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These pages were recently updated:

Close Contests: 1/2/12
Asian-American Candidates: 1/21/12
2011 Election Results: 1/21/12

Presidential Election: 1/15/12
Obama on Asian American Issues: 1/16/12
Romney on Asian American Issues: 1/13/12
APA Vote in Presidential Elections: 5/23/09

Agenda for America: 3/7/11

Affirmative Action Backfires: 5/1/11
Asian American Charter Schools: 1/16/12
Asian American Faculty: 10/8/11
Colleges: 2011: 6/25/11
Colleges: 2012: 1/16/12
Districts with Most Asian Americans: 6/26/11
Free the North Koreans: 1/16/12
Hall of Shame: TV Medical Shows (Bigots for the Left: 
Asian American men do not exist): 1/15/12
Hate Crimes: 6/29/11
Law Firms 2010: 9/11/11
Law Firms 2010 by state: 9/11/11
Law Firms 2009: 10/16/11
Law Firms 2009 by state: 10/29/11
Law Schools: 5/1/11
Law Schools 2010: 2/12/11
Links: 4/25/11
Medical Schools: 1/1612
Medical Schools 2010: 3/20/11
Medical Schools 2007: 12/5/10
Medical Schools 2004: 2/13/11  
News: 1/16/12
Statistics: 1/16/12
Statistics on Reverse Discrimination: 12/17/11
Stop Being a Sap: 6/26/11
Veterans: 1/16/12
Voting Records: 8/13/11

    Bigots for the Left who cast Asian American men as doctors in TV medical shows: only two in 50+ years: "Three Rivers": Daniel Henney as Dr. David Lee; “House, M.D.”: Kai Penn as Dr. Lawrence Kutner; Kenneth Choi as obstetrician in first season, episode “Maternity” which aired December 7, 2004, and anonymous Asian American men who appeared on the hospital’s board of directors and disciplinary 
board.  
    See  Hall of Shame: TV Medical Shows    

    Evil corporations which feature Asian Americans in commercials: 
    Asian American men: AT&T, Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser),  Bank of America, Barclays Global Investors, Capital One, Careerbuilder.com, Circuit City, Cisco, Citibank, Comcast, CSX, Dodge, Domino's, Edward Jones (stock brokerage), eHarmony, ESPN, FedEx, Gillette, GlaxoSmithKline, Hillshire Farm, HughesNet, Intel, Kashi (health foods), Mars (candy), McDonald's, NFL Network, Nortel, Procter & Gamble (Bounce sheets), Range Rover, Schick, Solvay Pharmaceuticals (Trilipix), State Farm, Subway restaurants, UBS, UPS, U.S. Postal Service, Verizon Wireless, Volkswagen, Wendy’s
    Asian American women: American Express, Audi, Bank of America, Bausch & Lomb, Best Buy, Brittoni, Cisco, Cort, CVS pharmacy, Dunkin’ Donuts, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Franklin Templeton, Geico, General Motors (Cadillac), Hyundai, IBM, Ikea, Intel, Kellogg, Kraft,  Lowe's, Marriott, MassMutual, McDonald's, MFS Investment Management, Michelin, Microsoft, New York Times, Pfizer, Quiznos, SAP (software), S.C. Johnson, State Farm, Target, TD Waterhouse,  U.S. Trust, Visa, Volvo, Wells Fargo
    Both: American Express, Boeing, Citigroup, Disney, Geico, Hartford, Hilton, Lowe's, Olay, Priceline, Samsung, Shell



For current news about Asian Americans, go to www.google.com, click on "news" and type "Asian American" 
or "Chinese American" or "Japanese American" etc.

1/14/12 Wall Street Journal: "Asian Groups Respond on Liu,"
by Sumathi Reddy
    A number of prominent Asian-American organizations and civic leaders have joined forces to address 
community concerns that have surfaced since the criminal investigation into city Comptroller John Liu's 
campaign financing.
    Called the Asian American Civic Alliance, the group intends to start a legal referral hotline for individuals 
or businesses contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other government agencies in 
connection with the continuing investigation into Mr. Liu's fund-raising operation.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204542404577159261685492898.html 


1/13/12 CNN: "Is Hollywood 'whitewashing' Asian roles?"
By Stephanie Siek
    America’s embrace of Japanese pop culture, particularly manga and anime, hasn’t resulted in an 
embrace of Asian and Asian-American actors when those storylines go to Hollywood.
    Two upcoming feature films based on Japanese material are already stirring controversy after rumors 
that white American actors will be cast as characters originally written as Japanese.
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/13/is-hollywood-whitewashing-asian-roles/ 
 

1/13/12 Brooklyn Ink: "Asian-Americans Push for District of Their Own,"
by Tiffany Ap
    Asian-American civic groups are pushing for redistricting in Brooklyn that would give growing Asian 
ethnic groups a district and representation of their own.
    Claiming that the Asian vote is too diluted across many districts, the groups are hoping to splice 
together sections of Sunset Park, Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights in a new district that would have a 
majority population of Chinese immigrants and their descendants.
http://thebrooklynink.com/2012/01/13/40176-asian-americans-push-for-district-of-their-own/ 


1/11/11 Dallas Morning News: "Asian Indian population booming in Dallas-Fort Worth,"
By Ananda Boardman
    A strong Asian Indian community is nothing new to North Texas — but the growth of the past 10 years
is unprecedented.
    Census numbers show that from 2000 to 2010, the population more than doubled, going from 49,181 
to 106,964 for Collin, Dallas, Denton, Rockwall and Tarrant counties.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20120111-asian-indian-population-booming-in-dallas-fort-worth.ece?action=reregister 


1/6/12 Newsday: "Magpantay: Wanted: equal political access,"
BY Glenn D. Magpantay
    Glenn D. Magpantay is director of the Democracy Program at the Asian American Legal Defense 
and Education Fund.
    There are 1.4 million Asian-Americans who now live in New York. In New York City alone, our 
community grew 32 percent over the past decade, to over 1 million people. Half a million Asian-
Americans live in Queens, where the Asian-American population grew 300 times faster than the 
rest of the population.
    So if you're new to New York's redistricting process, you may be surprised to learn that only one 
state Assembly district in New York has a majority of Asian-American voters -- and not a single 
State Senate district has an Asian-American majority.
www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/magpantay-wanted-equal-political-access-1.3434145 


1/5/12 NY1.com: "Asian-American Community Struggles With Liu Controversy,"
by Courtney Gross
    Many Asian-Americans across the city are expressing the same sentiment when it comes to the 
campaign finance controversy surrounding Comptroller John Liu.
    “No one knows what the facts are,” says Wellington Chen of the Chinatown Partnership.
http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/political_news/153694/asian-american-community-struggles-with-liu-controversy 


1/5/12 Salt Lake Tribune: "Huntsman to Paul: Disavow ‘manchurian candidate’ ad with Chinese daughter," 
    Jon Huntsman's campaign is asking Rep. Ron Paul to disavow a YouTube spot posted by a supporter 
that questions whether the former Utah governor is loyal to the United States or China and features shots 
of his adopted Chinese daughter, Gracie Mei, and an image of Huntsman superimposed wearing a 
Communist uniform.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsoutofcontext/53242110-64/huntsman-paul-chinese-campaign.html.csp 


1/4/12 Chronicle of Higher Education: "New Hampshire Ends Affirmative-Action Preferences at Colleges,"
By Peter Schmidt
    Public colleges in New Hampshire are precluded from using affirmative-action preferences in hiring or 
admissions decisions under a new law that took effect on January 1 after being passed by the state's 
legislature last year with relatively little public opposition.
http://chronicle.com/article/New-Hampshire-Ends/130196/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en  


1/3/12 New York Times: "Gordon Hirabayashi, World War II Internment Opponent, Dies at 93,"
by Richard Goldstein
    Gordon Hirabayashi, who was imprisoned for defying the federal government’s internment of Japanese-
Americans during World War II but was vindicated four decades later when his conviction was overturned, 
died on Monday in Edmonton, Alberta. He was 93.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/us/gordon-hirabayashi-wwii-internment-opponent-dies-at-93.html?_r=1&hpw 


12/31/11 NPR:  The Changing Face Of America's Chinatowns
by NPR STAFF
    The neighborhoods known as Chinatowns sprang up in the U.S. during the Gold Rush. 
But since then, they've seen gradual yet significant changes — not so noticeable to the average visitor, 
perhaps, but quite drastic to those who've called these communities home.
    To find out more, weekends on All Things Considered guest host Rebecca Sheir visited the nation's 
biggest Chinatown, in New York City. We began on the unofficial main street, Mott Street: a narrow but 
bustling thoroughfare lined with souvenir shops, teahouses and restaurants, and packed to the gills with 
people.
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/31/144516153/the-changing-face-of-americas-chinatowns 


12/29/11 New York Daily News: "NY Asian-American voters get the shaft: Suit"
by Erica Pearson
    Asian-American voters in Queens and Brooklyn sued the governor and other state officials this week, 
saying their voting power is unfairly limited by the way the state’s legislative districts are drawn.
    The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a complaint Wednesday on behalf of 
four New Yorkers, arguing they must get equal political representation when the state rejiggers district 
lines after the most recent census.
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-29/news/30570710_1_asian-american-voters-asian-americans-district-lines


12/28/11 Bloomberg: "Lure of Chinese Tuition Pushes Out Asian-Americans,"
By Oliver Staley
    The University of California system, rocked by budget cuts, is enrolling record numbers of out-of-state 
and international students, many from China, who pay almost twice that of in-state residents, squeezing 
out high-achieving Asian-Americans. 
    Kwanhyun Park, the 18-year-old son of Korean immigrants, spent four years at Beverly Hills High School 
earning the straight As and high test scores he thought would get him into the University of California, 
San Diego. They weren’t enough.
    The sought-after school, half a mile from the Pacific Ocean, admitted 1,460 fewer California residents 
this year to accept higher-paying students from out-of-state, many from China. 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-28/lure-of-chinese-tuition-squeezes-out-asian-americans-at-california-schools.html

12/26/11 New York Times: "As Inquiry Widens, Comptroller Is Busy Showing That All Is Calm,"
By Raymond Hernandez and David W. Chen
    In recent weeks, as the investigation has expanded, Mr. Liu, the New York City comptroller, has 
struck a defiant tone, apparently determined to demonstrate that he has not lost his political balance.
    Indeed, as Mr. Liu gathered with a small group of associates at a memorial service in Queens 
recently, he remarked that he was unconcerned about the investigation, and believed that the 
authorities would come up short if they were trying to implicate him, according to three people in 
attendance, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be seen as 
betraying him.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/nyregion/liu-acts-unconcerned-about-us-investigation.html?_r=1&hp 



12/22/11 Huffington Post: "Rodobaldo Sanchez Arrested For Attempted Murder Of Mini Mart Clerk 
Cen Yue Kui,"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/rodobaldo-sanchez-arrested_n_1164839.html  


12/21/11 New York Times: "8 Charged in Death of Fellow Soldier, U.S. Army Says,"
By Kirk Semple
    Eight American soldiers were charged with manslaughter and an array of other crimes in connection
with the death of Pvt. Danny Chen, a fellow soldier from New York whose body was found in October 
lying in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan, the United States Army said in a statement Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/us/8-charged-in-death-of-fellow-soldier-us-army-says.html?hp#comments 


12/21/11 Rafu Shimpo: "Scholars Take Issue with NYT Review of Heart Mountain Museum,"
    New York — Concerns are being raised about a New York Times museum review of the new Heart 
Mountain Interpretive Learning Center in Wyoming.
http://rafu.com/news/2011/12/scholars-take-issue-with-nyt-review-of-heart-mountain-museum/ 


12/17/09 National Review “U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Weighs in on the Senate Health-Care Bill,” 
by Roger Clegg
    The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has sent a letter to various leading senators objecting to 
“racially discriminatory provisions” in the Senate’s health-care bill, like coercing medical schools and 
others into using racially preferential admission policies. The Commission had already noted the same 
constitutional problems in the House version.
http://www.usccr.gov/correspd/LetterPresidentSenatorsHealthCare12-11-09.pdf  


12/16/11 New York Post: "Hiding their race,"
By Rich Lowry
    To check or not to check the Asian box? That’s the choice faced by Asian-American students applying 
to what are supposed to be the most tolerant places on Earth: the nation’s colleges.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/hiding_their_race_sKvjDf84vh22J21Ri7D  

12/14/11 Asian Journal: Asian American Federation distributes $170K to seven non-profit groups 
www.asianjournal.com/dateline-usa/15-dateline-usa/14188-aaf-distributes-170k-to-seven-non-profit-groups.html 


12/9/11 Hyphen: "Looking Back at 2011’s Asian Americans in Film,"
by Ian Wang
    This post focuses on narrative features. Check back for part 2 which takes a look at the 
documentaries released this past year. 
    For Asian Americans in mainstream Hollywood, 2011 was an eventful but not exactly spectacular year. 
The year kicked off on a little sour note with The Green Hornet, which featured Taiwanese pop icon Jay 
Chou as Seth Rogen's martial artist sidekick with a rather lame grasp of English (stereotypes galore, once 
again). The movie quickly disappeared from the multiplexes, presumably taking along with it Chou's future 
prospects in Hollywood.
http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2011/12/looking-back-2011%E2%80%99s-asian-americans-film 


12/6/11 press release: "UCLA Study Finds U.S. Has More Elected, Appointed Asian American 
Officials Than Ever,"
    Los Angeles (Business Wire) -- More Asian Pacific Americans hold public office in the 
United States than at any other time in U.S. history, a sign of the community's growing engagement 
with the political process, according to a newly released political almanac published by UCLA's 
Asian American Studies Center.
    The 14th edition of the National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac, first published in 
1976, contains information on all 3,000 current elected and appointed officials. It also analyzes 
political trends and makes electoral projections of the nation's 17 million Asian Pacific Americans.
    "The National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac is an invaluable guide to the historically 
large and diverse number of Asian American and Pacific Islander politicians and voters influencing 
the nation's political landscape," said David K. Yoo, director of the Asian American Studies Center
and a professor of Asian American studies at UCLA.
    Written by UCLA professor emeritus Don Nakanishi and Santa Clara University professor James
Lai, two leading political scientists who specialize in Asian American politics, the almanac spotlights
individuals who hold municipal, state and national office.
    The list includes two state governors, three U.S. senators, 10 members of the U.S. House of 
Representatives, two Obama administration cabinet members, two California statewide elected 
officials, four members of the California State Supreme Court (including the chief justice) and three 
of the five members of the California State Board of Equalization. It also includes the majority of 
Hawaii's Legislature, three California state senators, eight California Assembly members and 44 
mayors of cities, including San Francisco, Oakland and Irvine.
    In their political and electoral analysis, Nakanishi and Lai predict that Asian Pacific Americans will
have a significant impact on the upcoming presidential election, with more than 4 million expected 
to cast ballots in 2012 -- the largest number in the nation's history. This would represent a 600,000-
vote increase over the 2008 election, similar to the increase seen between the 2004 and 2008 
elections.
    Asian Pacific American voters are also expected to play decisive roles in the electoral-rich states 
of California, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Virginia, Florida and Massachusetts, 
the authors say.
    To request review copies of the 260-page almanac, please email aascpress@aasc.ucla.edu or 
call 310-825-2968.
    The UCLA Asian American Studies Center, founded in 1969, is dedicated to research, teaching, 
publications and other endeavors that enrich the understanding of the history, cultural heritage and 
experiences of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islander--Americans. The center is recognized today 
as the premier research and teaching institution in the field of Asian American studies.


12/6/11 The New American: "John Liu, Beijing’s Pick for NYC Mayor, Takes a Dive,"
by William F. Jasper 
    Is the political career of New York City Comptroller John Liu, until recently considered a rising superstar, 
headed for the dumpster? Knowledgeable political observers inside the city’s Chinatown say that Liu’s 
support from the Chinese-American and Asian-American communities has plummeted in the wake of his 
multiple recent scandals and that he is unlikely to recover. The New American reported in October 
(“Communist Ties and Donor Scandal Dog John Liu's NYC Mayoral Bid”) on Liu’s mounting troubles, 
which have since continued to multiply.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/10081-john-liu-beijings-pick-for-nyc-mayor-takes-a-dive 


12/6/11 Autostraddle: "Asian Evasion: How "Model Minority" College Applicants Bypass Racial 
Discrimination,"
    Are you Asian/American? Want an edge in those ever-competitive college admissions? Then check 
“white” or don’t even respond to the race question on your college applications. Jesse Washington’s AP 
article published in USA Today finds that Asian/American students, particularly those who are half-Asian
with racially ambiguous last names, are trying to avoid identifying themselves as Asian in admissions 
questionnaires — it seems the label “Asian” comes with an unfair disadvantage in the college application 
process.
http://www.autostraddle.com/asian-evasion-how-model-minority-college-applicants-bypass-racial-discrimination-123464/ 

12/6/11 Cerritos-Artesia Patch: "Asian Pacific Americans In Elected or Appointed Office at Record Highs,"
    Asian Pacific Americans are posting record-setting numbers when it comes to elected or appointed 
positions nationwide. Collectively, Cerritos and Artesia have four Asian Pacific council members, including 
the mayors of both cities. 
http://cerritos.patch.com/articles/asian-pacific-americans-in-elected-or-appointed-office-at-record-highs 


12/6/11 Austin History Center- Pioneers from the East: First Chinese Families in Austin
    According to the 1875 Census there were 20 Chinese living in Austin. Most of these were men who left 
China to find work in order to support their families. Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, they could not 
bring over their wives or children. These men worked mainly in the laundry or restaurant business. That 
was the beginning of Asian presence in our city. 
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/chinesepioneers.htm 


12/3/11 Associated Press: "Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian'"
by Jesse Washington
    Lanya Olmstead was born in Florida to a mother who immigrated from Taiwan and an American father 
of Norwegian ancestry. Ethnically, she considers herself half Taiwanese and half Norwegian. But when 
applying to Harvard, Olmstead checked only one box for her race: white.
    "I didn't want to put 'Asian' down," Olmstead says, "because my mom told me there's discrimination 
against Asians in the application process."
http://news.yahoo.com/asians-college-strategy-dont-check-asian-174442977.html 


11/16/11 Philadelphia Inquirer: "Oh wins at-large seat on Philadelphia City Council,"
By Miriam Hill Inquirer Staff Writer
    After more than eight years of trying and two of the most closely contested elections in Philadelphia 
history, Republican David Oh has won a seat on City Council.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/133935863.html 



