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VOL 36 NO 7
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
FREE 35 YEARS YOUR VOICE
VALENTINE’S DAY GIFTS It’s complicated when you’re in love ... and Asian. » see 7
ASIAN AMERICAN SUPERHERO Everything you need to know about Marvel’s first-ever Asian American Hulk » see 8
HONG KONG FOOD
Maya Lin: A vision of the future By Janice Nesamani NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Intro: Maya Lin successfully crosses over from being an architect to an artist and environmentalist, and through all her work, she makes you aware of your surroundings and gain a different perspective. Simplicity is the crowning reward of art. Maya Lin, an artist, architect, and environmentalist, finds her way to
simplicity through mounds of research to create works that are quiet, transport you through time, and provoke thought. Lin has created evocative memorials, such as the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., the Civil Rights Memorial in Alabama, the Women’s Table at Yale, the Confluence Project in the Pacific Northwest, and ‘What Is Missing?’ However, she is no memorial woman. She has created buildings, such as the Novartis Building in Cambridge and the Nielsen Library at Smith College, among others. She creates landscapes of scale evoking the movement of water through pieces, such
Syrian mom in Trump lawsuit: ‘It’s unfair’ son stuck abroad
Publisher Ng waxes philosophical about food in her beloved hometown. » see 10
as the Wave Field at the University of Michigan, or giant doodles in soil such as the Eleven Minute Line in Sweden. Then there’s her art — rivers made up of recycled silver or the Chesapeake Bay made of thousands of marbles that take over a room, the underwater topography of the San Francisco Bay is cast in stainless steel and suspended in air at the California Academy of Sciences. Lin recently spoke at the University of Washington (UW). see LIN on 15
Frustration over new center in Little Saigon Photo by George Liu/NWAW
By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY On Feb. 8, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced in a press release the location of the “Navigation Center” at the Pearl Warren Building, at 606 12th Avenue South in Seattle’s Little Saigon, an area of predominantly Vietnamese businesses and residents. A sign on south Jackson Street marks the heart of Little Saigon.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
see LITTLE SAIGON on 13
By MARTHA BELLISLE ASSOCIATED PRESS SEATTLE (AP) — When war broke out in Syria and the kidnappings began, Reema Duhman used a three-hour curfew to slip out of the country in 2012 and made her way to Seattle. Duhman became a permanent U.S. resident and had almost completed the complicated
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process of securing a visa for her 16-year-old son, still trapped in the war-torn country, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting anyone from Syria and six other countries from traveling to the U.S. “It just broke my heart, you know, when you’re waiting for your son and you prepare his room, you know how many clothes I buy see TRUMP on 12
Snow in the I.D.
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Reema Duhman poses for a photo on Feb. 1, in the offices of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Seattle with a photo of her son displayed on her phone. Duhman, who fled war-torn Syria and now is a lawful permanent U.S. resident who lives in Seattle, had almost completed the complicated process of securing a visa for her 16-year-old son, who is still in Syria, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting anyone from Syria and six other countries from traveling to the U.S.
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35 YEARS
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
■ NAMES IN THE NEWS
2 at Joy Palace Restaurant. It honored Lynnette and Ron Consego, Van Sar, Velma Veloria, and the Tsutakawa family (George, Ayame. Marcus, Deems, Mayumi, and Gerard). The OCA serves the greater Seattle Chinese and Asian Pacific American community, as well as other communities in the Pacific Northwest. It is recognized in the local community for its advocacy of civil and voting rights, as well as its sponsorship of community activities and events. ■
Welcome brunch for CAPAW director
From left: Dinh Thai, Tiffanie Hsu, and Jinyi Shao
Filipino American J.R. Celski of Federal Way, Wash. won a bronze medal in the men’s 1000m as World Cup racing began at EnergieVerbund Arena in Dresden, Germany on Feb. 4. Celski’s bronze medal was his first individual ISU World Cup medal since World Cup Kolomna in November 2013, when he won a gold medal in the 1500m and a bronze medal in the 1000m. “It feels good to be back in the mix,” said the three-time Olympic medalist. “Overall, I’m really happy with how the day went.” ■
Photo by Penny Fukui
OCA-Greater Seattle Golden Circle Awards
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
J.R. Celski
From left: Rosie Abriam, former CAPAW director, Courtney Chappell, director, Leslie Moe-Kaiser, co-chair, and Joan Yoshitomi, co-chair.
The Center for Asian American Women (CAPAW) held a welcome brunch in Columbia City on Feb. 4 for its new director, Courtney Chappell. Chappell was most recently deputy director at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI). Also, as the first Policy & Programs Director at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Chappell spearheaded the organization’s reproductive justice program and developed a multi-pronged action agenda that included lobbying, grassroots organizing, and public education. Chappell graduated magna cum laude from the American University Washington College of Law. ■
Chinese American winners for HBO Visionaries Short Film competition
OCA President Jacqueline Wu (left) with honorees.
The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) held its Golden Circle Award and Lunar New Year dinner on Feb.
HBO announced on Jan. 31 the winners of the HBO Asian Pacific American Visionaries. The works of Dinh Thai, Tiffanie Hsu, and Jinyi Shao — who placed first,
second, and third, respectively — will make their world premieres at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in April. Thai’s “Monday” is the story of a young drug dealer who finds himself struggling with the moral implications of his illicit profession. Hsu’s “Wonderland” explores the lonely and surreal world of a 12-year-old girl whose mother (played by Joan Chen) is a gambling addict. Shao’s “Toenail” finds a career-obsessed yuppie having to care for his ailing father on the eve of his big promotion. ■
TAP-SEA dinner Photo by John Liu/NWAW
Celski skates to bronze at World Cup Dresden
TAP-SEA officers (from left): Eric Chang, Jerome Chen, Angel Hsu, Carlene Liu, Olivia Zen, Lucy Meng, and Jeff Wei.
The Taiwanese American Professionals - Seattle (TAPSEA) rang in the Lunar New Year with a dinner at China Harbor restaurant on Jan. 14. TAP-SEA invited members of TAP chapters from across the nation to attend this event. There were several performances throughout the night, as well as a photobooth to capture memories. ■
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■ COMMUNITY NEWS
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
Washingtonians cheer court order stopping Muslim ban nationwide SEATTLE — On Feb. 3, Judge James L. Robart of the Western District of Washington ruled in favor of the Washington State Attorney General’s motion for a temporary restraining order on key sections of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban.” Bob Ferguson, the Washington State Attorney General, argued the provisions were illegal and unconstitutional. The suit was joined by the Attorney General of Minnesota, Lori Swanson. The two state Attorney Generals argued that the executive order violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of Equal Protection and the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. They argued that Trump’s order also violates the constitutional right to Due Process and contravenes the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. The court
found that the State had shown that the Trump administration was unlikely to succeed in defending the order’s lawfulness. In issuing the court order, Judge Robart also held that irreparable harm was likely to occur without the restraining order. The court order notes that stopping the president’s policy immediately and nationwide is in the best interest of the public. “The Constitution prevailed today,” Ferguson said. “No one is above the law — not even the president.” Major Washington state institutions supported the Attorney General’s lawsuit through declarations filed alongside the complaint. In their declarations, for example, Amazon and Expedia set forth the detrimental ways the executive order impacts their operations and their employees. ■
Filipina, Bremerton councilwoman arrested in DC at Sessions hearing BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — A Bremerton city councilwoman says she has no regrets about being arrested for shouting an obscenity during a confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s attorney general pick, U.S. Sen Jeff Sessions. The Kitsap Sun reports that Councilwoman Leslie Daugs was attending the hearing on Jan. 31 when she shouted the obscenity in response to two Trump supporters who she said were “high-fiving and fist-bumping’’ while Republicans spoke highly of Sessions.
