Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Trump shuts the door for students from China

ASAM NEWS

An indefinite ban on Chinese graduate students and researchers from obtaining visas and entering the United States went into effect Monday.

Donald Trump said he implemented the ban in response to China’s passage of a law meant to crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, reported the New York Post.

However, Asian American civil rights groups remain skeptical and believe the ban is another step in the administration's attempt to making China Trump's campaign bogeyman.

“There is a disturbing pattern emerging between the racist and xenophobic rhetoric used by Trump regarding COVID-19 and the new efforts to impose limits on Chinese students,” said a statement from Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition consisting of Chinese for Affirmative Action, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, and Asian American Studies at San Francisco State.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice also blasted Trump’s actions.

“This ban on Chinese students from studying in the U.S. is another way to scapegoat our communities, just as he has with the Muslim, African, refugee, and immigration bans,” said the group in a joint statement with affiliates in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta and Chicago.

China is the largest source of international students in the United States in 2018/19 with 369,548 students in undergraduate, graduate, non-degree, and optional practical training (OPT) programs. India, with 202,014, is the second largest provider of students followed by South Korea with 52,250.

“This move by Trump is rooted in the same racism and xenophobia that led to the expulsion of countless Chinese Americans and immigrants under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the wrongful incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II,” the group continued.

The latest move by Trump is part of a coordinated effort by the White House to paint the Democrats and the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden as soft on China. It’s also part of a stated strategy to shift the blame for the wide spread of COVID-19 from what some perceive as Trump’s slow response to China.

“We have seen time and again how dangerous it is when leaders scapegoat for political gain and spread racist and xenophobic language,” said Stop AAPI Hate. “If we do not demand government accountability now for the rising wave of discrimination against Asian Americans, it will become deeply entrenched and cause unimaginable harm and suffering.”

Both groups see a connection between Trump's anti-Chinese rhetoric and a rise in anti-Asian racism and xenophobia.

“We are living through a resurgence of racism and anti-Asian sentiment fueling harmful immigration policies and laws against Asian Americans and immigrants. The racial profiling of Chinese Americans and immigrants related to claims of espionage will lead to more irreparable harm against innocent Chinese Americans,” said Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Anniversary of the assassination of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes

Anti-Marcos activists Gene Viernes, left, and Silme Domingo were assassinated.

Twenty-nine years ago, two Filipino American labor organizers were murdered by agents of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

On June 1, 1981, Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, who were active ine anti-Marcos movement in the U.S., were working out of the ILWU offices in Seattle when two gunmen walked into the offices and shot and killed the two men.

Viernes died instantly, but Domingo lived long enough to identify the murderers before he died 24 hours later. Police arrested two cannery workers, Pompeyo Benito Guloy Jr. and Jimmy Bulosan Ramil. They were found guilty of aggravated first degree murder on September 24, 1981, and sentenced to life in prison. A third suspect, Fortunato "Tony" Dictado, leader of the Filipino street gang "Tulisan," was convicted on May 12, 1982 of ordering the murders and he too was sentenced to life in prison.

Police also questioned Local 37 president Constantine "Tony" Baruso), who owned the gun used in the murders. He was not charged at the time, but in 1990 he too was convicted in the murder of Viernes (but acquitted of Domingo's killing) and sentenced to life in prison.

Terri Mast, Domingo's partner, fought back publicly, eventually leading to the murder convictions of Baruso and local gang members. Marcos, who declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972 in order to stay in power, also was found complicit in the conspiracy and a successful civil suit was brought against the dictator in the case.

Domingo was born in Killeen, Texas, in 1952. His father was a Filipino immigrant who had served in the US Army during World War II. The family moved to Seattle in 1960, where Silme Domingo attended high school and college.

Viernes was born in Yakima, Washington, in 1951, also the son of immigrants from the Philippines. His father worked as a fruit picker and in local canneries.

Gene Viernes grew up working in the fields with his father before going to school. At 14, he lied about his age and joined International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 37 and worked in the cannery. He spent many of his summers working as an "Alaskero," the nickname for Alaskan salmon cannery workers. At the time, Local 37 largely consisted of Alaskeros who lived in the Seattle area and traveled to Alaska for the summer work every year.

Domingo also began working in the Alaska canneries, and before long, Domingo and Viernes were close friends. They formed the Alaska Cannery Workers' Association.

In Seattle, Domingo, in particular, was active in protesting the activities of the dictatorship of the Philippines dictator, and he helped organize among the earliest protests of the Marcos regime in Seattle, along with the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP). Domingo would help establish the KDP chapter in Seattle.

