Obama`s Da Bama - The International Examiner

Transcription

PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
SEATTLE, WA
Permit No. 2393
VOL. 34, NO. 16
YourconnectiontoAsianAmerica
AUG. 15 - SEPT. 4, 2007
NEWS:
Helpforfirst-timehomebuyers
-page4
CambodianHeritageFestival
-page5
2007Primaries:
Port of Seattle Commissioner
candidatessharetheirstories
-page7
AsianPacificAmericanreview
ofbooks-FocusonChina
-pages9-12
ARTS:
ReAct’s“WonderoftheWorld”
-page15
Obama’s
Da Bama
Rapper Jin speaks out
Sen. Barack Obama is sometimes
described as this generation’s John F.
Kennedy.Abest-sellingauthorandsenator-turned presidential hopeful, he even
findstimetobeamemberofthepopular
Web site, Myspace. There, people can
findoldfriendsandmakenewones.Sen.
Obama’s Number One-listed friend on
Myspace is not an old college chum, a
fellowsenator,orevenapolitician—it’s
Chinese-Americanrapper,Jin.
—Seepage8
Vietnamese American center offers a “Helping Link” to track
kids’ school work and prepare for the WASL this summer
BY KEN MOCHIZUKI
Examiner Assistant Editor
Empower Vietnamese-Americans’ social
adjustment, family stability, and self-sufficiency while nurturing community service
and youth leaders.
– Mission statement for “Helping Link”
Hung Pham, community liaison and
consulting teacher for the Seattle Public
Schools, and also its chief translation officer,
knows of Vietnamese American students
who have skipped school for as long as a
month. One missed school for 248 days —
and the parents never knew. When notices
arrived from the school district, the students
hid their truancy by intercepting the mail
and erasing messages on phone answering
machines, Pham says.
What were these students doing if they
weren’t in school? “Hanging out at Westlake
[Mall], hanging out at people’s houses,” says
Minh-Duc Pham Nguyen, executive director
of Helping Link.
Nguyen and Amanda Martin, a Seattle
University Asian Studies student interning
at Helping Link, recall one such student
arriving at the International District/Little
Saigon-based social service center this
summer. His parents were at their wit’s end
trying to straighten their son out, and asked
him if he would go to Helping Link.
“The kid said ‘yes,’
surprising his parents,”
Nguyen remembers.
Dressed in a baseball
cap, oversized jacket
and pants, the ninth
grader began bullying the younger kids at
Helping Link’s summer program to assist
Vietnamese American
students in passing the
Washington Assessment
of Student Learning
(WASL). Nguyen and her
staff laid down the law:
he was expected to show
up, and he was expected Helping Link instructor Hien Nguyen helps students prepare for
to be a role model. They WASL tests. Photo by Ken Mochizuki.
found out his math skills
were at a sixth-grade level. For missing a ses- Show that you can do right, show that you
sion, he was assigned to write a paper titled can be good so you could be a responsible
“Responsibility as a Student.”
student.”
“Dang, I don’t even have to do this paper
“It was a huge reward that he wrote that
if my stupid arse didn’t run away and skip paper,” Nguyen says. “It made my summer.
class,” the paper begins. “Oh well, I guess I Here, he doesn’t have to compete, doesn’t
gotta take responsibility for my action.”
have peer pressure. He already had a ‘label’
The paper concludes: “To set a good at school. He’s ‘savable’; he’s not a bad kid.
example, I guess you gotta be a good role
-continued on page 4
model to the little kids so they can do good.
2 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 3
NEWS
Korean Women’s Association will celebrate 35 years of service
BY KEN MOCHIZUKI
Executive Director Faaluaina “Lua”
Pritchard wrote of her organization:
“The Korean Women’s Association
(KWA) was established in 1972 by less than a
handful of Korean women who got together
to address the cry out from Ft. Lewis Army
Base and McChord Air Force Base, about
Korean wives of U.S. servicemen who were
experiencing culture shock, language barriers, didn’t know where to find kimchee and
rice to eat, and no one to have a conversation with who could understand them. This
handful of Korean women formed a social
club to help these Korean wives of servicemen, by meeting with them, feeding them
kimchee and rice, and providing safe shelters
wherever possible to hide them from domestic violence.”
