VOL 33 NO 51 | DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

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

EDITORIAL Forgive and forget? » P. 11

VOL 33 NO 51 DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014 FREE 32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Seattle honors victims

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

Protestors in Chinatown: “Black lives matter”

Protestors at Union Station in Chinatown

By Staff Northwest Asian Weekly Approximately 1000 people gathered in Chinatown Saturday afternoon to honor the lives of Michael Brown

and Eric Garner. The crowd met at Garfield High School in the Central District and then proceeded to the International District. The protestors chanted and carried signs that read “I can’t breathe” in memory of Eric Garner (the words he spoke when he was dying) and “black lives matter.” In

Slam dunk!

Chinatown, the protestors sat down at the intersection of 5th and Jackson and raised their hands. The tunnel bus had to be shut down during that time. Although the event was {see FERGUSON cont’d on page 16}

Reunited

A love story of two twins separated at birth

Photo by Jason Cruz/NWAW

Chinese Aussie Basketball team plays exhibition against locals

Teams at the International Asian Basketball Showcase

By Jason Cruz Northwest Asian Weekly It is approximately 7,738 miles between Sydney, Australia and Seattle - a long way for a basketball game.

But a group of basketball players

from the Australian Chinese Basketball Association (ACBA) made the trip. In fact, it was a stop for the ACBA “Kane Toads” and “Warriors,” who played in Las Vegas, {see BASKETBALL cont’d on page 13}

By Julie Ha KoreAM Painting each other’s nails, sleeping in the same bed, sometimes trying

deliberately to annoy each other — these are the admittedly “cheesy” things that sisters Anais and Samantha like to do {see REUNITED cont’d on page 15}

Sam, left, and Anais in Los Angeles

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

■

WORLD Hunger strike ends » P. 4

COMMUNITY Rebuilding trust » P. 9

BLOG A building transformed » P. 10

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DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

■ names in the news Pham appointed to serve the Office for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

Chief Strategy and Operations Officer for the Hackensack University Health Network and its University Medical Center, which employs about 11,300 people. Franciscan has about 12,440 employees, about 5,400 of whom are in Pierce County. He will be one of seven senior vice presidents for CHI, overseeing the Pacific Northwest Division. 

New Chinese Consul General arrives in San Francisco Back row left to right: Millie Su, Alvin Wong, Lawrence Pang, YP Chen, Jesse Tam, Harry Hu, Van Vong, Patsy Bonincontri, Dennis Su, Ty Wong, Rose Guo. Front row left to right: Pauline Lau, David Leong, Martha Lee, Felicity Wang, Shiao-Yen Wu, John Liu

Lan Pham with Mayor Ed Murray

John Okamoto, Interim Director of Seattle’s Human Services Department (HSD) announced Lan Pham as the manager of the Office for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention. Pham previously worked as the senior planning and development specialist within HSD’s Domestic Violence Unit. Prior to this, she served as the executive director of the Asian and Pacific Islander Women and Family Safety Center. She has also served in critical roles at International Community Health Services, Asian Counseling and Referral Services and University of Washington’s School of Social Work, where she conducted research on health behaviors. 

Patel appointed CEO of CHI Franciscan Health

Ketul Patel

Ketul Patel was appointed as CEO of Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan Health. He is currently Executive Vice President and

Luo Linquan

Luo Linquan arrived at SFO on December 5 to start his tour of duty as the 12th Chinese Consul General in San Francisco. He and his wife Qiao Li were warmly greeted by the consulate staff and leaders of the Chinese community in the Bay Area. Prior to assuming his duty in San Francisco, Luo Linquan served as Director-General of Protocol Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, and Chinese Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Ireland. 

Chinese Chamber of Commerce announces Board of Directors The Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce (TGSCCC) announced the results of its 2015 election for

the Board of Directors, and its 2015 Officers.

The 2015 Board of Directors (in alphabetical order- first name): Alvin Wong, Amy Song, David Leong, Felicity Wang, Flora Li, Harry Hu, Jesse Tam, John Liu, Lawrence Pang, Martha Lee, Millie Su, Patsy Bonincontri, Pauline Lau, Samantha Wong, Shiao-Yen Wu, Van Vong, Marsh Inc., and Will Chen.

The TGSCCC Board elected Martha Lee as its President, Felicity Wang as First Vice President, David Leong as Second Vice President, John Liu as Secretary, and Pauline Lau as Treasurer. 

Northwest Asian Weekly is always looking for Asian American community news. If you are the host or an attendee of an API fundraiser, e-mail us a big photo, event highlights, and the amount of money raised. We are also looking for news about APIs in new jobs and APIs getting public recognition and awards.

Please send materials to info@nwasianweekly.com with “names in the news” as the subject line.

32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

3

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DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

■ TRAVEL

Viewing through plastic and glass in Cambodia

By Dipika Kohli Northwest Asian Weekly

Yellow sun cooks the layers of dust off the edges of the curbs. So many curbs, so few sidewalks. Bits of brick and paper and cane juice plastic cups (biked over, ripped) compete for attention. They poke up from the dirt, insist themselves into the light.

Plastic. In a place where there is no recycling.

I am one of those people who would bring my own glass along to a place if I know they’re going to have plastic cups.

Pet peeve, you could say.

But I’m distracted, biking up Monivong. Startled. By the light. There is so much light. And warmth. It’s December, but still, the city of Phnom Penh is a kiln.

Holiday season, paper snowflakes and tinsel, and things like seasonal music mixes. But it’s so hot, it doesn’t connect in my brain. I grew up in Michigan. December meant snow boots, cocoa with marshmallows, and mittens that clip to your sleeves.

No snow here. No flurries. Just a quiet getting-ready for 2015. NGO people are wrapping their projects. They’ve put in for their next year’s budgets and have been granted (or not

■ world news

Hong Kong teen protest leader ends hunger strike AP Wire Service

HONG KONG (AP) — A prominent teenage leader of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests ended his hunger strike Saturday after 4 1/2 days at his doctor’s urging.

The decision by Joshua Wong, the moveJoshua Wong ment’s most prominent leader, is the latest sign that the protests are flagging after more than two months as the activists find themselves exhausted and public support for their street protests drains away, while Hong Kong’s government seems content to wait for the movement to fizzle out.

“Even if I stop the hunger strike, it doesn’t mean the government can ignore our demands,” Wong, 18, who had been only drinking water and energy drinks and heads the Scholarism group, said on his Facebook page.

Later, the group said another member, 17-yearold Prince Wong, ended his hunger strike after 118 hours on the advice of doctors and was taken to a hospital.

A third member pulled out earlier in the week, while two others who joined the strike later are still refusing food.

The protesters want Hong Kong’s government to drop restrictions on inaugural 2017 elections for the semiautonomous southern Chinese city’s top leader.

They want the government to restart talks over the electoral reforms, but government officials have been largely unresponsive.

Scholarism is one of three groups behind the protests, which have blocked traffic in three districts across Hong Kong. One of the protest {see WONG cont’d on page 12}

granted) the funds for work to do. Things to see through, or revisit, or start again. International development.

People who’ve worked in Geneva and D.C. and come to Cambodia because they’re the best at academics, Hall of Famers already in their careers. Now, they can say, “Did x in Cambodia.” Sustainability. Tech. Stopping human trafficking. *Fighting the system.* Young, many of them. Or silver-haired, and hiding in the speakeasies I’m sure are somewhere off Street 63, in compartments of houses or backs of bars, where the real conversations can pour forward into cups uncensored. No fear, here. Not, at least, for a few hours. Bubbly, shiny, getting caught up in the story. They will vent and shed the anguish of being in a far-off Asian country, away from clean streets and ex-lovers and hot showers, and hoping like heck that their work will have mattered.

