Biden sends aid to to Typhoon Mawar victims on Guam and Northern Marianas

Flood waters recede after a super typhoon nicks the US Pacific territory of Guam.

Hundreds of personnel from federal agencies and voluntary organizations are in Guam supporting the ongoing response and recovery efforts from Typhoon Mawar that swept through the US territory a week ago.

Since President Biden issued a Major Disaster Declaration for Guam on Sunday, May 28, FEMA has received more than 2,700 registrations for assistance, helping survivors take the first step to jumpstart their recovery.

The typhoon hit the northern part of Guam on a week ago with winds of up to 140 mph, the National Weather Service reported, and generated waves as high as 30 ft.

Trees were uprooted, boats capsized, neighborhoods were flooded and power was cut off for a while.

Miraculously, none of the 170,000 people who live on Guam was killed or badly injured, officials said. Nearly 1,000 people were still in shelters as of Thursday.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero, declared the “all clear” on Thursday evening. “We have weathered this storm, the worst has gone by,” she said in a video message to the island’s residents, who include about 10,000 US military personnel.

FEMA continues working with local, territorial, federal, nonprofit organizations and private sector partners to get essential services reopened and operational.

Guam residents can register for federal assistance by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov, through the FEMA App, or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362). Residents who use a relay service, such as video relay or captioned telephone service, can give the FEMA operator the number for that service. FEMA is working with local and territorial officials to determine Disaster Recovery Center locations. Once open, survivors can visit these centers to receive one-on-one help with their disaster registration process and emergency assistance. 

Nearly 600 FEMA personnel are supporting response and recovery efforts in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, with nearly 300 staff in Guam. Additional Disaster Survivors Assistance Teams staff are being deployed to Guam to help survivors register for federal assistance.

After a disaster, people want to help, but it’s important to donate responsibly. When people support voluntary organizations with financial contributions, it helps ensure a steady flow of important services to the people in need. You can find a voluntary organization to support by visiting the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster’s website at NVOAD.org. 

FEMA is coordinating with its network of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster to provide support and humanitarian aid. Feeding and bottled water operations continue as needed and requested by the territory and the commonwealth officials:

• The Salvation Army began feeding operations on Monday.
• The Red Cross continues assisting with shelter and feeding operations, and are also distributing emergency supplies, including pet food at various distribution centers.
Federal, Territorial, Commonwealth and Voluntary Actions

• Survivors who are covered by insurance should file a claim with their insurance company or agent as soon as they can. Next, they should apply for FEMA disaster assistance. Survivors who are uninsured should apply for FEMA disaster assistance now. Assistance may include funding to repair or replace their homes, temporary housing resources, access to low-interest loans or other programs to help them jumpstart their recovery.
• The Guam Department of Agriculture has teams conducting Preliminary Damage Assessments with farmers. Farmers who suffered crop loss should document their losses and contact 671-300-7972-73 or email agriculture@doagguam.gov for more information.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to Guam businesses and residents who were affected by Typhoon Mawar. To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, survivors must first register at DisasterAssistance.gov.
• The Bank of Guam’s ATMs are back online with web and mobile banking now available. In addition, the bank announced it is automatically deferring payments on personal loans and credit cards for Guam and Rota accounts for three months. Affected customers in Saipan and Tinian may request deferment arrangements at any branch locations or by emailing consumerbanking@bankofguam.com. 
• The National Disaster Distress Helpline remains activated and anyone who has been affected by Typhoon Mawar can call 1-800-985-5990 for immediate counseling and support.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deployed over 135 responders including civilians, soldiers, and contractors to support temporary power, temporary roofing and debris removal missions.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is coordinating with Guam EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clean up hazardous waste and debris.
• The Guam Power Authority continues its restoration efforts, reporting more than 25% of customer demand is restored, with crews working 24-hour shifts. The authority is working to restore substation energization, which will substantially increase power to more residents.
• The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation reports that it has restored power to more than 92% of its customers on Rota, while Saipan and Tinian are fully energized.
• The Guam Waterworks Authority continues restoration efforts, reporting 50% of water systems are online serving nearly 77,000 customers and four of nine wastewater facilities are operational. The waterworks authority also delivered 6,000-gallon tanks to 10 locations. 
• More than 44% of cell towers are now operational in Guam, with 60% of cell sites operational in Rota.
• Shelters remain open in Guam with an overnight population of more than 750.
• All airports in CNMI are operational and Guam International Airport is open for all commercial carriers.
• Tankers with liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel are offshore, scheduled to be offloaded today to help with increased fuel demand throughout Guam.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deployed nearly 70 emergency responders including three Health and Medical Task Forces from the National Disaster Medical System that are assisting local hospitals and medical clinics.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

AANHPI Heritage Month: Asian Americans now the largest ethnic group in the SF Bay Area

WIKI COMMONS

San Francisco's Chinese New Year Parade is one of the most popular celebrations in the Bay Area.

