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35 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Photos by James Tabafunda/NWAW

Seattle continues standing as a ‘constitutional city’

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray at the Ethnic Media Roundtable on Mar. 31.

By James Tabafunda NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Once the City of Seattle filed a lawsuit on Mar. 29 claiming President Donald Trump’s executive order to

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray talks to Raul Perez Calleja (left), publisher of El Siete Dias and Moises Castillo (right), El Siete Dias contributor.

cut its federal money is unconstitutional, it drew national attention for joining the ranks of other defiant jurisdictions.

Mayor Ed Murray updated the city’s so-called “sanctuary city” status, as well as other issues at the March 31 Ethnic Media Roundtable for minority journalists at Seattle City

Hall. Sanctuary jurisdictions (cities, counties, states) are generally described as areas that restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities and don’t collect data on see ETHNIC MEDIA on 12

George Takei not running for Congress It was an April Fools’ joke

By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY George Takei caused a moment of extreme excitement last Saturday morning when he announced that he was planning to run for Congress and against Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) in 2018. Nunes is the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and has dominated headlines recently due to his high-profile role in one of the congressional investigations that have

embroiled President Donald Trump’s White House. The Committee is also investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible ties between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

The 79-year-old former Star Trek actor posted on Twitter on the morning of April 1, “Well, the cat’s out of the bag it seems. Let’s do this! #Takei2018.” Takei also included a see TAKEI on 12

FIRST DATES Kirkland resident and Chinese American will be on NBC’s First Dates. » see 9

Photo from Takei’s Twitter account that read, “No, I’m not running for Congress. Happy 4/1!”

Minnesota releases its first major study of violence against Asian women and children WHAT ASSUNTA ATE Publisher Ng on the art of eating well while traveling (and not breaking the bank). » see 10

Leaders in Minnesota’s Asian community are calling for additional efforts to support Asian women and children experiencing violence in Minnesota following

■

the March 30 release of a first-ofits-kind study.

The study of violence against Asian women and children is the product of a working group the

Minnesota Legislature convened in 2015. “The stories we heard from Asian women were heartbreaking,” said Claudia Waring, chair of the work group that con-

ducted the study and executive director of Asian Women United of Minnesota. “We hope we can see MINNESOTA on 11

COMMUNITY » 2 CALENDAR » 6 SUDOKU » 6 ASTROLOGY » 13

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35 YEARS

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS

He stepped down in February after The Seattle Times published an investigative report on the hospital’s negligence towards its neurology patients. When asked if Armada’s resignation was related to the investigation, a spokeswoman said the decision was a personal one. 

Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW

Consul General Omura leaving Seattle

An Andy Warhol's portrait of Chairman Mao has sold in Hong Kong.

An Andy Warhol portrait of Chairman Mao has been sold at a historic auction for $12.6 million in Hong Kong.

An unnamed Asian collector bought the iconic silkscreen portrait in the sale at Sotheby’s on April 2.

In the past, Chinese officials had stopped versions of the painting being exhibited on the mainland, where censors closely guard Mao’s depiction.

Warhol began his series of silk-screen portraits of Mao in 1972, when ties between then-Cold War foes China and the United States began to thaw after the historic trip to Beijing by former U.S. President Richard Nixon. ■

Tony Armada farewell party

Catherine Gibson (left) presented Masahiro Omura (right) with the Seattle Rotary Club Flag on Apr. 5 at the Westin Seattle hotel.

Masahiro Omura is stepping down as Consul General of Japan in Seattle. Omura arrived in the Pacific Northwest in 2013. He told the Northwest Asian Weekly he is leaving his post at the end of April. He will return to Japan before being assigned to his new post — but Omura did not disclose where. Omura said, “I am much encouraged by the close friendship shared between this region and Japan, and I wish to express my deepest gratitude for the generous and passionate support and engagement by so many who have been contributing to this relationship.” ■

Stephanie Lai “stoked” to be first Chinese contestant

Tony Armada (right) with Guy Hudson, interim chief executive of Swedish Health Services.

Dozens gathered on March 21 for a farewell party for Swedish Health Services CEO Tony Armada.

New Zealand is in its third season of The Bachelor, and the show features the first “Chinese Kiwi” bachelorette — 24-year-old Stephanie Lai. She is one of a number of ladies vying for the heart of bachelor Zac Franich.

Lai, a Malaysian Chinese whose parents moved to New Zealand in 1988, said she was “stoked” to be a pioneer.

Although an Asian woman hasn’t yet starred as the titular Bachelorette, Asian women have competed as contestants on The Bachelor franchise here in the United States. Seattle-born Catherine Lowe of Filipino, Italian, and Scottish heritage won season 17 and has a baby with Stephanie Lai husband Sean Lowe.

Asian men haven’t fared so well. Jon Hamilton (half Chinese and Scottish) competed on The Bachelorette (JoJo Fletcher’s season) last year, but he didn’t survive even the first rose ceremony.

Prior to that, Texas dentist Andy Chang, who is Chinese American, was eliminated in the first week in the second season in 2004. ■

Michelle Kwan and husband are getting a divorce Olympic medalist figure skater Michelle Kwan and Rhode Island attorney and political activist Clay Pell are getting divorced.

Pell said in a March 29 statement that it’s with “deep regret” the couple’s four-year marriage is coming to an end.

Kwan is a five-time world figure skating champion and Michelle Kwan in the Northwest nine-time U.S. figure skating Asian Weekly office in 2016. champion. She won Olympic medals in 1998 and 2002.

The couple married in Providence in 2013.

Pell says it’s “a sad and difficult turn of events.” He says he loves Kwan and wishes her the best as her life takes her in a new direction.  Photo by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW

‘Mao’ painting sold for $12.6 million in Hong Kong

YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

asianweekly northwest

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Immigration agents Homeownership round up 84 in rates low for AAPIs Alaska, Washington, Oregon

By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Homeownership rates among Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are well below the U.S. average, according to a report from the Asian Real Estate Association of America and RE/MAX LLC. AAPI homeownership is almost 8 percent lower than the national average and 17 percent lower than the homeownership among non-Latino whites.

According to the “State of Asia America” report, the AAPI population has grown steadily in the past decade, jumping 15 percent in the last five years and 46 percent between 2000 and 2010. There are currently more than 21 million AAPI residents.

“Since 2000, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community has been the

By GENE JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS SEATTLE (AP) — Immigration agents rounded up 84 people — including 60 with criminal records — during a threeday operation in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, authorities announced on March 30.

The operation ended on March 27 and targeted criminals residing in the United States illegally, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Seattle field office said in a statement.

It was the region’s biggest immigration roundup in recent memory. Last summer, agents arrested 19 people in a similar sweep in northwestern Washington state.

Those arrested included 77 men and seven women from 12 countries, the vast majority of them from Mexico. Nineteen had drunken driving convictions, and 14 had been convicted of assault, sex offenses or domestic violence. Some will be prosecuted for illegally re-entering the country while the rest face deportation proceedings.

“This operation highlights our commitment to promoting public safety through the pursuit of targeted criminals residing in the U.S. illegally,” Bryan Wilcox, acting field office director ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Seattle, said in the release.

Among those arrested was Francisco J. Rodriguez Dominguez, a participant in a federal program designed to protect from deportation those who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Rodriguez Dominguez was brought to the U.S. from Morelia, in Mexico’s Michoacan state, at age 5.