11/14/11 The Cornell Daily Sun: "No Asians Need Apply,"
By Judah Bellin
    My father likes to tell a story about my grandfather, a former professor at Columbia’s school of public 
health. At a meeting with colleagues in the faculty club at Cornell Hospital, he noticed the presence of 
Jews, Italians and other ethnic groups at the table, and recalled the ugly history of ethnic discrimination 
in college and medical school admissions. “Years ago they wouldn’t admit us into this school,” he 
remarked. “Now look where we are.”
    When will Asians have this moment?
    It’s hard to deny that the admissions process is stacked against Asian students. A study on affirmative 
action by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade showed that when numerous factors are controlled for, 
Hispanic students receive a admissions boost equivalent to around 130 points on the SAT, while black 
students receive a boost of 310 points. Asian students, however, face a 140 point penalty. It was therefore 
no surprise when, after California outlawed the use of racial preferences in admissions, the representation 
of Asian Americans jumped significantly at University of California schools.
    We can’t really gauge Cornell’s role in penalizing Asian applicants, mostly because the admissions 
office is always hesitant to reveal information about minority students. However, we must pay careful 
attention to our treatment of Asian students. I do know of one former admissions officer who likes to boast 
about rejecting scores of Asians because he didn’t want them in his classes. Given the faculty 
condescension towards Asian students that I and many others have observed, it wouldn’t surprise me if 
more admissions officers acted on similar impulses.
    True, any information on this phenomenon is anecdotal. However, this will also be true years from now. 
We won’t uncover evidence of rigid quota systems, or committees tasked with addressing “the Jewish 
question,” a la Harvard and Yale in the early 20th century. I suspect, though, that future interviews with 
former admissions officers will reveal that “the Asian question” — what to do about massive numbers of 
qualified Asian applicants? — has been both a persistent worry and a major factor in admissions 
decisions.
    Such subtle discrimination would be consistent with Cornell’s history. We never instituted a rigid quota 
system for Jewish students; however, there was always an underlying concern that Jews might overtake 
the University due to their disproportionate success on standardized tests. Therefore, President Livingston 
Farrand asserted that though “Cornell had not adopted any general anti-Semitic rule,” it could not “permit 
itself to be so flooded by Jewish students as to kill non-Jewish attendance.” Though we do not know how 
this affected Jewish admissions at the undergraduate colleges, a similar attitude likely influenced the 
dean of Cornell’s medical school, who in 1940 described his attempt to “limit the number of Jews 
admitted to each class to roughly the proportion of Jews in the population of the state.”
    I have no doubt that admissions officers now use similar rhetoric about “flooding” with regards to Asian 
students, both at Cornell and around the country. Of course, this is not entirely unwarranted: If Cornell 
wishes to create leaders for many different segments of our society, a class of qualified students 
representing mostly one ethnic, racial, socioeconomic or political group is undesirable. However, history 
suggests that this attitude may both reflect and reinforce widely held, yet unwarranted, cultural stereotypes.
    And indeed, many members of the student body will also lump together all Asian students. This has a 
decisive impact on our social fabric. Indeed, it is no secret that many of our campus organizations — 
especially, but not exclusively, fraternities — have an unspoken fear of appearing “too Asian,” just as many
of Cornell’s fraternities, sports teams and ROTC units were careful not to accept or promote too many 
Jews in the early 20th century.
    Jewish students eventually overcame discrimination in both college admissions and campus life. 
However, their success story provides little guidance for Asian students for a few important reasons. 
The first is that Jews succeeded due to the University’s newly placed emphasis on merit, as measured 
by exam scores and grades. As Espenshade showed, Asian applicants’ merit won’t get them in the door.
    More importantly, the “Asian question” has emerged after we’ve made tremendous strides toward 
eliminating racial discrimination, and after our society has determined which minorities should benefit 
from racial preferences. Our institutions — particularly college admissions officers — have little room 
to accommodate new minority groups.
    A Chinese friend once expressed frustration with his campus organization, because, by his telling, 
at their recruitment meeting they considered their Asian applicants as interchangeable but other ethnic 
minorities as worthy of individualized attention. “I think it’s really sad,” he said, after we discussed his 
story in light of Jewish quotas. “So many Chinese parents dream of sending their kids to America, but 
they have no idea that this is happening.”
    His statement resonated deeply with me, but his subsequent point, that Asian students will continue 
applying to Cornell no matter how poorly we treat them, resonated more. In their minds, the 
opportunities represented by our institution, and by our country, outweigh any discrimination they might 
anticipate or even experience. All citizens, and all students — especially those like myself, whose 
grandparents faced similar challenges but persevered — must live up to their expectations.
    Judah Bellin is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

11/11/11 San Antonio Express:  "Candidates should pay attention to Asian Americans,"
By Esther J. Cepeda
    With less than a year until Election Day 2012, candidates for political office should be making sure they're 
not neglecting the most affluent, independent and now the fastest-growing racial group of voters simply 
because they have routinely been overlooked in past elections.
    Pity the candidates and political parties who haven't yet figured out that Asian Americans are coming 
into their own and that failing to acknowledge their rising political power may someday prove to be perilous.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Candidates-should-pay-attention-to-Asian-Americans-2262750.php#ixzz1dVbhQzwV 


11/10/11 AFP: "San Francisco elects its first Asian-American mayor,"
By Stephanie Rice
    San Francisco — A Chinese-American former city official became the first Asian-American to be elected 
mayor of San Francisco, which has one of the oldest Chinatowns in the United States, results showed.
    Interim mayor Ed Lee polled 61 percent after a second stage of counting in the city's "ranked-choice" 
voting system, in which voters choose their top three candidates, about 22 percent of his nearest rival.
    He needed 50 percent plus one vote for victory, but had not reached that in an initial count of first-
preference votes.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jlglhjHCoSNALVC7kC3dLGKErRSw?docId=CNG.d62d22c93ba4c2e61fbd1288db4c679c.1d1 


11/9/11 Boston Globe: "Wong wins third term in Fitchburg,"
by Kathy McCabe
    Mayor Lisa Wong of Fitchburg, the state’s first Asian-American woman mayor, staged a remarkable 
comeback to win reelection to a third term yesterday, and a 22-year-old political novice won a stunning 
victory to become mayor of the Western Massachusetts city of Holyoke. 
http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/11/09/wong-wins-third-term-fitchburg/nfZQc2p6fe9FNX6BXfsNYI/story.html  


11/6/11 New York Times: "In Mayoral Election, Chinese-Americans’ Growing Power Is on Display,"
    Ms. Kung moved to Grant in 1971, a 24-year-old newlywed with $50 in her pocket.
    “We came with nothing and just wanted to make money; we never thought of politics,” said Ms. Kung, 
smiling. “But 10 years ago, when China began growing strong, I thought maybe we would have a Chinese 
mayor soon.”
    On Tuesday, that day will most likely arrive, the realization of a major power shift in San Francisco politics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/us/in-mayoral-election-chinese-americans-growing-power-is-on-display.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all


11/4/11 Philadelphia Inquirer: "Gary Thompson: 'Castle' helped Asian-American actors,"
    "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" didn't look like a cultural game-changer when it opened in 2004, 
but its influence has been quietly substantial.
    Starring Kal Penn and John Cho as a kind of Asian-American Hope and Crosby, the movie made a nice
pile of money - foremost by being funny, but also by quietly acknowledging our country's changing racial 
makeup.  Its two regular guy leads - red-blooded, pot-smoking, burger-craving American males - were 
Korean and Indian.
http://articles.philly.com/2011-11-04/entertainment/30359852_1_harold-and-kumar-asian-american-actors-hurwitz-and-hayden-schlossberg 
 

11/1/11 California Watch: "Among Asian Americans, educational achievements vary widely,"
by Joanna Lin
    Asian Americans overall obtain high levels of formal education, but an analysis of recent census data 
reveals large disparities between Asian American ethnic groups.
    The percentage of high school graduates is as high as 96 percent among Taiwanese Americans and as 
low as 61 percent among Hmong Americans, according to a report released last week by the Asian 
American Center for Advancing Justice. 
http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/among-asian-americans-educational-achievements-vary-widely-13355 

10/28/11 AFP: "Asian Americans most bullied in US schools: study,"
By Shaun Tandon (AFP) – Oct 28, 2011 
    Washington — Asian Americans endure far more bullying at US schools than members of other 
ethnic groups, with teenagers of the community three times as likely to face taunts on the Internet, new 
data shows.
http://news.yahoo.com/asian-americans-most-bullied-us-schools-study-215608310.html 


10/27/11 Washington Post: "With ‘Harold & Kumar,’ Asian Americans break stereotypes,"
By Lewis Beale
    “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” is pretty much what audiences have come to expect from the 
H&K franchise. The third film in the series, which opens Friday and features the adventures of Harold Lee 
(John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn), is a stoner comedy filled with R-rated language, semi-naked 
women, scatological humor and lots of drug usage. Lots.
    But in its own raunchy way, the series also marks an interesting direction in the ways Asian Americans 
are depicted on-screen. Harold and Kumar are just regular middle-class Americans, with non-Asian 
girlfriends (in this film, Harold is married to a Latina), and are not in any way related to the Asian male 
stereotypes that have proliferated on-screen for years: the sexless nerd, martial artist or Chinese 
delivery guy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/with-harold-and-kumar-asian-americans-break-stereotypes/2011/10/20/gIQAaoVgMM_story.html 


10/26/11 Los Angeles Times "Asian Americans now country's fastest growing racial group,"  
    Increased immigration from South Asia helped fuel the rapid growth in the number of Asian Americans 
over the last decade as well as an influx of Asians to states such as Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina and 
Georgia, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data released Wednesday.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/asian-americans-now-countrys-fastest-growing-racial-group.html 



10/26/11 New America Media: "Asian Americans have a higher poverty rate than non-Hispanic Whites,"
By Andrew Lam  
Press release from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights on Asian American Poverty 
report 
    In 2010, Asian Americans have a higher poverty rate than non-Hispanic Whites. Almost 12 percent of 
Asian Americans live in poverty, higher than the 9.9 percent rate of poverty among non-Hispanic whites.
    Asian Americans as a group have lower-than-average poverty rates, but several Asian nationalities have 
higher than- average rates of poverty. The poverty rate among Hmongs is 37.8 percent, among 
Cambodians 29.3 percent, among Laotians 18.5 percent, and among Vietnamese 16.6 percent.
    Asian American seniors are especially affected by poverty. Asian American seniors age 65 and over 
suffer from a poverty rate of 12.3 percent. This is higher than the national average for seniors, which stands
at 9.9 percent, and the rate for non-Hispanic whites, which stands at 7.8 percent.
    The Northeast and Great Lakes regions have especially high rates of Asian American poverty. 
New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania have some of the highest poverty rates among Asian 
Americans in the country, at 15.5 percent, 14.7 percent, and 14.8 percent, respectively. The Northeast is 
also home to some of the largest Asian American populations in the United States.
    In 2010, 15.6 percent of Asian American children under the age of 5 lived in poverty.  
    For more info go to: www.civilrights.org 


10/7/11 Fortune: "Is there a 'bamboo ceiling' at U.S. companies?"
By Anne Fisher, contributor
    Few Asian Americans have made it to the top of the corporate ladder at Fortune 500 companies despite 
the minority group's outsize achievements. Why is that?
    Fortune -- Dear Annie: I just got passed over for yet another promotion, the third one in five years, even 
though I've been working flat-out and all my performance evaluations have been great. This is upsetting, but 
perhaps not surprising, considering that I am Asian American (third-generation Chinese) and there is no 
one of Asian extraction in any high position at this company. I hate to "play the race card," but given the 
circumstances, I can't help wondering if there is some subtle race discrimination at work here. What are 
your thoughts? — Invisible Man
http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/10/07/asian-americans-promotion-us-companies/?section=magazines_fortune  
 


10/7/11 press release: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary: 
"President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts,"
    Washington – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals 
to key Administration posts:
• May Y. Chen - Member, President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
• Tung Thanh Nguyen - Member, President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
• Apolo Anton Ohno - Member, President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
    May Y. Chen is an adjunct professor at the City University of New York, where she has taught labor 
studies courses and coordinated labor exchanges with Asia for the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker 
Education and Labor Studies since 2009. Previously, Ms. Chen was the International Union Vice President 
for Workers United, Service Employees International Union in 2009. She served as the International Union 
Vice President of UNITE HERE from 1999 to 2009, and Local 23-25 Manager and New York Metropolitan 
Area Joint Board Secretary-Treasurer from 2004 to 2009. In her time at UNITE HERE, Ms. Chen held a 
number of positions, including Assistant/Associate Manager from 1997 to 2004 and Assistant Director and 
Director of the Education Department from 1989 to 1997. From 1970 to 1979, she was an adjunct professor
and teacher at several schools and universities in California, including the University of California at Los 
Angeles and California State University at Long Beach. Ms. Chen is a Founding Member of the Asian 
Pacific American Labor Alliance and continues to serve on its New York Chapter Board. She also serves 
as Board President of the New York State Immigrant Action Fund. She holds an A.B. in East Asian Studies 
from Harvard/Radcliffe College and an M.A. in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles.
    Dr. Tung Thanh Nguyen is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), 
where he provides medical care to a diverse patient population and teaches clinicians. He also serves as 
Director of the Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project and Principal Investigator of the Asian 
American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training at UCSF, and in this role conducts 
research in health care prevention for Asian Americans. He has worked on studies to increase breast, 
cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer screening among Asian Americans as well as on tobacco use 
among Asian Americans. Dr. Nguyen was the volunteer Chair of the Asian American and Pacific Islander 
Team of the American Cancer Society in California. In 2002, he was awarded the American Cancer 
Society Control Career Development Award for his outstanding work in primary care and research. 
Dr. Nguyen holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Harvard University and an M.D. from the Stanford School 
of Medicine.
    Apolo Anton Ohno is an American short-track speed skating competitor, an eight-time medalist in the 
Winter Olympics, a 12-time National Champion, and America’s most decorated winter Olympian. He was 
named the U.S. Speedskating's Athlete of the Year for 2003 and was a 2002, 2003, and 2006 finalist for
the Sullivan Award, which recognizes the best amateur athlete in the U.S. In addition, Mr. Ohno has been 
very involved in philanthropic activities, including participating in the Global AIDS Program (GAP) 
campaign to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, The Salvation Army, the Ronald McDonald House, 
and Nikkei Concerns, an organization that provides assistance to Japanese elders. In 2002, Mr. Ohno 
helped Senator Ted Kennedy launch the "Math Moves U Hippest Homework Happening" program, which
gave students the opportunity to do math homework online with celebrities and athletes. Mr. Ohno is also 
a global ambassador for the Special Olympics.



10/4/11 Wall Street Journal: "Groups propose 'unity map' for NYC redistricting,"
    Associated Press New York — Civil rights groups working to protect the voting rights of blacks, Latinos 
and Asian Americans say they have a vision for redrawing state legislative districts in the city to reflect 
the demographic changes of their communities.
    Calling it a "unity map" for new state Assembly and state Senate districts, the groups unveiled a proposal
Tuesday in a bid to shape the debate surrounding how election lines are redrawn.
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP7782abae77ef4b628f366457642b34d1.html 



10/1/11 New America Media: "Cal’s Pay-by-Race Bake Sale Gets Yawn from Asian Students,"
by Denise Chan
    Berkeley, Calif. -- The debate over colorblind admissions policies in California’s four-year public colleges is heating up again.
    The passage of Prop. 209, the anti-affirmative action initiative passed by state voters in 1996, prohibited public institutions from considering race, sex or ethnicity.
    SB 185, one of hundreds of bills currently before Gov. Jerry Brown awaiting his signature, would once again allow public universities to consider race and other factors in admitting students.
    Tensions heated up on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley this week as the Berkeley College Republicans held a controversial bake sale to protest SB 185. The so-called “Increase Diversity Bake Sale” priced baked goods by race with white makes charged the highest price ($2 per item) and Native Americans charged the least (a quarter per item). The pay-by-race bake sale drew criticism from many campus groups.
    Asian Americans, asked to pay the second highest price for baked goods ($1.50 per item), were mostly quiet during Tuesday’s event.
    David Ding, a third-year student, commented on the lack of Asian Americans taking sides on the issue.
    "Well, I mean, where they at? [You don't see them around]... but they're a majority race on campus,” he said.
    Henry Der, former deputy superintendent of the California Department of Education and former executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, believed the current crop of Asian American students at UC Berkeley did not have a strong voice on the bake sale or on SB-185 because they did not grow up at a time when affirmative action was being considered or implemented.
    He said Hispanic and African American students are passionate about this issue because they do not see themselves as well represented on the campus as their Asian peers are.
    Behind the Theater Rice (UC Berkeley’s Modern Asian American Theatre) table, Tiffany Chiao, a senior, continued surfing the web and ignoring the loud protests as Ashley Gau, a second-year student, returned to their table munching on a cookie that she said she “got for free” by telling the sellers “I was Native American.”
    While Asian American students arguably have the most at stake with the measure, their voices have largely been absent from the debate on it.
    Here, at the University of California’s most elite campus, admissions policies in the era after Prop. 209 have been a big boon to Asian Americans.
    The group, which accounted for about a third of UC Berkeley’s student body in 1995, grew to slightly more than 40 percent of the student population last year.
    In 1995, blacks made up about 7 percent of the campus’ student body, whites made up about a third, Asian Americans (including Filipinos and South Asians) also made up a third, and Latinos/Chicanos made up roughly 18 percent.
    In 2010, the racial/ethnic breakdown of the student body is roughly 3.7 percent for blacks, 32 percent for whites, 41 percent for Asians and 14.8 percent for Latinos/Chicanos.
    But admissions data show that, university-wide, the percentage of Asian Americans admitted to the university stayed nearly the same – about 33 percent -- from 1995 to 2010.
    Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) executive vice president Christopher Alabastro speculates that the lack of Asian American voice reflects their mixed views on this issue.
    “We are all students of color,” he said, in a phone interview. “But because of our [large] numbers, some feel that affirmative action would reverse the number of Asian Americans [admitted to UC].”
    Alabastro said his views on affirmative action changed when he examined his own privileged background.
    “Prior to Berkeley, I was against affirmative action,” he said. “I thought everything should be based on merit... but I realize that was because I came from a background of privilege... I wanted to have that pride of working hard and making it into college on my own. But [I realize now], I have to put aside that pride because a lot of students have had different struggles.”
    Sydney Fang, ASUC senator and co-author of the ASUC bill in support of SB 185, emphasized that AB 185 is not    proposing affirmative action; there is no quota or extra point due to racial preferencing mentioned in the bill. Rather, the difference is its rhetoric. During a phone interview, Fang said that the bill calls for factors such as race, gender, and socioeconomic factors to be taken into consideration during the admissions process. This, she claims, in contrast to racial preferencing, allows for a broadening of criteria and an increased sensitivity towards understanding how different factors affect one another.
    Fang says that the category “Asian Amercian” doesn’t offer a fine grain look at how subgroups are faring under current admission policies.
    “On paper, [it states that there are] 46 percent Asian and Pacific Islanders... but if you look further,
Pacific Islanders are very underrepresented,” Fang said.
    Klein Liu, a 4th year tech director of the California College Democrats, asserts: “This policy will not directly benefit [Asian Americans]. You are supporting this policy to stand in solidarity with your fellow
students of color.”
    But, not all students voiced support for SB 185.
    Jay Reddy and Gina Youn, two freshmen from Pleasanton, sat by the bake sale eating lunch. Both said they disagreed with the principles behind affirmative action.
    Reddy compared affirmative action to the forced caste diversity demanded within the Indian government.
    "It's kind of the same thing... [because it's forced], the standards are lowered; it's not fair."
    "I don't support this either,” Gina said. “Affirmative action sets races against each other."