Since the California Gold Rush of 1849, the San Francisco Bay Area has always been a favorite destination of immigrants from Asia, so much so that Asian Americans are now the majority in the region.

Of the 7.5 million Bay Area residents, Asian Americans make up 33.1% of the population, narrowly edging out Whites, who are 32.9% of the residents.

This is a dramatic change compared to the 2010 Census, when Whites made up 40.3% in the Bay Area and 25.5% were of Asian descent.

Maps created by the SF Chronicle show clusters of AANHPI communities throughout the Bay Area with large concentrations in San Francisco, Daly City, Fremont, Oakland, San Jose and Vallejo.

Overall, the Asian American population in the Bay Area’s nine counties grew by about 30% since 2010. Though the growth in the past decade was highest in Contra Costa County at 44%, data showed Santa Clara County had the largest numerical share of Asian Americans in the Bay Area in 2020 with about a 200,000 growth.

Much of the growth in the Asian American community is due to immigration, say demographers, demonstrating that the Bay Area is still a favorite entry point for immigrants from all over Asia.

 (Image via Bay Area Equity Atlas)

Fremont is among the largest Asian-majority cities in the continental US, Fremont, he said, is among the largest Asian-majority cities in the continental US, James Lai, ethnic studies professor at Santa Clara University, told the SF Chronicle.

Dublin, according to the 2020 Census data, is the Bay Area's fastest growing city, and most of that increase was driven by the growth of Asian American population. These places provide a “sense of community” that pulls people there, Lai said.

“What we’re seeing is direct migration of Asian immigrants not just to big cities but to suburbs,” Lai told the Chronicle. “You want your family to have access to your community, network, a way for you to find your livelihood, your children to find schools, churches and restaurants.”

ASIAN ART MUSEUM

The Asian Art Museum observes Filipino American History Month in October.

The demographic changes in the Bay Area is reflective of what's happening in California where AANHPI make up about 16.5% of the population, an increase of 25% from 2010—the largest percent increase of any major racial or ethnic group in the state.

California is home to one-third of the nation's AANHPI population of 24 million, based on the latest data from the US Census.

It is important to stress that California’s AANHPI residents are not a monolith. Though they may share a common origin from a very broad region of the world, they can be as different from each other as much as the state’s non-AANHPI residents. Diversity, however, doesn't dilute their growing influence whose story will play a key role in shaping the Bay Area's and California's future.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

AANHPI Heritage Month: What it means to be Asian American in ballet — and what barriers stand in the way

Dancers and choreographers talk about yellowface in “The Nutcracker” and how a fear of pigeonholing hinders them in expanding the art

By Jennifer Gerson | The 19th
Originally published in The 19th

At 21 years old, Mira Nadon became the first Asian-American principal at New York City Ballet upon her promotion in February. This means that she’s the first woman of Asian descent to reach the highest rank at one of the oldest and most prestigious ballet companies in the entire world. But in the midst of much coverage about her being a notable first, Nadon — whose father is White and whose mother is from India — said she’s very cognizant of a reality that comes coupled with that, one she does not shy away from naming.

“I want to be open about the fact that I am very White-passing,” Nadon told The 19th. Because of this, she said, “I don’t necessarily think that my ethnicity and my background was ever necessarily used against me. So I am very lucky in that regard.”

The same hasn’t always been true for many other women in ballet — and the dance world at large — who have attempted to move up through the upper echelons of the art that has a devoted but dwindling fan base and a reputation for historically being a space for White dancers performing in dances set by White choreographers to tell White stories. For Asian dancers especially, the world of ballet in particular has often felt like a space where they not only weren’t welcomed, but subject to barriers erected by generations of stereotypes and fetishization. On the stage, there has been an institutional protection of yellowface, or the use of makeup and costuming by White people to perform as Asian; offstage, the mindset of Asian faces having a particular, set place has further kept Asian dancers from career ascension.

In an art with deep roots in preserving tradition and where men choreographers and artistic directors have dominated the shape, look and style of ballet for generations, women have long struggled to be able to garner respect as individuals in the field. Because of ballet’s legacy of anti-Asian stereotypes, this has created an extra level of bias that has long further penalized Asian women especially from achieving holistic representation as dancers and creative leaders.

“The Nutcracker” has long been a place where yellowface has been allowed to thrive, with the “Tea” dance in the family favorite ballet’s second act frequently relying on tropes and stereotypes of Chinese people, and commonly performed by White dancers in yellowface.

“You have ‘Tea’ in ‘The Nutcracker’ and you grow up watching it,” Nadon said. “Every single company in every single [ballet] school in the country has a production of it and they’re often very insensitive. I mean, even at New York City Ballet, they only recently changed the choreography and changed the costumes. You look back on videos from only seven or eight years ago, and it seems so distasteful and offensive. But that was such a norm that nobody ever really questioned it.”