“And what do you do in Phnom Penh?” A young woman.

High-heels. Glitter in her eye shadow.

Opening night. A new contemporary art gallery at the Asia Foundation. In their... foyer? Front office? I can’t tell. It’s so packed, and the mosquitoes are out, and I’m baking. The organizers are speechmaking, in Khmer. I can’t understand the jokes, but I get the gist. New artists.

All Cambodian.

Art history was about French and Italian painters back in the day, but I’ve always felt like there was something cool about Asian art and aesthetics. (Is this why I went to Kyoto in the 1990s, pre-digital, with my Minolta? Maybe.)

But *that’s* what I do in Phnom Penh. Study the Khmer aesthetic, which, after nine months learning by osmosis (the only way), I’m just starting to get.

The woman gets it, too. After the icebreaking, the predictable what-do-you-do. The expats here can’t help it.

They want to appraise you.

Maybe she’ll move on, I’d thought, not worried. There’s a blonde, a guy, somewhere near, not sure, exactly.But I feel a kinship with him because he’ll go through the same test.

We’re like doubles partners.

My serve.

“Oh,” I say. “I’m... well. I can tell you what I’m *not.* I’m definitely not here to ‘help Cambodia.’”

A flicker of interest. We hit around. Now I’m up, 15-love.

Both of us are used to the NGO people. Who come to pin a star on their CV, already flooding a Milky Way of awards {see VILLAGE REPORT cont’d on page 14}

32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ world news

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

5

Threatening e-mail sent to Sony employees AP Wire Service

“The Interview,” a Sony Pictures film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco depicts an assassination attempt on Kim Jong Un

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI said Friday it is investigating threatening e-mails sent to some employees of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which was hit by a cyber attack last week that disrupted its computer system and spewed confidential information onto the Internet.

The FBI was trying to identify the person or group responsible, the agency said in a statement. It did not provide any details.

However, the trade paper Variety said the e-mail written in broken English claimed to be from the head of the GOP — short for Guardians of Peace — the same group that took credit for last week’s attack.

“Removing Sony Pictures on earth is a very tiny work for our group, which is a worldwide organization. And what we have done so far is only a small part of our further plan,” the e-mail read.

Later, the e-mail warns employees, “Please sign your name to object the false of the company at the e-mail address below if you don’t want to suffer damage. If you don’t, not only you but your family will be in danger.”

“Make your company behave wisely,” the e-mail urges.

The Los Angeles Times reported the e-mail was received Friday.

A Sony spokesman confirmed in an e-mail to the Times {see SONY cont’d on page 14}

Powerful typhoon slams Swiss hostage escapes from Filipino extremists into eastern Philippines

By Jim Gomez Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Swiss hostage made a dramatic escape Saturday from Abu Sayyaf extremists when he hacked a rebel commander and then got shot as he dashed to freedom amid a military bombardment, ending more than two years of jungle captivity in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 49, made his daring escape while government forces were firing artillery rounds near the jungle forest where he was being held in mountainous Patikul town in Sulu province. He grabbed a long knife, hacked an Abu Sayyaf commander and then ran away, but was shot and wounded by another militant, security officials said.

Philippine army scout rangers later found him and escorted him to safety.

“He was wounded, but he’s well and recovering in a hospital,” regional military commander Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero said by phone.

In Bern, the Swiss government expressed relief that Vinciguerra had regained his freedom, but regretted that his Dutch companion remained in captivity.

While lying later in a military combat hospital bed, his head wrapped in a bandage, Vinciguerra basked in his hardwon freedom and thanked the military.

He said he was happy because he can finally spend Christmas with his family, but worried about his companion, Ewold Horn, who was still in Abu Sayyaf custody

in Sulu’s jungles.

“I talked to him and asked him to join me, but he refused,” Vinciguerra said of Horn, adding that the Dutchman had teeth problems and other ailments.

Vinciguerra said he felt the extremists would treat Horn well and urged the militants to surrender and start a new life.

“My final message to everybody is put the gun down and come out from the forest,” he told a reporter. “It’s a nice life out here.”

Vinciguerra was seized by the militants in nearby Tawi Tawi province in February 2012, while on a bird-watching trip with Horn and Ivan Sarenas, a Filipino birdwatcher who served as their guide.

Sarenas, who escaped shortly after they were seized by jumping off a boat that was taking them to Sulu, said he was happy about Vinceguerra’s escape, but saddened that he was wounded and that Horn was still being held.

“It is not the best news, but it still is good news after so long,” he told The Associated Press. “I just want to hug Lorenzo for now.”

Sarenas said that he was determined to escape, and that Vinciguerra and Horn had agreed to his plan. Sarenas, a triathlete, said he jumped off the boat and dove deep underwater for fear he would be shot. He wasn’t and was rescued by fishermen.

The Abu Sayyaf was founded in the early 1990s on Basilan island, near Jolo.

With an unwieldy collective of Islamic {see VINCIGUERRA cont’d on page 12}

By Teresa Cerojano and Oliver Teves Associated Press

LEGAZPI, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the central Philippines’ east coast late Saturday, knocking out power and toppling trees in a region where 650,000 people have fled to safety, still haunted by the massive death and destruction wrought by a monster storm last year.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour and gusts of 210 kph (130 mph), Hagupit made landfall in Dolores, a coastal town facing the Pacific in Eastern Samar province, according to the Philippines’ weather agency. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Although it was unlikely to reach the unprecedented strength of Typhoon Haiyan, Hagupit’s strong winds and heavy rain were enough to possibly cause major

damage to an impoverished region still reeling from the devastating November 2013 storm, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing.

“There are many trees that have toppled, some of them on the highway,” police Senior Inspector Alex Robin said by phone late Saturday from Dolores, hours before Hagupit made landfall. “We are totally in the dark here. The only light comes from flashlights.”

From Eastern Samar, Hagupit — Filipino for “smash” or “lash” — was expected to hammer parts of a string of island provinces that was devastated by Haiyan’s tsunamilike storm surges and ferocious winds.

Hagupit weakened slightly on Saturday, but remained dangerously powerful and erratic.

Robin said about 600 families had hunkered down in Dolores’ three-story {see TYPHOON cont’d on page 12}

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asianweekly northwest

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR THU 12/11

WHAT: SPJ’s The Holiday Scoop 2014 WHERE: Barrel Thief, 3417 Evanston Ave. N., Seattle WHEN: 6:30-10 p.m.

COST: $15 (in advance), $20 (at the door), $10/student

SAT 12/13 WHAT: Making Spirits Bright WHERE: Dairyland Farm, 13428 Shorts School Rd., Snohomish WHEN: 6:30-9:30 p.m.

COST: $15/person TICKETS: www.klahayadays. com/MakingSpiritsBright INFO: info@klahayadays.com

SUN 12/14 WHAT: NVC Children’s Christmas Party WHERE: NVC Memorial Hall, 1212 S. King St., Seattle WHEN: 12-3 p.m.

INFO: seattlenvc.org WHAT: Wendy Liu’s “My First Impression of China: Washingtonians’ First Trips to the Middle Kingdom” WHERE: University Book Store, Bellevue WHEN: 3 p.m.

WHAT: Film screening, “If You Are The One II: Love & Marriage” WHERE: Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft

Auditorium WHEN: 2-4 p.m.

INFO: 206-386-4636

FRI 12/26 & SAT 12/27

WHAT: Asian Night in Club Galaxy WHERE: Muckleshoot Casino, 2402 Auburn Way S., Auburn WHEN: 8:30 p.m.

INFO: muckleshootcasino.com

WHAT: Screenings of animated and live-action short films for children WHERE: The Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium WHEN: 1-2 p.m.

