New York Times: Sri Lankan American multi-millionaire allegedly supporting China's propaganda efforts

A prominent tech multi-millionaire is allegedly behind a complex web of organizations that defend the actions of the People's Republic of China.

A New York Times investigation published Aug. 5 suggests that Neville Roy Singham is at the center of funding a propaganda machine that aims to defend Chinese state interests and disseminates its propaganda through media and a tangle of US nonprofit organizations.

Neville Roy Singham, born in 1954 in the United States, is the son of Archibald Wickeramaraja Singham, a renowned Sri Lankan political scientist and historian, who was a professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

Neville Singham pursued economics at Howard University. After school, in 1983, he founded  Chicago-based ThoughtWorks, which quickly became a leading global IT consulting firm.

FYI: Read the full New York Times report.

The company's success thrust Singham in the business world and was named one of the "50 Global Thinkers," according to Foreign Policy magazine in 2009. 

However, in recent years, his focus has shifted towards political activism. The NYT investigation alleges that Singham is a strong supporter of the Chinese Communist Party, and he has contributed substantial funds to groups that publicised Chinese state media's propaganda. 

The New York Times investigation further reveals that Singham established a network of nonprofits and shell companies that defends the PRC actions and propagates globally the PRC agenda of becoming the top power in the world.

Singham's influence extends from Asia to South Africa and Europe to the Americas.

At the center of Singham's network are four nonprofits that are only UPS addresses in New York City. From these so-called nonprofits, Singham's money flowed throughout the world.

The NYTimes investigation followed the money to a South African political party that funded campaigns for political office, YouTube channels in the US that has garnered millions of views, and other nonprofits in Ghana, Zambia and Brazil.

In the US, the activist Code Pink  that used to criticize China human rights abuses, receives funding from Singham, according to the NYT. Since Singham married one of Code Pink's founders, Jodie Evans, the once-leftist group now portrays the authoritarian regime as "a defender of the oppressed and a model for economic growth without slavery or war," reports the NYT.

India's Enforcement Directorate is investigating the funding sources of  Delhi-based news website NewsClick, which has been found to feature Chinese government talking points in its coverage. The NYT probe alleges that financing from Singham is dictating the website's journalistic bias. 

Singham's Shanghai headquarters shares office space with a Chinese media company called Maku Group, which says its goal is to “tell China's story well,” a common euphemism for foreign propaganda.

Singham defends his actions by asserting that he intends to foster peace and understanding between China and Western nations.

Singham, 69, denies the alleged ties to the PRC or the Chinese Communist Party in an email to the NY Times. He says he abides by the tax laws in the countries where he was active.

“I categorically deny and repudiate any suggestion that I am a member of, work for, take orders from, or follow instructions of any political party or government or their representatives,” he wrote in an email to the NYT. “I am solely guided by my beliefs, which are my long-held personal views.”

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

Hawaii's historical structures destroyed in Maui fires

Lahaina's Front Street looking north

The wildfire that destroyed Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui has claimed 93 lives, making it the most destructive fire in the US in over a century. The death toll is expected to rise as workers comb the charred ruins.

As I scan the video footage and photos of what is left of Lahaina, I search for familiar stores and gathering spots. Only the waves lapping against the sea wall remains the same.

The rest of the Lahaina Town is reduced to ashes and rubble by the fire that ripped through the community  beginning Tuesday, Aug. 8.

President Biden declared Maui fires a national disaster Thursday (Aug. 10), ordering all federal agencies, including the military, to assist firefighting and recovery efforts.

Lahaina is prominent in the history of Hawaii. King Kamehameha I made Lahaina the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1802. 

Much of Hawaii's heritage has been reduced to ashes, including:

• The 200-year-old Waiola Church, Hawaii's first Christian church where some of Hawaii's royalty are buried.

• Lahaina Jodo Mission, which was established in a private house in 1912 to propagate Buddhism in Lahaina. The temple moved to its present location in 1931.

• Na Aikana Cultural Center, which occupies a building that once served as a soup kitchen for plantation workers during an ILWU strike against the Pioneer Mill.

• Pioneer Inn, built in 1901 by George Alan Freeland.

• The Baldwin Home Museum, the oldest home on the island, built between 1834 and 1835 for missionaries Dwight Baldwin and Charlotte Fowler Baldwin.

• The Wo HIng Museum and Cookhouse, The current structure was restored in 1912, but the original building was built in the early 19th century.

• The Old Lahaina Courthouse, which opened in 1860 as a customs house for whaling and trade ships as well as a center for government offices and court functions during the monarchy period.

Miraculously, Maria Lanakila Catholic Church and its rectory are still standing. The church school suffered minor damage. Maria Lanakila, which means Our Lady of Victory, was established in 1846, according to the church’s website. 

Originally consisting of an adobe building with grass hut chapels, the modern stone structure was finished in 1873. The buildings next door to the church were burned down completely.

ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIANS

About 40% of Lahaina's year-round population of 13,000 are of Asian descent and 5% was Native Hawaiian. Whites made up about 35% and the next largest group were of mixed racial heritage. 

Filipino Americans make up the largest Asian subgroup in Maui. According to Kit Zulueta Furukawa, director of the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce, hundreds of Filipinos are among the 1,000 people still unaccounted for, said Furukawa.

"Filipinos are a significant number of Lahaina’s population. We lost quite a few people, and a lot of our fellow Filipinos lost everything or a considerable amount of their housing and possessions," said Filipino American state Senator Gilbert Keith Agaran.

As of this morning, 89 people have perished in the multiple Maui blazes. Most of the fatalities were found in the three-mile stretch that defined what was downtown Lahaina. 

The number of dead is expected to rise as workers comb through the rubble that was once the home of Hawaiian royalty and has become a bustling tourist hub. 

A curfew will be in place from 10 pm-6 am daily in Historic Lahaina Town and affected areas.

The 150-year old banyan tree is charred (it’s said that if the roots are healthy, it will likely grow back, but it looks burned yet standing).

CURRENT CONDITIONS

The following news updates are courtesy of the Maui Information Guide.

• The road towards Lahaina: Honoapiilani Hwy (30) is closed again.
• The new fire in Ka’anapali is contained. The smaller fire in Haiku is out.
• 80 fatalities – We expect this number to rise dramatically with more search and rescue. So far, it’s the deadliest wildfire in the US since 2018 in California, but it’ll likely exceed it now that we have residents and crews returning to assess damages.
• Hospitals are NOT Overwhelmed – Rumors are circulating that Maui Memorial, Kula Hospital, and Lanai Community Hospital are overwhelmed, which is untrue.  They responded that they have ample capacity.  Do not avoid the ER.
• 100’s of pet fatalities – The fires came so quickly, it’s still unknown how many pets were lost.
• 1,418 people at 6 shelters – Many more have been displaced but are staying with friends and family.
• At least 2,207 structures were affected or completely destroyed. – These numbers will go up as we get a proper count.
• 10’s of thousands have left Maui – Both visitors and residents are leaving for Oahu and the mainland.
• 100’s of businesses burned – And 1000’s will be majorly affected or closed permanently.
• Most schools are still closed – And many businesses across the island have closed in an effort to have employees assist in aid.

Maui and the Big Island have had some terrible fires since Tuesday evening. Even though Lahaina has been the most devastating, keep in mind there are many major fires across Maui (not just the west side). 

 

Lahaina is said to be 85% contained, but remember that it was said to be 100% contained hours before it flared up and destroyed the entire town.

 

Pūlehu/Kihei is said to be 70% contained. 

 Kula containment is at 50% though new flare-ups have been reported, and it seems to be in 2 different areas. 

Both Ka’anapali and Haiku fires are contained/out.  Winds have died down a bit, so helicopters are able to assist with water drops and delivering supplies.

How you can help Maui, click here.

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

California att'y general issues formal apology to Japanese Americans' incarceration

California Attorney General Rob Bonta

On the 35th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a formal apology acknowledging the role played by the California Attorney General’s Office in unjustly depriving Japanese Americans’ civil rights and civil liberties during and after World War II.

“Today, my office formally apologizes for its past use of legal tools to deprive a generation of Japanese Californians of their liberty and financial security during the World War II era,” said Attorney General Bonta Thursday, Aug. 10.

“The forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese American citizens remains among the darkest periods of our history, and the suffering it caused Japanese American families across California is incalculable. While we can never erase the horrors of the past, we must take steps to atone for past wrongs by answering the call for accountability, truth and reconciliation, racial healing and transformation.

"The California Attorney General’s Office deeply regrets its past complicity in these heinous violations of civil rights, and with this apology, recommits to its mission of protecting and defending civil liberties for all Americans,” stated Bonta, the first Filipino American to occupy the office.

FYI: The formal statement of apology can be found here.

In 2020, the state's lawmakers issued a formal apology for incarcerating people of Japanese descent during WWII.

In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which targeted and imprisoned more than 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who primarily lived on the West Coast. 

Former California Attorney General Earl Warren testified before Congress in support of this order and enforced the California Alien Land Law of 1913, which took possession of agricultural land owned by Japanese American families. 

In 1943, California Attorney General Robert Walker Kenny formed a special unit within the Attorney General's Office to enforce the California Alien Land Law. The California Alien Land Law prohibited Asian immigrants from purchasing or leasing land until 1952, when the California Supreme Court declared the law violated the Fourteenth Amendment.

In 1944, the California Attorney General's Office joined the states of Washington and Oregon in submitting an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court in Korematsu v. United States, supporting the imprisonment of Fred Korematsu — a national civil rights hero who fought against the wrongful incarceration of Japanese Americans — despite the lack of any evidence that he posed a security threat. The Attorney General's Office recognizes today that this was unequivocally incorrect.