Mira Madon, principal dancer of New York City Ballet.

Principal dancers hold the highest rank in a professional ballet company, one that is given to those dancers who are deemed to have reached the highest levels of technical and artistic ability and are then assigned the starring roles in the company’s repertoire. While Nadon is the first woman of Asian descent to become a principal dancer at New York City Ballet, there have been four Asian men there who have reached the same level, including current principals Anthony Huxley and Chun Wai Chan. Of the 87 current company members, seven are of Asian descent, and 25 percent of New York City Ballet’s dancers identify as people of color.

“I was always the only Asian girl in my classes,” said Georgina Pazcoguin, the first Asian American — and first Filipina American — to be promoted to the upper ranks at New York City Ballet when she became a soloist with the company in 2013 after first joining as an apprentice in 2001. She retired from the company on May 7 after two decades there.

Getting a full scholarship to the School of American Ballet (SAB), the pre-professional school affiliated with New York City Ballet, was exciting, Pazcoguin said. But when she arrived in New York to begin her classes there, she quickly realized that the feeling of being “the only” wasn’t limited to her home studio back in Altoona, Pennsylvania. “As I walked down the halls, all of the major ballerinas whose pictures were on the walls — no one looked like me. . . . I think my internal recognizing of my otherness has always been present.”

This recognition only became more overt, she said, once she joined the company. “My former boss once asked me to make my makeup look ‘less Oriental.’ These kind of microaggressions and not-microaggressions are things I have navigated throughout my career.” Despite being a top student at SAB, Pazcoguin felt she was hitting roadblocks once she was asked to join the company, being told that they “didn’t know what to do with me.” She always knew when she heard this it was because of the combination of her gender and race.

It felt hurtful and surprising, to go from having won awards for her promise as a dancer to suddenly being told “there’s this huge problem and the problem does not seem to be actionable because I cannot change my DNA.”

In 2017, Pazcoguin joined the newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee at New York City Ballet and quickly called attention to her discomfort with the way that “Tea” was being presented in the famous ballet that is a staple in the company’s repertoire. Eventually, the company agreed to change the choreography and costumes for the “Tea” dance, eliminating the longstanding use of rice paddy hats, Fu Manchu mustaches and exaggerated head and hand gestures that are coded Asian stereotypes.

Georgina Pazcoguin retired after 20 years with the New York City Ballet.

Following their work to help lobby for the changes to “The Nutcracker,” Pazcoguin and Phil Chan, an arts educator, co-founded Final Bow for Yellowface in 2017 to take this endeavor even further. The organization centered around a single pledge: “I love ballet as an art form, and acknowledge that to achieve a diversity amongst our artists, audiences, donors, students, volunteers, and staff, I am committed to eliminating outdated and offensive stereotypes of Asians (Yellowface) on our stages.” In the five years since the pledge’s launch, almost every major American ballet company has signed it; several principal dancers and the artistic director of both New York City Ballet and SAB are among these signatures.

A spokesperson for New York City Ballet told The 19th that in addition to changes in costuming, makeup and some choreography made to “Tea” in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker,” first produced in 1954, the company’s work of re-evaluating works in their repertoire with elements of yellowface in them did not end there. In 2018, changes were also made with the approval of the Balanchine Trust to the company’s production of “Coppélia,” first produced in 1974; a character called “Chinaman” has since been renamed “Fortune Teller,” and the costuming, makeup and choreography have also been changed.

Pazcoguin said it was important to establish that nobody was playing a blame game about the past. “We’re not trying to point a finger and say, ‘You’re racist,’ which just completely shuts down the conversation,” Pazcoguin said. “It’s a discussion point. It’s something where you can say, ‘I know you weren’t intending —’ and explaining intention versus impact, that you weren’t intending to offend countless members of the audience just by doing what has been done for 70 years. I think when people hear that something has upset someone, the natural human thing to do is go, ‘Oh God — I didn’t mean to. Yes, I want to think about this.’”

Jessica Chen, a choreographer, works in the contemporary and musical theater worlds, but has also seen the trickle-down effect that the prevalence of yellowface in ballet has had on the dance world at large. Chen is the first person in her family born in America, and her parents immigrated to southern California from Taiwan. From a young age, Chen quickly found that dance let her find confidence and an ability to express herself that she hadn’t found anywhere else.

But everywhere she looked, she felt like she saw White stories being told for White people — the exception being the “Tea” dance in “The Nutcracker,” which she describes as “a guy in a bamboo hat, and then that is the only representation of Asian identity you ever see. And it is a caricature and also usually performed by someone who isn’t even Asian.” From this, she said she absorbed the message that many barriers existed in ballet, and dance at large, that were designed to keep people like her out.

