Thanks to 'Minari,' 'Nomadland' & 'Sound of Metal,' Oscars and AAPI could have a historic convergence

The Americanization of a Korean American immigrant family is told in 'Minari.'

OPINION

More and more, it looks like it could be a history-making year for Hollywood, AAPI movies and filmmakers when the Oscar nominees are announced March 15.

It looks like Minari could be up against Nomadland for best picture and best director with Sound of Metal starring Riz Ahmed as a darkhorse.

Minari, written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, won the best picture award by the New York Film Critics Online last week. This is the third straight year the critics  picked a foreign language film as best picture. Minari, the story of a Korean American family and set in Alabama is mostly in Korean.

Last year, the film critics picked the Korean film, Parasite and the year before that, Roma, the Spanish-speaking Argentinian movie. Both films were named in the Best Picture by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts in their respective years with Parasite winning Best Picture last year and Roma winning best foreign feature the year before. 

If history is a predictor, it bodes well for Minari, to win Hollywood's coveted Oscar.

Director Chloe Zhao on location for 'Nomadland.'

Although the film Minari won the NY film critics' Best Picture accolades and Best Supporting Actress went to Yuh-Jung Youn as the grandmother in Minari, the Best Director award went to Chloé Zhao for her work on Nomadland, which she can add to the three dozen other awards she received for directing the Frances McDormand starrer.

The NY critics gave the best actor award to another Asian American, Riz Ahmed for his performance in Sound of Metal. Ahmed is also in contention to be nominated for the Oscar's best actor award along with Minari's Steven Yeun.

The exclusive club of studio heads who give the green light to most Hollywood production is still overwhelmingly white and despite China overtaking the U.S. as the No. 1 moviegoing market, they are hesitant to venture beyond the Eurocentric paradigm when deciding which movies get made.

Riz Ahmad delivers an Oscar-worthy performance in "Sound of Metal."

There is also an outside chance that no Asian or Asian American will win an Oscar nomination, in which case, we should skip the Oscars altogether. If nothing else, this year demonstrates the depth of Asian and Asian American talent to Hollywood decision-makers. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: The nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards will be announced March 15 and the in-person awards show will held on April 25, 2021.

While the awards -- Golden Globes, SAG, Critics' Choice, People's Choice -- are nice to have, just as important is that there are so many choices to pick from. There are still not enough movies by and about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders but this year, there is at least more than one film under consideration. That's a sign of progress, I guess. It is too early to say whether this year is an anomaly, a temporary trend or the birth of a permanent genre.

For members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts who vote in the several categories, especially the newly inducted members who were "invited" to join in order to diversify its membership, we refer you to the list compiled by Gold Open in partnership with the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) for their first-ever Gold List of outstanding work by AAPI artists. 

The full list of Gold List selections are below:

Best Picture
Minari and Sound of Metal
Honorable Mentions: The Half of It, The White Tiger, Yellow Rose

Best Director
Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) and Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)
Honorable Mentions: Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger), Diane Paragas (Yellow Rose), Alice Wu (The Half of It), Alan Yang (Tigertail)

Best Actor
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) and Steven Yeun (Minari)
Honorable Mentions: Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger), Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield), Harry Shum Jr. (All My Life) 

Best Actress
Yeri Han (Minari) and Leah Lewis (The Half of It)
Honorable Mentions: Hong Chau (Driveways), Tsai Chin (Lucky Grandma), Eva Noblezada (Yellow Rose)

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Kim (Minari) and Orion Lee (First Cow)
Honorable Mentions: Lucas Jaye (Driveways), Tzi Ma (Mulan), Rajkummar Rao (The White Tiger)

Best Supporting Actress
Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) and Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari)
Honorable Mentions: Priyanka Chopra Jonas (The White Tiger), Gong Li (Mulan), Lea Salonga (Yellow Rose)

Best Original Screenplay
Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) and Alice Wu (The Half of it)
Honorable Mentions: Mong-Hong Chung and Yao-Sheng Chang (A Sun), Diane Paragas (Yellow Rose), Isabel Sandoval (Lingua Franca), Alan Yang (Tigertail) 

Best Adapted Screenplay
Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger) and Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)

Best Documentary Feature
Be Water and A Thousand Cuts
Honorable Mentions: 76 Days, The Donut King, The Social Dilemma

Best Animated Feature
Bombay Rose and Over the Moon
Honorable Mentions: Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, On-Gaku: Our Sound, A Whisker Away

A WORD OF CAUTION: This is an opinion piece. Readers should research multiple sources to form their own opinion.

CORRECTION Feb. 3, 12:30 p.m. to clarify Roma winning an Oscar for Best Foreign Motion Picture in 2019.