9/23/11 Miami Herald: "Obama makes potentially historic pick for 9th Circuit,"
By Michael Doyle (McClatchy Newspapers)
    Senate Republicans balked the last time President Barack Obama nominated an Asian-American 
from California to a prominent bench seat, which some conservatives considered a stepping stone to 
the Supreme Court.
    Now, with the nomination of Los Angeles-based U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen 
to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Obama and GOP lawmakers will get another chance to either fight 
or reconcile over a potentially historic appointment.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/23/2421733/obama-makes-potentially-historic.html
 


9/22/11 Rafu Shrimpo: "Asian American Republican Elected Officials Gather at GOP Convention,"
    Asian population growth in California is outpacing Hispanic growth by a staggering increase of more 
than 1.4 million Asians in 2009 in Los Angeles alone, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Underscoring the 
rising influence of Asian voters is the tendency of this ethnic group to be more sympathetic to Republican 
policies on two fronts — fiscal and social issues — which highlights their potential as swing voters, 
according to data from a Los Angeles Times and USC poll in November 2010.
    “Dozens of Asian American Republicans have done the hard work to get elected to local offices across 
the state,” said State Board of Equalization Vice Chair Michelle Park Steel, the highest-ranking Republican 
in California government and the nation’s highest-ranking Korean American office-holder. “It’s time to get 
to know more about our future party leaders.”
    In a first-of-its kind gathering, Asian American Republican elected officials met with party leaders at the 
California Republican Party Convention on Sept. 17 at the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. Live to 
collaborate as a team and grow the party across the state.
    Featured speakers included five mayors, two county supervisors, eight city council members, school 
board members and commissioners, as well as new candidates for public office from the Korean, Chinese, 
Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, and Indian American communities.
    The U.S. Census also found that the state leads the nation with the largest number of Asian-owned firms 
at 509,097 (32.9 percent of all such firms), with receipts of $181.9 billion (35.8 percent of all Asian-owned 
firm receipts).
    Further, there were 1.4 million Asians (self-identified as Asian alone or in combination with one or more 
other races) in Los Angeles County in 2009, which topped the nation’s counties.
    “Intact families, the entrepreneurial spirit and superior education contributes to making Asian Americans 
a most promising permanent ally for conservatives,” added Steel, who hosted the event with her husband, 
Shawn Steel, former CRP chair and current Republican National Committee member.
Participants (Partial List)
Ling Ling Chang, mayor pro tem of Diamond Bar
Henry Charoen, mayor pro tem of La Palma
Carol Chen, mayor of Cerritos
Betty Tom Chu, mayor of Monterey Park
Tyler Diep, mayor pro tem of Westminster
Jeremy Yamaguchi, mayor pro tem of Placentia
Steve Hwangbo, councilmember of La Palma
Allen Ishida, supervisor of Tulare County
Janet Nguyen, supervisor of Orange County
Warren Kusumoto, councilmember of Los Alamitos
Alan Nakanishi, councilmember of Lodi and former California Assembly member
Miller Oh, councilmember of Buena Park
Peter Ohtaki, councilmember of Menlo Park
Tri Ta, councilmember of Westminster
Michael Vo, councilmember of Fountain Valley
Sophia Tse, board member of ABC Unified School District, Cerritos
Naresh Solanki, member of Cerritos Planning Commission
Chuong Vo, member of Cerritos Planning Commission
Ricky Gill, candidate for 9th Congressional District (San Joaquin County, 
east Contra Costa County and south Sacramento County)


9/22/11 Los Angeles Times: "Asian American groups enter fight over L.A. County supervisor districts;
A coalition of Asian Pacific Islander groups backs a plan by Supervisor Don Knabe, joining opponents 
of two proposals seeking to create a second Latino-majority district on the five-member board.
By Rong-Gong Lin II
    A coalition of Asian Pacific Islander groups waded into the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' 
political redistricting fight Wednesday, backing a plan by member Don Knabe, a white Republican from 
Cerritos they say has supported them.
    By siding with Knabe, the groups joined opponents of two proposals seeking to create a second 
Latino-majority district on the five-member board. Such plans would undercut Asian American influence 
in county government, they argued.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-county-redistricting-asians-20110922,0,1454599.story 


9/21/11 New America Media: "Asian GOP Officials Ascend -- With Little Republican Help,"
by Angilee Shah
http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2011/09/asian-gop-officials-ascend-little-republican-help
    Asian Republican politicians holding local offices around California want to increase their number. 
They met during the Republican Fall Convention in downtown Los Angles last Saturday to discuss how 
the GOP can help candidates get elected and court Asian American voters.
    The Asian American population has grown 46 percent since 2000, making it the fastest growing race 
in the country, with the largest population residing in California.
    The Asian Republican Leadership Conference, convened by State Board of Equalization Vice Chair 
Michelle Park Steel, brought together officials who were, by and large, elected without the Republican 
Party's help. The meeting included five mayors, two county supervisors, eight council members, school 
board members and commissioners, and several candidates for local offices.
    “People Forget They’re Republicans”
    "I wanted leaders to see that Asian Americans are the future of the Republican Party in California," 
Steel said. "People forget that [these officials] are Republicans because elections on the local level are 
nonpartisan."
    Tom Del Beccaro, who chairs the California Republican Party, said Asian Americans share 
conservative values, such as traditional families and smaller government. But the GOP has not done a 
good job communicating with Asian American communities.
    "Frankly, I didn't even know these people were Republicans," said Monterey Park Mayor Betty Tom Chu,
referring to other Asian elected officials who attended the conference. "Now that we know, we cannot wait
until the next Republican convention. We need to show our communities that we do not just elect Asians 
for Asians. We elect Republicans for Republican values."
    The Republican Party is facing an uphill battle with Asian American voters in the state. In last year's 
gubernatorial race, 61 percent of Asian American voters chose Democrat Jerry Brown and 37 percent 
voted for Republican Meg Whitman, according to a 2010 post-election USC Dornsife College/Los 
Angeles Times poll. Democratic US Senator Barbara Boxer drew 60 percent of Asian American voters 
chose, while GOP candidate Carly Fiorina garnered 34 percent.
    Asian American voters' attitudes toward taxes and budgets are mixed and sometimes inconsistent. 
In a July 2011 USC Dornsife College/Los Angeles Times poll, 58 percent of Asian American voters were 
in favor of giving local governments the authority to raise taxes on specific items with a majority vote.
    In the 2010 post-election poll, 52 percent of Asian Americans said that Gov. Brown's top priority should 
be protecting education and health care, but slightly over half also said the state should address its 
budget deficit by decreasing spending instead of hiking taxes.
    On immigration, 71 percent of Asian voters support granting citizenship to those who entered the 
country illegally as children and have completed a certain level of education or military service. 
Overall, 75 percent of California voters share this view, according to the 2010 post-election poll.
    Asian Americans are in favor, 48-43 percent, of denying undocumented immigrants taxpayer-supported
social services, compared to 47 percent of whites and 35 percent of Latinos, who favor such a policy.
    Room for GOP Improvement
    Lodi city council member Alan Nakanishi and other GOP conference attendees, at times battling the 
cheers of presidential candidate Ron Paul supporters next door, said the conference showed Asians that
they can run for office as Republicans and find support.
    Tyler Diep, Mayor Pro Tem of Westminster, said, "there is room for improvement" for diversity in the 
Republican Party: "We need a lot more of Michelle Steels in this Party, in the state," he said, referring to 
the state Board of Equalization official.
    "I am asking California Republican Party to step up," said Michael Vo, of the Fountain Valley city council.
    Data from the 2010 Census show that 17.3 million Americans, 5.6 million of whom live in California, 
identify as Asian or partly Asian.
    The 2008 National Asian American Survey projects that Asian Americans will make up 10 percent of 
the United States population by 2060. The survey also revealed that the Asian American vote is up for 
grabs; more than half are nonpartisan and identify with neither Democrats nor Republicans. In 2008, 
3.4 million Asians voted in the presidential election, according to Census data.
    Angilee Shah is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist who writes about globalization and politics.
You can read more of her work at www.angileeshah.com. 


9/21/11 www.politico.com: "Obama to see Asian American caucus"
by: Amie Parnes
    President Barack Obama will meet with members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American 
Caucus at the White House on Friday, his first sit-down with the group since taking office, White House 
and Congressional aides say.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64094.html 


9/19/11 San Francisco Chronicle: "Asian American SF political clout grows,"
by John Wildermuth
    It's no surprise that David Chiu, Ed Lee and Leland Yee are pushing their campaigns for mayor in the 
city's Asian neighborhoods. But it's the Chinese-language literature put out by Tony Hall, Joanna Rees 
and virtually every other candidate for San Francisco's top job that highlights the growing political clout 
of the city's Asian American community.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/18/MN7U1L56DI.DTL  



9/16/11 Center for Equal Opportunity: "Racial Preferences in Wisconsin,"
by Linda Chavez 
    The campus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison erupted this week after the release of two 
studies documenting the heavy use of race in deciding which students to admit to the undergraduate
and law schools. The evidence of discrimination is undeniable, and the reaction by critics was 
undeniably dishonest and thuggish.
    The Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO), which I founded in 1995 to expose and challenge 
misguided race-based public policies, conducted the studies based on an analysis of the university's
own admissions data. But the university was none too keen on releasing the data, which CEO 
obtained through filing Freedom of Information Act requests only after a successful legal challenge 
went all the way to the state supreme court.
    It's no wonder the university wanted to keep the information secret. The studies show that a black 
or Hispanic undergraduate applicant was more than 500 times likelier to be admitted to Wisconsin-
Madison than a similarly qualified white or Asian applicant. The odds ratio favoring black law school 
applicants over similarly qualified white applicants was 61 to 1.
    The median SAT scores of black undergraduates who were admitted were 150 points lower than
whites or Asians, while the median Hispanic scores were roughly 100 points lower. And median 
high school rankings for both blacks and Hispanics were also lower than for either whites or Asians.
    CEO has published studies of racial double standards in admissions at scores of public colleges
and universities across the country with similar findings, but none has caused such a violent reaction.
    Instead of addressing the findings of the study, the university's vice provost for diversity, Damon 
A. Williams, dishonestly told students that "CEO has one mission and one mission only: dismantle 
the gains that were achieved by the civil rights movement." In fact, CEO's only mission is to promote
color-blind equal opportunity so that, in Martin Luther King's vision, no one will be judged by the color
of his or her skin.
    Egged on by inflammatory comments by university officials, student groups organized a flashmob
via a Facebook page that was filled with propaganda and outright lies about CEO wanting to dismantle
their student groups. More than a hundred angry students stormed the press conference at the 
Doubletree Hotel in Madison, where CEO president Roger Clegg was releasing the study.
    The hotel management described what took place in a press statement afterward: "Unfortunately, 
when escorting meeting attendees out of the hotel through a private entrance, staff were then rushed by
a mob of protestors, throwing employees to the ground. The mob became increasingly physically violent
when forcing themselves into the meeting room where the press conference had already ended, filling 
it over fire-code capacity. Madison police arrived on the scene after the protestors had stormed the hotel."
    But the outrageous behavior didn't end there -- and it wasn't just students but also faculty who engaged
in disgraceful conduct. Later the same day of the press conference, Clegg debated UW law professor 
Larry Church on campus. The crowd booed, hissed, and shouted insults, continuously interrupting 
Clegg during the debate.
    Having used Facebook to organize the flashmob, students and some faculty extended their use of 
social media and tweeted the debate live. Even with Twitter's 140-character limit, you'd think participants
would be able to come up with something more substantive than the repeated use of the label "racist" 
to describe Clegg and his arguments against racial double standards, but hundreds of tweets exhibited 
little more than hysterical rants and personal attacks.
    Perhaps the most offensive tweet was posted by Sara Goldrick-Rab, an associate professor of 
educational policy studies and sociology. After announcing that she was "Getting set to live blog this debate
between a racist and a scholar," she tweeted that Clegg sounded "like the whitest white boy I've ever heard."
The only racism in evidence came from the defenders of the university's race-based admissions policies, 
such as Professor Goldrick-Rab.
    You'd think that a responsible university would denounce the intimidation and lack of civility by its 
students and faculty. Instead, Vice Provost Williams told the student newspaper, "I'm most excited about 
how well the students represented themselves, the passion with which they engaged, the respectful tone in 
how they did it and the thoughtfulness of their questions and interactions."
    It appears that not only are the university's admissions policies deeply discriminatory, but also that 
university officials applaud name-calling, distortion and outright physical assault.
    Linda Chavez is the author of "An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal."


9/15/11 Inside Higher Ed: SAT Scores Drop, except for Asian Americans
    Gaps are also evident by racial and ethnic group. Asian Americans continue to show gains -- even as 
this year other groups do not. Over the last three years, the combined average scores of Asian American 
test takers have gone up by 30 points, while every other group showed declines.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/09/15/sat_scores_drop_and_college_board_introduces_new_benchmark


9/12/11 New York Daily News: "Chinese immigrant Vietnam War vet Fang Wong becomes head of 
American Legion veterans association,"
BY Daniel Beekman
    When Fang Wong left Hong Kong as a kid to live and toil in a Harlem Laundromat 50 years ago, he never 
dreamed he'd become the most important veterans' advocate in the United States.
    But on Sept. 1, the Chinese immigrant was elected National Commander of the American Legion, a mutual 
aid organization 2.4 million-vets strong.
    "I feel humble and honored," said Wong, 63, a gray-haired Vietnam vet with an easy smile. "I really don't 
feel different. I'm still me - I want to do my utmost to help however I can."
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/uptown/2011/09/12/2011-09-12_his_achievements_are_legiondary.html
 

9/9/11 AsianWeek.com "Remembering the Chinese American Heroes of 9/11,"
by Michael Kwan and Philip Chin
    San Francisco: It’s been ten years since September 11, 2001, when more than 3,000 innocent 
civilians perished.
    We would like to acknowledge the hundreds of brave men and women, police, firefighters, emergency 
workers, and individuals of many backgrounds and ethnicities who risked and sadly lost their lives 
among thousands of others on that fateful day so that others might live. Among those brave people were
four Chinese Americans heroes whose stories are rarely heard in the media, two of whom perished and
two of whom survived that day.
    Mrs. Betty Ong : Flight Attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, Age 45
    Ms. Betty Ong lost her life on the first of four aircraft which were hijacked on the morning of 9/11. 
Despite terrifying circumstances, Ong’s calm and collected reporting provided crucial information that 
gave the first clues to the identification of the hijackers.Your browser may not support display of this image.
    She hid and locked herself in a toilet stall after the hijacking, called air traffic controllers, and with the 
help of fellow flight attendants described in detail, everything occurring on American Airlines Flight 11
in its last 23 minutes in the air. Her phone call led the FAA to shutdown federal airspace for the first time
in US history.
    8:19 AM: Ong reported, “The cockpit is not answering, somebody’s stabbed in business class– and 
I think there’s mace– that we can’t breathe–I don’t know, I think we’re being hijacked.”
    Her continued conversation included details of the vacated seat locations of the four hijackers, which
established a correlation between the hijackers of the other aircraft. 911 Commission Chairman Thomas
Kean declared that “Betty Ong was a true American hero.”
    Flight 11 crash into the World Trade Center North Tower on 8:46 AM. Betty Wong grew up in San 
Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood, graduating from George Washington High School in 1974. 
The first four minutes of Betty Ong‘s call can be heard here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icfkIH3j-nk 
    Mr. Zhe “Zack” Zeng : Emergency Medical Technician, Age 29
    Zhe “Zack” Zeng’s final moments were caught by a Fox TV camera, revealing his last heroic and 
selfless acts. While many in the streets had fled from the stricken buildings, Zack, who had recently 
completed his Emergency Medical Training, had put himself in harm’s way to help victims, and became 
one himself.
    The Fox TV camera caught Zack rendering aid to an injured woman on a stretcher before the South 
Tower collapsed.
    It was the last image of Zack alive. Weeks later, Zack’s stunned Mom noticed Zack on TV and 
identified her son to the media. Seeing her son on TV was the first confirmation to her that he was dead.
Days later, Zack’s DNA was recovered and identified giving absolute confirmation of his death in the 
World Trade Center.
    In recognition of his voluntary heroism a special day was selected to honor Zack. On that day the 
Governor of New York, the Mayor of New York City, and thousands of New York citizens honored young
Zack Zeng with a memorial service and by changing one block of Bayard Street in downtown Manhattan
to Zack Zeng Way.
    “It didn’t surprise anybody who knew him,” said Peggy Farrell, Zhe’s supervisor. “He was a completely
selfless person – he was just someone who would automatically volunteer his assistance. To me, it was 
a truly heroic display. Running towards the smoke and ash, he knew there were many that needed his skills.”
    Zhe “Zack” Zheng emigrated to the US with his parents in the late 1980s from Guangzhou, China. He 
was a member of the Brighton Volunteer Ambulance and a project manager at the Bank of New York.
    Mr. Isaac Ho’ipi’i: Pentagon Police officer (survivor)
    Officer Isaac Ho’ipi’i put his own life at risk to save 15 others on 9/11. As one of the first responders 
to the burning Pentagon building, Isaac plunged into the toxic inferno and led or carried out more than 
15 injured people to safety (12 survived). He returned repeatedly until it was too dangerous to re-enter.
To this day, Isaac wishes he had re-entered to save more lives, and says he isn’t a hero.
    Isaac Ho’ipi’i is from Hawaii and is of mixed blood, with Native Hawaiian, Chinese, and Portuguese 
ancestry. He was last reported with lung problems attributed to his 15 rescue missions in the fiery and 
smoking hole in the Pentagon. Mr. Ho’ipi’i was honored by the Pentagon and White House with the 
Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest honor a public safety officer can receive and the 
equivalent of the military’s Medal of Honor.
    David Lim, New York /New Jersey Port Authority Police Officer (survivor)
    Officer David Lim was a member of the K-9 team working with a trained explosives sniffer canine. 
Officer Lim was in the basement of World Trade Center North Tower when it was struck by American 
Airlines flight 11, the hijacked plane that carried Betty Ong.
    Leaving his canine in his basement kennel, Mr. Lim had climbed up 44 flights of stairs to evacuate
survivors, and was working his way downwards when WTC South Tower was hit, shattering all the 
windows and injuring those around him. Using his structural firefighting and elevator evacuation training,
he and a dozen firefighters guided hundreds of victims down and out of the building to safety.
    Before he could complete his own escape while escorting an elderly and handicapped woman with 
several firefighters, the North Tower collapsed. Miraculously, they all survived the collapse, and five 
hours later, managed to find their way out of the ruins of the World Trade Center.
    “The reason we took this job is because people needed our help,” he said. “I did my job well that 
day, but I don’t know if I’m a hero. I think the people who died that day were heroes,” explained Mr. Lim.
    Mr. Lim was honored at a special ceremony in New York City. Since 9/11, Lim has become the 
executive director for Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and role model for Asian Americans 
interested in law enforcement. At Camp Saejong in northern New Jersey, a program for young Korean-
Americans, camp co-director Lindy Galver said the campers connected to Lim on the fact that he was 
“an average man who rose to an extraordinary challenge.”
    We can see from these four stories that when there is real crisis, there are many bystanders and 
then there are heroes. On this ten year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, let’s recognize that there are 
heroes among ordinary Americans of all backgrounds, Chinese Americans among them.
    For additional information about Chinese American heroes, please visit the Chinese American 
Heroes website at www.chineseamericanheroes.org.