INFO: 206-386-4675

THRU 12/15

WED 12/31

WHAT: Nuno Trunk Show WHERE: Higo, 604 S. Jackson St., Seattle INFO: koboseattle.com

WHAT: New Year’s Eve: Special Asian Night WHERE: Muckleshoot Casino, 2402 Auburn Way S., Auburn WHEN: 8:30 p.m.

INFO: muckleshootcasino.com

SAT 12/20 & SUN 12/21 WHAT: ARC’s Classic Nutcracker WHERE: Shorewood Performing Arts Center WHEN: 4 p.m. on 12/20, 2 p.m. on 12/21 COST: $15/child (10 years and younger), $25/adult TICKETS: www.arcdance.org, 206-352-0798

WED 12/24 WHAT: Christmas Eve: Special Asian Night WHERE: Muckleshoot Casino, 2402 Auburn Way S., Auburn WHEN: 8:30 p.m.

INFO: muckleshootcasino.com

2nd & 4th TUES OF MONTH WHAT: International District Special Review Board meeting WHERE: Bush Asia Center, 409 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle WHEN: 4:30 p.m.

INFO: 206-684-0226, seattle. gov/neighborhoods/preservation/ historic_districts.htm

EVERY TUE WHAT: ACRS Employment Program Orientation WHERE: ACRS, 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle WHEN: 3–4:30 p.m.

INFO: 206-695-7527, employmentprogram@ acrs.org, acrs.org/services/ employmentandtraining

■ briefly

ICHS offers preventative cancer screenings for the API community

By Minal Singh Northwest Asian Weekly

International Community Health Services (ICHS) provides health care services throughout the Seattle region. They focus on underserved communities, especially immigrants and refugees, for whom they provide culturally sensitive, affordable medical care.

The Breast, Cervical, and Colon Health Program (BCCHP) is an important initiative by ICHS. BCCHP provides free breast, cervical, and colon cancer screenings. Community advocate Mihn Nguyen-Wichman reaches out to people who may not be aware that this program exists, such as people new to the country or those whose first language is not English. Her job involves educating members of the Asian community about the importance of early cancer screening and prevention.

“No one will be turned away,” said Nguyen-Wichman. The goal of the BCCHP is to empower the community with knowledge about healthcare and how to talk to their doctor. Vietnamese women, particularly, says Nguyen-

Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW

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DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

Mihn Nguyen-Wichman and Abbie Zahler

Wichman, are advised to get early screenings for cervical cancer.

She works at breaking down the fears and other language or cultural barriers that keep women from prioritizing their health.

Early prevention is the key to the process.

Abbie Zahler, health advocacy manager, explains that ICHS has 32 staff members who are certified to help the uninsured apply for Obamacare. The center has computers. A new client can leave ICHS having filled out an insurance application. For other healthcare services, sliding scales are available based on a client’s income. ICHS is committed to the health of the Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Mien, Pacific Islander, {see ICHS cont’d on page 12}

32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ community news

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

7

Top Contributors honored Every year, the Northwest Asian Weekly and Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation hold a banquet in honor of the Top Contributors to the Asian Community in the past year. These honorees are passionate about improving their communities in such areas as education, health, activism, and politics.

The 22nd annual Top Contributors dinner was held on Dec. 5 at the House of Hong Restaurant. The event celebrated the achievements of nine recipients, including the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) Seattle Chapter; Lori Wada, operations supervisor for the Office of Insurance Commissioner; Dr. Dat P. Giap, dentist and community volunteer; Leny Valerio-Buford, director of Upward Bound at the University of Washington; Dr. Jai Jun Byeon, chief director of Cornerstone Medical Services; Louise Kashino-Takisaki, former president of Women’s Auxiliary of Nisei Veterans Committee; Fred Yee, community volunteer; Frieda Takamura, community activist; and Pramila Jayapal, Washington State Senator-elect. Jeffrey Hattori, CEO of Nikkei Concerns, emceed the dinner.

“These awards are honoring unsung heroes who have been serving our community for years and decades. You are an inspiration to all of us,” said Hattori. Throughout the ceremony, award recipients were asked to speak to the promises and challenges of building a stronger API community.

Sherwin Tsao accepted the award on behalf of NAAAP and amused the audience with the wordplay of its slogan “work hard, play hard, nap hard.” It is the goal of NAAAP to “make

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

By Minal Singh Northwest Asian Weekly

From left: Sherwin Tsao, Dr. Jai Jun Byeon, Frieda Takamura, Leny Valerio-Buford, Lori Wada, Louise Kashino-Takisaki, Fred Yee, and Dr. Dat P. Giap

a meaningful difference in the community and help to break stereotypes,” said Tsao.

Wada, who is Korean with a husband of Japanese descent, was asked how different Asian communities can work together. “Both cultures should embrace each other, embrace their differences. There may be different foods, different customs, but we are not that different. We need to learn from history and move on, to embrace our similarities,” she said.

Giap was lauded for his humility about his achievements and was asked how the Vietnamese community can work to break through barriers. “There are so many challenges, such as drug use or school dropouts. First, we must acknowledge the problem and work together. This requires sincerity, harmony, unity, and charity. We

must put community interests above the individual and have a willingness to work on [the problem],” he said.

Valeria-Buford has been an educator for 48 consistent years and gave advice on impactful techniques for mentoring young people.

“I don’t know if I hold the secret, but I will change my personality to fit a student’s needs.

This is something any parent or teacher can do. You don’t change your identity, but mold yourself a little to fit the kid in front of us.

There is nothing better than teenagers. I see in them a group of kids ready to soar, ready to fly,” she said.

Byeon, founder of Cornerstone Medical services, which provides free medical and health related services to underprivileged Korean and other minority populations, explained that he observed many medically-

needy people in the community and began organizing free medical services. “These services evolved into a regular clinic,” he said. He also gave advice to aspiring medical students. “There are four qualities important for future doctors. One, they are up to date on medical knowledge. Two, they care about their patients. Three, they are focused on the community. And four, they are a good person,” he said.

Jayapal, in her acceptance, spoke of the knowledge she’s acquired about the API community and discussed her agenda for when she takes office. “The Asian community is entrepreneurial, caring and generous, amazing community organizers, {see TOP CONTRIBUTORS cont’d on page 16}

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DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

■ ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Project Fukushima!

An interview with documentary director Hikaru Fujii

By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly

portive of Project Fukushima!

NWAW: How did Otomo Yoshihide become involved in the film? What are his crucial contributions?

Hikaru Fujii: In May 2011, Otomo and I spoke about the meaning and significance of making a record of this crisis and preserving it so that it could be recovered and watched a hundred years in the future. Now that the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art has acquired the film, that may become reality.

“Project Fukushima!” is a documentary examining the Japanese city and prefecture in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns that hit the region in 2011. The film, directed by Hikaru Fujii, focuses intently on a music and arts festival in the region, roughly five months after the disasters, spearheaded by prominent Japanese musician Otomo Yoshihide. It screens Sunday, Nov. 23rd, for free at 2 p.m. (doors open at 1:45 pm) at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington, located at 1414 South Weller Street in Seattle.

The director took some questions over e-mail.

(Special thanks to translator Jonathan Way.) NWAW: What is your background and how did you get started in filmmaking?

Hikaru Fujii: Born in Tokyo. Living in Tokyo. Spent 10 years in France, from the age of 18. Attended art college there (E.N.S.A.D. / Université Paris 8) and studied modern art, documentary filmmaking, and aesthetics.

NWAW: Where were you and what were you doing when the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster hit? How did you receive news updates? What were your initial reactions to what was going on, and how did those reactions change?

Hikaru Fujii: I was filming in downtown Tokyo. I thought of making sure my

staff members were safe, checking if my pregnant wife was safe, and of filming a document of the conditions of evacuees.

