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W H A T ' S   N E W
 
AUGUST 2003 NEWS
As we enter August 2003, the Asian/Asian Pacific American (US Asians) communities and the world continues to seek a ways to live together in an environment that provides freedom for the human spirit. It is acknowledged that within democracies, there is the inherit freedom (albeit in different degrees in every situation) to disagree and the responsibility to work together..

From the volatile Iraq/Middle East situation, California Governor Gray Davis recall election, $1 billion in contracts taken from Boeing, to the ever-evolving scenarios throughout Asia, release of the official 9/11 report regarding US's preparations, Bush's selected words in his "State of the Union" speech, Kobe Bryant's upcoming felony sexual assault trial, the multiple efforts of defining the EU's (European Union) vision, Democrats playing politics in California, the hidden troubles in Africa (Liberia) and the tumultous changes in South America - we truely live in "interesting times" filled with complexities that has its birth in times that existed many years ago.

As the Asian/Asian Pacific American communities' struggle to have their voices heard exist in these "interesting times" - the importance of acquiring an in-depth perspective of our historical heritages and its legacy becomes even greater. As stated in a well-known axiom - "If one doesn't know one's history, one is doomed to repeat its mistakes."

As a result, an invitation is extended to review the many events and issues that have recently occurred directly affects the Asian/Asian Pacific American (US Asian) and/or emantes from these communities.

In light of the vast spectrum of topics, issues and events that are related to our communities, we've divided the vast amount of news into various categories that are listed below:

Arts Commerce Community Criminal
Events Featured Artists History Hollywood
MANAA Music Political Polls
R.I.P. Sports Time Asia New Artists

Please note that upon "CLICKING" on each link listed within this section, one will have the ability to obtain additional in-depth information on each even.


COMMUNITY NEWS

CLICK HERE to participate in a "Film Poll" where you can tell us what movies from and/or with artists from the Asian/Asian Pacific American communities has the most buzz and support - along with reading some of the latest information regarding other APA movies and the film industry. Listed below are the current films in the poll.

Better Luck Tomorrow
 
The Way Home
American Adobe
 
The Debut
Notorious C.H.O.
 
Close Call
The Eye
 
ABC
Charlotte Sometimes
 
The Flip Side
Together   Full Time Killer
Monsoon Wedding   American Desi
Bend It Like Beckham

YOUR MUSICAL INPUT IS NEEDED as we seek identify the talented and upcoming Asian/Asian Pacific American music artists and their songs in our "Music Poll."

Click HERE to participate in this poll that will indicate your opinion(s) on the music groups listed below, along with reading some of the latest information regarding selected artists and the music industry.

Mia Doi Todd Second Wind Phuz
Ghost Orgy Florelie Escano Shell Lee
Anjani Dig Jelly Burning Tree Projekt
Justis Kuo The Speaks Michelle Branch
Hiroshima Linkin Park Ill Again

OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT AN APA MUSIC ARTIST!
One of our Asian Pacific American artist has made it through CALL ATT's "Battle of the Bands" Qualifying Round. In light of Harlemm Lee and Dat Phan's tangible proof that the genarl public recognizes the talents within the APA communities, they are asking for our help via the following steps:

  • Click HERE to enter the Contest website
  • Click on the "Cast Your Vote" logo
  • Pick which bandwidth (high or low) that you would like to hear the music after voting
  • Dial on the Phone Graphic - "1 800 CALL ATT"
  • Click on the "Cast Your Vote" logo (On Top)
  • Go to the "R&B/Rap" contestants
  • Vote for Mad Chinaman's "Over and Over" (Editor's Note: The song is an "old skool" r&b song in the style of Toni Braxton, Alicia Keys, Liz Wright, Norah Jones, etc.)
  • Place your e-mail in the box at the bottom of the page
  • Click "Enter"

APA MUSIC SHOWCASE ON SEPT 5, 2003
On Friday: September 5, 2003 in Southern California - an open invitation is extended to participate in the filming of various Asian Pacific American music artists for an upcoming DVD and videos at the 2nd edition of the "Dragon's Roar" Festival!

Last year's event included MeYou (rapper from Japan), Digital Cutup Lounge (d.j.'s from Hong Kong), Corrine May (Singapore's adult pop), TitoFelix (Pinoy pop-rockers from Tampa FL), CreAsian (Filipino Rockers), Prach Ly (Cambodian rapper), Amy Anderson (Korean comic) and Bad Candie (Houston-based hard rock group).

This year's event will include artists such as CreAsian (rock), Corrine May (adult), Digital Cutup Lounge (d.j.), Soup (rap), Noel (r&b/gospel), Sacramento's Effection (r&b), San Francisco's Natalyse and others.

TICKETS:

  • $15.00 - At the Door
  • $10.00 - Advance (before August 1, 2003)
  • $7.50 - Group (7+ before August 1, 2003)
  • The first ten people that voted for the "Mad Chinaman's" song "Over and Over" (as confirmed by CALL ATT's e-mail verifying that one voted) will receive free tickets. The other entries will be eligible to purchase the tickets for $5.00.

