they have in their various backgrounds. For anyone who wishes to be different — be it race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation — a collection of stories in which people accept, embrace, and even celebrate what makes them different from the “norm” could help them do the same.
Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue By Marissa Meyer Feiwel & Friends, 2018
Suteera fled Cambodia as a child refugee and while it has been about two and a half decades, the thought of going back had never been on the forefront of her mind, until her aunt dies. Following her aunt’s death, she receives a letter from a man
No top 10 list of mine could be without something from Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles. In this case, it’s the second installment of her “Wires and Nerve” graphic novel series. Once again, we follow Iko the android (my personal favorite character of the Chronicles), as she hunts down the bioengineered wolf-soldiers threatening to undo the already tenuous peace agreement between Earth and Luna (the moon). Iko and the rest of the gang, who we have see TOP READS on 15
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■ TOP 10
37 YEARS
DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
The best of 2018 for the local Asian American community By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY I looked out into the ocean, and I pondered the best moments in our community in 2018. The ocean symbolizes vastness, stillness, resources, and reflections. Yet, its vastness could instantly become a monster if we get lost, its stillness could suddenly rise as treacherous waves, and its resources could erode if we don’t know how to manage it. It’s the same with our community, the line between the worst and best would be blurred if the parties involved don’t know how to give and take, praise instead of blame, become proactive instead of passive, and appreciate instead of criticize. In no particular order, this is my list for the best of 2018.
1. Carmen Best as Seattle Police Chief
Carmen Best (at the podium) with Mayor Jenny Durkan (center), and Best’s husband, Larry (left). (Photo courtesy of SPD Photo Unit)
Best is the first woman of color to head the force. Her appointment signifies hope and confidence that people of color, especially women, can serve in leadership positions. This promotion from within also boosted morale in the organization. Although Chief Carmen Best was not originally on the list of the top contenders, community outcry prompted Mayor Jenny Durkan to drop one of the candidates and appoint Best as the chief. What if ego got in the way and the administration refused to admit its mistake, allowing combativeness, bitterness, and destruction to flare through? Fortunately, Durkan’s decisive action showed that she tried to do the right thing for the city. Best wasted no time and appointed Asian American Steve Hirjak to be assistant chief — a culmination of years of effort by the late Al Sugiyama and community leader Frank Irigon who both wanted the Seattle Police Department to promote Asian American officers. If Best had waited until next year to make the appointment, it would have illustrated that the Asian community was not her priority. Now, the Asian community can cross that one off its wish list.
2. A unified police precinct
Carmen Best speaking at a community meeting about the Donnie Chin investigation in August 2017. (Photo by Assunta Ng)
The 2015 murder of community hero Donnie Chin brought up an important safety issue in the community — why the Chinatown-International District (CID) was served by two different police precincts.
measures the success of stars, writers, producers, and directors, and that’s how future opportunities are created. One Asian blogger said, the movie not only put the Asian community in the spotlight, it thrived in the spotlight. So far, the actors involved in the movie seem to be handling his or her newfound fame quite well.
4. Getting rid of the Wah Mee Club
Formerly, the East and West precinct boundaries followed I-5, which ran through the middle of the C-ID, and divided Chinatown on the west side of the freeway and Little Saigon on the east side. When Teresita Batayola, International Community Health Services CEO, raised the question at Chin’s public vigil, I asked then-Mayor Ed Murray if he would unify the C-ID. He understood the challenges when officers couldn’t work together as one team. “It would cost too much money,” Murray told me. “$40 million,” he said. This year, the boundaries were redrawn to include Little Saigon in the West precinct. It doesn’t matter how the city did it. The fact is, the city did it through a new mayor. I doubt that it cost $40 million. Our community can now feel less frustration when working with the police. Another one crossed off our wish list.
3. Crazy Rich Asians
Photo by John Liu
Now, in the process of rebuilding after a 2013 fire destroyed the empty building, we can’t wait to see the new Louisa completed. Hopefully, Louisa will have a new face, identify, and purpose. May blessings bring new energy and life. Thanks to the Woo family, and their hard work and belief that Louisa can still contribute to the community. We will see the fruition of their vision in 2019.