Councilwoman Leslie Daugs
It’s illegal to utter loud, threatening or abusive language or to engage in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and police said they arrested Daugs for disruption of Congress. She was released about four hours later. Daugs told the newspaper she has no regrets about her remark or arrest. She says she’s become more politically active since Trump became president, and that as a Filipino-American and a woman she feels her values are at risk. ■
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Lunar New Year 5K
Photo from ICHS.
YOUR VOICE
Al Sugiyama and ICHS CEO Teresita Batayola at the inaugural Lunar New Year 5K in 2016.
By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY The International Community Health Services (ICHS) is holding its second annual Lunar New Year 5K on Feb. 26 at the Shoreline Interurban Trail. This year, ICHS is doing a special “Race the Rooster” challenge for participants. Everyone who finishes ahead of the person dressed like a rooster will receive a prize when they cross the finish line. Also, Al Sugiyama, a long-time Asian American community leader who passed away on Jan. 2 after a two-year battle with cancer, will be honored. ICHS Foundation Director Ron Chew said, “For participants who want to honor Al, we’ll be handing out Superman capes emblazoned
with Al’s name inside the insignia.” Despite undergoing aggressive treatment for cancer of the pancreas and esophagus, Sugiyama participated in last year’s 5K, gathering his friends to join him. He even managed to outpace several of them. ICHS is a nonprofit community health center that offers affordable health care services to Seattle and King County’s Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, and the broader community, including its Shoreline clinic on Aurora Avenue North. Proceeds from the event will go toward supporting uncompensated care. Last year’s event raised over $21,000. ■ Registration for the 5K is available online at ichs.com/5k.
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FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
35 YEARS
■ WORLD NEWS
Girl, 13, dies after being thrown off ride at amusement park BEIJING (AP) — A 13-year-old girl has died after being flung out of a fast-turning ride at an amusement park in southwest China. China’s product safety regulator said in a statement on Feb. 4 that an initial investigation showed her seatbelt had broken and a passenger safety bar did not fit tightly enough at the Chaohua Park in Fengdu county, which comes under Chongqing municipality. Cellphone footage carried by state media showed the girl flying out of the “Travel
Through Space’’ ride on Feb. 3 as seats repeatedly spun round 360 degrees. Media reports say she fell on to iron railings and was taken to a hospital, where she died. The West China Metropolis Daily reported that the girl’s family had reached a compensation agreement with the park for their only child’s death amounting to 870,000 yuan ($127,000). The newspaper also said the ride had passed a routine quality inspection in December.
Clip of Trump’s granddaughter singing spreads on Chinese web By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIJING (AP) — A brief video clip of Donald Trump’s granddaughter singing in Chinese is circulating to strong approval on the internet in China, even while some criticized the U.S. president’s failure to send greetings for the Lunar New Year. The clip posted by Trump’s daughter Ivanka shows 5-year-old Arabella Kushner singing best wishes for the holiday while playing with a traditional Chinese puppet. On Feb. 1, Ivanka and Arabella made a surprise visit to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. to take part in the festivities, a photo of which landed on the front page of the official China Daily newspaper on Feb. 3. Arabella had already drawn considerable attention in China in November when a video clip of her reciting an ancient Chinese poem lit up the internet. While the Trump women received
Video posted on Ivanka Trump’s Instagram account.
praise, the lack of a greeting from the president “triggered heated discussion’’ among the Chinese public over the possible ramifications for bilateral relations, the official newspaper Global Times said. The paper noted that Trump’s most
recent predecessors Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama “all delivered Lunar New Year greetings to Asians who celebrate this festival.” “Some Chinese (internet) users felt Trump was being disrespectful by not sending a greeting,’’ the paper said. The Lunar New Year is China’s most important traditional holiday, a time for family gatherings, feasts and the exchange of greetings between relatives, friends and work colleagues. It is also celebrated in several other Asian countries and among Chinese communities worldwide. Comments on the internet largely focused on what many Chinese view as a hawkish attitude by Trump and his administration toward China, with many saying the lack of a greeting should be seen as a deliberate snub. Trump has accused Beijing of manipulating the value of its currency to
featuring coverage on our
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The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said that it had asked Chongqing authorities to suspend all the park’s large amusement facilities to “carry out checks and eliminate hidden dangers.’’ It also ordered companies operating the same “Travel Through Space’’ ride across the country to immediately suspend use of it and contact its Chengdu citybased manufacturer for further checks. ■
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
YOUR VOICE
■ NATIONAL NEWS
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Lawyer: Iranian family thrilled baby to be treated in US
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The family of an Iranian infant who was temporarily banned from coming to the United States for life-saving heart surgery is “overwhelmingly relieved and thrilled” the child will now be able to have the treatment, their lawyer said. Jennifer M. Morrissey, an attorney representing the family of Fatemeh Reshad, said she wasn’t sure where the family was on Feb. 4, but they had been expected to travel to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for pre-clearance after a Seattle judge blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s immigration and refugee ban. Lawyers had been seeking an exemption from the travel ban on the family’s behalf, Morrissey told a news conference on Feb. 4 at Oregon Health Sciences University’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, where Fatemah will be treated. She called thecase“anextremelypoignantexampleoftheimpactoftheban.” “It’s probably the clearest illustration I can think of offhand
of why the travel ban was poorly thought out, poorly executed and had significant humanitarian consequences,” she said. The family previously had an appointment in Dubai to get a tourist visa. But it was abruptly canceled after Trump announced his executive order on immigration, banning travel to the U.S. by people from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran. The 4-month-old girl was forced to return home. Iranian doctors told the child’s parents weeks ago that she needed at least one urgent surgery — and maybe several — to correct serious heart defects, or she will die, according to her uncle, Samad Taghizadeh, a U.S. citizen who lives in Portland. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Feb.3 that Fatemah and her family had been granted boarding documents to come to the United States. Cuomo said Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Medical Center had offered to perform the critical surgery, but the family finally chose to do it in Portland, both
because of the hospital’s pediatric cardiology expertise and proximity to the baby’s uncle and grandparents. Two in 10,000 children are born with the disease, which is fatal if left untreated. Doernbecher’s Dr. Irving Shen said the hospital performs six to 10 of the 6-hour operations each year, including three over the holidays. He said the surgery includes moving small coronary arteries, “the most challenging part of the operation.” “This is not a common defect, but it is an operation that we’ve performed on a fairly regular basis,” Shen said. Physicians working on the girl are waiving their fees, said Dr. Dana Braner, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. He noted that Doernbecher Hospital has been providing care for 90 years. “In that time, we’ve never turned away a child and never expect to,” he said. ■
Bon voyage, Bao Bao! National Zoo panda heads to China soon WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Zoo says 3-year-old panda Bao Bao will fly to China this month. The zoo tweeted on Feb. 6 that Bao Bao will move to China on Feb. 21. The zoo recently announced a celebration of Bao Bao starting Feb. 16 in anticipation of her departure. The zoo’s cooperative breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association requires all cubs born at
the zoo move to China by the time they turn 4 years old. Bao Bao turns 4 on Aug. 23. Bao Bao is the first surviving cub born at the zoo since 2005. Older brother Tai Shan left for China in 2010. Their mother, Mei Xiang, has since had a third surviving cub, Bei Bei, who was born on Aug. 22, 2015. ■
KING COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS ADVERTISEMENT Proposals will be received for E00441E16, Engineering Services for Brightwater Storage Tank Foam Spray System; by the King County Procurement and Payables Section, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, until 12:00 PM on February 21, 2017. Estimated Total Price: $200,000 There is a 5% minimum requirement for King County Certified Small
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FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
35 YEARS
■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR FEB 9
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CELEBRATE 2017 YEAR OF THE ROOSTER China Harbor Restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle 5:30 p.m. $65–$1,000 seattlechinesechamber.org 206-552-0818 EAST MEETS WEST CONCERT WEEKEND Shorecrest Performing Arts Center, 15343 25th Ave. N.E., Shoreline 4:30 p.m.