For further information, please contact us at jql@earthlink.net

FEATURED ARTISTS & LEADERS
JON M. CHU

Jon Chu is a 23 year old graduate of USC's film school that is slated to direct Columbia's planned remake of "Bye Bye Birdie" - the studio's first feature musical in nearly 30 years that is slated to be released late in 2004.

"(Jon M. Chu) got this job (directing Columbia's upcoming remake of the musical "Bye Bye Birdie") the old-fashioned way -- pure talent" stated the film's producer - Lucy Fisher of Columbia's Red Wagon Productions. The "Birdie" remake comes as Hollywood is once again revisiting the musical genre, fueled by the successes of recent tuners like Miramax's "Chicago" and Fox's "Moulin Rouge."

“Bye Bye Birdie” is the story of a rock n' roll singer who gets drafted. Before he goes, his agent gets him on to a TV show for a farewell gig, and to kiss his biggest fan goodbye. The original George Sydney-directed film starred Jessie Pearson as Conrad Birdie and Dick Van Dyke as his agent.

Jon Chu’s attention-grabbing student musical short (17-minutes) film (w/producers Jeff Jackel and Melissa Hook), "When the Kids are Away; A Musical Celebration of Mothers" ((basically, "Toy Story" for Mothers after kids leave) that was made on a $20,000 budget in 12 days, attracted attention from Doug Wig and Lucy Fisher of Columbia's (a division of Sony Entertainment) Red Wagon Productions.

This production, which was completed in December 2002, (that opens with a Black family of seven children whose mother fees them amide general chaos before sending them to school) is about the secret lives of mothers and what they do when their families go away for a day in the 1960’s - which is to sing and dance - everything from salsa to swing to country to break-dancing (in a series of intricately choreographed dance routines) while featuring an orchestra and 40 dancers (salsa, swing & break-dancing) among its 175 participants in its cast crew.

The film revealed the extraordinary lives of seemingly ordinary housewives when their husbands and kids are away for the day, through song and dance."

Jon Chu, the Los Altos Hills native, is the youngest son of five kids from the family of Lawrence and Ruth Chu, the people behind Los Altos' Chef Chu's restaurant. My parents came to the U.S. when they were 19 years old and decided they wanted to immerse their children in American culture.

His love of filmmaking began in the fifth grade, when his mother placed him in charge of the video camera during a family trip to Europe. Instead of the normal vacation pictures, he was making sci-fi movies with his brother. Then his father bought him a mixer, with which he made home videos and experimented with animation. In high school, he opened up a shop making corporate videos.

Chu is comfortable on the other side of the camera too. As a teen, he performed both on stage and on screen. Chu won the Ginny Award for best juvenile actor for his role in the Pacific Overture at the San Jose Civic Light Opera. In high school, he appeared weekly as an on-camera interviewer and reporter for KRON's Saturday teen show First Cut.

His parent instilled an appreciation for musical theater by taking him to musicals and ballets every Sunday of his youth. In addition, he took lessons in piano and, violin while tap-dancing for twelve years. Jon has stated that "Music is just so powerful. Three notes can communicate what three paragraphs of a script can."

In 1998, after graduating from Pinewood School, Chu was accepted into University of Southern California's prestigious film department. By his junior year, the industry was already taking notice.

Chu 's black-and-white digital video, "Silent Beats," which he wrote and directed, took first prize in the best drama/documentary category at the Alice's 3-Minute Film Festival.

Jon Chu won Princess Grace Foundation’s 2001 Cary Grant Award, the 2002 Jack Nicholson Directing Award and the Virgin Records Video Contest, directing a music video for the now defunct alternative rock group Geggytah. Outside of the classroom, Chu founded the USC School of Cinema-Television Student Council and strived to build a community among Asian Pacific American student filmmakers to broaden the exposure of APAs in the media.

While the original (that starred Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh, Maureen Stapleton and Bobby Rydell) poked fun at Elvis and early 1960s teen culture, Chu said he wants to make something more relevant to today's generation – as evident by one idea of morphing the Elvis character into a Justin Timberlake-type with an urban/hip-hop twist. He wants to make the movie young, fun and "hip pop.

The original "Birdie" bowed in 1960 on Broadway and offered gentle swipes at Elvis Presley and late-1950s/early-'60s teen culture. The story centers on Conrad Birdie, the country's biggest rock & roll star who gets drafted by the military. In an effort to impress his girlfriend, and make some money, Albert Peterson wants to get Birdie on The Ed Sullivan Show and have him kiss one lucky high school girl good-bye before he enters the service.

Vice president Rachel Shane will oversee the project for Red Wagon with Amy Baer onlooking for Columbia. Red Wagon principals Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher with VP Rachel Shane will produce "Birdie." Col exec VP Amy Baer will oversee the project for the studio. Chu is represented by the William Morris Agency and Marathon Entertainment's Jewerl Ross and Danny Sherman.

Chu has more irons in the fire, including a project with Steven Spielberg in the near future. How's that for magic?

