VOL 34 NO 18 | APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

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VOL 34 NO 18

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

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33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

THE ID GOES GREEN No roof needed: Solar panels in the city » P. 6 Confused about composting?

Here’s help » P. 7 Exploring the Danny Woo Community Garden » P. 8 Beautiful ways to recycle paper (including this one!) » P. 10 Little changes, big differences to help our environment » P. 11

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

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APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

■ names in the news Celebrating Earth Day with Goodwill

and Northwest Asian Weekly; Michelle Quisenberry, Managing Partner of Volterra; Hollis Wong-Wear, The Flavr Blue, Seattle SuperSonics Coach Lenny Wilkens, Geekwire Cofounder John Cook, and the Seattle Opera.

Items will be on Seattle Goodwill’s eBay store (hashtag “breakup4good”) until May 1 to bid on outfits or visit www. seattlegoodwill.org/earthday to see photos and videos of the items donated.

“Because of donations like these over 40 million pounds of useful goods have been kept out of landfills,” said Daryl Campbell, President and CEO of Seattle Goodwill. “These donations also help fund our free job training and education and last year we were able to help over 9,200 people.” 

The Board oversees the mission and finances of the 36,000 member bar association, and holds public meetings throughout the state every six weeks. James currently is corporate counsel at Costco Wholesale.

Previously he was a partner at Preston Gates Ellis (now K & L Gates), Seattle office, and a foreign lawyer at a Tokyo law firm. He is grateful for support from a broad coalition including friends at law firms, corporate legal departments, and the Asian Bar Association of Washington. 

Helping the Filipino community

Yu speaks on entrepreneurship Massive Monkees students show off styles (both clothes and moves)

Hollis Wong-Wear – The Flavr Blue

Seattle Goodwill is celebrating Earth Day with local musicians, CEOs, athletes and community leaders who are “breaking up” with an outfit, Breakup4Good, and publicly donating it to Goodwill – and keep it from the landfill. Some of the outfits will be auctioned off to benefit Goodwill’s job training and education programs.

Over 60 individuals and organizations donated items to Breakup4good including Seattle Mayor Ed Murray; Sounders FC Alumni Roger Levesque and Marcus Hahnemann; Aleksa Manila, performer; Nan Stoops, Executive Director for Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Assunta Ng, Publisher, Seattle Chinese Post

Arry Yu, CEO and founder of Gift Starter was guest speaker for KAC-WA’s first happy hour of the year April 16th at the Stout Pub in Seattle.

Arry Yu Yu is an entrepreneur and functional designer who has been immersed in business leadership roles growing new offices in services, entrepreneurial ventures and in the world of startups.

Prior to becoming a full time entrepreneur, Yu spent her time in management and technology consulting for companies such as Microsoft, Google, Expedia, Clarisonic, and T-Mobile.

She also holds a patent for her multifunctional furniture design. Yu received her bachelor’s from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. 

Doane elected to Bar Association of Governors James K. Doane, a Seattle resident, was elected as a member of the Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors, James K. Doane District 7-South, securing 54 percent of the vote against two other lawyers.

Vice Consul Rachel Oronce, Shirley Sutton, City of Lynnwood, Ellen Mabellera, John Lovick, Kelly Marquardt for Congresswoman Suzanne DelBene, and Mike Schanche from the office of Congressman Rick Larsen

The Philippine Consular Outreach team hosted the first Consular Services program at the Community Resource Center in Everett for the 18,350 Filipino population in Snohomish County, April 17-19. The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco sent Vice Consul Rachel Oronce and her consular team to help with dual citizenship, Philippine e-passports, civil registry, legal and notary services, and overseas voter registration.

The effort was supported by Snohomish County Executive John Lovick, and the offices of U.S. Representatives Suzanne DelBene and Rick Larsen. There was a total of over 400 attendees that utilized the three-day Consular services offerings. 

Making a Difference Friday, May 15, 2015 • 11:30 a.m.—1:30 p.m. • China Harbor Restaurant • 2040 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle

Honorees

Sponsors

Emcee Sonya Green

News and Public Affairs Director 91.3 KBCS

Diana Lindner

Fellow American Academy of Pediatrics

Rita Meher

Co-founder & Executive Director Seattle South Asian Women Focus Festival

Katie Wilson

Organizer Transit Riders Union

Marisa Herrera Ed.D- Executive Director UW Ethnic Cultural Center

C. June Strickland Professor Community Health UW, School of Nursing

Kia Franklin

Partnership Director Equal Opportunity Schools

Name: ___________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Telephone: ________________________________________________ Fax: _____________________________________________________ Email: ___________________________________________________ Organization: _____________________________________________ Title (if applicable): _________________________________________

Zenzile Brooks

Marketing Manager Glosten Innovative Marine Solutions

Lorena Gonzalez

Former advisor & legal counsel to Seattle Mayor Ed Murray

Tracy Hilliard

Director City of Seattle’s Human Services Dept.

Andrea Akita

Executive Director InterIm

Thanh Tan

Multimedia Editorial Writer/Columnist Seattle Times

Name of guests: ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________  Mastercard

 Visa

Card no.: _________________________________________________ Exp. date: ____________ Signature: ___________________________

WOMEN OF COLOR EMPOWERED CO-CHAIRS: Kiku Hayashi and Winona Holins-Hauge PLANNING COMMITTEE: Elizabeth Younger, Connie Sugahara, Diane Martin, Francine Griggs, Kathy Purcell, Leny Valerio-Buford, Assunta Ng, Shoko Toyama, Rosa Melendez, Lourdes Sampera Tsukada, Sonia Doughty, Bonnie Miller, and Sylvia Cavazos LUNCHEON PRICING: Discounted price of $35 if purchased by May 5. Full price of $45 after May 6. Walk-ins $50. Student price of $25 with I.D. before May 5; $30 after May 5; student walk-ins $35. No tickets will be mailed; confirmation is by e-mail only. $350 for a table. To sponsor the event including logo online and print and table is $1,000. Men are welcome! MAKE RESERVATIONS: To purchase tickets, call us at 206-223-0623, fax the above form to 206-223-0626, mail a check to Women of Color Empowered, P.O. Box 3468, Seattle, WA 98114, or email rsvp@nwasianweekly.com. For more information, visit womenofcolorempowered. com.

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ arts & entertainment

By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

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Cambodian Son

to tell stories that are often difficult to tell.

And sometimes there is no better option than to use the medium of film to present these narratives. It is with compassion and a keen sense for visual storytelling that Masahiro creates cinematic works of art.

“Cambodian Son,” produced by Anida Youe Ali and directed by Masahiro Sugano, tells the story of Kosal Khiev, a Cambodian poet and spoken-word performer who, after being deported from America in the wake of criminal charges, built a substantial reputation in Cambodia’s capitol, Phnom Penh.

The documentary cuts between Kosal’s daily life, to his family in California, whom he can’t visit because he isn’t allowed on American soil, to the poet’s troubled trip to London as part of an arts festival. Throughout, Kosal struggles with his anger, frustration, and his artistry, becoming more and more vivid as a troubled but fascinating man. The film also examines the larger question of American deportees struggling to build lives away from the only nation they ever called home.