9/9/11 AFP: "Fox Sports cancels show over Asian criticism": 
    Los Angeles — Fox Sports has canceled a college sports program and apologized to Asians after 
a video report on the show was criticized for making fun of Asian students' accents and knowledge.
    In "The College Experiment" segment, filmed on the University of Southern California (USC) campus, 
a presenter questions random Asian American students about college football, which they apparently 
know little about.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gWQCE6f5YuPwTOaNU6pl0JN7UFog?docId=CNG.8829b1c45c2bc379aa7f0f9e25749f3e.b71 
 

9/7/11 Associated Press: "Top of Chinese wealthy's wish list? To leave China,"
by Louise Watt
    Beijing (AP) — Chinese millionaire Su builds skyscrapers in Beijing and is one of the people powering 
China's economy on its path to becoming the world's biggest.
    He sits at the top of a country — economy booming, influence spreading, military swelling — widely 
expected to dominate the 21st century.
    Yet the property developer shares something surprising with many newly rich in China: he's looking 
forward to the day he can leave.
    Su's reasons: He wants to protect his assets, he has to watch what he says in China and wants a second
child, something against the law for many Chinese.
http://news.yahoo.com/top-chinese-wealthys-wish-list-leave-china-065826880.html


9/3/11 Pasadena Star News: "Race heats up in San Gabriel Valley's Asian Assembly District,"
By Beige Luciano-Adams
    Pasadena - With the ink barely dry on California's legislative redistricting maps, competition for the 
San Gabriel Valley's new Asian influence Assembly District began heating up early. 
    Candidates won't file until February for the 2012 race - but the first several have been vying to distinguish 
themselves in a pool thick with relatively young, Democratic, local elected officials. 
    But the landscape changed suddenly when state Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Alhambra, who currently 
holds the seat, and his wife, Rep. Judy Chu, D-El Monte, announced their support for Montebello School 
Board member Edwin Chau on Wednesday. 
    El Monte Union High School District board member John Tran is also running.  Councilman Mitchell Ing 
is expected to run, but declined to comment.  
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_18820611



8/31/11 press release: "NAPABA Applauds the Confirmation of Goodwin Liu as Associate Justice of 
the California Supreme Court,"
    Washington - Today, the three-member panel of the California Commission on Judicial Appointments 
unanimously confirmed Professor Goodwin H. Liu's nomination to the California Supreme Court. He will be 
sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California tomorrow in Sacramento by Governor 
Jerry Brown. The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association congratulates Professor Liu on his 
confirmation.
    "Professor Liu was an exceptional nominee, and he will be an exemplary justice of the California Supreme 
Court," stated Paul O. Hirose, president of NAPABA. "We applaud the California Commission on Judicial 
Appointments and the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission for running a thorough, fair, and timely 
process."
    Professor Liu is a nationally recognized scholar in the areas of education and constitutional law at the 
University of California Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), where he has taught since 2003. He was born 
in Augusta, Georgia, where his parents were living as doctors recruited from Taiwan to work in underserved 
areas. He received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford 
University, and received his law degree from Yale University School of Law. Professor Liu's interest in 
public service and the law was sparked when he served as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives, 
thanks to the sponsorship of the late Congressman Robert Matsui.
    NAPABA is proud to have supported Professor Liu's nomination and looks forward to his tenure on the 
California Supreme Court. NAPABA thanks Governor Brown's for nominating Professor Liu, who is his first 
Asian Pacific American state high court nominee.



8/28/11 San Francisco Chronicle: "Dem snub for mayor rouses Asians,"
by Heather Knight
    The Asian media and some leaders in the Chinese community have not taken kindly to the San 
Francisco Democrats spurning all of the Asian American candidates for mayor - and are calling it a 
wake-up call that claiming Room 200 for the first time isn't a given.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/27/BAKQ1KRC3U.DTL&type=politics 


8/21/11 Philippine Daily Inquirer: " Invisible no more,"
by Rina Jimenez-David
    Filipino-Americans, or Filipinos in the United States, were once labeled the “model minority,” not
only because they tended to blend in with the general American population, but also because they 
tended to subsume their own ethnicity to the dominant white culture, never raising their profile, or 
creating noise or disturbance, or carving out their own enclave, unlike the Chinese, Koreans, 
Vietnamese and of course the Latinos (which is not a homogeneous culture either) and the 
African-Americans.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/10341/invisible-no-more 

8/20/11 The Economist: "The decline of Asian marriage. Asia's lonely hearts.
Women are rejecting marriage in Asia. The social implications are serious,"
http://www.economist.com/node/21526350 

8/18/11 Hyphen Magazine: "California's First Asian Majority Legislative District,"
by Daniela Gerson
    The new boundaries for State Assembly District 49. From www.redrawca.org 
    This story originally appeared in the Alhambra Source.
    The West San Gabriel Valley may soon be home to the first majority Asian American state or federal 
electoral district in California. On Monday new Congressional and state district maps were adopted, 
which are scheduled to go into effect in January. According to the redrawn boundaries, the 49th 
Assembly District, which includes Alhambra, would be just over half Asian.
http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2011/08/californias-first-asian-majority-legislative-district 


8/18/11 politico.com: "Newt pitches Asian appeal in Calif."
By: Kendra Marr
    Newt Gingrich has determined that the Asian vote will help win him the Republican 
primaries, so he headed to California to lock it up.
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=EC88F52C-EA4B-4D74-96D9-9DC4CEF97E9C 


8/17/11 New York Times: "Photo Turns U.S. Envoy Into a Lesson for Chinese,"
By Edward Wong
    Beijing — The word on the street these days, whether in Washington or Beijing, is that the
United States is on the decline and China is on the ascent. But it has taken nothing more 
than a cup of coffee and a backpack to show that American officials can still evoke awe, 
respect and envy among Chinese, even if unwittingly. 
    A photograph taken last Friday of Gary F. Locke, the new United States ambassador to 
China, buying coffee with his 6-year-old daughter and carrying a black backpack at a 
Starbucks in the Seattle airport has gone viral on the Chinese Internet. The seemingly banal 
scene has bewildered and disarmed Chinese because they are used to seeing their own 
officials indulge in privileged lives often propped up by graft and bribery and lavish expense 
accounts. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/world/asia/18china.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
 

8/17/11 ktvu.com: "SF Mayoral Race Shows Evolution Of City Politics; Six Asian-American SF Mayoral 
Candidates Show Political Evolution,"
by Amber Lee
    San Francisco -- A political evolution is underway in San Francisco. Only two decades ago, the city saw 
an Asian-American run for mayor for the first time, but this year six candidates are of Asian heritage.
    One community leader told KTVU that in just the past week, many people in the Asian community have 
been asking for voter registration cards, suddenly excited about going to the ballot box in November.
    The city's Richmond District is often referred to as the second Chinatown. But the neighborhood is first 
when it comes to gauging mayoral races. As one political expert put it, however the Richmond votes in a 
mayor's race, so goes the rest of the city.
    Five of the current Asian-American mayoral candidates are also current office holders. They participated 
in Tuesday night's mayoral forum at UCSF's Mission Bay Conference Center.
    The five are interim Mayor Ed Lee, State Senator Leland Yee, Board of Supervisors President David 
Chiu, Assessor Phil Ting and public defender Jeff Adachi.
    Twenty years ago, then supervisor Tom Hsieh was the first Asian-American to run for SF mayor. A great
deal has changed since then.
    San Francsico State Political Science Professor David Lee said one third of the city's population is 
Asian Amercian. He explained that interest in the mayoral race in the Asian community jumped after 
Mayor Lee entered the race, followed by Adachi.
    "We've gotten a community that for many, many years was seen as a sleeping dragon of sf politics," 
said Lee.
    Professor Lee predicts a record turnout among Asian voters in November. He said rank choice voting 
will help the Asian candidates, because voters won't be limited to selecting just one. 


8/4/11 Northwest Asian Weekly: "Wise leaves UW, heads to Illinois,"
By Stacy Nguyen
http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2011/08/wise-leaves-uw-heads-to-illinois/
    University of Washington (UW) Provost Phyllis Wise, 66, has been named chancellor of University of 
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and vice president of the University of Illinois system. Wise, a 
Chinese American, recently served as interim president of the UW, until Michael Young took over in April.
Wise will start at UI on Oct. 1, pending approval by UI’s board of trustees at its September meeting.
    This will be the first time the campus will have a permanent chancellor in almost two years, according 
to The News-Gazette in Illinois. The two other UI campuses also have female chancellors.
    “Dr. Wise has the ‘full package,’ UI-UC President Michael Hogan said in a press release. “She is a 
proven scholar, with a deep commitment to public higher education, and has an exceptional reputation 
as a leader at some of the nation’s top universities. I couldn’t be more pleased to have her joining our 
distinguished leadership team.”
    “I am thrilled to join the University of Illinois community in the role of vice president and chancellor,” 
Wise said in the press release. 
    “The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the most respected institutions of higher 
education in the world. I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, and students, and the university’s
many external stakeholders and partners, to build on its strengths and create new opportunities for the 
university to have an even greater impact.”
    Pending board approval, Wise will also hold a tenured faculty position at UI-UC in the College of 
Liberal Arts & Sciences, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, and an appointment in the 
College of Medicine’s Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology.
    Wise will earn $500,000 annually with an additional $100,000 per year deferred and paid if she 
remains in her position for five years, according to The News-Gazette. Wise made about $535,000 at
the UW, with deferred compensation.
    Established in 1867, UI-UC is one of three UI campuses and serves about 44,000 students through
17 colleges and institutes. It has an annual operating budget of about $1.8 billion.
    Wise has served as UW Provost since 2005. She was interim president for the 2010–2011 
academic year. Previously, she was dean of the College of Biological Sciences at the University of 
California, Davis from 2002 to 2005.
    Wise earned her bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and a doctorate from the University 
of Michigan. 



7/24/11 Asian Journal: "APALC joins more than 200 other groups in critiquing controversial 
deportation program," 
    LOS ANGELES – On July 20, in a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director 
John Morton, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), a member of the Asian American 
Center for Advancing Justice, along with more than 200 civil rights organizations, law enforcement 
officials and faith leaders nationwide denounced the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) newly-
established task force on Secure Communities (S-Comm). The Asian Law Caucus, which is also a 
member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, also signed onto the letter. 
    On June 17, DHS convened a task force comprised of law enforcement officials, ICE agents and 
immigrant rights activists due to mounting criticism of S-Comm’s implementation, its negative impact 
on community policing and the civil and human rights violations caused by the program. However, the 
task force was established without public input and does not include immigrant community members. 
The task force’s scope also is limited to recommendations about minor traffic offenses, insufficient in 
scope to address the well-documented problems with the program.
    By relying on local police to enforce immigration laws against the very communities they are charged 
with protecting, S-Comm sends a clear message to the immigrant community that any contact with the 
police could lead to their deportation, making it even less likely that immigrant witnesses and victims will 
come forward.
    APALC is concerned about S-Comm given our nearly three decades of assisting immigrant women 
who are survivors of domestic violence, where fear of deportation is a significant barrier that keeps many 
women from reporting the abuse that they suffer,” said Karin Wang, Vice President of Programs and 
Communications at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. “This deportation program gives these 
victims even more reason to distrust law enforcement and not report crimes.”
    Despite ICE’s claim that the program keeps communities safe, it instead primarily served as a tool 
for meeting ICE’s deportation goals, sweeping some 400,000 immigrants into deportation proceedings 
per year – regardless of their guilt or innocence, the seriousness of their criminal background, the time 
that has passed since any criminal charges, their demonstrated rehabilitation or their community ties.
    APALC believes that the creation of the Advisory Committee falls far short of addressing the mounting 
concerns of government officials, law enforcement agents, civil and human rights organizations, and the 
public, and calls for an immediate halt of the program in order to meaningfully address the complaints 
against Secure Communities and reverse course on this flawed policy. For a copy of the letter to ICE 
Director John Morton, please visit: http://www.thenyic.org/Letter-to-Morton/SComm/7-20-11.


7/24/11 The Oregonian: "Oregon Rep. David Wu hears calls to resign after revelations of unwanted 
sexual encounter,"
By Charles Pope, Beth Slovic and Harry Esteve
    Pressure on Democratic Rep. David Wu to resign intensified Saturday as leaders in his own party 
began confronting the embattled Oregon lawmaker over allegations that he had an unwanted sexual 
encounter last Thanksgiving with a young California woman.
    Wu spent the day in private absorbing calls from party operatives and lawmakers in Oregon and 
Washington, D.C. Reaction ranged from public calls for his resignation and attacks on his character to 
more private conversation about what's next for Wu.
    The conversations were triggered by an accusation, first reported by The Oregonian on Friday, that Wu
was involved in an aggressive sexual encounter with the daughter of a longtime friend and campaign donor
in California during a visit over Thanksgiving.
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/07/oregon_rep_david_wu_hears_call.html 

7/22/11 Northwest Asian Weekly: "CAPAC members denounce explosion of anti-Chinese rhetoric in 
campaign ads,"
    On June 23, the 29th anniversary of the racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin, members of the 
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) spoke out against a growing trend of 
anti-Chinese rhetoric in political ads that use Chinese language and imagery to portray candidates as 
sympathetic to China at the expense of American interests.
    Last year, the New York Times estimated that 29 such ads were released in one week alone, and that
tens of millions of dollars have been spent on these types of attacks. The Washington Post reported that 
more than 250 anti-China ads were aired during the 2010 campaign cycle. 
    Mark Amodei, a Republican State Senator running for Congress in Nevada, released an ad that 
depicts Chinese soldiers marching on the U.S. capitol.
    Vincent Chin died on June 23, 1982, after he was brutally beaten with a baseball bat by two Detroit 
auto-workers who verbally accused him of being the reason they were out of work. The incident took place
during a period of heightened anti-Japanese sentiments when the rise of the Japanese auto-industry was 
seen as the cause of U.S. job losses. Chin, a Chinese American, was mistaken as being Japanese by his
attackers, neither of whom received any jail time for the murder.
    “More and more candidates are resorting to these cheap scare tactics to score political points,” said 
Congresswoman Judy Chu, CAPAC chairwoman. “They need to understand just how dangerous this 
language can be for Asian Pacific Americans.”
    “I am deeply disturbed by the xenophobic implications of recent political ads that use China as a 
scapegoat to discuss the U.S. economy,” said Rep. David Wu, from Oregon. “Given our country’s dark 
history of anti-Chinese discrimination — from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act to the racially-motivated 
murder of Vincent Chin exactly 100 years later — these fear-mongering ads have potentially dangerous 
consequences, especially for Asian Pacific Americans.”