As racism, fear, and xenophobia continue to threaten fundamental freedoms, Bonta remains fully committed to fighting for the civil rights of all of California’s diverse communities, evidenced by: 

• Launching the Racial Justice Bureau within the California Department of Justice.
• Holding virtual convening against hate crime with California’s big city Mayors.
• Creating the Community Engagement Office within the California Department of Justice.
• Hosting a public webinar for the National Day of Racial Healing.
• Implementing new guidance, reports, and resources to help public and law enforcement better understand and address hate crimes.

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

California county rescinds ordinance limiting water for Asian American landowners

INSTAGRAM

 Asian Americans celebrated after Siskiyou County rescinded its water ordinances.

A rural northern California county has repealed two ordinances that restricted water use and delivery near predominantly Hmong communities, ostensibly to crack down on illegal marijuana farming. 

Two years after Siskiyou County enacted a series of targeted ordinances that deprived thousands of Hmong American, Chinese American, and other Asian American residents of basic water for survival, hygiene, and wildfire defense, community members secured an important milestone this week in their fight to build a home, live safely, and raise their families without fear of bigotry and racist persecution by local officials.

As of August 1, 2023, Siskiyou County has repealed two of its water ordinances that created a humanitarian crisis for Asian American residents, degraded their health, resulted in the loss of livestock and gardens, left people unable to fend off wildfires, and forced many to leave their homes.

The county also amended a third water ordinance to establish due process protections and limit violation fines that discouraged people from providing water.

All Siskiyou County residents, including those in Shasta Vista, Dorris, and Macdoel, can now lawfully bring water to their homes via trucks and purchase water for basic needs from neighboring large well owners.

“Today, we celebrate an important victory affirming our human right to water and our rights to live without oppressive fear and trauma, simply because of where we were born or what we look like.” said ”Siskiyou County resident Russell Mathis.

Lawsuits vs. SIskiyou

These measures came after a settlement in Lo v. Siskiyou County, led by 11 Siskiyou County residents who were denied basic water needs as part of the county’s well-documented campaign of harassment, discrimination, and racial profiling against Asian American community members.

A federal court ordered the county to stop enforcement of two water ordinances to prevent the “dehydration and de facto expulsion of a disfavored minority” in 2021. In 2022, the federal judge ruled against the county’s attempts to end this preliminary injunction, noting “the passage of time has erased neither the concerning language County officials used to describe their purposes nor the racial animosity Hmong people in Shasta Vista have faced.”

The Lo plaintiffs were represented by the law offices of Allison B. Margolin, PLC and Frank S. Moore, APC. The Asian Law Caucus and the ACLU of Northern California filed briefs in support of the Lo plaintiffs’ lawsuit, showing that Siskiyou County’s discriminatory practices extended beyond water, including racial profiling in traffic stops and the use of punitive liens.

In August 2022, Asian American community members filed a major class action lawsuit against Siskiyou County officials and the Siskiyou Sheriff’s Department for their sweeping racial persecution campaign. In this case, Chang v. Siskiyou County, community members and their attorneys at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, Asian Law Caucus, and Covington & Burling LLP detailed how county officials restrict people’s right to water and execute unlawful traffic stops, search and seizure practices, and property liens in a blatant effort to isolate residents of Asian descent and drive them out of the region.

Just as community members led a settlement in Lo v. Siskiyou County to restore their right to water, community members leading the Chang v. Siskiyou County class action lawsuit are currently in settlement negotiations to resolve claims of racial discrimination.

“As the Asian American community in Siskiyou has grown, including more parents enrolling their kids in school, grandparents retiring to more rural areas that remind them of Laos, and families trying to be closer together, Siskiyou County and the Sheriff’s Department have gone to troubling lengths to push out the Asian American community, and community members are taking action to create a safe, inclusive place to live,” said John Do, senior staff attorney for the Racial & Economic Justice Program at the ACLU of Northern California.

The discriminatory practices came through acts of intimidation including unlawful traffic stops and illegal search and seizure practices.

In a county where US Census figures showed that Asian and Pacific Islanders adults made up only about 2.4% of the adult population, more than 28% of traffic stops conducted by sheriff’s deputies last year involved Asian American drivers, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs' lawyers said their investigation found that sheriff’s deputies stopped drivers of Asian descent at a rate of roughly 12 times greater than their proportion of the driving-age population, with Asian American drivers about 17 times more likely to be pulled over than a white individual.

The northern California county in the shadow of Mt. Shasta is home to fewer than 45,000 people, of whom 85% are white and 1.6% are Asian American, according to the 2020 Census. Many Asian American residents in Siskiyou County are Hmong and came to the US as refugees after fighting alongside the U.S. military in the Vietnam War. 