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CELEBRATE LUNAR NEW YEAR WITH SEATTLE PARKS AND RECREATION Garfield Community Center, 2323 E. Cherry St., Seattle 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m. seattle.gov
11 CELEBRATING CISC’S 45TH ANNIVERSARY China Harbor Restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle 5:30–10:30 p.m. $50/ticket mabelk@cisc-seattle.org 206-957-8520
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ASIA PACIFIC CULTURAL CENTER PRESENTS 19TH ANNUAL NEW YEAR CELEBRATION, “GUAM” Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall, 2727 E. D St., Tacoma 11 a.m.–6 p.m. 253-383-3900
SEATTLE CHONG WA BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION’S ANNUAL ELECTION Chong Wa, 522 7th Ave. S., Seattle 11 a.m. 425-442-5790
12
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ZEN NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION & BLESSING WITH SHODO HARADA ROSHI OF SOGENJI TEMPLE Northwest Language & Cultural Center, 5023 Langley Rd., Langley 3–4:30 p.m. nwlacc.org
18 ETHNIC FOODS, FUN AND MORE AT EDIBLE CITY FAMILY DAY MOHAI, 860 Terry Ave. N., Seattle 10 a.m.–5 p.m. 206-684-7200 AUTHOR JAY RUBIN WILL TALK ABOUT HIS BOOK, “HARUKI MURAKAMI AND ME,” IN JAPANESE Kinokuniya Book Store, 525 S. Weller St., Seattle 2 p.m.
25 TWO HOURS HANDS-ON BONSAI MAKING, “DECIDUOUS PLANT REPOTTING” Oriental Garden Center, 30650 Pacific Highway S., Federal Way 10 a.m.–12 p.m. $75/class 253-839-1639
26 ICHS LUNAR NEW YEAR 5K Shoreline Interurban Trail $30/person (ages 13-59) $25/person (ages 60-69)
Free (under 12 and over 70) ichs.com
MARCH 4
Mercer Island Library, 4400 88th Ave. S.E., Mercer Island 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Open to any student enrolled in senior high school (grades 9-12) No entry fee required Deadline is February 27 cacaseattle.org registration@cacaseattle.org
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YOUR VOICE
■ WAYNE’S WORLDS
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
asianweekly northwest
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Roses are red ...
… and they’d better be
By Wayne Chan NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Ahh, I love that spring is right around the corner. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and even the gophers in my back yard seem to be leaving my wife’s rose bushes alone. Speaking of roses, the spring bloom must also mean it’s that time of year again — Va l e n tine’s
Day! And now comes all the pressure. Pressure, you say? Well, yes, and let me explain. I’ve been married for nearly 30 years. The first few years, Valentine’s Day was a fun, romantic filled day for two young people in love. Now? We’re still in love, I’ll have you know. Any woman who can put up with her husband buying a dorky looking, battery powered, portable air conditioner that wraps around his neck and can still bear walking next to him must truly be in love. Truth be told, I threw that thing out because I couldn’t bear the looks of people (and by people, I mean mainly my wife) staring at me while I was wearing that ridiculous contraption.
But Valentine’s Day, it used to be so easy. Buy her some chocolates. I love her. She loves me. Easy peasy. But after a few years, chocolates just don’t have the same panache. And besides, with everyone nowadays so apprehensive about what we eat, giving a gal a box of chocolates is like wishing them a diabetic sugar bomb. Do you know how many calories are in just one of these chocolates?!? And whoa! Look at all those carbs! Sorry, dear. How about a bouquet of red roses? Roses are fine, but after a few years of roses, it’s starting to get predictable. Besides, I have a bit of an issue with spending $75 on a bouquet of roses that won’t keep growing, just ends up being thrown away, and you can’t even slice up to make a nice warm chowder to feed your family. I generally prefer gifts that have dual uses. So, what does a guy do to try and top himself every year for Valentine’s Day? It’s not
easy.m There’s a virtual landmine of cultural no-no’s waiting for any type of gift you might think of. How about yellow roses instead of red? In Chinese culture, yellow roses are what you might give to someone if you were planning to break up. That’s problematic. In Western culture, yellow roses are a symbol of friendship and optimism. “Friendship and optimism?” Are we husband and wife or pen pals? Here’s another cultural no-no. In Chinese culture, giving someone an umbrella as a present is another sign of breaking up, so that’s no good. And even if it weren’t a sign for breaking up, how would that look? Hi sweetie, Happy Valentine’s Day! I got you this umbrella! And for your birthday next month, I don’t want to give away the surprise, but go ahead and throw your old rain boots away!! see WAYNE on 13
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FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
35 YEARS
Mar vel’s new Asian hulk By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
live adaptations by Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, Eric Bana, Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo — all white men. But in December 2015, a Korean American supergenius teenager named Amadeus Cho used special nanites to transfer the Hulk from mentor Banner into his own body. Cho currently headlines his own Marvel comic series, The Totally Awesome Hulk. And in the most recent #15 issue, after beating down Prince Regent Phalkan of Seknarf Seven, a red and blue alien adversary, and engaging in some cute repartee about how he does not take lives (“Dude. Chill. I haven’t killed anyone since ever.”), the Hulk rushes off to Flushing, Queens to meet with fellow superheroes — S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Jake Oh, Ms. Marvel (AKA Kamala Khan), Silk (Cindy Moon), Shang-Chi, and Agents of Atlas Head Jimmy Woo — for an Asian blood marrow donor drive. After the event — spoiler alert — the gang goes out for Korean BBQ in K-town, fights over the check, hits up a karaoke joint, sing their guts out, generally bond over cultural identity issues, and then freeze as a bunch of alien lifeform blindsides them at the end of the night. Yes. For real.
Representation
To casual moviegoers, the Hulk is a green superhero with super strength mostly driven by his id. He is the Mr. Hyde to Bruce Banner’s Dr. Jekyll. Created by Stan Lee, the Hulk and his Banner alter ego has been played in
“Over the years, I’ve had tons of dinners and karaoke sessions with fellow Asian American friends and colleagues at various comic conventions and film festivals, where we get real and real ridiculous and everything in between,” Hulk writer Greg Pak wrote in his blog. “And I found myself thinking that the Asian American heroes in the Marvel Universe would probably hang out like that every once in a while, right? So what would they do and say? What kinds of bonding and what kinds of conflict would arise? And then what would happen if the other shoe dropped and they had to go straight from a night out to a massive superhero adventure?” Pak is a Korean American and Hapa comic book writer and filmmaker. He has penned the Hulk series since 2006. The art in issue #15 was done by Mahmud Asrar and Nolan
■ PICTORIAL Lunar New Year in Bellevue
PHOTOS BY GEORGE LIU/NWAW
Woodard. “I think representation is important because it brings more kids of color into comics,” said Tatyana Sasynuik, who is Chinese and Ukrainian. “Wandering in a comic book store, they might say, ‘Hey, that’s me, and I want to read that.’ [Having characters of color also] makes longtime readers who are not people of color learn more about [nonwhite cultures]. These comics can be [broadening] and teach and make people want to know more.” In June 2013, National Public Radio (NPR) ran a story on the lack of characters of color in children’s books. At the time, a report by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that only 3 percent of children’s books were by or about Latinos. At the time, nearly a quarter of public school students were Latino. It is projected that in 2025 (National Center for Education Statistics), 29 percent of students will be Latino and 54 percent of students will be non-white and/or mixed race. In February 2016, the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism released a study, “Inclusion of Invisibility? Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity in Entertainment,” which found that just one-third of speaking characters were female and 28.3 percent of characters with dialogue were non-white. Half of the U.S. population is female and 40 percent of the population is of color. “Marvel is leading the way when it comes to creating characters of color,” said Daniel Nguyen, a local comics fan who is Korean and Vietnamese. “Representation matters. And they have generally been doing a great job, at least in their comics realm. The live action realm has some catching up to do.” “It’s an inclusivity thing,” said Angelina McMillanMajor, who is Chippewa Cree and white. McMillan-Major used to work in a comic book store in the Crossroads Bellevue area. “It’s a ‘We acknowledge your existence’ see HULK on 12
The Bellevue Collection, Seattle Chinese Culture and Arts Association, Overseas Community Affairs Council Taiwan and the Taiwan Benevolent Association of America, hosted a Lunar New Year celebration on Feb. 4 at Bellevue Square in Center Court. The celebration featured numerous traditional and contemporary cultural demonstrations including martial arts, music, dance, and visual arts.