LARRY CHING

Larry Naiwi Ching, a first generation Chinese; entertainment-savvy; liberal, English speaking and one of the Asian American pioneers that was accepting of their identities as Americans while understanding their heritage as Asians, was a popular self-taught singer at San Francisco's Forbidden City - the Chinatown nightclub that flourished in the 1940s and 1950s.

Mr. Ching died on July 5, 2003 in an Francisco hospital on Saturday after suffering a brain aneurysm at the age of 82 - one week after celebrating the release of his first -- and only -- CD (the Ben Fong-Torres-produced production features classic love songs and standards from his native Hawaii -- as well as a handful of his recordings from the 1940s) and receiving a special proclamation from Mayor Willie Brown, who declared June 28, 2003, "Larry Ching Day."

Mr. Ching was a merchant marine when he landed in San Francisco during the 1930s and became a singing bartender. Being tired of being told what to do on the ships, he decided to work at the all-Asian nightclub, Forbidden City, where he was billed as "The Chinese Frank Sinatra" (though many have compared him to Bing Crosby) He hated the label (though he was like Sinatra in two ways - he was slight in build but devastatingly handsome), but his sweet, smooth tenor voice quickly made him a favorite and he was a featured performer for many years, once appearing on a radio program hosted by Hoagy Carmichael. He also performed at Andy Wong's Chinese Sky Room and occasionally at Club Shanghai because he never signed any exclusive contracts.

Mr. Ching was born on the Hawaiian island of Kauai in Kapa'a and was raised by his grandparents after his mother, an opera singer, went to study in Europe. After graduating from high school, since he couldn't afford college, he found himself a job aboard a ship of the President Lines, working as a fireman and oiler in the engine Room, joined the seamen's union and eventually joined the merchant marine. His travels took him to Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore as well as along the west coast of the United States.

In 1938 Mr. Ching took a $40-a-week job as a bartender at Chinese Village, a local watering hole and owned by Charlie Low (future owner of the “Forbidden City Nightclub), Dr. Margaret Chung, and Dr. Collin Dong. "I became the first singing bartender in Chinatown," he noted proudly years later. Note: Larry taught himself how to sing by listening to records at a very young age.

In 1940, Charlie Low, who had opened Forbidden City, hired Mr. Ching to appear in the club's floor show six days a week as part of an all-Asian ensemble of entertainers. He was part of a Charlie Low's Forbidden City poster that had the heading: "The Greatest Chinese Revue"; and the three performers pictures were Paul Wing, inscribed as "Chinese Fred Astaire," Frances Chun, "Song Stylist," and Larry Ching, the "Singing Favorite."

He became one of the club's most popular performers at a time when there were few opportunities for Asian entertainers after starting as San Francisco Chinatown’s first singing bartender. He met many celebrities at Forbidden City such as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Duke Ellington and Lena Horne.

Mr. Ching also had to deal with racism. "Several times I lost control of my temper when some drunken customer called me 'Chinaman,"' he recalled. Occasionally he would get in a fight, but most of the time, he said, "I just had to take it."

After the Forbidden City folded in 1961, Mr. Ching found there was no market for Asian performers. Instead, he became a truck driver for local newspapers, including the Call Bulletin, the Examiner and The Chronicle. He retired in 1985.

His career was unexpectedly revived in 1989 with the release of Arthur Dong’"Forbidden City USA," the acclaim documentary about the club and the performers, which featured him singing a couple of songs. This lead to the recording of his debut album, " Til the End of Time."

Mr. Ching married twice. His first wife, Vicki, who died in 1979, was a dancer at Forbidden City. In addition to his widow (Jane Seid Ching), he is survived by two sons, Michael Ching of Lafayette and Philip Ching of Rohnert Park; four stepsons, David Gee of San Francisco, Larry Chu of Larkspur, Lindsay Chu of San Francisco and Lance Chu of Hayward; 11 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

FORBIDDEN CITY
In the late Thirties in San Francisco, a showbiz-loving visionary, Charlie Low, opened the Forbidden City, a nightclub and restaurant near Chinatown, San Francisco, featuring floor shows with singers, dancers, chorus lines, acrobats and magicians. His was not the first or only such club, but he made his the best known, and it became the model for the nightclub in the C.Y. Lee book and Broadway musical, The Flower Drum Song.

Forbidden City closed in the early '60s because its time had passed - television kept people at home in the evenings and the younger generation was already rocking and rolling. The club's combination of Asian performers providing western-style entertainment with touches of vaudeville and titillating burlesque was no longer a novelty (by then Las Vegas was where that kind of entertainment was featured). And unfortunately for the stars of Forbidden City, even though their talent as singers and dancers may have been the equal of anyone else in Hollywood or Broadway, they couldn't break into the mainstream because they were Asian. If they continued their careers, it was as dance teachers or hoofing it on small circuits as a specialty Asian act.

ALEX TSE

Alex Tse is a young 27 years old scriptwriter raised in San Francisco who hooks up with Spike Lee on his screen-writing debut -- "Sucker Free City" (originally titled “The Game”), a Showtime network pilot executive produced by Sam Kitt and directed by Spike Lee that is packed with more authenticity in a three-word name than most San Francisco-based shows can summon in a 22-episode season.