5. Satya Nadella and Microsoft
When Nadella became the first Asian American to lead Microsoft, I was ecstatic. For years, the glass ceiling was a huge issue at Microsoft. The majority of Asian Americans at Microsoft were software engineers and midlevel managers. Only a few had landed in top management in
Satya Nadella
The memory of the notorious 1983 Wah Mee Massacre is still vivid among the older generation of the Asian community. Thirteen people were killed in the gambling den in Chinatown, inside the Louisa Hotel. For years, the site remained an eyesore and some community members believed it was haunted.
the past five years. Nadella is the opposite of former CEO Steve Ballmer, a good talker and marketing guy — never flashy. Microsoft’s stock price was at a low point under Ballmer — who see BLOG on 13
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When the all-Asian cast and Asiandirected movie Crazy Rich Asians was released, I was only mildly interested, even though the Asian Weekly had published three stories about it. Pushed by my son, my whole family finally saw the movie. We all enjoyed it (one son saw it a second time). Never had I seen such a phenomenon. So many of my white friends saw Crazy Rich Asians, and couldn’t stop talking about it. However, some Asian Americans are critical of the movie. I wonder if our people would evaluate non-Asian movies with the same unforgiving standards. Asian movies cannot be considered successful unless the mainstream audience are enthusiastic as well. The box office, and not necessarily the talent,
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asianweekly northwest
YOUR VOICE
DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
■ EDITORIAL
11
It’s about time
With the Chinese American WWII Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act now being signed into law, let freedom ring for all. This is a wonderful holiday gift to the Chinese American community. The president’s signature on this bill on Dec. 20 reaffirms this administration’s recognition of the contributions that people of color make in protecting our nation. They put their lives on the line, pledging loyalty to our country, and proving that we are all patriots. The passing and signing into law of this act honorably recognizes the Chinese Americans who bravely served our country. Few people know that more than 18,000 Chinese and Chinese Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces
during WWII. They served in every capacity within the armed forces, even though the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was still in force for much of the war. Many earned citations for their heroism and honorable duty to our nation. Up until now, they were the only U.S. minority group that had not been recognized for their service. We have lost many of these patriots in the years since the end of WWII. With precious few still alive, it’s about time that those still with us are getting honored and recognized for their selflessness and sacrifice. Ted Lieu (D-CA) introduced the bill, along with Ed Royce (R-CA) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Thad Cochran (R-MS) introduced it in the Senate.
Here are the Washington senators and congressmen who cosponsored the bill: Sen. Maria Cantwell Sen. Patty Murray Rep. Suzan DelBene Rep. Denny Heck Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler Rep. Pramila Jayapal Rep. Derek Kilmer Rep. Rick Larsen Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers Rep. Dan Newhouse Rep. Dave Reichert Rep. Adam Smith
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KING COUNTY NOTICE TO BIDDERS Proposals will be received for E00577E18, Engineering Services for HVAC Replacement at Atlantic Base, South Facilities, South Base, and East Base; by the King County Procurement and Payables Section, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, until 12:00 PM on JANUARY 15, 2019. Total Estimated Price for Phase 1: $950,000 Total Estimated Price for all Phases: $4,000,000 This contract is funded by the Federal Transit Administration. There is a 15% minimum requirement for Washington State Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises Certified Federal Small Business Enterprise (SBE) firms on this contract. King County, in accordance with the provisions of
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all Proposers that it will affirmatively ensure that any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit proposals in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. All solicitation documents are published at: https:// procurement.kingcounty.gov/procurement_ovr/login. aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fprocurement_ovr%2fdefault.aspx Contact: Alice Phoenix, alice.phoenix@kingcounty. gov, 206-263-9311
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DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
■ NATIONAL NEWS
37 YEARS
Removal of disputed Los Angeles school mural put on hold LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amid growing objections, the Los Angeles Unified School District has paused plans to paint over a campus mural of actress Ava Gardner that Koreatown activists contend resembles the Japanese imperial battle flag. School system administrator Eugene Hernandez says
there’s need for “additional conversation’’ on the issue. The mural at the Robert F. Kennedy Schools Complex shows Gardner’s face against a background of sun rays. Artist Beau Stanton says it has no connection to the Japanese banner. The district reconsidered on Dec. 18 after the Los Angeles
Times reported that artist Shepard Fairey would seek to paint over his mural of RFK at the school if Stanton’s work was covered. The campus is at the former site of the Ambassador Hotel, where Kennedy was assassinated in 1968. It’s in the Koreatown section of the city.