Last December, he entered a diversion program following a drunken driving arrest and had attended all his court dates and required meetings, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, which publicized his arrest earlier.

The organization suggested Rodriguez’ arrest represented an erosion of protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program amid President Donald Trump’s call to boost deportations.

ICE said it targeted him because of the DUI. The Department of Homeland Security can terminate DACA status if it determines someone is a risk to public safety.

Rose Richeson, an ICE spokeswoman, said she did not have information on

whether anyone else arrested in the operation had participated in DACA. She referred an inquiry to Sharon Rummery, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, who also said she did not have the information.

Also among those arrested was a previously deported Mexican man who had been charged with child rape, and who was recently released from custody by a local jurisdiction despite a detainer request by the agency. ICE said he was arrested in the Seattle area, but the agency declined to release further information about him.

Many jurisdictions in the Northwest refuse to honor immigration detainer requests after a federal court in Oregon ruled in 2014 that it’s unconstitutional to hold people without a warrant after they would have otherwise been released.

An immigration detainer — essentially a request that a local jail hold someone in custody until ICE can pick them up and begin deportation proceedings — is not backed by a probable cause finding and doesn’t satisfy that legal requirement, the court said.

Since then, ICE has changed its policies, and it’s changing them again next month to require its immigration detainer requests to be accompanied by an “administrative arrest warrant,” backed by a statement of probable cause from an ICE agent which has not been reviewed by any court. Some jurisdictions say that’s still not good enough.

Sheriff Ty Trenary, of Snohomish County in Washington state, emphasized that point last week after acting ICE Director Thomas Homan said it “undermines ICE’s ability to protect the public safety” when jurisdictions don’t honor detainer requests.

“If ICE truly felt that these offenders were a danger to society, they would establish probable cause and seek an arrest warrant, just like any other law enforcement agency,” Trenary said in a written statement. “Since our policy to no longer honor detainer requests has been in place, ICE has produced zero warrants at our jail.”

Richeson said the agency does not need a judicial warrant because its actions are administrative, rather than criminal, proceedings.

Nineteen of the arrests were made in King County, which includes Seattle, and 13 were made in Washington County, Oregon. Four were made in Anchorage, Alaska. ■

fastest growing in the U.S. and Asia is now the largest source immigrants moving into the United States annually,” the report stated. “Many demographers are already predicting that well before the end of this century, AAPIs will be the largest minority group in the U.S.” Reports like this one, AREAA National President Angie Lee said, are crucial to moving the AAPI population toward homeownership.

“As the AAPI community continues to grow, it is important to have accurate and reliable data to help us better understand the unique set of challenges facing this group when it comes to homeownership,” Lee said. “We must find out why this gap exists, and work with our partners to close it.” 

Seattle mayor, council seek to create immigrant legal fund SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle’s mayor and two councilmembers plan to create a $1 million legal defense fund to help immigrants and refugees.

Mayor Ed Murray and councilmembers Lorena González and Tim Burgess said on March 31 that the fund would support Seattle residents and workers with limited financial resources who are facing civil proceedings in immigration court.

The fund would be structured like a grant. Community-based organizations

could apply for funds to hire lawyers and legal staff to help immigrants facing trial.

Unlike traditional courts, people in immigration proceedings don’t have the right to an attorney.

Thirty-five percent of people appearing at the Seattle immigration court don’t have lawyers and 92 percent at the Tacoma immigration court are unrepresented.

The Council will consider the $1 million allocation for the Legal Defense Fund on April 12. 

asianweekly northwest

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APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

35 YEARS

■ WORLD NEWS

China’s Xi to meet Trump, who predicts ‘difficult’ meeting

By LOUISE WATT ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING (AP) — President Donald Trump will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for the first time on April 6-7 at Trump’s Florida resort, China’s Foreign Ministry announced on March 30, amid a range of pressing issues including trade, North Korea and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Trump predicted “a very difficult’’ meeting in a tweet just hours after both governments announced the summit.

He wrote in part: “We can no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses. American companies must be prepared to look at other alternatives.’’

China’s immediate response to Trump’s tweet was diplomatic, with Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang telling reporters that “both sides look forward to a successful meeting so that

a correct direction can be set for the growth of bilateral relations.’’

“China will continue to work with the United States to think creatively and keeping pushing for greater balance in China-U.S. trade,’’ Zheng said.

The relationship between the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 economies has been uncertain following the election of Trump, who accused China during see RELATIONS on 14

Xi Jinping (left) and President Donald Trump (right)

Steady fall in suicides American Airlines offers glimmer of buys stake in China hope in Japan Southern Airlines

By KEN MORITSUGU and MARI YAMAGUCHI ASSOCIATED PRESS TOKYO (AP) — Fewer Japanese are taking their own lives, a positive sign in a country with one of the world’s highest suicide rates.

The Health Ministry said that 21,897 people committed suicide in 2016, down from more than 30,000 in 2011 and the lowest number since 1994. Of those, 15,121 were male and 6,776 were female.

It was the seventh straight year that the number of suicides had declined.

Experts say it’s difficult to pinpoint a reason for the decline, attributing it to a combination of factors. The government has made a determined effort to tackle the issue, starting with national legislation in 2006. Consumer loan laws have been revised to try to keep people from taking

By JOE McDONALD AP BUSINESS WRITER

on too much debt, while awareness campaigns have helped bring the issue into the public eye.

“Now we can talk about suicides,” said Yasuyuki Shimuzu, founder of Lifelink, a nonprofit that lobbies for suicideprevention measures. “I believe the change in environment has made it easier for the needy to seek help.” see SUICIDES on 13

TAITUNG

BEIJING (AP) — American Airlines has agreed to pay $200 million for a stake in China Southern Airlines, the biggest of China’s three major state-owned carriers, in a bid for a bigger share of the country’s growing travel market.

American and China Southern will expand commercial cooperation, possibly in sales, airport facilities and code-sharing, the Chinese airline said in an announcement on March 28 through the Hong Kong stock exchange. It said the deal represents 2.76 percent of China Southern’s shares and requires regulatory approval.

Foreign carriers are forging steadily closer ties with Chinese airlines to gain a bigger share of China’s air travel market, which is growing strongly while travel in Europe and North America is leveling off.

In exchange, Chinese carriers get access to experience and management skills.

China is forecast to pass North America over the next two decades as the biggest air travel market.

China’s economic growth is slowing but tourism spending is rising as communist leaders encourage growth of service businesses in an effort to reduce reliance on heavy industry.

Chinese spending on air travel rose 10.6 percent in 2015, compared with 1.7 percent in the United States, according to the International Air Travel Association.

Two years ago, Delta Airlines paid $450 million for 3.55 percent of China Eastern Airlines. The third major U.S. carrier, United Airlines, has a partnership with Air China, the third major Chinese government-owned airline. Hong Kongsee AMERICAN AIRLINES on 13

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Ted Lieu: Rising political star

By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) has emerged as a fierce leader in the Democratic Party during the first eight weeks of President Donald Trump’s term. In a blistering statement released on March 23, Lieu said we may have an “illegitimate president” and called for “a total and complete shutdown of any agenda item being pushed by the Trump Administration.”

Lieu has made a virtual art form out of trolling the Tweeter in Chief. After Trump bragged about letting Obamacare “explode,” Lieu took to Trump’s favorite medium to blast what he called a treasonous act, “‘President’ Donald Trump: You are truly an evil man. Your job is to help Americans.