The title of “Sucker Free City” came from several trailblazing San Francisco rappers such as RBL Posse, Rappin 4-Tay, JT the Bigga Figga and San Quinn who started saying that people from San Francisco are not punks. They started calling San Francisco “sucker-free.” “There's no suckers” in San Francisco - we're sucker-free."

"Sucker Free City" -- premiering as a two-hour pilot in the fall -- is about the interactions of a diverse group of San Franciscans after housing prices force a young white resident named Nick to move into a predominantly black neighborhood. In other words, this is a project that had a prestigious film director on board as executive producer in a project that was different, quality and provocative about Black, White and Asian gangs in Sucker Free City.

Alex Tse grew up in the middle-class Richmond District, attended Alamo Elementary School and later took the bus to Presidio Middle School and Lowell High School. After graduating from Emerson College in Boston, Tse chose Los Angeles and ten years to pursue his writing career. After less than three years of producing rap videos and working at low-level temp jobs at Miramax and Disney, he sold "87 Fleer," which centered on four middle-class kids in the Richmond District.

Based on his script, Showtime executives last year asked him to write a pilot about gangs. Tse stated that Showtime "really liked in 'Fleer' were the middle- class kids, from good families and how they became bad. Having the freedom to set the show anywhere he wanted, Tse decided on San Francisco – as he had remembered that the neighborhoods in San Francisco through his sightseeing through the graffiti-etched window of a Muni bus that allowed him to study the gentrification and gans and racial boundaries that were never represented.

Most major television shows/films, after the obligatory trips to the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts, ignore San Francisco's diversity, politics and overcrowding issues. Recent television shows and movies based in San Francisco -- "Presidio Med," "Pacific Heights," "The Rock," “Girls Club” -- are named mostly by tourists, mono-ethnic cast, with people who have perched in cable cars and tasted the sourdough, but still think the Tenderloin is something on the menu at Fog City Diner. In Hollywood's most common version of San Francisco, students can afford to live in Victorian flats, parking is plentiful and little exists west of City Hall or south of Potrero Hill.

"Sucker Free City" is by no means the first major production to explore corners of the city unseen by tourists. San Francisco filmmakers such as Philip Kaufman and Wayne Wang have gone out of their way to shoot less familiar angles of the city. Smaller independent films coming out of the southeast portion of San Francisco -- most recently Kevin Epps' documentary "Straight Outta Hunters Point" -- have provided an insider's look at the artistic output of some of the city's roughest neighborhoods.

Jerry Offsay (Showtime’s president of programming that brought critically-acclaimed mature themed films like "Bastard Out of Carolina" and "Lolita" that garnered critical raves for mature themes), Gary Levine (executive vice president of programming and Offsay's right-hand man) and Danielle Gelber (vice president of original programming, reading scripts and acquiring scripts) were interested in “Sucker Free City” because of their intent on taking Showtime further in a different direction -- fewer movies, more emphasis on original series. They were looking for genres that could be opportunities for storytelling that would be "getting inside a gang and feeling not only the violence and the danger, but also the love and support that goes with it."

Alex Tse thought that “Sucker Free City” would be a good opportunity to do something real and gritty that was done in San Francisco.

NEW CALIFORNIA MEDIA (NCM)
NCM is a nationwide association of over 600 ethnic media organizations representing the development of a more inclusive journalism. Founded in 1996 by Pacific News Service, NCM promotes ethnic media by strengthening the editorial and economic viability of this increasingly influential segment of America's communications industry.

NCM's goal is to

  • raise the visibility of Ethnic Media as a major information source for California's 17 million Ethnic American residents and the changing American landscape;
  • increase Ethnic Media’s access to advertising opportunities through a one-order/one-bill placement service;
  • promote an inter-ethnic editorial exchange.

EXPO 2003: NCM AWARDS
Recognizing journalistic excellence, NCM invites news organizations (print, online, radio and television) serving California’s ethnic minority and newcomer communities, as well as individuals whose work is published or aired by these media outlets, to submit entries published between January 1 to December 31, 2002. Entries may be in the language of the publication such as English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Arabic, Tagalog, or other relevant languages. Each winner will receive an award of $500 and a certificate. Entries must be postmarked no later than September 1, 2003. Entry fee is $20 per submission. Download NCM's "Entry Form" to enter. Awards will be presented at the NCM Awards ceremony at The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, 6:00 pm to 10 pm on Tuesday, November 18, 2003.

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

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For additional and specific details on the information listed below, please CLICK on the “Titles” listed below.