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) brings the film to Seattle on May 2nd, co-hosted by the Post-Prison Education Program. Producer Anida Youe Ali and Khiev’s Talent Manager Maria Tucker, answered some questions about the documentary.

NWAW: Kosal and his friends are upfront about their often-violent history. Were you ever concerned for your health, and/or the director’s health?

Ali: No never!!! These are not dangerous people. Many committed crimes when they were teenagers—they are no longer those individuals and have reformed, so there is nothing to fear.

NWAW: Exactly where does Kosal have family, and how much contact does he have with his family around the world?

Ali: Kosal’s entire nuclear family whom he grew up with is in the US (in southern California) – that’s six siblings and his mother. He only recently discovered his father and three other half sisters in France.

NWAW: Kosal is so gifted with word, rhyme and cadence—has he ever considered rapping, or singing?

Ali: I would argue that spoken word is an element of hiphop culture and falls between rap and theater.

NWAW: How did you meet Masahiro Sugano, and where?

Ali: Masahiro and I met in Chicago. We collaborated for the first time in 2005 when I asked Masahiro to create some videos and animation for my one-woman theater show titled “Living Memory/Living Absence.”

NWAW: Was the relationship personal first, professional first, or did both things evolve at once?

Ali: No comment is what I should say or none of your business. LOL It was professional first. When things became more personal and intimate, which was not until 2008, we said we would never collaborate. We broke that rule in 2010 and continue to work together now.

NWAW: What are his strengths as a director and artist?

Ali: Masahiro sees exactly what he wants from his imagination and sketchbooks, that he will passionately go after trying to capture his exact vision on film. He’s not just a storyteller, but a visionary. He will never claim he is an activist, and thinks that role is supposed to be mine alone.

Instead he’s a humanist, who believes that there comes a time in one’s life when a person is not only compelled, but obligated

NWAW: Have any screening/Q&A sessions been especially memorable so far? If so, where, and how?

Tucker: Kosal’s mother saw the film last year in Claremont at Pomona College. Though there was a small turnout, there was quite a bit of emotion in the room as she spoke to Kosal via Skype. For attendees, witnessing the public display of emotion between Kosal and his mom reinforced further the carefully told story of their relationship on screen. It was a compelling moment that has led several of the attendees to continue their commitments to social justice work especially {see CAMBODIAN SON cont’d on page 15}

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APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

■ sports

Manny Pacquiao fights back at Mayweather’s “reckless” jabs

■ community news

Sharon Lee running for vacated seat on City Council

Sharon Lee will be running for Sally Clark’s recently vacated seat on the City Council. Clark vacated her seat April 12. Lee will be the third API Sharon Lee candidate to run for the seven-month position. Candidates will not be able to reapply for re-election after the term.

Lee has served as Executive Director of the Low Income Housing Institute since 1994, where she oversees a staff of 144 in housing development, property management, advocacy and supportive services.

In her time at the Low Income Housing Institute, she has established one of the

most productive housing non-profits in the state with over 3,500 affordable rental and homeownership units created, serving families, seniors, the workforce, the disabled, the homeless, and first-time homebuyers.

Lee received her Masters in Architecture, and Masters in City Planning at M.I.T. She told the Northwest Asian Weekly that her hopes in running for the interim City Council position, is “trying to move the housing agenda forward to get some results.”

Lee is one of three API candidates hoping to fill Clark’s seat. John Okamoto and Sharon Maeda would also like to bring their experience and qualifications to the City Council, even if it is for a short period. 

■ national news Pacquiao and Mayweather

By Greg Beacham Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Pacquiao intends to put on a show when he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2 1/2 weeks.

He really hopes Mayweather is also coming to fight, for the fans’ sake — and maybe for his own strategic purposes as well.

Pacquiao radiated confidence and excitement Wednesday at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood before his latest workout in preparation for their bout May 2 in Las Vegas.

With the most anticipated fight in recent years looming ever closer, both boxers kept their public comments civil and mostly respectful this week. But Pacquiao laughed when told that the defense-minded Mayweather had called him “a very reckless fighter” on Tuesday.

“Reckless fighter? That’s how people like me and love me, because they like an exciting fight,” Pacquiao said. “We call this boxing, (and) boxing is more punching. We talk about punching.”

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) has rarely skimped on excitement during his remarkable career as an eight-division champion, but the

Filipino congressman realizes he is facing the greatest defensive fighter of their era.

Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) has been nearly unhittable for most of his opponents during his perfect career.

But Pacquiao hopes Money realizes that the best way to get paid is to put on a fight worth seeing. After all, they’re counting on fans to pay a record $99.95 for the payper-view, a figure described by no less than Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum as “ostentatious consumerism” if a fan bought it to watch all by himself.

And if Pacquiao is trying a bit of psychological trickery, it isn’t very subtle: He didn’t even try to hide the fact that a brawl would be his best chance to win.

“If he (does) that, that’s good for me,” Pacquiao said. “I like that. We’ll see. That’s what I want, and that’s definitely what the fans want — action.”

Unlike Mayweather, Pacquiao knows what it’s like to be knocked out and to get back up. Pacquiao lost both of his bouts in 2012 and ended his fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez face-down on the canvas in the sixth round. {see PACQUIAO cont’d on page 12}

Lead found in herbal compound Washington State Dept. of Health warns not to use Bo-Ying products The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent out an alert regarding BoYing Compound after lead was found in the product. Bo-Ying Compound is an herbal product used to treat a wide variety of conditions in infants and children.

The Washington State Department of Health wants people to be aware about the lead found in Bo-Ying Compound manufactured by Eu Yan Sang (based in Hong Kong). This product is also manufactured by other companies and may also contain lead so people are urged not to use any Bo-Ying Compound products.

The Department of Health’s Childhood Lead Prevention Program warns parents and caregivers not to buy or use these products.

Anyone who has used these products or given them to a child should contact a health care provider to evaluate the need for a blood-lead test.

Children are especially sensitive to health impacts from lead, and all lead exposure should be avoided. Lead poisoning in babies and young children is usually not immediately obvious, even low levels of

Lead warning: Bo-Ying compound

lead exposure have been linked to impaired cognitive functioning in children like reduced IQ, behavioral difficulties and other health problems.

To date, no cases of lead poisoning linked to these products have been reported in Washington State, however it’s likely that these products are available and in use in the state. 

KING COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS ADVERTISEMENT King County is requesting Proposals from qualified firms interested in providing monitoring services for Parks Division mitigation sites.

The Request for Proposals, all addenda and current document holder’s list are available on the internet at http://www.kingcounty.gov/procurement. The County will not mail, ship or fax RFPs and addenda.

Interested firms must register with the County at time of download and ensure that a valid contact email address is given. Notification of addenda will be sent to the registered email address. Failure to register will result in the Proposer not being notified of any addenda, which may result in rejection of the proposal.

The County may award up to one (1) contract with a maximum price of $2,000,000. The contract will have an initial period of performance of one (1) year.

The County reserves the right to amend the contract duration in one (1) year increments up to a maximum of six (6) years, if funds remain.

Contract Title: 2015 Mitigation Monitoring Services for the Parks Division

Number: E00350E15 Proposals due: May 12, 2015 Time: 5:00 p.m.

