VOL 36 NO 31 | JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017 by Northwest Asian Weekly

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

VOL 36 NO 31

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

FREE 35 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Family speaks out on death of their son, Tommy Le

NAMES Bourdain in Chinatown, sans cameras » see 3

By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Tommy Le was a 20-year-old Vietnamese American man who had a job at a casino in Tulalip at the same time he was finishing up school — and he was one day away from his high school graduation when he was fatally shot by King County sheriff ’s deputy Cesar Molina on June 13 in Burien. Witnesses claimed they saw Le wielding a knife and threatening people. When he was shot, Le was found to only be holding a pen. Le had no criminal record nor history of violence. He died of injuries at Harborview the same night. About 150 people congregated together at Asian Counseling and Referral Service on the evening of July 19 at a community forum organized by members of a Vietnamese American group, Viets Who Give a Shiet. Government leaders present at this forum included King County Office of Law Enforcement Oversight Director Deborah Jacobs, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, King County Deputy Executive Rhonda Berry, King see LE on 6

SPORTS

Photo by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW

Claire Liu wins Wimbeldon junior title for America » see 7

Tommy Le’s mother, Dieu Ho, tells government leaders that her son was a good kid and has never gotten into trouble with law enforcement before. Le was unarmed when he was killed by a law enforcement oﬃcer June 13.

A-POP Jackie Chan a Vietnamese man who kicks ass? Meh. » see 8

Local powerlifters win at Chinatown International world championships District residents say no to displacement

Alma Kimura at the International Powerlifting Federation Classical World Championships

Members of Seattle’s planning, land use, and zoning committee, from left: Seattle City Councilmembers Mike O’Brien, Lisa Herbold, Bruce Harrell, Lorena Gonzalez, and Rob Johnson

By Jason Cruz NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

By James Tabafunda NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Grant Higa and Alma Kimura scored victories in their respective powerlifting divisions at the World Championships in Minsk, Belarus this past June. The two Asian Paciﬁc Islanders from Hawaii competed for Team USA at the International Powerlifting Federation Classical World Championships, after successful competitions in Orlando, Fla. in June.

Grant Higa

Higa, 46, competed in the M1category (ages 40–49), winning second place in his division. Competitors from all over the world came to the World Championships

to compete. Higa completed squats of 683 pounds, a bench press of 446.43 pounds, and 315 pounds in the deadlift. Higa grew up on a farm in Hawaii and described himself as “country strong,” as he never touched weights growing up. While working for a moving company, Higa met a coworker who eventually got him into powerlifting. Higa recalled that he could bench 325 pounds when he weighed just 165 pounds. The coworker invited Higa to lift with him, which required an early wake-up call, as training sessions started at 5:30 a.m. (They had to ﬁt in two- to three-hour training sessions prior to going to work.) Getting up early prior to work laid a foundation of commitment see POWERLIFTERS on 15

The City of Seattle’s idea of preventing displacement and fostering equitable communities in Chinatown International District (CID) differs from the vision shared among its low-income residents. Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) legislation allows developers to build 170-foot tall buildings in the CID, an increase of 20 feet from the current 150-foot limit that would upzone the neighborhood by two stories. More than 200 CID stakeholders gathered at the Nisei Veterans Committee Memorial Hall on July 18 to urge city leaders to do more to help CID residents, nonprofits, and businesses avoid eviction.

The town hall, called “We Shall Not Be Moved,” gave stakeholders in Chinatown, Nihonmachi (Japantown), and Little Saigon the opportunity to share speciﬁc concerns and needed changes to the proposed zoning change. City Councilmembers Mike O’Brien, Lisa Herbold, Bruce Harrell, Lorena Gonzalez, and Rob Johnson listened to scheduled presentations and public comments during the planning, land use, and zoning committee meeting. Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Mandarin interpreters were also present. Councilmember and Committee Chair Johnson said, “We have proposed no changes, I repeat no changes, to the see MHA on 13

asianweekly northwest

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

35 YEARS

SEE IT ALL AT SAM NOW ON VIEW

Common Pleasures: Art of Urban Life in Edo Japan Indulge in depictions of popular pastimes of Edo Japan at the Seattle Art Museum, where you can enjoy SAM’s Asian art treasures while our historic Asian Art Museum is closed in preparation for renovation. Picnicking under Cherry Blossoms and Boating on the River (detail), mid 18th century, Nishikawa Sukenobu, pair of six-panel screens; ink, color and gold on paper, 40 x 18 1/2 in., “Gift to a City: Masterworks From the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum,” Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, no. 141., 62.133.1.

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■ NAMES IN THE NEWS

Photo by John Liu/NWAW

Donnie Chin remembered

Huang was the former development director leading revenue eﬀorts for its Early Head Start, Preschool centers, Play and Learn program, and general operating fund. Before DLEC, she served in many development capacities, from executive director at CASA of Washtenaw County to leading annual giving and corporate relations at Highline Medical Center Foundation. ■

Japanese TV food personality Rika Yukimasa at Bite of Seattle Speakers and attendees at a vigil remembering Donnie Chin

On July 23, Donnie Chin’s family members and the International District Emergency Center (IDEC), of which Chin was executive director, hosted a vigil in Canton Alley to remember Chin’s life and the circumstances of his death. Speakers included Chin’s sister, Connie, as well as his best friend, Dean Wong, in addition to IDEC leaders. Chin was killed the morning of July 23, 2015, a casualty of gunfire between two rival gangs. Chin’s murder case remains unsolved. ■

Photo from Harry Chan

Anthony Bourdain eats at Tai Tung

Anthony Bourdain with Harry Chan

On July 21, Anthony Bourdain, former chef and host of “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” ate at Tai Tung restaurant, Seattle’s oldest Chinese restaurant. Tai Tung owner Harry Chan was busy in the kitchen when Bourdain entered in a low-key way (sans camera crew). It was only when a customer asked to have a photo taken with Bourdain that Chan realized Bourdain was a “big shot.” As for what was ordered oﬀ the menu, a server reported that Bourdain had the roasted duck, mapo tofu, beef with garlic, sweet and sour pineapple chicken, and kung pao chicken. ■

Nikki Huang is Denise Louie’s new director of major giving

Nikki Huang is Denise Louie Education Center (DLEC)’s new director of major giving, to lead the agency’s $4.1. million capital campaign. This Nikki Huang $73-million-dollar project is a collaboration between Mercy Housing, DLEC, and NeighborCare to bring early learning services, aﬀordable housing, and healthcare access to the Sand Point area.

asianweekly northwest

YOUR VOICE

Rika Yukimasa

Japanese television food personality and prominent Japanese chef Rika Yukimasa was at Groupon Bite of Seattle July 21–23. Yukimasa is a co-host of “Dining with the Chef,” a signature lifestyle and cooking program on

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

NHK WORLD TV. In the series, Rika demonstrates original Japanese recipes and enlightens viewers on Japanese food culture. ■

Chan wants to stay on as Snohomish County Fire District commission

Hideyuki Komaki a Watanabe Scholar

For the 2017– 2018 year, there are 21 Watanabe Scholars. Among them is Hideyuki Komaki, from Keio University in Japan, who is now studying at the University of Washington. Hideyuki Komaki The Watanabe Scholarship is awarded to Japanese students to study abroad in the United States. The scholarships cover the full cost of attendance at an American university for one year. ■

David Chan

Snohomish County Fire District 1 has four candidates challenging incumbent David Chan for a position on the ﬁve-member commission. Chan is the only person of color on the com-

mission. His challengers are P. Bret Chiafalo, Brandon Richards, Brandy Donaghy, and Michael Ellis. Fire District 1 is governed by a board of ﬁve commissioners elected to serve sixyear terms. ■