INTERNMENT CAMPS from 7
polyester T-shirts and pants from Hetian Taida Apparel, according to U.S. customs data provided by ImportGenius, which analyzes consumer shipments. The address on the shipping records is the same as for the detention camp. The U.S. and United Nations say forced labor is a type of modern slavery, and that items made by people being exploited and coerced to work are banned from import to the U.S. It’s unclear whether other companies also export products made by forced labor in Xinjiang to the U.S., Europe and Asia. The AP found two companies exporting to the U.S. that share approximately the same coordinates as places experts have identified as internment camps, and Chinese media reports mention “training’’ there. But the AP could not confirm whether the companies use forced labor. New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith, a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, called on the Trump administration to ban imports from Chinese companies associated with detention camps. “Not only is the Chinese government detaining over a million Uyghurs and other Muslims, forcing them to revoke their faith and profess loyalty to the Communist Party, they are now profiting from their labor,’’ said Smith. “U.S. consumers should not be buying and U.S. businesses should not be importing goods made in modern-day concentration camps.’’
constructing enormous factory parks. Another internment camp the AP visited was inside a factory compound called Kunshan Industrial Park, opened under the national antipoverty push. A local propaganda official, Chen Fang, said workers inside made food and clothes. A hospital, a police station, smokestacks, dormitories and a building with a sign that read “House of Workers’’ could be seen from outside the surrounding barbed wire fencing. Another section resembled a prison, with guard towers and high walls. The AP did not track any exports from Kunshan to the U.S. Many of those with relatives in such camps said their loved ones were well-educated with high-paying jobs before their arrest, and did not need a poverty alleviation program. Nurbakyt Kaliaskar, a sheepherder’s wife in Kazakhstan, said her daughter, Rezila Nulale, 25, was a college graduate with a well-paid advertising job in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, where she lived a typical urban lifestyle with a computer, a washing machine and an apartment in the city center. Then last August, after returning from a visit to her family across the border in Kazakhstan, Nulale vanished. She didn’t answer phone calls and stopped showing up to work. Four months later a stranger contacted Kaliaskar online and confirmed her fear: her daughter had been detained for “political training.’’ The next spring, she said she fainted when two cases of her daughter’s clothes were delivered to her home in Kazakhstan. Last month, Kaliaskar got word via a friend who knows the family that Nulale was working in a factory next to the camp where she had been detained. The friend had heard from Kaliaskar’s brother, who had visited Nulale, bringing medicine for an injured hand. Kaliaskar learned her daughter wasn’t being paid and had to meet a daily quota of three articles of clothing. She couldn’t leave. Her uncle thought she looked pale and thin. “They say they’re teaching her to weave clothes. But the thing is, she’s well educated and had a job,’’ said Kaliaskar. “What’s the point of this training?’’ A former detainee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect himself and his family members, said other detainees from his camp also had been forced into jobs at factories far away. They were taken to a government office and handed labor contracts for six months to five years in a distant factory, which they were required to sign. If they ran from the factories, they were warned, they’d be taken straight back to the camps for “further education.’’ Farmers, herders and manual laborers with little Mandarin and no higher education say they appreciated Beijing’s past initiatives to help the poor, including subsidized housing and the installation of electricity and running water. But the camps, the forced education, and the factories, they say, go too far. “I never asked the government to find work for my husband,’’ said Mainur Medetbek, whose husband did odd repair jobs before vanishing into a camp in February during a visit to China from their home in Kazakhstan. She has been able to glean a sense of his conditions from monitored exchanges with relatives and from the husband of a woman who is in the same camp. He works in an apparel factory and is allowed to leave and spend the night with relatives every other Saturday. Though she’s not certain how much her husband makes, the woman in his camp earns 600 yuan (about $87) a month, less than half the local minimum wage and far less than what Medetbek’s husband used to earn. Since her husband was detained, Medetbek and her children have had no reliable source of income and sometimes go hungry. The ordeal has driven her to occasionally contemplate suicide. “They say it’s a factory, but it’s an excuse for detention. They don’t have freedom, there’s no time for him to talk with me,’’ she said. “They say they found a job for him. I think it’s a concentration camp.’’