Not intentionally try to destroy their lives.”

Since the beginning of the year, followers of Lieu’s personal Twitter account (@tedlieu) have exploded, going from fewer than 10,000 to more than 139,000. The official @reptedlieu account is managed by his staff and is more restrained.

Ted Lieu Lieu’s @tedlieu acount often tweets in the style and language of Trump, with capital letters, exclamation points, and parentheses. “More evidence #Trumpcare is a disaster,” said one Lieu tweet. “American Medical Association calls it critically flawed. Sad (or sick) bill!”

The second-term congressman from Torrance, Calif.

has been particularly hard on Trump ever since it was confirmed that the FBI is investigating potential collusion between members of Trump’s campaign staff and the Russian government. That led to Lieu’s “illegitimate president” tweet. Part of Lieu’s personal Twitter profile reads, “I don’t take orders from Vladimir Putin.”

Lieu’s family moved from Taiwan to the United States when he was 3. Lieu studied computer science at Stanford and he got his law degree from Georgetown Law School.

He’s a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and a former military prosecutor.

Lieu’s wife of 15 years, Betty, told the Washington Post, “One of the reasons I married him was his sense of humor.”

The couple has two sons, ages 11 and 13. “[Ted] was raised see LIEU on 13

Visa issues keep Muslim immigrant to join California lieutenant thousands of Chinese tourists from Hawaii governor race

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES (AP) —A Pakistaniborn doctor announced on March 29 that he is joining the 2018 race for lieutenant governor on a platform of saving the Affordable Care Act, providing free community college education and fighting what he termed “Donald Trump’s hate.”

“I am a proud Muslim and I love America,” Dr. Asif Mahmood said at a news conference in front of the downtown federal building that houses a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office.

“President Trump continues to attack people like me: immigrants, people of color and Muslims,” Mahmood said. “I say President Trump has it all wrong. It’s time to get tough on hate. California must be the leader of the Trump resistance, and I will fight him every step of the way.”

The pulmonologist said he came to the United States because he wanted his family to live in a place “that celebrates diversity and tolerance.”

Born in a small, Dr. Asif Mahmood rural village, Mahmood moved to Kentucky in the 1990s to complete medical school. He came to Southern California in 2000 and lives near Los Angeles with his wife and three teenage children.

As a first-time candidate, Mahmood’s challenge is to build a statewide coalition, potentially anchored to civil rights. He starts as a virtual unknown and Muslims make up a tiny percentage of people living in California. see MAHMOOD on 13

Son of mariachi star accused of smuggling 4 Chinese in trunk

Jose Aguilar and Pepe Aguilar

Four Chinese citizens in the trunk of a car that was stopped at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on March 14.

(Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The son of Mexican mariachi superstar Pepe Aguilar has been arrested at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing on allegations of attempting to smuggle four Chinese nationals in to the United States.

Jose Aguilar’s attorney, Jeremy Warren,

said on March 31 that his client will tell his side in court. He said the Grammywinning musician has nothing to do with his son’s arrest.

Warren declined to comment further. see SMUGGLING on 13

HONOLULU (AP) — Rejected visa applications are keeping thousands of Chinese tourists from visiting Hawaii.

More than 2,000 of the 6,000 Nu Skin distributors in China and Hong Kong that were planning to attend a conference in Hawaii were not able to attend because of visa troubles, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The convention of the direct marketing company that sells personal care products next month is slated to be Hawaii’s largest incentive travel group from China.

Typically, 10 percent to 15 percent of visa applicants for large groups traveling to Hawaii get denied, but the Nu Skin rate was significantly higher.

Hawaii and other U.S. cities looking to increase Chinese tourism have been working with the U.S. Travel Association to advocate for visa improvements. Since a 2011 China U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit was held in Kailua-Kona, reductions in visa processing times and the

introduction of nonstop flights and longerterm visas helped spark growth.

Some travel officials say they are concerned about the Trump administration’s effect on travel. Reene Ho-Phang, managing director of Hawaii Tourism China, said the executive order limiting travel from specific regions of the Middle East and Africa may not be aimed at Asia, but it still creates unease for Chinese visitors who fear travel restrictions could worsen.

“Everyone is keenly awaiting a meeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and President Trump,’’ Ho-Phang said.

Ho-Phang said the issues with the Nu Skin conference has alerted other wouldbe tourists of the stress of getting a visa.

“We’ve observed that group demand has cascaded a bit. Word has spread in the industry, and it’s impacting other groups. see VISA on 12

asianweekly northwest

6

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR APRIL 6

JOIN ROB MCKENNA AND SUPPORTERS FOR A KICK-OFF LUNCHEON TO RE-ELECT CONRAD LEE TO BELLEVUE CITY COUNCIL Hilton Bellevue, 300 112th Ave. S.E., Bellevue $50 suggested donation 206-650-0570 conradlee.org PULITZER PRIZE WINNING JOURNALIST, FILMMAKER, AND ACTIVIST JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS SPEAKS University of Puget Sound, Kilworth Memorial Chapel, Tacoma 7:30–9 p.m.

Free admission Register at JoseVargasLecture. eventbrite.com TERRACOTTA WARRIORS OF THE FIRST EMPEROR OPENING CELEBRATION GALA Pacific Science Center, 200 Second Ave. N., Seattle 6–10 p.m.

206-443-2878 pacsci.org

7 GREATER SEATTLE CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LUNCHEON WITH MARK HOWLEY Shanghai Shanghai Restaurant, 989 112th Ave. N.E. Ste. 205, Bellevue 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

BITE OF ASIA & TASTE OF PASIFIKA 2017 UW, Husky Union Building 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

KIMI NO NA WA PREMIER (YOUR NAME) SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle 7–10 p.m.

8 JACL’S 95TH ANNUAL BANQUET & FUNDRAISER Bell Harbor International Conference Center 6 p.m. seattlejacl.org/banquet2017 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATAAN DAY OF VALOR Filipino Community Center, Seattle 206-387-8284 GHIBLI MEETUP: COSPLAY CONTEST, TRIVIA, RAFFLE, AND ORCHESTRA Kinokuniya, 525 S. Weller St., Seattle 2 p.m.

8&9 WICKED CHOPSTIX, VIETNAMESE STREET FOOD 6021 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle 10 a.m.–9 p.m.

SAKURA DAYS JAPAN FAIR VanDusen Botanical Garden, 5251 Oak St., Vancouver, Canada 11 a.m.–5 p.m. $6.50-$27 japanfairvancouver.com

35 YEARS

13 IMAGINE US 2017 BY 21 PROGRESS Filipino Community of Seattle, 5740 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle 6–9 p.m. imagineus17.bpt.me

14–16 OFFICIAL SAKURA-CON 2017 Sakura-Con, 800 Convention Place, Seattle 10 a.m.–4 p.m. sakuracon.org

7:10 p.m. $35/ticket $5 of every ticket sold goes to Nikkei organizations 206-346-4519

21–23 SEATTLE CENTER FESTÁL: SEATTLE CHERRY BLOSSOM & JAPANESE CULTURAL FESTIVAL Seattle Center, Armory, Fisher Pavilion and Seattle Center Pavilion Free admission cherryblossomfest.org

22

15 SUMO + SUSHI! WaMu Theater, 1000 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle 1–10 p.m. sumoandsushi.com

KAC-WA WILL BE WEEDING AND TIDYING UP FREMONT PEAK PARK IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY Fremont Peak Park, 4357 Palatine Ave. N., Seattle 10 a.m.–2 p.m. kaserviceday.org

UW KHMER STUDENT ASSOCIATION 21ST ANNUAL NEW YEAR SHOW Husky Union Building, 4001 E. Stevens Way N.E., Seattle 5–11 p.m.

