PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 33 NO 52 DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014 FREE 32 YEARS YOUR VOICE
r o f u o y k n Tha ^ s s e n d n your ki
T CHRIS
gift guide
the gift of caring
MAS
Loss and birth – Tukwila community aids Burmese family of Ciin Nuam » P. 4
the gift of giving
Providing sleep in Seattle – ‘Big Give’ day provides King County with sleeping bags » P. 7
the gift of time
. n e K m ’ I , i H
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y p o o n S m ’ And I
8 gifts at no cost that can boost your happiness » P. 10
gifts from the past
Remembering, wishing, resolutions » P. 11
t s o c o n ? e se
e g a f o s r 25 yea r king! o w l l i t s s and i
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DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
■ names in the news Reverend Jackson addresses STEM summit Gov. Jay Inslee and Reverend Jesse Jackson joined more than 320 business and education leaders at the third annual Washington STEM summit on December 2 to discuss how communities across Washington state can drive the improvement of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for all students. Gov. Inslee and Reverend Jackson joined Reverend Jesse Jackson leaders from companies including Microsoft, Boeing, and McKinstry and from K-12 and higher education to discuss topics such as creating a STEM pipeline from early learning through college in Washington state and how to address the computer science skills talent-gap.
First Indian community roundtable
Governor of Washington State Jay Inslee had a meeting with community and business representatives from Washington state Indian community in a Indian Diaspora forum on Dec 11th at The Westin Bellevue WA. It was Governor’s Inslee’s first round table with the local Indian Diaspora after being elected as Governor. Various topics were discussed
including ideas to improve WA state economy, education and transportation. The ideas of introducing Hindi as a foreign language in Seattle schools and establishing multiple sisterstate relationships in India to take advantage of the changing demographics in the nation were discussed at length. The roundtable was organized by WASITRAC, the Seattle based non-profit trade advocacy group working on a stronger bilateral trade relationship between the Washington State and India.
Supporting survivors of domestic violence
Imperial Garden Seafood Restaurant on December 9, 2014. Over 200 volunteers and guests attended. Christine and Omar Lee for generously sponsored the dinner. The 2014 Bertha Tsuchiya Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to long time supporter and volunteers, Larry Luke and Raymond Leong. The Kin On Golf Tournament Planning Committee was awarded the group volunteer award in recognition of their support in raising nearly $400K for Kin On over the last 14 years.
On Dec. 10, the Co-Directors of API Chaya, Molly Harper Haines & Sarah Rizvi (front left and center) hold a check for $15,000 awarded by the Diversity Partner Grant Committee of the Washington Women’s Foundation in support of their work with survivors of domestic violence. Alice Ito, second from left, served as the Advisor to the grant process; she is the Director of Community Programs at The Seattle Foundation. The Washington Women’s Foundation, a Seattlebased foundation with over 500 women members, examined issues and organizations working in the Asian Pacific Islander community in our region.
Kin On celebrates a community of dedicated volunteers
Kin On held its Annual Volunteers Appreciation Dinner at
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Calvin Locke, Benton Ong, Kin On Golf Tournament Co-Chairs; Sam Wan, Kin On CEO; Herb Tsuchiya, Kin On board member ; Larry Luke, 2014 Bertha Tsuchiya Volunteer of the Year Individual Award Recipient; Raymond Leong, 2014 Bertha Tsuchiya Volunteer of the Year Individual Award Recipient
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Murthy appointed U.S. Surgeon General
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Dr. Vivek Murthy as the next U.S. Surgeon General. President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Murthy more than a year ago. As a physician, Dr. Murthy expressed a desire for the nation to implement solutions to reduce gun injuries and deaths, a stance in Dr. Vivek Murthy line with many medical associations as well as most Asian Americans. Dr. Murthy graduated from Harvard and Yale. He has worked for two decades as a public health leader, physician, educator, researcher, healthcare entrepreneur, and prevention expert.
32 YEARS YOUR VOICE
■ community news
DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
3
Jury finds Bowman guilty of first-degree murder Former child prodigy attempts suicide after jury verdict
By Jason Cruz Northwest Asian Weekly Thomasdinh “Dinh” Bowman was found guilty of first-degree murder by a King County jury on Thursday, December 11th. The jury determined that Bowman had set out to kill when he shot Yancy Noll in August 2012. Hours after the guilty verdict, Bowman attempted suicide by slitting both wrists with a razor according to a report from KIRO 7. Inmates are allowed razors to shave. Due to the attempted suicide, Bowman will no longer be allowed razors. The jury took less than two days to find Bowman guilty of killing a fellow motorist. He was without emotion as his fate was read. The 32 year old Bowman will face between 25 and 31 years in prison when he is sentenced on January 2nd 2015. In the early evening of August 31, 2012, Yancy Noll was sitting in his car at a stop light at 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 75th Street when Bowman’s silver BMW pulled up next to him and shot Noll several times through his own passenger window. Noll died at Harborview Hospital. Noll, 43, was a wine steward at the QFC store on Capitol Hill. He was returning home from work at the time that he was shot by Bowman. A tip led the police to Bowman’s home and business. Bowman had repaired a broken window, changed out all four tires on his BMW and it was freshly painted when examined by police to cover up the exchange between the two cars. He was arrested and taken into custody soon thereafter.
Thomasdinh “Dinh” Bowman
Bowman claimed that the shooting was done in selfdefense as a result of road rage. Bowman stated that Noll had thrown a wine bottle at him which hit him in the head. He testified that Noll was reaching for something in his car when Bowman, who had a gun in his car, pulled out his gun to shoot him. However, the prosecutor argued that there was no evidence of a wine bottle and debunked the story that it could have hit Bowman in his car while he was driving. “That’s one magic wine bottle,” said King County Prosecutor Kristin Richardson during trial. One of the jurors indicated that he could have drove away from the incident but decided to fire his gun. The prosecution commented on Bowman’s steely demeanor during the trial as a person without remorse in the random killing of Noll. It was only when the prosecution made these comments did Bowman express emotion in
New senior housing community accepting applications The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) announces the availability of 50 brand new Senior HUD-subsidized affordable apartments located in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, close to the Seattle Public Library, Ballard Commons Park, NW Market Street and the Majestic Bay movie theater. Occupancy begins January 2015. Cheryl Chow Court offers the opportunity for income qualified tenants to pay 30% (about 1/3) of their adjusted monthly income for rent. A HUD Section 202 Project Rental Assistance contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides a rent subsidy to residents of the 25 studio and 25 one-bedroom apartments and will pay the difference between the tenant payment and the scheduled rent for the units. Each household must include at least one member age 62 or older. The studios and one-bedroom apartments include a full kitchen and bath, including level-entry showers. The community has apartments accessible for those with mobility challenges and are accessible to the hearing and sight impaired. The building features a lobby, mailbox area, resident lounge, computer bank, library, group kitchen and program space and professional on-site management. There will be gardening on the outdoor rooftop. The resident services coordinator will organize outings and activities geared to the interests of residents, and provide referrals to community services as needed. To be eligible to apply, annual income cannot exceed $30,900 (one-person) or $35,300 (two-persons), and can be
lower given the benefit of the HUD rent subsidy. Applicants must meet the resident selection criteria. Applications will be processed based on date and time received, and on a first-come, first-served basis. Waiting list closes at 100 applicants. For more information call 206-957-8069 or visit www. LIHI.org
Send your exciting news to editor@nwasianweekly.c om.
court as he cried. The emotions, or lack thereof, may have been a factor for the jury. The prosecutors characterized Bowman as “a student of murder” and someone that was on a “quest to know what it would be like to kill someone.” Bowman’s attorney, John Henry Browne, argued to the jury that road rage is not a premeditated act. He also made the assertion that if Bowman was a student of murder, why would he pick such a time and place to kill someone. The trial hinged on whether the prosecutors could prove that the shooting death was not done in self-defense and whether Bowman’s act was premeditated. If the jury could not find premeditation of murder, Bowman would have been set free without another lesser charge against him. Bowman made the decision that a lesser charge such as manslaughter would not be considered by the jury. It was revealed that a search of Bowman’s home computer revealed information about how to be an assassin and commit murder. Browne states that his client will appeal the verdict. Bowman is married. He is a graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in electrical engineering. Bowman was considered a child prodigy as the Seattle Times had an article on him from 1996 when he was just 13 years old and taking computer classes at Seattle Pacific University. Originally from Des Moines, Washington and of Vietnamese descent, Bowman was an accomplished fencer that competed nationally. He was home-schooled by his mother since the third grade. Jason Cruz can be reached at info@nwasianweekly. com.