GOT A TIP? editor@nwasianweekly.com

asianweekly northwest

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

35 YEARS

■ COMMUNITY NEWS New Highline program aims to increase diversity of teaching corps The racial diversity of teachers in six school districts in south King County is low relative to the racial makeup of the districts’ students, according to data from Washington’s Oﬃce of Superintendent of Public Instruction. October 2015 ﬁgures from the Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, and Tukwila districts reveal that students of color make up 69 percent of the total population of nearly 105,000 students — while classroom teachers of color account for only 15 percent of the nearly 6,000 classroom teachers in these Dr. Frank Kline six districts. “Our school districts have valiantly attempted to change

this. Some of them are making signiﬁcant progress. However, there is still a big gap between the diversity of students and the diversity of the teachers, and much work to close it,” said Dr. Frank Kline, who is a program manager at Highline College, which serves south King County. A new teacher training program beginning in fall 2017 at Highline seeks to change the disparity. It gives those who hold an applied associate degree in Early Childhood Education or Paraeducation a path to an applied bachelor’s degree with the opportunity to earn teacher certiﬁcation. With more than 70 percent students of color, Highline ranks as the most diverse higher education institution in the state. Recent research has shown that matching Black male

City of Seattle launches new citizen website

The Seattle Oﬃce of Immigrant and Refugee Aﬀairs’ Our New Citizen Campaign (NCC) launched a new website, newcitizencampaign.org. The site acts as a central hub for citizenship events, programs, services, and information for the Seattle–King

County community. The site also features a free online application tool called Citizenshipworks. ■ For more information, visit newcitizencampaign.org.

■ WORLD NEWS

Bereaved New Zealand family protests Japan’s psychiatric care

By Sherry Zheng ASSOCIATED PRESS TOKYO (AP) — A New Zealand family says it wants to be a catalyst for change in mental health care in Japan, following the death of a family member who went into cardiac arrest after being restrained in a hospital for 10 days. Kelly Robert Savage, who was working as an English teacher in Japan, was admitted to Yamato Hospital outside of Yokohama in late April after experiencing manic episodes related to his bipolar disorder. He was immediately strapped down because the hospital thought he might become agitated, said his older brother, Patrick Savage, who accompanied him at the time. Kelly went into cardiac arrest after 10 days and was transferred to Yamato Municipal Hospital, where he died seven days later. The family suspects the death was caused by deep-vein thrombosis resulting from his immobility, and blames the hospital for what it says was inhumane use of physical restraint. His mother and his brother held a news

conference in Tokyo on July 20 with a Japanese expert to share their experience and call for action to stop the practice in “Japan’s broken psychiatric system,” as Patrick said. “The world needs to know what’s happening, and Japan needs to act immediately to stop it,” he said. Naoki Kinomoto, a lawyer for Yamato Hospital, said he could not comment because it has been served notice of legal action. Toshio Hasegawa, a professor at Kyorin University in Tokyo, said at the news conference that psychiatric patients in Japan are restrained for an average of 96 days, while in other countries, restraint lasts for only a few hours. There are about 10,000 psychiatric patients currently under physical restraint, roughly 3.4 percent of the 290,000 patients being treated in psychiatric hospitals, said Hasegawa, who is researching the use of isolation and physical restraint in psychiatric hospitals in Japan and abroad. “Unless each and every Japanese person considers human rights seriously, and forms a society that is able to protect human rights, I do not think this practice of physical restraints will die out,” he said. ■

students to a same-race teacher can improve educational attainment, according to a working paper released by a team of researchers from American University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California, Davis. In their March 2017 paper, the researchers found that low-income, male students who are Black were 39 percent less likely to drop out of high school if they had a Black teacher only once during grades 3–5. Among the nearly 17,000 students attending Highline, 20 percent are Asian, 17 percent are Hispanic/Latino, 17 percent are Black or African American, and 13 percent identify as multiracial. Only 25 percent are white, according to data collected by the college, which is selfreported by students. Approximately 90 percent of students provide their race/ethnicity. ■

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON NOTICE TO PROPOSERS Proposals will be received for E00499E17, Engineering Services for Brightwater Treatment Plant Aeration Basin Optimization; by the King County Procurement and Payables Section, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, until 12:00 PM on August 2, 2017. Total Estimated Price for Phase 1: $324,000 Total Estimated Price for all Phases: $1,700,000 There is a 15% minimum requirement for King County Certiﬁed Small Contractor and Supplier (SCS) ﬁrms on this contract. Contact: Esther Decker, 206-263-9323, esther.decker@ kingcounty.gov.

asianweekly northwest

YOUR VOICE

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

■ NATIONAL NEWS

Airbnb host who canceled reservation over race ﬁned $5,000 By Michael Balsamo ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dyne Suh

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An Airbnb host who cancelled a reservation and told the guest, “One word says it all. Asian,” has agreed to pay a $5,000 ﬁne and attend a college course in Asian American studies, oﬃcials with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing said July 13.

The guest, Dyne Suh, had booked the home as part of a ski trip with her ﬁancé and friends in Big Bear in February. When she was close to the house, Suh messaged host Tami Barker through the Airbnb app, but the host cancelled the reservation after a dispute over additional guests. Barker told Suh in a series of messages that she wouldn’t rent to her if she were the last person on Earth. “One word says it all. Asian,” one of the messages said. When Suh told Barker that she would complain to Airbnb, Barker wrote, “It’s why we have Trump … I will not allow this country to be told what to do by foreigners.” Suh, who posted an emotional video about the incident

on YouTube, has said she’d agreed to pay $250 per night to rent the home and later asked Barker if two other friends could also stay at the house, which Barker agreed to. Suh sent Barker screenshots of text messages where she agreed to the additional guests, but Barker cancelled the reservation. As part of an agreement with state oﬃcials, Barker also agreed to personally apologize to Suh and perform community service at a civil rights organization. A message left at a number listed for Barker was not see AIRBNB on 14

Claims of human rights abuses in Hawaii ﬂeet

Man dies when air bag inﬂator ruptures during car repair

By Caleb Jones ASSOCIATED PRESS

By TOM KRISHER AP AUTO WRITER

HONOLULU (AP) — A human rights complaint has been filed with an international commission to investigate claims of human rights violations in Hawaii’s commercial fishing industry. Turtle Island Restoration Network told The Associated Press on July 20 that they filed the complaint the previous week with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. The filing asks the panel to determine the responsibility of the United States for human rights abuses against foreign workers in Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet. An Associated Press investigation into the seafood industry revealed that hundreds of men are confined to Hawaii boats that operate due to a federal loophole that exempts the foreign fishermen from most basic labor protections.

Many come from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific nations to take the jobs, which can pay as little as 70 cents an hour. The fleet catches $110 million worth of luxury seafood annually. The petition, which the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery and Ocean Defenders Alliance joined, was filed on July 13 with the agency that can make non-binding recommendations to government officials and policymakers. The Inter-American Human Rights Commission is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States, which works to protect human rights in the hemisphere. The United States is a member of that organization. “Hawaii’s longline fishery operates in a void of regulation. Government at the state and federal level is failing to ensure see HUMAN RIGHTS on 14