22 & 23

15 & 16

10

INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FRIENDSHIP FESTIVAL Seattle Center, Fisher Pavilion 11 a.m.–6 p.m. childrenfest.tacawa.org

INTERMEDIATE BATIK WORKSHOP APCC, 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma 4–8 p.m. asiapacificculturalcenter.org

18 SALUTE TO JAPANESE BASEBALL NIGHT Safeco Field

SEATTLE CHINESE GARDEN PEONY & BAMBOO FESTIVAL Seattle Chinese Garden, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., Seattle 10 a.m.–4 p.m. $5 adult donation seattlechinesegarden.org

25 RAINIER VALLEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND ANNUAL MEETING Ethiopian Community Center, 8323 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle 5–7:30 p.m.

206-722-5280

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APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

YOUR VOICE

■ AT THE MOVIES

asianweekly northwest

7

“GHOST IN THE SHELL” is a shell of its former self

By John Liu NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Ghost in the Shell started out as a manga series written and illustrated around 1989 by Masamune Shirow. The story explores a 2029 Japanese-British cyber future in which humans gain access to high tech prosthetic limbs and some “humans” are almost completely cyborg except for their mind. As a result, individuals begin to question their humanity and individuality.

The 1995 anime film is a critically acclaimed masterpiece and served as an inspiration to Wachowskis’ 1999 sci-fi cult-favorite The Matrix. In January 2015, Scarlett Johansson was given the lead role of Major Motoko Kusanagi, and Asian American actors cited it as another example of Hollywood whitewashing.

Surprisingly, the director of the original 1995 version, Masamune Shirow, had no issues with the casting of Johansson as The Major. He said Major could be any ethnicity as it’s in line with

the Ghost in the Shell universe. I watched the 1995 version two days before seeing the 2017 version, but my expectations were already low for the new film.

As the film starts, we are treated to a neo cyber-punk landscape with its moving 3D billboards and vivid colors. I couldn’t help but become

sucked into this world. I want to walk the streets and of course eat the food! It really captured the feel of the 1995 version, but with an updated look of a 2017 live action film. This was by far the best part of the movie. Another scene that really stood out was when Major infiltrates a room full of geisha bots. I learned

on reddit that Rila Fukushima, who played Yukio from the 2013 Wolverine, played a minor role as a red geisha in the movie. You never got to see her actual face in the movie. I kept thinking the whole time Fukushima could have played The Major.

The Public Security Section

9 squad in charge of protecting the public had three major movie roles. Scarlett Johansson looks very comfortable as The Major.

Johansson has had many years of practice with her recent lead role in Lucy and Marvel Universe’s Black Widow. Pilou Asbæk plays Batou, who serves as Major’s partner and friend. I felt the two had good chemistry throughout the film. The 2017 version actually explains how Batou got eye implants, while the 1995 version leaves the audience to wonder. Then there’s Section 9 boss Aramaki, played by Takeshi “Beat” Kitano, who is the only character who speaks Japanese throughout the entire movie while everyone replies to him in English. It wasn’t very immersive to me, but Kitano did have some great scenes. The rest of the Section 9 squad wasn’t very memorable.

Regarding the Scarlett Johansson whitewash controversy, I felt the script was written in such a way to cast someone exactly like Johansson see MOVIES on 12

■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Asians were the most frequent moviegoers in 2016 Asian Americans were the biggest moviegoers in 2016 compared to any other ethnic group in the country in terms of per capita ticket buying, according to a new report by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

The MPAA defines frequent moviegoers as people who go to the theater at least once a month.

It found Asian Americans went to the movies 6.1 times on average, followed by Latinos who went 4.6 times. Meanwhile, Black moviegoers accounted for an average of 4.6 times. As for whites, they frequented movie theaters 3.2 times.

“It’s a promising trend, and I hope that it continues,” said April Reign, a writer and editor from D.C. who started the hashtag campaign #OscarsSoWhite in 2015 when the academy did not nominate a single actor of color for its top honors for 2014.

This year’s Oscars were notably more diverse — not only did the coming-of-age drama “Moonlight” win, but its star Mahershala Ali nabbed best supporting actor and Viola Davis picked up a supporting actress statue for her work in “Fences.” Indian actor Dev Patel was nominated, but did not win.

“I definitely think it has something to do with the fact that there are more characters of color and those from marginalized communities on the big screen, the small screen, and on the stage.” Reign continued, “People are interested in seeing stories that center on people that look like them, or just stories that are different from what we’ve normally seen.”

Variety noted that while Asian characters were portrayed in blockbusters, such as “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “The Magnificent Seven,” the film industry has a habit of see MOVIEGOERS on 15

Photo by Charles Liu

By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Hang-Ping and John's Movie Group watched Beauty and the Beast in IMAX 3D at Northgate's Regal Thornton Place Stadium 14.

asianweekly northwest

8

■ PICTORIAL

35 YEARS

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

Wing Luke Asian Museum’s annual auction PHOTOS BY GEORGE LIU/NWAW

Attorney General Bob Ferguson, wife Colleen, and Wing Luke’s board co-president Ellen Ferguson

Members of the YouthCAN Program on stage Former Sonics champion Fred Brown, Will Odell, and Nina Odell

Author Jamie Ford

Volunteer June Kim and artist Romson Regarde Bustillo

King County Superior Court Judge Marcine Anderson, Joan Yoshitomi, and Rep. Sharon T. Santos

Artist Ken Taya with his artwork in the background

King County Superior Court Judge John Chun (second from left with wife and guests)

T

he Wing Luke Museum raised a record-breaking $520,000 at its annual auction and dinner on April 1 at The Westin Seattle.

More than 500 people, including Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, attended the event titled, “Bold, Loud, and Brave.”

Wing Luke’s Executive Director Beth Takekawa and sister Jean

2017 Annual Meeting Tuesday, April 25 5:30 to 7:30 pm Ethiopian Community Center 8323 Rainier Avenue South Catering provided by Rainier Valley restaurants Register online at www.rvcdf.org

SERVING SOUTHEAST SEATTLE Small Business Loans Commercial Real Estate Loans Wayne Lau, Executive Director wlau@rvcdf.org  206.722.5280

Kizamu Tsutakawa, Judy Tsutakawa, and artist Gerard Tsutakawa

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

YOUR VOICE

■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

asianweekly northwest

9

NELSON YONG Chinese American bachelor featured on NBC’s

By Tiffany Ran NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY First dates are a thrilling, nerve wracking, and sometimes awkward experience that is magnified further when captured on camera. This hasn’t stopped contestants like Kirkland resident Nelson Yong from participating on NBC’s new show, “First Dates,” executive produced

by Ellen DeGeneres and narrated by Drew Barrymore to take audiences through the harrowing experiences.