Pritchard continued: “They had no
resources but themselves. They shared their
homes, time, foods, clothing and moral support. And they risked their lives by hiding the
abused servicemen’s wives. They later started
selling kimchee and rice amongst each other
and friends to make a little money to help
pay for rent of their office and minor supplies. They provided transportation for the
Korean women enjoy a nutritious meal through
Korean
Women’s
Association
services.
www.kwaoutreach.org.
clients as well. Some transportation means
were airplane tickets to send the clients elsewhere to be hidden away from [the domestic
violence] perpetrator.”
Becoming incorporated as a nonprofit
organization in 1979, KWA expanded its
counseling, assistance and health programs
into Pierce County’s Asian/Pacific Islander
communities during the ‘80s. Its mission:
“to provide multicultural, multilingual
social and human services to underserved
populations and advocate respect for all.”
EDITOR
NhienNguyen
622S.WashingtonSt.
Seattle,WA98104
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What began as “less than a handful of
Korean women” has, 35 years later, bloomed
into a sprawling social service organization
serving nine western Washington counties,
with an annual budget of over $10 million,
over 700 employees, over 100 volunteers on
an annual basis, and 10 different administrative locations in the state. And “most
impressive, however, is the amazing over
6.6 million hours of service documented,
for this reflects the heart of the association
— care and assistance for individuals when
their need is greatest,” Pritchard wrote.
“KWA offers the best in ethnic-based programming for services, providing children
through seniors with opportunities to gain
benefits for healthy, safe, and sustainable life,
and integration with people of similar interest, backgrounds and languages.”
She continued that, in 35 years, KWA
“has served over 421,000 clients of over 31
different nationalities and the agency is still
growing rapidly.”
The agency emphasizes: “KWA does
not discriminate against anyone because
of color, race, religion, sex, natural origin,
handicap or veteran status.”
Along with English as a Second Language
classes, translation, legal and naturalization
services, youth programs and senior meal
sites and senior day care, KWA also constructed the 25-unit Pacific Villa senior low
income housing in Tacoma in 1998; built its
own 10,000-square-foot community center
in Tacoma; opened the state’s first Asian/
Pacific Islander women’s emergency shelter
in 2004; and among other low-income housing facilities it has built, was awarded $1.5
million from the state this year to purchase
the Olympus Hotel in Tacoma to provide
low-income, multifamily housing and lease
out space to help sustain KWA services.
KWA also now operates an office in
Seattle’s International District at 406
Maynard Avenue South #205 in the Bush
Hotel. The office currently provides citizenship classes and in-home care services – “we
hire people to take care of people in homes,”
Pritchard said.
KWA will hold its 35th anniversary celebration on Aug. 30 at the Greater Tacoma
Convention Center. With International
District activist Bob Santos serving as emcee,
the featured speaker will be Korean Consulate
General Chan Ho Kwon and state Sen. Rosa
Franklin, D-Tacoma, will be honored with
KWA’s “Unsung Hero Community Award.”
Pritchard, who has worked with KWA
for over 17 years and served as its executive
director for 11 years, wrote in an e-mail message when asked to reflect on KWA’s history:
“Thirty-five years means stability and ongoing growth. Thirty-five years means history
and community commitment. Thirty-five
years means perseverance and due diligence.
Thirty-five years means we made a difference
in someone’s life. Thirty-five years means
trust and honor. Thirty-five years means
LOVE and CARE for service. Thirty-five years
means KWA is here to stay.”
The 35th anniversary of the Korean
Women’s Association will be held at the
Greater Tacoma Convention Center, 1500
Broadway, beginning at 5:30 p.m. For more
information, call the Korean Women’s
Association at (253) 535-4202 or 1-888508-2780.
Letters
tothe
Editor
Chinatown Gate should reflect ID
Dear Editor:
I think this Chinatown Gate project is
very positive (Interview with Paul Wu, IE
video blog). It is much better than complaining about the naming of the International
District (ID) Seattle Parks Department
facility and the misguided waste of resources
and money to protest the closure of South
Lane Street. Two things come to mind with
the name of the Gate. One, there is nothing
historic about the gate. It is actually a distraction to the “Historic” view corridor looking
west along South King Street to Puget Sound.
It also adds to the cartoonish and theme
park decorations that continue to erode this
unique historic district. Two, I am struck
by the name that leaves out International
District. There have been strong vicious protests by various Chinese groups against any
name leaving out Chinatown or if Chinatown
isn’t mentioned first. Historically, this area
has been very multi-ethnic with a variety of
cultures — from African American, Japanese
American, Filipino American and European
cultures. Maybe the name could be revised to
a more accurate one dropping ‘Historic’ and
adding International District. This might
prevent any notions the Chinatown Gate
organization members are ethnocentric
hypocrites.