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
YOUR VOICE
■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A NEW YEAR, A NEW PRESIDENT, AND NEW UPDATES ON POP CULTURE HAILEE STEINFELD
asianweekly northwest
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A-pop!
MOANA DEV PATEL TED CHIANG
By Vivian Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Welcome to the first Apop! column of 2017! A lot has changed since we were last together. Read on to find out what’s happened in the new year.
Ushering in awards season
It’s one of my favorite times of the year — awards season! With recent wins and nominations out for the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, respectively, Asians and Asian Americans represented in several categories between the two prestigious awards ceremonies. For the Golden Globes, actor Hailee Steinfeld was
nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category. Steinfeld, who’s best known for her previous Oscar nomination for the film “True Grit,” showed off her dramedy chops to earn her current nomination for “The Edge of Seventeen.” Steinfeld is of Filipino descent. Actor Dev Patel was nominated for his role in the drama “Lion” in the Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture category. Patel is best known for his role in the popular 2008 film “Slumdog Millionaire.” Although he only secured a nomination for the Golden Globes, Patel also earned an Oscar nomination for the same role. Fingers crossed that he takes home the award. The animated musical film “Moana,” which follows the
story of a teenager who sails on a mission to fulfill her ancestors’ unfinished quest, was nominated in the Best Motion Picture – Animated category. The movie’s main single, “How Far I’ll Go,” was also nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Lastly, the film “Arrival” received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. “Arrival” is a science fiction flick, which is based on a short story titled “Story of Your Life,” by Ted Chiang, a writer based in Bellevue. “Arrival” was also nominated for several other Oscar categories, including Cinematography, Directing, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay). see A-POP on 12
asianweekly northwest
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35 YEARS
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG
OPINION
By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY I grew up in Hong Kong and was fed with yummy food often. This kid was rich, you’d think. If my family was rich, we wouldn’t have had to move seven times before I graduated from high school. My mother always looked for an apartment with cheaper rent. She ran a rooming apartment (not house) for a long time before she decided it was too much trouble. Many bad tenants skipped out on paying rent constantly. There were little empty spaces in the apartment. It was not until I was 17 that I got a study desk to share with my brother. One thing’s for sure, Chinese families care more about food than their living spaces. Every two weeks, my mom would take the family to dine in decent, yet inexpensive restaurants. Dining out became many Hong Kong families’ only form of leisure. Perhaps, it’s a chance to escape from our dingy apartment to “breathe.” Most families live in very tight and small
spaces. What could beat the restaurants’ air conditioning during the hot and humid summers? Even though I moved to America decades ago, my childhood memories of great meals still linger in my mind. I miss Hong Kong’s wonderful food. Last year, I visited Hong Kong twice to visit my mother and son who works there. Of course, I had experienced many food adventures. “Did you gain weight?” friends asked. Nay. That’s the cool part. One reason is you have lots of opportunities to walk in Hong Kong. It’s not like in the United States, where you drive when you go out. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes of walking to go shopping, go dining, or get to the subway (usually three floors underground. The walking melts away all the calories I consume). Also, American restaurants spoil us with big portions. Hong Kong is just the opposite — much smaller portions. I consider it a benefit, so you don’t overeat and you can also order a variety of food. How can you get fat when everything you eat is just
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
What makes Hong Kong food so satisfying? Pottinger Street in Old Hong Kong in the Central District
a tiny bite? The other bonus is convenience. In Hong Kong, you don’t need much to be able to afford exceptional places to eat. It’s all around you — in the neighborhoods— and anywhere you live in the city. Today, the majority of the restaurants for the average folks are usually full. There are numerous quality restaurants in all price ranges, from high to low, fancy to casual.
What food do I miss most?
Appetizer at Shanghai Lu Yang Cun restaurant.
Soup is my favorite companion. I would venture into a Hong Kong restaurant and ask, “What’s your house special soup?” House special means better-priced and also cooked long hours with multiple ingredients. Some of you might have read my column, knowing that I have osteoporosis. Chinese culture believes that drinking soup with chicken feet and bones, pork bones, or ten-
don strengthen your feet. Last November, one unusual soup I had was stewed pork tendon and almond milk soup at the City Garden Hotel. Stewed soup can double its healing nourishment on my bones, I assumed. With a vast amount of calcium, tendon see BLOG on 16
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FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
YOUR VOICE
■ COMMENTARY
asianweekly northwest
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OPINION
A Day of Remembrance Remembering Executive Order 9066
The Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association, meeting at Gonzaga University in Spokane on the morning of Jan. 27, unanimously passed a Day of Remembrance resolution to recognize the 75th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, signed on Feb. 19, 1942. At about the same time, President Donald J. Trump announced a series of Executive Orders imposing a U.S. travel ban on refugees and citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries. Executive Order 9066, racially neutral on its face, resulted in the targeting of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, including U.S. citizens residing on the West Coast, for curfews, exclusion, removal, and incarceration under the guise of military necessity. The U.S. government prosecuted Japanese Americans on the West Coast who did not comply with the curfew, exclusion, and removal orders, such as U.S. citizens Gordon Hirabayashi, a University of Washington student, Minoru Yasui, a lawyer in Oregon, and Fred Korematsu, a welder in California. They challenged the constitutionality of their convictions in landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, and lost. The Supreme Court avoided ruling on the constitutionality of the initial incarceration of Japanese Americans. The Court ducked the question again in the case of Mitsuye Endo, a typist, but ordered her release following three years behind barbed wire, not finding any authority for further incarceration of an admittedly loyal U.S. citizen. Endo’s case is the one that led to the closing of the camps. The wartime Supreme Court cases belong to a small but odious group of cases in American legal history that rationalized bigotry, and the Supreme Court has never overturned them. Justice Robert H. Jackson, one of three dissenting justices in the Korematsu case, which upheld the constitutionality of his removal, warned that “once a judicial opinion rationalizes such an order to show that it conforms to the Constitution, or rather rationalizes the Constitution to show that the Constitution sanctions such an order, the Court for all time has validated the principle of racial discrimination ....The principle then lies about like a loaded weapon, ready for the hand of any authority that can bring forward a plausible claim of an urgent need.” Seventy-five years ago, lawyers and their bar associations, including the Washington State Bar Association, remained silent, except for a brave few. Meanwhile, government lawyers and courts imposed and enforced wartime restrictions against
Photo by Jenn Doane.
By James K. Doane NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Seattle University Law Professor Lorraine Bannai (left) and James Doane at The Rainier Club’s Feb. 3 Northwest Author’s Showcase luncheon for “Enduring Conviction: Fred Korematsu’s Quest for Justice.” Prof. Banai’s book is placed next to the cake.