Control (and compost) your garbage New regulations take effect in 2015
Starting January 1, 2015, the City of Seattle will no longer allow food or compostable paper, including pizza boxes, paper napkins and paper towels, in the garbage. Part of the city’s solid waste comprehensive plan, the food waste requirements were passed earlier this year by the Seattle City Council and signed into law by Mayor Ed Murray. The ordinance is projected to divert as much as 38,000 more tons of food scraps from the landfill each year, helping Seattle achieve its goal to recycle or compost 60 percent of its waste by 2015. “Seattle is a national leader in recycling,” said Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) Solid Waste Director Tim Croll. “Most of our city’s businesses and residents are already composting. This requirement is a progression of our collective efforts that help our city become even greener.” Seattle’s recyclables and yard waste have been prohibited from the garbage for more than a decade. Prior to submitting the food waste legislation, SPU polled businesses and residents and found widespread support for the measure. In a Survey USA telephone poll conducted in June, more than 3 out of 4 Seattle residents polled supported the proposal. Organics – food, paper napkins, cardboard pizza boxes, leaves and grass – make up the largest component of Seattle’s waste. SPU estimates that 30 percent of the 317, 258 tons of trash that was disposed in the landfill in 2013 was compostable. Seattle began biweekly curbside residential vegetative food waste collection in 2005. In 2009, Seattle required all residents to participate in food waste collection or backyard composting, and started collecting food and yard waste every week, including meat, fish and dairy. Seattle is the latest of several cities that have passed food waste requirements, including Vancouver, BC, Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA, and New York, NY.
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DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
■ COMMUNITY NEWS
Loss and birth
Tukwila community aids Burmese family of Ciin Nuam By Minal Singh Northwest Asian Weekly
had been working to bring his family to America. Among the family’s financial responsibilities are fees owed to the U.S. government related to their asylum status. Burma, also known as Myanmar,located between Bangladesh and Thailand, has faced civil unrest for decades. The family has been together in America for nine months. The Tukwila School District launched a successful fundraiser.. Especially, in light of the holiday season, the community has expressed on the donation website that “This is a Burmese refugee family—only nine months in the Tukwila community—who has no money for funeral expenses, not to mention medical expenses or day-to-day finances (food, rent) that will accumulate as the father must shift his focus from his job to his family in the days and months ahead.” The memorial service for Ciin Nuam took place at Showalter Middle School on Tuesday.
Ciin Nuam
Almost $60,000 has been donated to the Zam Khap family so far in the fundraising drive organized by the Tukwila School District Community. While preparing the family’s evening meal, Ciin Nuam died at age 42. She was six months pregnant with her 7th child. Premature baby, Cian Hoigh showed her eldest sister, Niang Lun Cing, 17, the first opening of her eyes less than a week after her emergency birth by c-section on Dec. 2.
Premature Cian Hoigh, 2 ½ pounds, at Swedish Medical Center
Cian Hoigh weighed 2 ½ pounds and continues to be cared for at Seattle’s Swedish Medical
Center. Ciin Nuam’s husband, Zam Khup,must now learn to be a single
■ world news
US Marine charged in Filipino transgender slaying
By Jim Gomez Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine government prosecutors charged a U.S. Marine with murder Monday in the killing of a Filipino, saying the Jennifer Laude suspect acknowledged attacking the victim after he found out she was a transgender woman. Prosecutor Emilie de los Santos said there was “probable cause” that Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, who has been detained since shortly after the October incident, killed Jennifer Laude, whose former name was Jeffrey, in the motel room where the victim’s body was found in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila. She had apparently been strangled and drowned in a toilet bowl. “It’s murder,” de los Santos told reporters after filing the charge against the 19-yearold Pemberton before a regional court. “It was aggravated by treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty.” Among the evidence submitted by de
los Santos and other prosecutors were statements by Pemberton’s three Marine colleagues who went bar-hopping with him on Oct. 11 in Olongapo, a former liberty town when the U.S. Navy was at the vast Subic Naval base, now a bustling commercial Freeport and recreation hub. Pemberton and some of his colleagues later picked up women at a disco bar and separately checked in at nearby motels, then returned to their ship after midnight. Witnesses saw Pemberton check in with Laude at a motel room, where he was seen leaving shortly before the discovery of the killing, prosecutors said in their statement to the court. Marine Lance Corporal Jairn Michael Rose, who went out with Pemberton that night, acknowledged that the suspect later confided back at their ship that he attacked the woman he was with by choking her after discovering that she was a transgender when she undressed, according to the prosecutors. “I think I killed a he/she,” Pemberton was quoted as having told Rose. Pemberton, a skilled boxer, allegedly said he choked her from behind with his arm “for a couple of minutes” until she {see LAUDE cont’d on page 14}
parent and negotiate these new responsibilities with his job at a fish processing plant. For eight years, he
Donations can be gifted at www. youcaring.com and searching for Tukwila or the Zam Khap family.
■ briefly
Professional development opportunities Education Development Institute (EDI) has filled 50 percent of the spots in their 2015 Discovery and Navigation classes in the Greater Seattle area and Portland. The goal is to have 83 total participants across the Puget Sound API Discovery, Hispanic Discovery, and Navigation program, along
with Portland Discovery. EDI will continue to accept applications until all classes are full. To apply: http://ediorg.org/our-programs/ apply-today.
32 YEARS YOUR VOICE
■ WORLD NEWS
DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
5
Rise and fall of China’s Zhou Yongkang
By Didi Tang Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities announced early Saturday that they have arrested Zhou Yongkang, a former member of the all-powerful standing committee of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo, on charges ranging from taking bribes to adultery and leaking state secrets. Zhou Yongkang Zhou is the highest-level official to fall in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, which began in late 2012.
Here’s a look at Zhou’s rise and fall, and what could be in store for the man who once oversaw China’s vast apparatus of police, state security, prosecuting offices, and courts. EARLY YEARS Zhou was born in December 1942 to an impoverished family in a little-known village in eastern China. He was the eldest of three boys born to eel fisherman Zhou Yisheng. Zhou was a diligent student, and he excelled academically. In 1961, he enrolled at Beijing Institute of Petroleum, which is now China University of Petroleum, to study oil exploration. He is the only son in his family to attend college. In 1967, he was sent to work at the Daqing oil field in northeastern China, where he ascended in the ranks. By
the mid-1980s, he headed the Liaohe Petroleum Exploration Bureau and served as mayor for the city of Panjin in Liaoning province before moving to Beijing to work as deputy petroleum minister. RISE TO POWER In Beijing, Zhou moved to the powerful state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., where he worked for a decade, serving as its top executive the last two years. After a short stint heading the Ministry of Land and Resources, Zhou became Communist Party chief of the populous southwestern province of Sichuan, where he built a strong {see ZHOU cont’d on page 13}
Japan’s ruling party heads China to punish tourists in Thai air rage assault for election landslide By Ken Moritsugu Associated Press
Buddhist-backed Komei party. In early returns, the two parties had already locked up TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s ruling 278 seats in the 475-seat lower coalition was headed for a house, according to national resounding victory in lower broadcaster NHK. house elections Sunday, firming A big victory could help Abe up Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pursue his agenda, including Minister Shinzo hold on power as he prepares Prime economic reforms, nuclear Abe to push forward on several plant restarts and his long-term politically difficult fronts. goal of revising Japan’s constitution. Media projections, based on exit polls, But opposition from vested interests and showed the ruling Liberal Democratic sizeable segments of the public could still Party easily retaining its majority in the stymie his plans. House of Representatives. Exit polls have Abe, who took office two years ago, been reliable predictors of the final results called Sunday’s snap election last month, in past Japanese elections. saying he wanted a fresh mandate for his The Liberal Democrats, a conservative economic revitalization program, known party that has been in power for most of as Abenomics. the post-World War II era, appeared to Share prices have risen and many have fallen short of securing a two-thirds majority on their own, but may have done {see LANDSLIDE cont’d on page so together with their coalition partner, the 14}
Thailand princess relinquishes her title BANGKOK (AP) — The wife of Thailand’s crown prince has relinquished her royal title, culminating a downfall that means she is no longer in line to become the Southeast Asian country’s next queen. While the reason for Princess Srirasm’s decision wasn’t clear, it follows revelations last month that several members of her family were detained in a high-profile corruption scandal. A brief statement from the palace’s Royal Gazette that was made public late Friday said Srirasm, the third wife of Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, had asked permission to give up her royal status. The statement gave no reason for the move, but said 87-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej had approved the request. Thailand’s strict lese majeste laws, which carry a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for anyone accused of defaming the
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities vowed to severely punish Chinese travelers who threw hot water and noodles on a Thai flight attendant and threatened to blow up the plane after they became enraged over sitting arrangements. China National Tourism Administration said Saturday the tourists disrupted the flight, hurt other passengers and “badly damaged the overall image of the Chinese people.” It comes at a time when the Chinese are traveling more but also becoming notorious for rough behavior. More than 100 million people from China have traveled overseas this year, more than any other country. For years, the country’s tourism officials have been urging Chinese tourists to behave with civility when abroad, and even Chinese President Xi Jinping asked the Chinese not to litter and destroy coral reefs. Angry Chinese travelers uploaded photos and videos from inside a Thai AirAsia charter flight bound for Nanjing last Thursday.