DOJ marks National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

During Human Trafficking Prevention Month, one of the Justice Department's first cases in 2021 resulted in a life sentence for a Florida man who directed, primarily through online communications and transactions, the sex trafficking of impoverished young children in the Philippines.

Senior U.S. District Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington on Jan. 7 sentenced Christopher John Streeter, 63, to life in federal prison for sex trafficking of a child under the age of 14. Streeter had pleaded guilty on October 15, 2020.

According to court documents, from September 2018 through June 2019, Streeter directly participated in a scheme that sexually exploited children in the Philippines in order to produce child sex-abuse videos for his consumption. Over that period, Streeter communicated and transacted with Philippines-based facilitators to recruit children to engage in sex acts on camera. The child victims — some of whom were as young as 12 and 13 years of age — were particularly vulnerable due to poverty and illness.

Streeter sent payments to the Philippines in exchange for depictions of the victims engaging in sex acts. Streeter received videos and images of children involved in various sex acts that tracked Streeter’s directives. 

One of Streeter’s victims was a 12-year-old girl from Ozamis, Philippines. In 2018 and 2019, Streeter communicated with a Philippine recruiter in Ozamis named Analyn Tababini. On multiple occasions, while in the Tampa Bay area, Streeter paid Tababini to arrange for sex-abuse videos to be made of the victim. The monies covered production costs, including the male abuser, money for the victim, hotel expenses, and a commission for Tababini. In return, Tababini sent Streeter several videos of the abuse suffered by the young girl. 

In addition to working for Streeter, Homeland Security Investigations Transnational National Criminal Investigative Unit in Manila discovered that Tababini has facilitated internet sex shows of minors in exchange for payment from an array of international clientele. 

In a recent, coordinated operation conducted by the Philippine National Police in Ozamis, Philippines, six of Tababini’s child sex-trafficking victims (including Streeter’s 12-year-old victim) were rescued by the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development. Philippine authorities also arrested Tababini.

“This morally corrupt individual thought he could circumvent justice because of international borders,” said HSI Tampa Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Micah C. McCombs. 

The Philippines victim-rescue operation was conducted by the Philippine National Police (Manila), with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa and Manila), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (National Targeting Center), the Philippine National Police Woman and Children Protection Center (Mindanao Field Unit), and the Ozamis City Police Office.

The DOJ, along with local law enforcement agencies, continue to battle this modern day form of slavery. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

This reprehensible case was brought to light as the DOJ Friday (Jan. 29) commemorated the 10th annual National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month and declared a continued commitment to combatting human trafficking in all its forms. The fight against human trafficking remains one of the department’s highest priorities, and the department will remain relentless in its efforts to bring traffickers to justice and seek justice for survivors.

Also in 2021, the department successfully convicted a labor trafficker who used debts, threats, abuse, and assaults to compel the victim’s unpaid labor for 10 hours a day, six to seven days a week, in the defendant’s North Carolina nail salon. 

The department also secured a life sentence and over $900,000 in restitution against a Texas sex trafficker who compelled women and girls to engage in commercial sex through violence, isolation, intimidation, and threats.

Human trafficking is a crime that preys on some of the most vulnerable members of our society. It is a crime of exploitation that deprives victims of their rights, freedom, and dignity. Traffickers exploit the vulnerable through forced labor or commercial sex involving children or involving adults subjected to force, fraud, or coercion.

“The Department of Justice is unflagging in its resolve to eradicate human trafficking and pursue justice for those affected by these heinous crimes,” said Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson. In fiscal year 2020, the department brought 210 federal human trafficking cases against 337 defendants, and secured 309 convictions.

If you or someone you know is being trafficked, contact local law enforcement or report it to federal law enforcement through the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or 1-866-347-2423.

Netflix debuts 'Finding Ohana,' Imagine "The Goonies' set in Hawaii

The cast of 'Finding Ohana' looks like Hawaii.

Imagine the classic Goonies, set in Hawaii with a Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Asian American cast. Fun!

The movie Finding Ohana follows a Hawaiian family from Brooklyn, New York City spending the summer in Hawaii. It's a culture clash mixed in with the  good ol' adventure, thrills and fun associated with the 1985 classic film The Goonies. 

Written by Korean American Christina Strain, and directed by Jude Weng, the famly-friendly movie is available for streaming on Netflix today

Finding Ohana includes a cast loaded with Asian American and Pacific Islander actors based in Hawaii, including Hawaii-native Kelly Hu.

The entire movie was shot mostly in Hawaii and sought to emphasize the Hawaiian heritage. “The pidgin, the spam musubis, it’s real Hawaii that you see,” said Filipino American actress Lindsay Watson who plays Hana, one of the leads in the film.