Contestants like Yong are chosen, matched, and flown out to take part in blind dates captured by hidden cameras set up at Chicago restaurants. The audience gets a voyeuristic view of the unscripted date that ensues. The show has been popular internationally in the United Kingdom,

Spain, Australia, and Ireland before its national debut.

Yong, a digital brand strategist at Brookley Huntington with 34,000 Instagram followers, has never shied away from making a first impression. On Instagram, he is photographed modeling crisp suits and sleek ties, attending galas, and advising for stores like Neiman Marcus, but he recalls earlier days as a once nerdy, shy, and overweight Asian guy. He aims in his career to help people be comfortable in their own skin, and hopes his participation will contribute to an Asian American perspective of a universal experience.

“I certainly want Asian American men, especially, to be better known as confident, fun, and able to lead conversations when it comes to dating,” Yong said.

His advice for other first daters?

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“Be yourself, but practice helps. Talk less, listen more. Be prepared to ask good questions. As a guy, take the lead by being a chivalrous and generous host: lead conversation, make her feel comfortable, and pay for dinner,” he said.

Yong didn’t necessarily advise dating on-camera, but he believes that there are benefits to a light-hearted fly on the wall view of other people’s first dates, including the good, the bad, and the awkward.

“I think it’ll be fun to examine how you would do on a blind date, especially if you’ve never been on one, and how easy or uneasy it is to generate chemistry with that

other person,” said Yong.

Luckily, most of us will have the luxury to establish chemistry off-camera. Yong hopes viewers will approach the show with good humor and some self-reflection. His and other contestants’ first dates will air on NBC starting April 7 and every Friday at 8 p.m. ■ For more information on NBC’s “First Dates,” visit nbc.com/first-dates.

Tiffany Ran can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

asianweekly northwest

10

35 YEARS

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG

OPINION

#WhatAssuntaAte Photos by Assunta Ng/NWAW

Searching for good eats during travel

Breakfast at Palm Springs’ cafe

Long Beach’s Wokcano dinner with Peking duck wraps, salmon fried rice and kale stir-fried with garlic

Chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream and grapes for dessert

By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Do you live to eat or eat to live?

My aunt often grumbles when she eats a bad meal at a restaurant. My husband laughs at me and says I am getting more and more like my aunt. I don’t get annoyed with tasteless food. But I recognize incompetent chefs with ill-prepared ingredients and lousy cooking techniques or once-competent chefs who have lost their passion to cook. And I am not happy with restaurant management with no desire to improve or impress their customers.

Fortunately, I have found good restaurants whenever I travel, and many turn out to be an adventure. My recent trip to California was a showcase of fine dining.

And I reject the millennial tendency to Google restaurants and read Yelp reviews.

No, we don’t make reservations because planning exactly where and when we eat is impossible during travel. Our trick is, we arrive at a restaurant around 6 p.m. We tell the hostess we eat fast, and we always get seated. As alcohol is not a part of our ritual, our table will allow the restaurant to serve two more rounds that night. By sheer luck and instinct, we often pick some of the most wonderful restaurants in town. As soon as we’re finished, the restaurant is packed with people waiting outside.

How do we select restaurants? There’s no magic formula. Usually, we walk to the heart of town, and observe what people are eating. We glance at the restaurants’ menu to see if the items would delight us.

Palm Springs

In Palm Springs, we stood at the vibrant Palm Canyon Drive with restaurants looming on both sides of the street. Among a sea of pizza and Mexican restaurants, a sign caught my eyes — “Pomme Frite, French and Belgian cuisine.” So we crossed the street and studied the menu on the window. Escargot… sounds delicious.

We had a salad and frog legs as starters.

Then steamed clams in garlic butter sauce, and veal shank were ordered to share. What a treat! The frog legs did not taste fresh, but since I haven’t had them for a while, it was interesting to see the difference between French and Chinese cooking on the “little suckers.” We loved the fresh bread with its garlic butter. I would love to have the butter recipe. And the prices were reasonable, $50 for two.

The night before, we had a Japanese dinner at Kiyosaku, across from our motel.

We had the best sana nabu, a delicious broth with fresh ingredients, including three kinds of baby mushrooms and seafood.

Palm Springs’ reputation is a retreat for rich people. What I don’t understand is,

Six kinds of fruits and a bottle of carrot joice

restaurants is Cagney, a steakhouse. Its all-Asian chef staff also included females, which pleased me.

Ordinary people can grill a piece of beef in certain predictable ways. My husband

Chef Marlo Jose cooks on Norwegian’s cruise

why the food is so much cheaper compared to Seattle? We shopped at Vons grocery store, bought six kinds of fruits (bananas, watermelon, an orange, apple, papaya, and grapes) and a big bottle of fresh carrot juice. The total bill was $18.08. In Seattle, it would have cost as much as $25.

And a breakfast we had at a little café was big enough for two people, at $6.95 with two eggs, multi-grain toast, turkey bacon, and potatoes. The latte cost $2 as opposed to Seattle’s $4.

On the cruise

Many friends said they were enthusiastic about cruise meals the first few days as passengers, as they can eat as much as they want and anytime they want. But after a few days, they were so sick of the food that they lose their appetite towards the end of the trip.

The secret is not to overeat.

We boarded a Norwegian cruise to Mexico from California, and I enjoyed all my daily meals. Make sure you eat fruits at every meal, and avoid greasy food. They can make your stomach feel bloated and overstuffed.

At the cruise, there are loads and loads of bacon and French fries every day. I love bacon and sausages, but I shunned them on the ship. The only time I ate a sausage was when they served turkey sausage. It takes a lot of self-control to see something you like and not put them on your plate. However, it can be done if you remind yourself of the consequences.

The best and worst at Norwegian

One of the Norwegian Jewel’s best

Italian dinner in Santa Monica

ordered a porterhouse steak. Still, it’s quite a feat to grill the steak into a piece of tender, juicy, and delicious meat at Cagney.

The grilled sea bass I ordered surprised me. American chefs often make fish entrees very dry and hard to swallow. The chef who cooked my sea bass is Indonesian, and the steak chef is Indian. Many Filipino chefs were also there.

I expected the sea bass to be awful. But Cagney’s sea bass defied my expectations.

The chef used a special herb, saffron, cooked with lobster broth, radish, champagne foam, and spring onion. No wonder it tasted so fantastic. (Next time, I will buy some champagne to cook fish.)

The soups have great flavors, too. My see BLOG on 12

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

YOUR VOICE

■ LETTER TO THE EDITOR

asianweekly northwest

11

OPINION

Federal funding for Alzheimer’s disease

Photo from the Alzheimer’s Association

Dear Editor,

Mikaela Louie (left) and her mother at Washington State Advocacy Day 2014.

At a cost of $236 billion a year, Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease in the nation.

Nearly one in every five Medicare dollars is spent on people with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. And total costs will only continue to increase as baby boomers age, soaring to more than $1 trillion by 2050.

Alzheimer’s disease is the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured, or even slowed down. Today, more than 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, the number of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease may reach as high as 16 million.

When my mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 57 nearly six years ago, research funding for Alzheimer’s disease was disproportionately low compared to the other top causes of death. In the past few years, we have made tremendous strides, inching closer to the funding level that scientists say they need to find a breakthrough. Why turn back now?

Families and caregivers are counting on it.

Concerned readers should contact our new Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapal, today at 202-225-3106. Ask her to vote for an additional $400 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding to continue the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Action is needed as temporary

MINNESOTA from 1 honor these women and their experiences by preventing violence in Minnesota’s Asian community.”