They said a Chinese couple berated a crew member of the budget airline before pouring hot water and throwing noodles at her. The flight returned to Bangkok and the pilot asked a group of four Chinese passengers to disembark. They were reportedly upset after being told they couldn’t sit together and even after a flight attendant helped them change the seats. In footage aired by China’s state television CCTV, a male passenger loudly threatened to bomb the plane. He later said the attendant was scalded by accident during a tussle over a receipt they had requested for the hot water. After the plane turned back, the captain and the crew invited the passenger to discuss the situation and reached “an amicable conclusion,” Thai AirAsia said. The Chinese tourism administration did not say what punishment the tourists could face, but the statement suggested that the lead tour guide for the trip be punished for failing to offer proper behavior guidance.
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(Princess) Srirasm
monarchy, essentially prevent local and international media based in the country from reporting freely on the subject. Srirasm has been married to Vajiralongkorn since 2001. Although there was no confirmation of a divorce, there {see PRINCESS SRIRASM cont’d on page 13}
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 $30 for 52 weeks of the NW Asian Weekly and $25 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
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DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR 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
WED 12/31 WHAT: New Year’s Eve: Special Asian Night WHERE: Muckleshoot Casino, 2402 Auburn Way S., Auburn WHEN: 8:30 p.m. INFO: muckleshootcasino.com
children WHERE: The Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium WHEN: 1-2 p.m. INFO: 206-386-4675
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 www. seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ preservation/historic_districts. htm
EVERY TUE WHAT: Asian Counseling and Referral Services 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
FRI 12/26 & SAT 12/27
EVERY WED
WHAT: Screenings of animated and live-action short films for
WHAT: Seattle University School of Law Citizenship
Project WHERE: Yesler Community Center Computer Lab, 917 E. Yesler Way, Seattle WHEN: 5–6:30 p.m. COST: Free INFO: 206-386-1245
EVERY TUE, WED & THU WHAT: After School tutoring for Vietnamese students 6-14, conversational ESL classes, and computer classes. WHERE: Helping Link, 1032 S. Jackson St. #C, Seattle WHEN: 3-6 p.m. INFO: 206-568-5160, helpinglinkadmin@gmail.com
EVERY THU WHAT: The Rotary Club of Seattle International District meets WHERE: New Hong Kong Restaurant, 900 S. Jackson St., Seattle WHEN: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. WHAT: Japanese Conversation Club WHERE: JCCCW, 1414 S. Weller St., Seattle INFO: 206-568-7114, admin@ jcccw.org
Have an event to promote? P lease send us the details at least 14 days in advance to info@nwasianweekly.c om.
■ briefly
Smithsonian completes digitization of Asian art By Brett Zongker Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Smithsonian Institution’s Asian art museums have completed an effort to digitize their entire collections and plan to release the images online in 2015. On Monday, the Freer Gallery of Art and Sackler Gallery announced the museums will release their collections online Jan. 1. Most of the artworks have never been seen by the public. They are usually kept in archives.
Museum Director Julian Raby says opening the entire collections is part of the democratization of knowledge. Most of the images of Asian art will be released in very high resolution without any copyright restrictions for noncommercial use. So the museums will encourage users to download free images for computer backgrounds, smartphones or social media. Organizers say the digital collections could inspire new research or new works of art.
Fellowships for artists Washington State artists working in emerging fields/cross-disciplinary, performing, traditional/ folk, and visual arts are invited to apply for Artist Trust’s annual 2015 Fellowship. These $7,500 awards will recognize 12 practicing professional artists of exceptional talent and demonstrated ability, acknowledging an artist’s creative excellence and accomplishment, professional achievement, and continuing dedication to their artistic discipline.
In addition, one artist each in emerging fields/cross-disciplinary and visual arts will receive a one-month residency at The Millay Colony for the Arts in upstate New York, along with a $1,000 stipend. The application and guidelines can be found at: http://artisttrust. org/index.php/for-artists/ money#fellowships. The deadline is January 20, 2015
32 YEARS YOUR VOICE
■ community news
DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
7
Providing sleep in Seattle ‘Big Give’ day provides King County with sleeping bags
One caring group of individuals stand united in delivering compassion and restoring dignity to people without stable and permanent housing. Sleepless in Seattle (SIS), a grass-roots group of individuals, handed out new sleeping bags to King County’s homeless population on December 13, designated by the group as “Big Give” Day. The group’s online crowdsourcing campaign raised over $75,000 last month from over 500 donors to purchase the sleeping bags. “Today is all about connecting that barrier, connecting that bridge, and letting them know that we are doing something for you, and we really want you to feel that you are not abandoned,” said Chinese American Phoebe Huang, a first-year University of Washington (UW) law student. She helped register about 200 volunteers – high school and college students, parents, and senior citizens – at the event, one day after taking her last final exam. While the 3,500 sleeping bags do not end homelessness, recent UW graduate and Chinese American Eddie Wang says they meet an immediate need, one he’s viewed as a challenge since his freshman
Photos courtesy Sleepless in Seattle
By James Tabafunda Northwest Asian Weekly
Volunteers distribute sleeping bags
year in 2009. Leftover sleeping bags will be sent to SIS’ non-profit partners around the county. He spoke to Eddie Wang the large group of volunteers – 50 teams of four each – at Serve Seattle’s meeting space in the Capitol Hill district, reminding them “We’re giving away just a part of who we are, and that’s what makes the campaign so special.” Huang, Wang’s friend since college, was initially inspired by seeing him interact with the homeless living near the UW and handing out sleeping bags, socks, and even food. Soon, she began giving needed items to homeless women on her
own. Just two months ago, they began working together as SIS to do “something more coherent about it and get people involved” and were surprised at the overwhelming support from the community. “I think a lot of us, we care about our community. We see homeless people every day, and we want to do something,” Huang said. “I think an organization like Sleepless in Seattle, it’s a place that you can volunteer at, and then you’ll meet other people who have the same heart as you.” She continues to make an impact in her community after serving as a volunteer at the International Rescue Committee assisting refugees and those seeking assistance and asylum. After teaching English for two years at the Chinese Informa-
tion and Service Center, she now volunteers as an interpreter for its legal clinic. “I think it’s empowering to be able to help other people, and it’s also just a great way to connect,” she added. Vicky Lin, a Taiwanese American, learned about SIS on Facebook, contacted Wang, and signed up. Since then, she has donated money to SIS and enlisted three others – her boyfriend, female best friend and her boyfriend – to be members of “group number one” handing out sleeping bags in Federal Way. “I thought that it would be a really great opportunity to go out and meet some of these people and get their stories and then see what else they needed,” she said. Personal interaction is a “really rewarding part to me.”
Like Huang, she has volunteered her time in several worthy causes such as soup kitchens and fundraisers for various missions and shelters during the holidays. Lin said, “We also made a bunch of care packages of peanut butterand-jelly sandwiches, water, and fruit. We’ll also pass those along.” “We don’t want today to just be a one-day event. That’s the goal, right?” Huang said. “We just want people to really get something from this that will just be with them for the rest of their lives.” For more information about Sleepless in Seattle, go to www. sleeplessinseattle.org. James Tabafunda can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
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DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
■ arts & entertainment
Not cute, but impressive “Live on” exhibition at Seattle Asian Art Museum
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly The Japanese artist known only as “Mr.” grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, absorbing the pop culture and in particular the manga and anime of that time. He grew enchanted by the “kawaii” (cute) aspects of the big-eyed, long-legged girls featured in those narratives. But he never capitulated completely to the fun and escapist elements of what he saw. He kept one eye on anime, as he says; but he remained mindful of what “kawaii” wasn’t telling him. The “Live On” exhibition at the Seattle Asian Art Museum devoted to Mr.’s work, marks the first solo exhibit he’s ever had in a U.S. museum. It climaxes with the first piece curator Xiaojin Wu showed me, an immense installation entitled “Give Me Your Wings—Think Different.” Its debris, several thousand discrete objects mashed into an immense pile, overflows. The artist spent a long time collecting them from the streets around his studio. And the collection sprawls, through the central pile, an enormous mound comprising magazines, comic books, articles of clothing, plastic bags, discarded technology, small objects assembled into a central point—leaves the mind gaping. You could argue that the Japanese have more, or less, street trash, than other countries, and you could argue that the artist’s location, Saitama Prefecture just outside the Tokyo city limits, has more trash than other Japanese locales; but the pieces, and the work, look simultaneously very Japanese and characteristic of any large industrialized city. This is what we throw aside, often without much of a thought.
