VOL 34 NO 7 | FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

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

VOL 34 NO 7

FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Taipei crash At least 23 dead

FREE

WISE WORDS Washington’s top treasures » P. 4

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Making music through teaching and inspiration

Jared Cassedy wins Grammy for Music Educator of the Year

Jared Cassedy, Korean adoptee

A plane came down shortly after take-off from a Taipei airport.

It was carrying 58 people, and flew into the Keelung River.

At press time, at least 15 people have been pulled out alive, with

18 still missing.

23 people have been confirmed dead - 14 of them died on the {see TAIPEI cont’d on page 18}

Luchang Wang, Yale student, commits suicide AAPI community and depression

By Minal Singh Northwest Asian Weekly The Grammy Foundation has recognized Jared Cassedy for his contributions to music in the classroom. He is the music teacher of the year.

There were over 7,000 submissions and more than 200 nominees.

This is the second year that the award has been given. This year, New Hampshire’s Windham High School is the lucky recipient of the award thanks to their very own Cassedy.

When Windham High School opened in New Hampshire, six years ago, Jared Cassedy was hired to lead the music program. His students quickly

named him the “Energizer bunny,” according to CBS News.

“I talk fast. Believe it or not, I am a lot calmer than I was ten years ago, when I started. I have so much going on in my head. I get so excited. I love especially when I talk about music and my students.

I’m so passionate about it,” said Cassedy.

Cassedy’s passion has spread to his students.

Cierra Cowan, who plays bassoon in the school band, said “We’re getting so much done and we’re working so hard. Yet, it feels like we’re having the best times of our lives doing it.”

“He constantly tells us, ‘I don’t see you as high {see CASSEDY cont’d on page 13}

By Jenn Fang Special to Northwest Asian Weekly The Yale student community was rocked Tuesday, January 27, with news that sophomore Luchang Wang, class of ‘17 – a mathematics major and member

of Yale’s Silliman College -- had died of an apparent suicide. She was 20 years old.

Friends became concerned after Wang posted some worrisome messages to a public Facebook {see WANG cont’d on page 17}

There’s always next season...

It was a disappointing loss for the Seahawks at the Super Bowl this past Sunday, but there was no doubt it was an exhilarating game. Fans in Arizona and in every neighborhood in Seattle were stunned and somber and of course, the team members—especially Russell Wilson, pictured above.

The Inside Story NAMES People in the news » P. 2

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COMMUNITY Hall of Fame honorees announced » P. 6

SPORTS Lydia Ko takes No. 1 spot » P. 11

BLOG What you didn’t know about Taiwan » P. 12

412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • info@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com

Photo by Jason Cruz/NWAW

Luchang Wang

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■ names in the news was an open house, appetizers and drinks, mingling, and a program which addressed needs and opportunities for the new year. 

Theresa Pan Hosley, along with Director of Peace Corps Carolyn Hessler-Radelet, and WA Supreme Court Justice Steven González, will be recognized and be awarded the degree Doctor of Humane letters.

Pan Hosley has served the Tacoma community for more than Theresa Pan Hosley 20 years. With a commitment to inclusiveness, Pan Hosley founded and continues to lead the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation, which developed the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park on Schuster Parkway. Her volunteer efforts have earned her the Tacoma City of Destiny Award for Adult Leadership, among other accolades. Born and raised in Taiwan, Pan Hosley earned an undergraduate degree at Chinese Culture University, and later came to the United States, working as an executive in the international travel industry. She currently serves as board chair of Bates Community College. She currently owns Associate Travel in Chinatown. 

NAAAP cleans up

Kicking off the new year

From left: Don Blakeney, Jamie Lee, and Andrea Akita

The Chinatown-ID had its 2015 Kick-off at the grand re-opening of the Nagomi Tea House January 22. There

Photo by Howard Wu

Pan Hosley awarded Doctor of Humane letters

NAAAP volunteers clean up

Members of the National Association for Asian American Professionals spent approximately two hours last week picking up litter along King, Jackson, and the 5th Ave to 12th Ave corridor. It was the January 24 Adopt-AStreet Cleanup, part of the City of Seattle Adopt-A-Street Program. 

high-level administrators from primarily nonprofit and civil rights organizations, government and education. 

API White House initiative

From left: Rich Stolz, Christine Pool of U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services; Tuyet Dong, Senior Advisor, White House Initiative on AAPI; Diane Narasaki, President’s Advisory Commission on AAPI

There was community roundtable on immigration at the Wing Luke Museum January 29. It was hosted by White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, and OneAmerica. The roundtable seeked to raise awareness among AAPIs on the Administration’s executive actions on immigration. 

APDC new officers elected

Cantwell appoints Caminos State Director

The Asian Pacific Directors Coalition (APDC) elected new officers for 2015: Chair – Dorothy Wong, Executive Director of Chinese Andrea Akita Dorothy Wong Information and Service Center (CISC); Secretary – Andrea Akita, Executive Director of Interim CDA; Treasurer – Kathy Hagiwara Purcell, Faculty/Program Coordinator at City University.

This is APDC’s first all-female slate of officers.

APDC is a broad-based membership organization of over 40 executive directors, board presidents, and other

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell has asked Nate Caminos to serve as her State Director. He will be leaving his position at Puget Sound Energy.

“It’s been an amazing experience these past two years here at PSE. The company, the leadership, and the work Nate Caminos they all do here impressed me before in my desire to be a part of this team... I have learned so much in a relatively short amount of time.”

He will be returning to public service in supporting Senator Cantwell’s work and will oversee all of the State staff and six regional offices on outreach and casework. 

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

Join the parade!

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

Children’s costume parade will celebrate the Lunar New Year

Children’s parade in 2010 organized by the Northwest Asian Weekly

One of the many highlights of the Lunar New Year celebration in the ChinatownID will be the children’s costume parade on Saturday, February 21. Children 12 and under are invited and encouraged to use their creative talents to reflect their rendition of the theme of the Lunar New Year.

“It’s wonderful to see children of all races, dressed in Asian native costumes for our parade,” said Assunta Ng, publisher of Northwest Asian Weekly. “Many of them were so creative and so excited; there were Chinese gods, dragon, lion and horse costumes last year. The judges were impressed and had a hard time deciding on the top winners. Some of the younger contestants literally refused to leave the stage.”

Registration for the parade is free. The contest prizes are $100 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place.

All contestants are winners, however; there will be cookies and candies for all participants. And parents will be allowed to accompany their children if they wish to

partake in the festivities.

“This is a family affair. Parents have a great time in helping and making the kids’ costumes. Grandparents love seeing their grandkids on stage,” said Ng. “We had 80 participants last year. We hope to get more as we have over 20 prizes.”

Registration starts in front of the Chinese Post/Northwest Asian Weekly offices at 412 Maynard So. at 11:30 a.m. The line-up will begin at 1 p.m. Parade winners will be announced at 2:30 p.m.

The event sponsors are the Seattle City Light as title sponsor, Pepsi and Delta Airlines as corporate sponsors, KeyBank and New York Life as supporting sponsors.

Community sponsors include Tsue Chong Noodles Co., Jim Doane, Ron Chow, and Mike’s Noodle House.

“We would like to thank the sponsors,” said Ng. “Without them, we couldn’t have done it year after year, organizing the parade. It is so much fun. This is a good opportunity for kids to appreciate Asian cultures and traditions.” 

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WISE WORDS Washington state treasures Seattle and Northwest gems What are Washington’s top treasures?

“Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park — Home to the only temperate rain forests in the continental U.S., old growth forest, rugged un-spoiled beaches, mountains, abundant wildlife and our state’s rich Native American heritage, the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park.

Pike Place Market — Seattle’s Pike Place Market: It will always be known as Seattle’s soul. It’s simply better than any other public market in the world. Washington Wine — With more than 850 wineries,Washington wine will play a growing role in state tourism promotion in the future.”

— Tom Norwalk President & CEO, Visit Seattle

“A ride on the Big Wheel — View breathtaking mountains, clear water, and a beautiful city—you can see forever.

Chihuly Garden and Glass — Spectacular color and artistry of our most famous glass artist. The café has Chihuly’s personal collections and great food. Pike Place Market — Take a food tour—the very first Starbucks, fresh produce and flying fish!”

— Ted Fick CEO, Port of Seattle

“My top three treasures: The Plate of Nations annual event that features the rich diversity of local restaurants in SE Seattle along MLK Jr. Way South, taking place this year from March 20 – April 5, 2015. The Bullitt Center on Capitol Hill, which is the greenest commercial building in the world. Fremont Brewing, a family-owned craft brewery founded in 2009 to brew small-batch artisan beers.”

— Jennifer Tam Restaurant Advocate, City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development

“Seattle really is one of the best places to live. The University of Washington is known for its teaching and research commitment, it is home for many of the nation’s fastest growing high-tech companies, and we have fantastic healthcare. There is also the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park. This magnificent Art Deco building is one of the Northwest’s most cherished cultural treasures.”

— Ben Zhang CEO of Greater China Industries

“The Japanese Garden at the Aboretum is a treasure.

It’s peaceful, spiritual, beautiful and captivating.

You feel solitude and refuge.

The three crown jewels in our region are Jim Ellis, Dan Evans and Bill Gates Sr., who have done so much for our state. They give back in many ways constantly.”

— Nate Miles Vice President of Government Relations, Lilly

“Chinatown is the most important treasure in our state. History, heritage and culture are the characteristics of Chinatown. This is the place where I can see all my friends; we built the Chinese Gate in 2008 with a joint effort of all the Chinese community organizations. It just makes me happy to be in the community. The only thing I wish is we had more parking…”

— Kwan Louie Former president, Soo Yuen Association

“My original destination was to go to Georgetown University, On the way, I stopped in Seattle and it changed my whole life. In 1964, my friend persuaded me to stay in Seattle. He talked about how beautiful our city was. I changed my mind and didn’t go to D.C. The quality of life here is the best. I have not regretted my decision and love this place more and more. The Evergreen state is a top treasure in the whole U.S.” — Richard Ma Retired State Auditor “Mayflower Park Hotel is a beautiful place. Glacier covered mountains, raging rivers, surrounded by water… it is heaven and earth. Our food offers lots of creative and diverse restaurants/bars and close proximity to fresh grown and caught produce and seafood. Our people are diverse, creative, receptive, progressive, and entrepreneurial.”