As she eventually progressed in her career as a choreographer, she was conscientious of this fact, and felt hesitant to introduce into her work any of the movement vocabulary from the traditional Chinese folk dance she did as a child, or any costuming or props that would nod at her family’s heritage. “It’s nothing that I’m ashamed of. In fact, I’m so proud of my heritage. But when I started choreographing, no one ever told me this, but I just had this intuition that if I brought a fan or a bamboo hat on stage ever, I would only be seen a certain way.”

Chen wanted to forge a career as an important new American choreographic voice — she feared having any signs of her Chinese heritage would keep her from ever being labeled as American. But after a decade of work since first founding her own dance company, she was awarded a grant that allowed her to travel to Taiwan for a month and study martial arts there.

After that trip, she created two pieces that outwardly addressed her heritage for the first time, in 2018 — one of which incorporated Taiwanese martial arts into the choreography, and the other of which focused on a dancer hiding and revealing themselves with the use of a bamboo hat. The dance with the hat was called “I Can Almost See You” and, as its title suggests, it was largely about Chen’s own experiences with what it meant to be seen as herself, and all of the identities that entailed.

It’s why she is very proud to think of herself as an American choreographer, too. “Growing up, the image of American was not me, but I’ve been an American my entire life,” Chen said. “When I say I am an American choreographer, it’s a hard thing to say because it shouldn’t be a hard thing to say. I don’t want people seeing me as rejecting my ancestral roots that I’m really proud of. I hope people instead see my bold choice of saying that is because I want to push for that narrative that this is what Americans look like.”

But it’s not only in contemporary dance where there’s the possibility for change. Today, Pazcoguin said that she believes ballet is at a “watershed moment,” where momentum is only building to not only end yellowface within dance as an industry but to become more inclusive as a means of making ballet an art form that more people can feel excited about — and see themselves in. “Change is a bit slower in the ballet world, but it’s happening, and I’m really proud of my hand in that.”

Like Chen, she’s also thinking about what the push against yellowface means for Asian Americans in the performing arts beyond ballet. Pazcoguin is a co-producer of the forthcoming Broadway musical “Here Lies Love,” whose score is composed by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, and will soon make history as having the first all-Filipino cast in Broadway history.

As she embarks on this new phase of her career at New York City Ballet, Nadon said she is feeling the momentum for change.

“Like many organizations, [New York City Ballet doesn’t] have a perfect history and things haven’t always been done exactly correctly. But I think that the newer generation coming in and the people who are still in the company who have been here for a while make it feel like everyone’s very willing to change, which is really nice,” Nadon said. “It’s a really nice feeling to have, sensing that energy surrounding us that everyone’s really working towards making the whole institution better.”

As someone who deeply loves ballet and cares about the future of New York City Ballet in particular, and believes that “we have such an incredible repertoire of works that have already been made,” Nadon said it is hard to not feel the change and tradition intersecting at the company and within the institution of ballet, and all that it signals for the future.

“With getting promoted, I’m taking in the fact that [an Asian-American principal] has never happened before, and the fact that there have been so few Asian principal dancers period is really wild. But I hope that students who are looking at the company can see some of that representation now, and feel encouraged to go to SAB and come to the company and feel like they can make it. We have so many exciting dancers right now who are doing great things. It’s an exciting time to be a part of ballet.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

Two suspects arrested in Beijing-directed targeting of Falun Gong in the US

Chinese Americans demonstrate against the Peoples Republic of China.

A federal court in the Southern District of New York Friday, May 26, unsealed a complaint charging two California men with acting and conspiring to act as unregistered agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), conspiring to bribe and bribing a government official, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the complaint, John Chen, aka Chen Jun, 70, a Los Angeles resident and former citizen of the PRC, and Lin Feng, a Los Angeles resident and PRC citizen, allegedly participated in a PRC government-directed scheme targeting US-based practitioners of Falun Gong — a spiritual practice banned in the PRC. 

As the contents of the complaint were being revealed in New York, the two suspects were arrested the same day in Los Angeles.

“The Chinese government has yet again attempted, and failed, to target critics of the PRC here in the United States,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland at the press event. Their intended target were the US followers of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong, based broadly around meditation, was banned by China in 1999 after 10,000 members appeared at the central leadership compound in Beijing in silent protest. The group has called for people to renounce the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

The PRC government has designated the Falun Gong as one of the “five poisons,” or one of the top five threats to its rule. In China, Falun Gong adherents face a range of repressive and punitive measures from the PRC government, including imprisonment and torture.

 “We allege the defendants in this case attempted to bribe someone they thought was an IRS agent in order to further the Chinese government’s campaign of transnational repression in the United States. But the individual they attempted to bribe was in fact an undercover law enforcement agent, and both defendants were arrested this morning (May 26). 

“The Department of Justice continues to expose the Chinese government’s brazen attempts to perpetrate transnational repression, this time through attempted bribery,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “As highlighted by today’s arrests and charges of conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering, we will not tolerate efforts by the PRC or any foreign government to intimidate, harass, or undermine the rights and freedoms enjoyed by all who live in the United States.”