Embedded in the mound you’ll find video screens with street scenes, tunnel traffic scenes, and shots of a bespectacled fellow who could be the artist himself. His central reference point was the tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster. The brilliant ugliness of his assemblage echoes the chaos and death which emerged sudden and deadly, from order. Curator Wu says Mr. thought of the whole thing as a “caterpillar,” with the rebirth/rejuvenation metaphor spiked. Such an ugly caterpillar can only produce an ugly, possibly malevolent, butterfly. Mr.’s canvas works aren’t so brazenly pessimistic, but they work, upon, close inspection, to undercut the cuteness of all those anime ladies. The victorious ninja warrior in “Making Things Right” has two different-colored eyes. A small family lives inside her left eyeball. Bright, happy faces stand out against greyer, muddier backgrounds suggesting street graffiti.
“Mr.”
The exhibit also includes “Nobody Dies,” a live-action video about Japanese schoolgirls who fight using toy guns. Actually, Mr. had to give them toy guns, since real guns are almost impossible to obtain in Japan. This did result in some alarm in certain parts of the world, because the action in the film could be mistaken
for a school shooting, but that was not the artist’s intention. He handpicked the five young women, designed costumes and props for them, and supervised the entire project. The final film, roughly a half-hour, shows on a loop at the exhibit. The artist wanted to explore war with “Nobody Dies”—how Japan is forbidden from making war, and how that compares and contrasts with war, and attitudes towards war, in other parts of the world. As always, he’s happy to lay out a flashy and upbeat surface in his works before diligently scratching beneath it. Except for his different thinking when he created “Give Me Your Wings—Think Different.” There, the spew of the street tells its own story. Live On: Mr.’s Japanese Neo-Pop runs through April 5th, 2015, at Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 East Prospect Street at Volunteer Park. For prices and hours call 206.654.3100 or
visit http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/ exhibitions/liveon.
Andrew Hamlin can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.
32 YEARS YOUR VOICE
■ SPORTS
DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
9
The Layup Drill Pacquiao, Mariota big winners
Manny Pacquiao
Marcus Mariota
By Jason Cruz Northwest Asian Weekly Welcome to another edition of The Layup Drill. In this issue, we look at Manny Pacquiao’s latest victory, a Heisman winner, and a Seattle Marathon winner, among other things for the last column of the year.
Pacquiao wins, Mayweather next?
Six knockdowns. This is how many times Manny Pacquiao put down Chris Algieri in their fight this past November in Macau, China. Pacquiao returned to his old form with speed and power that overwhelmed the New
■ COMMENTARY By Assunta Ng Northwest Asian Weekly I watched on live television about how the Hong Kong (HK) government shut down students’ protest-for-democracy camps last week. The conversation I had with the students in HK in November was still vivid in my memory. Ironically, I was in HK for my high school reunion. To be defiant was the last thing that came to our minds as students four decades ago. We behaved like robots, carrying out every task the teacher asked us to do. We never dared to utter one word to fight the teachers and school authorities even when we knew they were wrong sometimes. We had to accept and swallow every single injustice that happened to us in school. Now, one of my high school classmates has accused the protestors of being used by America’s CIA. I did receive one of those emails about the same subject with sources created by HK’s China-supported newspaper. “Where’s the evidence?” I asked my classmate. Without any hesitations and raising her emotional voice, she insisted that it was true. “I know a friend who knew that the CIA gave $20 million to Jimmy Lai (a HK media mogul) to stir up things,” she explained.
York native. It could be that Algieri was outclassed, as well as overmatched. In his 21st fight, it was Algieri’s first fight outside of the state of New York as a professional. With the 6 knockdowns and overall dominance, Manny Pacquiao defeated Algieri by unanimous decision. Is Floyd Mayweather next for Pacquiao? While we’ve talked about this before and Pacquiao has asked for the fight, even making light of the fact that he wants a fight with Mayweather in a recent Foot Locker commercial, it has never materialized. Mayweather has come out and challenged Pacquiao to fight him on May 2nd, 2015. The only catch is that there will be business issues about what network will have the rights to the pay-per-view broadcast.
Mayweather is contracted with the premium pay cable network Showtime, while Pacquiao is aligned with rival HBO. Both networks are battling to see which network would put on the pay-per-view event, which would likely be the biggest in boxing history. A Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would be held in high regard and it would not be surprising to see the fight have a price tag of $100 on payper-view. Fight fans that watched Mayweather’s September 2013 fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez had to pay $75. It would not be out of the realm of possibility that a premium price tag would be put on the long-awaited fight. {see LAYUP DRILL cont’d on page 13}
OPINION
Guts and voice
Reflecting on the Hong Kong protests
Protestors camp
I was not impressed with her argument, and I wasn’t interested in arguing. I am a journalist; I couldn’t just accept hearsay as fact. The only question I wanted answered was if the students knew what they were doing and it was based on their own free will. So my husband and I ventured into Admiralty, one of the three main protest sites (this used to be a busy part of town, a hub that connected many roads between downtown and other parts of the city). The
blockage created hours and hours of traffic jams especially during weekdays, which deeply offended and annoyed thousands of drivers. It disrupted and hurt businesses and people trying to get to work. We met another couple, like us, former HK residents, but now visiting from San Francisco. There were many curious tourists and bystanders walking into the camps. We visited the camps, in the middle of a freeway on a Sunday at 11 a.m. Layers and layers of fences surrounded the camps to
ensure cars and invaders couldn’t break in. A few students were still sleeping inside the tents. I supposed the youth stayed awake at night to watch for intruders and any sign of danger. It was surprising to see the sophisticated organization of the camps---divided into living quarters, food supplies and resource sections and even a “study” section with chairs and tables just like a regular classroom--except it was in a road. One student was reviewing her work. My other classmate, a public relations executive, told me that she did tutor the protestors once. Professionals and teachers had volunteered as tutors too. The protestors’ slogan, “We stop school, but not learning.” We were allowed to take pictures, but the female adult told us not to film the students’ faces. I met a young male university student majoring in art, who was part of the protest. I told him I was once a Hong Kong resident, but now a U.S. citizen. My point was, I view them with objectivity, and he could share with me. Yes, the protester wasn’t some naïve kid who had no clue what he was doing. He had {see HONG KONG PROTESTS cont’d on page 15}
asianweekly northwest
10
DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
OPINION
■ PUBLISHER'S BLOG
gifts at no cost that can boost your happiness BUT re
there aesome w other afts! gi
Ho, ho, ho, Christmas is cancelled!
Two parents posted on Facebook recently a photo of their three sons and announced they were cancelling their holiday with no gifts. This might sound harsh. But if your kids are spoiled and thoughtless, perhaps this is a good lesson. How did the kids respond— another tantrum like they would before? No, the kids who are under 10 years old, got the point. In fact, their response was adorable. They told a television reporter that Christmas is not about getting gifts, but to help the less fortunate. Now, the kids have turned their rotten behavior into an uplifting message.
The parents were responding to their childrens’ attitude of entitlement and ungratefulness. Instead of getting gifts from their parents, the children are packaging gifts to the poor, donating their money and candies to the victims of the Philippine’s typhoon. The story inspires me to think of giving loved ones and friends more meaningful gifts, which cost little, but demand your grateful heart to touch another heart.
1. The gift of time
“Name the three most important people in your life,” someone asked my friend, a successful career woman. She wrote down the names. “How often do you spend time with them?” was the next question. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears. What if these three people die suddenly? Does my friend’s story sound
familiar? Instead of gifts, consider spending quality time together with the most significant people in your life.