DETROIT (AP) — Another person has been killed in the United States by an exploding Takata air bag inflator, but this death wasn’t the result of a crash. Ramon V. Kuffo, 81, of Hialeah, Fla., was working inside a 2001 Honda Accord using a hammer when the air bag inflator ruptured, on June 18, 2016. A medical examiner ruled his death accidental due to head trauma, according to a Hialeah police report. It’s the 12th U.S. death attributed to the faulty inflators and 17th worldwide, including five in Malaysia. Takata inflators can explode with too much force when exposed to prolonged airborne moisture and hot-and-cold temperature cycles. If that happens, the inflators can blow apart a metal canister and shoot out shrapnel, which can kill or injure people. More than 180 people have been hurt in the Unied States alone. The problem touched off the largest automotive recall in U.S. history, involving up to 69 million inflators and 42 million vehicles. Honda was Takata’s biggest customer before the problems surfaced. Last month, Takata filed for bankruptcy protection in both Japan and the United States and most of its assets were bought by rival Key Safety Systems. According to police, Kuffo was in the backyard of his home near Miami, working on a silver 2001 Honda Accord, when a neighbor heard a loud bang. The neighbor went outside and found Kuffo sitting in the passenger seat of the car unconscious and bleeding from his face. Kuffo was taken to a trauma center, where he died the next day. Both air bags had inflated. Honda released some details of the death on July 10 and said it only recently found out about it. The company has not been able to inspect the car and is relying on police photos to make its determination, Honda spokesman Chris Martin said. The victim, who police said was not the car’s owner, was working on the interior of the car with a hammer and had taken apart the car’s center console, but it wasn’t clear what he was trying to fix. It’s also

not clear why the airbag deployed, but police photos show the metal driver’s side inflator ruptured and shot out fragments, Honda said. The car’s ignition switch was on, so the airbag would have been ready in case of a crash, according to Honda. Martin noted that there is a deceleration sensor that activates the air bags mounted on the wall between the engine and passenger compartment. “The rupture most likely contributed to his death,” Martin said. The 2001 Accord has one of the most dangerous types of Takata driver’s side air bag inflators. Laboratory tests show they have as high as a 50 percent chance of blowing apart in a crash. Honda urged owners who have received recall notices to get repairs made as soon as possible, especially those with the most dangerous type of inflator. Those models are the 2001 and 2002 Accord and Civic, the 2002 CR-V and Odyssey, the 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL, the 2003 Acura 3.2 CL, and the 2003 Pilot. Honda says it has sufficient supplies of replacement inflators available to fix all of its recalled vehicles. “It’s essential to safety that high-risk inflators are replaced immediately,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement. Honda says its service procedures recommend disconnecting the battery when working on the air bag system. Owners can go online and subscribe to Honda service manuals and find out proper procedures for many repairs. It costs about $10 per day, Martin said. Multiple owners of the car were mailed 12 recall notices over seven years. “Our records indicate that the recall repair was never completed on this vehicle,” Honda said in a statement. ■

asianweekly northwest

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR JULY

SATURDAY NIGHTS THROUGH AUGUST 26

SEATTLE ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL OUTDOOR MOVIES Hing Hay Park, Seattle’s Chinatown 7:30 p.m.

27 3RD ANNUAL DONNIE CHIN BBQ HOSTED BY API FOOD FIGHT CLUB Donnie Chin International Children’s Park, 700 S. Lane St., Seattle 6 p.m.

LE from 1 County Sheriff John Urquhart, King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, King County Councilmember Larry Gossett, Washington state Rep. Mia Gregerson, and Washington state Sen. Bob Hasegawa. “Tommy Le was a very kind and non-violent young man,” said the Le family’s attorney, Jeff Campiche, of Campiche Arnold PLLC. “He owned no weapons. He belonged to no gangs. … Tommy Le’s friends, coworkers, and teachers describe him as pleasant and all smiles. He was beloved by his large extended Vietnamese American family — a family that fled the oppression in the police state of Vietnam. …” “[The Le family has] some questions, questions for the sheriff,” added Campiche. “Why was an unarmed student shot dead? Why were the officers not wearing body cameras? What crime had Tommy Le committed?”

Procedure

Satterberg explained that an inquest will be conducted in district court in Seattle. An inquest is a judicial inquiry held to determine a person’s cause of death. “An inquest is an unusual feature in King County, in which any death involving a police oﬃcer is something we put in an open court,” said Satterberg. Satterberg explained that during an inquest, the family has an opportunity to be represented and call witnesses. Additionally, anyone interested in the investigation are welcome to come to court to listen. “We’re willing to do an inquest as soon as it’s convenient for the Le family,” said Satterberg. Then he added, referring to the people in the room, “I want to tell people who are angry that it’s appropriate to be angry. This is a tragedy. This is something we need to get to the bottom of.” Urquhart stated his intentions to give unbiased, objective information at the forum and to answer questions the family has. “A lot of the truth will come out of the inquest,” said Urquhart. “It’s the only opportunity where witnesses and my deputies will testify under oath. They will be sworn

35 YEARS

FENG HSIANG DANCE TROUP OF TAIWAN PERFORMANCE Seattle Center Armory 12:30 p.m. seattlecenter.com

3RD ANNUAL GLOBAL ISLAMOPHOBIA AWARENESS DAY Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle 3 p.m.

EDI GENERAL INFO SESSION Ridgewood Corporate Square 5:30 p.m. RSVP by July 24 to vivian@ediorg.org

KOBE BUSINESS SEMINAR & NETWORKING RECEPTION Port of Seattle, 2711 Alaskan Way, Seattle 6:30 p.m. Free admission businesskobe.eventbrite.com

SEATTLE SAILOR MOON DAY 2017 The Vera Project, Warren and Republican, Seattle 12 p.m. tickettailor.com

in, and they will have to tell the truth. They will be questioned by attorneys, so hopefully more information, more truth will come out.” He also addressed the tension between the Vietnamese American community and law enforcement, which plays into the greater national tension in regards to people of color experiencing disproportionate deaths and brutality at the hands of law enforcement. Urquhart said that he speculates that, whatever results are found via inquest or other avenues, “No one will believe the results. The [Vietnamese] community is not going to believe our investigation.” Urquhart said he partly attributes the understandable skepticism and wariness of law enforcement findings to the fact that he does not think the county should investigate its own police shooting. “I will ask tonight that the FBI come in and take over this investigation,” he said. “And you (the community) can believe or not believe what the FBI comes up with. I believe that in this day and age, the police department should not be investigating their own officerinvolved shooting.” After the shooting investigation is completed by the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the investigation will then be sent to Satterberg’s office to determine if criminal charges are warranted.

The night of the shooting

According to previous reports, the sheriff’s office stated that on the night of Le’s death, several 911 calls came in about a man, later identified as Le, who had a sharp object and was threatening people in the Third Avenue South block of Burien. A homeowner who was being threatened fired his gun to try and ward off Le. The homeowner then fled into the house as Le stabbed at the door and screamed that he was “the Creator.” At this point, no one was injured, and Le left the scene. Three deputies arrived on the scene. As they were getting the story from the neighbors, Le came back. At the forum, Urquhart said that, according to his deputies’ reports, they believe that Le had gone home to put the knife away, before returning to the scene with a pen. Officers told Le to drop whatever was in

KING STREET DANCE PARTY Under I-5 on King St. 5 p.m.

his hand. Le kept advancing as deputies backed away. The deputies used their tasers. According to the sheriﬀ ’s department, one of the probes made contact but did not deter Le. Deputy Molina then ﬁred several times, hitting Le. “Something happened to Tommy that night,” said Urquhart. “There was some sort of mental crisis he was in. We don’t know what that was. We don’t know why. This was so uncharacteristic of the young man you’ve heard about. We don’t know what happened. We are looking into it.”

The Le family

Le’s father, Hoai Le, had short remarks at the beginning of the forum. In Vietnamese, Hoai said, “There is no other pain as the pain of losing a son, as losing a piece of my heart. … I don’t know why this happened. I don’t know why my son, who wasn’t holding a knife in his hand, was shot. I want to thank all of you for being here. I want justice for my son.” Tommy Le’s mother, Dieu Ho, said, “My son was a very gentle and peaceful kid. He never got into ﬁghts. … He was very obedient and kind. He lived with his grandma for 15 years. He was 20 years old, [and he said to us] he wanted to move out and not live with Grandma anymore, so he could be an [independent] adult. That night, there was an incident. We don’t know what happened. He was out in the streets. And then we heard the police came. When we heard this, we know

that our kid is only 120 pounds. A very slight person. Yet, [there were] two full-sized male police oﬃcers [who confronted him]. And then they shot my son.” Le’s oldest brother Quoc Nguyen detailed the last moment he met with his brother. He said they were looking for nice suits for Le to wear at Nguyen’s wedding. “It’s unfortunate that we had to use that suit for his funeral,” Nguyen said, tightly. “He wanted to make a positive change in this world,” said Nguyen. “That’s all I have to say. Thank you.” The Le family is Buddhist and made an exception in appearing at the public forum to speak about Tommy Le. Buddhist funeral rites can last 49 days. Campiche said that the family requests privacy as they perform funeral rites for Le, but after the 49 days, they would likely be more vocal about what they want to come out from Le’s death. At the end of the forum, Campiche read a statement from the family. “We can all see it was a mistake. It was a mistake to shoot and kill Tommy. He presented no danger. … Since it was a mistake, please, please sit down and decide how the department can change its practices, its attitude, its way of doing business so that this mistake doesn’t repeat itself, so there’s not another unnecessary killing of a young person.”  Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@ nwasianweekly.com.