By 1981, Domingo was secretary-treasurer of Local 37, and Viernes was a dispatcher. Along with a slate of reformers, they had taken over all of the offices except for president. who wasTony Baruso.

The reform slate were opponents of Baruso, who was a Marcos supporter with ties to local Seattle gangs. At the time, the Alaskan cannery industry was rife with racial discrimination, with white workers getting the best jobs as well as company-provided food and housing, while Filipino workers worked long, dangerous hours with meager food and squalid living conditions. The reformers not only ran for election as officers in the local, they engaged in class action lawsuits against the canneries.

While we will never know what heights Domingo and Viernes could've achieved in their pursuit of expanded rights for working people and Filipinos, Domingo's partner Teri Mast would go on to be elected president of Local 37, cleaning up the corruption in the local. In 1987, Local 37 merged with the Inlandboatmen's Union (IBU). Mast was later elected national secretary-treasurer of IBU.

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Over 400 religious, civil rights organizations call for police reformSCREEN

SCREEN CAPTURE

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and over 400 other civil rights organizations Monday called on congressional leadership to swiftly rectify the legacy of white supremacy and anti-black racism that has led to police violence against Black people across the United States.

“People in Minnesota and around the country are rightfully angered and devastated by the police killing of George Floyd. The problem of state violence against communities of color, particularly Black people, has a long history in this country that we have not fully confronted or addressed," said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

In the Obama administration, Gupta headed up civil rights enforcement for the Department of Justice.

The list of supporting groups included almost two dozen AAPI organization: the Japanese American Citizens League, the oldest AAPI civil rights group,Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

"Federal statutory reforms are urgently needed on a range of policing issues, including use of force, police accountability, racial profiling, militarization, data collection, and training," said the letter's signers.

“Now is the time for Congress to pass meaningful police reform legislation. While we appreciate hearings and resolutions, we need comprehensive measures to happen. We need Congress to truly step up to the plate and protect Black communities from the systemic perils of over policing, police brutality, misconduct, and harassment, and end the impunity in which officers operate in taking the lives of Black people. It is your moral and ethical duty to ensure Black people and communities are free from the harm and threats from law enforcement and to curtail state sanctioned police violence and militarized police responses,” the groups said in the letter.

The signers requested a meeting with congressional leadership to discuss urgently needed reforms that ensure police officers live up to their oath to protect and serve all people in the United States.

The federal reforms addressed in the letter include:

Require a federal standard that use of force be reserved for only when necessary as a last resort after exhausting reasonable options, and incentivize states to implement this standard; require the use of de-escalation techniques, and the duty to intervene; ban the use of force as a punitive measure or means of retaliation against individuals who only verbally confront officers, or against individuals who pose a danger only to themselves; and require all officers to accurately report all uses of force;

Prohibit all maneuvers that restrict the flow of blood or oxygen to the brain, including neck holds, chokeholds, and similar excessive force, deeming the use of such force a federal civil rights violation;

Prohibit racial profiling with robust data collection on police-community encounters and law enforcement activities. Data should capture all demographic categories and be disaggregated;

Eliminate federal programs that provide military equipment to law enforcement;

Prohibit the use of no-knock warrants, especially for drug searches;

Change the 18 U.S.C. Sec. 242 mens rea requirement from willfulness to recklessness, permitting prosecutors to successfully hold law enforcement accountable for the deprivation of civil rights and civil liberties;

Develop a national public database that would cover all police agencies in the United States and its territories; and,

End the qualified immunity doctrine that prevents police from being held legally accountable when they break the law.

The complete letter and list of signatories are available here.

Do you have to explain to your family why AAPI should support George Floyd protesters

"Dear Mom, Dad, Uncle, Auntie ..." begins the video created by Letters for Black Lives. The video is to assist you in explaining to the older members of your families whiy they should support Black Americans in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

The majority of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are first generation immigrants who come from countries that are largely homogeneous

Too often, they don't how to navigate through the diversity of peoples who live in the United States. It is more difficult for the parents to get used to work with people of different faiths and races.

It is usually a different story for their children who attend schools who quickly adapt to the richness of American culture. It iss up to younger genereations to explain to their parents why AAPI should support the Black community's quest for equal justice and rights.

Letters for Black Lives began as a group of Asian Americans and Canadians writing an intergenerational letter to voice our concerns and support for the Black community.