After that, I listened to the stories of artists and culturally-involved people who experienced the Kobe earthquake of 1995. Then 3 weeks after the earthquake, I visited the afflicted area and started documenting on film what culturally- and artistically-connected people were active with there. (Culturally and artistically-involved people were active with things after the 1995 Kobe earthquake, too, but there doesn’t seem to be any record of it on film/video.)

NWAW: What were the hardest hurdles

to making the film and how did you surmount them?

Hikaru Fujii: There was an ethical question we were faced with that in sending out a message of “living through Fukushima,” we might restrict the freedom to “not live through Fukushima.” In order to surmount that, we had to go beyond the line dividing determinations of safety vs. danger or hope vs. hopelessness and represent this irresolvable state of affairs just as it was.

This stance opens Project Fukushima! up to criticism, too. The reason Otomo asked me to make this record of the festival was because he had faith that I wouldn’t make the type of film that would be blindly praising and sup-

■ NATIONAL NEWS

By William J. Kole Associated Press

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{see WAHLBERG cont’d on page 12}

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Wahlberg says in the application that he was high on marijuana and narcotics at the time, and police caught him with a small amount of pot. He also apologized for his actions.

He ended up being convicted as an adult of assault and other charges, and he was sentenced to three months in jail. He said he was released after serving about 45 days.

Wahlberg, 43, says in the application that he turned his life around and became a successful music artist, actor, and film and television producer. He also notes he has raised millions of dollars for charity

{see FUKUSHIMA cont’d on page 16}

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MEAT

BOSTON (AP) — Marky Mark doesn’t want a black mark any longer.

Actor Mark Wahlberg is asking Massachusetts for a pardon for assaults he committed in 1988 when he was a troubled teenager in Boston, saying he has dedicated himself to becoming a better person in his adult years, so he can be a role model to his children and others.

The former rapper known as Marky Mark and a star of movies including “The Departed” and “The Gambler,” set to open in theaters Dec. 19, filed a pardon application with state officials Nov. 26.

New England Cable News first reported on the application Thursday.

In 1988, when Wahlberg was 16, he hit Thanh Lam, a Vietnamese resident, in the head with a wooden stick while trying to steal two cases of alcohol in front of a convenience store near his family’s home in the Dorchester section of Boston, the application says. He punched another man, Hoa Trinh, also Vietnamese, in the face while trying to avoid police, the document says, rendering Trinh partially blind. It was also reported he used racial slurs against both men.

NWAW: What, in your opinion, are the highlights of the festival and the film?

Hikaru Fujii: I could call “Orchestra Fukushima!” a highlight, but it’s not the case that holding a festival was the goal of Project Fukushima! Rather, what was important about the film was depicting what went on after the festival was over.

I think we were aiming not for catharsis but for things that could be done that were

All sale lasts from Friday 12/12 to Thursday 12/18

PRODUCE

Mark Wahlberg seeks pardon for 1988 assaults

NWAW: What were the logistics of the festival shown in the film? Who started putting it together? Who joined along the way?

Hikaru Fujii: Otomo Yoshihide, Michiro Endo, and Ryoichi Wago were the representative planners, but the important thing to note is that a whole range of people were collaborating cross-sectorally.

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32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ community news

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

9

Photos by Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs

Rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the community

Mayor Ed Murray

By Minal Singh Northwest Asian Weekly In light of current debates surrounding the Ferguson trial and Obama’s recent address on immigration, local Seattle officials and government leaders understand the need for better communication between the police and the community they protect. Senator Pramila Jayapal of Seattle’s 37th district told Seattle Weekly she is looking into legislation regarding guns. “I’m interested to know if there is a role for state government to play around de-escalation training and mandating a certain set of steps someone has to go through before they can use a gun,” she said. Further, Jayapal urges that the city needs “to focus on people who are

Seattle police officers and women refugees

falling through the cracks.”

Cuc Vu, Director, Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, spoke on HuffPost Live on Dec. 3 about the Seattle community’s relationship with law enforcement and OIRA’s recent initiative that brought together female Seattle police officers and women refugees new to the city in order to forge a better understanding. This eight-week mentorship program paired 20 Seattle officers and refugees from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burma, and Bhutan. Mayor Ed Murray and Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole showed their support by attending the graduation that took place at the Jefferson Community Center last week.

Vu called this initiative a “huge success.” The program revealed that the refugee women are concerned about

language barriers, which is a daunting problem considering the Seattle area counts 189 languages in their public schools.

As well, the program helped reduce the immigrants’ fears regarding the police, which stem from an awareness of the ambiguity of their rights and past experience with law enforcement in their home country. Vu suggests that Seattle might consider a future initiative that would bring together young black men with male Seattle officers in order to start a dialogue. By creating spaces where an open exchange is fostered, people can get to know each other in a spirit of safety. This is about “rebuilding trust” Vu said.  Minal Singh can be reached at info@nwasianweekly. com.

asianweekly northwest

10

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

OPINION

■ PUBLISHER'S BLOG

Restriction to resurrection

Photos by Assunta Ng/NWAW

Chinatown jailhouse transformed into an artists’ sanctuary

Display reflects the building’s past Elijah Evenson, scupltor

Louie Gong, Native American and Asian artist

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) building is located in an auspicious corner of the Chinatown/ International District. It has been transformed. The amount of history, injustice, suffering, and darkness hidden behind the building’s walls for the past seven decades would surprise visitors. But that has changed..

If you visit now, you will not

sense the desperation of the past immigrant detainees inside the building. But you will still see the steel rods and the thick metal doors of the jail cells. The stern faces of the immigration judges who determined the fate of the thousands of illegal immigrants for over six decades have vanished, but the former swearing-in rooms now provide bright futures.

I have spent hours waiting at

the INS office as an international student getting and filing application forms for visa renewals, and later for my citizenship exam.

The office was once an intimidating experience, as it must have been for many immigrants, even though we were not criminals. Why? We feared and perceived immigration officials as harsh, cold gods who controlled our destiny with no mercy.

However, the eyesore of the community is now a sanctuary for over 100 local artists. It has been transformed into working studios and exhibition spaces. The space has been renamed INSCAPE. There was an open house Sunday, December 7, and the Wing Luke Asian Museum hosted an exhibit of the Asian Pacific American Experience.

I have not been to the building for the past five years since its

transformation. It was a surreal experience. Wandering on the first floor, I was greeted by smiling artists who took pride in their work in their studios, along with the other cheerful tenants of the building.

The rent is reasonable: about $650 for over 350 square feet with the support of a city grant. You can’t get that kind of rent in any of Seattle’s prime locations any more. Each room has at least one, two, or three bright, tall big windows.

“I can work here 24 hours and nobody cares,” said one artist.

I met painters of all types, robot designers, sculptors, puppet makers, entrepreneurs, musicians, yoga instructors, and teachers.

Many artists welcomed visitors with cookies, chips, candies, and one with pizzas. Of the 10 tenant artists I visited, only three were Asian Americans. I wish there were more.

What a difference compared to my visits in the 1990s, interviewing stowaways from China for the NW Asian Weekly. Each dingy, lonely cell has now changed to interesting works of art. The once desperate, anxious, and sad detainees are now replaced with talents, hopes, dreams, and energy.

I couldn’t believe it. I pray that the painful chapter of the building will disappear forever. 

Want to get the inside scoop on the latest happenings of Seattle’s Asian American community? Follow Publisher Assunta Ng’s blog at nwasianweekly.com under the Opinion section.

KING COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS King County is requesting Proposals from qualified firms interested in providing engineering services on a work order basis for bridges and trestles for King County Parks.