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The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: “To empower the Asian community.” The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any advertisement, letter or article. Subscriptions cost $40 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and $30 for 52 weeks of the Seattle Chinese Post. The NW Asian Weekly owns the copyright for all its content. All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reprinted without permission. 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 info@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com

asianweekly northwest

YOUR VOICE

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

■ SPORTS

Screencap from the Claire Liu–Ann Li match/BBC/YouTube

Photo by robbiesaurus/wikimedia

CLAIRE LIU of U.S. wins junior title at Wimbledon

Claire Liu

Claire Liu is female junior champion at Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) — For the first time in 25 years, the female junior champion at Wimbledon is from the United States. Claire Liu beat another American, Ann Li, 6–2, 5–7, 6–2 on July 15 in the final at the All England Club. In 1992, Chanda Rubin won the female junior crown. Liu is from Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Li is from Devon, Pa., and both are 17. They were two of five Americans in the quarterfinals. “All the Americans are doing really well,” said Liu, who lost in the French Open final last month to yet another Ann Li countrywoman. “It’s really good to have a good group of juniors pushing each other.” The final was the first at Wimbledon between two American juniors since 1979, when Mary Lou Piatek beat Alycia Moulton. In the other junior final July 16, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain will face Axel Geller of Argentina. Liu, who was seeded third at Wimbledon, lost to 15-year-old Whitney Osuigwe at Roland Garros. “Being able to play both the French Open and Wimbledon finals is definitely an accomplishment I think already, win or lose,” Liu said. “I think being able to get this match is really, really sweet.” Americans have now won the titles at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year for the first time since 1981. The next Grand Slam tournament this year is the U.S. Open, the one Liu would like to win most. But one problem: She’s in the main draw. “I’m just going to try to get better every day and hopefully the results will come,” Liu said. “Hopefully, I can be doing that.” For now, though, Liu has one more thing she’d like to do in London. “I haven’t had Indian food yet. I love the Indian food here,” Liu said. “I’m definitely going to go to Indian tonight.” ■

• Appointed by President Obama, becoming the first openly gay U.S. Attorney in history. • Led reform of the Seattle Police Department to protect every citizen’s civil rights and better train officers in the use of force, crisis intervention and de-escalation. • Fought against housing discrimination and job discrimination. • Fought back against Trump, personally helping to secure the court order blocking the Muslim travel ban.

Former Governor Gary Locke Patricia Akiyama Mimi Gan Barb Gangwer Ruthann Kurose Pearl Leung Jean Liu David Namura Viet Nguyen Faith Li Pettis Dolores Sibonga Dexter Tang Grace Yuan

JennyForSeattle.com

Paid for by Jenny Durkan for Seattle, 603 Stewart Street, Suite 819, Seattle, WA 98101

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35 YEARS

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Jackie Chan is Vietnamese now. JK, he wishes. APOP! ASIAN-Y STUFF IN POPULAR CULTURE

Jay Park

“Iron Fist”

Steven Yeun

Jackie Chan

Ian Anthony Dale

Meaghan Rath

Beulah Koale

Naomi Scott

A-pop!

Mena Massoud

Will Smith

Jake Zyrus

By Stacy Nguyen NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY This month, Asians continue doing what they’re good at, such as getting signed by Jay-Z and saying no thanks to more money.

Jay-Z signs Jay Park Jay-Z’s label, Roc Nation, has signed Korean pop artist Jay Park, a record producer and rapper himself, as well as dancer and former member of boyband 2PM. Park also is from Edmonds! Washington! He’s American and attended Edmonds Woodway High School. He was part of Seattle-based b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM). After high school, Park moved to Korea and became a superstar. On his Instagram account, Park wrote: “This is a win for the Town This is a win for Korea This is a win for Asian Americans This is a win for the overlooked and underappreciated This is a win for genuine ppl who look out for their ppls This is a win for hard work and dedication This is a win for honesty and authenticity” (sic) <3

“Iron Fist” gets second season renewal. WTF. Loras Tyrell is gonna do more mediocre martial arts and continue to emote his vague angst on the small screen for another season on Netflix. This show is about a white man who comes back from the dead (or Asia) and is amazing at martial arts and inexplicably fights crime way better than the local law enforcement. The first season sucked. The reviewers agreed with me and said the show was crappy. I feel like Netflix and Marvel also secretly agree with me but have to save face because Netflix rarely cancels series, and they also have put so much investment into “The Defenders,” an upcoming superhero team-up much like “The Avengers.” Netflix and Marvel have to keep “Iron Fist” alive or else it’s gonna be super awkward when Iron Fist shows up on “The Defenders” and says to Luke Cage, “Hey, man! Let’s stop evil-doers together!” and Luke responds by mean-girling him and being all like, “I’m sorry, but do I know you?” I get it. It’s hard to admit to our mistakes sometimes. So that’s where we are at. Whatever. see A-POP on 12

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asianweekly northwest

YOUR VOICE

■ PICTORIAL

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

n July 23, the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce presented the annual Chinatown Seafair Parade, a sanctioned Seafair event. The parade featured lion and dragon dances, the Seattle Chinese Girls Drill Team, and other local community groups from the Greater Seattle area. PHOTOS BY ASSUNTA NG & GEORGE LIU MORE THAN TEN CHINESE ORGANIZATIONS

DRAGON DANCE

ADAM SMITH SUPPORTERS

BOB HASEGAWA AND SUPPORTERS

JENNY DURKAN AND SUPPORTERS

SEATTLE CHINESE COMMUNITY GIRLS DRILL TEAM, OLDER MEMBERS

CHINESE AMERICAN MIXED FAMILY ASSOCIATION

SEATTLE CHINESE COMMUNITY GIRLS DRILL TEAM MEMBERS

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35 YEARS

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

OPINION

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG

Even after 22 years, lots of lessons to learn from NWAW’s

SUMMER YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM Photo by George Liu/NWAW

SYLP yearbook 2017

From left: Scholarship winners Anirudh Prakash, Brian Li, Sophia Mar, Yongkang Zhou, Matthew Lui, and SYLP Coordinator Tracey Wong

SYLP students at Tsue Chong Noodles Co. with owner Tim Louie

By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Hmong, and Indian students. It was actually the ﬁrst time we had a Hmong student sign up. Our speakers’ list included the Who’s Who of the Asian community. Some of the speakers were Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu, Seattle Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim, Sen. Bob Hasegawa, Prof. Connie So, KING TV anchor Lori Matsukawa, Prof. Andrew Cho, professor speaker Vanna Novak, Linh Thai, Tom Im of Interim, and more. Through the speakers, the students learned about achieving success, Asian American history, and some of the critical issues facing Asian Americans and the ID today. It’s unusual for a media company to do this kind of leadership program every year, but we have nurtured hundreds and hundreds of youth to be future leaders over the decades. It’s our way of giving back and supporting the community. The fruits of our labor often don’t reveal themselves until months or years later, when the youth are older and mature enough to have applied their learning in life, schools, and the community. Serendipitously, this year, our rewards came earlier — on the program’s last day.