Pre-proposal Meeting: April 28, 2015 Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: Room 233 (Rhododendron), Chinook Building, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle SUMMARY OF WORK: The selected Consultant will assist the Parks Division by monitoring to ensure that all mitigation sites for mitigation of impacts to wetlands, aquatic resources, and buffers resulting from capital construction projects achieve their stated purpose and comply with permit obligations.

SUBCONSULTANT OPPORTUNITIES: Provided for informational purposes only, following are subconsulting opportunities that may be available on this Contract: wetland studies, stream habitat and fish use studies, wildlife studies, vegetation coverage and survival studies, and other environmental studies required by regulatory agencies.

SCS UTILIZATION REQUIREMENTS: The

Consultant shall ensure that at least 15% of the Total Price for all executed Work Orders, as amended, shall be performed by King County Certified SCS Firms over the life of the Contract. Evaluation points for meeting and/or exceeding the SCS utilization requirements will be provided to each Proposer responding to this requirement. King County will not evaluate the proposal and will not execute a contract with a Proposer who does not commit to meet at least the SCS utilization requirement as stated above.

QUESTIONS: Questions concerning this solicitation should be directed to Gib Myers, Contract Specialist at 206-263-9323, TTY Relay: 711. The Proposer may be requested to submit the question in writing. No verbal answers by County personnel will be binding on the County.

THIS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN ALTERNATE FORMATS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES UPON ADVANCE REQUEST BY CALLING 206-263-9400, TTY RELAY: 711.

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ world news

China activist more determined after lockup

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

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■ at the movies “Man From Reno”

By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Feminists Li Tingting (left) and Wei Tingting (right) with a fellow activist protesting against domestic violence

By Didi Tang and Jack Chang Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — The most prominent of five recently released Chinese feminists feels her dedication to activism has grown only stronger after spending 37 days in detention with interrogators who blew smoke onto her face and insulted her sexual orientation, her girlfriend, and her, her lawyer said.

Li Tingting, 25, an openly lesbian campaigner for women’s issues, has been at the center of an international outcry over China’s detention of activists. Her girlfriend, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition she be identified only by her English name of Teresa, relayed comments from Li for the first time since the activist’s conditional release from a Beijing lockup last Monday. Teresa spoke in the presence of Li’s lawyer Wang Yu, who also confirmed Li’s comments. “`Feminism is my soul,”’ Teresa quoted Li as saying. “`I thought a lot and came to believe what I do cannot be wrong. My

belief is firmer. Feminism will surely be inseparable from me.”’

Li and four other women, ranging in age from 25 to 32, were detained in a criminal investigation for their plans to hand out stickers and flyers denouncing sexual harassment, in a case reflecting the Chinese leadership’s deep distrust of any efforts to organize civil action in a group outside the ruling Communist Party’s control.

Known for colorful, high-profile protests, from “potty parity” sit-ins to street theater denouncing spousal abuse, the five women drew what has been, for recent years, an unusual amount of attention overseas.

Foreign governments, rights groups and luminaries including U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticized the arrests as an overreaction by a repressive Chinese government, and urged Chinese authorities to drop the investigations against the women.

China’s Foreign Ministry has responded by saying the detentions are an internal {see TINGTING cont’d on page 13}

Summons of Japanese media raises complaints of interference

By Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s ruling party summoned executives from two leading television networks Friday, the latest in a series of actions that opponents say endanger press freedom and intimidate the media.

The Liberal Democratic Party’s panel on information and communications strategy questioned the executives from Asahi TV and public broadcaster NHK about two separate programs at the party’s headquarters.

In one program, an Asahi commentator made remarks critical of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office, while another program on NHK allegedly contained staged material.

The opposition Democratic Party criticized the questioning as a potential infringement of press freedom.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga denied suggestions of censorship and said the summons were not intended to pressure the media.

Abe’s government has been criticized as being too sensitive to critical reporting.

Jiro Kawasaki, head of the LDP panel, said the two executives were summoned to answer questions about allegations that the programs contained “distorted” materials.

Media watchers and political analysts say mainstream media have been shunning critical reporting to avoid trouble with officials who are increasingly touchy about how Japan and government policies are {see FREEDOM cont’d on page 12}

Dave Boyle’s “Man From Reno” begins with a gray screen. Slowly, we see that the camera is aimed dead on at a car windshield in the rain, droplets snaking down. With the rain comes the fog, and through the fog comes a man, a car, another car, a sudden accident, and a lurking mystery.

Boyle’s been fond of multiracial approaches in his earlier films, but this new one is a Japanese/American co-production, featuring two prominent Japanese actors.

Ayako Fujitani, the half-Japanese daughter of martial arts film star Stephen Segal, plays Aki, a fantastically popular mystery writer in Japan. Burnt out and nursing secrets of her own, Aki takes it on the run from a book tour, as the Japanese press fulminates over her possible whereabouts.

Aki is far from home and the Japanese press. She’s flown to San Francisco to see some old friends in the city’s considerable Japanese expatriate community. She amuses and confounds with her techniques, apparently borrowed from Sherlock Holmes, of telling a person’s past by simply sizing them up visually for a few seconds.

But Aki can’t solve every puzzle, every person, who comes her way. She’s smart and confident, smartly underplayed by Fujitani with a sly sense of humor over a

not-very-well-hidden loneliness. But when a mysterious Japanese man calling himself Akira (Kazuki Kitamura) insinuates herself into her life, she falls for him fast, with slowly unraveling consequences.

One of the two other critics at the press screening for this film walked out about a half-hour before its end. I wondered at first, how he was going to write about the film without knowing the ending. Then I remembered that in film noir, and neonoir, and thrillers, one doesn’t discuss the {see MAN FROM RENO cont’d on page 12}

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The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: “To empower the Asian community.”

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APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

■ ENVIRONMENT

Affordable solar power, no roof required Seattle City Light to offer benefits from solar power through its Community Solar program

By Suzanne DuRard Northwest Asian Weekly Residential solar energy (also called photovoltaic) systems cost a lot. An average system in Seattle costs $15,000 or more. In exchange for that big investment though, a customer who installs solar will see a significant decrease in their electric bills over time.

With the generous incentives for solar energy generation that are available from the State of Washington, a solar customer can pay off their investment in 5-7 years. Many systems now being installed will generate enough energy to cover the annual electric use of the household, so that the energy is essentially free once the system costs are recouped.

However, many people can’t make that kind of investment in a solar system or have other barriers to “going solar” themselves, such as having a shady lot, living in a condominium, or renting.

Seattle City Light has worked to overcome these barriers for its customers by developing a Community Solar program (seattle.gov/ communitysolar), where customers can buy a piece of a project built by the utility at an affordable price, save money on their own electric bills, and help share the benefits of solar more broadly.

Project locations are chosen based on maximizing exposure to the sun as well as the conservation orientation or mission of the host, in order to maximize payback and community value to participants.

Many states have community solar programs, and they are all a little different. In and around Seattle, any customer of Seattle City Light can buy “solar units” from the utility for $150 each.

Each unit represents 28 watts of the community array’s total, or about a tenth of a typical solar panel. City Light’s latest project is on the roof of a low-income apartment building on Capitol Hill.