Marijuana growing

The county claimed the ordinances were necessary and primarily aimed at illegal marijuana agriculture. Growing cannabis has been legal in California since 2018, but Siskiyou’s regulations have made it nearly impossible to grow legally, according to Prism. The county does not classify marijuana-growing as an agricultural therefore criminalizing growing the plant.

However, many Hmong and Chinese community members, who are part of the county’s farming population, said the measures were largely enforced in Asian American areas, the lawsuits allege. 

“If the sheriff was really concerned about cannabis, there would be all kinds of enforcement going on throughout the county, and there’s very little in the non-Hmong areas,” said Glenn Katon, an attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus in an interview with Prism.

White people have grown cannabis in Siskiyou since at least the late ‘60s without much incident, according to Margiana Petersen-Rockney, who co-published ethnographic research on cannabis farmers in the county.

In the mid-2010s, Hmong Americans started to arrive. The cheap parcels of land and mountainous landscape drew many Hmong elders from the Hmong communities in Minnesota and Fresno, Calif. The mountains and rural setting reminded them of Laos and their agricultural roots.

The tension grew between the county and its newest residents when four officers from different agencies, including the sheriff's department, fired 60 shots and killed Soobleej Kaub Hawj, a local farmer, who was attempting to bring water to the area. Authorities say he brandished a gun.

“The county kept insisting the case was about cannabis,” the ACLU's Do told Prism. “(The county’s officials) spoke as if everyone was part of a violent drug cartel essentially, and I think that language is indicative of how they’ve been treated.”

Siskiyou County’s water ordinances is the latest example of a long history of racist water policies used to target Black, Latino, and other communities of color and uphold segregation in California, particularly in unincorporated communities in the San Joaquin Valley, and in other states across the country.

“Siskiyou County’s bigoted practices draw from a long history of US policies treating people of Asian descent as less than full Americans who ‘don’t belong’ in our country, picking and choosing who has the freedom to build better lives and live safely,” said Glenn Katon, litigation director for the Asian Law Caucus. 

After the ordinances were repealed last week, Siskiyou resident Matis said: “My neighbors and I have been forced to make impossible choices between bathing every week and providing water to our pets, livestock, and gardens. County officials said they wanted to ‘choke’ us out, and these water ordinances were one tool in a shameful playbook to push so many of us out of the neighborhoods we call home.” 

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

Two US sailors arrested for spying for the Peoples Republic of China

For a relatively measly amount of money, two US Navy sailors chose greed over loyalty to the United States when they allegedly sold military secrets to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

In two separate cases in the Southern and Central Districts of California, two US   Navy sailors,  Jinchao Wei and Wenheng Zhao were arrested this week for selling sensitive military information to the PRC, which federal authorities say is  known for its aggressive espionage activities.

“These individuals stand accused of violating the commitments they made to protect the United States and betraying the public trust, to the benefit of the PRC government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

In the San Diego news conference held Thursday, Stacey Moy, the topFBI agent in San Diego, told reporters that he wanted to emphasize that “this is not and will never be an indictment of the Chinese people or ethnically Chinese Americans.”

"There is no bigger, multigenerational threat to the United States" than China, Moy continued. . Beijing "will stop at nothing to attack the United States in its strategic plan to become the world's sole superpower."

Both Wei and Zhao pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They will be remain in US custody until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8.

“These arrests are a reminder of the relentless, aggressive efforts of the People’s Republic of China to undermine our democracy and threaten those who defend it,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. 

US v. Jinchao Wei

A US Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, aka Patrick Wei, was arrested Aug. 2 on espionage charges as he arrived for work at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the Pacific Fleet. He was indicted for conspiracy to send national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the PRC.

The indictment, unsealed Thursday morning, alleges that Wei, was an active-duty sailor on the amphibious assault ship the U.S.S. Essex stationed at Naval Base San Diego. In his role as a machinist’s mate, Wei held a US security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems. Amphibious assault ships like the Essex resemble small aircraft carriers and allow the US military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.

According to the indictment, in February 2022, Wei began communicating with an intelligence officer from the PRC who requested that Wei provide information about the U.S.S. Essex and other Navy ships. Specifically, the Chinese intelligence officer tasked Wei with passing him photos, videos and documents concerning U.S. Navy ships and their systems. The two agreed to hide their communications by deleting records of their conversations and using encrypted methods of communication.

At the request of the intelligence officer, between March 2022 and the present, Wei sent photographs and videos of the Essex, disclosed the locations of various Navy ships and described defensive weapons of the Essex. In exchange for this information, the intelligence officer paid Wei thousands of dollars over the course of the conspiracy.

The indictment further alleges that in June 2022, Wei sent the intelligence officer approximately 30 technical and mechanical manuals. These manuals contained export control warnings and detailed the operations of multiple systems aboard the Essex and similar ships, including power, steering, aircraft and deck elevators, as well as damage and casualty controls. The intelligence officer confirmed with Wei that at least 10 of those manuals were useful to him. For passage of those materials, the indictment alleges that Wei was paid $5,000.