The report recommends an awareness campaign for the Asian community focused on healthy family relationships and women’s rights. To reach women experiencing violence, the report calls for more funding for ethnic-specific services that strengthen the family and serve more women and families dealing with issues related to shelters and housing, legal issues, immigration, child custody, and marital problems.

“This report affirms that Asian victims of gender-based violence face unique cultural barriers to reaching out for support and ending the violence,” said Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. “It is evident that we need to improve awareness and support within Asian communities, but also address these culturally-specific stigmas and other challenges that

prevent women from getting help, including the ongoing practice of abusive international marriages.”

Studies have shown that talking about domestic violence is particularly taboo in the Asian community. This dynamic and others — such as limited English proficiency — made the Minnesota Asian Women’s Health Survey challenging. After sending out more than 4,000 surveys, researchers received a fairly small

number of responses from relatively well-educated Asian women. Because of this, the study may underestimate how common violence is in the Asian community.

Based on the survey results from 425 Asian women, researchers found: • 24 percent reported some form of stalking in their lifetime and 12 percent experienced it in the past year.

• 15 percent experienced intimate

funding runs out on April 28.

Jayapal needs to see constituents alarmed that Alzheimer’s disease is a growing crisis for our families and the economy. She should help lead the federal government in addressing the challenges the disease poses and take bold action to confront this crisis now.

Congress must not wait to help those living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. ■ — Mikaela Louie Board Member, Alzheimer’s Association – Washington State Chapter UW Law Student

partner violence in their lifetime and 8 percent experienced it in the past year.

• 12 percent experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse by someone other than a partner within their lifetime and 5 percent experienced it in the past year.

Researchers found Asian women rarely reported violence to the police or medical or social service professionals. They even faced barriers to reporting violence to family and friends. Of the women in the study experiencing violence, only about 12 percent said they reported an incident to the police and generally only did so when they thought their lives were in danger.

The greatest barriers to discussing and reporting violence included women’s concerns about confidentiality and negative consequences for themselves and their families. These negative consequences could include personal blame, stigma, shame, divorce, family instability, and injury to

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their children. Asian women also faced some culturally specific barriers to reporting and stopping violence. These included cultural pressures related to the financial and social power of men and inlaws and cultural norms about women’s roles, such as expectations that women should endure violence to maintain the family and protect the family reputation.

Some Asian women who were new immigrants were more vulnerable to violence, as they were unfamiliar with their rights and the U.S. legal system. Legal concerns included fears related to loss of custody of children and deportation. The study also found that abusive international marriages — those involving deception or money — put Asian women at risk for violence. About 5 percent of the women in the survey reported their husbands had a second wife. ■ The report is available online at health.state.mn.us/divs/che/ violence/index.html.

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asianweekly northwest

12

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

ETHNIC MEDIA from 1 immigration status.

“I’ve started to call us starting today ‘constitutional cities’ because we are obeying the Constitution that tells us that the federal government cannot tell us how to use our police, and the federal government cannot punish us through the budget process,” he said.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s analyzed grants from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department Justice, ones viewed to be the most likely discretionary grant programs not exempt from Trump’s order. According to its March 30 study of 10 sanctuary cities, including Seattle, these discretionary grants are less than 1 percent of their total revenue from government funds.

City councilmembers Lorena Gonzalez and Debora Juarez said in a joint statement issued two days before the roundtable event that the city’s immigrants paid $1.7 billion in state and local taxes in 2014, and about one-fifth of its population is foreign-born.

“Trump stands on the wrong side of history, and we know that morality, justice, and the rule of law will win the day,” they said.

TAKEI from 1 link to an article on The Daily Buzz that explained that he and his husband Brad are moving to a small California town, where he will launch his career. “I think Nunes is vulnerable and I plan to prove that. People are tired of his a— kissing of Trump.” Takei told the website.

But between the eight hours when Takei posted the tweet and when he clarified that he was joking, people started to get extremely excited by the idea that he was running. Actor Mark Ruffalo tweeted, “I hope you can count me as one of your early endorsers!! This is great news!”

Once Takei revealed it was a joke, one Twitter user summed up the sentiments of most fans, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed that an April Fool’s joke wasn’t true.”

All joking aside, Takei has run for elected office before.

MOVIES from 7 and snuff Asian American actresses. In fact, I felt the same way when watching The Great Wall starring Matt Damon. I watched the 2017 version knowing nothing about how the plot was changed from the Japanese version. As soon as the new plot was revealed about Major trying to recall her past life, I knew this movie was going to be a yawn-fest. The philosophy of the

After Trump issued his executive order on Jan. 25, the city asked the Trump administration to explain what Seattle is and is not legally required to do.

“They gave us an incomplete response to Freedom of Information Act requests, and that’s why we’re now going to court,” Murray said. “We’re not going to wait any longer.”

Families living in Seattle are at risk of being split up if some members are undocumented.

“Believe me, I’m a Democrat, and I believe in a strong federal government, but I never thought in my entire life I would find myself suing the federal government,” Murray said.

On improving the local economy and housing affordability, he said, “We simply have to create better jobs as a nation, and we have to create more housing.”

“Homelessness is growing exponentially,” he said and mentioned city services aimed at such related problems as addiction and mental health care.

Murray added, “We have one of the largest homeless service programs in the nation. I think we’re number three, and what we’ve done is we are changing how we offer these services so that we give the money to organizations who can prove that they can get results.”

One proposed enhanced homeless shelter known as

He unsuccessfully ran for Los Angeles City Council in 1973. He is an outspoken Democrat and a vocal critic of President Trump.

Takei has also regularly spoken out about the Russia investigation that Nunes is overseeing.

Takei encouraged fans to support Jon Ossoff, who is running for Congress in a special election in Georgia later this month. Georgia’s 6th Congressional District saw a remarkable shift on election night. Four years ago, voters in this conservative but welleducated area supported Mitt Romney by a wide 61-37 margin.

In 2016, however, hostility toward Trump gave the president just a 48-47 win — a stunning 23-point collapse. That dramatic change in attitudes means this seat might just be in play. ■ Staff can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

original Ghost in the Shell takes a back seat during the entire duration of the movie. Ghost in the Shell 2017 is like a strawberry honey toast box that tastes like crap.

My recommendation is to skip this movie, and watch the original.

Ghost in the Shell ended up bombing at the box office, opening with a measly $18.9 million.  John can be reached at john@nwasianweekly.com.

35 YEARS the Navigation Center — set to open in the Pearl Warren Building in Little Saigon — is on pause. Seattle’s version is modeled after the San Francisco Navigation Center, which opened in 2015.

Over the past several weeks, meetings — the last one on March 10 — have been held for public comment.

The City of Seattle is working with Little Saigon community members on a plan that addresses several key issues raised by residents and business owners in the Chinatown/International District and the Little Saigon Business District.

The Navigation Center’s enhanced homeless shelter model is a 24-hour, dormitory-style shelter and service center for homeless people as they transition to permanent housing. ■ The next public meeting on the Navigation Center will be held on Monday, April 24 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the International District Community Center, 719 8th Ave. S., in Seattle.

James Tabafunda can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

BLOG from 10

prawns as the entrees.

split pea soup was mixed with smoked pork rib meat. It added texture to the soup and I just loved every drop of it. I cleaned up the soup plate without sharing much with my husband.