— Paul Ishii General Manager, Mayflower Park Hotel

“I travel often and to many parts of the world. It doesn’t matter where I go, I come home to Seattle.

There is no comparison with Seattle. I visit Vancouver and Richmond B.C. a lot because I have family there. BC with all the fine Chinese restaurants and grocery stores, is convenient for immigrants. But everything there costs twice as much. The quality of life is better in Seattle.”

— Hsiao-lin Wang Owner, China Harbor Restaurant

“My list of Washington state treasures are Mount Rainier National Park (stunning natural beauty; often overlooked by locals); our colleges and universities (an incredible system which fuels our economy) and our former governor and U.S. Senator Dan Evans (model leader, worked both sides of the aisle to help the State)” — Brad Tilden CEO, Alaska Air Group

Seattle Asian Art Museum “If one imagined the history of Seattle as a family photo album, page after page would be filled with pictures of the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park. Since its opening in 1933, generations of young children have played on the camels that flank the front door and then crossed the threshold for their first visit to a museum. This magnificent Art Deco building is one of the Northwest’s most cherished cultural treasures.”

The Wise Words series is sponsored by members of our local community | Design by Kelly Liao/SCP

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33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ WORLD NEWS

FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

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Horror in Japan as video purports to show hostage beheaded

By Elain Kurtenbach and Karin Laub Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Appalled and saddened by news of journalist Kenji Goto’s purported beheading

by Islamic State extremists, Japan ordered heightened security precautions Sunday and said it would persist with its non-military support for fighting terrorism.

The failure to save Goto raised fears for the life of a Jordanian Journalist Kenji Goto fighter pilot also held by the militant group that controls about a third of both Syria and Iraq. Unlike some earlier messages delivered in the crisis, the video that circulated online late

Saturday purporting to show a militant beheading Goto did not mention the pilot.

Jordan renewed an offer Sunday to swap an al-Qaida prisoner for the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who was seized after his F-16 crashed near the Islamic State group’s de facto capital, Raqqa, Syria, in December.

Government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani told The Associated Press that “we are still ready to hand over” Sajida al-Rishawi, who faces death by hanging for her role in triple hotel bombings in Jordan in 2005.

Al-Momani also said his country spared no effort to free Goto.

The slaying of Goto, a freelance reporter whose work focused on refugees, children and other victims of war, shocked this country, which until now had not become directly embroiled in the fight against the militants.

“I feel indignation over this immoral and heinous act of

Is he dead?

Philippines awaits answer of costly terror raid

By Jim Gomez Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The cellphone message of the Filipino police commandos to their base was triumphant: “Mike 1 bingo,” a code meaning they have killed one of Southeast Asia’s most-wanted terror suspects, Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan.

But the euphoria among police generals monitoring the Jan. 25 dawn assault in a southern swampland was brief.

As daybreak lifted their night cover, the young commandos came under intense rebel fire, trapped in the marshy fringes of Mamasapano town, a Muslim rebel stronghold about 2-3 kilometers (1.2-1.8 miles) from where backup police forces waited. Unable to carry Marwan’s body, one of the commandos chopped off his finger and another took pictures as proof of his death, according to police officials.

Another policeman kept frantically calling

for reinforcements by radio, but standby forces failed to penetrate the battle scenes and the pleas for help eventually vanished.

“There was radio silence, a very long silence,” Chief Superintendent Noli Talino, who helped oversee the operation, said in Friday’s eulogy, his voice cracking.

The fighting left 44 commandos dead — the biggest single-day combat loss by government forces in recent memory — and a familiar question: Is Marwan dead or alive?

Commanders and a confidential police intelligence report say Marwan was killed, something they expect to be validated by DNA tests. A purported picture of the slain militant circulating in the local media closely resembled Marwan’s profile in wanted posters. But many remained skeptical.

In 2012, the Philippine military announced that Marwan and a Singaporean militant known as Mauwiyah were killed, along with {see PHILIPPINE cont’d on page 16}

Lunar New Year Comedy ed hill celebrates Chinese New Year with you!

And more! Talented comedians includes Xung Lam, Mona Concepcion, Shannon Koyano, Narin Vann, and Hans Kim to kick off the Year of the Sheep !!!

Wednesday, February 11 Parlor Live Seattle 1522 6th Ave., Seattle 7:30pm Dragon for an early bird deal on GA & VIP seating Brown Paper Tickets http://chinesenewyearcomedy.bpt.me Doors open at 6:30pm. The venue requires a 2 item minimum order on food and drink menu and an automatic gratuity of 20%. Attendees must be 18 years or older.

terrorism,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters after convening an emergency Cabinet meeting.

“When I think of the grief of his family, I am left speechless,” he said. “We are filled with deep regret.”

Threats from the Islamic State group prompted an order for tighter security at airports and at Japanese facilities overseas, such as embassies and schools, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said.

He said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the status of the Jordanian pilot.

With no updates for days, al-Kaseasbeh’s family appealed to the government for information on his situation. But for Goto’s family and friends, the beheading shattered any hopes for his rescue.

“Kenji has died, and my heart is broken. Facing such a {see JAPAN cont’d on page 15}

Suu Kyi’s iron gate up for auction; minimum bid $200,000

By Aye Aye Win Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — The iron gate that stood in front of the home of Myanmar’s formerly imprisoned democracy icon, separating her from throngs of cheering supporters as she made speeches challenging the country’s then-

military rulers, is going on the auction block. Soe Nyunt, the current owner, said Monday the starting bid would be $200,000.

He said the proceeds would go toward helping Aung San Suu Kyi build a new National League for Democracy party headquarters. {see MYANMAR cont’d on page 18}

Registration Deadline: March 2, 2015

http://culturalexploration.org

Age Divisions:  Grades K-2  Grades 3-5  Grades 6-8  Grades 9-12 Competition Categories:  Group Poetry Recitation  Individual Poetry Recitation  Public Speaking  Storytelling  Talent Show  Chinese Singing  Drawing  Chinese Chess  China Knowledge Bowl  Chinese Language Arts

March 22, 2015 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

Chief Sealth International High School 2015 Organizers:

 Cultural Exploration of Greater China Foundation  Confucius Institute of the State of Washington  Chinese Lanuage Teachers Association Washington State  Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction World Lanuages Program

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FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

Asian Hall of Fame honorees announced Benson Henderson

Carrie Ann Inaba

Jeanette Lee

The 2015 Asian Hall of Fame, established by the Robert Chinn Foundation, released the names of the Class of 2015 honorees.

Members of the Class of 2015 include: — Benson Henderson (Mixed Martial Arts Fighter, Former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion) — Carrie Ann Inaba (Television Host, Choreographer, Producer, Judge from Dancing with the Stars) — Jeanette Lee (World-Class Billiards Player,

Enrollment for health coverage for AAPI families

Betty Nguyen

Winner of over 30 National and International Titles) — Betty Nguyen (News Anchor for NBC News and MSNBC, Previously Anchored at CBS News and CNN) The 2015 Asian Hall of Fame will take place Saturday, June 6 at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle.  For more information visit www.facebook.com/ asianhalloffame or asianhalloffame.org.

Tina Tchen, the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff for the First Lady, is encouraging AAPI families to get health coverage.

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pa- Tina Tchen cific Islanders, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are partnering with community groups to hold enrollment events for AAPI families to learn about the Affordable Care Act and receive free, in-person, and in-language

assistance to enroll in health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Partners also plan to be active on social media, using hashtag #AAPIhealth, to share information, resources, and stories of AAPIs who have benefitted from the Affordable Care Act.  Visit HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596.

Translation services are available. Enroll before February 15, 2015.

HealthCare.gov 1-800-318-2596

■ NATIONAL NEWS

Asians slower to seek immigration protection

By Amy Taxin Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Asians have been slower to sign up for President Barack Obama’s reprieve for young immigrants in the country illegally, and community advocates are ramping up efforts to reach thousands more who are eligible for his expanded immigration plan.

Many advocates have blamed the paltry turnout among young Asian immigrants for the administration’s 2012 program on the stigma of being in the country illegally in their communities, where many feel lacking proper immigration papers is culturally shunned.

Now, advocates worry Obama’s new program for the parents of American citizens and legal residents will be an even tougher sell as older generations of Asian immigrants

■ briefly

are already working and supporting their families and may be even more reluctant to reveal their immigration status to friends and neighbors, let alone the federal government.

“There is this model minority myth that Asians are supposed to be successful immigrants,” said Anoop Prasad, senior staff attorney at Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco.

“What does it say about you if you say: `Actually, I am having a lot of problems. I am not making it like everyone else in America thinks we should be?”’

Roughly 5 million immigrants are expected to qualify for Obama’s plans to give work permits and temporary protection from deportation to the parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents and many immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. While most applicants are expected to be Hispanic, nearly half a million of those who

ILF Civic Fellowship accepting APA student applications for 2015

The International Leadership Foundation (ILF) announced that the application process for the 2015 Civic Fellowship Program is open and ongoing until February 14, 2015.

Every year, ILF’s selection committee identifies approximately 30 outstanding Asian Pacific American (APA) college students to spend eight to ten weeks interning at a federal agency in Washington D.C. during the summer.

Students accepted into the program are known as Civic Fellows and will receive a stipend of 2,000 dollars. In addition, they will attend weekly leadership seminars on Capitol Hill, learn networking skills and gain valuable, first-hand working knowledge of the American system of government. Fellows are responsible for their own travel, housing and living expenses. Undergraduate students of APA heritage who are United States citi-

qualify are Asian, according to the Washington-based Pew Research Center.

But Asian immigrants have been less apt to apply for the government’s 2012 immigration program than their Latin American counterparts. As of last year, more than 60 percent of eligible Mexicans and Hondurans had signed up for the program, but only about a quarter of eligible Koreans and Filipinos had done so, according to the Migration Policy Institute in Washington.