Japanese Americans. However, in the 1980s and afterward, a new generation of lawyers and the public, led primarily by Asian Americans, vacated the convictions of Hirabayashi, Korematsu, and Yasui, obtained judgments of misconduct by government lawyers in the wartime Supreme Court cases, obtained Congressional redress and multiple Presidential apologies for camp survivors, won Presidential revocation of Executive Order 9066, and even received a confession of error from an Acting Solicitor General of the United States for his wartime predecessor’s suppression of evidence that there was no military necessity for the actions taken against Japanese Americans. In addition, several states, including the Washington state legislature, have for many years annually recognized a Day of Remembrance, lest we forget that what happened to Japanese Americans could happen to any of us if we are not vigilant.
湖景墓園
Fast forward to now. In the months before the Jan. 27 Executive Orders imposing U.S. travel bans on refugees and citizens from Muslim-majority countries, some pundits were eagerly telling the mainstream news media that what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II was “precedent” for what could be considered for other groups, such as for Muslims. Our new president’s tweets proposing total exclusion of Muslims and “extreme vetting” are a matter of public record, notwithstanding his more recent tweets that his Executive Orders are not a Muslim ban and that he is merely protecting us from terrorists. Today, lawyers, judges, governors, state attorney generals, the public, companies, and the clergy are not silent. Even the Justice Department’s top lawyer resigned rather than enforce the Jan. 27 Executive Orders in court. Unlike 75 years ago, people are speaking loudly when others rush to judgment against entire groups of people that may not appear to fit mainstream preconceptions of what it is to be American or someone we might accept as a neighbor, colleague, or family member. Thanks to their efforts, there is now a nationwide temporary restraining order against enforcement of the Jan. 27 Executive Orders. The judge who issued that sweeping order, James L. Robart, a mainstream Republican, was slapped by a tweet from President Trump calling him a “so-called judge” and his order “outrageous.” So far, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals appears to agree with this “so-called judge” from Seattle, who was already well known for stating from the bench that, Black lives matter.” The Supreme Court, with or without President Trump’s potentially tie-breaking appointee, may yet have an opportunity to test whether that rusty “loaded weapon” that dissenting Justice Jackson warned of in the Korematsu decision can still fire, following telephonic arguments on Feb. 7 before the San Francisco based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that otherwise might have been heard in person at the William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse in Seattle. That building in Seattle is the same one where Gordon Hirabayashi’s conviction for violating curfew and exclusion orders was thrown out in the 1980s. By way of reminder, William Kenzo Nakamura, posthumous Medal of Honor winner, made the ultimate sacrifice after America removed him from Seattle, at gunpoint, to an American concentration camp following Executive Order 9066. ■ James K. Doane is on the Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association and is Corporate Counsel at Costco Wholesale Corporation.
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FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
TRUMP from 1 for him. Everything destroyed because of Trump,” Duhman told The Associated Press in an interview on Feb. 1. “I feel it’s unfair that he can see his son growing up but we cannot just because we’re Muslims.’’ Duhman is a plaintiff in a federal class-action lawsuit filed in Seattle last week by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project that claims Trump’s order is unconstitutional and violates the Immigration and Nationality Act. “We’re facing families being torn apart in blatant disregard of the Constitution, in blatant disregard of the immigration laws that say you should not, cannot discriminate based on
A-POP from 9 The Golden Globes aired on Jan. 8 and the Academy Awards will air on Feb. 26. Get your popcorn ready because this year’s Oscars will be one for the books!
Steve Harvey mocks Asian men on TV
national origin when you’re issuing visas,” said Matt Adams, a lawyer with the group. “And all of this in the name of security? No. That’s a joke. This is all about him carrying forward on his promise to ban Muslims.’’ The White House has argued that Trump’s immigration ban will make the country safer. But Duhman said the only reason she came to the U.S. was to escape the violence the Syrian war and that she worries constantly about her son’s safety. “All Syria is in a state of war even in places that are relatively safe, you never know,” she said. “Sometimes there are bombings. Sometimes there are kidnappings.’’ Duhman said her boy is like any other and likes music,
on to make jokes about how no women, regardless of race, would ever go out with an Asian man. To make things even worse, Harvey laughed uproariously at his own jokes, while the audience looked on uncomfortably. Many people were not happy about this incident, including food personality and restaurateur Eddie Huang. In an open letter to The New York Times, Huang wrote and specifically called out how Harvey continued to perpetuate the stereotype that “women don’t want Asian men.” A spokesman for Harvey’s show issued a statement that the TV feature was never intended to be offensive. Isn’t that always the case though? That, because there was no ill intent, it’s somehow OK to still do it? Harvey eventually made a personal apology before going on to host the 2016 Miss Universe pageant in Manila, Philippines in early January. To his credit, Harvey did not mess up when announcing the pageant winner this time.
Letting it all out during inauguration
Steve Harvey, an American television host who’s best known for his epic gaffe for announcing the wrong winner of the Miss Universe 2015 pageant, had another recent blunder on TV. On Jan. 6, Harvey had a feature on his talk show “The Steve Harvey Show” that mocked the title of self-help books, including one named “How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men.” Harvey went
HULK from 8 kind of thing. There was recently a story done called Red Wolf by Marvel. I wasn’t super excited by the story, but I kept buying it because the cover art was done by a Washington tribal member (Jeffrey Veregge), which I thought was really cool, and I wanted to buy it [just for that reason alone]. It’s the ability to put yourself in their shoes more strongly because you feel like you know what they’re going through.”
Diversity within diversity
“I’ve been itching to write classic characters like secret agent Jimmy Woo and Shang-Chi, the undisputed Master of Kung Fu,” wrote Pak. “What makes it so much fun is that you’ve got all of this diversity within diversity, really interesting, different angles on life within this group of characters, which allows for some nice subtlety and depth when you put ’em all together.” Pak pointed out that Jimmy Woo is one of the oldest Marvel characters, a fact that does get endearingly joked about in the issue by Jake Oh (“Oh, man, Jimmy, I know you’re like eighty or whatever …”), which shows Pak’s efforts at reappropriating these characters, character tropes, and sometimes their politically complicated backstories — but the effect and the response to the efforts can be complex. Beyond fighting over the check and karaoke, the “Asianisms” in issue #15 of The Totally Awesome Hulk also veer into more serious territory, with talks about parental expectations, model minority stereotypes, and generational differences. “I find it slightly annoying that the Asian kid they chose had to be some kind of genius savant,” said Nguyen. “Like that stereotype isn’t tired enough.” Pak’s balancing act in issue #15 is apparently when Amadeus Cho explicitly refutes being a model minority stereotype — he’s really great at math and reportedly one of the top 10 most intelligent people in the world — by pointing out that the model minority stereotype actually pivots around obedience and being emotionless. Cho claims his emotions, stating that he lacks impulse control — he is a person whose feelings are always written on his face. This more nuanced portrayal is buoyed up by the fact that Pak is Asian American and is writing his own experiences and identity onto the characters. “In the past, their newly created POC (people of color)
We have a new president. It’s got people feeling all the feels. During President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, an Asian lady wearing a purple coat was photographed boldly holding up her two middle fingers during President Trump’s first speech after taking office. The photo, taken by a BuzzFeed News reporter, has since gone viral with many people posting the original photo or artistic homages to the woman across social media. She’s even been affectionately referred to as “auntie” in some circles, cementing how characters were written by white men,” said Nguyen. “I think it’s a bit disingenuous when people write a character they know nothing about,” said McMillan-Major. “It makes the character feel disjointed in some way.” The Jimmy Woo character was created by Al Feldstein (writer) and Joe Maneely (artist) in 1956. While Woo was an Asian American FBI agent to start, he also was assigned to investigate and bring to justice a racist and xenophobic supervillain named Yellow Claw, basically a Communist Mandarin character. At the time though, Woo was one of the very few positive portrayals of Asians and Asian Americans in comics. When it comes to issues of representation, perhaps to the dearth of ethnically diverse characters still — which is something writers like Pak are trying to broaden and expand upon — people of color tend to latch onto every aspect of the representation and weigh it, good and bad. McMillan-Major’s main beef with the recent Red Wolf series is that it was set in the 1850s. “So to me, it’s that old stereotype that Native Americans only live in the past. It’s [still] disappointing to not have stories about modern day Native Americans.” Nguyen has his criticisms of Amadeus Cho, but ultimately sees the character as a significant step forward in the right direction. “Representation is representation, and I’ll take it how I can get it.” “It is nice to see Asian bodies in positions of strength,” he admits. Later, he adds, “I can’t afford to be picky right now.”