"We have since grown to include other immigrant groups and communities of color. Our goal is to listen, support, and amplify the message of Black Lives Matter within our communities," says the Letters website.

Letters for Black Lives (lettersforblacklives.com) started as a crowdsourced letter for Asian-American children who wanted a framework for discussing issues of anti-Blackness and police violence with their immigrant parents. It’s quickly grown into a vibrant community with more than 200 contributors, 30 translations, and many more voices being shared through words, sound, and video.

This particular video was created in 2016. An updated version is in the works.

Monday, June 1, 2020

Police aim pepper ball at Asian American journalist

Hyoung Chang, right, may have been saved from further injury when the pepper ball hit is ID badge. left.

ASAM NEWS

Denver police fired pepper balls at veterans news photographer Hyoung Chang.
The Denver Post where Chang has worked for 23 years reports he believes the officer shot him on purpose.

Chang, who was covering a protest of the shooting of George Floyd at the time, posted the following comment on both Twitter and Instagram.

“If it was one shot, I can say it was an accident,” Chang said to the Post. “I’m very sure it was the same guy twice. I’m very sure he pointed at me.

“I feel a little weird in this situation,” Chang said. “News people and TV crews are targeted.”

The Insider reports Chang is among one of many members of the news media arrested or shot by police.

Police arrested CNN reporter Omar Jimenez on Friday while he was reporting live along with his producer and photographer in Minneapolis. They were released later that day.

Also in Minneapolis, independent photographer Linda Tirado was shot in the left eye with a less lethal projectile and left permanently blinded despite wearing goggles.

MSNBC’s Ali Veshi was also shot by rubber bullets. According to the Insider, dozens of journalists across the country were assaulted, shot or arrested.

AI-AP reported that the violence aimed at journalists follows numerous shots fired by President Trump toward the media. Washington Post media correspondent Margaret Sullivan says Trump did not start the violence, but he’s definitely made it worse by demeaning the role journalists play in a democracy.

George Floyd's death solidifying AAPI support for justice and #BlackLivesMatter

The presence of former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao, a Hmng American, during the arrest and death of George Floyd, a black man, has raised a social media storm of commentary on the social media website.

As his fellow officers were holding Floyd to the ground, with former officer Derek Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck, Thao stood between the officers and the crowd of onlookers, some of whom were recording Floyd's dying breathes and pleading for the officers to let up from the ground.

The Minnesota event has forced AAPI organizations and individuals to admit to the little discussed anti-Black bias that exists within some elements of the AAPI community.

“George Floyd’s cries of ‘I can’t breathe’ parallel the words of Eric Garner, who was killed by police in 2014. As George Floyd lay struggling to breathe, Officer Tou Thao had the opportunity and the authority to stop the situation. It is unconscionable that he chose to do nothing,” said John C. Yang, Advancing Justice | AAJC’s President and Executive Director.

“We are in a time where doing anything while Black garners unwanted attention and unnecessary law enforcement interaction – and too often death," said Yang. "We are also in a time where being Asian Americans means being harassed, attacked, and blamed for COVID-19. As many Asian Americans are speaking out about this hate, we must also show up for the African American community.”

“Racism and discrimination are experienced by every African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian American in this country. We must act against this violence and assault on our communities. It has always been time for racial solidarity, but we need to come together now more than ever.”

Author Louis Leung wrote a commentary for published in Asian Articulations:

"Let’s get this out of the way: Tou Thao is a despicable human being. M.P.D. Badge #7162 has a history of excessive brutality and a settled out-of-court case for $25,000," wrote Leung. "He’s the Asian cop in the infamous George Floyd murder video and his immoral professional choices should absolutely be condemned. The defend-Asians-no-matter-what crowd is wrong here; put the tribalism aside and sit this one out.

In his essay, novelist Leung brought up the "Anti-blackness," that threads its way through the AAPI community. "Yes, the A word. The Asian community hates hearing it. The Asian community can’t make up it’s mind to define it — is bringing awareness of black violence to innocent Asians “anti-blackness”? Is not letting our daughters date black men “anti-blackness”? Is serving black customers in our restaurants and nail salons while whispering negative presumptions about them “anti-blackness”? The answer is, well, that’s really not up for us to decide. We decide anti-Asianness, not anti-blackness.

"Please believe me when I say the Tou Thao is not a representation of us; he is the worst, the bottom 5%. The blatant killing of so many innocent black men is abhorrent to our society; being black in America should not be a death sentence. It can’t be swept under a rug of whataboutisms. Blaming Asians is a waste of valuable energy. It’s too bad the wrong Asian was in the right place to stop a crime at the right time," Leung concludes.