Knowing the challenges, Asian community advocates have ramped up efforts to reach immigrants and to do so in a private, more personal way.

On a Chinese-language flier for a recent workshop, advocates stressed one-on-one consultations would be {see IMMIGRATION cont’d on page 17}

Assunta Ng

Account Executives

Peggy Chapman

rebecca@nwasianweekly.com

Han Bui

kelly@nwasianweekly.com

Publisher assunta@nwasianweekly.com Editor editor@nwasianweekly.com Layout Editor/Webmaster han@nwasianweekly.com

Rebecca Ip Kelly Liao John Liu

john@nwasianweekly.com

Stacy Nguyen Editorial Consultant

Fellowship alumni

zens and possess a GPA of 3.0 and above are eligible for this fellowship. Applications must be received by February 14, 2015.  To learn more or submit an application, visit www.ileader.org.

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 $30 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and $25 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.

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33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

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FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

■ briefly

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR THU 2/5 WHAT: Falling Oil Prices – China, Russia and the Gulf WHERE: Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce, 1301 5th Ave., Seattle WHEN: 4-5:30 p.m.

COST: Free for members and students, $10/non-members

FRI 2/6 WHAT: Women of Color Empowered luncheon and networking event, “Women in Male-Dominated Careers” WHERE: China Harbor Restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave., Seattle WHEN: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

INFO: 206-223-0623 WHAT: The 48th CSA Chinese New Year Gala WHERE: UW, Kane Hall, Room 130, Seattle WHEN: 7-9:30 p.m.

WHAT: 2014 Tax Updates and Tips with Will Chen WHERE: New Hong Kong Restaurant, 900 S. Jackson St., Seattle WHEN: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

INFO: seattlechinesechamber.org

SAT 2/7 WHAT: 2015 Lunar New Year Celebration!

WHERE: Westminster Chapel, 13646 NE 24th St., Bellevue WHEN: 3-8:30 p.m.

INFO: Westminster.org, 425-7471461 WHAT: February Tea Experience WHERE: APCC, 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma WHEN: 10 a.m.

INFO: asiapacificculturalcenter. org WHAT: APCC’s Taste of Asia, featuring the foods and culture of the Philippines WHERE: APCC, 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma WHEN: 12 p.m.

INFO: asiapacificculturalcenter. org WHAT: 2015 Golden Circle Awards & Lunar New Year Banquet WHERE: Joy Palace Restaurant, 6030 MLK Jr. Way S., Seattle WHEN: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

RSVP: bit.ly/1BysMZz INFO: ocaseattle.org, jaelyamamoto@gmail.com

WED 2/11 WHAT: Lunar New Year comedy with Ed Hill, including Xung Lam, Mona Concepcion, Shannon Koyano, Narin Vann, and Hans Kim WHERE: Parlor Live Seattle, 1522 6th Ave., Seattle WHEN: 7:30 p.m.

TICKETS: chinesenewyearcomedy.bpt.me

SAT 2/14 WHAT: 17th Annual Asia Pacific New Year Celebration featuring Pakistan WHERE: Tacoma Dome, 2727 East D St., Tacoma WHEN: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

INFO: 253-383-3900, asiapacificculturalcenter.org

TUE 2/17 WHAT: Increasing U.S. Access for International tourists, students and workers

WHERE: Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce, 1301 5th Ave., Seattle WHEN: 3:30-5:30 p.m.

COST: $20/members, $30/nonmembers

THU 2/19 WHAT: Art & Agriculture event featuring Philip Lee WHERE: The Well, Queen Anne WHEN: 6:30 p.m.

TICKETS: artnag.bpt.me

FRI 2/20 WHAT: Koto Jazz performance WHERE: Stage Seven Piano, 511 6th St. S., Kirkland WHEN: 7:45 p.m.

INFO: kotojazz.com/events

SAT 2/21 WHAT: Chinese New Year of the Sheep WHERE: City Centre Mall, 102 St. & 102 Ave., Seattle WHEN: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

COST: Free INFO: ecbea.org, 780-428-4035 WHAT: Lunar New Year Festival, kids’ parade/costume contest, and $2 food walk WHERE: ChinatownInternational District WHEN: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

INFO: cidbia.org WHAT: Lunar New Year presented by The Bellevue Collection WHERE: Bellevue Square, N.E. 4th and N.E. 10th, Bellevue WHEN: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

INFO: bellevuecollection.com/ lunarnewyear

Measles warning and precautions in Seattle area Local public health officials have confirmed a measles infection in an adult international traveler who was in King County during the contagious period.

Most people have immunity to the measles through vaccination, but people should check the exposure locations, know their immunization status, and call a health care provider promptly if they develop an illness.

All persons who were in the following locations around the same time as the individual with measles should: Find out if they have been vaccinated for measles or have had measles previously, and Call a health care provider promptly if they develop an illness with fever or illness with an unexplained rash between February 1 and February 15.

To avoid possibly spreading measles to other patients, do not go to a clinic or hospital without calling first to tell them you want to be evaluated for measles.

Before receiving the measles diagnosis, the traveler was in the following public locations. Anyone who was at the following locations during the times listed was possibly exposed to measles:

January 25, 2015 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Sheraton Hotel (common areas), 1400 6th Ave, Seattle 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. SeaTac Airport, Main Terminal and Concourse D If you were at the following locations at the times listed above and are not immune to measles, the most likely time you would become sick is between February 1 and February 15.

Measles is a highly contagious and potentially severe disease that causes fever, rash, cough, and red, watery eyes. It is mainly spread through the air after a person with measles coughs or sneezes.

Measles symptoms begin seven to 21 days after exposure.

Measles is contagious from approximately four days before the rash appears through four days after the rash appears.

People can spread measles before they have the characteristic measles rash.

People at highest risk from exposure to measles include those who are unvaccinated, pregnant women, infants under six months of age and those with weakened immune systems. 

KING COUNTY INVITATION TO BID ADVERTISEMENT Project: STP Aeration Diffuser Membrane Replacement, C00947C15 Sealed Bid Time/Date: 1:30p.m., February 19, 2015 Location Due: King County Procurement & Contract Services Section, Contracts Counter, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104 Engineer’s Estimate: $1,140,000 - $1,400,000 Scope of Work: Includes but is not limited to the replacement of 42,800 existing flexible membrane diffusers and 40,000 sub-plates distributed evenly across the 4 aeration tanks. Work will be done on tanks sequentially with 2 tanks done the summer of 2015 and 2 done the summer of 2016.

Placement of new diffuser lines in each of the 4 aeration tanks. Each aeration tank has 11 grids and the new lines will be placed strategically to improve dissolved oxygen distribution. There will be 100 new lines, with 2,356 new diffusers, added to each tank: a. 4 lines, with 24 diffusers each, in last 6 grids of pass1 b. 4 lines, with 24 diffusers each, in first 5 grids of pass 2. c. 2 lines with 24 diffusers each, in last 6 grids of pass 2. d. 3 lines, with 23 diffusers each, in all 11 grids of pass 3. e. 1 line, with 23 diffusers each, in all 11 grids of pass 4.

Testing of the newly installed materials, as defined in the Contract, to ensure the aeration diffuser system is functioning properly. Make any adjustments and repairs needed to return the system to service.

Work site: 1200 Monster Road Southwest, Renton, WA 98057, Washington.

Contact Information: Darren R. Chernick, Contract Specialist, 206263-9321, TTY Relay: 711, Fax: 206-296-7675, or darren.chernick@ kingcounty.gov. A bidder may be asked to put a question in writing. No verbal answers by any County personnel or its agents and consultants will be binding on the County.

Pre-Bid Conference: A Pre-Bid Conference will be held February 12,

2015, 10:00AM, at the South Treatment Plant, Black River Conf. Room, 1200 Monster Road Southwest, Renton, WA 98057. A site tour will be conducted immediately following the conference. Hardhats and safety boots are required for site tour.

Subcontracting Opportunities: Bracket Installation and Recycling Apprenticeship Requirements: No minimum Apprentice Utilization Requirement.

SCS Utilization Requirements. No minimum SCS Utilization Requirement.

Bid Bond: Not less than five percent (5%) of the Total Bid Price.

Bid Documents Electronic copies of the plans, specifications, reference documents, and any addenda for this solicitation are available on the King County Procurement website shown below. Printed documents may also be ordered by contacting United Reprographics at 206-3821177. Copies of documents are not available for purchase from King County, but are available for review 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. M thru F. at the Contracts Counter: Chinook Bldg, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue Seattle, WA 98104.

To receive email notifications of addenda or other important information concerning this solicitation, you must register to be a planholder under the “Solicitations” tab at the following internet link: Website: http://www.kingcounty.gov/procurement/solicitations This information is available in alternate formats for individuals with disabilities upon advance request by calling 206-263-9400, TTY Relay: 711.

Notes: Bids received after Sealed Bid Time will not be considered.

Bidders accept all risks of late delivery, regardless of fault. King County is not responsible for any costs incurred in response to this Invitation to Bid.

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

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FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Learning in new languages Dengue Fever: From Cambodia to the Triple Door

By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Dengue Fever, a band well known for combining Cambodian pop with Western-style pop and rock, will be performing at Seattle’s Triple Door on Tuesday, Feb. 10th, They will be touring to support their new album “The Deepest Lake.” Singer Chhom Nimol took some questions over e-mail.

NWAW: Where in Cambodia did you grow up? What were your most vivid impressions of growing up as Cambodian?

Chhom Nimol: I was born in Battambang, but my family was moved to a refugee camp in Thailand when I was a baby. I grew up there until I was almost 13. My most important memories are always of my family because that is all we had to keep us strong. My sister was separated from my family during the Khmer Rouge, and we did not know she was alive until we heard her voice on the radio across the border. That is when we went back to Cambodia to find her. It never matters if I was in Cambodia, or Thailand, or the United States, I am always thinking about my family.

NWAW: How did you begin to sing karaoke in Cambodia? How does the Cambodian karaoke scene differ from the American scene? Which songs did you learn first, and which songs became your signature songs—and why?

