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  LATEST NEWS FOR JULY 2001

Entering July 2001, we have seen the furor surrounding Pearl Harbor dwindle (in light of its disappoint sales), the struggle for diversity intensifying and the growing influence of Asian/Asian Pacific Americans within the general public.

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


FEATURED ARTISTS & LEADERS

BOND
Though these girls hail from the U.K., they are focused on breaking into the American marketplace and the reinvention of the classical string quartet through their debut c.d.

They were hailed the Spice Girls of classical music, but Eos (violin), Haylie Ecker (violin), Gay-Yee Westerhoff (cello), and Tania Davis (viola) composed a vibrant worldbeat sound all their own.

All are well-educated, having played their specific instruments since early childhood, later accompanying some of the U.K.'s pop acts like the Divine Comedy, Primal Scream, Embrace, and Mark Knopfler. Signed to Decca Records, Bond issued their debut Born in early 2001, which showcased the band's mix of salsa, house, and European folk stylings.

Gay-Yee Westerhoff attended Trinity College Of Music in London and performed with Gay-Yee has played cello with artists such as Primal Scream, Spice Girls, Talvin Singh, Embrace, Sting, Bryan Adams and Barry Manilow as well as being an accomplished bass player.

THE GRAND COALITION
"Grand Coalition" ("National Coalition of organizations advocating greater diversity in the media and entertainment industries")

The National Coalition is comprised of four groups: NAACP, National Latino Media Council (itself comprised of a number of Latino/Hispanic organizations), APA Media Coalition (itself comprised of a number of APA organizations) and American Indians in Film and Television.

Each of the overall coalition members listed above are represented by a Chair. The Chair of the NAACP is Kweisi Mfume; for National Latino Media Council it is Esteban Torres; for the American Indians in Film and Television it's Sonny Skyhawk. For the APA Media Coalition it was Norm Mineta (presently Karen Narasaki). Mfume, Torres and Mineta are all former Congressmen. This gives the Coalition unusual clout.

Because of Mineta being appointed by President.Clinton to be Commerce Secretary and then appointed by President Bush to be Transportation Secretary, Karen Narasaki was chosen as the replacement. The reasons include the following:

  • her experience and effectiveness as an advocate
  • her established relationships with NAACP
  • she's based in Washington D.C (a location of political power)
  • she has an available staff and
  • she has the resources to pay for conference calls and travel.

"We are here 20 years later and it is still not routine to have Asian Americans depicted as doctors in shows set in Los Angeles or San Francisco hospitals," said Karen Narasaki, a spokeswoman for the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition. "To me, that is a discouraging indication that we as Asian Americans are generally seen as foreigners and not as a part of everyday American families."

The APA Media Coalition is an ad hoc group of people who are interested in advocating for greater diversity in network television and other media. Groups include MANAA, East West Players, Visual Communications, NAATA, Asian American Coalition for Total Inclusion On the Networks (AACTION), OCA and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC).

NAPALC, in turn, is a consortium that includes the major APA legal aid organizations such as Los Angeles-based Asian Pacific American Legal Center (which Stewart Kwoh heads), San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus and New York-based Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. NAPALC also administers a coalition of APA groups under an umbrella called National Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans -- NCAPA includes groups representing JAs, CAs, KAs, VAs, Pilipino Americans, South Asians, probably Thai Americans and others.

Individuals who have been active include the APA Media Coalition Chair, Karen Narasaki (who is the executive director of NAPALC), Sharon Scanlon (NAPALC), Guy Aoki (MANAA), Ken Narasaki (EWP), Tim Dang (EWP), George Takei, Jack Ong (AACTION), Sumi Haru (SAG), Eddie Wong (NAATA), Daphne Kwok (OCA), Christine Chen (OCA), Linda Mabalot (Visual Communications) and Dan Mayeda (East West Players).

Source: Daniel M. Mayeda, Co-President of the Board of East West Players, and one of the leaders of the APA Media Coalition. Mr. Mayeda has participated in meetings with the major networks and publicly addressed the diversity issue at EWP's recent 35th Anniversary Dinner at which the four networks bought tables.