The utility fronted the capital for the panels and installation, but as the project produces electricity, it creates revenue by selling electricity back to the grid, and by paying out Washington State’s very generous incentives for producing solar power. Participants who have bought one or more units earn a share of that revenue, which is taken off their electric bills as a credit. City Light customers that buy solar units will likely make back a little more than their original investment by the time the program ends in 2020, when the state stops giving away $1.08 per kilowatt-hour to community solar projects with Washington-made components.

The project installation for the Capitol Hill project took place in November of 2014 and the system went live shortly thereafter. The system’s electricity benefits the project participants through the end of June, 2020, and after that, it will provide free electricity to affordable housing provider Capitol Hill Housing (CHH), which owns the building where the system is located. Since the life of the system is expected to be at somewhere between 25 and 40 years, this is a significant benefit to CHH, that will help them keep their operating costs down so they can focus on providing the most cost-effective housing and services to their residents.

Spots are still available for those interested in signing up for Community Solar through Seattle City Light. Of the total 925 units in the Capitol Hill project, just under 100 remain. {see SOLAR cont’d on page 12}

■ COMMUNITY calendar FRI 4/24 THRU SUN 4/26 WHAT: 10th Aaina, “South Asian Women’s Focus” WHERE: Seattle Asian Arts Museum WHEN: Various times. To be posted on Tasveer website.

INFO: tasveer.org/10th-aaina

SAT 4/25 WHAT: Comcast Cares Annual C-ID Spring Clean WHERE: Panama Hotel, 605 S. Main St., Seattle WHEN: 8 a.m.-12 p.m.

WHAT: Annual Sukiyaki Dinner WHERE: Japanese Baptist Church, 160 Broadway, Seattle WHEN: 4-7 p.m.

COST: $9-$14 INFO: 206-622-7351, jbcseattle.org

TUE 4/28 WHAT: Rainier Valley Community Development Fund’s 2015 Annual Meeting WHERE: Ethiopian Community Center, 8323 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle WHEN: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

REGISTER: www.rvcdf.org INFO: 206-722-5280

WED 4/29 WHAT: The Philippine tenors, The Angelos Concert WHERE: Meydenbauer Center Theater, Bellevue

WHEN: 7-9 p.m.

INFO: 425-202-5109

SUN 5/1 WHAT: Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce luncheon with Dr. Chris Owen & Y.P. Chan WHERE: China Harbor Restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle WHEN: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

COST: $20 INFO: seattlechinesechamber.org

SAT 5/2 WHAT: InterIm CDA’s 2015 Gala Growing Communities WHERE: Seattle Marriott Waterfront, 2100 Alaskan Way, Seattle WHEN: 5:30-9 p.m.

COST: $150/ticket INFO: interimicda.org, 206-624-1802 WHAT: Asian Craft & Food Fair & Silent Auction WHERE: Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church, 3001 24th Ave. S., Seattle WHEN: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

INFO: 206-723-1536

SUN 5/3 WHAT: “Empty Bowls to benefit North Helpline” WHERE: St. Matthew’s parish Community Hall, 1240 N.E. 127th St., Seattle WHEN: 12-3 p.m.

COST: $25 in advance, $35 at the door TICKETS: northhelpline.org/events/

Courtesy: Eton

■ briefly event/empty-bowls WHAT: Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration featuring Gowe WHERE: Seattle Center Armory WHEN: 11:45 a.m.-5 p.m.

COST: Free admission

MON 5/4

“Tank Man” and more A talk with renowned photographer Jeff Widener

WHAT: Lecture, “Music of the Japanese Imperial Court” WHERE: UW, Allen Library Auditorium WHEN: 3:30-5 p.m.

COST: Free

WED 5/6 WHAT: Lecture & Workshop, “Music of the Japanese Imperial Court” WHERE: UW, Brechemin Auditorium, Music Building WHEN: 7-8:30 p.m.

COST: Free

“Tank Man” (Jeff Widener/AP)

FRI 5/8 WHAT: Bloom Gala WHERE: Westin Seattle Hotel, 1900 Fifth Ave., Seattle WHEN: 5:30 p.m.

TICKETS: www.ichs.com/bloom INFO: 206-788-3672, christinel@ichs. com WHAT: Demonstration, co-presented with Gardner Center for Asian Art & Ideas, “Music of the Japanese Imperial Court” WHERE: SAM, Volunteer Park WHEN: 7:30-8:30 p.m.

RSVP: visitsam.org/tickets

Jeff Widener

Jeff Widener, Pulitzer Prize-nominated photographer of the infamous “Tank Man” will be speaking to the community Saturday, May 2, 2p.m. at the International District/Chinatown Community Center (719 8th

Ave. S., Seattle).

Widener will be discussing “Tank Man” known for its striking portrayal of a single figure that stops a lineup of tanks after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. He had to elude Chinese security to take and send the iconic photograph to the Associated Press. Widener will also be discussing other images and experiences from major stories he covered in his career, from the Gulf War to the Khmer Rouge. 

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ ENVIRONMENT

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

7

Confused about composting?

Here’s what you need to know to avoid fines and help our environment

By Peggy Chapman Northwest Asian Weekly If you weren’t aware, starting January 1, 2015, all residents and businesses are required to compost. So yes, you should already be composting now! And starting next year residents could be fined $1 if there is too much food waste or food-soiled paper in their garbage. Apartment owners and businesses could receive a $50 fine after two warnings. Garbage truck drivers will visually check garbage containers of single family houses and small apartment/condo complexes. If they notice that more than 10 percent of the container contents are compostable or recyclable, they will leave a notice and a $1 charge will be added to the customer’s solid waste bill.

Likewise, garbage containers at larger apartment/condo complexes and businesses will also be visually checked for compostables and recyclables. If more than 10 percent of the container contents are recyclable or compostable, the bill payer will receive a warning notice on the container and in the mail. After two notices, a $50 fine will be added to the customer’s solid waste bill.

So how do you make the composting process simple if you are not familiar with it? Here are some tips: -Order an outdoor food waste cart or container for your home or business -Collect food scraps in your kitchen before taking them to your outdoor container -Keep your kitchen collection container clean -Determine what items go in your food waste, recycling, and garbage containers -Regularly empty the container into the outdoor food waste cart {see COMPOST cont’d on page 15}

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APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

■ ENVIRONMENT

Green in the ID

Urban farm, Danny Woo Community Garden

By Laura Ohata Northwest Asian Weekly As global warming causes temperatures to rise, compost piles and solar panels are going mainstream. Yet, the denizens of the International District in Seattle have been making attempts to be green since before green was cool. The ID boasts the Danny Woo Community Garden, the Recycling Depot, and recent green-building housing

developments. At least five renewable energy companies operate in the ID, or nearby in Pioneer Square and SoDo. In the hot and hotter world, the Seattle International District offers examples of how to improve sustainability in the city.

Organic Gardening

In 1975, Bob Santos and other activists persuaded restaurant owner, Danny Woo, to lease the land for a garden—a place where the

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

Photos by Laura Ohata/NWAW

Sustainability in the city

Hen house at Danny Woo Community Garden

Maintaining a patch, Danny Woo Community Garden

elderly could gather in community and grow vegetables from their home countries in Asia.

Forty years later, pear and cherry trees perch on a hilltop overlooking a chicken coop and terraced plots planted with onions and bok choy.