Chhom Nimol: My brothers taught me how to sing when I was just a kid. Everyone in my family was a singer or musician. When I sang in Cambodia, karaoke just meant that you would sing with a one-man-band or a track, but we always tried to sing professional[ly].

American karaoke just seems to be something people can do for fun, but for me, it was a way to make money to support my family. I learned a lot of traditional songs for weddings and parties, and songs from Ros Sereysothea, Houy Meas, and Pan Ron, very famous singers from the 1960s.

The song that everyone knows is called “Phorp Somnang,” … a song that was written just for me and I sang it for the Apsara Awards singing contest in 1997. I was the winner, and I got to sing for the King and Queen of Cambodia. The King was also a filmmaker, and he invited me to be an actress in one of his films.

NWAW: What led you to Long Beach, California?

Chhom Nimol: I had a sponsorship to sing at dinner clubs in Minnesota when I came to America. There is a big Cambodian community in Long Beach, and the owner of Dragon House invited me to sing there every weekend. I moved to Long Beach and became involved with the community there.

NWAW: What are the main differences between English and Khmer? How many languages do you speak?

Chhom Nimol: I did not learn to speak English until I came to America. When I started to sing with Dengue Fever, I could not speak English. It was hard to speak with people, so I went to Long Beach Community College and some schools near Chinatown to learn ESL. I worked very hard, but one of the schools kicked me out because I missed too many classes when I went on a tour with the band! The biggest difference is that Khmer has a lot more letters in the alphabet (106), but English has a lot more words, so even if I understand 60 percent or 70 percent, sometimes I still don’t know all the new words.

I can speak Khmer, English, and Thai very well, and I also know some Lao. I love to learn new languages, and every time we go to a new country, I try to learn as many words as I can. I like Korean and French, but I also learned words in Japan, Turkey, Slovakia, and Sweden.

NWAW: Which other members of Dengue

Fever did you meet first? How did they approach you?

Chhom Nimol: I met Zac and Ethan (the Holtzman brothers) first when they came to see me at Dragon House. They were looking for a singer for their band, but I didn’t speak English. Zac had a long beard and my friends and my sister did not want me to talk to them at all. We had

to use a translator and it was hard to trust them at first, but we took a chance and now we are like a family.

The band invited me to try to sing with them, and they had learned to play old Cambodian songs that I already knew. When I went to the practice, I would take my friends with me to protect me and help me translate and understand what was going on. It was interesting that American guys wanted to play these old Cambodian songs, so we wanted to see how it was going to happen.

We played one live show at Spaceland in Los Angeles, and the crowd was so excited that we knew that we were doing something fun. Then, Matt Dillon was directing a movie called “City of Ghosts” and wanted Dengue Fever to do a song for the movie. When my sister and friends saw that a real movie star was interested in us, they started to trust the band more and we knew it was for real.

NWAW: Is it difficult putting together songs with Americans? What are your greatest challenges in {see DENGUE FEVER cont’d on page 18}

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ sports

FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

11

Lydia Ko takes No. 1 spot at 17 Na Yeon Choi wins opener

By Steve Elling Associated Press OCALA, Florida (AP) — With a notable double prize not only within reach, but practically in her grip, New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko had to settle for half of the spoils on Saturday — though it represented a significant piece of golf history, nonetheless.

After reclaiming the lead late in the final round, the 17-year-old Ko double-bogeyed the 71st hole in the inaugural Coates Golf Championship to lose by a shot to Na Yeon Choi.

However, the transplanted New Zealander became the youngest player of either gender to climb to world No. 1, breaking the record set by Tiger Woods by almost four years.

As the ramifications of the distinction finally took hold, the sting of defeat at Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club wasn’t quite so bad. The notion of celebrating, which first set her back for a moment, didn’t seem so crazy after all.

“It’s going to be good,” Ko said. “I was here to focus on the tournament itself, but I guess I got a great outcome at the end of the day, too.”

After leading by as many as four shots on the front nine, Ko trailed Choi by a shot as they played the par-3 15th. With Choi facing a 6-footer for birdie, Ko slammed in an improbable 60-footer and Choi promptly three-putted for a two-shot swing.

The teenager’s lead didn’t last long. Ko drove into a fairway bunker, then fanned a hybrid shot into a stand of pine trees down

Lydia Ko

Na Yeon Choi

the right side of the 17th hole, scrambling to make a double bogey.

As the steadier Choi finished with a 4-under 68 and 16-under total, Ko had to salvage a par on the 18th to finish in a threeway tie at 15 under, but it was good enough to secure a piece of the record book.

Woods, previously the youngest golfer to reach No. 1, was 21 years, 5 months, 16 days when he reached the top in 1997. Ko reached the mark 3 years, 8 months, 14 days earlier.

The men’s rankings date to 1986 and the women’s list is nine years old.

“It’s a nice consolation, if you want to call it that,” said Ko’s swing coach, David Leadbetter.

Ko finished with a 71 to match Jessica Korda (66) and Ha Na Jang (70) at 15 under.

Ko, whose pulse rate seems to be frozen at about 75 beats per minute whether she’s making an eagle or double bogey, hardly seemed derailed by the 71st-hole meltdown.

Her indefatigable nature was her biggest asset, Leadbetter said.

“We sent her to anger management school to learn how to get angry,” he said with a laugh.

Choi, on the other hand, was clearly caught up in the emotion of her first victory since late 2012. She topped the U.S. LPGA money list in 2010 and won the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, but had fallen out of the world top 15.

“I was so nervous out there,” said Choi, who recorded her eighth U.S. LPGA Tour victory and was fighting back tears. “I was waiting so long for this moment.”

Choi, one of the game’s elite players before the two-year victory drought set in, admitted the pressure to succeed wore her down to the point that she stopped reading Korean sports websites, and considered downgrading her cellphone plan so she could not download stories about her play.

“I had a lot of stress from the result,” Choi said. “Even if I was top 10 or top five, not many people said you did a good job if you finish as runner-up. They say you are a loser and that hurts me a lot.”

As for Ko, her ascent seemed ordained when she won her first tour title as an amateur at age 15, the youngest in tour history.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” American star Stacy Lewis said of the new No. 1. “It was just a matter of time.”

Ko, a native of South Korea who moved to New Zealand as a youngster, unseated Inbee Park in the top spot.

“She’s probably the straightest player out here,” said Park, who tied for 17th. “The golf gets easier if you hit the ball straight and you can roll the ball in.”

Ko hit a few crooked shots near the end, which ultimately cost her the first-place trophy, but once the magnitude of the moment took hold, she was all smiles.

“There was obviously a loss,” Ko said.

“But there was a huge positive, too. That’s pretty awesome.” 

Leading the way for young women in the sciences.

“Our young women are our untapped resource. Not only can they do well, but they can do good.”

– Shira Broschat Washington State University professor Shira Broschat believes young women have almost unlimited career potential in the sciences. She demonstrates the possibilities in her own life daily.

Using her computer science expertise, Broschat conducts groundbreaking research that addresses some of the world’s most pressing health problems, including antibiotic resistance and infectious diseases.

She believes more women should study the sciences in college and help deliver solutions the world needs.

And career opportunities in computer science and engineering are abundant.

Discover the possibilities for yourself. go.wsu.edu/engcs

asianweekly northwest

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FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

■ PUBLISHER'S BLOG

OPINION

What you didn’t know about Taiwan Bubble tea, canines, rocks, colleges, and cookies

For those who don’t know anything about Taiwan, here is one of many interesting facts: It is the birthplace of bubble tea.

The bubble tea is not what fascinated me most about Taiwan, but it is more the many other things you would not normally expect from a tiny island in the Pacific.

I was in Taiwan recently for my Hong Kong (HK) high school reunion.

Taiwan and identity In Hualien, there were loudspeakers blaring and firecrackers going off, along with a caravan of decorated cars with banners headed in our direction on the road one evening.

I was intrigued although none of my classmates were paying any attention. The innate reporters in me and my husband quickly chased the parade with our cameras.

It turned out to be a Taiwanese-style political campaign, before the November election. The candidates who dressed in the same colors were standing inside their vans and a loud recorder told people to vote for them.

The Kuomingtang (Nationalist) party dressed in blue and the opposing party (Democrat Progressive Party) dressed in green. During the street rallies, you could see different political supporters dressing in blues and greens to show where they politically stood. (In Seattle, it would be Seahawks colors!)

If you talk to many local folks, they would insist that they are Taiwanese, not Chinese.

The Taiwanese want to develop their own identity, to distinguish themselves from China. When we traveled outside of Taipei, the Taiwanese dialect seemed to be the dominant dialect among the old and the working class. On television, I saw bilingual advertisements with Mandarin and Taiwanese. But the written language is regular Chinese, not the simple version China uses.

Although Japan ruled Taiwan more than six decades ago, Japan’s influence is still evident. Since the Qing regime gave Taiwan to Japan in 1895, the Japanese occupied the island for 50 years until they left in 1945. For the Taiwanese, it’s a claim to show that they do have a unique identity in order to weaken China’s claim that Taiwan is part of China.

Of all 12 meals we ate there, there was always at least one sashimi dish. The last hotel we stayed at was Japanese-style in design and management. {see BLOG cont’d on page 19}

Rocks that will eventually be marbles

Shrine for soldiers

Political caravan

Conversing with mainland Chinese

Site of the Catholic miracle at Yilan

Classmates Agnes Cheung and Dorothy Kwok with bead artisan

Trekking to witness the site of the miracle

Waiting for the train to Taipei

Photos by George Liu/NWAW

More surprises: I didn’t expect the Taiwanese to be such dog lovers.

(Explanation below!)

And what exactly is a typical Taiwanese-style political campaign? It was interesting for us tourists to watch a political parade on the street. (More explanation below!)

With 80 percent practicing Buddhists in Taiwan, could it be the reason that Taiwanese are not proud of the fact that a miracle about the Virgin Mary revealing herself on a mountain now a national park) to save people, and thus, not publicizing it to the outside world? Many of my high school classmates, who are Catholics, were surprised that they have never heard of this miracle.