Hawaiian culture consultants were also hired to guide production of the film. Viewers will be able to catch over 100 olelo Hawaii words used throughout the movie.

“Seeing it all come together as a Hawaiian and the first time I watched it, I had Hawaiians with me. I think our jaws dropped, because we’ve never seen ourselves represented on screen like that,” said Watson, a graduate of Kamehmeha Schools Maui.

It was important to Netflix that the movie be cast appropriately.  The brother and sister in the film are played by newcomers Kea Peahu and Alex Aiono, both from Hawaii.

They're joined by “The Good Place’s” Marc Evan Jackson, the aforementioned Watson and Hu, Owen Vaccaro, Ke Huy Quan, Ricky Garcia, Ryan Higa, Mapuana Makia, Brad Kalilimoku, X Mayo, and Kyndra Sanchez. 

AAPI still not over being snubbed for Biden's cabinet.

Asian Americans will not be at the table when President Joe Biden's Cabinet meets

OPINION

President Joe Biden's executive memo condemning the hate and racism being aimed at Asian and Pacific Islander Americans has done little to sooth the hurt for not getting an AAPI named to a single Cabinet Secretary.

“The brazen exclusion" of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders "abandons and erases the AAPI community,” said Madalene Mielke, president and CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies.

“It’s insulting and frustrating,” Mielke, told USA Today. “Part of the reason Asian Americans vote is that they’re looking for people who can represent them. And it stings, because it looks like we’re regressing.”

“Yes, I am profoundly disappointed also that there is not a member of the AAPI community at the Cabinet secretary level,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth in a statement. “And I think that for a Cabinet that is so historically diverse, to not have someone of AAPI descent at the Cabinet level is a real missed opportunity.

“I think it sends two messages,” said the Illinois Congressmember. “One, that you’re not important to us, you’re not diverse enough, you’re not important to us. And the other is that you can be taken for granted.

“AAPIs have 4% of the vote in many, many states — that’s the margin of victory in many, many states … it just says that potentially we’re taking AAPIs for granted,” she added. “And I’m just going to make sure we send a message that we will not take AAPIs for granted. That the AAPI community is just as important to this nation as those of other community groups and that AAPIs are Americans just like everyone else.”

Duckworth‘s comments came the same day Biden signed a memorandum condemning racism and xenophobia against AAPIs spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

AAPI voters cast their ballots for Biden in overwhelming numbers and acted as swing voters in some districts and states so criticizing Biden is not something that comes easy for some.

“As much as I view myself as a friendly ally of this president," said Rep. Mark Takano. "I think he’s erred in [that] he has chosen to exclude Asian Americans from his 15 Cabinet secretaries."

Settling for the crumbs is something AAPI is all too familiar with. The danger is if AAPI voters who became more engaged in the November election or in Georgia's runoff vote for Senate feel that their effort was for naught, they may begin to wonder if their political involvement is worth the effort.

Former Congressmember Dan Honda emphasized that the people Biden chose were well qualified and that his Cabinet is one of the more diverse, but without an AAPI Secretary, it doesn't "look like America," a boast Biden promised during the campaign.

Critics say that picking Neera Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget and Katherine Tai for the U.S. Trade Representative post are fine selections, their positions don't carry the weight as a Cabinet Secretary.

The only hope for AAPI may fall Vice President Kamala Harris shoulders to make sure that the AAPI voice is heard during the Cabinet meetings.

“When we’re out of the picture, then we’re not part of America,” said  Honda. “And then all we’re good for is photos and contributions of votes, but not for a seat at America’s table.”

EDITOR'S NOTE; A word of caution. This is an opinion piece. Readers should consult several sources of news to form their own opinion.

It has been a whirlwind first week for President Biden undoing Trumpism

Right after giving his inaugural speech, President Joe Biden began signing executive orders.

In the  week since he was inaugurated, President Joe Biden and his staff have begun to turn the country around by first, undoing some of the immoral and irrational, racist orders that came out of the Donald Trump years; and next, going beyond what is expected to aggressively respond to some of the troubling issues facing AAPI and the United States.

The openness and transparency of the Biden administration is a stark contrast and a breath of fresh air compared to the preceding administration.