CHRIS LEE
He was the first person to break the color line and run a Hollywood studio. As head of production, he was responsible for the acquisition, development, and production of Sony Pictures/Tri-Star/Columbia's projects such as As Good As It Gets, Jerry Maguire, Philadelphia, My Best Friend's Wedding, Starship Troopers, The Mirror Has Two Faces, Legends of the Fall, the Fisher King and The Big Hit.

Presently, Chris Lee is the founder of Chris Lee Productions Inc. He has formed Supermega Entertainment with partner Joseph Kahn, a media content and management company involved in the production of motion pictures, television programming, internet content, animation, computer gaming, comic books, and writing, director and acting clients.


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 1830's
- Chinese workers arrives in Hawaii

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 1898
- Hawaii is the United States' 50th state.

IN 1903
- Korean workers are brought to Hawaii

IN 1908
- Filipinos were greatly recruited by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association as cheap contract labor when the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 cut off the Japanese supply.

IN 1909
- Japanese plantation workers in Hawaii go on strike

IN 1912
- Duke Kahanamoku won his first Olympic gold medal and set a world record in the 100-meter free-style and won a silver medal as a participant in the 200-meter relay in Stockholm. He represented the United States in the Olympics for the next 20 years.

IN 1920
- Asian Indians owned about 123,000 acres in California's Imperial and Sacramento Valleys.

IN 1923
- Justice Sutherland, speaking for the Supreme Court in 1923, said that Bhagat Singh Thind and other Asian Indians were aliens ineligible to citizenship because they were not white, as only whites and blacks could become citizens.

IN 1924
- In the Hanapepe Massacre, police attack union headquarters in Hanapepe, HI where 16 sugar plantation workers and 4 policemen are killed.

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 1944
- These 85 interned Japanese Americans were prosecuted and incarcerated because they refused to be drafted into the U.S. military unless their rights as citizens were restored.

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

IN 1973
- Organization of Chinese Americans, Inc. was founded. (OCA) is a national non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization of concerned Chinese Americans. dedicated to securing the rights of Chinese American and Asian American citizens and permanent residents.

IN 1978
- National convention of the Japanese American Citizens League adopts resolution calling for redress and reparations for the internment of Japanese Americans.

IN 1980
- First Philippine Festival of the Arts begins in New York City.

IN 1991
- National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization was formed to advance the legal and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans.

IN 2000
- Ellery J. Chun, creator of the "Aloha Shirt" dies.

IN 2001
- Maya Lin is honored by the NAACP as someone who has excelled in the face of overwhelming odds.

IN 2001
- Patrick Oliphant's racist cartoon was an offshoot of the recent stand off between the U.S. and China over the U.S. spy plane incident.

      OUR GOALS

The purpose of this section is the following:
OPPORTUNITY
to discover more about our dreams
UNDERSTANDING
our fears and our hopes and
UNCOVERING
invaluable and missing information


APA & MEDIA NEWS

SAG'S PETER NGUYEN FIRED
"From the earliest days after its founding in the 1930s, the Screen Actors Guild (news - web sites) has been concerned with the problems of inequality and the stereotyping of performers of color." That's the opening statement of the Screen Actors Guild's website page dedicated to its long history of affirmative action.

But the guild in 2001 has found itself being challenged by three minority employees fired this year. Peter Nguyen, an affirmative-action office's supervisors and an executive assistant who also served as a strike coordinator during SAG's bitter six-month commercials-contract walkout has filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuits against the union for wrongful termination and racial bias.

NEW FILMS ON DVD
Listed below are some noteworthy films that are now available on DVD. Click on the film's title to order or HERE to get additional information.

  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  • Hidden Fortress
  • Yi Yi
  • In the Mood for Love
  • Mission Impossible 2
  • Shanghai Noon
  • What's Cooking
  • Charlie's Angels
  • Lost Empire (write your views there)

    PEARL HARBOR IS SINKING
    Based on recent information, Disney executives and media analysts estimate that "Pearl Harbor's " original worldwide theatrical revenues of $400 million to $450 million will fall to $200 million or less.

