August - Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii

August, 2004
At the Movies
Moon Festival
The Honolulu Academy of Arts’ Doris Duke Theater will be
showing a number of Chinese films in September. They include
“Come Drink with Me” (Da Zui Xia), directed by King Hu, on
Friday and Saturday, September 3 and 4, at 1:00 p.m.; “Purple
Butterfly” (Zi Hudie) directed by Ye Lou on September 3 and 4
at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, September 5, at 4:00 p.m.; “Springtime in a Small Town” (Xiao Cheng Zhi Chun), directed by Tian
Zhuangzhuang on Monday and Tuesday, September 6 and 7, at
7:30 p.m.; “Zhou Yu’s Train” (Zhou Yu De Huo Che), directed by
Sun Zhou, on Wednesday and Thursday, September 8 and 9, at
1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; “Cala, My Dog!” (Ka La Shi Tiao Gou),
directed by Xuechang Lu, on Wednesday, September 15, at 1:00
p.m., and Thursday, September 16, at 7:30 p.m.; and “The 36th
Chamber of Shaolin” (Shao Lin San Shih Liu Fang), directed by
Lau Kar-Leung, on September 15 at 7:30 p.m. and September
16 at 7:30 p.m.
Also of note on local theater screens is Zhang Yimou’s
“new” movie “Hero,” which was released in China several years
ago and is available on DVD. Film critic Roger Ebert gives the
film three and a half stars, and says that Zhang “once again creates a visual poem of extraordinary beauty.” And Lisa Rose gives
it four stars as “the crown jewel of this season’s blockbusters, a
film of such boundless visual imagination and narrative artistry,”
and notes that it was a “titanic success in its native country” and
was nominated for an Oscar as best foreign language film.
Tickets are $5.00 general admission and $3.00 for Academy
members. For more information, call the Academy at 532-8768.
The Hawaii Chinese Civic Association will be holding a Moon
Festival event, “Chasing the
Moon,” on Sunday, September 19,
from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at
McCoy Pavilion, Ala Moana
Regional Park. Admission is $5.00
for adults, $2.00 for children from
six to twelve years of age, and free
for children under five. Admission
includes dinner and samples of
moon cakes and tea. The events
include tea and moon cake tasting, lantern display, moon festival
altar display, children Mandarin
jacket show, and Chinese journalist performance. Please note that
dinner starts promptly at 5:00 p.m
and ends at 6:00 p.m. Tickets must
be ordered in advance from Helen
Tomiyasu (tel. no. 595-3035),
2638 Liliha Street, Honolulu,
Hawaii 96817, and must be postmarked no later than Monday,
September 13. For more information, call Lawrence Siu at 2470262 or Daisy Chun at 536-6772.
Last Call, Golfers (and Networkers)
Don’t forget that the Chamber golf tournament is on Wednesday, September22,
at the Oahu Country Club (OCC) in green Nuuanu Valley. The cost for golfers
is $175.00 per person or $525.00 per three-person group, which includes entry fee,
closest-to-the-hole prizes on all par-3s; golf awards and door prizes; lunch and cold
drinks; photo with 2004 Narcissus Queen Kerri Ching and her court, an awards
and networking party; and recognition in the printed event program. Registration
begins at 11:45 a.m. and the first team tees off at 12:45 p.m. Gold ($750.00),
Silver ($350.00), and Tee ($150.00) sponsorships are still available.
Then for golfers and non-golfers alike, there is a post-play awards buffet for
networking. For those who didn’t play in the tournament, the cost is $25.00,
which includes door prizes, the OCC’s fabulous buffet, a photo with the Narcissus Queen and her court, and recognition in the event program. The awards and
networking party starts with registration at 6:00 p.m. and no-host cocktails and
the buffet at 6:30 p.m. To sign up for the tournament or networking party or
sponsorship, contact Alvin Wong at 521-9451 or the Chamber at 533-3181.
P R E S I D E N T S ’
President
Winfred Pong
Your officers and directors have been
busy this past month with the planning
of numerous projects that will be occurring over the next few months.
On Sunday, September 26, we will
be co-sponsoring, with the Honolulu
Council of the Navy League of the
United States, a celebration of the commissioning of the U.S.S. Chung-Hoon as
a U.S. Navy warship. The commissioning will be the week before and the
Chung-Hoon will be home ported at
Pearl Harbor. We will be hosting a postcommissioning dinner reception for the
officers and crew (as well as their families) at the New Empress Restaurant.
This event will provide an opportunity
for the Chinese community to show its
M E S S A G E
support for Gordon Pai’ea ChungHoon, who was a “local boy,” born and
educated in Hawaii, who demonstrated
his bravery while serving in the Navy
during World War II. Please contact the
Chamber office to make your dinner
reservation and to support the commissioning of the U.S.S. Chung-Hoon.