In addition to having the President's speeches, executive orders and presidential memos online, the White House is also providing transcripts or content of the phone calls to foreign leaders, unlike Trump's secretive calls to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

For the convenience of those who don't like spending hours searching the Internet, here are some of the links to those orders that affect Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and are available to the public:

Executive Order on Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery

Fact Sheet: President Biden Sends Immigration Bill to Congress as Part of His Commitment to Modernize our Immigration System

Executive Order on the Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities

Proclamation on Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to The United States

Preserving and Fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government

Fact Sheet: President Biden’s New Executive Actions Deliver Economic Relief for American Families and Businesses Amid the COVID-19 Crises

Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Non-Immigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease

FACT SHEET: President Biden to Take Action to Advance Racial Equity and Support Underserved Communities

Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States

Remarks by President Biden at Signing of an Executive Order on Racial Equity

Memorandum on Redressing Our Nation’s and the Federal Government’s History of Discriminatory Housing Practices and Policies

Asian Americans most accepting of the COVID19 vaccination

SCREEN CAPTURE

Vice President Kamala Harris receives the second COVID-19 vaccine.

Asian Americans are the most likely group to seek a vaccination against COVID-19. 

The US Census Bureau released data Wednesday that showed that almost 91% of the Asian Americans surveyed were likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when the shots become available. The data showed that 66% of Asan Americans wold "definitely" get the vaccine and 25.4% would "probably" get the shot in the arm.

Whites were. the next group most likely to receive a vaccine with 55.5% would definitely get the shot and 22.9% would probably get the jab when they become available.

Only 47.3% of Hispanics or Latinos would definitely get the vaccine and almost 33% would probably get the shot.

Blacks were the most skeptical or resistant to getting the vaccine. Only 29.6% would definitely get the vaccine and 33.8% would probably get the shot. 

Overall, about 8% of American adults reported they had received a COVID-19 vaccination and around half of adults who haven’t (51%) indicated they would definitely get a vaccine, while an additional 26% said they probably would, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Wednesday.

The latest revision to Phase 3 of the Household Pulse Survey was implemented on Jan. 6, 2021, and included a new series of questions about COVID-19 vaccinations and attitudes toward the vaccines.

Adults who have not been vaccinated are asked if they plan to get a vaccine once available. Respondents who express uncertainty are asked the reason(s) for their reluctance.

These data show:

• About 95% of the estimated 19 million who reported receiving a COVID-19 vaccination said they had received or plan to receive all required doses.
• Around half (51%) of the approximately 226 million adults yet to receive a vaccination said they “definitely” plan to receive it when available (Figure 1).
• An additional 26% of adults yet to be vaccinated reported they would “probably” get a vaccine once available, compared to approximately 14% who said they would “probably not,” and 10% who said they would “definitely not” get vaccinated. Overall, these results indicate that around a quarter of all unvaccinated adults will probably not, or will definitely not, receive a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available to them.

Asian America mourns; legendary photographer/historian Corky Lee succumbs to COVID-19

Photographer Corky Lee at onen of his photo exhibits in New York City.

UPDATED Jan. 28, 1 a.m. to include reactions and funeral details.

Corky Lee, the legendary Chinatown documentary photographer, lost his battle against COVID-19 at the age of 73. He passed away Wednesday morning.

Lee reportedly first began feeling symptoms of COVID-19 on Jan. 3. He was admitted to a Queens hospital in New York City on Jan. 7, then was moved into the intensive-care unit on Jan. 11, where he was put on a respirator.

Asian American leaders and organizations across the nation mourned the passing of the influential photojournalist.

Lee has documented Manhattan’s Chinatown and the city’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities since the 1970s. He goes by the whimsical moniker “the undisputed unofficial Asian American photographer laureate.”

CORKY LEE PHOTO

Among the major events he has covered were the protests over the beating of Peter Yew by Fifth Precinct police in 1975. Yew had objected after police “mishandled” a youth during a traffic incident and wound up being roughed up inside the precinct.

Born and bred in New York City, Corky strives to make visible the often invisible aspects of Asian American culture and history. "My life's mission can be described as 'photographic justice,'" he has said. "Rectifying omissions in American history one photograph at a time. We do matter, America better get used to it."

He was inspired to become a photographer as a teen when he observed that there was not one Chinese person in any of the iconic historical images of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, despite the fact that Chinese laborers made up the majority of the workforce that toiled to build the railroad. Since 2014, Corky has organized photos of "flash mobs" of Chinese Americans at the historic site in Utah to right this omission.

CORKY LEE PHOTO

Photographer Corky Lee's passion was to correct the "omissions" in U.S. history.

Over the course of his career, he has captured countless pivotal moments in Asian American history, from a bleeding Chinese American man being hauled off by the NYPD at a march against police brutality, to protests in the aftermath of the 1982 Vincent Chin murder trial, to a Sikh man draped with an American flag after 9/11.

Lee documented the fight for reparations for survivors of Japanese World War II internment camps in the American West and also the struggle for Chinese-American W.W. II veterans to be recognized by Washington for their valor.

“Mark Twain said, ‘The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.’ Corky knew his why -- to yield a camera to slay injustices against APAs. And he lived his purpose every day for the greater good of the AAPI community," said Sharon Wong, Past OCA National President.