“China’s government has once again shown its disregard for the rule of law and international norms,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI will not tolerate CCP repression — its efforts to threaten, harass, and intimidate people — here in the United States. We will continue to confront the Chinese government’s efforts to violate our laws and repress the rights and freedoms of people in our country.”

“John Chen and Lin Feng allegedly waged a campaign at the behest of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to influence a U.S. Government official in order to further the PRC Government’s repression of practitioners of Falun Gong,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Efforts to manipulate and use the arms of the U.S. Government to carry out the PRC Government’s autocratic aims are as shocking as they are insidious. My office will work vigorously to protect against malign foreign influences.”

The complaint alleges that from at least approximately January 2023 to May 2023, at the direction of the PRC government,via an identified PRC government official (PRC Official-1), tChen and Feng worked too further the PRC government’s campaign to repress and harass Falun Gong practitioners in the US. 

As part of the PRC government’s campaign against the Falun Gong, Chen and Feng allegedly engaged in a scheme to manipulate the IRS’s Whistleblower Program in an effort to strip the tax-exempt status of an entity run and maintained by Falun Gong practitioners (Entity-1). 

After Chen filed a defective whistleblower complaint with the IRS (the Chen Whistleblower Complaint), Chen and Feng paid $5,000 in cash bribes, and promised to pay substantially more, to an undercover agents posing as an IRS agent,

Neither Chen nor Feng notified the Attorney General that they were acting as agents of the PRC government in the United States which they would be required to do.

In the course of the scheme, Chen, on a recorded call, explicitly noted that the purpose of paying these bribes, which were directed and funded by the PRC government, was to carry out the PRC government’s aim of “toppl[ing] . . . the Falun Gong.” 

During a call intercepted pursuant to a judicially authorized wiretap, Chen and Feng discussed receiving “direction” on the bribery scheme from PRC Official-1, deleting instructions received from PRC Official-1 in order to evade detection, and “alert[ing]” and “sound[ing] the alarm” to PRC Official-1 if Chen and Feng’s meetings to bribe Agent-1 did not go as planned. 

Chen and Feng also discussed that PRC Official-1 was the PRC Government official “in charge” of the bribery scheme targeting the Falun Gong.

As part of this scheme, Chen and Feng allegedly met with the undercover agent in Newburgh, New York, on May 14. During the meeting, Chen gave the fake IRS official a $1,000 cash bribe as an initial, partial bribe payment. Chen further offered to pay the undercover agent a total of $50,000 for opening an audit of Entity-1, as well as 60% of any whistleblower award from the IRS if the Chen Whistleblower Complaint were successful. 

On May 18, Feng paid the undercover agent posting as an IRS employee a $4,000 cash bribe at John F. Kennedy International Airport as an additional partial bribe payment in furtherance of the scheme. Chen allegedly obtained funding from the PRC government to make bribe payments during his trips to the PRC in the course of the scheme.

Chen and Feng are each charged with:

1. one count of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General and to bribe a public official, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison;
2. one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; 
3. one count of bribing a public official, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; and (4) one count of conspiring to commit international money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The arrests of the two suspected foreign agents in California is the latest in a focus of on suspected PRC agents in the US who have been engaged in alleged activities against US residents. Last month federal authorities arrested two men in New York City who have been charged with harassing and threatening New York residents of Chinese descent. 

“No other nation poses as severe a threat to the democratic values of the United States as the government of the People’s Republic of China,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “The FBI will not stand by as the PRC attempts to weaponize our institutions and programs and attack the rights of those on US soil. Any attempt to repress or harass individuals runs directly counter to the ideals our nation was founded upon, and it simply will not be tolerated.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

AANHPI Heritage Month: Initiative launched to save the Chinatowns of the United States

ED DIOKNO

Seattle's Chinatown made the endangered list.

Under pressure from unconnected city planners, developers and businesses still suffering from pandemic-induced revenue loss, America’s Chinatowns sit at an irreplaceable crossroads of history, culture, and identity.

Of the 83 recognized Chinatowns in the US, only half remain. Two are in imminent danger of being erased. Earlier this year, the Chinatowns in Seattle and Philadelphia were placed on the endangered list by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"Through this America’s Chinatowns initiative, we recognize that historic Chinatowns are built upon a long pattern of previous waves of occupation and settlement," sayd Di Gao, senior director of research and policy at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"Today, they are so much more than cultural destinations; they are working-class neighborhoods and active community hubs for the Asian American diaspora. They are safe spaces for new immigrants realizing their American dreams. We also recognize that these historic, vital, living communities are shrinking, shifting, and actively facing erasure," says Gao.

Among the oldest remaining immigrant enclaves in the country, Chinatowns are still home to hundreds of thousands of residents, workers, mom-and-pop businesses, and legacy institutions.

These strong and resilient communities form a network of historic places across the country that connect Asian Americans to the past, anchor them in the present, and show the path to a more equitable future.