The following month, on Saturday
and Sunday, October 23 and 24, we will
be holding our second annual Taste of
China at the Neal Blaisdell Center
Exhibition Hall. The purpose of the
event is to promote our Chinese culture
by exposing the community to a sample
or “taste” of the traditions, culture, history, and cuisine of China. There will
be booths displaying various aspects of
Chinese culture. Food booths will also
be selling various samples of Chinese
cuisine. We are projecting that more
than 6,000 people will be attending the
two-day event. If you or your business
are interested in participating as a vendor to sell Chinese merchandise or food,
please contact the Chamber office
immediately.
The various events of the 56th
annual Narcissus Festival are also being
planned, with the Kickoff Reception on
Thursday, November 4; the Queen
Pageant on Saturday, January 15; the
C H A M B E R
N E W S
&
Coronation Ball on Saturday, January
29; and the Fashion Show on Sunday,
March 27. These projects have become
feature events of how our Chinese community celebrates the Chinese New
Year.
The success of these projects
depends on the support and assistance
from our membership. Chamber members have an opportunity to promote
the Chinese community by supporting
these projects. Numerous networking
and fellowship opportunities will also be
available through your direct contact
with other Chamber members. In addition to these projects, numerous other
business promotion projects are currently being developed with our strategic
partners within the private and public
sectors in Hawaii and in China.
A benefit of being a Chinese Chamber member is the opportunity to be
involved with community projects that
will promote Chinese culture and other
projects that will promote future business networking opportunities. Please
call me if you want to participate and to
take advantage of the various opportunities the Chamber can offer you. Join us
to fulfill our mission of promoting business and Chinese culture in Hawaii.
A C T I V I T I E S
Chamber Dragon Boat Wins Chinese Division
On Saturday, August 14, the Chinese division races of the 9th annual Dragon
Boat Festival were held at Ala Moana Park beach. There were six teams in the
Chinese division and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce team competed as “SS
Narcissus.” The team included flag-catcher Kristina Chang and paddlers Sonja
Tam, Julie Wong, Darlene Wong, Jane Chung, Kevin Mokulehua, Trevin
Chang, Jose Lopez, Jonathan Vonvichai, Christian Fern, Mike Yen, Jonathan
Tan, and Kelii, Jeremy, Crystal, and Erika. (I was drummer and captain).
In our first race, the SS Narcissus faced the Lung Doo and Wong Kong Har
Tong Gold boats. Although we finished second, our time of 1:55 was so fast
that we advanced to the second round. There was a three hour interval before
the second round! We competed against the Wong Kong Har Tong Blue and
Lung Doo boats. We came in first with a time of 1:42 and advanced to the final
race against the Lin and Ella Wong Foundation boat. Fatigue was setting in and
we finished in our slowest time of the day, 2:10, just two seconds ahead of the
2
by Kerri Ching
SS narcissus team ready to compete!
Wong Foundation boat and as winners of the Chinese
division title!
The SS Narcissus had the distinction of having more
girls paddling than any other boat. As Chinese division
winners, we competed for the overall title, but lost out to
the Wong Society boat and Mufi Hanneman’s team won
the overall title. We finished fourth overall, which was
quite respectable, considering the “muscle” on some of the
other teams, especially the military ones. We were quite
surprised we did so well, especially since it was a hot,
sunny day. Nevertheless, we all had a great time! The
team’s plaque will be on display at the Chamber office.
My thanks to each and every one of the team members for their efforts in three practice sessions and on race
day. Special thanks to my parents, Daniel and Darrylynn
Rawlins, who were there from the 6:00 a.m. setup of our
tent, preparing the food and keeping our team comfortable, until 4:00 p.m. when the last person left.
Top left: Kristina and Kerri perfecting their flag catching technique
Top right: 2004 Narcissus Court w/ Alvin Wong (CCCHI Vice President)
Left: SS Narcissus...Chinese Division Champions!
M E M B E R S H I P
According to the
August 4 Honolulu
Advertiser, Ba-Le
Sandwich has
taken over food
operations at the
University of Hawaii’s Manoa Gardens
in Hemenway Hall and will also have
an on-campus Ba-Le location in a new
food court in the campus center. The
local chain was founded by Board member and former U.S. Small Businessperson of the Year Thanh Quoc Lam.
Honolulu Weekly columnist Lesa
Griffith reviewed Li May Tang ’s new
restaurant, Shanghai Bistro, in the
August 18 issue. (Li May also owns
Hong Kong Harbour View Seafood
Restaurant as well as Royal Yakiniku).
Griffith mentions intriguing dishes like
shrimp balls stuffed with broth and
Peking duck burger, and praises the
kung pao chicken and sliced lotus root
and pork tenderloin as “done very
well.” Also mentioned are braised
whole abalone, whole sea bass, shrimp
stir-fried with black pepper and beer,
“the city’s best” moon cakes, and
mango “pudding.” Shanghai Bistro is
N E W S
located in the Discovery Bay Center,
1778 Ala Moana Boulevard, and is
open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
(2:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays).