Gender and race
Sasynuik became aware of her ethnic “otherness” only when her classmates started pointing it out in school. That is often how ideas of race gets constructed — externally. She said that she identifies more with her Chinese side than her Ukrainian side. Being a female comics fan who is also a person of color, she has to contend with two sides of preconceived notions and stereotypes. In her viewpoint, Sasynuik said that she sees race as a construction that is harder to overcome than gender in comics. She points to certain characters who have been gender-swapped or who are alternate female version of male characters — particularly the Batman series, with the female Robin, Batgirl, Batwoman — who have been folded into the universe and accepted as canon. On the flip-side, Sasynuik has observed that characters of a different race tend to be sequestered to the alternate
35 YEARS guitar and computers. “He’s so smart. He’s nice,” she said. But the war has forced him into hiding, she said. She declined to disclose where in Syria he is living to protect his safety. “For three years he has not been able to go to school because he was too scared,” she said. Trump’s travel ban is keeping her family apart and threatening her son’s life, she said. “No justice system in heaven or earth can accept something like that we’re singled out just because we’re Muslim,” she said. “I’m proud of being Muslim and we’re not terrorists.’’ ■
she’s become a beloved symbol by those feeling the same frustrations depicted in the photo. According to AngryAsianMan.com, the lady in question has been identified as Anita Yavich — an award-winning costume designer, associate professor of theater design at SUNY Purchase, and a lecturer in theater at Princeton University. Yavich holds such a long list of titles. It only seems apt to add “badass” to the list as well. ■ Vivian Nguyen can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
universe realm. “It’s like someone said, ‘We should be more inclusive, so we’ll make the next X-men Black! And then [after that’s run its course,] we’ll go back to the ‘regular (white)’ version.” It’s a one-off. That’s how a lot people, in my experience, view superheroes of color, when they talk about canon. ‘Oh yeah, there was this one time …’”
Way whiter on the big screen
In issue #15, Shang-Chi is a man of relatively few words — possibly because the younger heroes are extra chatty — but he does bring a gravity to the storyline. “Shang-Chi is a minor Asian superhero who took a backseat to Iron Fist,” said Nguyen. “This is stupid because they essentially have the same powers, but Iron Fist is white.” “Iron Fist” the TV series is scheduled for release March 17. While it does accurately retain a blond, white protagonist at its center, critics have accused the show of continuing a trend of having white characters co-opt and appropriate the more romanticized aspects of Chinese culture. “On the comics front, they are doing great work,” said Nguyen. “And I think that’s due to the malleability of that medium. Fans are accustomed to change. … In the film/TV world, they have been less than stellar about diversity. The Tilda Swinton mistake in Doctor Strange was infuriating. Now the insistence on moving forward with Iron Fist. It’s just like 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Even the Luke Cage show was a beautiful, earnest, and well-written depiction of blackness. It was glorious. If only we could see the same with their Asian characters.” “The Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Comics are run by two different people — two different companies,” said McMillan-Major. “So the lack of diversity in the company itself is showing in the movies and in that decision [to cast Finn Jones as Iron Fist].” “Inclusiveness is important because it says to the world, ‘These stories matter,’” added Nguyen. “If you only show stories with white heteronormative characters at the forefront, you’re telling the audience that those are the only stories that matter.” ■ The all-Asian team-up in The Totally Awesome Hulk runs through issue #18. Issue #15 is on comic shelves right now. Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly.com.
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
YOUR VOICE
■ ASTROLOGY
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Predictions and advice for the week of February 11–February 17, 2017 By Sun Lee Chang Rat — A new understanding has brought you closer to someone that you had held at arm’s length, which is not what you expected at all.
Dragon — The best plans are those that are complete, but still allow you the leeway to change if the circumstances merit such an adjustment.
Monkey — You are not one to leave important things to chance. Just be careful that you don’t take on more than you can reasonably handle.
Ox — Mere words are not enough this time around. You must follow up with strong, definitive action.
Snake — You want to go one way, but your partner isn’t so sure. He or she may see something that you don’t, so reserve judgment for now.
Rooster — There is an air of excitement as you inch closer to the finish line; however, avoid celebrating until you are actually done.
Tiger — Does it seem as though the whole story is not being divulged to you? It is up to you to inquire if you think something is missing.
Horse — There is no reason to spar over a trivial matter. Save your energy for an issue that is closer to your heart.
Dog — As much as you disdain giving up, there are instances where it makes sense to do so. Putting in good after bad is not a net gain for you.
Rabbit — It can be difficult to communicate a complicated idea. Instead of trying to do so all at once, it might be easier to break it up into pieces.
Goat — A recent query has been left unanswered. To avoid starting the process over again, follow up before too much time has passed.
Pig — Rethinking the direction you have been heading? An interesting idea takes hold of you that just won’t let 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 Dog 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 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.
LITTLE SAIGON from 1 “To best serve those living unsheltered in our community, our services must recognize the individuals currently left outside of our current system,” said Murray in the release. “Some of our most vulnerable face mental health and addiction challenges, or have other individualized needs, such as partners, pets or possessions, that the Navigation Center is designed to address. This new approach to addressing the growing national homelessness crisis, which has impacted thousands here in Seattle, allows the City to fill a gap that has prevented many from accessing services and shelter.” However, those with a stake in Little Saigon are concerned. Minh Duc Nguyen, executive director of Helping Link, a nonprofit with programming that provides English language education, citizenship classes, and technology and job training to Vietnamese immigrants as well as tutoring and youth leadership training to the children of these immigrants. Nguyen said she has been kept in the dark in regard to the City’s intentions to place the center in Little Saigon. “They need to do a better job of reaching out to the nonprofits and all the business owners in the [Vietnamese] community,” said Nguyen. She also said that the outreach and communications coming out of the City has been lackluster over the years. When asked to respond to criticisms of lack of communications, Meg Olberding, external affairs director for Seattle Human Services department, explained, “We just announced [the location of the Center]. We have met with Little Saigon in the past, but we are in the process of putting together more of those conversations.” In June 2016, Murray and the City of Seattle Human Services Department secured $1.67 million in funding for the Navigation Center. It is modeled after the
San Francisco Navigation Center — a 24-hour dormitory-style living facility for homeless that also provides case management, mental and behavioral health services, connection to benefits programs, and transition to permanent housing. The Center will be open to a limited number of people this spring. The City met with members of Friends of Little Saigon, a grassroots community development organization run by a volunteer board on Tuesday, Feb. 7, one day before the mayor’s press release was publicized. “After the meeting with the mayor’s office, I think community members just came out of it feeling like another thing got added onto our plate,” said Quynh Pham, board chair of Friends of Little Saigon. “It’s just ongoing bad communication from the mayor’s office. There’s a lack of consideration for good communication and processes when it comes to public projects that impact the neighborhood like this.” “One meeting doesn’t reach a lot of the people doing work in the neighborhood, nor does it stand as effective communication, if that is what the City is considering as outreach,” said Jessa Timmer, executive director of the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA). CIDBIA is one of Seattle’s nine Business Improvement Areas and oversees public safety and promotes the local economy of Chinatown/International District. Seattle has the 11th highest number of Vietnamese in its city limits in the nation, with 13,252, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Little Saigon, a business district centered at 12th Avenue and Jackson Street, is east of the city’s Chinatown district. The two districts, in addition to Nihonmachi (Japantown) and vestiges of former Little Manila comprise the International District. While the area is currently touted as a cultural destination and an example
WAYNE from 7 Speaking of footwear, even if my wife would actually appreciate a new pair of rain boots (which, I can tell you right now, she wouldn’t), giving a pair of shoes for Valentine’s Day is culturally unacceptable as well. Chinese tradition says that giving a pair of shoes implies “packing away” your love. Sheesh! But I’ve also read that if you give a pair of shoes and then ask the recipient to refund you one dollar, then it breaks the curse. So, let me get this straight. If I give my wife a pair of
of Seattle’s ethnic diversity, it is also a neighborhood that originally arose from racial segregation — housing Chinese laborers, Filipino cannery workers, and also a neighborhood that saw the expulsion and later incarceration of Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War II, with Japanese Internment. “I think the Navigation Center concept is a good one,” added Pham. “And it’s something very new, so we’re pushing the city to do an evaluation, an impact report for us. They need better data on who they are serving and they also should assess the effect and the impact [the center can have] on the surrounding community as well as the effectiveness of the program.” Pham said that she was told that renovations on the Pearl Warren will be completed in two months. She said her impression is that the City has already started to do recruitment for program participants through its new Navigation Team, which will be comprised of outreach workers paired with specially trained Seattle Police Department (SPD) personnel, who will work to connect unsheltered people to housing and critical resources. To Pham, Nguyen, and other Little Saigon community members, it seems that a lot of decisions have already been made by the City without input from Little Saigon community members. “They should’ve reached out to us before a final decision [on location] was made, if they knew location in Little Saigon was high on their list. Although I think community members would’ve been opposed to the Center [being placed in our neighborhood], but we also would’ve had time to actually work with them to find ways to mitigate [public backlash] and also support some of their efforts — in educating the community to understand the importance of this project. But to come to us now — it makes us more upset, rather [than inspire us to] be on board to support the project.”