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 contract with a maximum price of $750,000.00. 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 three (3) years, if funds remain.

Contract Title: King County Parks Bridge and Trestle Engineering Services Work Order

Number: E00341E14 Proposals due: January 6, 2015 Time: 5:00 p.m.

Pre-proposal Meeting: December 17, 2014 Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson, Seattle, WA; 7th Floor, South Wind Conference Room SUMMARY OF WORK: Bridge inspection, structural engineering and other consulting services needed for bridges and trestles in King County Parks on a work order basis, in order to ensure their structural integrity and safety for public use.

SUBCONSULTANT OPPORTUNITIES: Provided for informational purposes only, following are subconsulting opportunities that may be available on this Contract: Structural Engineering; Bridge Inspection; Geotechnical Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Civil Engineering; Landscape Architecture; Professional Land Surveying; and Cultural Resources services.

SCS UTILIZATION REQUIREMENTS: The Consultant shall ensure that at least 10% 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 Ruth Williamson, Contract Specialist at 206-2639333 or ruth.williamson@kingcounty.gov, 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.

32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

11

OPINION

■ editorial

To forgive? To forget?

Mark Wahlberg, aka “Marky Mark” aka the actor who has won acclaim for starring roles in award-winning films such as “The Fighter” and “The Departed” has recently asked for a pardon for his previous offenses. (You can read details on page 8.)

So do we forgive and forget?

Massachusetts will ultimately decide on the criminal pardon to be decided by Governor Deval Patrick.

But you can also decide.

Both the Vietnamese men assaulted officially recorded accounts. One is now partially blind. The racial slurs recorded in his testimony were horrific.

Yes, horrific: “a Vietnam f****** shit,”

“You don’t have to let him identify me, I’ll tell you now that’s the mother-f******whose head I split open.”

“Gooks” and “slant-eyed gooks.”

“Kill the n*****, kill the n*****” Massachusetts will decide if it will forgive.

Mark Wahlberg says he takes responsibility for his racist, violent actions and then asks for a pardon, erasing it from his record?

Yes, perhaps there is a reason to officially remove it from your record. (Opening a chain of restaurants maybe?)

Some things can’t be erased, pardon or no pardon.

Some things you do, maybe you should always have to remember. 

■ letter

RE: ‘Delano Manongs’ elevates Filipino Americans as civil rights heroes

I was with a group of Filipino teenagers, who worked in a farm picking grapes in Delano in the summer of 1965. The strike came about late in the summer, got kicked out of the farm housing, and we slept in our cars parked around the Filipino Community Center.We finally went back home to Mar Vista in Los Angeles (Zone 90066).

We were fresh out of high school and attended Santa Monica City College. There were six of us boys. We all ended up joining the service in the following spring of 1966.

Tony Alagao, Jr. had relations in Delano who got us work then in the farm. Tony joined the Army, as well as Mariano Tolentino, and they both served in Germany. Leoncio Agustin and I joined the Army, too. We both served in Germany and Vietnam, although Leoncio got sick afterward and passed. Rene Soriano joined the Air Force and served in Japan. Abraham Pagtama joined the Navy and also joined the Army.

The Delano Manongs led these six young Filipino boys from L.A. through an unforgettable summer of 1965, although unknowingly.

We served that purpose then for the Filipino Community, and we went on…

Thought I’d write to get on the roll call.

— Leopoldo Roy Barrit

■ commentary

Asian American civil rights group calls on retailers to pull ads targeting Alibaba

The Alliance for Main Street Fairness, which includes retailers such as Target, J.C. Penney, Walmart and Best Buy, have produced an ad warning that Alibaba, a Chinese company similar to Amazon and eBay, threatens small American businesses.

Though Amazon and eBay are these retailers’ real competitors, they chose to target a Chinese company as the face of the “enemy” in gaining public support for Congress to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act. Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) and Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) contacted the Alliance for Main Street Fairness and asked them to pull the ad.

TAITUNG

“This type of advocacy preys on American fears of ‘foreign invasion’ and crosses the line,” said Mee {see ALIBABA cont’d on page 16}

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asianweekly northwest

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DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

{TYPHOON cont’d from page 5} municipal hall, one of many emergency shelters in the town.

“Everyone here is just looking for a place to sleep,” he said. “All the windows are closed, but it is still cool because of the wind and the rain.”

Eastern Samar province Rep. Ben Evardone said electricity also was knocked out early Saturday in Borongan city, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Dolores, where the government has set up a command center for rescue and relief operations headed by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

Evardone said the strong winds also felled trees and ripped off roofing sheets. “You can hear the whistling of the wind,” he said.

“Everybody is in fear because of what happened during [Haiyan],” Evardone said. “We can already feel the wrath of the typhoon. Everybody is praying.”

Big waves have pushed seawater over concrete walls along a boulevard, flooding it, Evardone said.

Army troops deployed to supermarkets and major roads in provinces in the typhoon’s path to prevent looting and chaos and clear debris, all of which slowed the government’s response last year, said Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, head of the Philippines’ 120,000-strong military.

“We’re on red alert, so the entire armed forces is being mobilized for this typhoon,” Catapang said at a news conference.

While unlikely to reach Haiyan’s strength, forecasters said Hagupit’s maximum sustained winds and gusts were strong enough to set off deadly storm surges and landslides and cause heavy damage to communities and agriculture.

With a whirling band of rain clouds spanning 600 kilometers (373 miles), Hagupit has gained speed and was moving westward at 16 kph (10 mph), according to forecasters.

In the central city of Tacloban, where Haiyan’s storm surges killed thousands of people and leveled villages, news of the approaching typhoon rekindled painful memories.

Many residents fled to storm shelters, a sports stadium, and churches even before authorities urged them to evacuate.

“I’m scared,” said Haiyan survivor Jojo Moro. “I’m praying to God not to let another disaster strike us again.

We haven’t recovered from the first.”

The 42-year-old businessman, who lost his wife, daughter, and mother last year in Tacloban, said he stocked up on sardines, instant noodles, eggs, and water.

Around 650,000 people have been moved to safety, including in Tacloban. A U.N. humanitarian agency spokesman, Denis McClean, said in Geneva that it was one of the largest peacetime evacuations in Philippine history.

It also was reminiscent of the evacuation of 1 million people along India’s coastline before Cyclone Phailin hit in October 2013.

Nearly 100 domestic flights have been canceled and inter-island ferry services suspended, stranding thousands

{WAHLBERG cont’d from page 8}

{ICHS cont’d from page 6}

and donated his time and efforts for philanthropic causes.

“I have not engaged in philanthropic efforts in order to make people forget about my past,” Wahlberg says in the application. “To the contrary, I want people to remember my past, so that I can serve as an example of how lives can be turned around and how people can be redeemed.”

“Rather than ignore or deny my troubled past, I have used the public spotlight to speak openly about the mistakes I made as a teenager, so that others do not make those same mistakes,” he says.

To get a pardon, the Massachusetts Parole Board would have to review Wahlberg’s case and make a recommendation to the governor, who has the ultimate authority to grant pardons.

Calls to the board’s offices went unanswered late Thursday.

Pardons rarely are issued in Massachusetts.

Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, who’s winding up eight years in office, last month recommended four pardons and one commutation — his first since taking office. They must still be approved by the Governor’s Council.

His predecessor, Republican Mitt Romney, recommended none. If Wahlberg is pardoned, it almost certainly would fall to Republican Gov.elect Charlie Baker to sign off. 

and Vietnamese communities they serve. Clinic brochures provide information in six different languages. Fifty languages and dialects are represented in the clinic, and the staff act as cultural navigators to help with doctor-patient communication.