In June 2022, the intelligence officer requested that Wei provide information about the number and training of US Marines during an upcoming international maritime warfare exercise. In response to this request, Wei sent multiple photographs of military equipment to the intelligence officer.

In August 2022, Wei sent an additional 26 technical and mechanical manuals related to the power structure and operation of the Essex and similar ships. The manuals contained warnings that this was technical data subject to export controls and that it was deemed “critical technology” by the US Navy.

The indictment further alleges that in October 2022, Wei sent a technical manual to the intelligence officer describing the layout and location of certain departments, including berthing quarters and weapons systems. Specifically, Wei sent a weapons control systems manual for the Essex and similar ships. This manual contained export-controlled data that could not be exported without a license from the U.S. government. The indictment alleges that Wei knowingly violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulations by transmitting this manual to the Chinese intelligence officer without obtaining a required license.

US NAVY

The USS Essex patrols the sea lanes in Southeast Asia.

The intelligence officer continued to request information in 2023, including information about the overhaul and upgrades to the Essex. Specifically, he requested blueprints, especially those related to modifications to the flight deck. Wei provided information related to the repairs the Essex was undergoing, as well as other mechanical problems with similar vessels.

During the alleged conspiracy, the intelligence officer instructed Wei to gather US military information that was not public and admonished him not to discuss their relationship and to destroy any evidence regarding the nature of their relationship and their activities.

“We have entrusted members of our military with tremendous responsibility and great faith,” said US Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “Our nation’s safety and security are in their hands. When a soldier or sailor chooses cash over country, and hands over national defense information in an ultimate act of betrayal, the United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute.”

US v. Wenheng Zhao

Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, aka Thomas Zhao, 26, of Monterey Park, Calif., was arrested following an indictment by a federal grand jury, charging him with receiving bribes in exchange for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an individual posing as a maritime economic researcher, but who was actually an intelligence officer from the PRC.

The indictment alleges that Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a US security clearance, received bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for violating his official duties as a US sailor by, among other actions, disclosing non-public sensitive US military information.

Beginning in August 2021 and continuing through at least May 2023, at the Chinese intelligence officer’s direction, Zhao allegedly violated his official duties to protect sensitive military information by surreptitiously recording, and then transmitting to the intelligence officer, U.S. military information, photographs and videos. According to the indictment, the Chinese intelligence officer told Zhao that the intelligence officer was a maritime economic researcher seeking the information for investment decisions.

In exchange for bribes, Zhao allegedly sent the Chinese military officer non-public and controlled operational plans for a large-scale US military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region, which detailed the specific location and timing of Naval force movements, amphibious landings, maritime operations and logistics support.

The indictment further alleges that in exchange for bribes, Zhao also photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.

The intelligence officer allegedly directed Zhao to conceal their relationship and to destroy evidence of the unlawful and corrupt scheme.

In exchange for the sensitive information Zhao provided – information Zhao accessed as a result of his position within the US Navy – the Chinese intelligence officer paid Zhao approximately $14,866, the indictment alleges.

“By sending this sensitive military information to an intelligence officer employed by a hostile foreign state, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath to protect our country and uphold the Constitution,” said US Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. 

If convicted, Zhao faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The allegations and arrests did not surprise Tai Ming Cheung, a UC San Diego scholar, who was interviewed by the San Diego Union-Tribune. “This is not surprising given that the U.S. and China are engaged in a very intense struggle over power, especially in the military domain,” said Cheung, director of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.

Tensions have grown between the US and the PRC as the two superpowers jockey for influence in Asia. The US government and business interests treat Taiwan, a province of China, as a separate nation in business dealings and military operations. 

In the West Philippine Sea, China has taken over some islands just miles off the Philippines coast and turned them into military installations. An international court has ruled in favor of the Philippines but the PRC has chosen to ignore the court. Much of Asia's sea traffic sails through these waters.

In both potential flashpoints, the PRC and the US have tested and harassed each other in several incidents in the air and on the sea. Experts fear an overzealous pilot or Navy captain or a miscalculation could easily escalate the two nations into a confrontation.

“The Chinese spend a lot of their efforts getting as much intelligence as they can, and the Navy and Marines are very much part of that mix,” Cheung told the San Diego newspaper. “Both sides need to know what the other side’s militaries are doing at any moment in time.”

The espionage strategy of the PRC was exposed this year upon the discovery and downing of a Chinese spy balloon floating across the US earlier this year sparked alarm bells in the US as media and the military tracked its path.

In addition, this year the FBI arrested several individuals (FYI: and here) in the US who have been accused of harassing and threatening US residents of Chinese descent for their alleged anti-PRC and anti-Chinese Communist Party views and activities.

