PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 35 NO 51
DECEMBER 17 – DECEMBER 23, 2016 FREE 34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW
Trump’s choice for Oakland fire: Warehouse top China diplomat owner Chor Ng elusive has long ties to Xi
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (right) and Luca Berrone in Seattle in September 2015 for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s dinner at the Westin Hotel.
By Thomas Beaumont and Matthew Pennington ASSOCIATED PRESS DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — It may seem odd for the governor of a lightly populated agricultural
state to be chosen as U.S. ambassador to China, especially amid escalating talk of a trade war with the major U.S. trading partner. But Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad see BRANSTAD on 12
This photo taken from video provided by @Oaklandfirelive shows the scene of the fire on Dec. 3.
By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY It was the deadliest structure fire in the United States in 13 years. On Dec. 2, up to 100 people were at a dance party at an Oakland, Calif. warehouse — known as the
“Ghost Ship” — when the fire broke out, killing 36 people. The warehouse had been turned into artists’ studios and illegal living spaces. Investigators haven’t identified the cause of the
Photos by George Liu/NWAW
Snow blankets much of Washington state
Children playing in the snow at Hing Hay Park.
The Historic Chinatown Gate after much of the snow melted.
FDA alert on food from Japan The United States recently tightened restrictions of food imports from Japan. According to Import Alert 99-33 issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a list of Japanese food will be banned unless they pass physical examination. This list includes milk, butter, milk-based infant formula, other milk products, vegetables and vegetable products, rice and whole grain, fish, meat and poultry, venus clams, sea urchins, yuzu fruit, and Kiwi fruit. The FDA indicates that revision to this import alert is due to radionuclide contamination. On March 11, 2011, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake triggering a tsunami struck the Pacific Coast of
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see FOOD BAN on 12
SEATTLE (AP) — Seattleites woke up to rare winter powder on Dec. 9 after an overnight weather system brought 1 to 3 inches of snow to the city and other parts of Washington state. Some schools canceled classes, while others including Seattle Public Schools have delayed school start time because of the snow. The southwest interior including Chehalis got hit the heaviest with about 3 to 5 inches overnight. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recorded 2 inches of snow. The snow transitioned to rain by late afternoon on Dec. 10.
see OAKLAND on 11
TOP 10 ENTERTAINMENT STORIES OF 2016 From #OscarsSoWhite to the allfemale (and some Asian) casting of Oceans 8. » see 8
LAST MINUTE GIFTS UNDER $15 Publisher Ng’s tips on gifts they’ll love and won’t break the bank. » see 10
COMMUNITY » 2 CALENDAR » 6 SUDOKU » 6 ASTROLOGY » 15
Salesman who targetted Asian business charged with tax fraud By Ruth Bayang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY John Yin of Everett pleaded guilty to wire fraud for selling revenuesuppression software that allowed businesses to cheat on their taxes. The scam cost the U.S. government more than $3.4 million. The U.S. Department of Justice said in a Dec. 2 news release that Yin sold software built by Profitek, a Vancouver, Canada company
that sells point-of-sale software for recording transactions by restaurants and other businesses. He also sold, see TAX ZAPPER on 12
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