    LEA SALONGA IN FLOWER DRUM SONG
    Lea Salonga has been cast in the leading role of Mei Li in the David Henry Hwang's revival of "Flower Drum Song," opening Oct. 14 at the Mark Taper Forum. (This update includes the lines "chop chop chop" in the dialogue, as of 2001)

    UPCOMING FILM FESTIVALS
    Click HERE for upcoming film festivals, grants, etc. such as Media Access Awards, Public TV's POV film showcase opportunities, Northwest Film Center's "Call for Submission," AATC plays, etc.

    LISA LING GOSSIP
    Lisa Ling announced that for nine months, she has been dating Rick Yune (Snow Falling in Cedars, Fast and the Furious)

    THE JAPANESE ARTISTS ARE COMING
    Among the top 20 albums in Japan for May, 2001 - 14 made by Japanese artists and six of those were partly or completely recorded in the United States to get an "American feel.".

    QUENTIN LEE INTERVIEW
    NAATA's "Filmmaker of the Month" (Quentin Lee) has an interview talks about his new film, his artistry and other activities.

    AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FACT SHEET
    The National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium has translated their "Debunking the Myths" Affirmative Action Fact Sheet into Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The translation project was made possible by funding from Philip Morris Companies, Inc. (note: What your thoughts on Philip Morris as a participant, especially with the recent incident with the JACL?

    AA WRITER GETS DEAL
    Revolution Studios paid an untitled pitch by Maurissa Tancheroen for a low-six-figure sum. Revolution partner Todd Garner nabbed the pitch, which centers on two Asian American FBI agents who go undercover as Korean grocery store clerks in order to infiltrate a gang in South Central Los Angeles.

    ASIAN AMERICAN COMICS
    Tina Kim is headlining local comedy and college shows in New York while talking about being Korean-America, following Margaret Cho and a struggling young woman comic trying to find love and happiness in New York.

    ETHNIC TELEVISION
    How far behind is Asian/Asian Pacific American TV? Especially with Hispanic Television Network Inc. signing agreements with cable-system operators to air Spanish-language programming 24 hours a day in Los Angeles, the nation's largest Hispanic market.

    NETWORKS FAILED AT DIVERSITY
    A coalition criticizes ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, saying agreements reached 16 months ago haven't been honored.

    Johnnie Cochran Jr., Esteban Torres and Bill Cosby (part of the coalition that includes NAACP, National Latino Media Council, American Indians in Film & Television & Asian Pacific American Media Coalition) harshly criticized the four major television networks' attempts to diversify their prime-time lineups. ABC rated at a D-. CBS earned a D+. Fox scored a C-, and NBC received the highest grade, a C.

    After Zenya Mucha (ABC's senior vice president of communications), Josie Thomas (CBS' head of diversity), Mitsy Wilson (Fox's head of diversity) and NBC voices differing points of views.

    AVIS BEST CO. FOR "AA'S"
    Avis (a wholly owned subsidiary of Cendant Corporation) was named one of the best companies for Asian Americans because their of their diversity of workforce and purchasing practices by Asian Enterprise Magazine.

    F. Robert Salerno, Avis' president and chief operating officer stated that."this recognition reflects our ongoing efforts to keep diversity at the center of the Avis agenda. We are proud of our relationship with the Asian American community and are always looking for ways to improve that relationship through hiring, procurement and marketing activities."

    The other honorees were Applied Materials, Bank of America, Fannie Mae, JP Morgan Chase, McDonald's, Nordstrom, Pitney Bowes, SoCal Edison, Sun Microsystems, Union Bank, U. S. Postal Service and Washington Mutual.

    DEBORAH KONG - AP NATIONAL WRITER
    Deborah Kong, a freelance writer who most recently worked for USA Today, has been named a national writer for The Associated Press, specializing in minority issues.

    Kong, who will be based in San Francisco, covered technology for USA Today. She also has worked for the San Jose Mercury News and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

    THE WORLD JOURNAL - MAJOR US NEWSPAPER
    The World Journal is one of the largest daily newspapers in the US, even though it is written in Chinese.

    Claiming a daily circulation of about 350,000, it ranks somewhere around 20th to 25th in the country, on a par with The Detroit Free Press, Miami Herald and Baltimore Sun.

    Tt serves the Chinese-American community and is probably the largest ethnic paper in the country.

    HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE DISAPPEARING
    The Hawaiian language nearly became extinct when the United States banned schools from teaching students in Hawaiian after annexing the then-independent republic in 1898. The number of Hawaiians speakers have risen from fewer than 1,000 in 1983 to some 7,000 to 10,000 currently.