FBI director Christopher A. Wray, carefully distinguishing the PRC espionage efforts and the Chinese American community, warned Congress earlier this year, “There’s no country that presents a more significant threat to our innovation, our ideas our economic security, our national security than the Chinese government.”

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

Olivia Rodrigo's new song debuts in No. 1 spot

Olivia Rodrigo's fans were anticipating the release of the Filipino American songwriter's newest single for months. So when "Vampire" debuted in early July, it zoomed to the top of the Billboard charts.

For Rodrigo, debuting a song in the No. 1 spot is nothing new. In 2021, both "Drivers License" and Good 4 U" topped the charts when they were launched. Billboard reports that 20-year old singer/songwriter is the first artist ever to debut the lead singles from two career-opening albums at No. 1 on the Hot 100.

"Vampire" is the lead single of Rodrigo's eagerly awaited second album Guts, which is slated for a Sept. 8 release.

        RELATED: Olivia Rodrigo on being a role model

On a July 15 Instagram posting, the Filipino American shared a photo of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with “Vampire” right at No. 1. Her post includes the caption, “AHHHHH IM SO EXCITED AB THIS!!! thank you x1000 to everyone who bought and streamed vampire I love you!!!! and thank u to my amazing team!!!! ahhhh!!!!”

“We always said that it was kind of our version of a rock opera," she recently told Billboard. "I think as the album was coming together, we were coming up with a bunch of songs that we really liked, but this one always stuck out to me as something that I felt like was honoring my singer-songwriter roots, but felt like an evolution – in a good way that wasn’t too stark. So, I really liked it for that, and it was always one of my favorites.

“I wrote it on the piano, the original version, in December of last year, and I really liked it,” Rodrigo added. “I remember writing it and feeling like something special was there. And I took it to my producer Dan, and we finished it up together and rewrote some things and produced it. It was quite a long production — it’s pretty lush, so it took us a while. But I’m really happy with the way it came out.”

On a separate Instagram post, the pop star included a video of her typing the son titles of the 12 tracks in "Guts." Other tracks include "all american bitch," "bad idea right?", "lacy," "ballad of a homeschooled girl, "making the bed, "logical, "get him back," "love is embarrassing," "the grudge," "pretty isn’t pretty," and "teenage dream."

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

Biden-Harris Administration addressing mental health needs of AANHPI communities

(Illustration by Brittany England)

A major focus of last month's historic mental health summit at the White House, was the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to  improving equity and access to behavioral health care for AA and NHPI communities.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising anti-Asian hate, and the twin public health and public safety epidemic of gun violence, AA and NHPI communities have been deeply impacted by the nation’s mental health crisis. And the task of expanding access to quality and culturally competent medical, including mental health services for AA and NHPI individuals has only grown more urgent. 

In 2020, suicide was the leading cause of death among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, ages 10 to 19, and the second leading cause of death among those ages 20-34. And AA and NHPIs currently face unique barriers to behavioral health care, including:

• Language barriers, which can make it difficult for AA and NHPIs to access behavioral health services;

• Stigmatization and negative cultural conceptualizations of behavioral health within AA and NHPI communities, which can reduce help-seeking;

• A perceived lower need of mental health care among AA and NHPIs compared to other racial and ethnic groups;

• A shortage of clinicians with diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds; and

• The lack of culturally competent providers to meet cultural, social, and language-related needs

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted the historic summit in recognition of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, building on the Administration’s unprecedented investments to connect more Americans to care.

Through the President’s Mental Health Strategy and other initiatives, the Biden-Harris Administration is leading a whole-of-society approach to transform behavioral health services and bolster support, particularly for underserved communities, including AA and NHPI communities. 

Over the past two years, federal agencies have worked to eliminate barriers to care; expand the full continuum of prevention, treatment, and recovery services; and prioritize integration of these services into settings where they can be more easily accessed.

Federal agencies have directed funding to agencies focusing in erasing the gap in mental health care delivery and care. Some of the programs, which range from combating human trafficking, disaggregating data of the diverse AANHIPI communities and fighting hate crimes,  include:

•  A 5-year grant for $700,000 per year to the Hawaii State Department of Health to establish the first ever Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (AANHPI-CoE) to advance behavioral health equity for AA and NHPI communities.

• The National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health (NNED), a network of more than 1,500 community-based organizations serving underserved communities across the U.S., including AA and NHPI populations, focused on the mental health and substance use issues facing diverse racial and ethnic communities. 

• $1 million in September 2022, through a cooperative agreement to Pouhana O Na Wahine, to serve as FVPSA’s national technical assistance provider for the Native Hawaiian communities and to establish the first ever Native Hawaiian Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NHRCDV).