Initially formed by racist covenants that limited Chinese from living in other parts of the city, Chinatowns grew to become places of refuge for the hard-working immigrants seeking a better life in “Golden Mountain.”

Today, however, many of America’s Chinatowns are disappearing. No strangers to change, these communities nevertheless face compounding threats that put at risk these special old places where countless lives, memories, and stories began and continue to unfold.

As part of a commitment to protect America’s historic places, the National Trust for Historic Preservation—together with partners and communities—are researching, elevating, and building coalitions that sustain and support historic Chinatowns across the US so that these vital communities can continue to directly improve the lives of people who find belonging and connection in Chinatowns.

Chinatowns under threat

Chinatowns first formed to support a working class who tirelessly built the nation’s infrastructure, put clothing on our bodies, and grew and prepared food to feed a growing country. Today, these centers of living tradition and culture are powered by family-run mom-and-pop shops and institutions where people shop locally and reinvest every dollar back into their community.

Chinatowns also continue to function as safe havens for generations of new immigrants finding their footing as they pursue their American dream, and they remain irreplaceable economic and cultural hubs for people of all backgrounds.

Yet, many Chinatowns throughout history have been impacted and harmed by inequitable planning practices favoring encroaching business districts, massive infrastructure for transportation, and developers hoping to cash in on upscale projects.

More recently, distress from pandemic-related closures, as well as an alarming rise in xenophobia and anti-Asian sentiment, has further threatened Chinatowns. With each storefront that shutters before its time, and each place that disappears, we risk losing connection to our past and our ability to tell the full American story.

PHILADELPHIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

A proposed 76ers arena would impact Philadelphia's Chinatown

Earlier this year, the Chinatowns of Philadelphia and Seattle were recently included on the National Trust’s America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places:

Philadelphia Chinatown: As one of the oldest remaining active Chinatowns in the United States, Philadelphia Chinatown has been a vibrant community since 1871. But with the 76ers basketball team proposing to build an arena abutting Chinatown, advocates—including the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation—are concerned that the development could further disconnect the neighborhood, discourage visitors, impact the local economy, displace residents and businesses, and ultimately contribute to the erasure of the area’s cultural heritage. Neighborhood residents and leaders are encouraging arena supporters to listen to and invest in protecting the Chinatown community as they consider their options.

Seattle Chinatown: As one of the oldest Asian American neighborhoods on the West Coast, the Seattle Chinatown-International District (CID) has been a center of the city’s Asian American life for more than a century. However, Seattle’s Sound Transit is considering several transit expansion options that could impact transportation access and cultural preservation in the CID. Transit Equity for All, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Wing Luke Museum are part of a coalition advocating for a more transparent, equitable process that reflects careful decision-making, centers the voices of the CID, keeps the community connected to transit, and protects the neighborhood’s vitality and cultural heritage for future generations.

Protecting Chinatowns

As the United States’ leading national preservation nonprofit, with a long history of partnership and impact supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) historic places, the National Trust is leveraging its expertise in convening thought leaders, grantmaking, research and mapping, storytelling, advocacy, and community outreach to help local communities address the urgent and widespread challenges facing Chinatowns. 

With generous support from America’s philanthropic community, and in partnership with Chinese American and AAPI communities across the United States, the National Trust will: 

• Host a series of national Chinatown roundtables with local leaders, interested parties, practitioners, advocates, and other partners from Chinatown communities across the United States to connect, share, and elevate place-based solutions for their common threats and challenges. 

• Establish a Chinatown Community Preservation Fund that supports current and future cultural preservation needs of America’s Chinatowns, including backing legacy Chinatown businesses and institutions, preserving these unique places' architectural fabric, and publicly interpreting their stories. 

• Expand the Mapping Chinatowns Project by documenting more Chinatowns and other places that tell the stories of Chinese Americans.

With this initiative—the first and only nationwide effort of this scale and scope—there is an opportunity to draw the nation’s attention to this cultural crisis, stem the tide of loss, and celebrate Chinatowns’ essential role in shaping American society. 

"As preservationists, we believe in the power of place to enrich people’s lives and that by protecting places that are sacred to people, we can directly improve the lives of people who rely on these places for connection, belonging, and meaning," says Gao. "Investing in Chinatowns is one step towards a broader vision where more Asian American spaces and histories are honored and recognized. All of this work is mission critical to telling the full American story."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

We can’t do this without you. Please join us in supporting and protecting Chinatowns so their vibrant pasts can remain at the heart of their thriving and prosperous futures. 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation today unveiled its 2023 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, an annual ranking that spotlights significant sites of American history that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage.

“This year’s list of the nation’s most endangered historic places is a portfolio of sites that are nearly as diverse as the American experience itself,” said Jay Clemens, interim president and CEO of the National Trust. “The places on this list come in all forms, from individual residences to entire neighborhoods, and are located across the country from small communities to urban streetcorners and rural landscapes. The diversity of sites on the 2023 list—and the stories behind them—reflect the complexities and challenges that have always been part of what it means to be American but have not always received the attention they deserve. Losing any of them would diminish us all.”