7/21/11 Kansas City Star: "Study traces barriers to Asian-Americans in management,"
by Diane Stafford
McClatchy Newspapers 
    Kansas City, Mo. - Dalal. Chen. Tai. Ramanujan. Dang. Park. Singh.
    Check any honor roll, any list of science fair winners, any Phi Beta Kappa roster and you'll see Asian 
names far out of proportion to the size of the Asian-American population.
    But look for Asian names among top U.S. corporate executives, and they're markedly under-represented.
What happens to all those bright, well-educated, hard-driven graduates?
    Asian-Americans are 18 percent of the Harvard University enrollment, 24 percent at Stanford University, 
and a whopping 46 percent at the University of California-Berkeley. Academic pedigrees like that typically 
vault graduates into the upper echelon of the U.S. workforce.
    But a national study released Thursday by the Center for Work-Life Policy says that Asian-Americans - 
5 percent of the U.S. population and the nation's fastest-growing minority by percentage - hold less than 
2 percent of top corporate jobs. 
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/07/21/3026749/study-traces-barriers-to-asian.html 



7/15/11 The Oregonian: "Rep. David Wu's fundraising reliance on Asian-American community grows,"
by Jeff Mapes 
    David Wu, D-Ore., is becoming increasingly reliant on Asian-American donors around the country, his 
latest financial disclosure report shows.
    The congressman, who is facing a tough reelection challenge this year, raised about $230,000 in the 
last quarter, with more than $170,000 coming from donors with Asian surnames. 
    Wu, born in Taiwan, is the first Chinese-American to serve in the House and has long been a figure of
pride among many in his ethnic community. After his political career was threatened early this year 
following revelations about his personal problems, Wu has once again made a concerted effort to tap 
Chinese-American donors who also helped provide much of his early political money when he first ran 
for Congress in 1998.
    In the first quarter of the year, Wu raised $219,000, with just under half of that coming from Asian-
American donors. This time, about three-quarters of his money came from these donors.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2011/07/rep_david_wus_fundraising_reli.html 
 

7/13/11 Northwest Asian Weekly: "Blog: Chris Lu — Obama’s inner circle,"
by Assunta Ng 
    President George W. Bush appointed two Asian Americans to his cabinet. The Asian community was 
impressed. But President Obama gave us more—three cabinet secretaries, Gary Locke, Steve Chu, 
and Ed Shinseki, and many other powerful appointments, including Chris Lu, one of the 25 assistants to 
the president since 2008.
    Lu was in Seattle last Friday, addressing the White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific 
Islanders at North Seattle Community College. I had the opportunity to interview him.
    Lu is not only working for the president, he’s working inside the White House on the second floor of the
West Wing. Being cabinet secretary, representing 25 to 30 government agencies, is a demanding job. 
Lu said his job is to make sure all the agencies are “on the same page“ in terms of communication to 
the public and what should be kept secret.
http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2011/07/blog-chris-lu-%E2%80%94-obama%E2%80%99s-inner-circle/ 


7/11/11 Chicago Now: "How the model minority myth hurts Asian Americans,"
by Megan Cottrell
    Everyone knows the stereotype, right? Asian children are good students. They play piano and violin. 
They excel in everything. Asian adults have advanced degrees and high incomes. Asians haven't 
struggled like those other minority groups that are still unequal. Asians are the model minority. They excel.
    But the idea of the "model minority" is like every other stereotype --it's a myth. Yes, many Asian 
Americans do have masters and doctorate degrees. They're doctors and lawyers and engineers. And 
with cultural phenomena like Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, it's hard to shake stereotypes of little 
Asian girls and boys playing a perfect Mozart sonata. But the stereotype covers up the truth--that the 
group we label "Asians" is really a diverse aggregation of many different ethnicities with distinct 
characteristics. This week's Colorlines article--"The Creation--and Consequences--of the Model Minority
Myth," talks about why those differences matter and why we should be paying attention.
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers/2011/07/how-the-model-minority-myth-hurts-asian-americans/ 



7/6/11 PRI The World: "Wheat Can Be Kindness and Other Political Candidates,"
by Nina Porzucki
    California’s legislature is moving to regulate how political candidates’ names are translated. The state is 
home to the largest Asian American population in the nation. Nearly a third of Asian American voters in 
California are not proficient in English. 
    Election materials have been translated into several Asian languages for years, but the law doesn’t 
specify how candidates’ names should be translated. 
    Consider the case of Mike Eng. Five years ago he was a candidate for the California State Assembly. 
“When I saw how my name was spelled [on the ballot] I almost fell out of my seat,” Eng says.
http://www.theworld.org/2011/07/wheat-can-be-kindness-and-other-political-candidates/ 



6/30/11 asianjournal.com: "Lawmakers hope for Asian representation in NV legislature,"
by Dymphna Calica-La Putt
    With  the redrawing of the Nevada political map, three state legislators have expressed anticipation for 
more Asian representation in the state legislature.
    This will help in issues that directly affect Asian-Americans, which is the fastest-growing community in 
the state, they said.
    “I really hope (the redistricting) changes it,” District 8 Assemblyman Jason Frierson said, referring to 
the composition of the state legislature, where there is no member of Asian descent at present.
    District 13 Assemblyman Scott Hammond agreed saying, ““I really hope there will be more representation
from the (Asian community).”
    Frierson and Hammond, along with District 42 Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante-Adams, spoke about
their experience as freshmen legislators during a Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce (ACC) 
luncheon last June 23.
    All three, and their fellow state legislators, are currently adjusting the boundaries of assembly and state 
districts to ensure that each representative has roughly the same number of constituents, allowing each 
voter equal power at the ballot box.
    This redistricting process also has a political goal to redraw lines to protect incumbents from defeat by 
making majority of the population either more Republican or more Democrat.
    At the ACC luncheon, Bustamante-Adams was emphatic in expressing the need for more Asian 
representation in the legislature.
    “It’s extremely troubling. If you don’t have a voice, someone else will make decisions on issues that 
concern you,” she told the audience.
    Hammond, for his part, encouraged Asian-Americans to be more involved in the political process, 
particularly in looking out for members of the community who can be future members of the legislature.
    “We are constantly looking for well-rounded personalities who fit the job,” Hammond said.
    Asian-Americans currently make up some 10% of the state population. This group posted the fastest 
growth in the state, according to the US Census Bureau.
    A large part of Nevada ’s growth, meanwhile, can be attributed to the rapid population growth of 
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the state.
    Nevada posted the fastest growth among the US states in the past ten years, results of the 2010 
Census showed. Data from the US Census Bureau showed the state’s population is now at 2.76 million,
a 35% growth from the last count in 2000.
    Of the state’s total population, some 242,916 are Asians. But the group registered the fastest growth
at 116.5%, even outpacing the Hispanic population growth of 81.9%.
    The immense growth in Nevada ’s population also resulted in more political clout as the state gains
another seat in Congress. A state’s representation in the 435-member House of Representatives 
determines how much funding it receives from the federal government. The census count also 
establishes the number of votes a state holds in the Electoral College and the strength of its voice 
on issues.


6/27/11 Chronicle of Higher Education: "Asian-American and Pacific Islander Students Are Not 
Monolithically Successful, Report Says,"
by Jennifer Gonzalez
    Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are, as a whole, not as well educated and financially successful 
as prevailing stereotypes often suggest, according to the preliminary findings of a report released on Monday.
    The report, which will be published in final form later this summer by the National Commission on Asian 
American and Pacific Islander Research in Education, examines how the shifting demographics of those 
populations have affected the colleges that serve them. The findings challenge the "model minority myth,"
in which all Asian-American and Pacific Islander ethnic groups are believed to have disproportionately 
high enrollments at highly selective four-year institutions, and in the fields of science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics.
    Robert Teranishi is the report's lead author and an associate professor of higher education at 
New York University.
    In fact, nearly half of all Asian-American and Pacific Islander students, known as AAPI students, attend 
community colleges, and many of their ethnic groups have some of the lowest high-school-graduation and 
college-degree-attainment rates in the United States.
    The report says that, from 2000 to 2010, the AAPI population increased at a faster rate than that of any 
other major racial group in the United States. 
    Population projections show that the trend will continue over the next two decades, and the groups' 
college enrollment is projected to increase by 30 percent from 2010 to 2019.
    In fact, the population is expected to reach nearly 40 million people by 2050. However, there is a wide 
variation in college-going and degree attainment among the Asian and Pacific Islander population, the 
report says.
    Among Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders, 55 to 66 percent of adults have not attended any form 
of postsecondary education. While more than four in five East Asians (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) 
and South Asians (Asian Indian and Pakistani) who enter college earn at least a bachelor's degree, larger
proportions of Southeast Asians (43 percent) and Pacific Islanders (51 percent) report having attended 
college but not earning a degree.
    Also on Monday, it was announced that a new organization had formed to represent institutions serving 
Asian-American, Native American, and Pacific Islander students. The Asian Pacific Islander American 
Association of Colleges and Universities intends to promote the development of member colleges and 
universities, and help improve the quality of postsecondary-educational opportunities for students.


6/23/11 New York Times: "Asian New Yorkers Seek Power to Match Numbers,"
By Kirk Semple
    Not so long ago, the phrase “New York’s Chinatown” meant one thing: a district in Lower Manhattan near 
Canal Street. Now it could refer to as many as six heavily Chinese enclaves around the city.
    Koreatown was well known as a commercial zone in Midtown Manhattan, but now parts of Flushing, 
Queens, where tens of thousands of Koreans have moved, feel like suburban Seoul. The city has spawned 
neighborhoods with nicknames like Little Bangladesh, Little Pakistan, Little Manila and Little Tokyo.
    Asians, a group more commonly associated with the West Coast, are surging in New York, where they 
have long been eclipsed in the city’s kaleidoscopic racial and ethnic mix. For the first time, according to 
census figures released in April, their numbers have topped one million — nearly 1 in 8 New Yorkers — 
which is more than the Asian population in the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles combined.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/nyregion/asian-new-yorkers-asian-new-yorkers-seek-power-to-match-surging-numbers.html?pagewanted=all 



6/22/11 asianjournal.com: "First draft of redistricting bodes well for Asian-Americans,"
by Joseph Pimentel
    Los Angeles – The California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) released their first draft of new 
Assembly, Senate, and Congressional district lines last week and from the reaction of political analysts, 
it may bode well for the Asian-American community of California. 
    According to New America Media, certain areas in the State with a large Asian majority may benefit 
from the CRC’s new redistricting of California.
    “The Asian-majority Berryessa section of San Jose, which had been split among four legislative districts 
in the 2001 redistricting, has been largely left intact,” according to NAM. “Similarly, LA’s Koreatown, split 
into three Assembly districts in 2001, would remain together, and a new largely Asian district would be 
created in the west San Gabriel Valley.”
    Further analysis of the first draft also shows a potential large Asian demographic of Assembly District 56. 
Currently, Assembly District 56, which has an Asian population of 19 percent, encompasses Cerritos, 
Buena Park and moves up North to Norwalk. In the new redistricting draft, district 56 will include Cerritos, 
Cypress, Stanton, and all of Westminster. The Asian population in the district would grow to 36 percent.
    Other districts with large Filipino populations like West Covina and Walnut remain pretty much intact.
    But there would be some disadvantages. According to NAM, the growing South Asian community in 
Fremont, which is currently in the same Assembly and congressional districts, would be split, diluting its 
political power in Sacramento and Capitol Hill.
    The 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission, which has the important task of remapping the 
state’s legislative district, continues its listening tour to hear suggestions and field questions from 
concerned residents on how the commission may draw certain district lines.
    The commission members are urging the public to look up their districts by visiting www.ReDrawCa.org.
“The CRC is now requesting the public to comment upon their proposals and to make the case for why a 
specific district should be altered. ReDrawCA.org is the place for individuals and groups to use the data 
to understand how redistricting will affect their community, and to prepare comment and testimony to 
the CRC,” officials said in a statement.
    Every 10 years, California redraws the lines of the state’s political landscape through the redistricting 
process.
    Through June 24 to July 27 the CRC members will hold public hearings in areas across Northern 
California.


6/21/11 press release: "Asian American Action Fund Condemns GOP Congressional 
Candidate Mark Amodei’s Xenophobic Campaign Ad, Calls for Immediate Removal," 
    Washington, D.C.—The Asian American Action Fund condemns Republican Congressional
Candidate Mark Amodei’s xenophobic campaign advertisement and calls on Amodei to immediately 
discontinue the television spot and apologize for his actions.
    “The AAA-Fund strongly condemns Mark Amodei’s offensive, fear-mongering campaign ad,” 
said Gautam Dutta, Executive Director of Asian American Action Fund. “We call on Mr. Amodei 
to immediately remove this racially charged ad from the airwaves and issue an immediate apology 
to every Nevadan.”
    The campaign ad features a fake Chinese news anchor discussing how “our great empire rose 
again” because President Obama raised the United States’ debt limit. This is followed by footage
of the Chinese army marching on the Capitol.
    Amodai is the Republican candidate for the upcoming special election in Nevada’s 2nd 
Congressional District. As of the 2010 census, Asian Americans comprise 7.2% of Nevada’s 
population and own over 5% of the businesses in the state.
    The AAA-Fund is a Democratic political action committee whose goal is to increase the voice of
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on every level of local, state and federal government in 
America. To achieve this goal, we address the chronic under-representation of Asian Pacific 
Americans (APAs) as campaign volunteers, campaign contributors, and candidates for 
political office.


6/17/11 Boston Globe: "UMass gets $364,000 penalty in bias case,"
    The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay one of its 
English professors $154,000 in lost wages and $200,000 in damages for emotional distress as part 
of a decision issued by the state’s antidiscrimination agency.
    According to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, its June 1 decision in favor 
of LuLu Sun, associate professor of English, also includes the “unprecedented step’’ of ordering the 
university to promote Sun to full professor. Sun’s complaint to MCAD alleged discrimination based on
her gender, race, and Chinese ancestry.
    Sun alleged in her case that she was treated less favorably than other candidates for promotion to
full professor.
    “School administrators . . . indulged in every presumption against her application for promotion while
extending every benefit of the doubt to male candidates for promotion,’’ the MCAD said in a press 
release Wednesday, citing conclusions of hearing officer Betty Waxman.
    UMass Dartmouth spokesman John Hoey said yesterday, “We’re reviewing the findings, and we 
will respond in the appropriate venue and at the appropriate moment.’’


6/13/11 http://aaldef.org/blog/
"Vincent Chin? Remembering Ronald Ebens-the guy who got away with murder,"
by Emil Guillermo
    I've got my call into Ronald Madis Ebens. I've found him, heard his voice, and left my message on his 
answering machine. And when he calls me back, maybe he'll say something to make us all feel better.
    I'm not holding my breath.
    It will be 29 years on June 19th. On that day in 1982, Ebens, a then 42-year-old white Chrysler autoworker,
along side with his stepson accomplice Michael Nitz, then 23, took a baseball bat and bludgeoned Vincent 
Chin, a 27-year-old Chinese American, to death on Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, a suburb of 
Detroit.
    While people always seem to ask about Vincent Chin, I prefer to dwell on the perps, Ebens and Nitz.
    In a case too easily forgotten by the mainstream, the two men don't deserve to be beneficiaries of our 
collective memory loss.
    How can they? The facts are indisputable. Some witnesses say Nitz held down Chin. Some say he 
didn't. Everyone says he was there and did nothing to stop Ebens, who ferociously struck and beat Chin 
repeatedly, with two savage blows to the head leaving Chin unconscious.
    For their admitted role in Chin's death, here's the amount of time Ebens and Nitz served for the crime 
they committed: zero. 
    Ebens is now 71. His accomplice Nitz is 42. They are the only real beneficiaries of the injustice that is 
the Chin case.
    After 29 years, it's tempting to say, Vincent Chin, old hat, old hate. Move on.
    Yet recently I sat in on a re-telling of the Chin story and noticed how the recounting of facts is still 
breathtakingly horrific. From the altercation in the Fancy Pants Strip Club, to Ebens' and Nitz's search 
and destroy mission.
    And then comes the punchline.
    Ebens and Nitz were allowed to plea bargain in a Michigan court to escape mandatory jail time for 
second degree murder. Ebens pleaded guilty; Nitz pleaded nolo contendere. Both men got this sentence: 
three years' probation, a $3,000 fine, and $780 in court costs.
    It never fails to make a crowd gasp in disbelief.
    The crowd I was in happened to be a diverse audience of ethnically aware educators. Twenty-nine 
years later, and there's a new generation waiting to be given the reality check that is the Chin story. 
In America, it's still very possible to engage in a racially motivated crime--the murder of an Asian American
--and get away with it.
    While three-strike felons are doing life in California for non-violent crimes, Ebens, who has admitted to 
his role in the killing of Chin, is living a life in the sunshine. I actually found him far from the Detroit area 
and gave him a call this week. He's remarried and lives in a state with a huge Asian American population.
    He's lucky he's generally far less remembered than Vincent Chin himself.
    But here's how justice played out for Ebens. By plea bargaining in the original case, his sentencing 
hearing was seen as little more than a formality. No one representing Chin was notified or even showed up.
So no one could object when the judge unexpectedly granted both Ebens and Nitz 3 years' probation.
    The light sentence set off such a response that a second trial, on civil rights charges in federal district 
court, was inevitable. But it was an angry, strident affair with a conclusion to match. Nitz was acquitted, 
but Ebens was convicted to 25 years in prison.
    Ebens always called the federal trial a "frame-up" and appealed for a new trial to the Sixth Circuit Court 
of Appeals. That court saw the failure to change venues and the coaching of witnesses by a community 
activist as reason enough for a new trial.
    At that point, the new case was put in Cincinnati, Ohio, far removed from Detroit, its media, the auto 
industry, and five years after the night of the attack. It was advantage Ebens, who on May 2, 1987 was 
found not guilty on the federal civil rights charges.
    Wrote the Associated Press, Ebens "broke into tears at the verdict."
    "I'm still very sorry about the death that occurred, but I'm very relieved it is over after four years," he said 
back then.
    When I placed a call to him this week, I didn't think he'd want to wait for the 30th anniversary.
    After 29 years, the case is still so unsettling. I figured Ebens' perspective could be useful in 
understanding how the justice system worked fine for someone like him, but not for Vincent Chin.