2. The gift of forgiveness
Don’t let old grudges consume your mind and body. Life is too short. Do what you need to do to move on to find happiness and feel good. Do what you can to move forward so you can receive a constructive outcome. Perhaps, you can share forgiveness with your detractors to build new bridges. Don’t spend time moaning about life being unfair. You have a lot more blessings than you realize.
3. An act of kindness
Movie star Kirk Douglas, who just celebrated his 98th birthday, shared in an interview with Parade Magazine the most important lesson he has learned.
“Help other people…I feel like you have to help, even if you don’t have enough yourself. That’s what being a human being means.” A few years ago, I offered Donnie Chin, Executive Director of the International District Emergency Center (IDEC), an award for his service. To my surprise, he said, his agency needs funding, not recognition. Donnie is honest about the tough reality of his agency. Since then, I have fundraised and asked people to donate to IDEC. It didn’t cost much but effort. The results were amazing. From our 30th anniversary banquet raising over $20,000 for IDEC to this year, the Asian Weekly donating a fullpage advertisement for friends to wish Uncle Bob Santos’ 80th birthday (which raised over $1,000), I seize opportunities whenever I can. I don’t expect rewards. But we did get one. The Asian Weekly
won first place in photography and layout for Bob’s birthday pictorial in the Washington Publishers Association’s contest. If you can commit an act of kindness every day, it not only speaks volume about your character, it can also reward you with joy and thrills. {see BLOG cont’d on page 15}
KING COUNTY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS King County is requesting Proposals from qualified firms interested in providing engineering services necessary to develop a revised site development plan to extend the useful life of the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill to affect extending it’s currently projected life beyond 2018, and possibly beyond 2040. 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 estimated price of this contract is $550,000 to $650,000. The period of performance is estimated to be twelve (12) months. Contract Title: Development of a Revised Site Development Plan for Cedar Hills
Regional Landfill (CHRLF) and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) Number: E00340E14 Proposals due: January 19, 2015 Time: 5:00 p.m. Pre-proposal Meeting: January 7, 2015 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: King Street Center, 201 South Jackson, 8th Floor Conference Center, Seattle, WA SUMMARY OF WORK: The Consultant will update the existing site development plan (2010) to meet the project objective; review previous work performed for the CHRLF Site Development Plan (2010) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (2010) and explore any new alternative development options to prepare a revise site development plan; and prepare a supplemental EIS. SUBCONSULTANT OPPORTUNITIES: Provided for informational purposes only, following are subconsulting opportunities that may be available on this Contract: site development alternatives and assessment, SEPA/Environmental review, supplemental
studies for EIS, and preparation of the final supplemental EIS. SCS UTILIZATION REQUIREMENTS: The Consultant shall ensure that at least 18% of the Contract Price for all Work, 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 Ken Curl, Contract Specialist at Ken.Curl@kingcounty. gov or 206-263-9322, 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 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
11
OPINION
■ editorial
Remembering, wishing, resolutions We asked our amazing NWAW writers and contributors to help out with the holiday issue. We asked three questions: What was your most memorable gift? What is number one on your wish list? What is your New Year’s resolution? (Yes, an annoying and obvious question.)
Rebecca Ip Gift: A Christmas card with photos and message received from one of my cousins in 2012, updated me all of a sudden in a long message how she found out she had a very critical lymphoma cancer; she pictured her chemo process, her Christmas party with family, telling me she struggled to survive. Both sadness and happiness mixed feeling, blend in together. Wish: Continue to lead a healthy lifestyle. Resolution: Find out more ways to live happily. Nina Huang My most memorable gift was one of those first generation iPods. It was a nice surprise from my best friend because I thought I was getting a DVD player instead. Number one on my wish list is for the Seahawks to make it to the Superbowl again. And my 2015 New Year resolution is to cook more and eat out less. Tiffany Ran Gift: My first chef’s knife. More than just the gift, I appreciate the way the gift was delivered. My boyfriend planned a scavenger hunt by writing clues on sticky notes. I eventually had to hop on a bus to my favorite knife store, Epicurean Edge, where he was waiting with my new knife, a Kobayashi santoku. I’m glad he didn’t choose to say, hide the knife under my pillow. Execution is everything. Wish: I just got back from Taiwan and I’m already itching to go again. It breaks my heart every time I leave. So number one on my wish list this year would be to be able go home again and really spend some quality time there. Then again, if I do, I may not come back! Resolution: I probably should be, but I’m not a huge resolutions person. If there is anything I should work on this year, it’s to be more centered health and wellness-wise. A lot of my stress comes from being overworked, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to dial down my agenda and be more deliberate about the projects I work on in 2015. Jason Cruz 1. Club seats to a Seahawks game back when they were bad. But still a great gift. 2. A runner’s watch to replace the one I lost this year. 3. Worry less. Enjoy more! Vivian Nguyen Gift: A Ken doll when I was 7-years-old. That was when I discovered that Santa wasn’t real. Wish: More sleep! Resolution: To master InDesign. To travel to one new country. James Tabafunda Gift: I received a very small black-andwhite TV set. For over 25 years, I watched it almost every day. Wish: Good health. Have you seen the price of health care lately? Resolution: I will work smart and pay my taxes. I could make a different resolution, but
if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Laura Ohata Gift: My husband called to tell me he wanted to marry me. Wish: Sony A7s camera with a 24-70mm F2.8 Carl Zeiss lens (We can wish, can’t we?) Resolution: Work on my book 20 minutes per day. John Liu Gift: Tour of China Wish: Good health for family and friends. Resolution: To be there for family and friends.
Yoon Park Gift: The first gift I received from my eldest child. Wish: A running jacket I have had my eye on since it same out this season, which I tried on in front of my husband, who will hopefully have it wrapped and under the tree for me! Resolution: Use said running jacket to get back into shape. Truc Allen One of the most memorable Christmas gifts I’ve ever received was the Star Wars Millennium Falcon toy space ship in 1982. More than just a huge gift in size, it was the fist time I could remember getting something that all the other American kids either wanted or had. A pretty big deal since my mother and I had immigrated from Vietnam to the United States just two years earlier. Like most refugee stories, we had very little money. I couldn’t comprehend how fortunate I was that my mother, who as a single parent, worked so hard to get me the things that every kid dreamed about. At 8 years old, how could I? These days I often think about how she provided so much that I never felt deprived of the fun things. I can only hope to provide as much happiness to my new son as we celebrate his first Christmas this year.
Daria Sergeyvna Kroupoderova The most memorable gift I received was a promise ring from my first serious boyfriend. My number one wish for this year is a new laptop because my old one finally gave up after 5 years. One of my new year’s resolutions is to manage my time better between having a dog, going to school and having a job! Minal Singh The memorable gift was a pink Soundesign clock radio my parents gave me when I was young. My parents had extra money at the time, and the gift was unexpected. Wish: A bigger bed Resolution: Be more positive Samantha Pak Gift: My first cell phone my freshman year of college. I know it sounds a bit shallow, but up to that point, you could either reach me on my dorm phone when I was at school or my family’s home phone or my dad’s cell phone when I came home for the weekends. The cell phone represented independence for me and made me feel a bit more like a grown up. Resolution: To find a place of my own. While getting my first cell phone in college got me starting to feel more grown up, finally being on my own will truly make me feel like an adult. Assunta Ng There is no such thing as the best gift because my gifts get better and better. I count my life experiences as gifts, including the worst events. When I reminiscence on bad days, it really was not that bad. How I can tackle my challenges and having fun solving them with the help of friends, family, and staff, truly enrich me to be the person I am today. Wish : Make a difference in everything I do. Resolution: Laugh more, find humor and joy in everybody and everything I interact.
Zachariah Bryan Gift: For about a year, I wanted nothing more than a Sega Dreamcast, that video game console that no one’s ever heard of (except cool people). I was obsessed, and on Christmas, I finally got it. It was everything I could ever want. I fell into this video game vortex for several months. All I could think about was absurd games that nobody else really cared that much about. I survived the video game vortex. I went to college, I graduated, and I’m somehow making a living as a writer. Wish: If I was asked this a week earlier, I would say a brewing kit for beer. My wife and I have been planning to get one. But now, the answer would be good health for my father. He’s in the hospital again; I just hope he can see the silver linings in life, keep a chin up and pull through this difficult time. Love you, dude. (We’re still getting the brewing kit though!) Resolution: It’s a bit embarrassing, but my wife and I have been doing those workout videos. You know, the ones with the bad techno and the super athletic people. We might not get the gleaming abs or the boulder-like biceps, but we hope to look decent enough for our honeymoon in Hawaii this March. Andrew Hamlin Gift: I got a white plush Snoopy doll one Christmas, and Snoopy was my beloved companion for years afterward. There’s a picture of me holding him, and I’m not much bigger than him. I learned how to love in large part, from loving Snoopy. I last saw him down by the washing machine in the basement, some time before Dad sold the family house. Wish: I have gift ideas for my family and my friends, but the late Ian Dury once said, “All I want for my birthday is another birthday.” So my main wish for Christmas is another Christmas. Resolution: Sleep less.