In addition to breast and cervical cancer screenings, the center provides on-site mammograms. Colon cancer screenings are recommended for both men and women. The BCCHP program {VINCIGUERRA cont’d from page 5} preachers and outlaws, it vowed to wage jihad, or holy war, in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, but lost its key leaders early in combat, sending it on a violent path of extremism and criminality.

Washington has listed the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist group and blames it for deadly attacks on American troops, foreign missionaries, and tourists and civilians in the south.

The al-Qaida-inspired group still has an estimated 400 fighters split into about six factions. The mostly armed rural villagers still hold several hostages, including a Malaysian police officer and a Japanese treasure hunter.

Although weakened by battle

of people.

“We’ve not heard of villagers resisting to be evacuated,” regional disaster-response director Blanche Gobenciong said. “Their trauma is still so fresh.”

In Tacloban, residents stacked sandbags to block floodwaters. One McDonald’s restaurant was closed and boarded up to prevent a repetition of Haiyan’s deluge, which shattered glass panes and doors of business establishments, allowing looting to take place.

Disaster preparations widened after two agencies tracking the typhoon closely — the U.S. military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii and the Philippine weather agency — predicted different directions for Hagupit.

The U.S. agency said Hagupit (pronounced HA’-goo-pit) may veer northwest after coming inland and sweep past the southern edge of the capital, Manila, a city of more than 12 million people. The Philippine agency, known by its acronym PAGASA, projected a more southern path.

Gobenciong said the unpredictable path made it harder to ascertain which areas would be hit, but added that everybody “should prepare for the worst.”

“We have a zero-casualty target,” she said. “Just one loss of life will really sadden us all and make us wonder what went wrong.”  Teves reported from Manila. Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report.

is funded by King County and even undocumented immigrants are eligible for the screenings. Case managers will remain with the client throughout the prevention and treatment process.  ICHS is located at 720 8th Avenue South in the International District. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm and Saturdays from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. More information is available at www.ichs.com or 206-788-3671.

setbacks, the militants have survived thanks largely to money collected from ransom kidnappings and extortion.

The Philippine military recently launched a new offensive against the militants after they staged a new bout of kidnappings, including the seizing of Chinese tourists in neighboring Malaysia’s Sabah state, which is only hours away by speedboat from the southern Philippines.

Marines and army troops assaulted at least three Sulu jungle encampments of the Abu Sayyaf on Saturday, with artillery and gunfire, including in Patikul, killing an unspecified number of militants, according to the military.  Associated Press writers Oliver Teves in Manila and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

Thank you for recycling 湖景墓園 this newspaper!

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☆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

傳統式紀念碑

{WONG cont’d from page 4} sites, in the city’s Mong Kok neighborhood, was shut down recently under a court order.

Authorities are expected to clear out some barricades from the main protest site outside government headquarters sometime in the next week.

Leaders of a second group, the Hong Kong Federation of Students, representing those studying at colleges, said Thursday that they were considering a retreat from the protest sites and expect to come to a decision soon. 

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.

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32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

■ astrology

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

13

For the week of December 13–December 19, 2014

By Sun Lee Chang

Rat — Are you lamenting the lack of praise or a compliment? As strange as it may seem, there are times when silence is preferable to criticism.

Dragon — A well-intentioned act doesn’t always lead to the desired result. There is more to consider here before you decide to move ahead.

Monkey — Getting ready for a very big day? Start off by making sure you get a solid meal and laying out all the things you will need.

Ox — As the date of your event approaches, it might be prudent to send a reminder to those who have indicated they are coming.

Snake — Are you on the fence about continuing an old tradition again this year? Some traditions are worth repeating as they connect you with the past in a good way.

Rooster — If the weather is dreary outside, it is a perfect excuse to bring people together inside to enjoy the warmth that togetherness brings.

Tiger — One opportunity can lead to many others, so when it comes knocking on your door – be ready to answer.

Rabbit — Even the best of plans should leave room for adjustment in the case of an unforeseen situation or occurrence.

Horse — Although you are in a hurry, avoid rushing forward so quickly that you don’t start making mistakes.

Dog — Try not to schedule your appointments too close together. Give yourself enough time in between to prepare.

Goat — Do you feel like you are in a style rut lately? Try a flattering new color or perhaps a trendy outfit to bring your wardrobe up to date.

Pig — Does it seem as though your day is getting off to a sluggish start? Perhaps you need a little more zest to the day, such as listening to upbeat music.

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 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

Photo by Jason Cruz/NWAW

*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.

International Asian Basketball Showcase

{BASKETBALL cont’d from page 1} Los Angeles, and were going to play in Vancouver, B.C. after their stop in Seattle.

The two Australian teams were a part of the “International Asian Basketball Showcase,” which took place at the gym at Tyee Middle School in Bellevue, Wash. on Saturday, Nov. 29th. It was an exhibition of a local Chinese Basketball Association team and the teams from Sydney.

The event was the idea of brothers Austin and Royce Yuen. Austin Yuen, a former Seattle Pacific University collegiate player, participates in a local Chinese basketball league where his team has won multiple local tournaments and competes nationally against other Chinese teams.

Through connections, Yuen was put in contact with the ACBA Kane Toads, a 60 and over basketball team that was playing in the Chinese World Tournament in Las Vegas in November. They were looking for other teams to play in exhibitions. In addition, Leon Teh, the group’s manager, was bringing along a young team with ages ranging from 17 to 28.

“If there’s Asian basketball in Seattle, you’re it,” Yuen retold of how the game came about. With only a month’s advance notice, Yuen and his brother wanted to make the game more of a community event. “It was a busy first couple weeks,” said Yuen. He partnered with advertising group T.D. Wang, t-shirt maker Spread Love, and Watts Basketball (owned by local basketball legend Donald Watts) as sponsors. They also were able to obtain halftime entertainment with the group “The Good Foot” dance crew performing.

According to Teh, the ACBA is the largest group in Australia with 70 teams that play year round. The league is

comprised of a mixture of ethnic Chinese and Australians. The Asian population in Sydney is over 800,000 people. The contingent of 28 left Australia on Nov. 20th and will be home on Dec. 5th, according to Teh. In addition to the main event pitting the ABCA Warriors against the local Seattle team, there was a “senior” game played with elder members (50 years and over) of ACBA playing against a “senior” team from Seattle. There was also a youth basketball clinic hosted by the Seattle Asian Sports Club with kids having the opportunity to run through basketball drills to improve on their skills.

The showcase was a glimpse of the basketball culture for these players that play for the love of the game. Yuen and his fellow teammates travel to tournaments to test themselves against national competition. East Coast Asian Basketball is pretty big according to Yuen, as cities like Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, and Toronto have strong Asian basketball communities. Yuen and his friends do not mind traveling for tournaments as most see it as a “vacation.” Most of the time, they pay for airfare and hotels when they go to tournaments.

Similarly, the ABCA rely on league fees and players paying out of pocket for their trips to the United States. Teh stated that he makes annual basketball trips to the States bringing different teams to give them experience.

In the end, both Seattle teams (the young and old) defeated the teams from ABCA. However, all that participated had a great time playing a game for the love of it.  Jason Cruz can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

asianweekly northwest

14

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

{VILLAGE REPORT cont’d from page 4} and degrees.

But this woman is an artist. A photographer. Fifteen all.

“I make conversation space,” I say.

She sips white wine. Shifts her weight. I blink.

“You mean, you don’t work as a journalist?”

“I used to,” I reply.

It’s hard to do, but later, I will try. To share the way this happened. The shift to first-person. Not *he-said, shesaid,* but personal stories.

Conversations make room for play, chance, delight, and {SONY cont’d from page 5} that “some of our employees have received an e-mail claiming to be from GOP” and said the company was working with law enforcement.