Congressmember Grace Meng, D-NY, tweeted: "Saddened by news of Corky Lee's Passing. He worked relentlessly to ensure Chinese Americans' contributions to history were appreciated & documented. He was like a walking museum. There will be many moments upon we will reach back to Corky's work to help our community move forward."

Active in the Asian American Journalists' Association, Lee mentored and inspired a generation of journalists.

Corky Lee was the eldest son and second child born to Chinese immigrants, Lee Yin Chuck and Jung See Lee. He was proud of his immigrant roots and of his father’s military service during WWII.

Corky Lee is survived by brother John, who resides in Carlsbad, CA with his wife Barbara and their two daughters Jade and Jasmine.

A private service will be held at Wah Wing Sang Funeral Home in New York in the coming days. In lieu of flowers, donations in Corky’s memory can be made to the Asian American Journalist Association (AAJA) Photog Affinity Group, www.aaja.org.

CORRECTION: Earlier versions of this post misstated Corky Lee's age.

SF Chinatown gets some financial relief from the city

San Francisco Chinatown streets are less busy because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some relief is finally coming to the struggling businesses in San Francisco's Chinatown after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $1.9 million to those businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to that sum, the office of Mayor London Breed is also planning to add $500,000 into the budget and another $100,000 from the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), bringing the total funding to $2.5 million.

The funds, which were approved last Jan. 19, will help those Chinatown businesses that suffered because of the health measures required to fight the pandemic, which included a ban in indoor dining.

The plight of the Chinatown businesses was brought to light when the 100-year old Far East Cafe announced its intention to close by the Dec. 31.

“We’re ready to fight to preserve this iconic neighborhood and this is one small step toward that,” Supervisor Aaron Peskin told the San Francisco Chronicle.

"San Francisco’s iconic Chinatown neighborhood has suffered from the triple threat of Central Subway construction delays, early xenophobic attacks and an extended shutdown that has made already struggling immigrants even poorer," Peskin's office said in a statement to Hoodline shortly after the Jan. 19 vote.

This financial assistance will help fund the Feed + Fuel Chinatown, a program launched in partnership with the nonprofit SF New Deal and the Human Services Agency that launched in April to help businesses hurt by the pandemic and at the same time, to feed the poor residents in the Chinatown neighborhood.

The funding will help the community in multiple ways, including funding roughly 60 restaurants, keeping their employees on the payroll and feeding 2,400 residents over eight weeks. It will also help control the spread of COVID-19 through shared kitchens of single-room occupancy hotels.

At this juncture, 600 residents have already received meal vouchers from 10 restaurants, including Yuet Lee Seafood Restaurant, Hang Ah Tea Room and the Far East Cafe.

"Our seniors and families in crowded SROs (Single Room Occupancy) are at higher risk of COVID exposure and going hungry, and our legacy restaurants are at risk of shuttering for good," said Peskin. 

"The cancellation of the nation’s largest Lunar New Year parade is especially dramatic, with most small businesses typically making 30% of their income in that one week alone.

"The statistics are startling," Peskin continued: "Before the pandemic, 97% of the families were working and gainfully employed. After shelter-in-place, half of them, 45% have lost all of their income.”

Biden signs executive order against xenophobia and attacks against Asian Americans & NHPI

 

WHITE HOUSE

President Joe Biden signs the executive order against xenophobia and anti-Asian bias.

The universal praise coming from the Asian American & Pacific Islander communities was tempered by an equally strong call for next steps in order to turn President Joe Biden's welcomed condemnation of xenophobia and anti-Asian hate into tangible results.

On racial equity day, Tuesday, Jan. 26, Biden signed off on a presidential memorandum acknowledging the harm caused by harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and condemning anti-Asian bias and discrimination. 

"Today, I’m directing federal agencies to combat resurgence of xenophobia, particularly against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, that we’ve seen skyrocket during this pandemic. This is unacceptable and it’s un-American," Biden remarked prior to signing the memo. "I’ve asked the Department of Justice to strengthen its partnership with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community to prevent those hate crimes."

This executive order also directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force to issue guidance on cultural competency, language access, and sensitivity in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring that federal agencies avoid discriminatory language. 

“This move by President Biden to recognize the extraordinary pain being felt in our communities as a result of racist attacks during the pandemic is a welcome action," said John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC. "The last four years of divisive rhetoric and blatant use of derogatory terms have put a target on the Asian American community during COVID-19 and we plan to work with the administration to find solutions to these attacks and other inequities exposed by the global pandemic and previous administration.”