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asianweekly northwest
12
DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
■ WORLD NEWS
A Man of Character
First Asian American chancellor fell victim to US’ fear of China By Soumya Karlamangla For a moment in 1996, a political milestone for Asian Americans was within Chang-Lin Tien’s reach. Former president Bill Clinton had placed him on the shortlist to be Secretary of Energy, and the chance to be the first Asian American to serve on a U.S. Cabinet. But just days before Clinton’s official announcement, the White House called to tell Tien, then chancellor of UC Berkeley, that the president had removed him from the running. A breaking campaign finance scandal had evoked fear nationwide that China had influenced the election. Suddenly, Tien’s appointment became politically impossible. “He didn’t try to blame anybody,” said Tien’s former chief of staff John Cummins, who added that Tien — in typical fashion — took the loss with “great magnanimity.” Tien had gotten caught up in something larger than himself. UC Berkeley’s beloved chancellor had become, not for the first or last time, a token of the geopolitical tension between the United States and China. 10 years after Tien’s death, recently obtained FBI documents and interviews with some of his family and closest associates show that though Tien opened doors for minorities with his enormous success as a scientist and an educator, he was nevertheless a lightning rod for a fear of China that consumed the United States in the latter half of the 20th century.
Suspicions of communism
After coming to the United States from Taiwan in 1956, Tien finished two master’s degrees and a doctorate in just three years. He joined UC Berkeley’s department of mechanical engineering in 1959 and became the subject of FBI scrutiny just as he began to rise to prominence. An FBI memo from 1973 describes Tien as “a very proChinese Communist,” and an internal letter from 1975 explains suspicions that Tien could “attract favorable attention and interest by the (People’s Republic of China).” These memos are just a few among hundreds of pages of documents that detail how the FBI tracked Tien early in his career. The agency monitored every trip he took to China, called hotels in Washington, D.C. he stayed at to make sure he had really checked in, tailed him on the road while he drove Chinese officials in San Francisco and once even posed as as long-lost friend looking for someone at the University of Michigan. And all of Tien’s files from this period are labelled “105” — the FBI’s code indicating foreign counterintelligence matters. “Tien’s FBI files reflect the bureau’s general concern about Chinese espionage and collection of sensitive technological data in the United States,” said Seth Rosenfeld, a journalist who recently wrote “Subversives,” a book based on FBI records. Tien, a Chinese-born immigrant, was just the kind of highly successful scientist the FBI was worried about. He was the youngest assistant professor ever hired in his department and at age 26 became the youngest professor to receive a Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1974, he was promoted to chair of his department. “Walking down the streets of Taipei with Tien is like walking down the streets of Chicago with Michael Jordan,” said Dan Mote, Tien’s former colleague and close friend. It was Tien’s trips to Taiwan and mainland China that attracted the FBI’s attention. Every time Tien traveled to a research conference or abroad, the FBI reopened his file, worried that he was sharing sensitive information, and investigated him without his knowledge — until 1975, when the agency decided to interview him. In that interview, Tien explained to an agent that he supported China’s communist government and thought it had actually “rooted out many of the social problems of that country.” He added that he did “not promote the communist system as being of benefit to the United States or anyone else.” Later in the same interview, the FBI proceeded to try to make Tien an informant, apparently as part of a program involving Chinese scientists. A letter from FBI headquarters to the San Francisco FBI field office prior to the interview suggests that Tien and another scientist whose name is redacted who traveled to China with Tien in 1974 “could
Chang-Lin Tien
logically be approached under the Chinese scientist program.” Although the FBI had interviewed the other scientist before and described him as “cooperative,” Tien said in 1975 that he was not interested in working for the agency — what the FBI called “operationally involved.” Soon after, the agency appeared to lose interest in him, noting that the “subject does not appear to have any potential at this time.” This interview summary describes Tien as “very friendly,” but the the response the FBI received in 1979 when it interviewed him inquiring about visiting scholars to UC Berkeley from China was quite different. “Professor Tien stated he did not desire to have any contact with the FBI and questioned the FBI’s right to ask questions about (People’s Republic of China) scholars, stating that they were all legitimate scholars involved in purely academic pursuits. He expressed his belief that the FBI was continuing to harass Chinese academicians like himself just as was done during the 1950s,” a report of the interview reads. The FBI declined to comment on Tien’s files. The agency’s documents provide no indication that Tien was ever engaged in any activity counter to U.S. interests, and the FBI eventually stopped contacting him.
A leader undeterred
Although Tien’s ethnicity attracted unwanted attention from the FBI, his authentic persona, including his heavy Chinese accent, won him over with everyone on campus. In 1990, Tien became the first Asian American chancellor of a major research university and went on to preside over some of the most successful years UC Berkeley had ever seen. Legend has it that Tien, proud of his accent, refused to use a speech coach despite suggestions to do so. It was exactly that unassuming and positive attitude that endeared him to students. He sometimes went into the locker room during football games to give the team a pep talk, took cookies to students in the library at midnight during finals week, drove students he saw waiting at the bus stop home and once even walked to a student’s apartment to return a wallet he had found on campus.
Secretary of Energy
For all his charm, Tien remained a subject of controversy because of his ethnicity, even as U.S.-China relations improved. In December 1996, less than a year before Tien planned to step down as chancellor, president Bill Clinton was on the search for a new Secretary of Energy, and Tien was up for the job. At the time, Tien was actively soliciting donations for the East Asian Library, creating a donor list that would eventually comprise hundreds of names of Chinese expatriates. One major contributor was Mochtar Riady, a Chinese businessman who lived in Indonesia. Today, a plaque with Riady’s name inscribed in gold letters is displayed within the Chang-Lin Tien Center for East Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. As a donor, Riady appeared to have some sway on the campus. Prior to late 1996, one of Riady’s relatives had been admitted to the UC Berkeley even though she had submitted her test scores after the deadline, which, in any other circumstance, would have barred her from admission.
Thank you for recycling this newspaper!
Nationally, Riady was also embroiled in a scandal brewing within the Clinton campaign in which the media suspected Asian donors of giving money illegally to influence the president’s China policies. Just as the so-called “Chinagate” scandal was mounting, the Washington Post published an article that revealed that UC Berkeley had admitted Riady’s relatives to the campus in spite of the late test score and that Tien had once met Riady during a fundraising trip to Indonesia. A week later, the Secretary of Energy’s candidacy was over. Ling-Chi Wang, a UC Berkeley Asian American studies professor emeritus, said that based on his own research, there was no intervention on the part of Tien in the admissions decisions for Riady’s relatives. Nevertheless, the damage was done. “Chancellor Tien’s reputation was smeared,” said Wang, who added that Tien fell victim to a broader wave of political persecution of Asian Americans.
A cautious opportunity
Tien’s son Norman said that though his father was disappointed that Clinton did not grant him what he saw as a “tremendous opportunity,” he graciously accepted the missed chance. “He wanted to make an impact,” said Norman Tien, who is now dean of engineering at Hong Kong University. ”Period. It was not necessarily so much about the position or the title.” In 1998, Clinton announced that Tien would be appointed to the prestigious board that oversees the U.S. National Science Foundation, the country’s agency that supports research and education in science. It may have been a consolation prize, but it was a victory nonetheless. Tien’s FBI file includes a background check for this seat and, though it contains a note from the 1970s about Communist sympathies, Tien received clearance. Another political scandal broke that induced a severe distrust of China. In 1999, Wen Ho Lee, a scientist who worked for the University of California’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, was indicted for stealing secrets about the United States’ nuclear arsenal for China. The case sparked outrage among many Asian Americans, both because Lee was put in solitary confinement during the investigation and because there was little evidence against him. Eventually, Lee was only convicted on one charge, and Clinton issued a public apology to him. Henry S. Tang, the chair of Committee of 100 — of which Tien was a member — spoke out against Lee’s imprisonment, echoing what Tien had said years before about the FBI’s suspicions of Chinese scientists: “No matter how accomplished, no matter how educated, no matter how wealthy, no matter how loyal, (an Asian American) could still become suspected of activities counter to the interests of this country.” Tien himself called Lee’s release from jail “long overdue.” Although a huge gaffe on the part of the media and the government, the Wen Ho Lee incident invigorated Asian Americans, and progress followed. Tien began his position on the U.S. National Science Board in July 1999 in the midst of the Wen Ho Lee case, and Clinton — playing on Tien’s role as a symbol of Asian Americans’ success — included a thinly veiled apology for the Wen Ho Lee debacle in his statement on Tien’s first day. A little more than a year later, Tien was diagnosed with a brain tumor and suffered a stroke during surgery. He stepped down from his duties the following year and died on Oct. 29, 2002, at age 67.Now, 10 years after his death, Tien’s contributions are still remembered. Reprinted courtesy of Chinese American Forum. This project was a collaboration between the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and The Daily Californian. CC Tien, Tien’s brother currently lives in Seattle.