Employees were told to turn off their mobile devices after receiving the message, Variety said, citing Sony insiders it did not name.

Messages from The Associated Press to Sony representatives were not immediately returned.

Recently, hackers released personal information for

inspiration. At their best, they are music. Words are the notes. We, the team, all of us in that shared space together, *we* are the lead sheet.

Did I get out of journalism for the same reason some who’ve lived here get out of international development? Do they also feel like it’s gotten out of whack? Like something’s missing... but what?

Heart?

Wish I could fix this. But, of course, I’m only here for the evening. I’m only just passing through. Putting aside what I can’t control, I dive into a story about “uncertainty,” my absolute favorite beat.

Game, set, match.

Can she get me some wine? Red or white?

Red. Beet-red, the color of heart.

After, things are going well. We speak jazz. We’re in flow. I’ll do my best to ignore one thing.

The glass.

It’s plastic. 

thousands of Sony employees online, including some Social Security numbers and the purported salaries of top executives. Five movies, including the unreleased “Annie,” also have shown up on file-sharing websites.

On Nov. 24, workers who logged onto Sony Pictures’ network saw a skeleton and the message “Hacked by (hash) GOP.” There has been speculation that North Korea was behind the attacks in retaliation for the upcoming movie “The Interview,” a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco that depicts an assassination attempt on that

country’s leader, Kim Jong Un. North Korea denied involvement Thursday.

Some cybersecurity experts say they’ve found striking similarities between the code used in the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment and attacks blamed on North Korea that targeted South Korean companies and government agencies last year.

Experts are divided, however, over the likelihood that North Korea or independent hackers were involved. 

Dipika Kohli can be reached at info@nwasianweekly. com.

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32 YEARS YOUR VOICE

DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

15

{see REUNITED cont’d from page 1} together, though they are grown-ups. Each turned 27 in November, but prior to last year, they never had the chance to engage in these mundane sibling activities that go on to become treasured childhood memories. They are identical twin sisters, born in Korea, but separated at birth. Adopted as babies into different families, Anais Bordier, raised in France, and Samantha Futerman, raised in America, never knew of the existence of the other, until a YouTube video and Facebook message led to their reunion 25 years later.

It’s a premise that prompts an innate jaw-dropping response, not to mention comparisons to the film The Parent Trap, in which Lindsay Lohan plays separated twin sisters, one of whom grows up in America and the other in England.

With a stranger-than-fiction quality, the real-life story first caught the attention of the international media last year, after the sisters started crowdfunding so they could make a documentary about their discovery and reunion. In addition to the full-length documentary, Twinsters, due out in 2015, the sisters have also written a book, “Separated @ Birth: A True Love Story of Twin Sisters Reunited.”

Indeed, theirs is a love story, and the book chronicles many of the key moments of that blossoming sisterhood, from their first Facebook contact and Skype conversation, to reuniting in London and traveling together to Korea, their birthplace.

It was apparently love at first “sight.”

“After just three hours, I knew I loved her already,” writes Anais, relating how she felt after the sisters’ first marathon Skype conversation.

Following their in-person reunion, Sam writes, “I came to London having no idea whether or not Anais and I were related, and I left feeling like I had known her my entire life.”

A joint phone interview in late September with Anais, speaking from Paris, and Samantha, who goes by “Sam,” based in Los Angeles, only confirms the sisters have already established a deep bond in less than two years.

Though they live on different continents, ever since their London reunion, they have managed to see each other about once every four months.

“I don’t think I could go any longer than four months without seeing her,” Sam tells KoreAm. “We’re always in contact,” Anais adds, even though they are 5,000 miles apart, “except when one or the other is sleeping.”

One can tell their voices apart easily, thanks to Anais’ British-tinged French accent, as she studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. But their frequent giggles —one starts, and then the other follows soon after—are almost indistinguishable. In their jointly written book, Anais and Sam pen alternating chapters, allowing each sister to have her own distinct voice— Sam’s more straightforward, often humorous, and Anais’ with more of a poetry to it—as she recounts and reflects upon many of the same events. They also distill their very separate experiences as Korean adoptees growing up with their respective white families in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and Verona, N.J. Different from Sam, who has two older brothers (the biological children of the Futermans), Anais grew up an only child and often fantasized about having a sibling. She even dreamed up an imaginary friend named Anne. So imagine her surprise when, on Dec. 15, 2012, her college pal Kelsang tells her that he came across a YouTube video featuring a young American actress who looked just like Anais.

Through that short video, created and starring the popular YouTube star KevJumba, gets Anais’ mind racing about the possibility of having a twin. There is no information about the actress, not even a name. Plus, when she tells her parents about this look-alike, they react skeptically, explaining that the agency that handled Anais’ adoption said she was a single birth, with no mention of a twin.

So Anais goes back to focusing on her studies and her life. Two months later, the same friend, Kelsang, tells Anais he found another video of the actress—and this time, there was a name, Samantha Futerman. After some well-intentioned social media stalking, Anais learns as much as she can about this familiar stranger, including her birthdate—Nov. 19, 1987, the same as Anais’ —and even finds a video where Sam talks about being adopted. Anais then works up the courage to send a Facebook message to Sam that starts, “Hey, My name is Anais, I am French and live in London. About two months ago, my friend was watching one of your videos with KevJumba on YouTube, and he saw you and thought that we looked really similar … like VERY REALLY SIMILAR … So I don’t want to be too Lindsay Lohan, well … but … how to put it … where were you born?”

Across the globe, Sam is primping herself for the big movie premiere for the Justin Chon film 21 & Over, in which she costars, when she receives a tweet to check out a

Sam (left) and Anais (right), 1988

Facebook message. Looking at Facebook pictures of Anais, a shocked Sam says it’s like looking in a mirror.

They begin exchanging birth records and childhood pictures, which reveal few clues other than their common birthdate, birthplace, and strikingly similar appearance.

Their birth family histories, including the descriptions and circumstances of their biological mother, are actually quite different, but Sam notes that it’s not uncommon for such details in adoption papers to be unreliable. The two then arranged a Skype call.

Just as Anais starts to apologize for her poor Internet connection, Sam blurts, “Oh my God, you’re European!”

And then she erupts into laughter. Anais starts laughing.

It’s the same laugh. They speak for three hours, only stopping because they have to go to the bathroom. They cover their childhoods, their studies, boyfriends, medical information (nerve disorders around the same age), their small hands.

“I’d gone into the call completely exhausted from the long days I had been spending on my designs, but now, I was suddenly energized,” Anais recounts in the book. “I did not want to go to bed for fear Samantha might disappear, or that it would turn out that this was a dream and when I woke up, she’d be gone.”

Sam says, over the following nights, she couldn’t wait to talk to Anais again. “I was becoming an Anais Bordier addict—I couldn’t get enough of her, and I was getting the feeling that she couldn’t get enough of me, either,” she writes. “I guess you could say we were becoming selfobsessed.”

In the months that follow, they would learn about their uncanny similarities, including a disdain for cooked carrots in soup, their tendency to declare how they want to try everything on a restaurant menu, their partiality to curse words and animal costumes for Halloween, how they cope with stress by napping, and their common artistic persuasion, with Anais studying fashion design and Sam pursuing acting.

Though many would like to believe separated twins “sense each other,” or feel like their other-half is missing, Sam and Anais say they never felt that. And it was perhaps a sense of disbelief that caused Anais to poke Sam in the head when they first met in London—making sure this 4-foot-10, freckled American look-alike was real.

