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Petition to remove encampment signals “system failure”
Photo by Ananya Mishra
Chinatown Seafair Parade
Provided by Sarah Cheng
VOL 41 NO 31 JULY 30 – AUGUST 5, 2022
A
fter a two-year absence due to COVID, the Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce hosted the in-person Chinatown Seafair Parade on July 24 featuring marching bands, drill teams, the Seafair clowns, Seafair pirates, and a dragon dance. See pictorial on page 10.
Personal safety starts with the mind
A fire in a homeless encampment in April threatened the building.
By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Inside the Tsue Chong Company, a desolate floor of concrete reveals two pieces of oily paper. The first one says, “FINE CUT.” The second one, which also has Chinese writing, says, “EXTRA FINE CUT.” These are the final remains, in human terms, of the once-proud business that for over 100 years made noodles and fortune cookies and where students took tours. Above, in cavernous rooms the size of garages, hang fans the size of houses and an air conditioning unit the size of a mountain, it seems. “We once closed these doors and dried out noodles in here by creating a dehumidifying atmosphere,” said Tim Louie, whose great grandfather founded
the company in 1917 in a different location. In April, a fire in a homeless encampment behind the length of the block threatened the building, which was built by Louie’s father and uncle in 1992. The fire burned straight upwards, consuming trees and a dumpster, according to a video shown to this newspaper. In a petition started by neighbors and signed by Louie and circulating in the Chinatown-International District (CID), residents are asking the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which manages the land, the City of Seattle, responsible for keeping those WSDOT lands that pass through the city safe, and the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) to clear the land. “We, the undersigned residents, see FIRE on 15
THE INSIDE STORY
Photos by Kai Curry
HEALTH COVID-19 vaccines now authorized for young children under the age of 5 3
Kwon Moo Hapkido instructors. From left: Elaine Chang, Matt McDevitt, Grandmaster Chae Un Kim, and Scott Games.
By Kai Curry NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Crime and violence against Asians increased in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 scapegoating and long-held prejudices. In 2021, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) reported 112 racially based
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Grandmaster Kim demonstrates how to use car keys as a weapon.
crimes against Asians in King County. Between March 2020 and March 2022, Stop AAPI Hate received reports of almost 11,500 hate-motivated incidents nationally. The battle is nowhere near over. A few days ago, Michael John Allen see SAFETY on 16
NATIONAL NEWS Sudden arena idea angers, unnerves Philadelphia’s Chinatown 8
SPORTS Aspiring female Yao: 6-10 Han Xu making mark in WNBA, China 9
NAMES IN THE NEWS 2
ON THE SHELF Jayatissa’s latest novel showcases Sri Lankan culture—with a dead body thrown in 7
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