$500 Jimmy Choos, and she gives me back one dollar, then it’s like she bought the shoes instead of me giving it to her? She just bought a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes for $1? I don’t think so! OK, I’ve got it. Gift certificates! You can’t offend anyone with gift certificates, right? It might not be the most romantic thing, but then again, I wouldn’t have inadvertently broken up with anyone either. ■ Wayne can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
“Why are they always doing things and then, after they’ve already come to their decision, then they say, ‘Okay, now we will work with the community’?” said Nguyen. “They always just do what they will do, and they just ask for forgiveness later.” Olberding said that the City hopes to start scheduling community meetings for the next month. She also said that they are currently working on outreach, which a lot of materials getting translated. “We are setting up these community conversations so that we can hear the concerns that everyone has and address them as we can.” “My immediate concern would be placing this Navigation Center in an already struggling neighborhood,” said Timmer. “With this, and with many other projects, the City seems to turn a blind eye to the wants and needs of this immigrant and minority community. While the concept of the Navigation Center may be a good step forward in addressing homelessness, when looking through a race and social justice lens, the location could place a heavier burden on our neighborhood more than it would in other neighborhoods in Seattle.” “Pitting vulnerable people against vulnerable people is not right,” said Nguyen. “Here’s a community (Little Saigon) that has been here for at least 40 years. We don’t get a lot of support from the City. There’s no priority given to Little Saigon. Businesses here are family businesses and they need to support their employees and staff. And you know, they pay taxes and they help the City in that way. So why doesn’t the City help them? Why isn’t this a partnership? Why is it the City just telling us what it’s going to do?” ■ For more information on Friends of Little Saigon, visit facebook.com/ friendsoflittlesaigon. Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly.com.
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TRUMP from 4 gain an advantage in trade and threatened to impose a 45 percent tariff on imports from China. He’s also criticized China’s military buildup in the South China Sea and accused Beijing of doing too little to pressure neighbor North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs. China has rejected the accusations and has in fact been spending heavily from its pile of foreign currency reserves to prop up the value of its
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
currency, which would make exports more, not less, expensive. On the streets of China’s financial hub of Shanghai, residents were full of praise for Ivanka and her daughter, while mixed on the significance of the lack of presidential greeting. “A bridge of friendship is needed between China and the U.S.,’’ said Chen Zhijun, 30, who works in gold sales. Not sending a New Year greeting, he added, “definitely is not helping. Maybe it is because he is new and has too much to deal with.’’
35 YEARS
“I’m glad to see his daughter and little granddaughter being friendship messengers ... it is a sign of being nice,’’ Chen said. A 35-year-old bank worker who gave only her surname, Yu, said Chinese needed to shrug off any perceived slight and doubted whether the lack of a greeting would have any substantive impact. “We should have the mentality of a major country and have the confidence not to be bothered about this,’’ Yu said. ■
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FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
YOUR VOICE LIN from 1
First drafts
Lin seems to carry the influence of her parents, especially her ceramicist father Henry Huan Lin, with her. A crater-faced pot he created is her first slide at the UW. “My parents were equally influential. We were a small family — my parents, my older brother, and me. We grew up on a college campus, so it was idyllic. My dad let my brother and I play in his ceramic studio until he was done with work. He went on from being a ceramicist to being a Director of Fine Arts and then Dean of Fine Arts. So, it was a wonderful exposure to arts to crafts. Professors were out with yarns and weaving looms, I had an ability and exposure to bronze casting. I remember meeting George Segal in high school. I was always making art and my parents encouraged us to follow our passions. Hence, my brother is a language poet and I am still making things,” she said, giving us a glimpse of what laid the foundation for her work. Lin burst into public memory by beating over 1,400 applicants to win a competition to design the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. She was still an undergraduate at Yale. Her design became controversial not only because it broke away from tradition, but also because of her race, gender, and lack of experience. Though Lin comes from accomplished Chinese families on both sides, race was something she wasn’t conscious of until she was in D.C. Her parents brought her up to speak English. She recalls they spoke Mandarin when they didn’t want her brother and her to know what they were saying. “There was a review. This journalist liked the design and titled the piece ‘An Asian Memorial for an Asian War.’ I looked at the title and thought, ‘What is he talking about?’ I thought he was reading his fascination with the East into the piece. I went ‘Uh oh!’ Because I knew we were having an issue with the designer being Asian,” Lin said. Lin’s parents, both academics and creative thinkers, fled their homeland and left everything behind. “I think my parents brought us up to assimilate. My father was an academic administrator at Fukien University. He came to the UW, studied ceramics, and met my mother (Julia Chang Lin), who was a poet. Typical with immigrant families, they didn’t talk about what they left behind. We were brought up without either parent teaching or wanting to teach us Chinese. It was a conscious decision on their part,” she said. It has taken two decades for Lin to realize how her parents’ cultural identity affected her voice. Two things come out of it: the first a non-didactic approach to communication and the second a quality intrinsic to her work — the tension of opposites. Her works have influences of an Eastern philosophy striking a balance with a Western sensibility and science, striking a balance with art. Lin said, “I am so Midwestern and yet we grew up eating off bowls my father created. The house was filled with furniture he created. There was an Asian identity. Whatever cultural heritage we have, they gave us. There’s no coincidence that I respond and relate to non-didactic ways of teaching.” What was instilled, especially through her mother, was you had to do what was challenging and what you were passionate about. For Lin, that’s art and architecture.