While they are in London, accompanied by both sets of their adoptive parents, DNA tests would confirm Anais and Sam are identical twins. A series of other tests conducted by a twins expert at California State University, Fullerton, would also reveal the sisters had similar IQs (Sam’s was slightly higher, though Anais thinks this is because it was an American-made test; she requests a “rematch”) and dispositions, with nearly identical scores for “openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness”—consistent with findings about twins who grow up apart. “Dr. [Nancy] Segal had said reared-apart twins were more similar than those raised together because they weren’t fighting to be different,” Sam writes. “They were letting nature take its course.”

But they have their differences, too. Anais is, in fact, .75 inches taller. Sam’s memory is stronger than Anais’, which could be due to the fact that, as an actress who has also worked as a waitress, she has to do a great deal of memorizing. Meanwhile, Anais outperformed Sam on visual-spatial tests, probably because of her design background.

The sisters note that such results indicate how their differing cultural environments and upbringing may have played a role in their personalities. Sam writes in the book that she got to grow up with two older brothers, which helped her grow thick skin, whereas Anais, being an only child, seemed to be more sensitive to negative comments.

Everything counts. That idea seemed to be at play when Anais and Sam finally had a moment alone together during their London reunion, without family or friends around, and, feeling exhausted, decide to take a nap in Sam’s hotel room—together, in the same bed. “Maybe this was our way

Sam, left, and Anais, at a Los Angeles Angels’ game

of resuming our story where it all started—twins in the womb,” writes Anais in the book. “We were resuming our life together, waking up with no fear of being separated ever again.”

Sam says every time the two see each other, they share the same bed—Anais always on the right, Sam on the left.

At one point in Separated @ Birth, Sam admits it’s difficult to describe the strong, almost natural bond she and Anais feel, even though they missed out on coloring in a 25-year history together.

Initially, though, Anais and her parents had reservations about sharing details of such a private story—and an emotional, unpredictable one—so publicly. When Sam, who works in an industry that’s all about public storytelling, approached Anais about recording their experiences for the documentary (the book project came later), the two hadn’t even confirmed they were biologically related.

“I guess I was scared because this whole story happened so fast, and you never know how you’re going to react … and maybe you don’t want everyone to see it,” Anais explains. But she adds she also realized it was very nonprivate social media platforms that helped her “recover my twin sister on the other end of the world”—and she’s grateful.

She also had the assurance that her sister, who is directing and producing Twinsters, was committed to an authentic retelling of their unique journey. “I have never felt happier in my life since I met Sam,” says Anais. “I wanted to share the joy of our story, as well.”

It’s still unclear how Anais and Sam came to be separated after birth, and they realize they may never know the truth—or meet their biological mother or father. They wrote a letter together to their birth mom that will be kept on file at Sam’s adoption agency in Korea, should she ever look for them. If she ever reads the letter, she will know that her daughters found each other from opposite sides of the world and that they are happily reunited.

And that happiness has been transformative.

“You know what’s funny? A lot of adoptees yearn to find someone who looks like them,” says Sam. “That’s how I felt. I wanted to find someone who looked like me— freckles, lighter shade of brown hair. It’s such a comfort, finding people that you recognize and feel comfortable around. You realize it’s all going to be OK.” Anais says, since meeting Sam, she feels more confident.

“I’m not as scared,” she says. “I can accept myself a lot easier. I feel a lot more comfortable around everyone. I’m not worrying that much as before. You feel stronger when you know there are two of you.”

Today, Anais is working in Paris as a leather goods designer for Gerard Darel, and Sam continues to work as an actress in L.A., as well as on post-production of Twinsters. She has also founded Kindred: The Foundation for Adoption, an initiative to help with services like travel, translation, and therapy for international and domestic adoptees and their families.

If the sisters have learned anything from this experience, it’s that anything is possible.

“Sometimes you might think that you know everything that’s going to happen,” says Anais. “But you have no idea what the universe has set for you. You should always live day by day, and let yourself be surprised because a lot of good things can happen to you. That’s what’s beautiful in life.”

“Just that simple act of being open,” says Sam. “Oh my god, we’re twins!” Anais squeals.

“We’re twins!” Sam exclaims back.  Julie Ha can be reached at koream.u@iamkoream.com.

asianweekly northwest

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DECEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 19, 2014

{ALIBABA cont’d from page 11}

{FERGUSON cont’d from page 1}

Photo by George Liu/NWAW

protesting the deaths of the two men, it was a peaceful event (although loud) with a diverse population from all Seattle neighborhoods.

After approximately half an hour, the crowd proceeded to the police station on 6th Avenue.

The protesting continued on Sunday.  Staff can be reached at info@nwasianweekly. com.

Protestors in Chinatown

{TOP CONTRIBUTORS cont’d from page 7} and fun,” she said. Her agenda is focused on education funding for early learning and higher education. As well, she believes that taxes should be fair and fund our values. Further, Jayapal addressed racial profiling and “the unfair nature of the system in the wake of Ferguson.”

Kashino-Takisaki gave a moving testimonial about the Nisei Veterans Club, which was formed when Japanese Americans were not permitted to join traditional veterans groups after returning from their WWII service. “It is my wish that our community would help us educate the general public about our experiences,” she said. As well, she spoke about the Japanese concentration camps created in America after Pearl Harbor. “This swift movement [by the U.S. government] without due process of law was a terrible injustice against a group of citizens whose only crime was that we looked like the enemy. Our parents lost everything they had worked so hard for, and most of all, they lost {FUKUSHIMA cont’d from page 8} rooted in a sustainable way of living.

NWAW: The organizers of the festival seem to have avoided mentioning the earthquake or the nuclear meltdowns directly. How did they settle on such a tactic? How successful do you think this was?

Hikaru Fujii: As opposed to facing people who are bloodied on the battlefield and yelling “No war!” at them, I think we found meaning and significance in looking toward new ways of living and new ways of moving for-

the very spirit they displayed when they first came to this country,” she said.

Yee was honored for his longtime contributions to health and human services in the community. In his speech, he talked about his involvement in a project in Walla Walla where he translated into English the gravestones of early Chinese pioneers. “To make that part of history a little more comprehensive was meaningful. Each and every name represents a real story we can learn from,” he said.

Takamura was honored for her contributions as an educator and policymaker. From her diverse history of advocacy, she was asked to share some advice. “Try to keep the system accountable. Many Asian students are doing well, but some are outside of the achievement gap. The existence of education leaders among Asians helps to give the future promise,” she said.  Minal Singh can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

ward in the midst of difficult circumstances.

So it’s not that we were avoiding direct mention of the earthquake and nuclear incident, but that we funneled our imagination into other things.

when you look at it from the standpoint of people continuing to live in Fukushima, having people get together in a part of the city with low levels of radiation takes on a different meaning.

NWAW: How did the festival organizers go about tackling the ethical questions of bringing people to an area devastated by natural disaster, and possibly home to dangerous radiation levels?

Hikaru Fujii: Those are questions that were debated considerably. They took the approach of disclosing information about the radiation and leaving it up to the participants to decide. Also,

NWAW: How is the film being brought to America? What are the futureplans for it?

Hikaru Fujii: To show the film in America was a decision made by the producer. My future plan for the film is to continue showing it all over.  Andrew Hamlin can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.

Moua, president and executive director of AAJC. “These retailers deliberately chose to target a Chinese company as the ‘face’ of the competitor or challenger, rather than another American company.

In doing so, they are feeding into anti-immigrant and anti-foreign sentiments. The ad revives the ‘Yellow Peril’ scare tactic that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and later, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. We demand that the Alliance for Main Street Fairness abandon this marketing campaign and pull this ad.”

AAJC and the MMTC will be launching a social media campaign targeting @StandWithMainSt and the Alliance for Main Street Fairness demanding the alliance #PullAlibabaAd. Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. working to fight for civil and human rights and empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to participate in our democracy.

The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity and civil rights in the mass media, telecommunications, and broadband industries. 