Since first debuting in 1988, the list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has proven to be a highly effective tool for shining a light on the threats facing our nation’s greatest treasures. Due to the efforts of the National Trust and our passionate supporters, the 11 Most list has often provided the decisive force needed to preserve important cultural landmarks. Now in its 36th year, the ongoing initiative has galvanized public support behind more than 350 sites across the country with only a handful lost.

“The 11 Most Endangered list demonstrates the tremendous power of place. Each site offers an opportunity to engage with our shared history where it happened and inspires us to work together to honor each other’s experiences and contributions to our country,” said Chief Preservation Officer Katherine Malone-France. “These places and their stories might have been lost already if not for the dedication and perseverance of people who continue to stand up for them year after year. We are humbled and honored to join their fight.”

To learn more about the places on this year’s list and find out what you can do to help preserve them, go to www.SavingPlaces.org/11Most.

Philadelphia Chinatown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• As one of the oldest remaining active Chinatowns in the United States, Philadelphia Chinatown has been a vibrant community since 1871. But with the 76ers basketball team proposing to build an arena abutting Chinatown, advocates—including the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation—are concerned that the development could further disconnect the neighborhood, discourage visitors, impact the local economy, displace residents and businesses, and ultimately contribute to the erasure of the area’s cultural heritage. Neighborhood residents and leaders are encouraging arena supporters to listen to and invest in protecting the Chinatown community as they consider their options.

Seattle Chinatown-International District, Seattle, Washington

• As one of the oldest Asian American neighborhoods on the West Coast, the Seattle Chinatown-International District (CID) has been a center of the city’s Asian American life for more than a century. However, Seattle’s Sound Transit is considering several transit expansion options that could impact transportation access and cultural preservation in the CID. Transit Equity for All, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Wing Luke Museum are part of a coalition advocating for a more transparent, equitable process that reflects careful decision-making, centers the voices of the CID, keeps the community connected to transit, and protects the neighborhood’s vitality and cultural heritage for future generations.

AANHPI Heritage Month: Asian restaurants make up 12% of all restaurants

During the height of the pandemic, a sign began showing up at the anti-Asian hate demonstrations around the country. The sign read, "Love Our People Like You Love Our Food." Although, the sign reads humorously, but there is truth in the message.

The ubiquitous Chinese restaurant can be found in 70% of US counties. Japanese and Thai restaurants are not far behind, according to a numbers crunch by the Pew Research Center released Tuesday, May 23.

In fact, some 12% of all restaurants in the United States serve Asian food,even though only 7% of the US population is Asian American.

As Padma Lakshmi points out in her Taste the Nation food series on Hulu, what we call "American" food is really a collection of dishes immigrants bring with them and adopted -- not necessarily adapted -- as "American." Today, teriyaki steak and the egg roll are as American as, well, apple pie, which was originated in England.

Food often serves as the door fo another culture for most non-Asian Americans.

From the Panda Express franchises in the malls to the mom-and-pops in Chinatown, to the lonely truck stops on a stretch of highway, Chinese establishments are by far the most common type of Asian restaurant in the US. Nearly four-in-ten Asian restaurants (39%) serve Chinese food, which has a long history in the U.S. By comparison, Chinese Americans account for about a quarter of Asians living in the U.S. (24%).

By far, Chinese restaurants are the most numerous Asian restaurants in the US

Japanese and Thai food has spread widely, despite these groups’ relatively small shares of the US population. The first sushi restaurant in the U.S. opened just over 50 years ago, but today sushi is widely available from coast to coast. Restaurants that serve Japanese food account for 28% of Asian restaurants in the U.S., making it the second-most common Asian cuisine. Japanese Americans, by comparison, are the sixth-largest Asian origin group in the country, comprising 7% of the U.S. Asian population.

Similarly, Thai establishments make up 11% of all Asian restaurants – the third-most common cuisine behind Chinese and Japanese food – while just 2% of Asian Americans are Thai. The Thai government has historically supported efforts to increase the number of Thai restaurants around the world as a form of diplomacy.

Indian and Filipino establishments account for a relatively small share of Asian restaurants. Indian and Filipino restaurants account for 7% and 1% of all Asian restaurants in the U.S., respectively – even though Indian and Filipino Americans account for nearly 40% of Asians in the U.S. combined.

The study, based on an analysis of about 787,000 restaurants across the U.S. using point-of-interest data from SafeGraph, also finds that:

• Around three-quarters of all counties in the U.S. (73%) have at least one Asian restaurant of any kind.

• Like the Asian American population, Asian restaurants in the US are heavily concentrated in a few states. Just under half – 45% – of all Asian restaurants are located in California, New York, Texas, New Jersey and Washington.