• The Interagency Island Affairs Council. Launched in 2022, this council convenes federal leaders to identify, coordinate, and advance funding, programmatic, and policy issues to improve health equity in the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States. CDC also funds the Pacific Island Health Officers Association, which trains the next generation of public health leaders through its Pacific Public Health Fellowship Program. A National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking which calls for HHS to provide training and technical assistance for health and human service professionals working with populations at high risk for human trafficking and intersecting with NHPI community programs.

• HHS’s Office of Minority Health is the lead response agency for the Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. HHS and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued guidance in May 2022 aimed at raising awareness of hate crimes and incidents committed on the basis of personal or group characteristics. 

FYI: For a more complete listing of agencies and actions of the Biden-Harris administration promoting health care access by the AANHPI communities. 

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

Philippines' women's football coach says "Goodbye" to the Filipinas

Coach Alen Stajcic brought the Filipinas to the World Cup for the first time.

After guiding the Philippines' Women National Football Team to through a historic journey to the FIFA World Cup, coach Alen Stajcic has decided to could explore other options rather than stay with the Filipinas.

Stajcic's contract and the contract of Assistant Coach Nahuel Arrarte expired at the conclusion of the PWNFT’s World Cup campaign. They will not be renewed as both coaches have asked to explore other options, said a press release from the PWNFT.

"Without question," Stajcic said in a statement, "the two best experiences of my coaching career thus far were the last two World Cup matches.

"Beating New Zealand on home soil and scoring our first World Cup goal and getting our first win was the things that dreams are made of," he stated.

"And despite the scoreline, the last match against Norway, where 34000 patrons attended, with 30000 singing for the Filipinas, brought shivers down our spine.
It showed that Football does belong in the Philippines, and that legacy is something we are all proud of."

Among the options Stajcic might be considering is assuming the vacant role with Perth Glory’s A-League men’s side.

Stajcic released his statement earlier today:

“I would first and foremost like to express my gratitude to Sir Jeff for giving us the opportunity and entrusting us with the keys to the National Team.

"Throughout nearly 20 months we went on a journey together as a Team from outsiders in South-East Asia to winning a match at a World Cup.

"There are too many highs to reflect on (including)…

• semi final of AFC Asian Cup
• 1st ever competitive bronze medal at SEA Games
• Winning the AFF in Manila
• Scoring our 1st goal and beating European opposition
• Record high FIFA rankings time after time

"…all of which were special and memorable and brought much deserved attention to the Team.

"But without question, the two best experiences of my coaching career thus far were the last two World Cup matches.

"Beating New Zealand on home soil and scoring our first World Cup goal and getting our first win was the things that dreams are made of.

"And despite the scoreline, the last match against Norway, where 34000 patrons attended, with 30000 singing for the Filipinas, brought shivers down our spine.
It showed that Football does belong in the Philippines, and that legacy is something we are all proud of.

"On behalf of Coach Nahuel and myself, we would like to thank all the Coaching staff for your hard work, dedication and commitment.

"To the players, I can only say, you were courageous, passionate, disciplined and loyal to the Team, the Flag and the Country. Your sacrifices should be long remembered by all Philippine Sports fans. To give hope and inspiration is the greatest of all achievements.

"I wish everyone a great future and look forward to following the next chapters in the story.”

In response, the PWNFT said, "We wish Coach Alen and Coach Naz the best of luck in their next football adventure, and we will forever be grateful to them for changing the landscape of Philippine football forever.

"They have they shown us what is possible with proper guidance, dedication and hard work, and their efforts have led to the greatest achievement in Philippine football thus far—a match won against the higher-ranked host nation at a World Cup. They will surely be our beloved heroes for decades to come," continued the statement.

"To Coach Alen and Coach Naz, it was an honor working with you. Win, lose or draw, the entirety of our experience with you will be nothing but a happy memory for all of us. We will never forget you and we hope that you will never forget us too."

Stajcic is a former coach of the Australian women’s team who was removed from his position just before the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. No official reason was given by Australian officials.

His hiring by the Philippines football federation in 2021 changed women's football in the Philippines forever by recruiting players of Filipino heritage from around the world (18 of the Filipinas were born in the United States). He  pit them against international competition to help develop their skills and raise their confidence.

The World Cup experience, Stajcic says, is the highpoint of his career and the culmination of hard work and dedication by the players and coaches.

“This team was ranked in the 60s and 70s [in the Fifa rankings] a few months ago, and was struggling to beat Nepal and Hong Kong in a playoff,” Stajcic said after beating New Zealand, a victory he called “staggering and miraculous and unbelievable”. “What the players have done is just mind-blowing,” he said.

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

US Surgeon General: Loneliness is at the heart of a growing mental health crisis

Widespread loneliness in the US poses deadly health risks, US Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said in declaring the latest public health epidemic.

As Minority Mental Health Month comes to the end, the problems caused by isolation and loneliness remain, especially among Asian American and Pacific Islander elders.

The mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay were committed by older Asian American men are tragic reminders that many AANHPI elderly are not receiving the care they need.

