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  LATEST NEWS FOR JUNE 2001

Recent times have seen the general public's perception of the Asian Pacific American / U.S. Asian communities vacillate a great deal. Much of this was created by the incident involving a U.S. spy plane crashing in Hainan Island of the PRC and its resulting consequences.

Various unfortunate "backlash" incidents within the general public and the media have created false images of the APA communities. Combine this with the revival of IceBox.Com's infamous "Mr. Wong," lack of representation in the media, NBC's "Lost Empire," etc. have provided no effective means of communicating what is actual real.

These just-mentioned situations provide greater evidence that correct and positive information contained within this website is important.


FEATURED ARTISTS & LEADERS

June has brought a great deal of attention to our communities, with the recent "Spy Plane" incident, NBC's "Lost Empire" mini-series, the release of "Pearl Harbor" (the movie) with all its potential fallout, Rep. David Wu's brief denial to a government office, etc. This makes is important to acknowledge the many gifts, voices, talents, etc. within our communities.

JOHN LONE
This talented and handsome actor, director and choreographer was trained for the stage at Chin Chiu Academy in Hong Kong, Beijing Opera for classical chinese theater techniques and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Pasadena, CA

John Lone is best known for his role as the Emperor Henry Pu Yi in Bernardo Bertolucci’s film The Last Emperor, and also for his role in David Cronenberg’s film adaptation of Hwang’s Broadway play, M. Butterfly. In addition, he won an Obie Award in 1980-81 for his performance in "FOB" and "The Dance and the Railroad."

JUNE WATANABE
This artistic director, choreographer, dancer, educator, UCLA graduate and Associate Professor at Mills College is recognized for her starkly focused contemporary dance theater works and her one-of-a-kind collaborations with distinguished artists from diverse disciplines.

Illuminated by her Japanese American heritage, Watanabe's work and passion has been to capture the universality of the human condition within an Eastern temporal and spatial framework from various perspective - as she sees all arts as one.

She was recognized by the San Francisco Isadora Duncan Dance Awards for a Special Award in 1991 (Time Over Time) and in 1994. Watanabe was one of thirteen Bay Artists profiled in 1991 for KQED's special series.

Her last work (5/15/45 - the last dance) is contextualized in the Japanese American incarceration during World War II but extends beyond to embrace the universal tragedies of war, prejudice, injustice, and destruction.

MATT FONG
Matt Fong spent 5 years in the Air Force after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy and has been an officer in the Air Force Reservec since 1980. The son of former California Secretary of State March Fong Eu (Democrat) is a Republican and held several positions in the Bush's 2000 Campaign.

1n 1998, Matt Fong ran as the Republican candidate against Barbara Boxer in California. He has just been nominated for a Cabinet Post position in Bush's 2001 Administration.


NEW SERVICES

Marketing
Our programs provide specialized internet promotion actions that brings a high level of awareness to the fast-growing and influential Asian Pacific American communities to your company and/or your events. Despite the ever-changing Internet landscape, the needs of these consumers still remains a great constant.

In the past, the companies that have worked with our events have included Pacific Bell, L.A. Dodgers, The Gas Company, Denny's Restaurants and AT&T Wireless.

For further info, contact us by clicking HERE.


TIMELINE

IN 1869
J.H. Schnell takes several dozen Japanese to California to establish the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony.

IN 1869
Memphis TN conference of plantation owners proposed substituting Chinese labor for black slaves.

IN 1871
Nineteen Chinese were massacred in Los Angeles. October 24 marked the worst incident of Anti-Chinese violence in America up to that time.

IN 1879
- the Arizona Weekly Star ran an editorial in 1879 portraying Chinese Americans as " an ignorant, filthy, leprous horde" and "the most pernicious and degraded race on the globe." Chinese workers were attacked in railroad camps and mining towns and driven out of Arizona's mines and railroads.

IN 1905
- Section 60 of California's Civil Code amended to forbid marriage between whites and "Mongolians."

IN 1905
Asiatic Exclusion League was formed in San Francisco, marking the official beginning of the anti-Japanese movement.

IN 1907
Japan and the U.S. reach "Gentlemen's Agreement" whereby Japan stops issuing passports to laborers desiring to immigrate to the U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signs Executive Order 589 prohibiting Japanese with passports for Hawaii, Mexico, or Canada to re-immigrate to the U.S. Korean laborers are banned from immigrating to the United States.

IN 1912
- Japanese Americans owned 12,726 acres of farmland in California

IN 1917
All-Japanese Company D, 1st Hawiian Regiment of Infantry, is formed in Hawai'i to serve in World War I. There were, also, Chinese Americans also served in WWI.