Since 1995, the Northwest Asian Weekly has been organizing its Summer Youth Leadership Program (SYLP), aimed at empowering Asian American high school students. The three-week-all-expenses-paid program is designed to teach Asian youth leadership, identity, and community-building skills. This year, high school students from all over the Puget Sound area met at the Massive Monkees Studio in Chinatown/International District (ID) for the program. There were Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese,

Why the ID In the past, most students were from Seattle-area high schools. This year, the majority of the students came from the suburbs. Most knew little of the positive attributes of the ID. Some students confessed that they signed up initially because they heard the food was good, and the program was free. Courtesy of the NW Asian Weekly Foundation, we hired a coordinator to work with the students, including taking them to lunch at diﬀerent ID restaurants every day. But beyond delicious lunches at restaurants and bubble tea, the youth learned that the ID is the center of the Asian community and its identity. With the presence of the Wing Luke Asian Museum, Tsue Chong Noodle Co., and

Danny Woo Garden, there is much history, resources, and cultural richness in our community for them to explore. Even though some former students were raised in Chinatown, they have told me how the program had opened their eyes about the ID. A simple thing such as dining in a restaurant was a luxury to some inner-city kids. “Growing up in Chinatown, we never dined in restaurants,” one said. “But SYLP brought me inside some of the big restaurants in Chinatown. I had never seen such a big restaurant then.”

The fun It’s not just speeches for the entire three weeks. Students visited KING TV, the University of Washington, and the Wing. They organized a talent show for the seniors at the Legacy House, playing the piano and violin, reciting poems, singing and dancing, and performing magic tricks. Each group also designed a special project to show and tell to the whole group, including producing a yearbook of their activities. The students loved to hang out at bubble tea places at the end of the day.

On graduation night Parents have never spoken at any graduation dinners in the past 22 years. So I was surprised that they did this year. Patricia Wei, a parent, stood up. “Every day, my son would come home and tell me what he had learned or done at the SYLP,” she said. “I didn’t know about many of those things my son talked about. So I am learning, too.” Wow, what the parent said had blown my mind away! That was one of the most powerful and inspiring moments for me at the dinner. I had no clue that SYLP would have such an impact on two generations. The American-born son is teaching his immigrant parent about Seattle’s Asian community! Another parent from San Francisco, originally, echoed the same sentiments. Through her daughter, she learned about Seattle’s Asian American history and roots. SYLP has brought the children and parents closer together because of their willingness to share and learn from one another. That goes beyond my wildest dreams. If more immigrant parents were more interested in what their children are doing in school, it would enhance their communication and bonding opportunities, and thus, dismantle the generation and language gap between them. If the students were willing to share their experiences with their parents, it would empower the young ones to develop an important role as teachers and bridge-builders. We can teach one another. We just have to be open-minded about sharing and learning. That’s a part of leadership. A closer relationship between parents and kids would eliminate misunderstandings and miscommunication between the two generations, especially problems at schools. Instantly, I felt my sacriﬁces have been worthwhile. Yes, it is tough to run two newspapers, in print and online fulltime, plus doing the SYLP for over two decades, never skipping any year.

The art of doing it twice In the past, I discouraged former students from coming back. We had no intention of setting up an auditing program for the students. I was concerned that they just wanted to goof around, and to some extent, there were also budgetary reasons. A few years ago, some alum convinced me to let them see SYLP on 16

asianweekly northwest

YOUR VOICE

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

OPINION

■ EDITORIAL

There have been numerous calls for Seattle Mayor Murray to step down in the aftermath of documents uncovered by the Seattle Times on July 16, detailing an Oregon caseworker’s report that concluded that Murray had sexually abused Jeff Simpson, his foster son in 1984. Among those voices were Seattle Councilmember Lorena González and the Seattle LGBTQ Commission, of which half of members were appointed by Murray. The commission stated that Murray “remaining in office erodes our civil institutions and commitment to justice.” In contrast, four former Seattle mayors, Wes Uhlman, Charles Royer, Norman Rice, and Greg Nickels, released a statement that said, “We firmly believe Mayor Murray should continue to lead the city through the remainder of his term. A transition merely months before electing a new mayor would be messy and time consuming, and would present serious challenges to the day-today operations of the city.” The mayors comprise all living former

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

Murray should not step down

Mayor Ed Murray and husband Michael Shiosaki at the Seafair Parade last Sunday.

Seattle mayors, except Mike McGinn. McGinn is a mayoral candidate and has also called for Murray’s resignation. Last week, Seattle Council President Bruce Harrell stated that while the Council does have the power to impeach the mayor with a two-

thirds majority vote, such action is premature. “The mayor is entitled to a hearing, due process, an attorney. We would be in a situation to make factual and legal determinations of something that occurred 30 years ago and in another state, which is a

tall drink of water,” Harrell said on July 17 at a city council meeting. At this moment, Northwest Asian Weekly is not calling for Murray’s resignation, in the interest of the City of Seattle. If Murray were to step down or be removed from office, Harrell would be next in line to fill the vacancy. This would result in the city council being down one member and also down a tiebreaker (the council is made up of nine members.). While the mayor has said things we have disagreed with in response to the very serious allegations levelled against him, we also cannot advocate trying him in a court of public opinion. Murray has five short months left on the job. Last week in a letter to González, he proposed a joint committee between his office and the city council to ensure that there is a smooth transition between himself and the next Seattle mayor. We urge this transition committee to be thorough and prepared to tackle a number of different outcomes, for the good of the city. ■

■ LETTERS

Our tax system actually penalizes the poor

Note: This is a response to a commentary that ran in the July 15 issue of our paper, “It’s a crime to be rich,” by Ruth Bayang, which opposed a Seattle City Council 2.25 percent income tax for individuals making over $250,000. To the Editor: Because there is no state income tax, here’s the breakdown of how our state’s regressive tax system aﬀects us, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: • The poorest people in Washington state — the bottom 20 percent earners — pay 16.8 percent of their income; • The middle 60 percent pay 10.1 percent of their income; and

• The top 1 percent (11,000 people in a city of about 700,000) of earners pay 2.4 percent of their income. From the poorest to the richest, poor people pay 686 percent more in shares of taxes as a percentage of their income. Washington state then relies more heavily on taxes from low- and middle-income earners. The more incomes stagnate or decline at the bottom — which is what we have now — the slower our state revenue grows. Like any organization that doesn’t have a sustainable, growing revenue stream, the state has to cut spending. The areas that suﬀer from less funding include: housing for low- and middle-income families, public education,

workforce development, infrastructure maintenance and expansion, and providing health care. So our roads are clogged, our schools get less funding, and fewer people can get trained or retrained for new jobs. In the long run, this will all slow down the state’s development as a whole. As the most populous city in the state, Seattle is heavily impacted. With the current tax system, the people being “picked” on the most are not the rich. Our tax system penalizes the poor and working class. ■ — Nikki Chau, Shoreline

Navigation Center detrimental No, it’s not a crime to be rich to ID, City not listening Note: This letter is an edited version of an email sent to Seattle City Council To the Editor: The Navigation Center in Little Saigon being a “done deal” make us very upset. It involves two ethnic communities and is close to Chinatown ID area. Our community is highly populated and busy with businesses. We’ve got more than 100 restaurants, primary schools, clinics, assisted living, and nursing homes, which means we often have seniors, kids, and weaker people (who are easy targets for criminals) walking around in the area. Since the Navigation Center is lowbarrier, it will bring in sex oﬀenders, serious criminals, drug dealers, and people

with mental illnesses into our community. It is an overloaded burden and very high risk for all of us. We don’t want anyone to get hurt and pay for this high risk project. Please, please, please reconsider and ﬁnd another location that does not impact the mass of people like our community. We always support and contribute to society to the City, but the return to us is the City brings in more criminals and trash issues into our community. We don’t get proper respect or positive support by the City. We were told the project was on hold until a solution is found, but it is actually all scheduled. The City breaks its promises and keeps fooling us, hiding from us, and discriminating against us! ■ — Y. Ku, Seattle

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.com.