Our tour guide told us that Taiwan has a university in every city and county thanks to the former President Chen Shui Bien who supported education. Taiwan has 163 universities for a population of 23 million. Is that a good thing or bad?

Taiwan’s natural resources are abundant and beautiful, including rocks that are transformed into marbles. Our HK tour guide (who accompanied us to Taiwan) packed a few rocks in her luggage. She got caught at the Taiwan airport.

The rocks are considered to be national treasures, and they were exposed when they went through the scanner. The customs official confiscated them. No, she didn’t have to pay a fine. It was embarrassing, though.

What souvenirs did we bring back from Taiwan? I credit my former high school classmates for doing all the research to help us shop for Taiwanese goodies.

Few friends knew that I have as many as 10 relatives in Taiwan. Why didn’t I share this piece of news with them?

Classmates Maria and Elizabeth Kwan enjoying Security for females at the train station the see-saw at the hotel (photo provided by Maria Kwan)

Sashimi included

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ editorial

FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

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OPINION

Do you want to talk about it?

Why do we not want to discuss depression?

Yale student Luchang Wang’s suicide was a shock and a head-shaker. (See Jenn Fang’s insightful article on page 1). There were signs before the suicide, but then also preliminary assumptions would point to “no problem.”

Is this often associated and perhaps regimented with Asian Americans? There is never a “problem”?

It is interesting to note the American Psychological Association statistics on their website: First: Asian American college students had a higher rate of suicidal thoughts than White college students but there is no national data about their rate of suicide deaths.

And then there are these points: Suicide was the 8th leading cause of death for Asian Americans, whereas it was the 11th leading cause of death for all racial groups combined.

Suicide was the second leading cause of death for Asian Americans aged 15-34, which is consistent with the national data (the second leading cause for 15-24 year-olds and the third leading cause for 25-34 year-olds).

Among all Asian Americans, those aged 20-24 had the highest suicide rate (12.44 per 100,000).

Among females from all racial backgrounds between the ages of 65 and 84, Asian Americans had the highest suicide rate.

Asian Americans college students were more likely than White American students to have had suicidal thoughts and to attempt suicide.

Why are there these distressing numbers when it comes to suicide rates? Is it pressure? Burden?

We should be allowed to acknowledge our insecurities, or at the least, not be afraid to address our issues.

There is no benefit in repressing what we need to say.

Luchang Wang committed suicide, and in that manner, she unfortunately said what she had to say.

We should all have our voices before that ever happens. 

■ COMMENTARY

The First Chinese American hero

By Roger Dong For Northwest Asian Weekly

For anyone not familiar with the non-profit organization Chinese American Heroes, Wong Chin Foo was our first Chinese American Roger Dong hero. Right after Wong Chin Foo came, the 12,000 Chinese Railroad workers built the most difficult and dangerous part of the greatest infrastructure project of the 19th Century -our Transcontinental Railroad. Since we only knew the identities of a few of the 12,000 workers, we have honored and recognized the entire group as heroes. Even though none of the Chinese RR workers were citizens due to the racist Chinese Exclusion Act (CEA), we consider the group

as Chinese Americans and as heroes. Wong Chin Foo was not an American citizen either due to the CEA. My grandfather, born in 1889 in San Francisco was also not an American citizen. When these early Chinese born in America who were not US citizens traveled abroad, they did not hold US passports.

My father who traveled to China in the 1930s to study, was interrogated aboard ship when he returned. He had to convince immigration authorities he was born in San Francisco. Mr Dong, how many steps are there in Coit Tower? Where is St. Mary’s Church? Had he not been able to answer these types of questions, he would have been been shipped back to China, not married to my Mother who lived in SF, and I would not be here to write this.  Roger Dong is a Chairman/Founder at Chinese American Heroes (chineseamericanheroes.org) Wong Chin Foo, article from Harper’s Weekly

{CASSEDY cont’d from page 1} school musicians. You are high quality professional musicians to me.’ And he’s the kind of person you want to meet those expectations and it makes it incredibly exhilarating when you can,” clarinetist Jillian DiPersio said.

“It becomes something you want to do, because you want to impress him. You do it for him really,” tuba player Adam Consentino said.

Cassedy’s love of music comes from his family. In his own high school band, Cassedy played the clarinet. However,

Cassedy doesn’t believe in auditions: anyone is allowed to join his band. Out of a school of a thousand students, almost 90 are in the band (almost one in ten students).

“One of my biggest beliefs in music education is I want to provide access to all students,” Cassedy said.

After winning the World Strides Heritage Festival two years in a row, the band at Windham High School was invited to play at Carnegie Hall.

A former student, Tim Raymond, and his mother who wrote the letter to the Grammy committee: “I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of the honor,” Raymond said “I learned music lessons. I learned

life lessons. He was one of my biggest mentors.”

Upon hearing the news, Cassedy was shocked.

“It’s a wonderful recognition. I see it more as a recognition of the students,” Cassedy said. “Without the students coming back every single day, giving it 110 percent. Their lips are falling off, and exhausted and they’re studying for midterm exams and they have a lot of pressure on them but they’re the ones. I could be up there waving my arms around, but they’re the ones making the music.”  Minal Singh can be reached at info@nwasianweekly. com.

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FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

■ COMMENTARY

OPINION

“The Five Essentials: Arts and the movement for social justice Keynote Speech by Ron Chew at National Guild for Community Arts Education Conference

By Ron Chew For Northwest Asian Weekly The arts can be an instrument for transforming individual lives, restoring communities, and remaking our society into a more tolerant and inclusive place for all.

Five years ago, in a report I wrote for Americans in the Arts, I described the emergence of community-based arts organizations. I wrote about how these groups now formed the “new center of gravity” in a rapidly changing arts field.

Growing up in an immigrant working class home, I thought of art – which I prefer calling “inventive pursuit” – as something that belonged to the outside world, not my own.

It took me many years to understand that the arts belongs to all of us.

My father and mother endured incredible challenges raising a family of four. My father never made it past the eighth grade. He worked for 32 years as a waiter in a Chinatown restaurant, earning less than a dollar an hour during most of those years.

My mother, unable to speak English, likewise endured long hours at two separate garment factories, working from 7 am to 9 pm, six days a week. She barely completed a grade school education in China back in an era when women were not expected to aspire to any goals other than marriage and childrearing.

Growing up under these spartan conditions in the 1950s – and never once hearing my father or mother talk about the arts as a worthy pursuit – I turned my early ambitions toward finding a job at the Post Office or at Boeing. To me, that was the golden dream of a better life. I’m glad I never made it.

Growing up, we did have art in the home – sort of. Free wall calendars from Chinatown restaurants, grade school drawings by myself and my siblings were scotch-taped here and there in the living room. A few Chinese vases and a ceramic model of the Space Needle topped the mantel. We also partook in a few regular cultural outings. For lunar new year, we would go see lion dances in Chinatown and visit our family association, where there might be Chinese music playing on a tape recorder in the background.

One very strong childhood memory is of lying awake in the bedroom at night, listening to the singing of my mother in the kitchen.

Muk ngwee is what the singing is called. It translates as wooden fish songs. They’re poetic fables born of the Chinese countryside.

After making dinner for the family, my mother would claim the rest of the night and early morning as her time, singing these song poems. The lyrics spoke of epic tragedies and small daily sorrows, longing, truth, honor, loyalty and hope.

My American school-fed diet of arts and culture – the music class, the field trips to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Symphony and Seattle opera – left me feeling less stimulated.

They had few connection points into my experience or any passions I might have freely pursued as an early arts “consumer.”

Writing allowed me to create a vocabulary for my teen imagination. From age 11 to 14, I produced “Think-A-Newspaper,” a publication I invented for the exclusive delight of my little brother. Written and

Ron Chew

illustrated in pencil on loose sheets of lined paper, the newspaper contained imaginary local and world news, jokes, comic strips, sports articles and clip-out baseball cards. I’m not sure he really enjoyed the weekly missive I foisted on him.

I was building the foundation of a journalism career that I would enjoy after my studies at the University of Washington.

I returned to the Chinatown-International District community which had nurtured and raised me and began volunteering at a newly created ethnic community newspaper called the International Examiner. I was there for 13 years. As a journalist and community activist, I continued to feel anger about the strong divide between the world I experienced as the child of immigrants and the world of the make-believe American dream where I didn’t quite belong.

I was recruited to work as director of a small, struggling historical society called the Wing Luke Asian Museum.

It was here that I came to understand the power and importance of multi-disciplinary cultural work .

1. Develop programs that connect to today’s issues and needs 2. Embrace diversity 3. Invest in long-term relationships 4. Cultivate community ownership 5. Bring in the next generation The Wing Luke Museum was facing a crisis at the time I arrived there in 1991. The Museum had been established in 1968 in honor of Wing Luke, a Chinese immigrant elected to the Seattle City Council in 1962.

The Museum operated without much passion as a tiny volunteer organization for most of its early years. The mission statement I inherited talked about the Museum educating the public about Asian history, culture and art, and collecting and preserving objects.

The new mission –developed in collaboration with community members – talked about “engaging” Asian Americans and others in “exploring issues” related to Asian American history, culture and art.”

I immediately cancelled several planned outside exhibitions that had little relevance

to our new mission and launched on a bold experiment to develop a brand-new kind of exhibit for the Wing Luke. We created an exhibition titled, “Executive Order 9066: 50 Years Before and 50 Years After.”

The exhibition shared in very personal terms what happened to Japanese Americans when the U.S. government suddenly stripped them of their possessions, took away their freedom and imprisoned them behind barbed wire. For many internees, it was the first time they had ever spoken to their own children about what had happened. The exhibition came at a necessary juncture in the healing process of the community.

The Wing Luke Museum, established in 1968, is located in the heart of the ChinatownInternational District, a downtown neighborhood that’s been brimming with ethnic and racial diversity for a long time.

But diversity, as we all know, isn’t necessarily a quick pathway to harmonious relationships. First-generation immigrants tend to import ethnic rivalries from their homeland to America. Poverty also exacerbates frustration and conflicts.