a factory whose interior matches that of Hetian Taida’s main Hotan branch, as seen in prior Chinese media reports. Police told the AP journalists who approached the compound earlier this month that they could not take photos or film in the area because it was part of a “military facility.’’ Yet the entrance was marked only by a tall gate that said it was an “apparel employment training base.’’ Posters line the barbed-wire perimeter, bearing messages such as “Learn to be grateful, learn to be an upright person’’ and “No need to pay tuition, find a job easily.’’ Nathan Ruser, a cyber-policy researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), analyzed satellite images for the AP and found that in Hetian Taida’s case, the apparel factory and the government-run training camp are connected by a fenced path. “There are watchtowers throughout,’’ Ruser said. “There are clear fences between the buildings and walls that limit movement. Detainees can only access the factories area through walkways, and the entire facility is closed.’’ The AP could not independently determine if any workers were allowed to come and go, or how much if anything they were paid. At least 10 times this year shipping containers filled with thousands of men’s, women’s and youth polyester knitted T-shirts and pants were sent to Badger Sportswear, a 47-yearold athletic gear seller. The company mostly manufactures in Nicaragua and the U.S., and there is no way to tell where the products from Xinjiang specifically end up. But experts say supply chains are considered tainted by forced labor and modern slavery if even one item was produced by someone forced to work. Sprinkled on the internet are clues that repeatedly tie the company to the detention camp’s sewing factory floor. Shawn Zhang, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, noted an overlooked Hotan city social media post from February about the first batch of some 1.5 million pieces of clothing worth $400,000 heading overseas from the Hetian Taida Factory. In the middle of a photo of young women flashing the peace sign is Badger Sportswear’s marketing director Ginny Gasswint, who is quoted as saying she’s surprised the workers are “friendly, beautiful, enthusiastic and hardworking.’’ Badger Sportswear goes to university bookstores and sports teams large and small around the country, places like Charlotte Country Day School squash team in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rhode Island’s Coventry Little League and Hansberry College Prep in Chicago, according to its website and advertisements. Dozens of college bookstores advertise their gear printed on Badger Sportswear, including Texas A&M, University of Pennsylvania, Appalachian State University, University of Northern Iowa, University of Evansville and Bates College. However, it’s impossible to say if any particular shirt is made with forced labor. All the teams and schools that responded to the AP condemned forced labor. Badger chief executive Anton said that his company has sourced products from an affiliate of Hetian Taida for many years. He said about a year ago, the affiliate opened a new factory in western China. Anton confirmed Badger Sportswear officials visited the factory and have a certificate that the factory is certified by social compliance experts. “We will voluntarily halt sourcing and will move production elsewhere while we investigate the matters raised,’’ he said. Badger Sportswear was acquired by New York investment firm CCMP Capital Advisor in August 2016. Since then, CCMP has acquired three more team sportswear companies, which they are managing under the umbrella of Founder Sport Group. In recent years, Badger imported sportswear — jerseys, T-shirts, workout pants and more — from Nicaragua and Pakistan. But in April this year, it began importing 100 percent
——— The detention camp system is part of China’s increasingly stringent state security under President Xi Jinping. Some detainees told AP earlier this year about beating, solitary confinement and other punishments if they do not recite political songs, names and phrases. The AP has not been given access to these facilities despite repeated attempts to get permission to visit. Not all the camps have forced labor. Many former detainees say they were held in facilities that didn’t have any manufacturing equipment and focused solely on political indoctrination. “They didn’t teach me anything. They were brainwashing me, trying to make us believe how great China is, how powerful it is, how developed its economy is,’’ said Kairat Samarkan, a Kazakh citizen who said he was tortured with a metal contraption that contorts your body before being released in February after he tried to kill himself. Interviewees described a wave of factory openings earlier this year. Ex-detainee Orynbek Koksebek said that shortly before his release in April, the director strode into his class and announced that a factory would be built in the camp. Koksebek, who cannot speak Mandarin, listened to a policeman as he translated the director’s words into Kazakh for the roughly 90 women and 15 men in the room. “We’re going to open a factory, you’re going to work,’’ Koksebek recalled him as saying. “We’ll teach you how to cook, how to sew clothes, how to fix cars.’’ This fall, months after Koksebek’s release, news began trickling into Kazakhstan that the Chinese government was starting forced labor in internment camps and would transfer some detainees out into gated, guarded factories. The workers must live in dormitories on factory grounds. Contact with family ranges from phone calls or in-person visits, to weekends at home under police surveillance. In October, Chinese authorities acknowledged the existence of what they called vocational training centers. State media published an interview with Shohret Zahir, the governor of Xinjiang, saying that “some trainees’’ were nearly done with their “courses.’’ “We will try to achieve a seamless connection between school teaching and social employment, so that after finishing their courses, the trainees will be able to find jobs and earn a well-off life,’’ Zahir said. The forced labor program goes along with a massive government initiative to develop Xinjiang’s economy by
asianweekly northwest
YOUR VOICE
DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
■ ASTROLOGY
13
Predictions and advice for the week of December 29, 2018–January 4, 2019 By Sun Lee Chang Rat — It can be hard to distinguish between the hype and what is real. If it seems too good to be true, then you should be skeptical.