“This is a fabulous example of what can be done in a really small, dense, urban

environment. And, it is also an example of what has already been done traditionally throughout a variety of Asian cultures,” says Rachel Duthler, Danny Woo Community Garden manager for an organization called INTERIM CDA, an affordable housing {see GREEN cont’d on page 15}

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

■ community news

9

Yours Mallika: Exploring dance and story Photos by Siddhartha Saha

Sold-out performances (and all volunteer run!)

Cast and crew

By Charuta Fadnis Northwest Asian Weekly “Yours Mallika,” Pratidhwani’s flagship dance show for 2015 played to a sold-out audience of 800 on April 10th and 11th at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.

Pratidhwani, which means “echo” in Sanskrit, is a volunteer run notfor-profit 501c(3) organization dedicated to promoting South Asian arts and artists in the Greater Seattle area.

“Friends Celebration”

Inspired by two disparate, divergent literary and musical masterpieces, “Yours Mallika” took the audience on a voyage through the centuries using various dance forms – from Bharatnatyam to Flamenco and Kathak to Waltz. Involving a cast and crew of over 120 volunteers, the show was over four months in the making and involved intricate period costumes and elaborate historical sets.

The story starts in 1959, when the eponymous Mallika, separated

from her lover Samir, not just by distance but by religion and familial pressure, is encouraged by him to explore her innermost feelings and face her fears by writing a story. And so begins her journey of self-discovery as she spins a tale of intrigue, rivalry, passion, love and loss set in 1857 in a little Himalayan village in India against a backdrop of the impending revolt against the British.

For over ten years since its inception in 2004, Pratidhwani

has been providing a platform for artists and performers to share their art with a diverse audience.

In addition to its four wings – dance, drama, light music and classical music – Pratidhwani also has a youth board aimed at promoting young talent. Each year, Pratidhwani produces 8-10 shows and promotes approximately 150 artists.  Upcoming shows and collaborations include: “Storywallahs,” a coproduction

with KUOW and Tasveer on May 3rd and “Meri Awaaz Suno,” a singing talent competition on June 6th.

More information and links for tickets can be found on Pratidhwani’s website (www. pratidhwani.org) and facebook page.

Charuta Fadnis can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

asianweekly northwest

10

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

■ ENVIRONMENT

Playing with paper Fun and creative options for that stack in the corner

Anyone who works with print understands how the paper can pile up. And here at the Northwest Asian Weekly and the Seattle Chinese Post, it definitely piles up. Although we are adamant about recycling, it’s fun to be creative and think about how you can use that

paper instead of just immediately tossing it into the green bin. It can be used as gift wrap, lovely vases, collages, even fashion. Here are some fun and beautiful options. Hopefully that piece of paper can inspire you to create something after you read it. 

1. A contemporary artist uses ledger paper from 1847 due to lack of paper on Indian reservations. (Artist unknown) 2. Calendar paper creates an impressive vase. (Steven Lee) 3. Newspaper as gift wrap. (Rosita Chan) 4. Recycling fashion show.

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

Photos by Assunta Ng/NWAW

5. Newspaper candle holder. (Bettie Luke)

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33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

11

OPINION

■ editorial

Little changes, big differences

When we consider the overall picture when it comes to environment and the role we play in it, processing all the information can be overwhelming. Climate change!

Pollution! Endangered species! How can we have any significance when there are issues that relate on such a global level?

Well, consider a first step. Why not think about it on an individual level? Where do you live and what do you notice? What can you easily do to make a difference?

In Seattle, there seems to be some easy options: Plastic water bottles—don’t use more than one. Just refill it if you don’t already have your fancy, sporty water bottle.

Our own University of Washington boasts an impressive number of water bottle refilling stations. There is no need to buy another plastic bottle.

And speaking of containers, why not bring your favorite coffee cup to your favorite coffee shop? (You might as well be at home!) And splurge on a sturdy shopping bag so you don’t have to purchase one each shopping trip (and find a way of disposing it). Also, why not spend a little extra time being conscientious when you shop? Consider wasteful packaging and whether the products you pay for have a consideration for environmental and ethical issues.

Walk. That is self-explanatory. If you have that option,

why not take it? Exercise exertion vs. fuel consumption— which would ultimately benefit you in the end?

Use your bike. Seattle’s respect to the bicyclist community should be commended. The Pronto bicycle service is available in the ID, and the city seems to be making a commitment to improving bicycle lanes and making Seattle one of the most bicyclist-friendly cities in the nation. Why not take advantage of the bicycle instead of fuel? FYI: May is Bike Month and “Bike to Work Day” is May 15.

Exercise your legs instead of the fuel pump. 

■ COMMENTARY

Orcas and the big spill Whale watchers standing by to help endangered whales

By Capt, Hobbes Buchanan, San Juan Island Whale & Wildlife Tours, and Michael Harris, Puget Sound Express Whale Watching Seattle/Edmonds To whale watchers in Washington State and British Columbia, the recent oil spill in Vancouver’s English Bay was a wakeup call.

While a container ship bled bunker fuel into the bay, three hours passed before Canadian Coast Guard vessels began to lay boom and contain the spill. Over 12 hours passed before anyone bothered to notify the City of Vancouver.

Had this happened in the San Juan Islands, we could’ve very well lost a totem species.

As it considered listing the Southern Resident Community of orcas under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries’ Biological Review Team identified the potential of a catastrophic oil spill in the Salish Sea as the number one most immediate threat to the long-term survival of the population. The agency has spent about $16 million USD in the last decade studying the effects of Chinook salmon depletion and bio-accumulative toxins, the two primary causes for the decline of the Southern Residents.

Considering the urgency in which NOAA attributed to the threat of an oil spill to this endangered population, one would think at least an equal amount of time, energy and taxpayer dollars have been directed toward effective protocols on prevention, containment and clean-up.

What have we done to make sure we protect our resident orcas from being wiped out by an oil spill? Where’s the plan to marshal the citizen and government resources to save our whales?

It hasn’t surfaced.

The feds will disagree and tout a number of seemingly impressive efforts they’ve made on this front, but there’s one thing very clear to members of the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA), which represents 29 operators in BC and Washington – no one’s talked to us.

If an accident happens or if a ship becomes disabled and is in danger of running aground, and sensitive wildlife are in danger of exposure, whale watch

boats will invariably be the first line of defense. We will be the first responders.

It’s a good thing we’re out there.

We’re not just watching whales and wildlife out there, we’re watching out for everyone.

One bad decision, one wrong turn, one reef unseen can result in a catastrophic spill that could prove to be the death knell for a beloved population of endangered orcas that many hope have turned a corner, with four newborns in the last three months.

The Southern Residents are in no way out of the woods, but we can and need to do a lot more to keep them out of harm’s way.

PWWA operators have recently reached out to the U.S. Department of Ecology to be listed as “vessels of opportunity” and to seek training in response activities, to augment the training many of our members already have. Whale watch boats need to be fully engaged and effectively authorized and deputized to assist vessels in distress, and if a spill happens to move quickly to source and deploy booms and other gear to contain it and keep it away from whales.