APA & MEDIA NEWS
SUCCESS OF UPCOMING APA STARS
Dat Phan - this talented comic entered the final rounds in NBC's "Last Comic Standing" program.
Harlemm Lee made it to the finals on NBC's "Fame." (Editor's Note: On Wednesday: July 23, 2003 - Harlemm won the program's ultimate prize as the result of people voting for him! Congratulations to Harlemm.
Read More>>>>>

PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, recognizes exceptional meritorious service. The medal was established by President Truman in 1945 to recognize notable service in the war. In 1963, President Kennedy reintroduced it as an honor for distinguished civilian service in peacetime. Only I.M. Pei in 1992 and Fred Korematsu in 1998 have won the Presidential Medal of Honor.
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SEATTLE'S HIP-HOP SCENE
A new exhibit at Wing Luke Asian Museum, "It's Like That: APA's and the Seattle Hip-Hop Scene," examines the role of Asian Pacific Americans in shaping Seattle hip-hop.
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0TH ANNIVERSARY OF BRUCE LEE'S DEATH
Thirty years after Bruce Lee died, the first Asian-American to star in a Hollywood film still is considered to be one of the greatest martial artists ever. A new "Bruce Lee Collectors Exhibit 2003: The Beginning of a Legend, the Story of a Man" has opened with items from one of the biggest collectors of Bruce Lee memorabilia in Seattle. (event is sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wells Fargo and Uwajimaya. Exhibit is a fund-raiser for Seattle's InterIm Charity for low income housing)
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SENATOR BILL BRADLEY'S WORDS
To encourage contributions to our Nation's future from Americans of Asian descent requires a commitment from each of us to
  • get beyond the stereotypes, to move past simplistic discussions of race relations which only recognize black and white,
  • to realize the depth and diversity of the many different people we call Asian-Pacific-Americans,
  • to reach out to the Asian-American physicist in New Mexico, garment worker in San Francisco, doctor in New Jersey, restaurant owner in Chicago, and teacher in Los Angeles,
  • to recognize that the surnames Nguyen, Patel, and Chang are just as American as Kennedy, Johnson, and Bush,
  • to speak out against anti-Asian talk and violence where we hear or see it,
  • to realize that contact brings understanding, and like my roommate in college, prejudice withers in an air of friendship.

And when that happens, Americans from Asia will be a living, contributing, and integrated part of American life. And we will, in every way, be a richer society because of it.
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HISTORY OF "YELLOWFACE" IN HOLLYWOOD
The history of blackface has been well documented in American film criticism; the history of yellowface has received much less critical attention, and considerably less public censure
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WHITE COLLAR JOBS OVERSEAS
With American corporations under increasing pressure to cut costs and build global supply networks, two senior I.B.M. officials told their corporate colleagues around the world in a recorded conference call that I.B.M. needed to accelerate its efforts to move white-collar, often high-paying, jobs overseas even though that might create a backlash among politicians and its own employees.
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GOV. LOCKE WILL NOT RUN FOR 3RD TERM
Washington State Governor Gary Locke announced that he would not seek a third term as governor next year. He will end his eight years in the Governor's mansion in January 2005. Governor Locke will have been in public life for 27 of his 53 years.
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INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENT WINS "BEE"
Sai R Gunturi, a 13-year-old Indian American student from Dallas, Texas's St. Mark School, became the 2003 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee champion by spelling correctly the word 'pococurante', which means nonchalant.
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R.I.P. - DIANA GONG MCCARTHY
Diana Gong McCarthy (41 years old wife & producer) and her husband (Director Kevin McCarthy, 50) had been living in Los Angeles just seven months when they were struck by the speeding Buick in the Santa Monica Farmer's Market incident that killed a total of 10 people and injured more than 50 others.
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IMAGES OF A CULTURAL REVOLUTION
Li Zhensheng's remarkable visual testimony within 152 images of the violent and chaotic era of Mao Zedong Cultural Revolution are on display at the Patrimoine Photographique here through Sept. 21. In addition, within his book, "Red Color News Soldier," includes 285 pictures and a memoir of his life until 1976, when the decade-long revolution ended.
Read More>>>>>

POVERTY WITH NYC'S AA CHILDREN
An analysis of new census data reveals severe levels of poverty among Asian American children living in New York City.
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HOUSING DISCRIMINATION
Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders seeking to buy or rent a home encounter significant discrimination (1 out of 5) on a par with Hispanics and blacks, according to a new nationwide study by U.S. Department of H.U.D. that surveyed 11 metro areas, including San Diego County.
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CEMETARY HOLDS CHINESE HISTORY
The Stockton Rural Cemetary holds Chinese American history and memories. The burial grounds was built in 1927 when the Stockton Chinese Benevolent Society bought the 10 acres on the corners of Manthey and Mathews roads that was donated by Charles Webber.
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MINORITY ALLIANCE CONTRACT IS OBTAINED
The African American Chamber of Commerce, Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon and Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber have partnered with Star Park to run Portland Oregon-owned Smart Park garages.
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ASIAN AMERICAN PATRIOTISM
On July 4th, Asian American activists in Oakland's Chinatown (i.e. Oakland Chinese American Consolidated Benevolent Association, the Shanghai American Association of Northern California, Zhongshan American Association, Healthy Work-Out California USA, 80-20's Sea of Flags Project and other organizations) expressed their patriotism by decorating the lively district with hundreds of American flags.
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CHEECH & CHONG RIDES AGAIN
Nearly 20 years after the Cheech & Chong movie franchise appeared to go up in smoke, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong are reuniting for a new film for New Line Cinema.
Read More>>>>>