Dragon — Although you are tempted to take some shortcuts, quality work adds to the overall value and it is worth taking your time.
Monkey — Don’t expect something daring to appeal to everyone. If you want more mass appeal, then consider your audience carefully.
Ox — There are situations when conflict simply cannot be avoided. That said, once it is out in the open, it is also one step closer to being resolved.
Snake — As well as things have gone before, there are some new circumstances that require your attention. Provided that you address them, the rest should go smoothly.
Rooster — You have your work cut out for you, but that should not stop you from plunging in. The more you get done upfront, the better the outcome.
Tiger — Your initial reaction won’t necessarily reflect how you will feel later on. Remember to listen to both sides of the story. Rabbit — The winds have shifted strongly in your favor. That said, don’t jump at the first attractive offer, and weigh all your available options.
Horse — A successful transition depends largely on your advance preparations. While you won’t know exactly what is coming, you will be ready when it arrives. Goat — Dwelling on a mistake won’t remedy it. Instead, learn what you can from it and do not let it happen again.
Dog — With a flair for style, you shine when you allow your creative side to come through. The bonus is that the process of creating is fulfilling for you as well. Pig — Your optimism is contagious and will eventually be appreciated by those around you. Leading by example is the best way to go.
WHAT’S YOUR ANIMAL SIGN? RAT 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 OX 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 TIGER 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 RABBIT 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 DRAGON 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 SNAKE 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 HORSE 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 GOAT 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 MONKEY 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 ROOSTER 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 DOG 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 PIG 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007
*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.
BLOG from 10 never admitted his mistake in acquiring Nokia and laying off thousands of workers. Ballmer took it personally when I asked his reaction towards the public slogan, “It’s time for Steve Ballmer to go.” Under Nadella’s leadership, Microsoft’s stock has risen consistently and it recently surpassed Apple as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company. It has become profitable through new strategies, including investing heavily in cloud technology. Nadella has proven himself through his performance and vision.
6. The league is growing
back. It’s time for us to identify potential young Asian American candidates and build a base to support them.
7. Bruce Harrell
No Asian American has been selected as the Seattle City Council President for three terms until Bruce Harrell. Harrell, of Japanese and African American descent, also made history as the Bruce Harrell only Asian American mayor in Seattle, even though he was mayor for only four days. He has been a tough act to follow at the City Council.
diverse than ever, and thus, our needs vary. While progressive Asian leaders wanted to see more police reform binded into the contract before they committed, many Chinatown residents and leaders saw it differently. Chinatown residents and businesses rely on the police directly for their safety, and indirectly for prosperity. Some activists think police reform will be put in the back burner once the police got their raise. It will not go away. There are merits and demerits on both sides of an issue. It’s healthy for the Asian community to agree to disagree. Keep in mind that the community doesn’t need to agree, it just needs to understand one another and respect each other’s decisions.
9. Expanded Hing Hay Park
8. The split Asian community over the police salary increase
Mona Das
Joe Nguyen
With the election of Mona Das and Joe Nguyen, the two are now joining a big league of Washington state Asian American elected officials. Next year, we will have 10 senators and representatives, including Steve Hobbs, Bob Hasegawa, Sharon T. Santos, Mia Gregerson, and Cindy Ryu. Our elected officials are growing not only in size, but influence. However, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels. We should continue to groom our young people to take over as the next generation of leaders, by running for office and learning the importance of public service and giving
Hing Hay Park (Photo by Han Bui)
Mayor Jenny Durkan (front) along with police chief Carmen Best, councilmember Rob Johnson and Lorena Gonzalez visited Chinatown on Nov. 14 to thank the community for their support. Durkan signed the new contract for police officers. (Photo by George Liu)
Is it bad to see the Asian community divided? Some would like to see a unified Asian community when it comes to issues such as the Seattle police wage contract. Impossible. The Asian community is more
LIU from 4 since his arrest. On the night of the alleged attack, Liu and other executives went to Origami, a Japanese restaurant in Minneapolis. The alleged victim, a Chinese citizen who is studying at the University of Minnesota on a student visa, went to the dinner as a volunteer and, her attorney Wil Florin said, felt coerced to drink as the powerful men toasted her. Text messages reviewed by The Associated Press and portions of the woman’s interviews with police show the woman claims Liu dragged her into a
With the red sculpture bridge installed at Hing Hay Park, the upgraded park has finally been completed this year. It distinguishes Hing Hay from other city parks with unique features. Colorful flowers bloom during different seasons. Its night lighting enhances the park’s beauty and cultural elements. From ping pong, to dancing, to concerts, to people enjoying lunch, the amount and varieties of activities and traffic at the park have increased many fold.