32 YEARS YOUR VOICE
■ astrology
DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
13
For the week of December 20–December 26, 2014 By Sun Lee Chang
Rat — Don’t expect a perfect finished result on your first go around. It takes time to acquire a new skill and become proficient.
Dragon — You have a chance to make inroads to where you want to go. Don’t squander this valuable opportunity.
Monkey — Does it seem like things are a little bit too slow for your taste at the moment? Savor the more laid-back pace for it will pick up before you know it.
Ox — Although you are tempted to get in the last word, it is not always a good idea. Sometimes it is best just to let things be.
Snake — Are you one of those people who must think of every angle before you act? Throwing caution to the wind every once in a while could be a refreshing experience.
Rooster — Planning for an upcoming trip is consuming much of your energy lately. There is something to be said for anticipation being half the fun.
Tiger — There is no reason to hide the ball if you don’t have to. Being direct and asking for what you want could work wonders. Rabbit — Are you having a hard time getting your point across? Perhaps you should find another way to communicate your message.
Horse — Striking a balance between the different areas of your life can be a challenge, but there is one part that needs particular attention soon. Goat — It can be tempting to fill your off hours with activities. However, it is important that you schedule some quiet time as well.
Dog — Someone is waiting for an answer from you. The offer is on the table for only a limited time, so don’t take too long to respond. Pig — Even though you should dream as though the sky is the limit, set your immediate goals within reaching distance.
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
*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.
{LAYUP DRILL cont’d from page 9} It’s a big money fight that should have happened several years ago. The two fighters and their respective managers, lawyers, and promotional companies have bickered over money, drug testing, and anything else that prevented the dream fight. Pacquiao and Mayweather are nearing the end of their respective careers and this fight is something that both state they want. While a fight between the two will still be a great spectacle, it will not match what could have been. Then again, I’ll take what may be. We’ll see if the two will fight this May.
Mariota wins Heisman
University of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota was awarded the Heisman Trophy in a ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 13th. The award is given to the most outstanding college football player of the year. The junior from Hawaii, who is part Samoan and part German, has led the 12 win and 1 loss Ducks to the first College Football Playoffs. In winning the award, Mariota becomes the first Pacific Islander and first player from Hawaii to be awarded the highest individual award in college football. Mariota stated that he hoped winning this award would serve as an inspiration to those in the islands that they be open to leaving to pursue their dreams. In his acceptance speech, Mariota stated, “In Hawaii, if one person is successful, the entire state is successful. It’s family.” Mariota was initially recruited by the University of Oregon, even though he was not the starting quarterback on his high school team. His coach at Oregon discovered him on film and after further investigation, he was too good to be true. He was offered a scholarship to Oregon and the rest is history. Mariota’s next game is the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1st. Oregon will play Florida State to see which team makes it to the championship game. In all likelihood, Mariota will enter the National Football League draft and some have predicted the 6’ 4” quarterback to be the first player selected in the draft. The only criticism that anyone has about him so far is that he may be “too nice” to be an NFL quarterback. We’ve learned from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson that you can succeed in the NFL even if you are too nice. We should look for Mariota’s name in the NFL next fall.
Sophia Liu wins Seattle Marathon
{ZHOU cont’d from page 5}
Still a bad owner
power base with his protégés within three years. He returned to Beijing in 2002 to join the party’s Politburo and become the police minister. Five years later, he reached the apex of his political career when he secured a seat on the Politburo’s all-powerful nine-member standing committee. He oversaw the party’s political and legal affairs and came to be known as China’s security czar until his 2012 retirement.
Redmond’s Sophia Liu won this year’s Seattle Marathon on Nov. 30th with a time of 2 hours and 57 minutes. She was the only female competitor to post a marathon time under 3 hours. On a day of extreme cold for Seattle natives, Liu still ran in shorts and was happy that it didn’t rain. The 31-year-old just completed her doctorate at Ball State University in exercise physiology. New York Islanders owner Charles Wang has made another list he likely does not want to be on. Rolling Stone magazine pinned him as one of the worst owners in sports. This is hardly a surprise as Wang has been criticized for how he has run the NHL franchise, which is moving from Long Island to Brooklyn this year. Wang’s mismanagement of the team includes the move to Brooklyn and assigning an inexplicable corporate structure which routes all team decisions through a committee that does not have anyone on it that has dealt with hockey personnel decisions. The team actually has a winning record this year, but I’m sure Islanders fans are not praising Wang. Of note to general Seattle fans, Clay Bennett is ahead of Wang on the Rolling Stone list of worst owners in sports. We don’t need to go into what he did to the Sonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) fans.
Speedskating event named after Ohno debuts
While we reported Apolo Anton Ohno completed the Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii in October, he has not left the sport of speedskating entirely. This past November, Ohno promoted the first annual Apolo Ohno Invitational at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The event venue has some sentimental value to Ohno as he first burst onto the speedskating scene in 2002 at the Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City. According to the eight-time Olympic medalist, he hopes that the event is the “first step in hopefully showcasing the sport and making it more popular globally.” The event featured speedskaters from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, and China. Jason Cruz can be reached at info@ nwasianweekly.com.
XI’S ANTI-CORRUPTION CRUSADE Immediately after Xi Jinping took power in late 2012 as general secretary of the Communist Party of China, he launched an intensive crackdown on corruption. He warned that fighting graft is a life-and-death issue for the ruling party because pervasive corruption had severely eroded public confidence in the party and challenged the legitimacy of its rule. Xi has vowed to go after both “tigers” and “flies,” targeting high-level and low-level officials alike. This year, the campaign also began to target “foxes,” or corrupt officials who have absconded overseas with illgained loot. Members of the public started to speculate whether the campaign would target officials at the highest level — namely those on the Politburo’s standing committee. The party, however, had yet to implicate a top leader in an unwritten rule aimed at preserving party unity. ZHOU’S DOWNFALL Zhou formally retired in November 2012 at the 18th party congress, which installed Xi as the party’s general secretary in a once-a-decade power handover. Merely 18 days after the conclusion of the congress, Li Chuncheng, a deputy party chief of Sichuan and one of Zhou’s favored protégés, was
{PRINCESS SRIRASM cont’d from page 5} has been speculation that the removal of the royal title means the pair has officially split. The couple have a 9-year-old son who could potentially have become king himself one day since Vajiralongkorn is the current heir to the throne. The removal of Srirasm’s title was expected after Vajiralongkorn last month asked the government to strip several members of her family, including her uncle, of their royally issued surnames following
placed under a corruption investigation, triggering speculation that Zhou was also being targeted. In the following months, many of Zhou’s royalists in Sichuan and in the oil industry fell to corruption charges. Zhou was last seen in public in October 2013. The party leadership launched a formal investigation into Zhou the following December, although it was not announced to the public at the time. Media reports said Zhou’s relatives were taken away by authorities for investigation. Reports that more of Zhou’s protégés were placed under investigation continued to appear. In July, authorities announced the probe against Zhou and placed more of his associates under investigation. Just after midnight Friday, the Politburo stripped Zhou of his party membership, and national prosecutors announced Zhou’s arrest, kicking off legal procedures against the former police chief. WHAT’S NEXT? Authorities have accused Zhou of taking large bribes, committing multiple adulteries, and leaking state secrets. He is certain to be indicted, tried, and convicted of the charges, although a line in the official announcement that investigators have found other criminal clues is an indication that prosecutors may negotiate with Zhou on a penalty depending on how cooperative he is. It is unclear how open Zhou’s trial will be, with analysts noting that the charge of leaking state secrets could provide a reason for authorities to close at least part of the court proceedings and avoid the possible disclosure of dirty politics at the party’s highest level. Analysts say Zhou is likely to receive either a suspended death sentence or be jailed for life. Suspended death sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment.
the corruption allegations. The accused are facing charges ranging from bribery to extortion and using the monarchy’s name for personal benefit. The news comes at a sensitive time for the monarchy, with Bhumibol — the world’s longest-reigning monarch — in poor health and the country under military rule since a May 22 coup toppled an elected government. Thailand celebrated Bhumibol’s birthday on Dec. 5, but the monarch failed to make an expected public appearance.