When the oil tanker Jessica ran aground in, of all places, the Galápagos Islands in 2001, spilling thousands of gallons of bunker fuel into one of the most pristine natural places on Earth, the only thing that prevented that accident from turning into a full-fledged catastrophe was the fast response from the ecotourism fleet and local fishermen, all of whom were trained and authorized to lay booms quickly and mitigate impacts to wildlife.

The feds in BC claim to have recovered about 80 percent of the sticky, highly toxic bunker fuel that gushed into English Bay. Chances are, it was a lot less than that.

The fact is, there’s no good way to recover spilled oil. The best way to do it is to make sure it never happens in the first place.

The combined vessel traffic now transiting ports in Washington and British Columbia make the Strait of Juan de Fuca the second busiest waterway in North America. Executives from the disgraced former corporation Enron now own the Kinder Morgan pipeline that connects the vast Alberta tar sand reserves with a port near Vancouver. Those once known as “the smartest guys in the room” are now

seeking permits from Canada’s National Energy Board to triple the capacity of the pipeline, which could result in a sevenfold increase in tanker traffic transiting through the San Juan Islands and Orca Country – from one tanker a week to one each day.

Moreover, when it comes to recovery efforts, Tar Sands oil is a sticky wicket. In

order to make this sludgy mess flow into pipelines, rail cars and tankers, it has to be mixed with a highly volatile and explosive diluent mixture known as dilbit. When Tar Sands oil is spilled, the evaporation of these dilbit vapors poses serious health risks to {see ORCAS cont’d on page 13}

asianweekly northwest

12

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

{FREEDOM cont’d from page 5} portrayed by both domestic and foreign media.

Koichi Nakano, an international politics professor at Sophia University in Tokyo, said Abe’s government is promoting a revisionist view of Japan’s wartime military atrocities, and is steering public opinion to support divisive policies such as expanding the military’s role and revising the country’s warrenouncing constitution.

Without checks and balances from a viable liberal opposition, “the LDP has no limits,” Nakano said.

Conservative businessman Katsuto Momii, appointed by Abe in 2013 to head NHK, quickly sparked criticism by saying that the public broadcaster’s reporting should be aligned with government policy, despite its longstanding editorial independence.

Although Japan’s Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and press, many see worrisome trends in the past several years: — Ahead of a December general election, the LDP sent a statement to Japanese media requesting “fair coverage.”

— Abe and his government chastised the liberal-leaning Asahi newspaper over decades-old stories about Japan’s wartime military brothel system — a topic of abiding friction with China, South Korea and other countries whose citizens suffered abuses by the Imperial Army before and during World War II. — The Foreign Ministry complained to U.S. publisher McGraw-Hill about references to the military brothel system in a high school history textbook and sent an envoy to one of the writers to protest in person.

The issues raised in Friday’s meeting were somewhat more mundane.

Shigeaki Koga, a former trade ministry official, quit TV Asahi’s “Hodo Station,” a popular nightly news show, after recently making critical remarks about the Prime Minister’s Office’s treatment of the media.

Koga, who now is an independent commentator, says he finds many stories are not getting the coverage they deserve because of a trend toward authoritarianism.

“If the ongoing media selfcensorship continues and there is only news that serves the government’s interest, people will be brainwashed,” Koga said in a speech Thursday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan.

The Foreign Ministry’s budget for propagating its official views on history and territorial disputes was raised to 52 billion yen ($438 million) this year from 2 billion yen last year to “correct understanding by the international society,” the ministry says.

Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo, says intolerance of criticism has grown because of a tendency to equate criticism of the Japanese government with anti-Japanese sentiment.

“This shabby tactic defines criticism of Abe as criticism of Japan putting journalists in the awkward position of having to demonstrate `love’ for Japan,” he said in an article Friday in the online review AsiaPacific Journal. 

{SOLAR cont’d from page 6} City Light’s three other community solar projects, at Jefferson Park on Beacon Hill, at the Seattle Aquarium, and at the Woodland Park Zoo and Phinney Neighborhood Association on Phinney Ridge, are full, with over 1000 participating customers.

According to Seattle City Light figures, it is estimated that there are nearly 1,700 customers who have installed solar on their own home or building in the last 15 years. The Community Solar program, in three years and with four projects, has added 1,350 solar customers as community solar participants, and that number is expected to {MAN FROM RENO cont’d from page 5} ending. So I won’t discuss the ending, but I’ll certainly recommend you stay to the end.

Boyle plays a great deal of focus on compartmentalization. His characters build mental and emotional walls to keep inconvenient and/or painful aspects of themselves away from what they see as their core. And at their core, they vow to keep going, blinkered against the bigger picture. Trouble arises from failure to keep walls up, and when someone’s walls crush someone else’s. Getting to know someone at all well is always dangerous in film noir.

Visual isolation, along with mental isolation, informs the action and the cinematography. Several times, Aki finds herself pinned down inside a hotel room with a visitor outside who may be friendly, may want to kill her, may have something altogether different in mind. Tight cutting between close-ups of eye contact through a chained door, Aki’s alleged talents are put to the test for real, a high-stakes poker game of psyches. {PACQUIAO cont’d from page 4} Pacquiao took time off after that bout, but returned to the ring and won three more fights before Mayweather finally agreed to get in the ring with him, five years after fans first called for the matchup.

Yet the former knockout machine hasn’t stopped an opponent since November 2009, when he finished Miguel Cotto in arguably the greatest performance of his career.

This fight has captured the full attention of Pacquiao, who has found time to actually study film of Mayweather during his chaotic life among his entourage, his large family and his congressional duties.

Trainer Freddie Roach hasn’t seen Pacquiao watching film of his opponents in years, yet Pacquiao came to him with ideas and plans for the fight. Pacquiao is clearly a student of Mayweather’s techniques, even doing a serviceable impersonation of Mayweather’s famed shoulder roll to entertain Roach.

“I haven’t really seen him have this much speed and power in a long time,” Roach said.

“My chest hurts really bad right now. You can see how much it means to him. He lives for these huge moments, and he knows what this fight means. Floyd is in trouble.”

Pacquiao confirmed his eagerness to make the fight happen, pointing out that he agreed to every term proposed by Mayweather over the past several years of intermittent negotiations. Pacquiao also agreed to a 6040 split of the proceeds.

“If my concern is myself alone, I don’t (think of) the fans,” Pacquiao said. “Then the fight, it’s hard to make happen. Because of course, I don’t want to take 60-40, a disadvantage and everything. I agreed with that for the sake of the fans. I agreed to make the fight happen.”

Pacquiao also said he felt a virtual duty to make a possible nine-figure payday resulting from this bout to further his charitable work in the Philippines, where he plans to give away a significant portion of his cut.

“I cannot see them being hungry and not helping them,” Pacquiao said. “I’m not materialistic. ... I have to use it for the glory of the Lord, and also for my family and for helping people.” 

Have a story idea that you think would fit perfectly in Northwest Asian Weekly?

We want to know about it. Send it to us at info@nwasianweekly.c om.

grow by the time the Capitol Hill project is finished. City Light is working hard to get the message out that this program exists as an alternative for customers who want solar but maybe can’t do it themselves. The utility wants to grow the program with additional projects with the hope that before long, community solar customers will outnumber the net-metered customers by a broad margin.  For more on the solar panel project, visit www.seattle.gov/ communitysolar.