vehicle and made advances, despite her protests. The woman texted a friend: “I begged him don’t. But he didn’t listen.” She said he raped her at her apartment. The alleged victim has not been publicly identified. She is still enrolled at the university, Florin said. Liu had recently tried to distance himself from sexual assault allegations against a guest at a 2015 party at his penthouse in Australia. Liu was not charged or accused of wrongdoing, but Australian media reported he tried unsuccessfully to get a court to prevent the release of his name in that case. The guest was convicted and sentenced to prison in October.
10. ID parking rates are going down
In the C-ID core, parking rates are decreasing from $1.50 per hour to $1 per hour, between 8–11 a.m.
How about the worst of 2018?
The homeless issue is still a concern in the ID. Although the Navigation Center helps the homeless, it hasn’t eliminated the problems caused by the homeless in the community, such as security, litter, and encampment issues. Donnie Chin’s murder is still unsolved. It has been a while since Seattle police have given us some updates on the case. The death of billionaire Paul Allen sucks. He died too young. We miss his talent, wisdom, and generosity. He was good to the community and he gave millions of dollars to Asian and people of color organizations. The Nagomi Tea House is gone. The community lost a valuable community gathering space for its location, access, and affordability. What will be ahead for the Asian community? Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.
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AQUAMAN from 8 and the filmmakers wanted to keep this detail consistent, so every Atlantean has to be blond and blue-eyed in order for Arthur to stand out in contrast. See what I mean? It’s really oversimplified. I’m not saying people of color shouldn’t play villains or anti-heroes ever. I’m just saying it sticks out to me when all of the white people in the movie have no Black friends.
Ah, this movie tried to trick me into thinking it’s kinda feminist, but it’s not I’ve been reading a lot of reviews about how this movie is really femaleforward compared to Marvel superhero movies. Mera (played by Amber Heard) features really prominently in the movie and seems hyper competent and knowledgeable all the time — embodying the perfect counterpoint to Aquaman’s dimwittedness, his insecurities, and his reluctance to be a hero. Like, that is their dynamic. She keeps risking her entire life by believing in him, and he keeps doubting enough and screwing around enough that we get scared that all of the world’s oceans are going to die because of this guy’s lackadaisical inability to follow simple directions. Yeah, Mera is cool. So why isn’t this freaking movie about her? Why isn’t she savior of all? Why isn’t this intelligent woman constantly punching Aquaman in the face and telling him to get the hell over his non-problems? Why does her battle costume impractically show so much boob? Why doesn’t she get sick
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of telling him that he is The Chosen One? When, in the course of trying to save the world, did these two find time to develop enough romantic feelings for one another that they had the time to stop in the middle of an epic battle scene where fishies are just dying in droves to make out with each other? That’s a spoiler, guys. Except it is not. Because we all know what the point in having women around is. It’s just to make the guy feel better about himself and to give him someone to make out with at the end of the movie. Duh. Also, fun fact. Nicole Kidman plays Atlanna, Aquaman’s mom. She is 51, the same age as Momoa’s real-life wife (Lisa Bonet). Now get this, Patrick Wilson, 45, plays her other son and also Aquaman’s younger half-brother, Orm/Ocean Master. Momoa is 39. These facts were maddening as I was watching the movie. I couldn’t turn on my phone to look up their ages, but the whole time, my brain was screaming, “I am pretty sure Nicole Kidman is not old enough to be their mom! I am pretty sure Patrick Wilson is old as hell!” I’m not saying that I can’t use my imagination and imagine that Atlanna was a child bride who got caught in a really unhealthy and predatory situation, and that’s why she’s such a young mom. I’m saying that Hollywood hates it when women get old. This woman is also an Oscar winner, by the way.