Note: This is an edited version of an email response to a commentary that ran in the July 15 issue of our paper, “It’s a crime to be rich,” by Ruth Bayang, which opposed a Seattle City Council 2.25 percent income tax for individuals making over $250,000. To the Editor —

No, it’s not a crime to be rich, but rich people sure make it a whole lot tougher for us ‘broke people’ to even aﬀord to live in Seattle. Housing in Seattle used to be aﬀordable to working class people, but now it basically costs us 40 to 50 percent of our income just to rent a one-bedroom apartment! That doesn’t leave us ‘broke people’ with much for anything else. Without us ‘broke people’ to wake up, get on the bus, and ride to your businesses, which barely pay a liveable wage, you wouldn’t be rich and successful. Many of us Asians who migrated legally to America (Seattle) between 1975 and 1990 are not like the current Asian immigrants/investors who are pouring into Seattle/Bellevue, buying up properties left and right and driving up

the housing market and cost of living to the point where Seattle has lost most of its original charm and character. Let me tell you a little about what Asian immigrants from my parents and my generations were like. My father was a veterinarian and my mother was a school teacher. The genocide in our country killed half of the population and caused us to flee for our lives to America. At 4 years old, I only saw my parents arriving home at 8 o’clock at night, after picking tomatoes in the fields. They later got better jobs at the City Kennel and cafeteria work at a university, but they struggled and made sacrifices like riding the bus and shopping for clothes and furniture at garage sales and thrift stores just to make a better life for us. Now at 42 years old, I am disgusted by Ruth’s pompous article, calling people ‘broke people,’ highlighting her ability to manipulate the tax system, and trying to warn the middle class to further demonize ‘broke people’ and working class people. There is no need to sprinkle salt on the wounds of people who are less fortunate. ■ — Kara Em, Seattle

asianweekly northwest

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

A-POP from 8

Steven Yeun doesn’t have to kill zombies to make money. Yay! Steven Yeun used to be one of only two reasons you watch “The Walking Dead.” (The other reason is Michonne, played by Danai Gurira.) And now Yeun’s fan favorite character, Glenn, is dead. And I didn’t put a spoiler alert on that because it’s been almost a year, guys. We need to heal and move on. Now, Yeun is going around being in really good movies (“Okja” on Netﬂix being a recent one) and talking excessively about Asian and Korean American identity and the growing voices of APIs in arts and entertainment. In an interview with Vulture, Yeun said, “I think a lot of the narrative these days has been about how much it’s skewed against us because the system and the people are biased against us, and that’s very true. But I think one narrative that’s always missing is, ‘Where have we contributed to that?’ Where are we as Asian Americans right now and how have we contributed either to that perception or the solution? I think we’re at a great, healthy place right now where people are calling out BS when they see it. We also have to be realistic about ourselves and say, are we, as an entire subsection of America, representing ourselves in the best way we thought we were?”

Jackie Chan to go Liam Neeson on some IRA asses and I guess we’re okay with it? Across the board? Yeah? Coming to a theater near you on Oct. 13 is “The Foreigner,” an action thriller starring Jackie Chan. Jackie will play a ragefueled Vietnamese father/refugee/Viet Cong soldier/South Vietnamese Army soldier (so a typical Vietnamese father, just kidding, I actually dunno if Jackie’ll actually be ethnically Vietnamese in the movie or not), who takes revenge on these bloodthirsty Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorists who blew up his teenage daughter in a bomb attack. This comes after his escape from Vietnam, after his wife and other daughter were raped and murdered by Filipino pirates. (That’s from the novel; I actually have no idea if that awesome plot point will make it into the big-screen adaptation.) “The Foreigner” is based on a Stephen Leather novel, “The Chinaman.” Clearly bogged down by the burden of being politically correct in this day and age, the movie producers have wisely chosen to change the title. Through some intense Googling, I learned that “Chinaman” is probably not how Leather would prefer to call Asians. “Chinaman” is actually what the terrorists call Jackie’s character, Ngoc Minh Quan. So it’s kind of like a superhero name, except the villains named the hero. I hope that mildly brings you comfort, as it did for me. I’m not in the demographic this movie is trying to chase, so I’m not sure my opinion on this movie even matters. It’s being released in China on Sept. 30, before the U.S. release. It is also co-produced by Huayi Brothers Pictures. Clearly the only opinion that matters here is that of Chinese moviegoers and American dude-bros. This movie will make so much money, oh my God.

35 YEARS

I’m a chick that typically hates these kinds of movies. All of that woman-in-the-refrigerator death-porn that apparently happens at the beginning of the movie does not make my heart go pitter patter. I’m not crazy that Jackie is playing a Vietnamese character that is named Nguyen in the novel but named Quan in the movie — but what can I do about this? Other than write a very butt-hurt tweet and add @EyeOfJackieChan at the end of it? Fun fact: Quan is a Vietnamese word for pants, but according to my mom, it’s not a traditional Vietnamese surname. I think they changed the protagonist’s name from Nguyen to Quan because they wanted to Sinicize him. I know this sucks, but you know what? The director of “The Foreigner” is Martin Campbell, aka the man that made Anthony Hopkins get a spray tan but forgot to make Anthony Hopkins put in brown contact lenses or take Spanish lessons so that he could play Mexican hero Zorro in a movie that cast no Mexicans or Mexican Americans in the lead roles. (Antonio Banderas is Spanish, guys. I’m also not saying that all Mexicans have brown eyes, speak Spanish, and are tan because that’s untrue. I’m more saying that freaking Anthony Hopkins was being lazy and was bad at taking complete ownership of his brownfacery.) But I mean, at least Martin Campbell didn’t cast Anthony Hopkins or Matt Damon as Ngoc Minh Quan.

“Hawaii Five-0” casts three new actors of color after Kim and Park’s departure, reminding us that Hollywood thinks Asians are interchangeable. JK. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park left the long-running series after contract disputes. Reportedly while they were offered big raises, their salaries were still not on par with leads Scott Caan or Alex O’Loughlin. Their bosses were probably like, “What is the problem here? We offered you massive cash money.” And Kim and Park might’ve been like, “Dudes, all this makes us realize that you’ve been grossly underpaying us for years.” So Kim and Park walked like a couple of BAMFs. It’s been reported that Ian Anthony Dale (half Japanese), Meaghan Rath (half Goan Indian), and Beulah Koale (Samoan) have signed on to the series, ostensibly to put a spit-shine on this turd of a situation.

Disney casts its Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie — and Asians, this is not a victory for us. It’s a sour-sweet-mostly-sour pill. Disney weirdly managed to surprise a lot of people (because we have low expectations) when it cast Egyptian Canadian actor Mena Massoud as Aladdin and British Indian actor Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine for its upcoming live adaptation of “Aladdin.” Also, Will Smith will play the Genie because he is so freaking intensely likeable in spite of those Scientology rumors — I don’t care what you say. The animated version of “Aladdin” featured the voice acting of white actors in speaking roles and also was set in this magical made-up city somewhere in the Middle East

TAITUNG

that sprang out of the minds of some white dudes. Even though it’s fiction, it’s pretty obvious that “Aladdin” is set in a cartoonish version of Baghdad. There’s also totally a song in the movie called “Arabian Nights.” This movie gets a mention in this column only because Scott is half Indian (and half white), which is a controversial choice, as she has no Middle Eastern ancestry. I’m not lauding the casting myself. I’m kind of as confused and bothered by it as some people are. People of color, in this case North Africans, Middle Easterners, West Asians, and South Asians (a huge expanse of the world, guys), say that they are sick of being seen as interchangeable with one another. They are also sick of their history being flattened and ignored in favor of stereotypes due to the outgroup homogeneity bias, which is the tendency for members of an “in-group” to see individualism within their own membership and homogeneity outside of the group. This has real-world repercussions and effects. It should be noted that post 9/11, hate crimes against South Asians increased, as well as hate crimes against people of Middle Eastern descent because terrible people could not distinguish the difference between the two groups. The criticism Scott’s casting is garnering is a legit response to this, and this could be an opportunity for Asians to not be dillweeds. We should empathize and say, “Hey, I don’t think they should’ve cast an Asian in that role. That sucks.”