6/7/11: "Asian men ‘most excluded’ on the Internet dating scene,"
By Sunil Adam
http://asiancorrespondent.com/56797/no-eharmony-with-asian-men/ 
    No one would want to be in the shoes of a black man in America. That is a given. 
    With highest incarceration and unemployment rates, not to mention a reputation for violent behavior 
and drug use, black males are the most stereotyped segment of American demography. As sociologically
insightful comedian Chris Rock claims, even a crippled homeless white man will not want to trade places 
with him. “And I’m rich,” Rock protests.
    But there is a silver lining. Apparently Asian men are actually worse off than their black counterparts, 
at least in one category – dating preferences of white American women. According to a survey of racial 
exclusion patterns in Internet dating, the most excluded categories are Asian men and black women. A 
survey of 6,000 Internet dating profiles by Belinda Robnett and Cynthia Feliciano of the University of 
California, Irvine, reportedly found that “Asian males and black females are more highly excluded than 
their opposite sex counterparts.”
    In other words, white American women would rather opt for black men than Asian males (including 
East Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi), although generally they tend to be more educated, more 
qualified, more gainfully employed and better placed in the social hierarchy than the average black male. 
Such social and romantic ostracism even by “fat white women with daddy issues” – the kind who go for
black men according to standup comedian Jim Norton – might seem incredulous to Asian men with an 
inflated ego to nurse.
    How does one explain this distressing predicament of Asian men, who are raised to be proud and 
upright men of character with undisputed leadership roles assigned in the family and society? Even if I’m
eminently unqualified to make sociological or cultural deductions, let me offer some possible clues.
    At the outset, Asian men are far fewer in numbers than black or Latino men, which restricts their 
exposure, availability and access to white women. They are also culturally alien to white women in a way
that black or Latino men are not. 
    Barring a small community of Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the Pacific North East, Asian 
migration is relatively new - most of it taking place after the repeal of racist exclusionary laws in the 
1960s. On the other hand, blacks and Latinos were part of the turbulent American history from the very
outset, and hence have a history of social relationships with European Americans.
    The enviable standing of black men in sports and music – two major preoccupations of American life
also gives them an advantage over Asian men, who are conspicuously absent in American popular 
culture. And Chinese and Indian students, be it in school or college, are invariably classified as nerds 
– hardly a “cool” category that generates dating buzz among females, particularly in the “vampire-chick-lit”
phase they inexplicably go through.
    It is also interesting that the very reasons why Asian women are sought after by white men who care 
to date or marry outside their racial confines, are conversely the reasons why Asian men are probably 
excluded from white female preferences. Several studies, including the aforementioned survey, found 
white men prefer Asian women because they are seen as “homely” – obedient and faithful – as 
compared to Asian men, who are possibly unappealing because of their reputation for being 
domineering, hierarchical and illiberal. Unlike Asian women, Asian men tend to be much more 
authoritarian, conservative, religious and profess fealty toward their cultural values that are often 
incompatible with Western mores.
    It is also quite possible that white women summarily exclude from their romantic pursuits Muslim men,
who form a sizable segment of the Asian-American population that includes Pakistanis, Bangladeshis,
Central Asians, Arabs, Persians and an assortment of South East Asians. While apathy and animosity
toward Muslim men can be explained away, however imprecisely, given the political environment in the
U.S. since the 9/11 terror attacks, religion seems to play curious, even if inconsistent and often 
contradictory, role in social relationships. For instance, there are many instances of Jewish men 
marrying Hindu and Buddhist women, but quite inexplicably the same cannot be said about Jewish 
women opting for Hindu or Buddhist men. Similarly, there is no evidence of white men who are 
unencumbered by racial considerations preferring Muslim women, although they possess the qualities 
that are much sought after by such men – obedience and fidelity.
    Although they invariably factor in romantic preferences, none of the surveys I’ve cursorily checked paid
adequate attention to white women’s preference or lack thereof to physical characteristics and attributes
of Asian men. It would have been interesting to note how they viewed the Mongoloid and Caucasian 
features and physique of East Asian and East Indians respectively.
    Given my own ethnicity, however, I can say with some certainty that the three-day stubble that young
Indian men seem to sport nowadays, aping white young men, will not change their status with white 
women.
    Lose it. It might help your case in the next survey.


5/31/11 press release: CAPAC Chair Chu Commends President Obama on Diversity of Judicial 
Nominations and a Record High Number of Asian Pacific American Federal Judges
    Washington, DC – Today U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-32), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific 
American Caucus (CAPAC) sent a letter to President Obama commending him on his success in 
confirming Asian Pacific Americans to the federal bench. President Obama has nearly doubled the 
number of Asian Pacific American judges serving in the federal courts from 8 to 14 judges.
    “I want to sincerely thank and congratulate President Obama for all his hard work and many successes
in promoting highly qualified Asian Pacific American nominees to the federal bench. Since January 2009,
the Obama Administration has put forth the most diverse pool of judicial nominees in American history,
ensuring that the federal judiciary fully represents the American people, including the more than 17 million
Asian Pacific Americans in our nation,” said Chu. “As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American
Caucus, I am so proud that in less than one term, the President has nominated the most Asian Pacific 
American candidates to the bench in history. President Obama’s commitment to diversity on the federal 
bench is clearly evident. As Chair of CAPAC, I am fully committed to working with the President to 
promote the nominations of well-qualified judicial nominees who reflect the diverse makeup of our 
society.”
    The Asian Pacific American judges nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate include:
    Denny Chin (2nd Cir), the first Asian Pacific American federal appellate court judge ever in the 
Northeast (First, Second, and Third Circuits).
    Edmond E. Chang (NDIL), the first Asian Pacific American Article III judge to serve on the bench in 
Illinois or on any of the courts encompassed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and 
the youngest Article III judge in the country.
    Edward M. Chen (NDCA), the first Asian Pacific American Article III judge to serve in San Francisco,
which has an Asian Pacific American population of approximately 35%.
    Dolly M. Gee (CDCA), the first Chinese American woman to serve as an Article III Judge.
    Leslie E. Kobayashi (DHI), the first Japanese American federal judge confirmed during the Obama 
Administration.
    Lucy Koh (NDCA), the second Korean American Article III judge in the nation, who also made history
as the first female Korean American Article III judge, the first Korean American district court judge and 
the first Asian Pacific American Judge in the NDCA.
    Jacqueline Nguyen (CDCA), the first Vietnamese American Article III judge in the history of the United 
States and the first Asian Pacific American female Article III judge in California history.
    The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is comprised of Members of Congress 
of Asian and Pacific Islander descent and members who have a strong dedication to promoting the well-
being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Currently Chaired by Congresswoman
Judy Chu, CAPAC has been addressing the needs of the AAPI community in all areas of American life 
since it was founded in 1994.


5/12/11 Philadelphia Daily News: "Asian-Americans hope to see one of their own on Council,"
By Julie Shaw
    Posters in Chinatown windows declare their support for at-large City Council candidates Andy Toy and 
David Oh. Groups like the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. have been urging people to vote in 
Tuesday's primary election. 
For full story: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/city/121672739.html 



5/8/11 Stamford Advocate: "With potential to make history, Tong enters race for U.S. Senate Seeks 
Lieberman seat: Democratic state rep looking for historic win,"
by Elizabeth Kim
    Stamford -- Attempting a bold political leap, Stamford state Rep. William Tong, 38, announced he will 
seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Joe Lieberman.
    The decision, which Tong confirmed last week in an exclusive interview with The Advocate, comes 
after months of deliberations with various state and national party members as well as his family, he said.
For full story: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/With-potential-to-make-history-Tong-enters-race-1370791.php 


4/27/11 The Oregonian: "David Wu says he will 'let the political chips fall where they may'"
By Jeff Mapes
    U.S. Rep. David Wu on Wednesday shrugged off a growing field of well-known candidates considering 
running against him in the Democratic primary for his northwest Oregon congressional seat.
    "You know what," Wu said in an interview with The Oregonian, "if I can take care of my kids, take care 
of myself and take good care of my constituents, I'll let the political chips fall where they may and I'll be 
OK with things."
    Wu spoke after holding his first Town Hall meeting since a host of personal problems brought him 
unwanted national publicity and put his hold on the 1st District seat in jeopardy.
For full story: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/04/david_wu_says_he_will_let_the.html 


4/19/11 The Examiner: "George Takei takes aim at Warner Bros over ‘Akira’ movie and Caucasian actors,"
By Jodi Jill 
    In what is becoming an Asian versus Caucasian casting showdown, the movie ‘Akira’ is getting some 
celebrity pressure before the final decision on who is playing the lead character. George Takei has taken 
to his fan base Tuesday to denounce the idea of making the actors who are being considered for the 
characters all Caucasian.
    Only hours ago, after signing a petition early Tuesday by the fans who find offense to the idea of the 
lead role being given to the wrong place, Takei again spoke about the issue with his fans. The actor took 
direct aim at Warner Bros again by posting his dismay of the current men being considered for the 
character rolls and how race might play into the decision movie over at Warner Bros.
    “WB thinks it needs white leads to sell Akira. That's insulting to white audiences and deprives Asian 
actors of rare opportunity."
    The original movie is a 1988 film with a strong cult following and the characters are Asian. This 
Japanese animated science fiction film was hoped to be turned into a live action film, but there were so 
many issues that only recently the idea has been fast tracked into a movie for the masses.
    While George Takei has been very vocal of the concerns, the studio has been exceptionally quiet about
the issue and if there will be Asian-American in the lead character.
    More information can be found at the Don't Whitewash AKIRA! Facebook page.


4/17/11 Boston Globe Magazine: "Competitive disadvantage.  College Confidential.
High-achieving Asian-American students are being shut out of top schools around the country. 
Is this what diversity looks like now?"
by Jon Marcus
    Although Asian-Americans represent less than 5 percent of the US population (and slightly more 
than 5 percent in Massachusetts), they make up as much as 20 percent of students at many highly 
selective private research universities – the kind of schools that make it into top 50 national rankings. 
    But, critics charge, Asian-American students would constitute an even larger share if many weren’t 
being filtered out during the admissions process. Since the University of California system moved to a 
race-blind system 14 years ago, the percentage of Asian-American students in some competitive 
schools there has reached 40, even 50 percent. On these campuses, the so-called “model minority” is
becoming the majority.
    In researching their 2009 book No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal, Princeton sociologist Thomas 
Espenshade and researcher Alexandria Walton Radford examined data on students applying to college 
in 1997 and found what looks like different standards for different racial groups. They calculated that 
Asian-Americans needed nearly perfect SAT scores of 1550 to have the same chance of being 
accepted at a top private university as whites who scored 1410 and African-Americans who got 1100.
Whites were three times, Hispanics six times, and blacks more than 15 times as likely to be accepted 
at a US university as Asian-Americans.
    Asian-Americans represent 17.8 percent, or 383, of the students admitted to Harvard last month, 
which is up from 14.1 percent a decade ago. During the last five years, however, the proportion there
and at other Ivies has remained relatively flat or increased only slightly, even after an Asian-American
student at Yale filed a federal complaint in 2006 against Princeton, where he applied but was not accepted,
alleging it discriminated against him because of his race. Despite perfect SAT scores and nine 
Advanced Placement courses, the student said he was also rejected by Harvard, Stanford, the 
University of Pennsylvania, and MIT. (That complaint has not been resolved, a US Department of 
Education spokesman says.)
    By contrast, at California’s competitive – and race-blind – state schools, Asian-Americans are much
better represented: 52 percent of the student population at the University of California at Irvine, 40 percent
 at Berkeley, and 37 percent at UCLA. (The ban on admissions committees considering race was upheld 
by a federal judge in December.)
    The difference suggests that, where considering race is allowed, elite universities may be handicapping 
Asian-American applicants. “They just all sort of magically end up with under 20 percent Asian students,” 
Stephen Hsu, a professor of physics at the University of Oregon, says. One Princeton lecturer has asked 
if that number represents the “Asian ceiling.”
    For full story, see http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-17/news/29428526_1_asian-american-students-competitive-schools-high



4/17/11 The Oregonian "Once again, Asian-American donors crucial to David Wu,"
By Jeff Mapes
    When he was a little-known Portland lawyer 14 years ago, David Wu received crucial campaign 
donations from fellow Chinese-Americans around the country that helped make him a viable 
congressional candidate.
    Rep. David Wu Wu went on to beat a rival, then-Washington County Commissioner Linda Peters, 
favored in the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District and to take the seat in November 1998.
    Now, as revelations of personal problems has imperiled his continued candidacy, Wu is continuing to 
gain crucial support from the Asian-American community. Wu on Friday boasted about raising $219,000 
in the first three months of the year, which his campaign said "demonstrates broad support and confidence
in his ability to effectively serve his constituents."
For full story, see http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2011/04/once_again_asian-american_dono.html  


4/14/11 Dallas South News: "Asian American Group Has Concerns About Texas Redistricting,"
by shawnpwilliams 
    After exhaustive testimony before the House Redistricting Committee both in Houston and Austin, 
representatives of the Texas Asian American Redistricting Initiative (TAARI) have serious concerns about 
the initial draft plan released yesterday by the House Redistricting Committee. Among the group’s targeted 
areas, there were few glimmers of hope:
http://www.dallassouthnews.org/2011/04/14/asian-american-group-has-concerns-about-texas-redistricting/ 



4/7/11 Harvard Law School: "Fernande Duffly ’78 and Asian Pacific American judges honored at HLS,"
    Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court appointee Fernande R.V. Duffly ’78 recalled her Harvard Law 
School admissions interviewer asking if she sought special treatment as a minority applicant.
    Duffly, who became the first Asian Pacific American to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court when she 
was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick ’82 in December, assured him she did not.
    “I hadn’t thought of myself as an activist but knew I wanted to go to law school to acquire the wonderful 
tools that were so powerful, that could effect social change,” Duffly said in her opening remarks at a 
panel featuring Asian Pacific American judges in the state on March 31, 2011. “That’s why I came here 
[to Harvard].”
    Duffly was joined by six other Asian American judges at an event hosted by the Harvard Asian Pacific 
American Law Students Association [pictured above with Duffly, L-R]: Richard J. Chin and John T. Lu of 
the Superior Court, George F. Phelan of the Norfolk Probate and Family Court, Sabita Singh of the 
District Circuit Court, Eleanor C. Sinnott of the Boston Municipal Court, and Paul M. Yee of the Quincy 
District Court.
    Born in Indonesia to Dutch and Chinese parents, Duffly credits her commitment to public service to her 
experiences growing up in the United States as part of an immigrant family.
    “My sense of obligation came from how many people helped our family—we had no money,” she said.
“That sense of obligation didn’t translate into being a lawyer until I was in college in the sixties when I 
worked for legal services.”
    Duffly had previously served on the Appeals Court since 2000 and was appointed to the Probate and
Family Court in 1992. After graduating from the University of Connecticut in 1973 and Harvard Law 
School in 1978, she joined the litigation department of the Boston law firm K&L Gates, then known as 
Warner and Stackpole.
    During the discussion moderated by Harvard Law School assistant professor Mark Wu, the judges 
shared their experiences fighting cultural stereotypes and community pressures in pursuing their 
trailblazing career paths.
    Chin, the first Asian American to be appointed to the state’s judiciary, recalled facing discrimination 
growing up in Brockton as one of the few Chinese students. Chin said he did not understand the 
significance of his appointment until he was sworn in at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School in 
Chinatown with a room full of relatives, family friends, and people from the Chinese community who, 
like his parents, were immigrants.
    “It struck me when I looked out and saw my parents and many people with tears in their eyes,” Chin 
said. “I was there because of the efforts of people like my parents and others who were in that room who
came to this country, and I think that seeing someone being sworn in by the governor as a judge really
meant a lot to them because of what they went through.”
    Others, such as Yee, appointed to the Quincy District Court in 2009, and Lu, who has served on the
Superior Court since 2006, discussed the pressures they faced from their first-generation immigrant 
parents, who pushed them to pursue a career in medicine or pharmacy.
    Citing the “dismal numbers” of minorities and women in management positions in law, Duffly urged
students in the audience to fight for opportunities for their generation.
    “Every small step towards making a difference is important,” Duffly said. “If you don’t do it, you’re not
going to survive in law.”
—June Wu


4/7/11 Asian Journal: "NV legislators urged to consider Asian American population,"
by Dymphna Calica-La Putt
    The Asian-American community in Nevada asked state legislators to consider keeping the group 
together when it redraws the political map that would divide the population among electoral districts.
    “This redistricting is important to us and we want to be heard when you do it,” Rozita Lee told a public
hearing on the redistricting last April 2.  “This will help define how our key issues will be addressed,” 
she added during the meeting held in Las Vegas , which was the last of four public meetings. 
http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-usa/15-dateline-usa/9722-nv-legislators-urged-to-consider-asian-american-population.html  



4/7/11 press release: "Professor Goodwin Liu Voted out of Committee, Asian Pacific American Leaders
Renew Call for Quick Confirmation Vote,"
    Washington - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee once again recommended Professor Goodwin 
Liu for a federal judgeship. Democrats voted in support of his nomination and all Republicans on the 
committee voted to oppose him on a 10-8 party line vote. Leaders of the Asian Pacific American 
community pressed for the full Senate to give Professor Liu a confirmation vote without further delay.
    "We urge the Senate to move quickly to give Professor Liu the up-or-down vote that every nominee 
deserves," said Paul O. Hirose, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association 
(NAPABA). "Professor Liu is eminently qualified to serve as a federal appellate judge, and he is long 
overdue for a confirmation vote."
    Liu was first nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit more than a year
ago, on February 24, 2010. The full Senate neglected to hold an up-or-down vote for Professor Liu 
before the conclusion of the 111th Congress in December 2010. As anticipated, in January 2011, 
President Obama renominated Liu and 41 other judicial nominees who also did not get confirmation 
votes last year. The seat to which he has been nominated is classified as a "judicial emergency." 
The American Bar Association has given Professor Liu a unanimous rating of "Well Qualified," the 
highest rating available.
    "If the Senate is committed to ensuring a fair and effectively functioning federal court system, it needs
to act on Professor Liu’s nomination without any additional delay," said Karen K. Narasaki, president 
and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), a member of the Asian American
Center for Advancing Justice. "There is a tremendous lack of diversity on the federal appellate bench.
Professor Liu not only has the right intellect and temperament to be an outstanding judge, he would 
also be only one of two active Asian Pacific American federal appellate judges in the entire country and
the only one in the Ninth Circuit, which includes California, Hawaii, and most of the west coast."
    Hirose and Narasaki thank President Obama for nominating Professor Liu, and applaud Senator 
Leahy for his stewardship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. They also thank California Sens. Dianne
Feinstein and Barbara Boxer for their continued support of Professor Liu's nominations.
###
    The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian
Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents the interests
of over 40,000 attorneys and 61 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members represent
solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and 
lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights
issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees 
and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of federal and state judiciaries,
advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant
sentiment, and promotes professional development of minorities in the legal profession. 
    The Asian American Justice Center (www.advancingequality.org), a member of Asian American 
Center for Advancing Justice, works closely with its sister organizations - the Asian American Institute
in Chicago (www.aaichicago.org), the Asian Law Caucus (www.asianlawcaucus.org) in San Francisco
and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (www.apalc.org) in Los Angeles - to promote a fair and
equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and 
Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities.