Man, the story and the dialogue are crazy. Crazy bad. Here’s a part of the film, of many
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parts, that made me cringe and want to die. I am not overstating this at all: Arthur: I’m not a king. Mera: Atlantis has always had a king. Now it needs something more. Arthur: But what could be greater than a king? Atlanna: A hero. Oh my Goddd, do people actually say this to each other in real life? And why are these two women working so hard to convince this guy to do the right thing? Oh my God, what are our children learning about gender roles when they go to these movies? Beyond that, the movie clocks in at nearly 2.5 hours. It’s a long movie. It’s also a quest movie, so we just see Aquaman and Mera aimlessly going from place to place to try and get this trident so that Aquaman can use it to beat the crap out of his little brother, because his little brother is being a petulant weakling because he’s so pissed that his mom escaped an abusive relationship and found a healthy, loving one on land. Aquaman’s little brother can’t handle that his dad got so pissed that his betrothed ran away to have a healthy relationship, so he overreacted a lot and sent a bunch of murderers to drag her back to the ocean. After he violently pulled her back into his clutches, he showed her who is big and bad by sending her to depths of the ocean to die for her transgressions. And freaking Orm blames his brother for the loss of their mother. He started a crazy war because he’s an emotional idiot. The other thing is that this movie tries to be kind of environmentally positive?
Like, the other reason the Atlanteans want to go to war with the surface is because the Atlanteans are just so pissed that the surface-dwellers keep polluting their waters and killing their fish. So they show they care about fish by like, using sharks as horses and making sharks ram into each other headfirst until they die en masse and stuff. I don’t even know. Some of the beautiful-looking underwater fight scenes were hard for me to watch because all of these fake marine animals were dying in front of my face, and it just felt wrong, especially since they stated earlier in the movie that they wanted to preserve marine life. I just don’t know, guys. Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly.com.
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DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
TOP 10 ACHIEVEMENTS from 1
2. Immunologists win Nobel Prize for Medicine
Japan’s Tasuku Honjo is one half of the Nobel Prize winning duo who discovered how to harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer. They won the 2018 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their groundbreaking achievement. Honjo and U.S.’s James Allison shared Tasuku Honjo the $9 million prize. Their work has already changed patient outcomes and their recognition marks the first time the development of a cancer therapy has been awarded with a Nobel Prize.
3. CNN recognizes philanthropists of Asian descent
Dr. Ricardo Pun-Chong
asianweekly northwest
YOUR VOICE
Peruvian Dr. Ricardo PunChong, of Asian descent, was named the 2018 CNN Hero of the Year for his work providing free housing, meals, and support to sick children and their families while they undergo treatment. He received $100,000 to grow his nonprofit called Inspira, which has helped more than 800 families since
it started in 2008. Recognized as CNN’s Young Wonders, two sisters from Bali, Indonesia, Melati and Isabel Wijsen, started campaigning to ban plastic bags locally and to reduce the impact of plastic waste globally. Their environmental efforts began when they were just 10 and 12 years old, respectively. Indonesia is the second largest plastic polluter in the world after China. The sisters founded Bye Bye
Plastic Bags, a nonprofit focused on reducing the usage of plastic bags in Bali. Another CNN Young Wonder of 2018, Naperville teen Sonika Menon, was recognized for her charitable work running her nonprofit, The Birthday Giving Program. The organization helps to distribute birthday goodies to disadvantaged kids in suburbs around Chicago.
4. Harvard University student becomes first DACA recipient to win Rhodes Scholarship
South Korean-born Harvard University senior Jin Kyu Park became the first Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) recipient to be awarded the Rhodes Scholarship. This was Park’s second time applying because DACA recipients were ineligible for the award at the time of his first application. Park will continue his studies at the University of Oxford in the U.K. in 2019.
5. Erin Entrada Kelly wins top U.S. children’s literature prize
Earlier in 2018, Filipino American author Erin Entrada Kelly won the Newbery Medal for her 2017 children’s novel “Hello, Universe.” Her novel, ideal for young adults and younger readers, features a Filipino American character and Filipino themes.
6. Tammy Duckworth gives birth while serving in U.S. Senate
It’s a girl! Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth (D) became the first woman and first sitting senator to give birth while serving in the U.S. Senate.