TAKERU KOBAYASHI WINS CONTEST
Nearly doubling the world record, 23 years old Takeru Kobayashi of Japan consumed 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes to win the 86th annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest.
Read More>>>>>

KOREAN AMERICAN HISTORY OVERVIEW
A chronicle of the last 100 years of Korean Americans are filled with many achievements. Click HERE, to review their contributions, within the context of Asian Pacific American history,
Read More>>>>>

MAJOR KPOP CONCERT AT STAPLES
Boa, Shinhwa, Seven, Kim Bum Soo, Jo Sung Mo, Park Hyo Shin, Park Hwa Yo Bi, Lee Seung Chul, Big Mama, Maya, NRG, Bi and Park Jin Young among others are expected to perform at Staples Center in Los Angeles on August 22.
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NASEERUDDIN SHAH AND SEAN CONNERY
Naseeruddin Shah is in the cast of Sean Connery's "The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen" as a Kali-worshipping character called Captain Nemo - one of the many legendary literary characters in the movie; the list includes Allan Quartermain, Tom Sawyer, Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde and Dorian Gray.

A student of the Film and Television Institute of India, Naseeruddin Shah is one of India's finest actors and together with Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, and Om Puri - one of the icons of New Indian Cinema. His intelligent face and lack of conventional good looks combined of course with his awesome talent have made him the correct person to convey the frustrations, aspirations and the joys of the common man.
Read More>>>>>

AA STUDENTS IN TWO WORLDS
Pulled by the demands of their cultures and college life, Asian American students at UC Davis face some daunting challenges.
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KATHAK - AN INDIAN DANCE TRADITION
Amid the increasing popularity of Bollywood films, the fashions of India and fiction from the subcontinent, Birju Maharaj (a man widely regarded as the supreme practitioner) shares the Indian artistic expression of dance known as kathak.
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MINORITY BANKS LENDING ENOUGH?
Greenlining Institute, the San Francisco nonprofit, created by a coalition of minority community groups, has targeted the large Asian American banks that have thrived in California's diverse landscape to serve Latinos, blacks and other minorities in addition to their core customers.
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SUNWOO BRINGS MUSIC TO KODAK
Jae Y. Moh of Sunwoo Entertainment (a South Korean firm best know for Rugrats and the Wild Thornberrys) with Theatrical Arts International will bring to the Kodak Theater a series of musicals such as The Full Monty, Cameron Mackintosh's Oliver, Direct From Vegas — the Rat Pack and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
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VIETNAMESE KILLING DIVIDES SAN JOSE
The San Jose Police Department's public relations campaign expresses the department's "condolences" to the family of Cau Tran, a 25-year-old mother of two who died July 13 from a single gunshot wound to the chest in the kitchen of her home.
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SUSPECT IN CHINATOWN POLICE KILLING
A suspect (Faustino Villareal) in the hit-and-run that killed two policemen (Arthur Soo Hoo and William Wong) in Chinatown was arrested in Vacaville.
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WANG ZHI ZHI DOESN'T ENVY YAO
Wang Zhi Zhi, 7-foot Chinese basketball player with the L.A. Clippers, is comforted by life's small pleasures and doesn't envy the fame of Yao.
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2ND GENERATION OF APA NOVELISTS
Anger, realism and irreverence distinguish the "second generation" of Asian American novelists such as Julie Shigekkuni, Mako Yoshikawa, Suki Kim, Lisa See, Anchee Min, Carolyn Hwang, David Wong Louie, Dao Strom and Mian Mian.
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R.I.P. - TOSHIKO SAGIMORI YOSHIDA
Toshiko Sagimori Yoshida, 82, who survived the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and became an activist at a time when few such women raised their voices in the political arena, died May 20
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LATEST KILL BILL
Fans of Quentin Tarantino and the many international distributors will now get two ninety-minute films instead of the anticipated three hour kung fu bloodbath that will be titled Kill Bill (Volume 1 and Volume 2).
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GANDHI TRUST AID INDIAN ACTORS
A trust set up from the revenues of British director Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning film "Gandhi" is helping provide aid to hundreds of poor and forgotten Indian actors.
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AA CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS HONORED

The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a national Asian Pacific American (civil rights advocacy and educational organization unveiled on April 26, 2003 the first historical marker in the United States dedicated to commemorating the American Civil War solders of Asian descent in Columbus, Ohio.