Andy Mizuki
- comment on IE video blog
4 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
Few know about buying a home with city money
BY KEN MOCHIZUKI
Attorneys make lots of money.
Vanessa Mijo Lee will tell anyone that’s
a stereotype that currently doesn’t apply
to her. The 30-year-old Bothell native
graduated from New York University’s law
school and has been working for the last
year and a half as a public defender with the
Washington Appellate Project, a nonprofit
organization that is contracted by the state
to handle appeals.
A single mom of a three-year-old son,
Lee used to live in a small two-bedroom
apartment in Seattle’s Central District. She
and her son occupied one bedroom; a roommate stayed in the other as they split the
$1,050 monthly rent. On her salary, owning
a home in Seattle was out of the question.
Fortunately, Lee had a friend who works
for the City of Seattle’s Department of
Neighborhoods. As she conversed about finding another apartment, the friend suggested
buying a home — by using City money provided by the Seattle Housing Levy.
Lee learned that, as a two-person household, if she made less than $47,700 annually,
she would qualify as being in the “80 percent
of median income” bracket established by
the federal Department of Housing and
Urban Development. This year, HUD lists
$60,480 as “median income” for a family of two. The home-buying assistance
would be provided through the Homestead
Community Land Trust (HCLT).
Lee attended the “HCLT ADVANTAGE
Orientation Class” that HCLT offers twice
every month. After it was determined that
her income made her eligible, and after she
qualified for a mortgage, HCLT offered Lee
$100,000 in no-interest, no-repayment “purchase assistance,” as HCLT calls it. In return,
Lee agreed to a “resale formula” that placed
limits on how much she could sell her home
for to keep it affordable for a buyer like her.
“Usually, they don’t
believe me.”
Formed in 2000,
HCLT assisted its first
future
homeowner
in 2002, said HCLT
Executive
Director
Sheldon Cooper. Since
then, HCLT has helped
a total of 18, with “38
units in the pipeline,”
he said. Lee said she was
“Number 14.” Of those
units owned or about
to be owned, “a couple
were in North Seattle,
a couple in the Central
Attorney Vanessa Mijo Lee poses before her South Seattle house District, a number in
bought with assistance from the Seattle House Levy. Photo by Ken West Seattle, and a
Mochizuki.
number in Southeast
Seattle,” Cooper said.
She went looking for a house a week later.
The “assistance” is made possible by
After a three-month search this year, she Seattle’s 2002 Housing Levy. Seattle votclosed last May on a $315,000, three-bed- ers that year approved an increase in their
room, home in South Seattle, near Martin property taxes to fund the $86 million,
Luther King Jr. Way South and South seven-year levy to provide affordable housGraham Street. She said her first home is ing options in Seattle. In July, Seattle Mayor
under 1,400 square feet, and she has con- Greg Nickels and the City of Seattle Office
verted her garage into a bedroom — for her of Housing announced that, about halfway
former apartment roommate.
through the present levy, the funds have
“It provides security and stability” for been used to give families facing homelessherself and her son, Lee said of home own- ness emergency assistance and give those
ership. “I’m not throwing my money at with moderate salaries a better chance of
someone else. It’s about knowing where I’m buying their first home. The funds have also
going to be a year from now, five years from been used to preserve affordable apartments
now. It gives me a feeling of control.”
and build new homes and shelters.
“I’m thrilled to buy a house in the city,”
“Four years into the current seven-year
she continued. “There’s an urgent window levy, the city has created or preserved 1,232
now for Seattle to be saved from gentrifica- units of rental housing for homeless people,
tion beyond recognition.”
as well as for low- and moderate-income
So, why is such “assistance” for first-time families,” read a statement issued by the
home buyers practically unheard of?
Office of Housing. “It has also assisted 137
“I tell people every chance I get,” Lee said. families [of which Lee’s family was one] in
buying their first homes and helped 2,000
families and individuals avoid eviction with
rental assistance.”
The statement continued: “Overall, about
7,500 people have been directly helped to
find or retain housing,” including those who
“might otherwise be priced out of a neighborhood.”
Besides funding from the Levy, the City is
also receiving funds from other sources for
its housing programs, including state and
federal funds, other City sources, grant funding, and public and private funds acquired
by nonprofit sponsors. For the City’s
Homeowners Assistance Program, $5.73
has been “leveraged” for every Levy dollar
spent on the Program, totaling $16,371,000
“leveraged from other sources” during the
first four years of the 2002 Levy, Office of
Housing reports.