IN 1917
All Asian immigrants except for Japanese and Filipinos banned by order of Congress.

IN 1918
Servicemen of Asian ancestry who had served in World War I receive right of naturalization.

IN 1947
Truman grants full pardon to the Japanese Americans who had been convicted for resisting the draft while they and their families were held in concentration camps.

IN 1949
FBI arrests the Hawaii Seven for communist activity. Their fines and jail terms are overturned in January 1958.

IN 2000
- 21 Asian American heroes of World War II received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military accolade. The belated tribute caps an effort ordered by Congress to identify AsianAmericans and Pacific Islanders who had won the second-highest medal, the Distinguished Service Cross - 60 years late. With the release of "Pearl Harbor" - it is good to recognized the many Japanese and Asian American soldiers who give their lives in defending the United States.

IN 2000
- President Bill Clinton announced a plan to preserve sites of camps where the U.S. government interned 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II. Americans, he said, must "never forget this sad chapter in our history. This memorial and the internment sites are powerful reminders that stereotyping, discrimination, hatred and racism have no place in this country.

      OUR GOALS

The purpose of this section is to provide the following:
OPPORTUNITY
to discover more about the dreams of US Asians / Asian Pacific Americans
UNDERSTANDING
our reasons for our fears and our hope for our future and
UNCOVERING
little known historical information that are not often illustrated in today's books


APA & MEDIA NEWS

DANIEL INOUYE ON "PEARL HARBOR
"The movie 'Pearl Harbor' may well revive the emotion of 60 years ago and cause some people to reflect negatively upon the Japanese residents of our nation," said Inouye in the statement dated earlier this month. "However, we hope that those who may be so inclined will recall that, notwithstanding the incarceration of [Japanese Americans], thousands of Japanese Americans volunteered to stand in harm's way for our nation."

MARGARET CHO ON TV
On June 2, 2001 at 7:00 P.M. (PST) / 10:00 P.M. / (EST), Margaret Cho's "I'm the One that I Want" can be seen on pay tv by clicking HERE.

DISAPPEARING AA JOURNALISTS
Among 13,728 newspaper supervisors in 2001, only 214 - or 1.6 percent - are Asian American, while according to the latest census, APIs make up some 4 percent of the U.S. population.

COMEDY SKETCH WRITER WANTED
Hollywood East Foundation of New York is seeking an Asian American comedy sketch writer for a major network show. Each writer must submit a sample of 5 sketches of their best material with a fresh comedy feel for cutting edge, funny sketch material. Contact Elisa Keys President of the Hollywood East Foundation or call her at 212-629-1868.

JOHN WOO'S NEW FILM
John Woo's upcoming MGM film ("Windtalkers") is due for release around Thanksgiving. It breaks new ground in depicting race with Nicholas Cage as a Marine assigned to protect a Navajo "code talker" in the Pacific theater on the eve of the decisive battle of Saipan. Code talkers were secret recruits who transmitted messages using an unbreakable code based on their native language.

"TORTOISE" PERFORMANCES
The music group Tortoise with Nobukazu Takemura and Jet Black Crayon are playing at San Francisco's Fillmore on June 5 & 6, 2001!

MGM WANTS JACKIE!
MGM wants Jackie Chan's "Nosebleed" project that is currently with New Line Cinema. "Nosebleed" is an action comedy about a window washer who foils a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

ASIANS IN BRITAIN TARGETED
British Asians are tired of being blamed for foot-and-mouth disease. "Sales at Chinese restaurants and take-out establishments fell 25% to 40% in the weeks immediately following the reports. They asked why the Chinese restaurants were targeted, among the many other possible culprits?

DOCUMENTARY FILM SEEKS SUPPORT
"Pioneering Asian-American Actors in Film And Television" is a proposed one-hour documentary profiling the struggles and triumphs of the first seven Asian-American actors and actresses in film and TV.

The producers are veteran documentary makers Elliot H. Haimoff & Lorinda Earl of Global Science Productions and actor/SAG Board Member Aki Aleong for the non-profit organization Asians in Media (AIM). Their project includes history and interviews with contemporary stars who have benefited from the efforts of seven groundbreaking actors.

For more information, contact Aki Aleong at 818-364-1685 or by clicking HERE

WAYNE WANG LATEST FILM
Wayne Wang's latest film (the adult-oriented Artisan project entitled "The Center of the Earth") shot footage exclusively for the movie's interactive website that allows you to "interact" with a character from the film.