During the last Congress, Congressman Mike Honda (the event's honorary guest) introduced a Joint Resolution posthumously proclaiming soldiers of Asian descent who fought in the Civil War to be honorary citizens of the United States (H. J. Res. 125).
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DARKER SIDE OF INDIA'S "CALL CENTERS"
India's call centers provide cheap English-speaking workers and high-speed telecoms to provide customer service helplines for companies around the world. They're a boon for India's army of job-hunting youth.
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A&F'S HIRING PRACTICES
Abercrombie's aggressive approach to building a pretty and handsome sales force is a leading example of a steadily growing trend in American retailing. From Abercrombie to the cosmetics giant L'Oréal, from the sleek W hotel chain to the Gap, businesses are openly seeking workers who are sexy, sleek or simply good-looking.
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ASIAN PATIENTS KEPT ALIVE
Study finds that more than one-third of severely cognitively impaired residents in nursing homes have feeding tubes -- and that black and Asian patients are more likely to be kept alive by the devices.
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EAST WEST PLAYERS EVENTS
East West Players' upcoming events include the following: Celebrating Tim Dang's 10th Birthday, Passion, Masha No Home (Director: Henry Chan), Wind Cries Mary (Writer: Philip Gotanda) and M. Butterfly (Writer: David Henry Hwang)
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HR-333
HR 333 (introduced by Congressman David Wu), if passed and signed into law, will provide support ($30 MILLION) to colleges and universities to address and serve the unique needs of AAPI students and communities.
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HAWAII DRUG PROGRAM TEACHES TRADITION
The Ho'omau Ke Ola program for drug addicts teaches native Hawaiians about their ancestors, history and culture. The idea is to help the clients see that they are connected to something larger than themselves.
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R.I.P. - LEELA CHITNIS
Leela Chitnis, an actress whose half-century-long 40-film career in India progressed from romantic roles to the motherly ones for which she is best remembered, died on Monday at a hospital in Danbury, Conn. She was 93.
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HEART MOUNTAIN REMEMBERED
Honor roll was dedicated at a windswept site between Cody and Powell Wyoming to remember the 799 Japanese internees (that included U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta) at Northern Wyoming's Heart Mountain relocation camp that served on the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
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FEDERAL MAIL ORDER BILL
Senator Maria Cantwell, Representative Rick Larsen, and Representative Jay Inslee announced that they would be introducing a new legislation that will help protect Mail Order Brides from abuse by their husbands in the United States.
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MADAME MAO MEETS BRIGHT SHENG
Tension — and hope — runs high as the Santa Fe Opera prepares to present the world premiere of Chinese composer Bright Sheng's "Madame Mao."
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PUFFY'S IN BED WITH JOHN & YOKO
Japanese duo Puffy AmiYumi has paid homage to the John Lennon-Yoko Ono 1969 "bed-in for peace" by using it on the cover of the pair's new album, "Nice."
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YOYO MA'S BOSSA NOVA
Yo-Yo Ma, in his apparent quest to discover a role for the cello in every one of the world's musics, has found a particularly empathic destination in Brazilian music via his participation in the Hollywood Bowl's "Sounds of Brazil" program.
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ANG LEE'S FUTURE
Ang Lee's future includes the sequel to The Hulk, which is scheduled to be finished in two years, and the other is the long prepared prequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (ÅP»¢²Øýˆ).
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DR. JONG WOOK LEE - W.H.O. DIRECTOR
Dr. Lee described himself as "a doer" who prefers colleagues who are more interested in rolling up their sleeves than in collecting degrees.
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FORTUNE'S LIST OF PROMINENT COMPANIES
Discover Fortune Magazine list of 2003's Most Admired Companies (Globally), 100th Fastest Growing Companies, U.S.'s Fastest Growing Small Companies and Most Admired Companies in the U.S. (i.e. Wal-Mart, Southwest Airlines, Berkshire Hathaway, Dell Computer, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, FedEx, Starbucks and Procter & Gamble).
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TOP ASIAN LEADERS
Time Asia's leaders selected these people as their heroes:

  • Wasim Akram: Veteran Pakistan cricket bowler
  • Corazon Aquino: Philippines' post-Marcos savior
  • Amitabh Bachchan: Bollywood superstar
  • Kalpana Chawla: India-born astronaut and Columbia shuttle victim
  • David Dawe: International Rice Research Institute scientist
  • Abdul Sattar Edhi: Pakistani humanitarian
  • Gao Xingjian: Chinese author and Nobel laureate
  • Korea's 2002 World Cup Football team
  • Lee Kwan Yew: Singapore's founding father
  • Mahathir Mohamad: Malaysian Prime Minister
  • Man who blocked the Chinese tanks at Tiananmen
  • Hideki Matsui: Japan's baseball 'Godzilla'
  • Hayao Miyazaki: Japan's Oscar-winning animation pioneer
  • Narayana Murthy: Indian IT entrepreneur
  • Munir S.H.: Indonesian victims' rights campaigner
  • Pervez Musharraf: Pakistan President
  • I Made Pastika: Bali bombings investigator
  • Lea Salonga: Filipina broadway diva
  • Yao Ming: Chinese basketball star
  • Zhu Rongji: China's anti-corruption crusader
    Read More>>>>>

    TIME ASIA'S INSPIRATIONAL LEADERS

  • SARS Fighters
  • Satoshi Fukushima
  • Cambodia's Samaritans
  • Agus Bambang Priyanto
  • Wu Shu-Chen
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    TIME ASIA'S ENTERTAINMENT HEROES

  • YoYo Ma
  • Christine Hakim
  • A-Kuei
  • Stephen Chow
  • Chin-Chin Gutierrez
  • Yoko Ono
  • Ryuichi Sakamoto
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    TIME ASIA'S SPORTS HEROES