    BOSTON'S CHINATOWN
    Boston's new developments, high rents, and a community's erosion raise worries in the local Chinatowns. Projected high-rise development in Chinatown's low-lying streetscape, driving up property values, longtime residents worry about the potential departure of many local Chinese families.

    ANY NEW YORK APA POLITICIANS?
    Will Asian Americans ever elect a councilmember of their own in New York? Various conflicts between different Asian sectors, plus the normal trials of fighting the system, has made this a difficult situation. Learn more about this situation.

    AOL IN CHINA JOINT VENTURE
    A $200 million joint venture between AOL (29M subscribers) with top Mainland China PC maker Legend Holdings (40% of marketplace) was finalized.

    The venture, to be 51 percent-owned by Legend and 49 percent by the U.S. media giant, will provide consumer Internet services in China, with each group pledging to commit $100 million over time.

    Both companies will initially invest $25 million in the venture, which will earn revenue from fees for its technical support and services to Legend's FM365 unit.

    DENNY'S UPDATE
    AALDEF and pro bono counsel Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler LLP continue to represent seven Asian/American and white college students in their federal civil rights lawsuit against the national restaurant chain Denny's Inc.

    The students were denied service and then attacked in the Denny's parking lot in April 1997 in Syracuse, NY. In July 2000, the federal judge granted Denny's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the civil rights case.

    In March, AALDEF appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, arguing that the district court made several legal errors and should have allowed a jury to hear the case. AALDEF is currently awaiting a decision.

    CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST DKNY
    In June 2000, AALDEF filed a novel class action suit on behalf of all workers who made garments for designer/manufacturer Donna Karan.

    The complaint seeks to stop Donna Karan International, Inc. from merely switching its work from one factory to another whenever a complaint is filed. By pulling its work out of the factory, Donna Karan makes it appear that it has severed ties with abusive employers.

    In reality, the clothing continues to be made in sweatshops that do not pay minimum wage and overtime.

    FINANCIAL FIRMS TARGET "AA'S"
    Schwab, Merrill Lynch and TD Waterhouse have all opened offices in areas with large Asian populations, part of national strategies at each firm to attract Asian customers. Firms also are staffing call centers with representatives who speak Asian languages and, like ETrade, are operating Asian-language Web sites.

    "CHINESE ON CHINESE" CRIME
    Kaitong Inc. / Ding Gang Xie's company promised visas to many Chinese immigrants, but was just another example of fraud and another "Chinese on Chinese" crime.

    Advocacy groups for immigrants noted that while legitimate agencies, including many that do not charge a fee, help immigrants sort through the bureaucracy of visa applications, only federal officials can make good on the kind of guarantees promised in ads by companies.

    CHILD PRODIGY
    10-year-old Sho Yano was just 8 when he scored 1,500 out of 1,600 on the college-entrance SATs and started college (Loyola University in Chicago) at age 9. His grade on his first college composition was an A-. On his first chemistry exam, he scored 106 out of a possible 108. His father, Katsura, is Japanese by birth and a successful businessman. His mother, Kyung, who is Korean, stays home to raise the children. Both have advanced college degrees but neither has Sho's remarkable gifts.

    IMMIGRANT VS. US-BORN TASTES
    "Immigrants have immigrant tastes all their lives, even as they move up [into the middle class]," said David E. Hayes-Bautista, director of UCLA's Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture. "They still prefer the things they liked back home." Is this true for our Asian/Asian Pacific American populations?

    BATTERED IMMIGRANT WOMEN
    Changes made in 2000 to the 1994 federal Violence Against Women Act allow abused immigrant spouses a two-year window after a divorce to petition for permanent residence. Under the old law, a divorced non-citizen spouse could not independently apply for a green card.

    RESOURCES:
    Center for the Pacific Asian Family
    (323) 653-4042
    Sahara
    (888) Sahara-2
    Help line in English, Hindi, Gujarati and other South Asian languages
    Niswa
    (310) 782-1483
    Muslim help line, shelter, community agency in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Farsi, Arabic and other languages
    Asian Pacific American Legal Center
    (213) 977-7500

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