APA HEALTH ISSUES
4 important APA health issues:

Osteoporosis - loss of bone mass and the decline of bone quality. Major health problems caused by the loss of bone density and quality are bone fractures, spinal deformities, back pain, and loss of height.

Hypothyroidoism - the underproduction or ineffective use of thyroid hormones to regulate metabolic activities of the body. Major health problems cause by this hormonal imbalance are fatigue, weight gain, constipation, hoareness, dry skin, swelling around the eyes, enlarged tongue. It is associated with diabetes, Addison's disease, pernicious anemia, vitiligo.

Cholecystitis - inflammation of the gall bladder major health problems that are cause by problems with the gall bladder are Gallstones, Chrohn's or Ulcerative Colitis.

Thalassemia - a inherited blood disorder in which red blood cells cannot produce enough hemoglobin. Alpha Thalessemia causes stillbirth or newborn deaths and other maternal problems. Beta Thalassemia ( Cooley's Anemia ) symptoms appears after the first three months of a baby's life. It causes poor appetite, irritablity, pale skin, and stunted growth. A person's blood can be tested to see if they have a Thalassemia genetic trait it is more prevalent in Southeast Asians.

AA PREGNANCY DEATH FIGURES
Asian American women, along with Native American and Hispanic women, are much more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, stated a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Asian and Pacific Islanders die from pregnancy complications at a rate of 11.3. (The rate for white women is 7.3) For women of Asian descent, the risk was much higher for those born outside the United States.

JOHN LONE IN RUSH HOUR 2
800 Million Dollar Production of Rush Hour 2 started filming (March 2001) in Hong Kong with John Lone with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker on the Streets of Wan Zai in Hong Kong.

MAYA LIN HONORED
In light of the general public's negative perceptions toward Asian Pacific Americans, Architect Maya Lin was honored at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights dinner for design of the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.

ANG LEE'S NEW SHORT FILM - "CHOSEN"
Ang Lee's short film about a Tibetan boy with a mysterious gift is featured on an Internet film series (underwritten by BMW) from some of the hottest filmmakers (i.e. John Frankenheimer, Wong Kar-Wai, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro Gonzales, etc.) in the world.

"PEARL HARBOR" BRINGS FEARS
Japanese/Asian Americans such as John Tateishi (president of the Japanese American Citizens League) are worried that people will consider Pearl Harbor the the watermark of our whole existence." This is especially alarming because of recent incidents that has flamed anti-Asian sentiments. Senior Disney Vice President Andrea Marozas said the film essentially is a romance set against the backdrop of Pearl Harbor.

JACL CONSIDERING PHILLIP MORRIS
The board of the San Francisco-based Japanese American Citizens League will soon vote on whether the organization should accept donations from tobacco companies such as Phillip Morris.

JUDY CHU WINS ELECTION
Judy Chu won the vacant 49th Assembly District, where Latinos have fended off challenges from Asian Americans repeatedly for the office over the past decade. She is the fourth API in the Assembly (Carol Liu of District 44, George Nakano of District 53, and Wilma Chan of District 16)

13 AA CANDIDATES FOR NYC OFFICES
13 Asian American candidates are running for public seats in seven districts in New York City's City Council.

APA VOTING PATTERNS
Only 44% of a recent Pilot Study of the National Asian American Political Survey (PNAAPS) voted in November 2000 election.

The highest percentage were the 63% of Japanese Americans and the 47% Filipino Americans. The lowest turnout were the Korean American communities ast 34%. Interesting Note: APA's born in Asia trust the US Goverment (55%) more than they trust the government in their home country (6%).

Regarding discrimination, 4 out of 10 had experienced discrimination in their life because of their ethnic background (92%). The respondents make-up is the followng: 1/3 were from Los Angeles and the balance were divided equally from San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Honolulu.

Of the 1,218 adults randomly selected for this report, 25% were Chinese, 1/6 were Japanese and the balance were made of Korean, Filipino, South Asian and Vietnamese descent.

CONGRESSMAN DENIED ENTRANCE.
The report by Charlie Woo (Chairman of CAUSE/Vision 21) and shared by S.B. Woo of
80-20 stated the following words: "Congressman David Wu and his Asian Staff Ted Lieu were not allowed into the building even after presenting their congressional ID's.

They were repeatedly asked about their citizenship and country of origin. It took 15 minutes for them to get a supervisor to let them in. They were told it was a standard procedure for the Dept of Energy and Congressional ID was not a reliable document.

An Italian American Congressman went to the Dept the next day with the same ID, no questions were asked. David is going public with this experience."

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