For the first 25 years of its existence, the Museum chose to ignore the raucous diversity outside its doors by focusing on tepid, noncontroversial displays of traditional Asia.n

folk arts – textiles, pottery, baskets gathered from its dusty collection. These displays were geared toward a non-Asian audience that wouldn’t be interested in having their intellect – or their sense of the world order -challenged.

When I came to the Museum as the first Asian American director in its history, we began hiring Asian American staff and creating ethnically diverse community advisory committees to guide the creation of exhibitions and public programs.

In the realm of relationship-building, too often I had seen other museums, arts organizations and non-profits bring in community members, especially people of color, to serve on token advisory committees for projects where the power to make meaningful decisions was not really ceded and the relationship was created for a shortterm journey.

As commitments deepen, participants find themselves feeling compelled to recruit others from their extended circle to join them at events and participate in programs. This kind of institutional loyalty – fostered through genuine long-term relationships – is pivotal to organizational strength and stability. {see CHEW cont’d on page 18}

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ astrology

FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

15

For the week of February 7–February 13, 2015

By Sun Lee Chang

Rat — The momentum has finally swung in your favor. Savor the feeling as you are on the cusp of something wonderful.

Dragon — Strike up a conversation with someone you would normally dismiss offhand. You may find that they have something worth listening to.

Monkey — A disruptive force should be dealt with as soon as possible. Once done, things will settle down before you know it.

Ox — Rather than storing up negative energy, figure out a constructive way to release it before it has a chance to build up.

Snake — Even if you are a little out of touch now, there is no reason why you can’t get yourself up to speed.

Rooster — Although you have a strong preference, you can still find a middle ground with a partner that feels differently.

Tiger — Sometimes in the heat of the pursuit, you forget what got you going in the first place. Stay true to your original goals.

Horse — Don’t be fooled by a calm exterior. Beneath the placid surface, there is likely more going on than you initially accounted for.

Dog — A treat is made all the more special when you reserve it for a rare or special occasion. Resist the urge to increase the frequency of your indulgences.

Rabbit — It is worth remembering that no one really wants to be lectured to. Try another method, such as leading by example.

Goat — You have the chance to go beyond what you imagined was possible. Grab this opportunity and run with it.

Pig — Hoping and planning are two very different things. Though they can be done simultaneously, one should not replace the other.

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 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.

{JAPAN cont’d from page 5} tragic death, I’m just speechless,” Goto’s mother Junko Ishido told reporters.

“I was hoping Kenji might be able to come home,” said Goto’s brother, Junichi Goto, in a separate interview. “I was hoping he would return and thank everyone for his rescue, but that’s impossible, and I’m bitterly disappointed.”

According to his friends and family, Goto traveled to Syria in late October to try to save Haruna Yukawa, 42, who was taken hostage in August and who was shown as purportedly killed in an earlier video.

“He was kind and he was brave,” said Yukawa’s father Shoichi. “He tried to save my son.”

“It’s utterly heartbreaking,” he said, crying and shaking.

“People killing other people — it’s so deplorable. How can this be happening?”

Abe vowed to continue providing humanitarian aid to countries fighting the Islamic State extremists. Bowing to terrorist intimidation would prevent Japan from providing medical assistance and other aid it views as necessary for helping to restore stability in the region, he and other officials say.

But the government spokesman, Suga, said Abe would not link the hostage crisis to his efforts to expand Japan’s military role in “collective self-defense” with the U.S. and other allies.

The White House released a statement in which President Barack Obama also condemned “the heinous murder” and praised Goto’s reporting, saying he “courageously sought to convey the plight of the Syrian people to the outside world.”

The White House said that while it isn’t confirming the authenticity of the video itself, it has confirmed that Goto has been slain. Japan also has deemed the video highly likely to be authentic, said the defense minister, Gen Nakatani.

Highlighted by militant sympathizers on social media sites, the video bore the symbol of the Islamic State group’s alFurqan media arm.

Though it could not be immediately independently verified

by The Associated Press, it conformed to other beheading videos by the group.

Many Japanese expressed dismay over the news.

“I feel so sad and angry. Why didn’t the government rescue Kenji?” said Mayuko Tamura, 31, a pediatrician who along with her husband and their 8-month-old baby joined a few dozen people gathered in front of Abe’s official residence Sunday afternoon to show their sympathy for the hostages.

In Jordan late Saturday night, relatives and supporters of the pilot held a candlelit vigil inside a family home in Karak, al-Kaseasbeh’s hometown in southern Jordan.

We “decided to hold this protest to remind the Jordanian government of the issue of the imprisoned pilot Muath alKaseasbeh,” said the pilot’s brother Jawdat al-Kaseasbeh, holding picture of Muath with a caption: “We are all Muath.”

Al-Kaseasbeh’s uncle, Yassin Rawashda, said the family just wants to be kept informed.

“We want to know how the negotiations are going ... in a positive direction or not. And we want the family to be (involved) in the course of negotiations,” he said.

Jordan and Japan reportedly conducted indirect negotiations with the militants through Iraqi tribal leaders, but late on

TAITUNG

Friday the Japanese envoy sent to Amman to work on the hostage crisis reported a deadlock in those efforts.

The hostage drama began more than a week ago when the militants threatened to kill Goto and Yukawa in 72 hours unless Japan paid $200 million.

Later, the militants’ demand shifted to seeking the release of al-Rishawi, who survived the 2005 attack that killed 60 people when her explosive belt failed to detonate in the worst terror attack in Jordan’s history.

The deadline for that exchange passed without word, leaving the families of the pilot and journalist waiting in agony. Al-Rishawi has close family ties to the Iraq branch of al-Qaida, a precursor of the Islamic State group.

The U.N. Security Council issued a statement Sunday demanding “the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all those who are kept hostage” by the Islamic State group. Council members underlined the need to bring those responsible for Goto’s “heinous and cowardly murder” to justice and stressed that the Islamic State group “must be defeated and that the intolerance, violence and hatred it espouses must be stamped out.”  Laub reported from Amman, Jordan.

Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Cairo, Najib Abu Jobein in Karak, Jordan, and Mari Yamaguchi, Yuri Kageyama, Noriko Kitano, Kaori Hitomi, Emily Wang, Miki Toda in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

{PHILIPPINE cont’d from page 5} a Filipino Abu Sayyaf extremist commander, in a U.S.-backed airstrike on southern Jolo island.

The operation employed American-supplied smart bombs for the first time.

Filipino police intelligence officials, however, believed Marwan and Mauwiyah survived and continued hunting them.

They have since launched at least two major secret attempts to capture Marwan in the southern Philippines, where according to U.S. authorities, he has been hiding since 2003.

A U.S.-educated engineer, believed to have been born in Malaysia’s Muar town in Johor province in 1966, Marwan is among the last few known surviving militants of his generation of al Qaida-inspired extremists who survived the anti-terror crackdowns in Asia following the Sept.

11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. Known as a master bomb-maker, Marwan also was very skilled in evading capture. He had more than two dozen aliases and spoke the languages of Malaysia and the Philippines, along with English and Arabic.

Marwan used to head a terrorist group called the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia, and also was a senior member of the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network, according to the U.S State Department, which offered a $5 million bounty for his capture and prosecution.

The JI was blamed for the 2002 nightclub bombings that killed 202 people in Bali, Indonesia.

It was in the southern Philippines, though, where he stayed longest, taking cover among Muslim separatists fighting a decadeslong rebellion. He had three Filipino wives, who helped him assimilate and blend in. He struck alliances with Muslim insurgents from virtually all groups and provided bomb-making and religious training in exchange for sanctuary, according to government terrorism reports.

He allegedly helped plot numerous bombings and other attacks.

But after surviving the 2012 airstrike, Marwan

proved to be a liability for the Abu Sayyaf, one of four rebel groups operating in the south. He was reportedly expelled from Jolo island by an Abu Sayyaf commander, Radulan Sahiron, who believed the Malaysian was a magnet for military attack, according to a government interrogation report of a captured militant commander, Khair Mundos.

From Jolo, Marwan traveled to the marshy heartland on the main southern island of Mindanao and strengthened his alliance with a notorious local bomb-maker, Abdul Basit Usman. Police said that Usman and Marwan were together during Sunday’s assault, but Usman escaped.

“There are reports that they run factories of improvised explosive devices, which they sell to fellow terrorists,” President Benigno Aquino III said this week. “They have injured and killed many people, and they continue to threaten the safety of our citizens as long as they roam free.”

Police commandos nearly caught him in July 2012, in a remote farming village off Butig town, near a key camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest rebel group that signed a peace deal with the government last year. The group has agreed to a cease-fire that requires government forces to notify the insurgents in advance of any planned anti-terror raids to avoid accidental clashes.

The commandos missed Marwan that time, but they did seize a huge cache of explosives, electronic bomb parts, assault firearms, ammunition, Islamic

extremist books and two laptop computers, according to a confidential police report.

The laptops contained old U.S. Army manuals on counterintelligence, combat, explosives and survival techniques.

Washington has increasingly grown worried about Marwan. U.S. security officials were concerned when Marwan’s character was depicted in a 2012 video war game in which he narrowly escapes U.S. forces in the southern Philippines but later dies in a suicide attack on a train.

They feared that the video may raise Marwan’s stature among foreign jihadis and help him raise terror funds, a Philippine security official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Even before the latest raid, the commandos tried but failed to capture him near the corn-growing community last year. Military officials have long suspected that Marwan eluded arrest by taking cover near rebel strongholds.

On Sunday night, the police commandos did not notify the Moro rebels of the raid, officials said.

Was it worth sacrificing 44 elite police troopers to get an international terrorist, Talino, the police commander, posed a question at the eulogy.

“We live by our motto: We save,” he said, holding back tears. “I’m sure if you will ask them, it is worth it.” 

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{IMMIGRATION cont’d from page 6} offered in a bid to draw immigrants who may not want to disclose their immigration status in a room full of strangers.

Translation is being offered in a spate of languages to cater to elders who probably speak less English than their American-raised children. And instead of using the Internet to reach applicants, community organizations are turning to ethnic newspapers.