Hard to believe, the worst restaurant on the ship was the Asian restaurant, Chin Chin. Of all the creative names in the world, why Chin Chin?

Norwegian has received many bad reviews about this place.

As a journalist, I always give restaurants a second chance. It was one of the worst Chinese lunches I had ever tasted in America. However, the bad Chinese lunch was compensated with a nice Japanese teppanyaki the following night.

Chin Chin’s kitchen has no soul. You don’t just follow a recipe in Chinese cooking by dumping all the ingredients together. It takes skill and art. What we ordered was simple — lo mien (mix the sauce with the noodles), spicy udon, Singapore noodles, and steamed dumplings. Everything was not as it should be, I give an E grade for all the dishes.

I gave Chin Chin another chance by going there for its teppanyaki dinner. I couldn’t believe it was part of Chin Chin, too. Chef Marlo Jose of the Philippines not only cooked super food in front of the crowd, he performed a show with all kinds of tricks. He flipped a piece of egg into my husband’s mouth and stacked up onions to make it look like an active volcano (after he poured oil on top of the heated onions) flowing out with lava (soy sauce). The ingredients were fresh and the food was fantastic.

We had fried rice, stir-fried veggie udon, steak, and

Chinese dinner

VISA from 5

taxes. Instead, Nu Skin sent about 2,000 incentive winners to Bali, Indonesia, reducing the group’s benefit to Hawaii.

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism has forecast that 2017 arrivals from China will increase 2 percent to 173,479, while spending is expected to rise slightly more than 6 percent to $434 million-plus. 

Some are postponing group bookings by a year,’’ Ho-Phang said.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority has estimated that if all of the Nu Skin members had come to Hawaii, it would have added $15.9 million in corporate spending into the state and generated $1.9 million in

How we ended up with a Chinese dinner at Wokcano in Long Beach, Calif., is a funny story.

We were on the streets close to the waterfront. “I want Chinese tonight,” I Kiyosaku’s sana nabu told my husband.

He asked a bartender walking out of a lounge, “Where is a Chinese restaurant nearby?”

He told us where. But we couldn’t find it until the second person gave us specific directions.

Wokcano, a fusion of Chinese and Japanese, is a yummy place and I would recommend it.

We tried lots of food on our 12-day vacation. But one thing I refused to have, especially at dinner, is pizza. I have nothing against the big flat dough. But I didn’t travel all the way to California and Mexico for pizza. Experimentation in all kinds of foods, including Italian cuisine, during this trip was my pursuit. I would argue that pizza is not so much Italian as it is fast food. Yes, I have succeeded to make every meal count.  Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

KING COUNTY NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received for C01060C17, South Plant Reclaimed Water Facility Modifications Project; by the King County Procurement and Payables Section, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, until 1:30 PM on April 25, 2017. Late bids will not be accepted.

Scope of Work: Demolish, recycle and dispose of an existing Reclaimed Water Facility; salvage and reuse items identified.

The Reclaimed Water Facility includes prefabricated FRP structure, concrete floor slab, electrical and mechanical equipment, piping

and conduits, and other identified items.

Estimated contract price: $920,000.

MANDATORY Pre-Bid / Site Tour: April 11, 2017, @1:00PM, OR April 13, 2017 @10:00AM South Treatment Plant, Black River Conference Room, 1200 Monster Road SW, Renton, Washington 98057. A site tour will be conducted immediately following the conference. Hardhats and safety boots are recommended for site tour. FAILURE TO ATTEND ONE OF THE MANDATORY MEETINGS AND SITE TOURS WILL RESULT IN A NON-RESPONSIVE

BID DETERMINATION. A sign in sheet will provide evidence of attendance. It is your responsibility to ensure your sign in and out.

There is a 13% minimum requirement for King County Certified Small Contractors and Suppliers (SCS) on this contract.

Complete Invitation to Bid Documents, including all project details, specifications, and contact information are available on our web page at: https://procurement.kingcounty.gov/ procurement_ovr/default.aspx

YOUR VOICE

■ ASTROLOGY

APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

asianweekly northwest

13

Predictions and advice for the week of April 8–April 14, 2017

By Sun Lee Chang

Rat — Are you stalling rather than dealing with the issue at hand? Put aside the distractions and zoom in on the top of your priority list.

Dragon — There is an element that feels a little off center. As you move to fix it, you might notice other items that need to be addressed.

Monkey — As much as you have your preferences, you will have to do a little give and take to come up with a solution that works for everyone.

Ox — What seemed so far away at first is not quite as distant as you had initially thought. Once you head toward it, progress will happen quickly.

Snake — A person that you have once held at arm’s length has proven to be much more genuine than you expected, which should work in your favor.

Rooster — The pressure is on to do better than you did the last time around. Leave those thoughts behind and just try to do your best.

Tiger — You can show support in many ways. The most ideal would be one that is both meaningful and useful to the recipient.

Rabbit — Something that was long obscured has become suddenly clear. It should shed light on other things as well.

Horse — If you know from the beginning it is not for you, then no amount of convincing is likely to make a dent. Cut your losses sooner rather than later.

Goat — Are you put off by someone who is not acting the way you anticipated? Shift the focus back on what you can do rather than the other person.

Dog — A minor change could make all the difference, but you do have to be willing to tinker with the final product.

Pig — If you are looking to make a big impression, then you will need to do something either really well or out of the ordinary.

What’s your animal sign?

Rat 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 Ox 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 Tiger 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 Rabbit 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 Dragon 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 Snake 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 Horse 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 Goat 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 Monkey 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 Rooster 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 Dog 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 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.

SUICIDES from 4 Before the good news, however, came bad news.

The number of suicides in Japan jumped sharply in 1998 to more than 30,000 and remained at that very elevated level for more than a decade. It was a year when Japan’s economy fell into recession, and bankruptcies and unemployment soared. The suicide rate rose to about 26 per 100,000 people.

The only silver lining was that suicides didn’t jump again after a deep recession in 2008-09. Then in 2010, the decline started and has been steady since then, bringing the

number back to pre-1998 levels.

A closer look at the data shows that the main factors driving both the rise to more than 30,000 and the drop back to close to 20,000 were health issues and financial problems. The decline has been sharpest for people aged 50-59.

Experts say the steps taken since 2006 have been effective in addressing the socio-economic problems common among middle-aged men. Prevention efforts are shifting their focus to the elderly and young, whose suicide rates have not come down as much.

Even with the decline, Japan’s suicide rate of 17.3 per

AMERICAN AIRLINES from 4

LIEU from 5

based Cathay Pacific Airlines owns 18 percent of Air China.

Regulators in both China and the United States are reluctant to allow large foreign ownership stakes or management control of their airlines.

China Southern, headquartered in Guangzhou, near Hong Kong, is China’s biggest carrier by passenger volume but is known for sometimes haphazard service, with flights delayed or canceled with little notice.

China Southern says it operates more than 2,000 flights a day to 224 destinations in 40 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, North America and Africa. It says it carried 115 million passengers in 2016.

The partnership with American Airlines “is expected to provide continuous impetus for the company’s long-term growth,’’ said China Southern’s announcement.

American, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, says it operates 6,700 flights a day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. 

to be an obedient, dutiful Chinese immigrant son. He does what he’s supposed to do. He is very clean-cut with the perfect record, the perfect résumé. When he’s angry, he’s usually controlled.”