Jake Zyrus, formerly Charice Pempengco Jake Zyrus is a transgender Filipino singer, formerly Charice Pempengco, who ﬁrst achieved fame as a YouTube sensation in the Philippines and was known for her powerhouse vocals. Zyrus came out on Twitter and Instagram in June. Previously in a 2014 interview with Oprah, in which he sported close-cropped hair and new tattoos on his arms — a noticeable departure from the long-haired girlishness of Charice — Zyrus, who at the time was still known as Charice, told Oprah he knew he was attracted to females when he was 5 years old. In the same interview, he said that he felt male, in his soul. Zyrus revealed in a recent interview that he had his breasts surgically removed in March. He has had testosterone injections since April. Zyrus has said that his mother is supportive, but there are family members who have struggled with his transition, which he said is understandable, given the context. Zyrus pointed out that he views the Philippines as not as progressive with LGBTQ rights as the United States. According to a 2015 opinion poll by Laylo Research Strategies, 70 percent of Filipinos polled disagreed with same-sex marriage. However, Zyrus has stated in interviews that he has been surprised at how accepting his fans have been in general. “When I thought about ﬁnally coming out as a transgender man, I didn’t think a lot of people would actually agree to it and accept me, but I was surprised with the love and support,” he told USA Today. “So I’ve been doing great. I’ve been feeling good about everything. I’ve been happy.” ■ Stacy Nguyen can be reached at stacy@nwasianweekly. com.

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asianweekly northwest

YOUR VOICE

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

■ ASTROLOGY

Predictions and advice for the week of July 29–August 4, 2017 By Sun Lee Chang

Rat — As some things cannot be done again, it’s crucial to put your best foot forward when it really counts.

Dragon — You have a plan for how to get there, but devote some time to ﬁguring out how to get back as well.

Monkey — Although someone may be trying to shield your view, there are other ways for you to ﬁnd out what is being obscured.

Ox — While you have the chance to mull over the details, don’t lose sight of the big picture, which is what actually matters.

Snake — Once you have seen for yourself what is truly possible, it will be diﬃcult to go back to the way things were before.

Rooster — If you decide to put oﬀ paying the price until later, then there will be a cost associated with waiting to do so.

Tiger — Are you ready to see what has been in the shadows? The more light you let in, the greater the illumination.

Horse — Is there a hidden reason for your delay? No matter what the reason is, you should be able to sense when it is appropriate to move ahead.

Dog — Having closed the book on an old chapter, you are ready to start anew on a diﬀerent story that has yet to be told.

Rabbit — In order to make connections, you will have to make yourself available. Practice should allow you to do so more naturally.

Goat — The discomfort you feel now could help you to ﬁgure out that you need to try something else entirely.

Pig — Although forming an idea is a start, there is much to be done to change it from just a concept into reality.

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.

MHA from 1 historic core of Chinatown International [District].” The city plans to create more than 6,000 more affordable housing units and more business opportunities in the neighborhood over the next 10 years. CID stakeholders claim 640 low-income residents are facing displacement during the neighborhood’s redevelopment. Gary Johnson, center city coordinator in the city’s Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD), says the city will focus on five areas. “One will focus on addressing both the concerns over commercial and retail displacement and residential displacement. Another will look at ways to provide the community greater opportunities to have input on new buildings, new projects.” Making city-owned land available to the community for affordable housing is also being considered. “Another committee will look at large city and other governmental projects and emphasize coordination to minimize the impact of these projects on the neighborhood,” Johnson said. “And finally, another

Teizi Mersai, Lam’s Seafood Market business operations manager

group will look at ways to improve parks and streetscapes and the pedestrian environment in general.” Sara Maxana, also with the OPCD, says the city knows CID residents are very concerned about displacement as the community grows. “Seattle is very expensive, and we cannot build enough housing fast enough. The city shares that concern,” she said. “By allowing a little bit more height with MHA, we can require the developers build aﬀordable housing in their projects or contribute to an aﬀordable housing fund that lets the city invest in projects such as In-

湖景墓園 Lake View Cemetery ☆西雅圖首創墓園 ☆ 自1872年起服務西北岸社區非營利獨立協會

terIm Hirabayashi Place.” She says tenants currently living in CID affordable housing do not need to worry about significant rent increases and displacement. “This proposal is essential to helping to meet our goals and our needs, to help Seattle community members stay in Seattle,” Maxana said. The floor was then open to CID residents and supporters. Tom Im, community development and sustainability director at InterIm Community Development Association, said, “Though we are supporters of inclusionary requirements, which is the central element in the MHA legislation, we do not believe that this legislation does enough to address the development pressures and associated displacement fears that this neighborhood is facing right now.” The CID’s anti-displacement plan includes community-controlled land within the next 10 years, more resources that help people stay in the neighborhood, affordable commercial spaces, and public space additions. Dozens of pleas — delivered with passion, some not in English – and pro-social-

Lake View Cemetery Seattle’s Pioneer Cemetery Est. 1872 An Independent, NonProfit Association

justice protests followed Im’s presentation during public comments with each speaker given only two minutes. Jacqueline Wu, Seattle chapter president of the OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates, approached the microphone as the fifth registered speaker. Holding a sign in her left hand with the message “REDLINE OUT DISPLACEMENT” in large white letters on a red background, she said, “We ask that there be a pause to any development in Chinatown International District for the city to properly engage and work with the community so that all parties can reach an outcome that is mutually agreeable, that there be city transparency and accountability. The current MHA does not address displacement and existing affordable housing units that are unaffordable.” “Please listen. Engage whether it’s for housing development, street improvements, fighting graffiti, any concerns in the neighborhood, we need you to make the decisions, the good decisions for us,” said Teizi Mersai, Lam’s Seafood Market business operations manager. “We alone cannot make changes. They will make changes for us, but we must make them make changes for us. You have to listen when we do come to you.” Friends of Little Saigon Board Chair Quynh Pham said to the five council members, “We’ve been voicing our opinions and our issues and challenges, but for some reason, the city is not hearing it.” “The Friends of Little Saigon would like to support the MHA to move forward because we have developments happening now, and they need to invest in our community as well. Hold them accountable to that.” The full city council will take action on MHA at City Hall on July 31 at 2:00 p.m. “I think we’ve heard a lot of very good ideas today,” said Councilmember Johnson. ■ To view the committee meeting online, visit goo.gl/fTPu5P James Tabafunda can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

HUMAN RIGHTS from 5 even the most basic human rights for these workers,” said Cassie Burdyshaw, advocacy and policy director for the Turtle Island group. Since initial reports, little has changed in the industry that provides ahi tuna and other ﬁsh to American and overseas consumers at a premium price. “The lack of action taken to address ongoing human rights abuses acts as a tacit approval of slave-like working conditions to provide luxury seafood to wealthy United States citizens,” the

petition says. Two Hawaii lawmakers introduced measures to create more oversight, but they failed. Both proposals aimed to ﬁnd ways to get more information about what’s happening on the boats and to catch potential problems. “The lobby was out full force to kill this bill, just as I expected,” said state Rep. Kaniela Ing, who introduced one of the measures. “It’s diﬃcult because there’s very few advocacy organizations for these sorts of migrant workers, so their voice is not as loud as the moneyed lobby behind the

AIRBNB from 5 immediately returned. Her attorney, Edward Lee, said his client was “regretful for her impetuous actions and comments” and is pleased to have resolved the matter. Suh said in a statement posted on Facebook that she was pleased the settlement included Barker’s agreement to attend an Asian American studies course and hoped the settlement

35 YEARS

longline guys.” In written testimony submitted during legislative hearings, Jim Cook and Sean Martin of the Hawaii Longline Association argued that foreign fishermen “possess legal standing and have legal recourse.” However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents now stamp “Refused” on every fisherman’s landing permit. That means they are technically not allowed to set foot on U.S. soil, customs officials said. The state requires fishermen to be legally admitted to the United States to

get ﬁshing licenses. The men are not permitted to ﬂy into the country because they do not have visas and must instead arrive by boat. Attempts to contact Cook and Martin were unsuccessful July 20. ■

SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.

would encourage others to report discrimination. “I hope that more victims of discrimination will feel encouraged to come forward with their own stories,” Suh wrote. “Your pain is not insigniﬁcant and you are not alone.” ■ Associated Press writer Janie Har in San Francisco contributed to this report.