  • Yao Ming
  • Virender Sehwag
  • Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj
  • Hideki Matsui
  • Paradorn Srichaphan
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    TIME ASIA'S "BUILDER & REFORMER" HEROES

  • Surayud Chulanont
  • Ranil Wickremesinghe
  • Elattuvalapil Sreedharen
  • Gulla Jan Hairran
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    TIME ASIA'S "CRUSADER & ACTIVIST" HEROES

  • Kim Sang Hun
  • Cut Syamsurniati
  • Mo Shaoping
  • Cynthia Maung
  • Sister Maria
  • Liu Binyan
  • The Good Women of Gujarat
  • Asma Jahangir
    Read More>>>>>

    SUICIDE OVER A POP STAR
    The suicide of a high school girl in Dalian (China), who killed herself in emulation of her favorite pop star (Leslie Cheung), has confronted Chinese parents and education experts with a new psychological phenomenon.
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    CORRUPTION IN HK'S MUSIC INDUSTRY
    Several of Hong Kong's biggest music stars and industry figures (Emperor Group's CEO Albert Yeung, Juno Mak, TVB executives, etc.) have been arrested as part of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) investigation into corruption (alleged that chart positions and music awards have been rigged) in the music industry.
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    BOOTLEGGERS FROM CHINA
    As China's pirates grow beyond consumer electronics, music, watches, shoes, etc - they are moving into medicines and auto parts. Their entry are creating safety and liability concerns for manufacturers of the genuine articles.
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    US FILM CO.'S SUE CHINA FILM FIRMS
    Fox Entertainment's Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, Walt Disney Co and French-owned Vivendi Universal's Universal Studios are seeking a public apology, compensation and a halt to the alleged violations of film piracy from Shanghai Hezhong Enterprise, Shanghai Yatu Film Culture and Shanghai Husheng Audio-Visual Co.
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    AMERICAN REMAKE OF KOREA'S "SASSY GIRL"
    In 2002, DreamWorks had a very successful outing with their remake of the Japanese film The Ring. With that in hand, the company has also purchased the US remake rights for another smash Asian success, the hilarious and endearing Korean romantic comedy My Sassy Girl.
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    PENDING WAR IN NORTH KOREA
    Former defense secretary William Perry warned that the United States and North Korea are drifting toward war, perhaps as early as this year, in an increasingly dangerous standoff that also could result in terrorists being able to purchase a North Korean nuclear device and plant it in a U.S. city.
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    SYLVIA CHANG INKS WITH COLUMBIA
    Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia (CPFPA) has acquired worldwide rights to Taiwanese feature 20:30:40 directed by and starring Sylvia Chang.
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    LEGAL COMMUNITY'S PREJUDICE
    Prejudice is alive and well in the legal profession. Do women somehow lose all their capabilities when they don the hijab?
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    WENDY MURDOCH HAS HER 2ND CHILD
    Rupert Murdoch has become a father for the sixth time. Wendi Deng, 35, the third wife of the 72-year-old media magnate, gave birth to a girl named Chloe on Thursday
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    CONCERNS OF JAPAN'S IMMIGRANTS
    Many economists and demographers here and abroad say Japan's success or failure in addressing the concerns of immigrants will go a long way toward determining whether this country remains an economic powerhouse or its population shrivels and the slow fade of its economy turns into a rout.
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    POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE
    The fate of Vietnam's catfish offers a warning to poorer nations short on leverage in the world trading system: beware of what may happen if you actually succeed at playing by the big boys' rules.
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    IN DEFENSE OF JAPAN
    More than a half-century after two atomic blasts forced Japan's surrender in World War II, talk of acquiring nuclear weapons — long one of the country's most sacred taboos — is but one illustration of how Japan is grappling openly with the challenge of becoming what is known here as a "normal nation," one armed and able to fight wars.
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    QUAN KONG
    Chinese Americans (with links to Teo Chew) journey to Alexandria to honor the 1,843rd birthday of Quan Kong - a Revered Warrior-Saint who is known as an honorable and righteous man.
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    IS RACE REAL?
    "There's no genetic basis for any kind of rigid ethnic or racial classification at all," said Bryan Sykes, the Oxford geneticist and author of "The Seven Daughters of Eve." "I'm always asked is there Greek DNA or an Italian gene, but, of course, there isn't. . . . We're very closely related."
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    MANAA'S PROTESTS
    Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) lead protests against Fox Broadcasting Company (it's been reported that Fox's Wenda Fong - and President of CAPE - supported the program) for their show titled "Banzai," (Read various perspectives on this issue) Read about Banzai's initial ratings and Fox's response. Fox's airing of the early Charlie Chan films (Read Howard Rosenberg's views) and against NBC. for the dog-eating skits done on the Tonight Show by Jay Leno. (Note: Commentary and updates on the Banzai issues can be found by clicking HERE)
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    MORE MANAA PROTESTS
    Charlie's Angels sequel angered Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) about scenes in which Lucy Liu's character, Alex, introduces her parents: a white father, played by John Cleese, and a Chinese mother, who only appears in an old photograph. (Read Robert Payne/Jennifer Kuo's views)
    Read More>>>>>
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