News releases from Lieu’s congressional office sometimes place an asterisk next to Trump’s name, questioning his legitimacy, noting his loss of the popular vote and “Vladimir Putin ordering a multifaceted and

MAHMOOD from 5 To be competitive and grow beyond a niche candidacy, he must craft a message that resonates with the large, diverse pool of voters in a state that is home to 1 of every 8 Americans.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the incumbent, is barred by term limits from seeking a third term and is running for governor.

Mahmood, a Democrat, said he did not think his religion would be an obstacle in a state known for diversity.

Mahmood said his experience running a medical practice and volunteering at free clinics that treat poor populations gave him the credentials to campaign for health care reform.

He supports protecting Obamacare and expanding Medicare to cover everyone.

SMUGGLING from 5 TMZ first reported the March 14 arrest at the Tijuana-San Ysidro port of entry in San Diego.

According to court documents, inspectors found four Chinese nationals in the trunk of his car.

Jose Aguilar has been released on bond.

The complaint says two of the immigrants were headed to Los Angeles and two were going to New York. ■

100,000 people in 2016 remains high compared to most other countries. The U.S. suicide rate is around 13 per 100,000, and the United Kingdom is under 10.

Shimizu said Japan should aim to get the number of suicides down to 14,000-15,000 per year.

The still-high suicide rate means Japan is a difficult place to live, a society that is not kind to troubled people, said Dr. Yutaka Motohashi, head of the government-funded Japan Support Center for Suicide Countermeasures.

“Suicide prevention is not a job for experts and special people supporting the cause, but it’s for everyone,” he said.

“We can be a little kinder and try to reach out to others.” ■

brazen Russian influence and cyber hacking campaign with the goals of undermining faith in the U.S. democratic process.”

“Michelle Obama had that beautiful line, ‘When they go low, we go high,’” Lieu told the Los Angeles Times.

“I thought about it a lot. But I also thought, ‘We lost the election.’ My view now is that when they go low, we fight back.” 

California’s lieutenant governor post is largely ceremonial, but the lieutenant governor leads the state when the governor travels outside it and can break tie votes in the state Senate.

The lieutenant governor also has a seat on the board of regents of the 10-campus University of California.

Mahmood said he would use it to influence higher education reform.

Mahmood said he wants to provide a free community college education and doesn’t support fee hikes, such as the recent California State University tuition increase.

“I believe that education is the main asset that any nation can have, any society can have,” he said.

State Sen. Ed Hernandez, also a Democrat, is the only other declared candidate for lieutenant governor.

The field is sure to grow ahead of the November 2018 vote. 

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APRIL 8 – APRIL 14, 2017

RELATIONS from 4 his campaign of unfair trade practices and threatened to raise import taxes on Chinese goods and declare Beijing a currency manipulator.

It is unclear whether Trump will follow through with either threat. He is now seeking Beijing’s help in pressuring North Korea over its nuclear weapons and missiles programs. China is North Korea’s most important source of diplomatic support and economic assistance.

In February, Trump reaffirmed Washington’s long-standing “one China’’ policy in a call with Xi, in an apparent move to ease concerns in China that he might use Taiwan as leverage in negotiations over trade, security and other sensitive issues. The policy in place since 1979 requires Washington to maintain only unofficial ties with Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

A statement from the White House said the two leaders will discuss global, regional and bilateral issues of mutual concern.

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at a dinner on April 6, it added.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters that Xi would meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, without providing any more details.

It is the same Florida resort where Trump hosted and played golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in February.

Xi, a fan of soccer and other sports, is not known to play golf.

35 YEARS

Before arriving in the U.S., Xi was scheduled to pay a state visit to Finland on April 4-6, Lu said.

Relations between China and the U.S. under former President Barack Obama were strained by issues including China’s island-building in waters surrounding international shipping lanes in the South China Sea, allegations of cyberhacking and a U.S. policy rebalance to Asia.

Despite that, cooperation between their militaries expanded tentatively, and China’s defense ministry hailed further growth, while warning of potential frictions ahead.

“We are willing to make joint efforts with the U.S. side ... so as to maintain a stable military-to-military relationship while striving to make new gains,’’ spokesman Col. Wu Qian said.

However, Wu also reiterated China’s opposition to the deployment of a sophisticated missile defense system in South Korea, known as THAAD, which Beijing says threatens its own security with its ability to monitor flights and missile launches deep inside northeastern China.

“The deployment of the THAAD system will definitely not make (South Korea) any safer. And secondly, the Chinese military’s opposition to the THAAD system will definitely not be confined to just words,’’ Wu said.

Asked what specific measures the People’s Liberation Army was willing to take, Wu replied, “You will know when the time comes.’’

One bright spot touted by both sides under Obama was the two nations’ cooperation, as the world’s top emitters of greenhouse

gases, on tackling climate change. Lu said last week that China would stick to its climate commitments after Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, this week rescinded measures enacted by Obama to reduce coal and oil use. 

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“Wow, 35 years! I look forward to reading the Northwest Asian Weekly from the cover to the back page. My favorite sections are the articles and your blogs!

Congratulations on keeping the community informed for 35 YEARS!” — Patsy Yamada “What started out as the Seattle Chinese Post became the NW Asian Weekly when Assunta Ng realized that many folks from various Asian communities were reading the paper. A good thing because the paper is still here after 35 years, being an important news source for so many! Congratulations!”

— Lori Matsukawa, KING 5 anchor Send in your thoughts to editor@nwasianweekly.com.

The only weekly English-edition newspaper serving the Asian community in the state of Washington for 35 years.

Join us for our 35th Anniversary Celebration dinner on Oct. 21 at China Harbor restaurant. For tickets, please email rsvp@nwasianweekly.com or call 206-223-0623. To sponsor the event, contact Assunta Ng at assunta@nwasianweekly.com. For more info, visit nwasianweekly. com/35years.

MOVIEGOERS from 7 “whitewashing,” which has sparked outrage.

“Ghost in the Shell” and “Doctor Strange,” for instance, both cast white actors to play characters that had originally been Asian.

In an unrelated study by the University of Southern California, it was revealed that out of the top-grossing films in 2015, white actors played 73.7 percent of speaking or named characters. The researchers discovered that only 12.2 percent of speaking or named characters were Black, 5.3 percent were Latino, and 3.9 percent were Asian.

MPAA Chairman and CEO Chris Dodd said in a conference call following the release of the report, “The numbers (for Asian and Black audiences) went up, again — this year, it could’ve been due to ‘Hidden Figures,’ ‘Fences,’ and ‘Moonlight.’ I don’t know if that would explain the Asian numbers, but having products out there that audiences can relate to… there is certainly an effort among studios to achieve more inclusion and participation in minorities and gender. We are trying to do a better job and it deserves being done.”

Although the international box office stayed stagnant, the report claimed that the box office in the Asia Pacific region increased 5 percent from 2015 to 2016, earning $14.9 million last year. Japan and India were the primary drivers of growth, with a 27 percent increase and a 28 percent increase, respectively.

However, after more than a decade of consecutive gains, China’s box office actually decreased by 1 percent in U.S. dollars from 2015, although it increased slightly (by 4 percent) in local currency.

The report also found that women comprised 51 to 52 percent of total moviegoers consistently since 2012, and that percentage did not change in 2016. ■ Staff can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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35 YEARS