The August 21 issue of the Advertiser had a lengthy article on the ubiquitous L&L Drive Inn/Hawaiian Barbecue operation opening its one hundredth location in Union City in the
San Francisco East Bay area. President
and CEO Eddie Flores, Jr., was optimistic that there could be as many as
400-500 locations in the next five
years. Already, there are L&L Hawaiian
Barbecue locations in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, with expansion soon in Illinois, Michigan, and
New York City. Thirty of an expected
fifty-two mainland locations have
opened in 2004, and 30-50 in 2005 are
possible, with expansion to Boston,
Florida, and Oregon. And even Los
Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and
Sacramento, which already have L&L
outlets, still have room for expansion.
The attraction of the mainland is that
there are higher sales and lower operating costs than in Hawaii. And Eddie
thinks that Tokyo is ready for L&L
Hawaiian Barbecue, and China may be
ready in five years or so.
Linda and Larry Chan’s Eastern
Garden was featured in the August 29
Honolulu Advertiser “Dining Out” section
with manager Danny Chu on the cover
with a dozen plates and steamers of various dim sum and several other dishes –
what look like lobster salad, Mongolian
beef in a taro basket and a whole fried
opakapaka – on a lazy Susan. For the
next few months, instead of ending at
2:00 p.m., dim sum will be available
weekdays until 8:00 p.m., keeping Eastern Garden’s five dim sum cooks extra
busy. (Weekend dim sum hours remain
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
As a change from all the member
restaurant news, a letter to the editor in
the August 18 issue of the Honolulu
Star-Bulletin commends Councilman
Nestor Garcia for his lone vote (8-1)
in opposition to a “gift” of an orangutan
habitat from the Orangutan Foundation
International. OFI owns Rusti, the
orangutan which has been the subject
of a seven or more year odyssey to find
a suitable location for him. The organization has pledged $300,000 for a new
Continued to page 4
3
Continued from page 3
habitat, but the Zoo director estimates that the minimum construction cost of the
habitat will be $450,000. What this means is that the taxpayers will be responsible
for at least $150,000 (and probably more, given the likelihood of delays). According to the letter writer, three months ago, OFI promised to pay the entire cost of
the habitat. In this instance, Nestor appears to be the only one of the nine council
members looking out for Honolulu taxpayers.
Taste of China
The Taste of China event will soon be here! It is scheduled for Saturday and
Sunday, October 23 and 24, at the Neal Blaisdell Exhibit Hall. There will be
booths offering food and goods as well as cultural booths Five sponsors have
been lined up so far as have fifteen trade vendors and fifteen cultural booths.
Each Board member will be given twenty-five tickets, five of them complimentary, and Chinese associations with cultural booths will receive sixty tickets, ten of them complimentary. Sponsorships are also available. Advertising
will be handled by Kerri Ching, who works at the Honolulu Advertiser. To sign
up for a vendor or cultural booth or to become a sponsor, contact the Chamber at 533-3181.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Sept 6 • Mon
Labor Day
Sept 21 • Tue
Executive Board Meeting
Chamber’s Office - 12:00 noon
Sept 22 • Wed
Golf and Network Tournament
Oahu Country Club - 11:45 a.m.
Sept 22 • Wed
Membership Networking
Oahu Country Club - 6:00 p.m.
Sept 28 • Tue Board of Directors Meeting
New Empress Restaurant - 12:00 noon
N E W
M E M B E R S
At its July 27 meeting, the Board of
Directors approved the application for
Haixia Helena Wu, sales coordinator at
the Hawaii Convention Center (sponsored by Cy Feng).
The LANTERN a monthly publication
of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii
42 North King Street • Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
(808) 533-3181
THE CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF HAWAII
42 North King Street • Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
42 N. King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
Condolences
On August 18, former U.S. Senator and
long-time emeritus Chamber director
Hiram L. Fong passed away at home,
surrounded by family members. He was
one of the founders of Finance Factors
and its family of companies as well as
Sen. Fong’s Plantation and Gardens in
Kahaluu.. Sen. Fong graduated from
McKinley High School, the University
of Hawaii, and Harvard Law School,
and served as a judge advocate in the
Army Air Corps during World War II.
After the war, he served for six years as
speaker of the territorial house of representatives. Elected to the U.S. Senate
in 1959, Fong became the first AsianAmerican and so far only ChineseAmerican to so serve. His role and
many contributions as a territorial legislator as well as in Congress (1959-77)
were recognized by his lying in state at
the State Capitol on Thursday night,
followed by his burial on Friday, August
27. Our deepest sympathy and condolences to his wife, the former Ellyn Lo,
sons Hiram, Jr., Rodney, and Marvin,
and daughter (Mrs.) Merie- Ellen
Gushi.
Editor: Gerald Chang
Graphic Designer: Angela Wu-Ki
Staff: Wen Chung Lin, Grace Chan