The International District Housing
Alliance (IDHA) also uses funds provided by
the Levy, focusing on immigrant and refugee
households and allocating up to $45,000 in
down payment assistance per household for
first-time homeowners, said Elaine Magil,
IDHA homeownership program manager.
HCLT’s Web site defines a “Community
Land Trust” as “a private nonprofit corporation created to acquire and hold land for the
benefit of a community and provide secure
affordable access to land and housing for
community residents. In particular, CLTs
attempt to meet the needs of residents least
served by the prevailing market.”
Cooper said HCLT is trying to get the word
out about its ADVANTAGE program through
housing counseling agencies, fairs and its Web
site at www.homesteadclt.org. HCLT is about
home ownership that is “affordable and
always available to regular workers,” he said.
“If nothing were done, then home ownership
would only be for the rich.”
-continued from page 1
Helping Link offers services to help immigrant students with WASL
He feels safer here, feels people care about
him. At school, he could do whatever he
wants.”
To prevent a school experience like this
student’s, United Way and the City of Seattle
funded “Source,” a computer network that
allows parents to see their children’s grades,
scores, attendance and teacher’s assignments
online. In operation for about a year, Nguyen
says Helping Link is the first to submit to
the City of Seattle a “Source” proposal to
provide training and translation of the
online information into another language
— Vietnamese.
Pham says that, among Seattle Public
Schools’ non-white students, there are about
2,000 Vietnamese students, making them
second only to the approximately 4,000
Latino students. Chinese students comprise
the third largest enrollment at about 1,900,
with Somali students next at around 1,500.
One out of five students in the Seattle school
district speaks a language other than English,
he says. Preventing many Vietnamese parents from using a resource like “Source” and
being more involved in their child’s education are language barriers and a lack of time
and computer literacy, Nguyen says.
To help correct that problem, Helping
Link is planning a 10-week, one-day-a-week
bilingual class for adults on how to use
“Source.” Nguyen says she is expecting up to
10 participants per quarter, 30 per year.
“Lots of parents work in seasonal jobs,
some have two jobs,” she says. “Some have
expensive computers that they bought their
kids, but the parents don’t know how to use
and access it.”
Formed in 1993 by a group of young
professionals whose goal was to address
needs within Seattle’s Vietnamese
American community, Helping Link
organized its first conversational “English
as a Second Language” (ESL) sessions at
the Rainier Beach Library and organized
college students to assist with the ESL program and serve as tutors and mentors for
elementary through high school students.
Helping Link continues to provide social
programs for Vietnamese refugees resettling in the Greater Seattle area. Services
include translation, family counseling and
referrals, health care and help with public
assistance and legal matters.
Two noted accomplishments for the
organization were the “Intergenerational
Anti-Violence Project” and “Bilingual
Reader Theater” – programs promoting
better relations between generations. In
1997, Helping Link created the first “TET in
Seattle” festival.
Most importantly, Nguyen says, Helping
Link is “based right in the community” and
attracts its essential volunteers.
“Mr. Pham is out in the community
instead of sitting in his ivory tower,” she
says. With one full-time and three to four
part-time staff, the organizations operates
on a $135,000 annual budget with countless
in-kind contributions, Nguyen says.
For its 2007 Summer Program, Helping
Link sponsored classes on ESL, obtaining
U.S. citizenship, computer skills, “ikebana (flower arranging), “Vietnamese as a
Second Language” and the “WASL-Summer
Program.”
Beginning in early July, the WASL program is held three times a week for students
in grades two through 10. Forty-eight students began the program, with over 30 still
participating. A team of three teachers fluent
in both English and Vietnamese and four
volunteers help the students prepare for the
state-mandated tests that are required for
graduation. This is the second time Helping
Link has provided this program.
“It was a response to when parents
couldn’t help at home,” Nguyen said.
Loann Le, a K-8 substitute teacher for the
Northshore, Lake Washington and Edmonds
School Districts, is one of the teachers and
coordinator of the WASL program. She says
she took the 10th grade WASL test herself
and found it “so hard.”
“Some of what you’re being tested on, we
don’t use in daily life,” she says. “Even I had to
go do some studying and research.”
Nguyen says that, while Vietnamese
American students – largely the children
of immigrant parents – are generally good
in math and science, they often need help
in reading and writing English. And WASL
math questions involve a lot of reading and
problem-solving.
“They don’t know what they’re looking
for,” Le said. “They don’t know what the
question is asking them.”