The creative process
Lin has just finished Novartis’ headquarters in Cambridge. The building façade is made up of pitted white granite blocks juxtaposed with a regular-looking glass office building. During the lecture, Lin explained her thought process — the white granite design is based on a microscopic view of the human bone and the glass building represents the order that looking at nature through science and math brings. Lin explained that her process varies with the project. “If it’s a memorial, I go in-depth into research, usually put it all aside, and
Folding the Chesapeake (2015): Maya Lin used 54,000 marbles to create the Chesapeake Bay at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. (Smithsonianmag.com)
instantaneously a form comes up. For my art, I have been fascinated with learning about, expressing, and being inspired by nature. I look at sonar mappings of the ocean floor and satellite tools. We have different tools at our disposal to look at, play with, and be inspired by. I’m trying to get us to rethink what the planet is and our relationship to nature. Architecture is different. You are working around a client. You are building something for someone. My art is selfish, it’s for me. As an artist, I’ve chosen to focus on the environment. That’s really my belief, my love, my passion. Which is what art really is, or should be,” Lin explained. Lin is usually balancing five projects at a time. “I’m always doing at least more architectural projects. “I’m now working on Smith College’s Nielsen Library and gearing up for two shows at the Pace Gallery in the fall. I’ve got about three other commissions,” she said. “And then there’s ‘What is Missing?’”
The last memorial
The Wave Field
Lin called ‘What is Missing?’ her last official memorial. She set it up as her own not-for-profit foundation and will contribute to it for life. “It has a real emphasis on the environment. I put the facts out and walk away. It’s an activist-oriented project. I want to wake you up about the crisis in biodiversity loss, link it to habitat loss for which climate change is a massive factor, and I want to offer solutions. We can make a huge difference protecting species and reducing emissions. As an artist, I like to get you to rethink what it is that you are working at,” she said. The project uses technology and is unfolding in real time. “In all my memorials, time has been a huge driving, underlying structure. For Missing, there is the past — what we have lost, but more importantly, pointing out things you don’t even realize are missing like the sounds of songbirds, the scale of species, the abundance of species. Emotionally, you connect to what’s missing by asking people to account what they personally witnessed disappear and link it to present conservationists,” she said. She has 40 conservation groups participating and giving the project stories. Lin is asking people to not only reflect on what’s been lost, but look around and see what needs to get done and tell a conservation story. Then comes the future, which is Greenprint — envisioning plausible future
scenarios, the what ifs. The project leaves you with interesting facts, like in the 1890s, the Atlantic Cod was as large as a human male or how oysters off the New York coast were 12 inches in diameter. Lin gets you to rethink the problem by presenting a lot of data in infographics that push you to think of an outof-the-box solution.
Politics, the environment, and the arts
Lin is also focusing on rethinking jobs. She cited research that says for every million dollars spent when land is leased or sold to oil, gas, or coal, five jobs are created. If you put the million into a natural park, you get 20 to 50 jobs in perpetuity and property values go up. This brings us to today’s political scenario.
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“It is a very dark moment in history. Sixtynine percent of Americans agree that climate is changing. The most terrifying thing is that there is a gag order, so the EPA can’t use the term climate change. That is censoring solid scientific research. It’s a disaster for the world and us. The most heartening thing that happened after the elections was saying uphold the Paris Climate Accord. I’m a firm believer in that and signed on as one of the companies. The good news is that cities, states, and countries are moving, they have been moving, and will continue to move (towards a sustainable future),” she said. Lin brings up the recent bid to sell public land the size of the state of Connecticut. “That was outrageous and today it’s off. Now is the time to use the internet, your voice. Get out there, complain. Support companies that are doing the right thing. Boycott those that are going to try to take full advantage of the disassembly of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. It’s dangerous for our health, let alone that you are not allowed to talk about climate change if you are a federal employee. They are going after basic health issues. I don’t think people voted for that. Corporations will blame it on jobs being hurt, but jobs have not been hurt. We’ve been a thriving economy. If you look at the 2008 financial collapse, it was caused by lax regulations in the banking industry. You really want to push that button again? This is a time for everyone, artists, writers, journalists,” Lin urged. ■ You can contribute to Lin’s What is Missing Project at whatismissing.net. Visit mayalin.com for a view of her works. Janice can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
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35 YEARS
FEBRUARY 11 – FEBRUARY 17, 2017
BLOG from 10 is even better than bones. The word tendon might scare you — or you might associate it with big chunks of fat. However, there was not a drop of grease in the smooth tendon soup. The $25 soup was big enough for two. I was thrilled that the hotel offered a 50 percent discount to all the hotel guests.
such cuisine. Wonder why Hong Kong does a super job on fusion cooking? It used to be a British colony. Its proximity to Macau, once a Portuguese colony, is another factor. Several famous Hong Kong foods have reflected these two European influences, such as the Portuguese rice with chicken, British egg tarts, many kinds of tea snacks, and breads.
Would he use soy sauce too in his butter sauce? Again, the cooking was superb. The steak and salmon were cooked just right. I hate anything overcooked. We asked for garlic bread. We thought it would be like America’s French bread grilled with cheese, butter, and garlic. But no, it didn’t have cheese and I didn’t feel that garlic was the major ingredient. But the bread tasted good and we wanted more. The restaurant might not have been 100 percent authentically French. It had adjusted a little to Chinese taste with less butter. That doesn’t matter to me.
Fresh bread
Roasted halibut from Eiffel Bistro.
The other one was at a Shanghai restaurant, stewed chicken with wonton soup. When I saw the wonton in the soup, I was afraid it would be too filling. But I couldn’t resist the chicken soup. I knew the wonton would be awesome with that soup. Another great soup I ate in Hong Kong was at a vegetarian restaurant club. When the waitress brought us the soup, I wasn’t impressed. What could be so special — just a bunch of wild mushrooms with seven peas and some shredded carrots? My skepticism was unfounded. After a few sips, I couldn’t stop. “Exquisite” was my response. I had to conclude that the dish revealed the chef’s marvelous feat. He must have experimented a thousand times to make the soup so palatable. Those examples were fine dining. What about just casual ones? My brother introduced me to a noodle place close to his hotel. Its dining room, like many typical Hong Kong restaurants, was plain and had no décor. A bowl of noodles with dumplings was so huge that only a big man could finish it. We each ordered a different one from the menu. To our surprise, I finished most of it because it tasted fabulous, and the price was under $5 USD.
Non-Chinese restaurants
If you like fusion foods, Hong Kong is the best place for
Food at Limewood centers around fusing South East Asian, Hawaiian, South American and Caribbean flavors.
In recent decades, Hong Kong restaurants have diversified into many niches, such as Spanish, French, Turkish, Nepalese, and Indian. Our son has restaurant clients. “Take us to dine in your client’s restaurant,” said my husband. “We’d like to support your client.” “I will take you to a Nepalese restaurant on the beach,” he said. What a nice setting! So he drove us to Limewood, a Nepalese restaurant on Repulse Bay. We could hear the waves, even though the noise from the bar was loud. The restaurant served Nepalese and Western-style of cooking. I have never dined in a Nepalese restaurant. I loved everything we ate. Could it be because it’s fusion food or because Nepalese food suits us? We don’t really know, nor do we care as long as the food tastes great. We enjoyed the fusion food so much that our son took us to a French restaurant the next day. Owned by a French guy, Eiffel Bistro is located at Tai Koo City. I would not have expected to find a French restaurant inside a mostly Chinese residential area. When I glanced at the open kitchen, I saw Chinese chefs.
Fresh products
My favorite snack in Hong Kong is the chicken tail bread (coconut bun), pineapple bread (looks like pineapple), or egg tart. How are those coconut buns different from America’s? It’s freshly baked from the oven. I ate it while it was still hot. It was so good that no words can do it justice. Also, Seattle’s chicken tail bun is way too sweet and does not have enough coconut. I like the bread to be stuffed completely, not just two mouthfuls. I still buy Seattle’s chicken tail bun for my employees frequently, but not for myself. It’s in most Hong Kong bakeries and cost about $1 USD. That’s my childhood breakfast. Well, I can’t wait to go back to Hong Kong again this year. ■ Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.