Suzanne DuRard can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Soon Aki finds herself chasing the mysterious stranger, who turns out to have more layers than an onion, or even a head of lettuce. Her conclusions about what’s really going on roll back and forth like a wave machine. And the sheriff who ran into trouble in the fog, played by Pepe Serna, will eventually meet her and share what he knows. But even that might not solve the puzzle. Boyle’s given us a puzzle for puzzle-lovers, stocked with memorable characters and suspense. But like most noir, there’s an existential sadness at its darkened heart. We have no intrinsic meaning, the story tells us. So we have to make our own meanings.

And we have to be very, very careful who we trust.  “Man From Reno” plays April 30th through May 4th at the Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, between Pike and Pine on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. For prices, show times, etc., visit http://www.nwfilmforum.org/ live/page/calendar/3504.

Andrew Hamlin can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ astrology

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

13

For the week of April 25–May 1, 2015

By Sun Lee Chang

Rat — Are you just trading one issue for another? Be wary of accepting a deal that seems almost too good to be true.

Dragon — An awkward beginning need not dictate how the rest of the meeting goes. Focus on finishing on an up note.

Monkey — Some accomplishments are worth the struggle to complete them. Remember that as you push through to the end.

Ox — Is it hard for you to switch gears lately? You need to be able to recharge, so when on vacation allow yourself to unwind.

Snake — Don’t assume that everyone has done their homework. You will have a distinct advantage if you do a little research beforehand.

Rooster — Are you feeling a bit sluggish as you start your day? Try to get what you need done early, so that you can rest up for tomorrow.

Tiger — A loved one will make a decision that you won’t necessarily agree with. However, it is your place to support, not judge.

Horse — You are willing to go to great lengths to please your partner. However, it is important to ask yourself if the feelings are mutual.

Dog — Trust your instincts when it comes to determining whether to stay or go. You know the situation better than anyone else.

Rabbit — Real change takes both time and commitment. If either one of these is missing or in short supply, then it may be hard to sustain.

Goat — Your ability to traverse a varied landscape could be quite useful this week. Tread cautiously, as you could encounter an unexpected obstacle.

Pig — Although you crave stability, the chance to experience something new drives you to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

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.

{TINGTING cont’d from page 5} affair being handled according to law, and urging foreign countries not to interfere.

The five were released, but remain under investigation and have been told not to travel outside their home cities or meet journalists.

AP reporters traveled to Li’s home village of Hongtongying, a community of wheat fields and willow trees on Beijing’s outskirts, but were trailed by unidentified vehicles. In a nearby town center, the journalists were able to see Li with Teresa as they walked arm-in-arm from a tea house to a hospital, but could not interview Li. Her friend and the lawyer said Li would abide by state security officials’ demands that she grant no interviews. They also released a written statement by Li, in which Li pleaded innocence.

“What I have done does not provoke trouble, but is mild advocacy that does not amount to any crime,” Li wrote.

“I demand police dismiss the case immediately, remove coercive restrictions on me and return innocence to me.”

The lawyer said the demand that Li hold no interviews has no basis under Chinese law.

“The activism by Li Tingting not only complies with the Chinese law, but should be lauded because she is promoting the law,” Wang said, referring to China’s law, policy and declarations championing equal rights for women.

“She should not have been treated so illegally by authorities. For a young woman who is able to do what she’s done, I think she should be considered a hope for China.”

Li will need some time to readjust but has been in good spirits despite her ordeal, her friend and the lawyer said.

In the statement, Li said she was deprived of sleep and had cigarette smoke blown into her face while she was restrained in an iron interrogation chair.

“It made my nostrils and eyes dry and uncomfortable,” Li wrote. “I could not move at all and felt my dignity was greatly insulted.”

Interrogators shone strong light into her eyes and repeatedly called her homosexuality “sickening” and “shameless,” Li wrote.

Her lawyer Wang said the acts by interrogator amounted to torture.

Teresa, who also was briefly detained by police but said she didn’t want to give her full name out of fear for her personal safety, said Li was “delighted” to learn of the support she received from Clinton and from one of her idols, Eve Ensler.

Author of the “Vagina Monologues,” Ensler called for people around the world to protest in front of Chinese embassies and consulates in support of Li and the four other Chinese women’s activists.

She and other rights advocates have attributed the early release of the five to the international pressure on the issue, which threatened to embarrass China ahead of a key anniversary in September of a high-profile women’s rights conference in 1995.

Born just weeks after Chinese troops crushed student pro-democracy protests in the heart of Beijing, Li grew up in a working-class household. She came out early as a

lesbian to her parents, who reacted badly to the news. She found her tribe in college where she joined other activists working on HIV, gender equality and gay and lesbian issues. With her at the helm, the activists began staging tongue-in-cheek, media-friendly public protests, which she called performance art.

Li and other women once strolled down a busy Beijing shopping street wearing blood-stained wedding dresses and warning passing couples about domestic abuse. In another action, several activists boarded a Shanghai subway train in miniskirts and metal breastplates after women passengers reported they had been groped. She also had helped organize sit-ins at public restrooms to demand more toilets for women.

Chinese authorities once tried to silence Li by offering her a job on a governmental women’s federation if she would stop her protests and social media work. Li turned down the offer and later suspended her work in the face of growing police monitoring. Her lawyer Wang said Li had always been cautious about her activism, seeking legal advice before she took action.

Li was detained just ahead of International Women’s Day, which Chinese authorities mark by touting gender equality under the leadership of the ruling Communist Party.

Teresa said that Li thought her group’s activism on behalf of women’s rights would carry little political risk, and was surprised the state came down on them with such force. Li believes it shows that China’s civil society is facing extreme difficulty, and that much “`more needs to be done,’” Teresa said. 

{ORCAS cont’d from page 11} responders, while what’s left quickly sinks into the water. And there it remains, forever.

The Enron boys may be the smartest guys in the room, but multiplying by seven times tanker traffic carrying toxic, unrecoverable oil through one of the most navigationally challenging and wildlife-rich waters in North America is a very dumb proposition, indeed.

Much is at stake. All of the work conservationists and whale watchers are doing now to rebuild salmon runs and recover this endangered population of resident orcas could be lost in an instant.

And with no whales, we have no whale watching and the $100 million-plus economic impact the industry has on the region. We’ll also lose something that’s very hard to attribute a dollar figure to – what these orcas mean to the soul of the Pacific Northwest.

Whale watch operators are standing by to help. 

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asianweekly northwest

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APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

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33 YEARS YOUR VOICE

APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015

15

Recycling

“We buy scrap metal and they will bring in brass, copper, aluminum—we pay cash for all of that stuff. A lot of homeless people pick stuff up. We give them some cash. And so they get a few bucks to buy something to eat,” says Joseph Salvatore, manager of Recycling Depot. He says, “I’ve only been here for six years, but we’ve been here since 1979. We’ve expanded. A lot of different people have

Asian pear trees line the ridge of a trellis, Danny Woo Community Garden Strawberry plants in bloom, Danny Woo Community Garden

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

nonprofit. “…People have already been doing really sustainable growing practices for thousands of years. So, it’s been happening here for 40 years, but it’s been going on for many years before that.” Duthler adds, “So much of the environmental movement is European-centered. There is so much that everyone can learn from all of the cultures around the world…right here, in Seattle’s backyard.”