“Asian youth tend to go more toward social media and Facebook. We’re actually trying to see if we can get more ads in the paper,” said Tiffany Panlilio, a legal advocate at Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Los Angeles.

But even with these efforts, some experts question whether more Asians will come forward and apply.

Tom Wong, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, said Asian immigrants may not fear as acutely the threat of deportation since most of the people who are deported are Hispanic.

“It may be the case the incentive structure does not favor Asian undocumented immigrants when it comes to applying for these temporary programs,” he said.

Wong also said older immigrants who

already have jobs may be less likely to seek temporary work authorization, especially if they are already working under a false name or Social Security number, fearing they could get in trouble with their employer.

Young Asians who applied for Obama’s 2012 reprieve said they were well aware of the generational divide.

Do Hee Lee, a 21-year-old college student in Maryland, said her Korean parents were nervous about her signing up for the program, but the alternative was worse: going to college in Korea and being separated from her family for years.

Seth Ronquillo, a 22-year-old community health advocate in California, said he felt he had nothing to lose when he applied since he had virtually no hope of putting his college degree to use upon graduation because of his immigration status.

His mother, however, was another story.

Ronquillo said she sometimes still questions whether he could be at greater risk for deportation since outing himself to the government, especially if Obama’s successor takes a tougher stance on illegal immigration.

“I can only imagine other immigrant parents have the same mentality,” Ronquillo said. 

Luchang attend one of my workshops? Was she one of the many students who spoke to me during or after my talks? Could I have done more to help her? Could I have worked harder with on-campus Asian American students to organize more mental health workshops? Could I have done more to give Luchang and students like her the resources she needed, and to give them to her long before Tuesday?

In the end, I have nothing but sadness at Wang’s death, prayers for her friends and family, and the enduring hope that one day we can finally begin a real dialogue on the topic of mental health, particularly with regard to the AAPI community, and finally implement the many changes needed to slow the rate at which depression claims the lives of this nation’s young people.

The Asian American Cultural Center at Yale issued the following statement by Facebook in regards to Wang’s death: We at the AACC mourn for the loss of Luchang Wang, SM ‘17. We were glad to have her as part of our community, and our hearts go out to her family and friends.  If you or someone you know may be depressed or struggling with any other mental health concern, please check out these resources: APIAHF: Resource List NAAPIMHA: Resource List NAMI’s: Resource List & Asian Language Fact Sheets If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call:1-800-273-8255 (TALK), 24hr National Suicide Prevention Hotline, >150 languages available 1-877-990-8585, 24hr Asian LifeNet Hotline, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Fujianese available.

If you believe that you or your friend is in immediate physical danger, call 911 and do not allow the person to remain unaccompanied as long as it is safe to stay. As soon as it appears safe, you can also bring that person to the hospital for additional care.

Jenn Fang runs the website reapproiate.co (not .com), where she addresses Asian American issues.

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thread, prompting the rapid organization of a campus-wide search by students and friends. The search was coordinated online with friends posting places they had canvassed on Facebook -- some ventured as far as East Rock, the park north of New Haven.

At 2 p.m., a public Facebook status authored by Tammy Pham ’15 told Yale students in New Haven to search highrise buildings, school buildings and public areas for signs of Wang. Students began to comment, adding locations that they had searched, some even venturing to East Rock to look for their friend.

Students also contacted Silliman College and Yale Police to officially report Wang missing, launching a door-to-door search. They later reported to police the discovery that Wang had purchased airfare to San Francisco, California; the plane was scheduled to land Tuesday morning. Later that afternoon, police also discovered that the last time Wang had used her Yale ID to swipe into Silliman College was two days prior, and asked students to halt their frantic New Haven search under the presumption that she had boarded her flight and was no longer in the New Haven area.

By 6pm that Tuesday, Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway delivered the tragic news to the Yale student community by email that Wang’s body had been recovered in California.

Holloway’s email read in part: “It is my very sad duty to tell you that Luchang Wang, Silliman ’17, is presumed to have died earlier today in California...The California Highway Patrol has been in touch with the Yale Police and reports no evidence of foul play nor any indication of an accident. It appears that Luchang may have taken her own life.”

Wang attended high school in Des Moines, Iowa, and in addition to her many academic accomplishments in math and science was an accomplished cross-country runner.

She was also moved by the fight for social justice, and was involved in Yale Political Union’s Party of the Left and the Yale Effective Altruists. Friends remember her as an inspiring, witty, and endlessly kind young woman: “Her motivation in life was to make the world a better place,” said Tammy Pham class of ’15, Wang’s close friend and fellow Effective Altruists member. “It’s sad to see someone with such a pure love go like this.”

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FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015

From their very first conversation, Wang demonstrated remarkable openness and intimacy, said Caroline Posner ’17, who met Wang through the Party of the Left. She was soft-spoken and modest, Posner added.

“When she spoke at party debates, it was out of a sense of duty to engage the room, never a desire to hear herself speak, as it often is for many of us,” Posner wrote in an email. “She was so ridiculously grateful for a life that was never easy or fair to her.”

Wang’s sense of civic duty extended beyond Yale’s campus. She cared deeply about social justice, traveling to New York City and marching in honor of Michael Brown with people she had never met, said Carlee Jensen ’15, who also befriended Wang through the YPU. Jensen added that Wang never hesitated to push her intellectually, challenging her whenever she said something flippant or tried to avoid a serious question.

Wang is survived by her father, mother and younger sister.

I’m heartbroken by Luchang’s loss, not only because the world seems to have lost a powerful young voice, but also because I have spoken on the issue of mental health, depression and suicide as it relates to the AAPI community several times. In each of my workshops, which I strive to construct as a safe space for attendees, students have discussed their personal experiences with depression and mental illnesses, either with regard to themselves and/or with their families. Many have talked about how they feel as if they are literally struggling in silence when it comes to their depression.

When I spoke about the specific need for AAPI students to have access to culturally-sensitive therapists who don’t offer a one-size-fits-all approach to mental health treatment that ignores the specific challenges faced by AAPI students, most of my workshop attendees were shocked -- even the idea of personalized mental health care was an anathema.

The Asian American community at Yale is small and tight-knit, and mental health is clearly an energizing issue: at every workshop I have held, I have spoken to a packed room of students, most of whom relish the chance to confront this issue head on. For many, this is the first time they’ve had a frank conversation about Asian American mental health.

I also can’t help but feel angry, not only at the spectre of depression and mental illness that has claimed yet another young life (of far too many lost), but also at myself. Did

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{DENGUE FEVER cont’d from page 10}

ily, and we get to play for very big audiences. We played a show in Battambang and Phnom Penh, and I think 5,000 people came to see us. It’s very exciting for me to play these songs in my home country and to make my family and my country proud of me.

songwriting and performing?

Chhom Nimol: The biggest challenge is working on the lyrics. The guys know I am more comfortable when I sing in Khmer, so if they write the lyrics in English, sometimes we have to translate them so it sounds better. But Khmer has more syllables than English, so we have to cut a lot of words and make the song more like a poem than a story.

The band does not speak Khmer, so we have to talk a lot about what words we can cut and how to make it fit and sound good. If I write the lyrics, I always write them in Khmer, so that part is easier, but my English is better now, so I am comfortable singing in English. Every song is different, and we just try it out to see which one sounds better and has the best feeling

NWAW: What are the main differences between the Cambodian pop you grew up with and American pop?

Chhom Nimol: Cambodian songs are very innocent, but in American songs, they can sing whatever they want, so that is a big difference. We never write a song with bad language or rude words because it’s not nice, and we just want to make our audience have fun and not be upset. You can write a song with beautiful stories and very interesting lyrics, and then everyone can come. We see all kinds of people at our show, from little kids to grandmothers.

NWAW: Where are your favorite places to play and why?

Chhom Nimol: We have toured a lot all over the world. We have done a lot of tours around the U.S., but we’ve also been all over Europe and Asia. I like going to new countries, and every time we have an invitation to go somewhere new, everyone is excited.

In the last three years, we have been able to go to Slovakia, Mexico, Brazil, Koran, Japan, and we’ve also played in Turkey, Russia, New Zealand, and Poland. My favorite place to play is in Cambodia because I get to see my fam-

NWAW: Which charity organizations does the band support, how, and why?

Chhom Nimol: We have done some benefits with a few groups that mostly support children. We work a lot with charities in Cambodia because we all love the culture. The old songs gave us a chance to become a band, so we want to make sure we support the next group of artists.

Cambodian Living Arts in Phnom Penh is working to teach new students about the traditional and classical arts of Cambodia that were almost destroyed during the Khmer Rouge. We did a tour in 2011 after some very bad floods. I

{MYANMAR cont’d from page 5}

{CHEW cont’d from page 14}

The 69-year old Nobel laureate — and daughter of Myanmar’s country’s famous independence leader, Gen. Aung San — became an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression during her 15 years under house arrest.

She permanently moved from London to the lakeside house of her mother almost 27 years ago, where while under incarceration she often mounted a table behind its front gate and held on the pointed iron spikes as she spoke to crowds through a loudspeaker about everything from corruption to the abysmal state of education.

Soe Nyunt said he was landscaping Suu Kyi’s garden soon after her release in 2010 when he saw the gate — and the house number, 54, painted on a separate lacquered plate — under a mango tree waiting to be picked up by a junk collector.

Elections, seen by many as neither free nor fair, were held the next year, beginning a bumpy transition from dictatorship to democracy and Suu Kyi is now leader of the opposition in the country’s military-dominated young parliament.

“This gate tells the history of the country’s democratic struggle,” Soe Nyunt told The Associated Press, adding that he paid Suu Kyi a few hundred dollars for the gate and number with the idea that he would one day place in a museum.

He decided on an auction, to be held within the next two weeks, because he saw it as a way to help the cash-strapped NLD build a new party headquarters and to help pay for upcoming centennial celebrations to honor Suu Kyi’s father. 

No arts institution is completely credible – or even viable over the long haul – if the community that it represents does not wholeheartedly embrace its existence.