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{LAUDE cont’d from page 4} stopped moving then dragged her into the bathroom, according to the prosecutors. The new details are likely to spark renewed condemnation by left-wing and transgender groups, which have labeled the attack a hate crime. The case comes after the Philippines and the United States strengthened ties with the recent signing of a defense accord that allows greater U.S. access to Philippine {LANDSLIDE cont’d from page 5} companies have reported record profits, but the recovery has faltered in recent months, with the country returning to recession after a sales tax hike chilled demand among consumers and businesses. “I believe this shows that voters gave the Abe administration a positive evaluation over the past two years,” said Finance Minister Taro Aso, who retained his seat in parliament. “Abenomics is still halfway through, and I feel a strong sense of responsibility to push it further.” The election was seen as less of a verdict on Abe’s policies than an acquiescence to the ruling party’s growing power. Despite weakening popularity ratings, a recession and messy campaign finance scandals, the Liberal Democrats were virtually certain to triumph thanks to voter apathy
military camps. The accord will help Washington’s bid to reassert its presence in Asia, and enable Manila to deter what it calls China’s aggressive moves to reinforce its claims in disputed South China Sea territories. The case reignited a debate over custody of American military personnel accused of crimes. But the looming irritant between the treaty allies over Pemberton’s custody was eased after Washington agreed to move him from a U.S. warship to the Philippine military’s main camp in metropolitan Manila, where he remained under American
custody with an outer ring of Filipino guards. The Philippine government said in a statement issued by its foreign affairs department that it looks “forward to the full cooperation of the U.S. government in ensuring that justice is secured for Laude.” Harry Roque, the lawyer of Laude’s family, welcomed the prosecutors’ ruling and angrily demanded that Pemberton be thrown into an ordinary jail.
and a weak opposition. The popularity of the Democratic Party of Japan, which held power from 2009 to 2012, plunged after it failed to deliver on campaign pledges and struggled in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters. “I think Mr. Abe is the only choice we have considering from what I heard and saw in the reports,” retiree Hiroshi Yamada said as he came out of a downtown Tokyo polling station. Abe’s agenda includes trying to carry out economic reforms and secure a trans-Pacific trade agreement, both of which face stiff opposition from the farm lobby and others. He also hopes to begin restarting some of the nation’s nuclear power plants, despite continued public worries after the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Another thorny issue will be legislation needed to expand Japan’s military role, an important step for Washington, which wants Japan to play a bigger part in their alliance. Two hours before polls closed Sunday, voter turnout was 35 percent, 6.8 percentage points lower than the same time in the previous lower house election in 2012, the Internal Affairs Ministry said. Many voters were perplexed over Abe’s decision to call an election. “I think two years is too soon to decide whether his policy failed or not,” said Yoshiko Takahashi, a Tokyo businesswoman. Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi, Elaine Kurtenbach, Emily Wang and Kaori Hitomi contributed to this report.
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32 YEARS YOUR VOICE
{BLOG cont’d from page 10}
4. The gift of understanding and patience
How many times have you told your grandparents, parents, and other seniors that you have heard their stories before? I know I am tempted to tell my mom and aunt to shut up after they repeated many things from the past—especially when I screwed up. Can’t they think of something nice to say instead of grumbling? I bite my tongue, though, smiling as if it was the first time I heard the story. Some daughters or sons usually respond, “Not again.” Don’t forget one day, we will become an old nag too.
5. The gift of teaching and mentoring
“I am a free consultant,” said my former University of Washington classmate who is retired in Taiwan. I like the title he has given himself. He is so wise in many areas, including science, education reform, social and political issues; I am just proud of his contributions. What he offers is expert knowledge, experience, and advice on many projects to better the community. It requires him to attend numerous meetings, and the ability to organize and
DECEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 26, 2014
connect experts to join in projects to present recommendations. His leadership is a wonderful asset and example to passive retirees. Studies have found that helping others make people happy. If you are depressed, you should try helping others. It’s good therapy because you focus on other people rather than yourself. When you see others happy, you are happy too.
6. The gift of compliments
Have you interacted with people who are stingy with sincere praise? Admiral Herb Bridge is a living example of someone who showers his friends with compliments, especially when he introduces you to strangers. If people have good impressions about me, I would probably credit that to Herb. If you see good work, acknowledge it, even if they are your competitors. It’s the right and gracious thing to do. Frequently, I am the first person to admit that I steal ideas from the New York Times, Seattle Times, and other media companies. Give credit where credit is due. Remember, compliments are free. You can lift someone’s spirit every day with just a few simple words.
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7. Write a poem/letter
A powerful way to express your love and gratitude is to write a letter or poem to your loved ones (including those who passed). You can even write a song if you know music. Or draw a picture to pay tributes. You don’t need to worry about grammar or length of the letter. You don’t even need nice paper. Start with a few words, lines today and every day. On Dec. 31, you would have written enough for a letter to present to your loved ones.
8. The gift of friendship
The other day, my friend asked me to welcome a young newcomer to Seattle. We talked for an hour the first time we met despite our generational differences. Giving support and friendship to someone who needs it is more significant than giving money. Consider the goodness and kindness in people and what you can learn from that. Even your enemies have strengths.
both guts and heart. I asked him his parents’ reaction. “They are OK with it,” but not necessarily liking it, he said. At the time, he didn’t think the protest could continue much longer due to the loss of the public’s support. “We don’t want to increase public outcry any more,” he said. Then we encountered a pair of French students who happened to travel to HK, and decided to sleep in one of the camps. Why were they there? “It’s free,” they said, so they don’t need to spend money living in hotels. And free food too. They seemed to be enjoying living on the street. The only inconvenience was that, they had to travel quite far to use the restrooms. Of course, they supported democracy. Back at my hotel, I talked to one of the employees. How did the two-month protest impact her life? “It was horrible,” she replied. “The road was blocked so customers and cars couldn’t come to the hotel. Business just dived. Our occupancy rate dropped to 10 percent at one point. Management was afraid that we couldn’t come to work so they told us to stay in the hotel overnight. It’s hard for us who have families, and we couldn’t go home.” I thought she and her colleagues would be treated in the hotel suites.
Photo by George Liu/NWAW
{HONG KONG PROTESTS cont’d from page 9}
Multilingual signage appeals to international audience
“No, we had to sleep on the floor where our work station was,” she said. “Just this month, management told us our pay would be cut 10 percent. I know they will not increase our pay even when the protest is over.” “Are you mad at the students for creating the mess?” I asked. “No, I didn’t say too much because I know what they are fighting for. I want democracy for Hong Kong too.” My HK relative who was against the students, said, “What will happen to these young people, will be disaster.
Korean community with honorees Dr. Jai Jun Byeon and Lori Wada Planning committee Nate Caminos presented $500 check to Donnie Chin, executive director of International District Emergency Center
They will not be able to get their certificate of no criminal conviction with a (protest) record. Without the card, they won’t be able to get jobs in HK.” My classmate who was a sympathizer, said, “With these students’ guts and voice, they can get into any American, Canadian, or European universities. Did you hear how they articulate on TV?” Assunta Ng can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly. com.
Thank you for making this event a success! Top Contributors to the Asian community presented by NWAW & NWAWF on December 5, 2014 at House of Hong Restaurant Over 250 people attended!
Bruce Inaba, honoree Louise Kashino and Tish Oye
Michael Itti and honoree Frieda Takamura
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors Corporate Sponsors Rep. Sharon T. Santos, Lourdes Sampera Tsukada with honoree NAAAP
Trong Pham, Julie Pham, and Dr. Dat P. Giap
Honoree Fred Yee with friends of Kin On
Ria Buford, honoree Leny Valerio-Buford and Colleen Fukui-Sketchley
HONOREES
Fred Yee Frieda Takamura Leny Valerio-Buford Lori Wada Louise Kashino-Takisaki
Dr. Jai Jun Byeon NAAAP Seattle Chapter Dr. Dat P. Giap Pramila Jayapal
EMCEE
Jeffrey Hattori Thank you, Rosa Leung, for performing the National Anthem at the Top Contributors dinner!
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