RELATED: A manifesto for AAPI ...

The Japanese American Citizens League sent a letter to Minneapolis Police Dept. strongly condemning the actions of the four police officers involved in Floyd's death and aligned the civil rights organization with the call for equal justice for Black Americans:

The Asian Minnesotans Against Racism and Xenophobia Collaborative an open letter published in their website.

The number of organizations signing onto this letter continues to grow. Click here for the complete letter and the updated list.

In addition, the controversial topic went viral in the twitterverse. Floyd's death at the hands of the police incensed rapper and filmmaker Ruby Ibarra and moved her to post a series of tweets :

Here's a sampling of the tweets calling for justice for George Floyd and #BlaciLivesMatter:

Derek Chauvin's Asian American wife files for divorse

ASAM NEWS

Kellie Chauvin, the Hmong American wife of the former police officer charged for the murder of unarmed black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis, has filed for divorce.

Late this past week, the former Mrs. Minnesota, filed for divorce from her husband of 10 years, former Police Officer Derek Chauvin.

“Her utmost sympathy lies with [Floyd’s] family, with his loved ones and with everyone who is grieving this tragedy,” a statement from her attorney said. “While Ms. Chauvin has no children from her current marriage, she respectfully requests that her children, her elder parents, and her extended family be given safety and privacy during this difficult time.”

She was also charged with writing a bad check for $42 in 2005, according to New York Post. The charge was dropped after she repaid the money. Ironically, Floyd was arrested, allegedly for using a fake $20 bill.

Kellie Chauvin reportedly met her husband, Derek Chauvin, a veteran officer who had been in the Minnesota police force for 19 years, when he brought in someone in for a health check at her place of work before an arrest.

Now, along with former officer Tou Thau who stood guard as his fellow officers pinned George Floyd to the ground, Kellie Chauvin is part of the debate about Asian Americans’ complicity to racism against African Americans.

Kellie Chauvin, 43, was born in Laos during its civil war and lived partially in a refugee camp in Thailand. Her family immigrated to the United States as a refugee three years later, where she experienced economic hardships and was bullied, she told Twin Cities Pioneer Press.

“They say ‘land of the free,’ but I still didn’t feel like we were free,” Chauvin said. “We didn’t know English. My parents didn’t want us leaving the house because they didn’t trust the world. You land into this brand-new world and you don’t know what to expect, and so we were always kept inside.”

Tariq Nasheed

✔@tariqnasheed

· May 26, 2020

This is Kellie Chauvin, the wife of Derek Chauvin, the race soldier who lynched #GeorgeFloyd . Notice a pattern with dangerous white supremacists like Derek Chauvin and other alt-right types?

esther tseng

✔@estarLA

this is so tragic. she's the daughter of refugees, faced racism (i was an asian growing up in the midwest too) and probably felt her only way out was to marry "up" ... meanwhile making herself complicit in white supremacy. horrible, tragic pattern. no justice. no peace.

48

8:47 AM - May 27, 2020

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Before she turned 18, Kellie Chauvin married a man she “barely knew” by arranged marriage, which was abusive. She received a degree in radiology and went back to school after she married Chauvin. She is now a real estate agent.

In an interview with Twin Cities Pioneer Press in which she expressed her desire to become Mrs. America, she said that her husband was “just a softie.”

“He’s such a gentleman,” she said. “He still opens the door for me, still puts my coat on for me. After my divorce, I had a list of must-haves if I were ever to be in a relationship, and he fit all of them.”

In the now-viral cellphone video that shows Floyd’s death, Chauvin is seen kneeling on his neck while Floyd says, “I can’t breathe.”

“They murdered my brother. He was crying for help,” Bridgett Floyd, Floyd’s sister told the “TODAY” show.

The fired police officer was arrested Friday and charged with 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter. No charges have been filed against the other three officers involved in the arrest and death of Floyd, including Hmong American, Tou Thau.

Tou Thao

Officer Chauvin has also received at least a dozen police conduct complaints during his time at the Minneapolis police force. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, (D-MN) former Minnesota prosecutor and one of Biden’s purported vice presidential finalists, chose not to prosecute Chauvin and five other officers in 2006 for shooting a man who allegedly “(turned) on the police,” according to The Guardian.

Rumors that Kellie Chauvin and Thou were related proved to be false.

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