• Chinese restaurants are found in every state and in 70% of all US counties. Additionally, nearly four-in-ten Asian restaurants (39%) serve Chinese food, making it by far the most common type of Asian restaurant in the US.

• Around three-quarters of all counties in the U.S. (73%) have at least one Asian restaurant of any kind. And in eight counties with at least 15 restaurants of any type, Asian restaurants make up at least a quarter of all food establishments. Half of those counties are in California.

FYI: For the complete analysis, click here.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

Lawsuit filed against Florida's anti-Chinese law

A lawsuit filed yesterday, May 22, against Florida's new questionable law restricting land purchases by Chinese citizens was not unexpected.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law May 8 citing security concerns. “Florida is taking action to stand against the United States’ greatest geopolitical threat – the Chinese Communist party,” said DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the GOP nomination for US President.

“Xenophobic policies and rhetoric toward China stoke racial bias,” said Bethany Li, AALDEF legal director. “We have repeatedly seen how policies in the name of national security have harmed Asian Americans — from immigration restrictions, to the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans in camps, and post-9/11 surveillance. Failing to call out the discriminatory impacts means our community will continue to experience racism, violence, and the erosion of rights.”

The plaintiffs include Chinese Floridians Yifan Shen, Zhiming Xu, Xinxi Wang and Yongxin Liu, all citizens of China who are lawfully living in Florida. They are joined by Multi-Choice Realty, LLC, a state real estate brokerage firm with a large Chinese clientele.

FYI: Download a copy of the complaint in Shen v. Simpson here.

Filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the lawsuit alleges they "will be forced to cancel purchases of new homes, register their existing properties with the State under threat of severe penalties and face the loss of significant business."

The legislation, due to go into effect on July 1, unfairly restricts most Chinese citizens — and most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea — from purchasing homes in the state. 

The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Florida, DeHeng Law Offices PC, and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), in coordination with the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA).

The lawsuit argues that SB 264 will codify and expand housing discrimination against people of Asian descent in violation of the Constitution and the Fair Housing Act. It will also cast an undue burden of suspicion on anyone seeking to buy property whose name sounds remotely Asian, Russian, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan, or Syrian. 

DeSantis has argued that this law is necessary to protect Florida from the Chinese Communist Party and its activities. But this misguided rationale unfairly equates Chinese people with the actions of their government, and there is no evidence of national security harm resulting from real estate ownership by Chinese people in Florida.

Florida’s dangerous new law recalls similar efforts over the past century to weaponize false claims of “national security” against Asian immigrants and other marginalized communities. In the early 1900s, politicians across the country used similar justifications to pass “alien land laws” prohibiting Chinese and Japanese immigrants from becoming landowners. 

These racist policies not only hurt immigrants financially, but also severely exacerbated violence and discrimination against Asian communities living in the United States. Over time, these laws were struck down by the courts or were repealed by state legislatures because they violated the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees.

“All Asian Americans will feel the stigma and the chilling effect created by this Florida law, just like the discriminatory laws did to our ancestors more than a hundred years ago,” said Clay Zhu, attorney with DeHeng Law Offices PC and co-founder of CALDA. “We shall not go back.”

Over a dozen state legislatures have recently introduced similar legislation, and many of these bills likewise target people from China. Florida’s bill was the first of this wave of legislation to be enacted into law.

“Asian immigrants are part of Florida’s fabric. For hundreds of years, they have contributed to our communities and have made this state their home,” said Daniel Tilley, legal director for the ACLU of Florida. “The discriminatory policies pushed by the DeSantis administration will not go unchecked. The Constitution protects us all.”

“Florida’s discriminatory property law is unfair, unjustified, and unconstitutional,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project. “Everyone in the United States is entitled to equal protection under our laws, including citizens of other countries. If SB 264 goes into effect, it will profoundly harm our clients and countless other immigrants in Florida.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

Kahuku HS Graduation Senior Medley and haka for 2023

For several years we've been highlighting the unique graduation ceremonies of Kahuku High School on Oahu's North Shore because, well, it brings us joy.

The high school has gained national attention for its graduation which includes a  celebration that incorporates bleacher choreography, singing and climaxed with a haka performed by the male members of the senior class.

This last February, the high school was featured in a 30-minute segment on NFL 360 since the Kahuku Red Raiders had won two straight championships and several alumni have gone on to careers in professional football.

Last night, the high school was shown on the popular reality show, American Idol, as it gave an honorary degree to Iam Tongi, who was named this year's winner in the singing competition. Tongi was born in the North Shore and attended the school before his family moved to the mainland.

The 1,400 student body is 83% Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian and Asian and they celebrate its island heritage during the graduation ceremonies.

In these uneasy times as America seeks to right itself, anything that brings pride and joy should be celebrated such as the graduation of the next generation of AANHPI who will carry on the fight seeking equity,  justice, economic security and visibility.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.