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, Asian Americans have been terrified by the alarming rise in anti-Asian bigotry and hate. In fact, long before stay at home orders were put in place, Asian-owned restaurants and businesses were among the very first to lose customers due to misinformation and xenophobia associating Asian Americans with the virus.," said Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

"As the pandemic surged across the nation, Asian Americans increasingly became the targets of violent hate crimes and incidents, with over 3,000 anti-Asian incidents reported last year alone.

Biden signed four executive actions Tuesday that he wants his administer to address in regards to xenophobia, racial inequity and justice.

Beside the memorandum affecting the AAPI communities, Biden signed three other presidential memos that would:

• direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development "to take steps necessary to redress racially discriminatory federal housing policies";
• direct the Department of Justice to end its use of private prisons;
• reaffirm the federal government's "commitment to tribal sovereignty and consultation"

Linda Ng, National President of OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates expressed hope because of Biden's memos. "However, AAPI small businesses and frontline workers have not received adequate COVID-19 resources and protections. We need to see tangible action targeting the physical, mental, and economic harm being done to our communities, and furthermore dismantle the fact that AAPIs are seen as one homogenous group,” she said.

Community leaders stressed the diversity of the AAPI communities. "AANHPIs are not a monolith – we are a multicultural group with diverse needs and backgrounds," said Brendan Flores, National Chair and President, National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA).

"The Filipino American community, in many areas across the country, has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this past year has amplified pre-existing health disparities in our community," said Flores, who emphasized the role Filipino nurses play in caring for COVID patients and the disproportionate death rate -- almost a third of U.S. nurses deaths -- among those caregivers.

In 2020, a similar measure was introduced by Rep. Grace Meng, D- NY, which was passed in the House but never came to a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate.

"In signing his memorandum, the President said loud and clear that this intolerance against Asian Americans has no place anywhere in our country, and it underscores his commitment to lifting up and empowering those of Asian descent and tackling issues that have disproportionally impacted the Asian American community, particularly in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak," said Meng.

Biden to make a statement against anti-Asian bias, xenophobia

UPDATED Jan. 26, 20:30 a.m. to reflect this morning's press briefing confirming the President's executive orders.

The growing problem of anti-Asian bias and hate crimes  against Asian Americans is going to be addressed Tuesday, Jan. 26, by President Joe Biden.

"America has never lived up to its founding promise of equality for all, but we've never stopped trying. Today, I'll take action to advance racial equity and push us closer to that more perfect union we've always strived to be," the President tweeted Tuesday morning.

Biden will sign an executive order that aims to counter the rise in hate crimes, U.S. and China and the anti-Asian rhetoric used by the Donald Trump administration that is occurring in a unsettled social environment of emboldened white supremacists.

Biden will sign the executive order Tuesday afternoon, dubbed Equity Day, according to the South China Morning News in a story picked up by U.S. news outlets late Monday.

At this morning's press briefing, White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice  confirmed the Presidential memos that Biden will sign later in the day will center around racial justice and equity.

The President's memo will combat xenophobia against Asian American and Pacific Islanders. 

The memo directs the Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Biden COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, to consider issuing guidance describing best practices to advance cultural competency, language access, and sensitivity towards AAPIs in the federal government’s COVID-19 response. 

It also directs the Department of Justice to partner with AAPI communities to prevent hate crimes and harassment against AAPIs.

It is also reported by the South China Morning News that he will also use the occasion to end the Department of Justice's China Initiative that targeted Chinese researchers, students and scientists who were allegedly stealing intellectual property for China.

“The community is reacting to the immediate threat before them. They feel besieged because of the mass investigations … Trump’s rhetoric and the spike in hate crimes,” sthe SCMN quoted Aryani Ong, an Asian American rights activist and former civil rights lawyer. “This organizing represents an effort to stand up and announce that Asian Americans belong in the U.S. and deserve to have their rights protected.”

Chinese American organizations have been campaigning against the initiative, which they claim encourages racial profiling, sweeping up innocent people because of their Chinese ancestry, a spike of hate confirmed by the FBI.

Although the initiative has resulted in some arrests and prison time for those found guilty, the work has also swept up some Chinese Americans who were innocent of the allegations but lost their jobs, studies ended or had their reputation ruined because of the perceived connection with Chinese efforts to secure U.S. technology and research.

Since the coronavirus hit the U.S. shores, Trump began referring to he virus as the "China Virus," the "Wuhan Flu" or "Kung Flu" and the incidents of hate have increased dramatically.

The use of the racist phrases "China by top administration officials, led by Trump, has coincided with a surge in discrimination against Asian-Americans, according to a new study.

According to community groups that have been collecting data, since the pandemic began, there have been about 3,000 reports of hate incidents against Asian Americans.