7. The first Vietnamese American U.S. Army General takes command of the U.S. Army in Japan
Maj. Gen Viet Xuan Luong became the U.S. military’s first Vietnamese American general to assume command of U.S. Army Japan. Luong is responsible for 2,500 soldiers, civilians, and family members throughout 16 installations in mainland Japan and Okinawa. In 2014, Luong became the first Vietnamese American general in the United States.
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He was the son of a Republic of Vietnam Marine Division major, who evacuated from Saigon with his parents and seven siblings before the city fell to North Vietnamese forces.
8. Asians make statement in Hollywood award circuit
Darren Criss made history at the 70th Emmy Awards, winning Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his portrayal of Andrew Cunanan in FX’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Criss is the first Asian American actor to win in this category, only the second actor of Asian descent to win in any acting category, and the first Filipino American actor to win an Emmy. Sandra Oh is the first actress of Asian descent to be Emmy-nominated for lead actress in a drama. In addition, Oh will become the first Asian American to co-host the Golden Globes when it airs on Jan. 6, 2019. She was also nominated for best performance by an actress in a TV drama for her role on Killing Eve. Constance Wu of Crazy Rich Asians’ success also made history with her Golden Globes nomination for best actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy. It’s the first time in more than 50 years since an Asian woman has been nominated for the award.
9. Karthik Nemmani wins Scripps National Spelling Bee
Hailing from McKinney, Texas, Karthik Nemmani became the 14th consecutive Indian American champion. Nineteen of the past 23 winners are of Indian heritage. He won the competition by spelling “koinonia,” which means Christian fellowship or communion.
10. Awkwafina hosts SNL
Rapper and actress Nora Lum, more commonly known as Awkwafina, hosted Saturday Night Live’s Oct. 6 episode. The last time an Asian American woman hosted SNL was Lucy Liu, who appeared on the Dec. 16, 2000 episode. Nina can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
TOP READS from 9
all met throughout the series, suspect the wolf-soldiers plan to attack New Beijing’s Peace Festival so they have to figure out how to stop the potential attack. “Rogue” is an adventure story filled with themes of friendship, loyalty, and love. And while Iko may be an android, there is nothing she wouldn’t do for her friends, and Meyer does a great job of showing her humanity.
Serving Crazy with Curry By Amulya Malladi Endeavour Press, 2015
Devi can’t seem to do anything right. She is unemployed, unmarried, and recently had a miscarriage. With so many shortcomings, she decides she has nothing to lose and tries to take her own life. But on the morning of the “incident,” her mother Saroj stops by and lets herself in using her spare key and ends up saving Devi. So suicide is just one more thing she can’t get right. Devi then moves back in with her parents.
She stops speaking and begins expressing herself through cooking. And as the rest of the family begins to gather regularly for dinner to try Devi’s latest concoctions, they are forced to face things in their own lives. “Curry” is a story of how complicated family can be and how there is a fine line between loving someone and not being able to stand them. This is also a story about mental health, as the family comes to terms with why Devi did what she did and the value of getting help.
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel By Balli Kaur Jaswal William Morrow, 2017
For most of her life, Nikki has worked to distance herself from her traditional Indian upbringing. She prefers the independence of her West London life, working as a bartender over the tight-knit
Sikh community of her childhood. But when her father dies and her family faces financial hardship, Nikki takes a job at the Punjabi community center teaching, which turns out to be basic literacy instead of the creative writing she thought it was going to be. When one of her students — many of whom are widows — finds a book of sexy stories, the women begin sharing their own stories and experiences. Jaswal does a great job of telling a complex story from different characters’ points of view that will have readers guessing how and why things are related, especially as we learn about the death of a young modern wife, who was not that different from Nikki.
Dim Sum of All Fears: A Noodle Shop Mystery By Vivien Chien St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 2018
Lana Lee, who had just solved the
mystery of who killed Asia Village owner Mr. Feng a few months ago, finds herself in the midst of a new mystery. The couple running the store next to her family’s restaurant is found dead in their store and it’s looking to be more than the murdersuicide it appears to be. Soon, Lana is knee deep in the husband’s ex-wives and in the middle of the couple’s family drama. And she’s also been left in charge of the restaurant, as her parents have taken off to Taiwan. While I read both installments of Chien’s Noodle Shop Mystery series, I chose “Dim Sum,” because we get to see more of how the characters have developed since the first book and how the good people of Asia Village look out for each other and support their own through tough times. Samantha can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
asianweekly northwest
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DECEMBER 29, 2018 – JANUARY 4, 2019
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37 YEARS