For the Wing Luke Museum, the community stakeholders include those who live, work or do business in the Chinatown-International District of Seattle. It also includes virtual visitors as well.

Each of us lives in our own time. So how do we build bridges between our generations? How do we transcend our differences and find respectful ways to share knowledge, skills and perspective? During my tenure at the Wing Luke, we relied heavily on student activists committed to our social-change mission. We were consciously trying to cultivate the next generation of leaders. But balancing the spirited idealism of young people with the cautious pragmatism of older people was always a tightrope walk.

We needed both visions. Sometimes, in the gulf between generations, we speak the same words, but we’re actually talking different languages. This can create problems.

Three years ago, my son, then in high school, asked me to help him with an assignment. Students in his class had been

{TAIPEI cont’d from page 1} spot, and nine succumbed to their injuries before arriving at hospitals, according to fire department officials at the wreckage site. Twenty people remain missing, while 15

worked with the WHO to record a radio PSA for villagers to try to remind them to use mosquito nets, so they do not catch diseases from the old water. We have also done some performances to raise money for the Cambodian Children’s Fund in Phnom Penh and Green Gecko in Siem Reap.

In 2013, Paul, Zac, and I went to Cambodia with TOMS on a giving trip, and we stayed for 10 days to bring shoes to people in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. We also worked with a clinic that was helping people with eye problems in Battambang.

NWAW: What are the band’s plans for the future, after this album and tour?

We are working on new original songs, and we recorded some songs with a Korean band, Goonam, that we’ll release later this year also. Our new album is the first fulllength under our new record label, TUK TUK Records, so we will also look into growing the label and maybe see about releasing other music under TUK TUK. But first, I hope more people will hear this album and we can go to new places we’ve never been before!

I’d like to go back to play in Australia, Mexico, France, and Brazil again. But right now, we’re just excited about the new album and we are ready to go on the road to share with everyone!  Andrew Hamlin can be reached at info@nwasianweekly. com.

told to write a short letter to the author of a favorite book.

My son had never written a letter. He had made it to age 16 without ever partaking in a form of communication that was second nature to those of us who came of age before the Internet. For a few bewildered seconds, I grieved for the loss.

Of course, the absence of letters doesn’t bother my son or his friends. Why would you grieve over something you never had to begin with? Perhaps Gen Y will rediscover traditional letter writing in their own time as some quaint classical form.

So how will we define, teach and support the arts in a world that’s paradoxically becoming more connected, yet less intimate and more impersonal by the day? And which organizations will successfully navigate the generational divide and find new ways of expanding participation, nurturing creativity, and renewing a sense of shared community values?

These are big questions for which there are no ready answers.  Ron Chew is a community organizer and a leader in the community-based model of museum exhibit development.

others are injured.

Authorities cannot ascertain if all the missing people are still inside the plane as eye witnesses claimed to have seen passengers being flung out of the plane as it plunged into the river. 

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{BLOG cont’d from page 12} Chinese and Taiwanese Taiwan is a now a popular tourist site for the mainland Chinese. So what did the mainland Chinese tourists I met at Yilan think about Taiwan?

What impressed them most were the people.

“I like the people,” one Chinese woman said. “I feel like I am seeing [the Taiwanese as] our family members; I felt comfortable.

“They are nice, polite, friendly, helpful. The place is clean.” I didn’t ask her opinion about HK, but she volunteered anyway, knowing that I was from HK originally.

Without using the word snobbish, she said, “HK people feel they are more superior than Mainland Chinese. I can see a distance between us. Sometimes, HK people show their anger at us for no good reason.” Her perception confirmed what I read. HK folks like Mainland Chinese’s money and business, but they resent the fact that Chinese investment deals drive up prices, from real estate to consumer goods; and Chinese student­s enrolling in HK schools take up space, which should be reserved for local children.

A variety of scenery The mainland Chinese I met weren’t that impressed with the Taiwan scenery. “We have better views, more picturesque mountains in China,” a colleague said.

For our high school classmates, Taiwan was the ideal place for our reunion. We weren’t searching for the most beautiful water views like we would get in Siuchuan, China, or the stunning views of majestic canyons we would get in Arizona.

For us, lingering on the Taiwan shore of the Pacific Ocean was good enough. Hearing the stories of how the late President Chiang Kai Shek led 5,000 old soldiers building a long road to connect the North and South of Taiwan, and then opening up the mountains with dynamite and little equipment, was fascinating. Many lives were lost. We got out of our bus and walked to the memorial of these soldiers.

Our objective was to play together and find “the kid” in us to create lasting memories. We had fun talking to each other, enjoying small acts like a shopping frenzy at the nougat candy shop and cleaning up its inventory.

The 26 of us concluded at the end of the trip, “We should have our reunion in three years instead of five.”

In Hualien, we had a chance to roam around outside the hotel. There weren’t many shops. It’s difficult for retails to survive in this part of town.

Motorcyles and scooters at National Taiwan University

Dog poop was everywhere. My Taiwanese friend said, “Some (Taiwanese) people love dogs to the point that is ridiculous.”

In one of the restaurants we ate in, a sign was posted that no animals were allowed. But a guest brought along not just one, but TWIN dogs with ribbons around their heads and necks and they sat on a chair next to her.

And the owner said nothing.

Gifts and souvenirs I never like the pineapple cookies available in U.S. Asian grocery stores as they contain too much sugar and preservatives. But my high school classmates knew which brands were the best and used undesirable ingredients.

They asked our Taiwanese guide to order the food for us, including dried eight-fairy fruit (good for your throat) and pineapple pastries direct from specific factories. The souvenirs were shipped by mail, and arrived home before we departed from Taiwan.

These pastries were delicious and freshly made. Their expiration date was less than three weeks. Our handcarried luggage would only allow us to buy five boxes of pastries and three bags of nougat candies. When we went back to HK, our relatives were dying for the pastries and candies. We ended up not having enough for the Asian Weekly’s staff. Three classmates actually took a taxi to go buy dry organic food in Taiwan. I wasn’t able to go because I had no more room in my luggage.

we headed back to HK. To make a long story short, my Taiwan relatives are from my mother’s side. Because of poverty and World War II, my mother’s family was split between China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and America. Her youngest brother and an older sister had followed the oldest sister’s family to Taiwan after the Communists took over China in 1949.

Michael, my former UW classmate who now lives in Taiwan as a retired professor, came to the hotel to pick me and my husband up. He also arranged a delicious lunch with my relatives at the NTU restaurant. I was grateful to Michael, who fulfilled my wish list.

It was great to see my relatives, as my aunt had just had critical surgery. She brought photos of my cousins along to show us. Afterwards, Michael gave us a campus tour.

Although my aunt was born in Taiwan, she never knew that the campus provided good walking lanes. NTU will now be her future spot to exercise.

The campus is modern and large---at least three or four times bigger than most Asian universities. I reiterated what the guide told us; Taiwan has numerous universities.

“NTU is our top school,” Michael said. “But none of the universities is on the world’s top 100 list.

“Too many universities have become a burden for the government financially,” he said. “Not everyone wants a college education. Besides, birth rate in Taiwan is going down.”

Having too many colleges available for students, drive down the academic standard, he explained. You don’t need high grades to go to college.

Before Michael drove us to the airport to join our group, he invited us to go to his condo for tea. Yes, it was spacious and luxurious in Asian standards.

This trip to Taiwan was unforgettable. I thank my Sacred Heart sisters for the memories. I also thank Michael and Rosa for making our Taiwan trip so special because of their thoughtfulness and courtesy in inviting my relatives to lunch before we left!

It was a truly insightful, rewarding, and memorable trip. 

Reunion with my relatives National Taiwan University (NTU), Tofu Street, and lunch with my Taiwan relatives were on my agenda before

Want to get the inside scoop on the latest happenings of Seattle’s Asian American community?

Follow Publisher Assunta Ng’s blog at nwasianweekly.com under the Opinion section.

Northwest Asian Weekly / Seattle Chinese Post presents

Chinatown-International District Lunar New Year Celebration

Children’s Parade Contest | Saturday, February 21, 2015

Children’s Parade Competition Schedule: • 11:30 AM — Registration • 1 PM — Line up • 1:30 PM — Parade Begins • 2:30 PM — Parade winners announced!!!

• Start from Northwest Asian Weekly’s front door, march to main stage • Contestants must be present at the announcement of finalists (1:50 PM).

• Finalists will be lined up in numerical order.

• All contestants will receive a fortune cookie and lucky candies.

Registration/Sign-Up: • You may pre-register for the contest by filling out this application and sending it in or sign-up on the day of the contest (Saturday, February 21) at 11:30 a.m. at the registration table. Registration table will be located in front of Seattle Chinese Post/ Northwest Asian Weekly – 412 Maynard Ave S. • Contestants are chosen on a first come first serve basis.

• Contestants must sign-in at the registration table 15 minutes prior to parade.

Rules/Guidelines: • Children ages 12 and under can participate in the contest • Parents are welcome to accompany their children during the Parade • Children will be given a contestant number for order of Parade lineup • Children attire should be culturally relevant to the Lunar New Year Celebration Judging: • All contestants will be judged by the provided judging criteria.

• Prizes will be awarded to First ($100), Second ($50), and Third ($25) Place Winners, plus 15 honorable mentions.

• All decisions made by competition judges are final.

Check out our last year’s parade contest! http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2014/02/welcoming-year-horse

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TITLE SPONSOR GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

COMMUNITY SPONSORS Tsue Chong Noodles Co. Mike’s Noodle House

JIM DOANE

RON CHOW

Please submit completed application through one of the following methods: Mail: Northwest Asian Weekly Children’s Parade Contest 412 Maynard Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98104

Name: ________________________________________________________

Phone: ________________________________________________________

E-mail: ________________________________________________________ Contestants must adhere to all rules and regulations. Contest officials will remove any contestant failing to cooperate with officials or failing to comply with the rules and regulations. If you have any questions, please contact Northwest Asian Weekly at 206.223.5559 or via email at rsvp@nwasianweekly.com.

asianweekly northwest

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FEBRUARY 7 – FEBRUARY 13, 2015