4/5/11 Washington Post: "Achievement gap widening between Asian American students and 
everyone else,"
by Kevin Sieff
    A new study from the Center on Education Policy underscores how significantly Asian American 
students outpace their peers, particularly in Maryland and Virginia. 
    The data focus on student achievement on eighth-grade state standardized tests, including a rare 
analysis of student performance at advanced levels. It is at those levels that the exceptional — and 
rapidly improving — achievement of Asian American middle- schoolers was most pronounced.
    Nationwide, the percentage of Asian American students scoring in the upper echelons on math exams
was 17 points higher than the percentage of white students. Notably, that gap has continued to widen in
more recent years. In Virginia, for example, Asian American students’ advanced-level math performance
leapt from 59 percent to 76 percent between 2006 and 2009, compared with an increase from 43 percent
to 58 percent for white students.
    In Maryland, that same pattern was apparent on reading tests. The percentage of Asian American
students who tested in advanced levels grew from 40 percent to 58 percent between 2006 and 2009.
The percentage of white students in that category grew from 35 percent to 48 percent.
    In Fairfax and Montgomery counties, Asian American students outperform their white peers at the 
advanced level in several subject areas, but those gaps do not appear to be growing at the same pace
as in the rest of their states or the nation. 
    The Asian American subgroup includes students whose families hail from countries as diverse as
Japan and Jordan. There are clear disparities within the subgroup. Pacific Islanders, for example, don’t
perform as well as Korean students on standardized tests.
    But in most states, Asian Americans outperformed all other subpopulations. Some scholars are 
quick to argue against that label, saying it plays down the diversity, and the challenges, that pervade 
the subpopulation. 
    “In reality, there are significant numbers of Asian American and Pacific Islander students who struggle
with poverty, who are English-language learners increasingly likely to leave school with rudimentary 
language skills, who are at risk of dropping out, joining gangs and remaining on the margins of society,” 
said a 2008 report, “Facts, Not Fiction: Setting the Record Straight,” from the National Commission on
Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education. 


3/24/11 New York Times: "After a Bus Crash, Grief and Custom on Chinatown’s Funeral Row,"
    The people listed may not have known one another in life, but many were connected in death: they 
were some of the 15 passengers, most of them Chinese immigrants, killed when their discount tour 
bus crashed on its way back to Manhattan from an overnight trip to the Mohegan Sun casino.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/nyregion/25funeral.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all  


3/22/11 Inside Higher Ed: "The Mocked Minority"
by Allie Grasgreen 
    When a University of California at Los Angeles student, in a video she posted online, used 
a mock foreign language to imitate Asian students talking loudly in the library, she probably 
didn’t think twice about it. But for many, that moment -- along with others in the video -- was yet 
another illustration of students’ willingness to openly criticize their Asian peers.
    And while UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block acted swiftly by issuing a statement and video 
saying the young woman’s speech “has no place at UCLA,” the reality is that it’s commonplace. 
    The reputation of Asian Americans as a “model minority” has long plagued students of that
ethnicity. They have said that professors hold them to higher standards. Affirmative action 
debates often touch on the fear that without the policy, students of Asian descent would replace
other minority populations on campuses. 
For full story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/22/ucla_student_s_youtube_video_illustrates_many_asian_racial_stereotypes 


3/17/11 press release: "Chen Voted out of Committee, NAPABA and AAJC Press for 
Confirmation Vote,"
    Washington - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee once again recommended Judge 
Edward M. Chen for a federal judgeship. Members of the committee voted 10-8 on a party line 
vote, with all Democrats voting in support of Judge Chen’s nomination and all Republicans 
opposing. Leaders of the Asian Pacific American community renewed their call for the full Senate
to confirm Judge Chen without additional delay.
    "Judge Chen is eminently well-qualified to serve as a U.S. District Court judge, and we urge the
Senate to give him the up-or-down vote that he rightly deserves," said Paul O. Hirose, president of
the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). "Judge Chen has a 10-year track
record as a federal magistrate judge, broad bipartisan support from law enforcement, the judiciary,
and the legal community, and an exceptional commitment to the Asian Pacific American community.
He is an outstanding nominee, and needless to say is long overdue a confirmation vote before the 
Senate."
    Judge Chen has waited longer than any other judicial nominee for a confirmation vote. He was
originally nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on
August 6, 2009. The full Senate neglected to hold an up-or-down vote for Chen before the conclusion
of the 111th Congress in December 2010.  As anticipated, in January 2011, President Obama 
renominated Judge Chen and 41 other judicial nominees who also did not get confirmation votes
last year. The seat that he has been nominated to is classified as a "judicial emergency." 
    "Now that Judge Chen has been voted out of committee, the full Senate must finally take up his
confirmation and hold a vote," said Karen K. Narasaki, president and executive director of the 
Asian American Justice Center (AAJC)."This exceptional nominee was first nominated over a year
and a half ago, and it is mission critical to the administration of justice and the health of our courts
that nominees like Judge Chen get timely votes and that judicial vacancies with pending nominees
not be allowed to be left unfilled. The American people deserve true access to justice, and our
judicial nominees should not be forced to live in limbo." 
    Hirose and Narasaki applaud President Obama for nominating Judge Chen to the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of California, and thank California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and 
Barbara Boxer for their continued support of his nomination. 
    The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of
Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents
the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 61 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. 
Its members represent solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service 
and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues 
to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities.
Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for
increased diversity of federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the 
workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes 
professional development of minorities in the legal profession. 
    The Asian American Justice Center (www.advancingequality.org), a member of Asian 
American Center for Advancing Justice, works closely with its sister organizations - the Asian
American Institute in Chicago (www.aaichicago.org), the Asian Law Caucus 
(www.asianlawcaucus.org) in San Francisco and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center 
(www.apalc.org) in Los Angeles - to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working 
for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other
underserved communities.


3/7/11 Diverse: "As Judicial Nominee, Law Professor Goodwin Liu Lingers in Limbo,"
by Lydia Lum
    A year after President Obama nominated him to the federal bench, it remains uncertain whether 
University of California, Berkeley law professor and associate dean Goodwin Liu will ever assume the 
post. 
    That’s because the Senate has yet to vote on Liu, who would serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit. And questions fired at Liu during two confirmation hearings, the most recent occurring 
last week, have underscored his status as one of Obama’s most controversial judicial nominees.
    The San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction over cases from California, Hawaii, Oregon, 
Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Arizona and Nevada. Political and legal observers estimate that 
40 percent of this country’s Asian-Americans live in these states, but none currently sits on this appellate
court. Furthermore, of the nation’s 875 federal judgeships, only 13 are held by Asians, and only one of 
those is at the appellate level, according to the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
    Critics have blasted Liu for what they describe as judicial activism in his legal writings in areas such 
as affirmative action and the death penalty. Senators at both hearings have peppered him with questions
about his 2006 testimony opposing confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Liu had 
criticized portions of Alito’s record as a judge, suggesting he “envisions an America where police may 
shoot and kill an unarmed boy to stop him from running away with a stolen purse (and) where a Black 
man may be sentenced to death by an all-White jury for killing a White man.” Last week, Liu told 
senators his then-conclusion about Alito was too harsh. Liu’s nomination did not reach the Senate floor
last year; Republicans have been rumored to filibuster if it does. The nomination expired last December
when Congress adjourned for its year-end break. Obama re-submitted Liu’s name in January.
    As is customary among many prospective appointees, Liu hasn’t given news interviews since the 
original February 24, 2010 nomination. However, he has steadily gained support from a multicultural 
swath of legal scholars spanning the legal spectrum. UC-Berkeley law dean Christopher Edley called 
him “one of the most capable colleagues I’ve had in my three decades in academia. I hate the 
thought of losing him, but it’s a higher calling.” John Yoo, the former deputy assistant attorney general
who came under fire for authoring “torture memos” under President George W. Bush, told the Los 
Angeles Times that “for a Democratic nominee, (Liu) is a very good choice.” Yoo is now a UC-Berkeley
law professor.
    University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter has publicly downplayed Liu’s 2006 testimony
against Alito, calling Liu’s legal analysis of Alito’s judicial writings “responsible commentary, whether
one agrees with it or not.” 
    The former White House chief ethics lawyer under Bush, Painter has described Liu as “an excellent
choice” for the Ninth Circuit job and “qualified, measured and mainstream.”
    A 2008 Diverse Emerging Scholar, Liu is a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg. He also was an appellate litigator for the Washington D.C. law office of O’Melveny & Myers.
Liu has never served as a judge, even though his name surfaces in some political circles as a future
Supreme Court nominee.
    He dropped notions of a career in medicine while studying philosophy as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford
University. A Yale Law School graduate, he joined UC-Berkeley in 2003. Four years later, he was the
inaugural recipient of the Educational Law Association’s Stephen S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished
Scholarship in Education Law. 


3/4/11 Asian Journal: "Why are Asian Americans, and Filipino Americans in particular, last in corporate 
America?"
    LEAP, a leader in promoting Asian American opportunities, has just unveiled an extraordinary and 
well-researched report demonstrating that 80% of corporations have no Asian Americans on their board 
and there is only one Filipino Americans in all of corporate America. 
    Specifically, the report shows that just one Filipino American is on the board of any Fortune 500 
corporation. That is, among the 5,520 board seats, Filipino Americans hold just one. No wonder Filipino 
American nonprofits generally receive zero in philanthropy. No wonder our hundreds of thousands of small 
business owners continue to struggle without any contracts from Fortune 500 companies. And no wonder, 
although we are employed at these companies, we seldom hold any important positions. 
    Today we will be congratulating the only major corporation in American, Humana, a health insurance 
provider located in Louisville, Kentucky, for having the only Filipino American on a board. Board member 
Marissa T. Peterson is a pioneer and we should all be supporting her and Humana. 
    Within the next ten days, we will be congratulating all 98 Fortune 500 corporations that have at least one 
Asian American on their board and contacting the other 402 Fortune 500 corporations to urge them to 
appoint at least one Asian American to their board. 
    As the LEAP report discloses, Asian Americans represent almost 6% of the population and, within the 
next few years will have purchasing power of almost $800 billion per year, a sum far greater than that in 
most Asian American countries, including the Philippines. 
    In addition, we will be discussing with Mastercard, which has four Asian Americans on its board, the 
secret to its success in attracting Asian Americans and will begin meeting with the 13 Fortune 500 
companies that have two or more Asian Americans on their board, such as Goldman Sachs, Pepsi, 
Safeway, Cisco, Staples, Yahoo and Mattel.
    On a personal note, we will be inviting the only Filipino American on a board, Marissa Peterson, to be 
a keynote speaker at the NAAC’s Eighth Annual Economic Development Conference in mid-October in 
South San Francisco. We will be inviting the nation’s first Filipino American State Supreme Court Justice, 
Tani Cantil-Sakauye, to introduce Ms. Peterson. 
    Faith Bautista, President and CEO of the National Asian American Coalition said, “Not very long ago,
there were virtually no women on boards of directors. Today, it is a rare for Fortune 500 companies to be 
without at least one or two women on their boards. It is NAAC’s goal that within this decade the same can 
be said of Asian Americans: two on every Fortune 500 board or at least 1,000 Asian American board 
members.” 


3/3/2011 Bay Area Reporter: "Political Notes: Gay Republican to seek congressional seat,"
by Matthew S. Bajko 
    Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin is expected to announce his bid for Congress this week. 
    Mike Gin, the openly gay Republican mayor of Redondo Beach, California, is expected to formally 
announce this week that he will seek a seat in Congress.
    The longtime city councilman is set to enter a special election for the 36th Congressional District seat 
that had been held by Jane Harman. The Democratic congresswoman resigned effective February 28
after being hired to oversee the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a Washington, D.C. 
think tank.
    Republican Mike Webb, the Redondo Beach city attorney, has already begun campaigning. On the 
Democratic side, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and California Secretary of State Debra
Bowen are both seeking Harman's seat.  Hahn has lined up the backing of openly gay state Assembly 
Speaker John A. Perez  (D-Los Angeles) and out Manhattan Beach City Councilman Mitch Ward as well 
as the Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) has also endorsed
Hahn's campaign.
    The 48-year-old Gin, who is of Chinese descent, is a field deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor 
Don Knabe. He married his husband, Christopher Kreidel, in 2008.
    He was first elected to the Redondo Beach City Council in 2005 and his current term doesn't expire 
until 2013. This is his second term as mayor.
    Gin is a member of Log Cabin Republicans. As Political Notes recently reported, the gay GOP group 
has made it a priority to push its members to seek public office at all levels, whether it be local races for 
city councils or higher offices.
    According to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, Gin would be the first out
Asian American to run for Congress. Were he to be elected, he would be the only out Republican currently
serving on Capitol Hill and be the fifth openly gay member of the House. There are currently no out U.S. 
senators.
    He already is one of the few LGBT Asian Americans currently serving in public office, according to 
APAICS. In the Bay Area there are now three out Asian American politicians: San Francisco Community 
College Board member Lawrence Wong; Campbell City Councilman Evan Low ; and San Mateo County 
Harbor Commissioner Robert Bernardo. 
    Governor Jerry Brown is expected to soon call for a special election to fill Harman's that will be held in
June so it can be combined with a statewide ballot, and thus, reduce costs.
    The 36th Congressional District covers Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance,
El Segundo, parts of Los Angeles (Venice, Westchester, Wilmington, Playa del Rey, and part of San 
Pedro), Marina del Rey, West Carson, Lomita, and Lennox.


2/25/11 The Daily Northwestern: "Northwestern staff member elected the first Asian-American 
alderman in Chicago history,"
By Minjae Park 
    The Sun-Times called it a "surprise win." A Huffington Post writer called it the "biggest upset of the 
Chicago elections."
    Ameya Pawar, a program assistant at Northwestern's office of emergency management, made history 
on Tuesday when he was elected the first Asian-American alderman in Chicago history, defeating favorite
Tom O'Donnell.  
    Pawar narrowly avoided a runoff with 50.8 percent of the vote, while O'Donnell trailed with 43.5.
    Even though he was the Chicago Tribune's and Sun-Times' endorsed candidate, Pawar, 30, didn't 
expect to win — he didn't even prepare an election-night party.
    Talking on WTTW's Chicago Tonight the day after his win, Pawar said he received a congratulatory 
call from mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel, who lives in Pawar's ward, the day after the elections. Pawar could 
not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
    At NU, Pawar works on creating a university-wide business continuity program, according to his 
campaign website.
    Like the mayoral race, the 47th Ward aldermanic contest started off with a clear favorite: 36-year 
incumbent Gene Schulter.
    Four challengers, including Tom Jacks, an NU student, and Pawar, entered the contest, but Schulter, 
who won re-election in 2007 with 77 percent of the vote, had the upper hand. 
    Then last month, Schulter dropped out of the race to apply unsuccessfully for the Cook County Board 
of Tax Review.
    Schulter endorsed O'Donnell, special assistant to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who took on the 
mantle of favorite. Since then, the contest turned into O'Donnell versus the rest.
    The contrast between O'Donnell and the three contenders was clear. O'Donnell, who has served as 
president of a local council and board, was the only one of the four candidates alive when Schulter first 
won his City Council seat. He heavily outraised the other candidates but spent less time at public 
events meeting voters, according to the Welles Park Bulldog News.
    During a candidates' forum last week, Pawar, Jacks and Matt Reichel, the other candidate in the 
race, called out the absent O'Donnell.
    "He believes he has this wrapped up and he doesn't need to show up at this point," Jacks said after 
the event. "That's really disrespectful to the voters."
    Reichel called O'Donnell's decision not to attend the event "smug."
    "I think what he's doing is emblematic of Chicago politics," Pawar said at the forum. "It's arrogant. 
He doesn't want to talk about the issues."
    Weeks before Election Day, O'Donnell's campaign had yard signs planted in front of the ward's 
early voting booth, alongside "Rahm for Mayor" signs. His campaign resources allowed him to call and 
mail voters multiple times. Jacks said he received at least 10 mailings and repeated robocalls from 
the O'Donnell campaign.
    Pawar began his campaign 15 months ago by going around the ward and knocking on doors.
    "Ameya has physically hit, by himself, walking the ward the last couple of months, almost 85 percent
of the households as of this past Friday," Pawar's campaign manager Sam Yanover said in an 
interview earlier this month.
    Yanover estimated there are 30,000 doors in the ward. The door-to-door strategy paid off at the polls.
Drawing a clear line between himself and his nine-term predecessor, Pawar promised he would limit 
himself to two terms if elected 47th Ward Alderman. He also promised to reduce his alderman salary 
to $60,000 from $110,000.