Most of the gardeners in the Danny Woo Community Garden are elderly Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese, but the demographics of the International District are changing. In response, Duthler and others at INTERIM CDA, developed the Children’s Garden Educational Program, a seed-toplate initiative to teach kids about sustainable farming practices.

“The Environmental Movement and organic gardening farming movement could take a lesson in humility,” says Duthler, “and learn a few things from what’s already been done. I include myself in that. And I am learning. There are a lot of language barriers, but I see what people are able to grow, and I am pretty amazed. For example, they will take a lot of food scraps, especially beans, and put them in a bucket of water and just let them ferment, and it’s like an anaerobic fermentation process, and it creates this nitrogen-rich fertilizer that they throw on their garden plats. Mostly, bean leaves or bean pods. I see people do it for anywhere from three to six months, and it smells absolutely horrible.” Duthler doesn’t know how exactly it works, but she sees the results.

“The trellising and the structures that people have built…they are able to use any scrap to make something that ends up being really beautiful,” says Duthler, “Things that we might throw in the landfill end up getting used.”

Lauren Wong, an Americorps volunteer coordinator who works with Duthler says, “I decided to apply to the Danny Woo Garden because it seemed like a really beautiful and unique green space in the middle of an urban area…it was just really beautiful that this green space was nestled between apartment buildings and a highway.”

Photos by Laura Ohata/NWAW

{GREEN cont’d from page 8}

Kniphofia in bloom, Danny Woo Community Garden

come in since 2008. A lot of people lost those middle-income jobs that have never been, and probably never will be replaced.”

Surprisingly, recycling itself causes pollution, “We get a lot of trucks. As they recycle stuff, trucks leak oil. People are coming in, and I can’t stop a guy with an oil leak. Of course when it rains that leaks into the storm drain. That’s why we put in the water purification system. We recycle a lot of aluminum cans. When you are dumping cans, we have garbage cans that we load them into.

They still have fluid in them and all of that beer and pop that can wreak havoc in your storm drain. We certainly try to be totally green. We even put in a water treatment system to clean the storm-water runoff to ensure that no contaminants pass through us and into the storm-water stream which leads into the Duwamish water way.”

{COMPOST cont’d from page 7} It is interesting to note that Seattle is a national recycling leader. According to Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), residents and businesses currently recycle or compost 400,000 tons of food waste, yard waste, paper, plastic, glass, cardboard, and aluminum annually.

This is testament to the city’s commitment to recycling.

According to SPU, International District residents have done a great job of composting their food waste by putting it in their “Food & Yard Waste” cart. It’s hard to say what accounts for the differences between neighborhoods, but International District residents and apartment managers have been receptive to the trainings and site visits offered by SPU. However, Seattle residents and businesses still put 100,000 tons of food waste and compostable paper in their garbage every year. Those items could be composted instead.

Examples of compostable items include all food waste such as: used tea, coffee, rice, apple cores, egg shells, bones, and vegetable scraps.

And food-soiled paper such as: paper napkins, paper towels, cardboard containers (not coated with plastic), and even wooden chopsticks.

Renewable Energy

“A lot of people think that it is Seattle and it rains, so we don’t get enough sun for solar.

But, we actually get 70 percent of the sun Los Angeles does,” says Jeremy Smithson, founder and CEO of Puget Sound Solar, LLC. At least five renewable energy companies are located in or immediately adjacent to the International District including: Tuusso Energy, Summit Power, One Energy Renewables, Northwest Wind & Renewables, and Puget Sound Solar LLC. Smithson located Puget Sound Solar in the International District because of its central location, near so many freeways, making it easy to reach customers throughout the region.

When asked about market demand for solar panels, Smithson says, “In the past few years, solar energy in the Seattle area has increased 30 percent per year. The incentives have had a

(Please also refer to chart for reference.)

If these items are put in the garbage, they are taken to a landfill and buried. If those items were put in the yard waste container instead of in the garbage, they are turned into compost and returned to gardens and public parks to nourish our plants and soil.

Seattle spends $13 million annually to haul garbage to a landfill 300 miles away in Eastern Oregon (yes, it travels 300 miles to Oregon!).

However, roughly one-half of what is sent to the landfill every year could have been recycled or composted instead. Putting food waste and food-soiled paper in the food waste cart and putting clean paper, cardboard, bottles, cups, jars, and cans in the recycling cart benefits everyone. By recycling and composting, the city can reduce greenhouse emissions, reduce garbage disposal costs, and create valuable products such as compost.  Information for residents: seattle.gov/util/ MyServices/FoodYard/ or call 206-684-3000.

Information for businesses: GreenBusiness@ Seattle.gov, or call 206-343-8505.

Peggy Chapman can be reached at editor@ nwasianweekly.com.

lot to do with that, the federal tax credit and a couple of state incentives.” Smithson says that the increased demand for solar, up 30 to 40 percent annually for the past few years, has driven prices down as manufacturing gears up on a massive scale.

In addition to tax credits and reduced costs, “People like the idea of generating their own power. The whole of Seattle has people thinking about solar as a way to mitigate climate change and energy sources in the future. A lot of the state gets its electricity from hydropower. There is a lot less snow in the mountains. Much of the state’s power comes from the Columbia River. So, it is preparing for the future.

A lot of people recognize that and they want to do something about it, whether it’s the small-scale or large-scale homeowner or business .While Seattle has always been particularly friendly towards solar, but Bellevue was another story. Smithson says, “It used to be pretty tough to get permits. It would take a long time. But, it’s changing.” Seattle City Light also now offers a Community Solar program (see article, page 6).

Asked about his outlook regarding climate change, Smithson says, “If you look around the country or the world you don’t see the changes you want to but there are some trends that will change. Coal fire electricity is being reduced pretty quickly in the US mostly from cheap natural gas, but as we move away from coal, that is a definite benefit for the climate.

There is a trend toward renewable energy.

We’re optimists.”  Laura Ohata can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

{CAMBODIAN SON cont’d from page 3} deportations, detention incarceration.

and

mass

NWAW: Has there been any progress in Kosal’s legal situation since the film was finished?

Tucker: No, there has not been any progress for Kosal. But the South East Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN) continues to strategize and take action to foster awareness of the inhumane and unjust treatment of hundreds of SE Asian families as a result of mass incarceration, detention and deportation.

NWAW: What has Kosal been up to since the film was finished, both in and out of Phnom Penh?

Tucker: The film further introduced Kosal to the US and global markets. So, Kosal has travelled fairly extensively along with Masa. They’ve screened the film in Beijing, Berlin, and Singapore including in a youth detention

center. Kosal has a natural knack for connecting with youth, especially troubled youth. He thrives in youth empowerment and development work.

NWAW: Are you attempting to find a distributor for the film, or will you keep that in-house?

Tucker: Yes, Studio Revolt has been working with a potential distributor.

We will release further details about this following the last US screening.

NWAW: What’s in the future for all three of you?

Tucker: In 2015, Anida will have exhibitions in France, Australia, and the US. Masahiro will continue work on a new film project, a fiction film: he continues to assert that he is not a documentary filmmaker. Kosal will continue to work on his poetry and begin writing a memoir that will be published in partnership with Studio Revolt.  Andrew Hamlin can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2015