One study by University of California professors, as well as the Tulane School of Medicine, found that years of hate incidents of against Asian Americans were trending downward until this past year.

It also found that bias toward Asian Americans "declined steadily from 2007 through early 2020 but reversed trend and began to increase on March 8, following the increase in stigmatizing language in conservative media outlets," according to the study's abstract.

The executive order will address equity in providing the COVID-19 vaccines to those communities of color, the most reluctant to receive the immunization shots, housing according to CBS. Biden will also suggest changes in terminology that may be outdated, derisive or inaccurate -- such as "model minority" or "illegal alins."

 "The idea that the president of the United States is not going to be hostile and not be a super spreader of hate is incredible," Cynthia Choi, an executive director of the group Stop AAPI Hate, told CBS News. "I hope this order reverses the damage caused under the Trump administration, which used federal dollars and resources to create a hostile climate and led to backlash directed toward our community."

WATCH FOR IT: Views From the Edge will write a separate story about the President's actions this afternoon.

On PBS: Documentary ''A Thousand Cuts' shows how social media can be misused for nefarious purposes

A THOUSAND CUTS

Journalist Maria Ressa and press freedom is under attack in the Philippines.

The documentary A Thousand Cuts traces Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on the press, the spread of disinformation on social media — and one journalist’s vow to “hold the line,” for press freedom.

This film from award-winning filmmaker Ramona Diaz examines President Rodrigo Duterte’s escalating attacks on the media through the story of his prime target: Journalist Maria Ressa, a Time Magazine Person of the Year and CEO and co-founder of the independent news site, Rappler. 

The 98-minute feature film film is now available for streaming on PBS' Frontline.

“What we’re seeing is a death by a thousand cuts of our democracy…little cuts to the body of Philippines democracy,” Ressa says in the documentary of Duterte’s efforts to quash independent reporting. “When you have enough of these cuts, you are so weakened, that you will die.” But she vows to press on: “We will not duck, we will not hide. We will hold the line.”

Ressa and her colleagues have been at the forefront of chronicling Duterte’s brutal war on drugs and she has endured harassment, arrests, and a cyber libel conviction that could send her to prison.

PBS's presentation comes on the heels of the documentary’s robust festival run — including Sundance Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival and AFI DOCS — and a nation-wide virtual theatrical release last summer.

“At its core, A Thousand Cuts is about the epic battle for facts. ‘What do you do when the president lies,’ Maria poses in the film," says director Diaz. It is a question Americans had to confront with Donald Trump.

With the very real threat of turning social media as into a weapon to divide and manipulate Americans is still with us. It is the disinformation presented in lies and half-truths that manifest into groups like Q'non and white supremacists and Trump cultists trying to disrupt government and organize extremists.

It was not until right-wing extremists tried to occupy the Capitol by overwhelming guards and forcing lawmakers into hiding that Facebook and Twitter  took away Trump's accounts.

“Authoritarian governments are consolidating power by weaponizing social media and the law against journalists”, Ressa, who has been advocating for Facebook to be more accountable, said, adding: “These tactics on Facebook are part of dictator’s playbooks around the world. But it’s not right that female journalists have to go through this just to do our jobs.”

In A Thousand Cuts, Ressa demonstrates how a single social media post could be amplified to reach millions of viewers.

The backlash against Ressa and Rappler’s reporting didn’t stop with a tide of tweets and Facebook posts that included threats of sexual and other forms of violence. Since Duterte became president, more than 10 court actions have been filed against Ressa, Rappler or its staffers — actions meant “to cow, to intimidate,” Ressa previously told Frontline.

She has been arrested multiple times and was convicted in a cyber libel case in June 2020, which she has appealed; an additional cyber libel charge that Ressa called “ludicrous” was issued in December 2020. Duterte’s office has said that it is not behind court actions involving Rappler and that it’s “unreasonable” to accuse Duterte’s government of harassing the news site.

Man accused of killing his mother dies of coronavirus while awaiting trial

The Orange County Jail.

 A man incarcerated in the Orange County jail system and awaiting trial on charges of killing his mother and wounding her boyfriend in 2017, died Thursday of medical complications from COVID-19, officials said.

Ah Le Fang, 37, was accused of murder and attempted murder in the Aug. 15, 2017 attack in Fullerton. He pleaded not guilty in 2018 and was awaiting a jury trial scheduled for July, according to court records.

Fang tested positive for COVID-19 in December and was hospitalized on Jan. 6., the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. He died at the Intake Release Center in Santa Ana. He is the second Orange County inmate to have died of COVID-19.

Fang had a history of mental illness and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and other disorders, authorities said. Fang was awaiting trial at the Intake Release Center in Santa Ana.