2/24/11 Associated Press: "Newspapers, GOP call for congressman to resign,"
    Salem, OR (AP) — A photo of Rep. David Wu wearing a tiger costume and other unusual 
revelations about his mental health are increasing pressure on the seven-term Oregon Democrat 
to step down.
    But the lawmaker says he's not quitting even as an editorial in one of the state's largest newspapers
and the state Republican chairman called for his resignation.
Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110224/ap_on_re_us/us_congressman_mental_health 



2/11/11 McClatchy Washington Bureau: "'Tiger Mother' meets reality: Asian students struggle, too,"
by Jennifer Oldham of The Hechinger Report
    Pasadena, Calif. — Angela Lo grew up in a strict household, under constant pressure to get grades 
good enough for admission to a top university. In stark contrast to stereotypes of Asian student success
perpetuated in Amy Chua's new bestseller "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," Lo put off going to college
and instead got a job.
    "I felt that by me not succeeding, I kind of let my parents down," said Lo, who at 30 still lives with her 
Chinese-American parents and works as a dishwasher. 
    "As a kid, I felt like garbage . . . " She said she recently enrolled at Pasadena City College to get her 
parents off her back.
    Like Lo, about half the nation's Asian-American students enroll in community college, where they often
struggle to pay for classes and scramble to find room in remedial courses. They get far less attention 
than overachievers like Chua's highly micromanaged daughters, whose rigid childhood is described in 
a book that's sparking debates about Asian-American student success.
    Yale Law School professor Chua's prescription for producing highly accomplished children meant 
replacing play-dates and sleepovers with hours of math problems and endless practice sessions on the
violin and piano.
    An online excerpt from Chua's book in The Wall Street Journal last month garnered more than 7,500
comments — the most of any article in the site's history — and prompted impassioned responses, many
of them taking issue with Chua's approach to parenting. "Parents like Amy Chua are the reason why 
Asian-Americans like me are in therapy," one self-confessed D-student wrote.
    Chua even drew a rebuke from famously hard-nosed former Harvard president and White House 
economic adviser Larry Summers, who pointed out that two of Harvard's most successful students — 
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft chief Bill Gates — never graduated.
    With 48 distinct groups living in the U.S. that speak more than 300 different languages, many Asian 
Americans don't neatly fit the "model minority" stereotype of high-achieving, straight-A students, as the 
responses to Chua's excerpt illustrated.
    "There's such despair, alienation and unhappiness in students who have failed to live up to those 
expectations," said Hugo Schwyzer, a history and gender studies professor at Pasadena City College,
a public, open-admissions two year school where about a third of the student body is Asian. "I have gay
and lesbian Chinese students. I have overweight Chinese girls. I have Chinese students of barely 
average intelligence who work hard and get Cs."
    Preconceived notions about race and academic achievement mask the many challenges facing 
Asian-American students, where there's a glaring disparity between students who excel versus those 
who don't even graduate from high school.
    For example, it's true that Asian Americans are disproportionately represented at elite U.S
universities. Even though they account for just 5 percent of the nation's population, they encompass 
about 20 percent of enrollments at Ivy League institutions such as Harvard, where more than 30,000
students vied for 1,664 spots in last year's freshman class. Asian Americans made up 22 percent of 
admitted students last year.
    But it's also true that the academic performance of Asians isn't uniformly high.
    This reality is in plain view in California, which boasts the nation's largest Asian-American population
— an estimated 5 million people, or about 13 percent of California's inhabitants. Here, Asians scooped
up twice as many bachelor's degrees from the University of California system as their white counterparts
in 2008, according to a 2010 report, "The State of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific 
Islander Education in California."
    Yet 40 percent to 45 percent of those belonging to less well-known Asian ethnic groups — such as 
Hmong, Cambodians and Laotians — don't even have high school diplomas, the report found.
    "There are a lot of misconceptions about who Asian-American students are, and this is true in 
institutions that have large concentrations of Asians and ones where there are very few Asians," said
Robert Teranishi, associate professor of higher education at New York University. "It results in being
omitted from a lot of broader discourse about the needs of these students. They remain invisible in a
lot of ways."
    Little data exist about Asian-American students as a whole, added Teranishi, who found that just 
13 out of 3,000 articles that ran in top higher-education journals from 1996 to 2006 addressed the 
needs of this diverse group.
    Asian Americans' reputation for academic success is a double-edged sword when it comes to 
college admissions, according to Princeton University sociologist Thomas Espenshade, who's found 
that they need stronger SAT scores and grades than other students to land coveted spots at elite 
colleges.
    "They (admissions officers) don't think these students add as much," said Mitchell Chang, a 
professor of higher education and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los 
Angeles. "If you start to go after this admissions issue, it can easily turn into a problem and an attack
on race-conscious admissions, and by attacking race-conscious admissions, you undermine the 
civil-rights agenda."
    The more pressing issue for a third of the Asians living in California is their struggle to learn 
English, according to the 2010 report on the state of Asian-American education, which was prepared
for California State Assembly Member Mike Eng. The same report found that some groups — 
among them, Hmong and Cambodians — have poverty rates double the state average.
    "We find that Asian-American students, as they end up in college now — compared to previous 
years — are more likely to need special tutoring, or remedial work in English — one in five reported 
this," added Chang, a co-author of the report.
    Schwyzer says the less successful students at Pasadena City College seek solace in video 
games, with some of his male students spending half of their waking hours glued to computer 
screens. Others harm themselves or attempt suicide. Many need treatment for depression but may 
not seek it because of cultural norms.
    "Chua's assumption — that the pressure cooker of perfectionism will cause short-term pain but 
long-term success — simply isn't borne out by the evidence," Schwyzer wrote in a recent blog post.
    Asian-American girls age 15-24 have the highest suicide rates in that age group, according to 
the Department of Health and Human Services. But there's been little to no research looking at 
whether "Tiger Mom" parenting pressures are partly to blame.
    Students like Mon-Shane Chou, a 19-year-old student at Pasadena City College, are among 
those who say that being raised in a strict, high-pressure household is psychologically damaging.
    "When I was small, if we misbehaved, there was this bamboo back-scratcher that my mom or 
dad would hit us with, and we would not be allowed to cry," said Chou, who hid her report cards 
from her parents. "Not being allowed to cry is actually somewhat common in Chinese families."
    Chou now hopes to transfer to a school in the University of California system and earn her 
bachelor's degree in sociology, but she didn't fit in with the driven Asians in her high school.
    "My peers all wanted to be in AP classes and to have 4.0s," Chou recalled. "I wasn't quite sure
why they wanted it. It seemed like they had these goals in academics that didn't make sense to me
because they caused so much stress."
    (This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news 
outlet affiliated with The Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, based at Teachers 
College, Columbia University.) 

2/3/11 The Careerist: "Asian American Lawyers Still Underdogs"
by Vivia Chen 
http://thecareerist.typepad.com/thecareerist/2011/02/asian-american-lawyers.html 
    It's the start of Chinese New Year--the Year of the Rabbit--so what better time to check on the state of 
Asian American lawyers?
    Arguably, all that "You-better-make-straight-A's-or-I-will-kill-you-then-commit suicide-myself" Chinese 
parenting style must be paying off, because Asian American lawyers seem to be at all the elite, swanky 
firms.
    In New York, Asians represent over 50 percent of all minority lawyers, reports The New York City Bar in 
its latest diversity study. Nationally, they make up about half of all minority associates, reports NALP in its 
January bulletin. Moreover, even during the economic turbulence, when minority lawyer figures declined 
from 19.67 percent in 2009 to 19.53 percent in 2010, Asian Americans actually saw their numbers 
increase, from 9.28 percent to 9.39 percent.
    Asian American lawyers are on a roll, right? Not exactly.
    The bottom line is that Asian American lawyers thin out at the top. In fact, they are losing ground, says 
the NYCB study: "Over multiple periods of tracking the diversity benchmark data, the representation of 
Asian attorneys consistently declined with increasing levels." The study says that, among minority 
lawyers, they represented 55 percent of associates, 49 percent of partners, and 36 percent of practice 
group heads, as of March 2010.
    What's puzzling about the data, says Lisa Levey, who led the NYCB research, is that there's no obvious
reason for the consistent decline of Asians in the upper ranks. Unlike women who bail out of the profession
in greater numbers, "Asians have attrition rates that parallel the overall rate," says Levey. Logically, then,
Asians should be rising through the system.
    "We have to contend with the myth of the model minority," says Yang Chen, executive director of The 
Asian American Bar Association of New York, about how Asian lawyers are presumed to be successful.
"People are surprised that we need an organization for Asian lawyers. They always say to me, 'But you're
all so successful.'" It might be news to everyone else, but the lack of upward movement is hardly a surprise
to the Asian American lawyers, says Chen.
    But I thought I found a silver lining in the NYCB study: Asian Americans are increasingly heading up 
practice groups. In 2007, Asians represented just over 14 percent of all minorities leading a practice 
area, while in 2010, that figure jumped up to 36.1 percent.
    Chen, however, is not that impressed. "Maybe they're leading an Asian practice group or intellectual 
property," he says, pointing to the two areas where Asians tend to get slotted. "If they're heading 
corporate or general litigation, then I'd be more impressed."
    So are Asian Americans choosing other career paths as they get closer to partnership or are they 
getting sidelined?
    On that cliffhanger, Happy Chinese New Year!


2/3/11 Rafu Shimpo: Los Angeles Japanese Daily News: 
"APAs on Prime-Time TV: Progress Has Been Made, But More Needs to Be Done," 
by Karen K. Narasaki
http://rafu.com/news/2011/02/apas-prime-time-tv/
    The Asian Pacific American Media Coalition last week released its 2010 Report Card on Television 
Diversity. The following statement was issued in Los Angeles  by Karen Narasaki, chair of the coalition and 
president of the Asian American Justice Center.
    Ten years ago when we started grading the four major networks – ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC – on the 
inclusion of Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) in front of and behind the camera, the picture was dismal.
In 2001, only 17 Asian American actors were featured in the prime-time lineup and they were generally 
limited roles. The following year the number was even worse at 14. In 2010, the picture was much brighter 
with breakout shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost,” “Heroes” and “Glee” featuring APA actors in quality 
roles.  
    But to have prime-time television truly reflect the America we live in, the networks must do more to 
invest in shows that feature an APA as the central character. There has not been a primary cast of APA 
actors since Margaret Cho’s “All-American Girl” in 1994 — a span of more than 15 years. With the growing 
pool of proven Asian American talent in primary roles in large ensemble casts, the time is long overdue for 
an Asian American-led show.
    Over the last decade, reality shows emerged as a force during prime-time hours. The networks should 
be commended for the diversity of shows such as “Dancing With the Stars,” “American Idol,” “The Amazing 
Race,” “Survivor,” “The Biggest Loser” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which have featured APA 
talent including Carrie Ann Inaba, Cheryl Burke, Yul Kwon, Ada Wong and Kat Chang, who was part of the 
first all-female team to win “The Amazing Race.”
    We applaud ABC for featuring Rhex Arboleda, a native of the Philippines, and his family on an episode 
of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” during the 2010-11 season. However, not every reality show producer 
has been committed to assembling casts that are consistently diverse.
    Losing “Lost” and “Heroes” will have an impact on the number of APA actors on scripted prime-time 
shows in the 2010-11 season if efforts are not made to ensure diversity initiatives are implemented. But we 
do see promise in shows such as “Outsourced” and “Hawaii Five-0.”
    Overall, there were 37 APA actors cast in regular prime-time roles for the 2009-10 season, an increase of 
four from the previous season.  Although the quality of these roles has vastly improved — APAs are now 
cast in roles with real dimension, not just as sidekicks or in menial roles — APAs are still less likely than 
actors from other racial groups to appear in primary roles.
    Since the 2007-08 season, the number of APA writers and producers has continued to fall. Even though 
the decline is slight, this is of great concern to the coalition as the number should be increasing. We are 
also concerned about the decrease for Latino and African American writers as well.
    Time has shown that some showrunners are apparently uncomfortable writing for non-white lead 
characters and are not going to change. So it is necessary to create a new generation of writers and 
producers who can be successful in telling stories that will resonate with what America is today. We urge 
the networks to implement initiatives that will net gains in this area.
    We believe that increasing the number of APA and other minority writers and producers will help lead to 
fully developed characters and central roles for APA and other minority characters. After more than a 
decade of effort, each network should have a strong pipeline of minority talent ready to become the next 
Shonda Rhimes (creator, executive director and head writer of “Grey’s Anatomy”).
    Overall, opportunities for APA directors dipped slightly to 23 from 27. The coalition expects 
improvement at all of the networks but not enough APAs are being groomed for advancement or getting 
an opportunity to direct.
    With the exception of FOX, the other three networks continue to make progress in their efforts to 
contract with Asian American businesses. NBC and CBS top the four networks in Asian American 
business contracting, with FOX trailing in this category.
    This year, only NBC’s overall grade improved, up from a C+ to a B-. NBC’s grade rose because of 
its vast improvement in casting APAs on reality programs and in its holding deals with APAs. For 
non-scripted shows, NBC’s numbers increased from seven to 23. NBC also increased in the 
“development deals,” “procurement” and “APA executives” categories.
    We are sad that NBC chose to take “Heroes” and “Trauma” off the air but we applaud the network 
for “Outsourced,” a 2010-11 season sitcom set in India that features several Asian characters.
    ABC’s and CBS’s overall grades remained a B-; FOX maintained its C+ grade.
    You can find our full report at www.aajc.advancingjustice.org but I wanted to point out a few of each 
network’s highlights:
    ABC.  It has been five years since ABC’s breakout hit “Grey’s Anatomy” first aired, a show with a 
minority showrunner and quality roles for minority actors. Since then, ABC’s diversity efforts helped launch
homeruns such as “Lost” and “Ugly Betty” and now “Modern Family.” The coalition would like to see more
from the network at the same level as these shows.
    Despite ABC’s effort with “FlashForward,” the 2009-10 season was a disappointment. The network’s
APA number fell for a second year in a row in the writers, recurring actors and reality show cast members
categories. And with the conclusion of “Lost,” the numbers will fall further without renewed attention in 
development and casting.  There were two lost opportunities in ABC’s new season, “Off the Map” and 
“Body of Proof,” which are produced by ABC Studios. These broadcasts are both medical shows; 
originally, at least one was written with an Asian character in mind, but a non-minority actress was cast 
instead.
    The most significant improvement for ABC came in the minority-contracting category.
    NBC.  Overall, NBC improved in on-air, prime-time, unscripted shows and program development.
And with “Outsourced” added to the lineup, we expect the numbers for next season to rise for scripted 
shows even with “Heroes” off the network.  NBC continues improving its diversity initiatives and has 
broadened its efforts beyond just television. It leads the way with its digital efforts, which hold much 
promise for ensuring and increasing diversity as media continues to evolve.
    NBC is also committed to diversifying its workforce in the front office. The coalition commends NBC
for hiring Michael Chen from GE to serve as president of strategic initiatives.
    Another exciting opportunity for diversity inclusion at NBC was triggered by Comcast Corporation’s
merger with NBC Universal (NBCU). AAJC, East West Players, Japanese American Citizens League, 
Organization of Chinese Americans and Media Action Network for Asian Americans executed a landmark 
agreement last month with Comcast and NBCU that spells out very substantial provisions to increase 
the inclusion of Asian Americans that will set a high standard for the media and the communications 
industry.
    FOX.  FOX has delivered a big hit with “Glee.” We appreciate the diversity of the cast but would like 
to see the APA actors have an opportunity to develop into more central characters. For example, Jenna 
Ushkowitz is one of the original characters but has yet to have her back story fully told. Also, Iqbal Theba 
plays a wonderful supporting character on the show but he deserves more screen time.
    FOX’s new season has been a disappointment with only two new Asian regulars — Indira Varma 
added to “Human Target” and Lisa Lapira appearing in the mid-season replacement “Mixed Signals.”
For the 2009-10 season, FOX is one of two networks that improved in the writers and producers category.
FOX’s effort to focus more resources and attention on the development of minority-led projects continues 
to be promising. Its casting Internet site is a very innovative initiative.
    CBS.  CBS, under the committed leadership of Nina Tassler, has made great strides in its diversity 
initiatives since 2001. One example —CBS made concerted efforts to increase the number of APA actors
in the daytime segment of the schedule and these efforts are beginning to pay off.
    CBS, like FOX, improved in the writers and producers category as well as the procurement and network
executives areas. The 2009-10 lineup included a new show, “Three Rivers,” which cast Daniel Henney as 
a central character. Even though the series was canceled, we applaud CBS for going out of its way to 
secure the actor as a regular and not just relying on agents to submit clients for the show.  In fact, the 
network also did this with Adhir Kalyan in “Rules of Engagement” and Archie Panjabi — who won the 
Emmy for best supporting actress in a drama series — in “The Good Wife.”  The current season is 
promising with “Hawaii Five-0,” which features Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park in primary roles.
    Conclusion
    The coalition is very pleased with the progress we have seen over the years in the minority-contracting
category. We praise the networks for their commitment in this area and remain encouraged that 
improvements will continue.
    While progress has certainly been made through this decade of report cards, it is disappointing that 
the progress is not consistent. At this stage, one would expect each network to feature at least a dozen
APA regulars. But only NBC meets that mark. And no network airs a show with an APA as the central 
character or that features an APA family.


1/27/11 UCLA Today: "Tiger mom adds to stereotype that burdens Asian American students,"
    Mitchell J. Chang is a professor of education and Asian American studies. 
    The Wall Street Journal published an essay this month by Yale University law professor Amy Chua titled,
"Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," bringing national attention to the methods by which Asian American 
parents raise high-achieving children. Within a week, the essay received more than 6,500 comments on 
the newspaper's website, catapulting her previously unnoticed book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," 
up the New York Times' list of best-sellers.
    Chua's essay is considered controversial largely because it stresses a rigid parenting style based on 
tough love — the "Tiger Mother" — that goes against what she considers more typical "Western" styles 
that emphasize self-esteem and self-discovery. Parenting strategies aside, what has been overlooked 
is how this essay unintentionally undermines Asian American college applicants by perpetuating an 
erroneous stereotype.
    High-achieving Asian Americans have been struggling against an "Asian tax" in college as well as 
graduate school admissions for over three decades. In the late '80s, the federal government investigated
charges that Asian American college applicants faced a higher admissions bar than other groups. They
concluded in 1990 that Harvard admitted Asian American applicants at a lower rate than white students
despite the fact that Asian American applicants had slightly stronger test scores and grades.
    The federal government also inspected other elite universities, including some UC campuses where 
Asian American enrollment dropped despite increased numbers of highly qualified applicants. Federal 
investigators found that admissions staff at these elite universities had stereotyped Asian American 
applicants in characterizing them as quiet, shy and not "well rounded."
    In October 2006, Inside Higher Ed reported that at the annual meeting of the National Association 
for College Admission Counseling, admissions officers and high school counselors readily admitted that
bias against Asian Americans continues to be a real problem — so much so that some even 
recommended that Asian Americans should not identify their race in their applications. Admissions 
officers reportedly complained on a regular basis that they didn't "want another boring Asian."
    Meeting participants also reacted to a November 2005 Wall Street Journal article, which reported 
that white families were leaving top public schools as districts became "too Asian," apparently referring
to a shift in the emphasis of after-school programs away from a sports focus and toward an academic 
one.
    Now comes Chua's characterization of the "Tiger Mother," adding to what it means to be "too Asian."
This image contributes to an already problematic stereotype by suggesting not only that most Asian 
Americans are high-achieving, but also that their achievements are due to overbearing parents.
    Her characterization can further tax Asian American college applicants by reducing the chances that
they will be viewed as self-starters, risk-takers and independent thinkers — attributes that are often 
favored by admissions officers but rarely associated with Asian American applicants. If the "Tiger 
Mother" image leaves a lasting impression and is applied broadly beyond Chua's own experiences,
this characterization can advance a one-dimensional view of Asian Americans that minimizes their 
achievements and overlooks their diversity.
    With any luck, those involved with admissions in higher education fully recognize the shortcomings 
of Chua's essay and understand that the story of high achievement for Asian Americans is as varied
as the number of college applicants. If they don't and the "Asian tax" rises instead, we will hopefully 
be reading about the determination of Asian American parents to eliminate discriminatory admissions
practices, rather than essays about an obsession with raising hyper-achieving kids. Ideally, the public
will be just as concerned about the former as they have been with the latter.