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YOUR VOICE

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

“Northwest Asian Weekly’s contributions to our community during the past 35 years are commendable, not only as the premier Seattle newspaper reporting about Asians, but also as a catalyst binding different generations and races and families in our community through sponsorship of events, such as the children’s costume parade and trashion fashion contest. My connection to the International District dates to the 1950s through my mother when she and other Japanese mothers worked at Bush Garden. Today, thanks to Northwest Asian Weekly’s sponsorship, parents of different hues are introducing their children to their shared or blended cultural heritages at these fun events in the International District, building precious memories and communities at the same time. Where were you when I was a child?” — James Doane, Corporate Counsel, Costco Wholesale “Happy 35th Birthday! I hope the Northwest Asian Weekly staff can take a break from their relentless weekly deadlines and enjoy birthday bubble tea! Ethnic media is a powerful influencer for building community and making sure we have a voice. Together with the Seattle Chinese Post, this paper makes sure our community’s issues are known, both inside and out. Cheers, great job, and thanks!” — Beth Takekawa, Executive Director, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

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

Send in your thoughts to editor@nwasianweekly.com. Join us for our 35th Anniversary Celebration dinner on Oct. 21 at China Harbor restaurant. For tickets, please go to http://35nwawf.bpt.me, or email rsvp@nwasianweekly.com, or call 206-2230623. To sponsor the event, contact Assunta Ng at assunta@nwasianweekly.com. For more info, visit nwasianweekly.com/35years.

to powerlifting, which continues for Higa. Higa’s ﬁrst powerlifting meet was in 1992, and he has been in competition ever since. Higa works as a trainer at the Vulcan Corporation in Seattle. He helps employees meet health goals through 30-minute workouts. Known as the “Higa Monster,” Higa works out three times a week for three hours at a time. In addition, he stretches, does mobility drills, and uses a foam roller to work out the kinks. In addition to powerlifting, Higa is one of only three pro strongmen in Washington state. Upon the invitation of a friend, in 1998, he started to participate in Strongman competitions. The Strongman competition, as seen on ESPN, involves lifting, pushing, or pulling a variety of heavy objects like boulders. “I liked how unorthodox it was and how unique it was. It was something diﬀerent. I was surprised how weird but cool it was.” Higa received his pro card for Strongman competitions in 2001. He also conducts his own powerlifting competition, Washington’s Strongest Apple. This past year, it had 57 competitors.

Alma Kimura

Kimura, 62, won ﬁrst place in her division at the World Championships. In winning, she set a new world record for women in her age and weight category with a deadlift of 315 pounds. The deadlift involves lifting a barbell with weight on each side. The competitor stands in the center of the barbell with weight aﬃxed on each side. They must bend with their knees and grip the barbell palms down, hinge their hips and then explode up while thrusting the bar over their head. Prior to this, Kimura had never lifted heavy weights. She played tennis during her college days at Vassar and recreational soccer, but never a sport that demanded lifting and squatting weights. She was 57 years old when she started upon the encouragement of a friend. Her friend, who is 75 years old, was a competitive powerlifter at the time and trained at a gym in Seattle. “You gotta do this. You have the perfect body for it,” said Kimura’s friend. “I walk into this gym, and she introduces me to this woman,” she recalled, “She has the same body that I do. I guess it must be true. As it turns out, yes. I was also told that Asians have advantage in this sport.” In addition to her friend, Kimura received encouragement from former Washington State Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland. Ireland started lifting weights in her late

Photos from Alma Kimura

POWERLIFTERS from 1

Powerlifters Grant Higa and Alma Kimura at the International Powerlifting Federation Classical World Championships

50s as a result of rehabilitating from a car accident. She went on to set numerous powerlifting records. Kimura is Japanese Hawaiian and is 4’l0” with short limbs. She stated that she has “fast twitch” muscles, which enable her to do short, explosive movements which benefits powerlifting. The movements of the sport require athletes to perform lifts of extreme weight for short periods of time. Kimura works with coach Todd Christensen at Seattle Strength and Power. He works with women in the master’s level, which is for competitors 40 years of age and older. She started in July 2013 and by February 2014, she had set an American record for deadlifts. “I never realized I would be that strong,” said Kimura. Originally from Hawaii, Kimura went to college at Vassar College in New York. She recalled it being culture shock as it was the first time that she had been away from Hawaii and was not used to the cold weather. From there, she went to law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She moved to Seattle, where she practiced criminal defense at The Defender’s Association. After several years of practice, she decided to open up her own law firm, where she focuses in family, wills, and estates. With traveling for competitions, she finds it a challenge to balance work and working out. “It’s becoming increasingly more difficult. There’s a lot of demands for traveling for out of town meets.” Among Kimura’s stops this year included Orlando, Florida, Belarus, and a competition in Sweden. She works out three days a week after work, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. As for her diet, Kimura admittedly does not have a strict one. “Most powerlifters are encouraged to be careful about their diets, but I don’t,” Kimura added, “I love Chinese food.” ■

Alma Kimura on the podium, placing ﬁrst in her division at the International Powerlifting Federation Classical World Championships

Jason Cruz can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

For more on Higa, follow him on Instagram, @higamonster.

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asianweekly northwest

35 YEARS

JULY 29 – AUGUST 4, 2017

Photo by John Liu/NWAW

Photos by George Liu/NWAW

SYLP from 10

SYLP students perform a dance set over a Backstreet Boys track in the talent show.

While their parents may be ID restaurant rivals, these teens are friends. From left: Yongkang Zhou, Leon Hu, Evan Chan, and Gary Ma.

Upper row, from left: Mentors Glenn Miller, Leon Hu, Evan Chan and Isabelle Kim. Lower row, from left: Derek Wei, Zosia Ishida, and Kyle Wong

A parents of an SYLP student speaks.

come back and mentor new kids. “Coming back as a mentor was very rewarding because not only do you help foster and participate in discussions regarding challenges Asians face, you also witness the tremendous growth in the participants,” said Derek Wei, a mentor this year. “As a mentor, you’re able to guide and help participants strengthen their skill and potential by pushing them past their comfort zones.” “The most valuable lesson I’ve taken away is to not be afraid to reach out and speak up,” he added. “Whether it’s reaching out to speakers or voicing your ideas and opinions. Having the courage to do so always reaps good results.” Several alums returned from the past two years to mentor students in projects and other assignments this year. Kyle Wong, now a UW student, said, “SYLP is the best decision I have made in my life. When I am with you (new students), I discover more about myself and you bring out the best in me.” Wow, the best decision! It’s so sweet to hear the students admit that what their parents made them do — participating in the program — was the right thing to do.

When I asked four guys whose parents are restaurateurs for a photo, they were enthusiastic. We realized that they share one crucial journey together — the SYLP experience — and they are buddies today and will be in the future. Seeing that elicited another beautiful emotion from me at the dinner. The students were impressive this year, according to Tim Louie, owner of the Tsue Chong Noodle Co. “I can see it during their visit. They asked a lot of questions about the business, and they were interactive with me.”

Other speakers also noticed that the students were special, said Tracey Wong, SYLP coordinator and former alum. It has come full circle. Wong developed these young leaders, having applied what she had learned in 2007. “When I was a participant of SYLP, we got to spend a lot of time in the Chinatown/ID — touring the neighborhood, having many Asian American leaders come to speak, eating at a lot of the local restaurants, and drinking boba,” said Wong. “Throughout this whole program, such a bond was built between my peers

and my connection to this neighborhood, and I wanted the same for my students and even more as the program coordinator for this year.” Wong added, “To see the students blossom into proud and conﬁdent leaders and to see all of these life-long friendships built in Chinatown/ID was the ultimate reward for me.” Thanks for all the memories. ■

Friends and not enemies Between the mentors and mentees, a few students found out that their respective parents are restaurant owners in the ID and thus, competitors. Some of the parents don’t even talk to one another. It doesn’t matter to the younger generation, though.

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Assunta Ng can be reached at assunta@ nwasianweekly.com.