While loneliness affects elders of all ages, language and cultural barriers and fear caused by the anti-Asian hate attacks exacerbates the problem among AANHPI senior citizens, who would rather sweep the feeling under the rug than to talk to strangers about it.

To bring attention to the issue rarely talked about in the AANHPI communities, Surgeon General Murthy, an Indian American medical professional, issued the following opinion article:

By Vivek H. Murthy
United States Surgeon General

Mental health is the defining public health crisis of our time, and for many Americans, loneliness is at the heart of that crisis. At any given moment, about one out of every two of our fellow citizens is experiencing measurable levels of loneliness. It is not something we talk about or easily see: Loneliness is a condition that is hidden in the shadows.

More than just a bad feeling, loneliness is a corrosive condition with grave consequences. Social disconnection puts us at increased risk for depression, anxiety and suicide, as well as heightening our risk for stress-related physical ailments like heart disease, stroke and dementia. Its impact on our risk of premature death is on par with smoking 15 cigarettes daily.

Why is this so? It is because we evolved to live in community. As hunter-gatherers, we found safety in togetherness. Being isolated from the group put the individual at elevated risk — from predators, from starvation, from exposure — and that created stress. Our survival depended on being a part of something larger than just ourselves.

As much as our circumstances are very different today than they were in our hunter-gatherer days, that basic truth remains: We are hardwired to live in community. Connection is the essential glue of our lives. It is what brings us happiness and fulfillment. We need social connection for our survival and collective well-being.

This epidemic of loneliness has been building over many years. The pandemic made it worse, to be sure, but it is a crisis that has been evolving for a half-century or more. During that time, there has been declining participation in communal life. Fewer people belong to churches or synagogues or other religious institutions or are engaged with civic organizations. We, as a society, move around more. We change jobs more frequently. We don’t put down roots in the same ways as our parents and grandparents.

RELATED: White House hosts AANHPI mental health summit

Too often, we imagine loneliness as a condition of the elderly living in isolation with no one to support them. While that can be true, loneliness in the United States is not limited to older Americans. There are people in marriages who are lonely, CEOs of major companies who are lonely, seemingly happy people posting pictures of their fabulous vacations on social media who are lonely. And far too many young people who are lonely. From the outside, everything looks fine. But inside, they are struggling.

Addressing this national crisis is a profound challenge. We all want to be seen and understood. Sometimes all we need is acknowledgment of our worth and value. This is something we can do for each other — and for ourselves. Taking just 15 minutes a day to reach out to someone you care about can make a huge difference in how connected we feel.

There is nothing more fundamental to the health and well-being of people in our country than ensuring that we are building a moral and spiritual foundation that guides how we interact with each other. Toward that goal, service is one of the greatest antidotes to loneliness. When we help somebody else, two things happen. One is we forge a connection with them. The second is that we remind ourselves that we have value, and that can help us in times of our own loneliness. The less worthy we feel, the harder it is to reach out to other people.

I know this from my own experience. When my first stint as Surgeon General ended abruptly in 2017, I felt profoundly lonely. During my time as Surgeon General, I threw myself into the job at the expense of my friendships. When the job ended, I was left without those relationships that had sustained me before. I was lonely, and also ashamed. I believed it was my fault because I had neglected those relationships. It was a choice I had made, and I felt embarrassed to call my friends and say, “Hey, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you for the last two-and-a-half years.” It took the urging of my wife, who recognized what was happening to me and that I was withdrawing more and more, to reach out to reconnect.

One of the best definitions of a friend that I ever heard was when I was in college: A friend is somebody who reminds you of who you are when you forget. And we all do forget from time to time. We all go through periods in our life when we feel unworthy or that we fall short. That is when we need our friends to step in. That is why I think that at a time such as we are now experiencing, when as a community we are struggling so much with our mental health, we need these connections in our lives.

Yes, we do need more psychiatrists and better access to psychiatric care to address the mental health crisis that confronts our country. Yes, we do need more psychologists. Yes, we need the technology to bring the care that is needed to people in their homes.

"We need to come up with ways to tip the balance toward love and away from fear, to rebuild the public square so that we can once again speak rationally with each other."

But we also need each other. We need to turn our attention to reinforcing the caring, supportive institutions, communities and relationships that give our lives purpose and meaning. We need to come up with ways to tip the balance toward love and away from fear, to rebuild the public square so that we can once again speak rationally with each other. To address this crisis of loneliness, we need to return to the core values of kindness, generosity and friendship that are so essential to the social fabric of our communities.

Ultimately, it comes down to one thing: Embrace love. It has the extraordinary capacity to heal and is the force we need to reach for each and every day in our lives. Love is our oldest medicine.

FYI: This column is adapted from a conversation Dr. Murthy had with Oprah Winfrey at UCLA’s Royce Hall in May during the 2023 WOW (Wisdom of Wellness) Mental Health Summit to benefit the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA.

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