Fang’s death came after legal scrutiny over how the county’s jail system has responded to the coronavirus pandemic. The sheriff’s department has said more than 2,000 inmates in the county have tested positive for the virus.

In December, a Superior Court judge ordered Sheriff Don Barnes to release half of its jail population after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit accusing Barnes of not taking enough precautions to sprotect inmates from COVID-19.

Nurses support Biden's plan for COVID-19 and economic relief

NATIONAL NURSES UNITED

Bonnie Castillo, front right, heads up the country's largest union for RNs.

President Joe Biden's plan for relief from and safety measures against Covid-19 unveiled on Day 2 of his presidency received the support of the country's largest union of registered nurses. 

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National Nurses United applauded and enthusiastically welcomed Biden’s new National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, released on January 21; the executive orders and actions related to Covid-19 that the president signed on his first three days in office; and his stimulus plan, the American Rescue Plan, released on January 14.

“For a full year, the nation’s nurses have been calling on federal elected officials to take comprehensive action to combat Covid-19," said Bonnie Castillo, RN, executive director of National Nurses United, during a virtual press conference Friday. 

"In his first days in office, President Biden has shown us that he is listening to the concerns and the expertise of nurses by taking immediate action on the worker health and safety protections and broader public health protections that we have been demanding.” 

The Biden's plan contains “the comprehensive plan that our country has been sorely missing in the response to this pandemic,” says Castillo, a Filipino American. "Nurses say they look forward to working with the president and his administration on the details of implementation and enforcement of this plan, and they strongly urge the administration to begin implementation promptly.

“We are particularly pleased that the president signed strong executive orders to protect worker health and safety and to improve the medical supply chain. In signing these orders, the president has begun the process of issuing an Occupational Safety and Health emergency temporary standard to protect workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and has directed his administration to ensure the increased production and distribution of critical medical supplies, including PPE,” said Castillo.

The union also applauded the American Rescue Plan, proposed by President Biden, which contains many economic relief measures for which NNU has been advocating.

“The stimulus package proposed by the president would provide immediate economic relief and supports for millions of people across the country,” said Castillo. “Nurses know that this economic relief is necessary to help people stay home and stay safe during this pandemic, and to ensure the housing and food security that is essential to the health and wellbeing of our patients. We call on Congress to pass the American Rescue Plan immediately.”

NATIONAL NURESS UNITED

Nurses have been advocated for many of the safety measures in President Biden's plan.

In addition to the game-changing executive orders on worker health and safety and the medical supply chain, NNU pointed to critical and necessary measures in additional executive orders and actions signed by the president in the past few days and reflected in the Covid-19 response plan. These include commitments to:

• Update CDC guidance based on science. Throughout the pandemic, said nurses, the Trump administration’s CDC put nurses, patients and the public in danger by publishing dangerous guidance that was not based on scientific evidence.

• Provide paid sick and family leave and extend this leave to more workers, including the removal of the health care worker exemption. Nurses and other health care workers have not been eligible for the paid sick and family leave that Congress passed last spring, but they are direly in need of access to this leave.

• Increase federal support to increase health care capacity and respond to surge situations. The stimulus proposal includes $350 billion for state, local, and territorial governments, and an additional $20 billion for tribal governments. The president signed a memorandum to increase the use of the National Guard to provide pandemic support and relief, and increased the reimbursements for these services to ensure that FEMA covers 100 percent of these costs, while the executive order on “Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for Covid-19” directs federal agencies to provide targeted surge assistance to critical care and long term care facilities.

• Establish a national Covid-19 testing strategy.\

• Enhance data collection and ensure the transparent gathering, sharing and publication of Covid-19 related data. Throughout the pandemic, federal and state governments have neglected, hidden and manipulated Covid-19 data. Detailed consistent data is necessary to understand how and where the virus is spreading and how to best control it.

• Prioritize health equity in all aspects of the pandemic response, including through the creation of the Covid-19 Health Equity Taskforce.

• Develop a comprehensive and efficient strategy for vaccinations.

• Reengage with international partners and the World Health Organization on global health priorities both relating specifically to the Covid-19 pandemic and to other global health concerns.

“Nurses have been on the front lines of this pandemic since it began,” said Castillo. “For nearly a year, we have been exhausted both physically and emotionally, and consistently and unnecessarily put at risk at work. Hundreds of nurses have died due to lack of protections at work. 

According to an earlier NNU report, almost a third of the RNs who have died from Covid-19 in the U.S. were Filipino Americans.

"The actions that President Biden has taken in the past three days have given us relief and hope after a traumatic year," Castillo concluded in her statement. "We’re ready to get to work to make this Covid-19 response plan a reality,"