And then there is “test phobia,” the anxiety caused by the testing. Le says her daughter, a high school junior and honor student, is
worried that she might have done poorly on
the WASL due to the “phobia.”
Helping Link is located at 1032 S.
Jackson #C, Seattle, WA 98104, (206)
781-4246,
[email protected],
www.cityofseattle.net/helpinglink.
Seattle Cambodians celebrate heritage
BY MILO ANDERSON
UW News Lab
Seattle’s Cambodian
community came to celebrate its past and present
at the Seattle Center on
Saturday, Aug. 11.
The
Cambodian
Cultural Heritage celebration at the Center House
brought together filmmakers, artists and dancers. There was more happening at any time during
the four-hour event than
one person could take in. Cambodian Cultural Heritage dancers at Seattle Center on
Sathia Vann, emcee Aug. 11. Photo by Milo Anderson.
for the afternoon, said
16-year-olds Jesse Chhan and Daniel Prom,
that although this was
the third annual Cambodian cultural cel- both students at Franklin High School, dealt
ebration, this year was special because many frankly with problems faced by the children
non-traditional aspects of Cambodian and of Cambodian immigrants, from gangs to
Cambodian-American culture were pre- coming to terms with what their parents
lived through under the Khmer Rouge.
sented.
Meanwhile, downstairs at the main
Greg Cahill’s film “The Golden Voice,”
depicted the life of Cambodian rock singer stage, spectators were treated to the more
Ros Sereysothea, who suffered terribly in a traditional Cambodian Cultural Heritage
Khmer Rouge labor camp and is thought to Dancers, who dressed in traditional coshave died there. In the movie, Sereysothea tumes and performed the Butterfly Dance.
is forced by her captors to learn songs like A hip-hop and break dancing team also
“Happy Workers in Paradise” as her friend took the stage, followed by 19-year-old rappours salt on her infected foot. It was the per Jimmy Mam from White Center.
Booths positioned among the chairs and
first screening of this movie in Seattle.
“Two years ago I had no idea there was tables in the Center House provided inforsuch a big rock scene in the ‘60s and ‘70s mation about different cities and regions
in Cambodia,” Cahill said. He said he first in Cambodia, and took donations for the
became aware of Sereysothea’s music when Cambodian Women’s Association, which
he heard it in the soundtrack to the movie assists pregnant and sick women.
Photographer Shannon Welles displayed
“City of Ghosts.”
Cahill’s film has won several awards, her own photography from Cambodia,
including “Best Short Film” at CamboFest as well as pictures taken by Cambodian
in Phnom Penh. Cahill said he hopes to children. The children were given cameras
and taught to use them as part of the Green
develop his film into a full-length movie.
Also shown was “Bombhunters” by Skye Gecko Project, a nonprofit NGO that proFitzgerald, “Seeing Proof ” by Rob Fruchtman vides a drop-in center for homeless, battered
and “I am Cambodian/American” by a group or poverty stricken youth.
The kids snapped pictures of tourists,
of Cambodian American teens.
“Seeing Proof ” deals with the disbelief of temples and each other with obvious impumany young Cambodians about stories their nity. “I found them to be fearless in their
parents told them of the period when the approach,” Welles said.
A fashion show by Cambodian designer
Khmer Rouge ruled the country.
“We did learn about it in school, but Many Mang showcased modern apparel for
only briefly and without explanation,” said a men and women.
“It’s really exciting for us to see
young Cambodian man in the movie. After
Cambodian
Americans branching out and
the filmmakers take them to killing fields
and bone-filled monuments to the dead, the not sticking to the norm,” commented
young people are forced to admit that the Vann.
Milo Anderson is a student in the
truth is even worse than what their parents
University
of Washington Department of
told them.
“I am Cambodian/American,” made by Communication News Laboratory.
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 5
IInn &
& AArroouunndd TToow
wnn
Chinatown-ID Night Market
The WILD youth group of
International District Housing
Alliance (IDHA) sells items at
a booth in the second annual
Seattle Chinatown-ID Night Market
on Aug. 4. The Night Market continues Saturday, Aug. 18 at Hing
Hay Park. See the iexaminer.org
video blog for interviews. Photo
by Nhien Nguyen.
From Hiroshima to Hope
Japanese lanterns float on Greenlake during
the annual “From Hiroshima to Hope” event on
Monday, Aug. 6. The event gathered hundreds of
people to commemorate the atomic bombing of
Hiroshima and to express hope for peace. Photo
by Nhien Nguyen.
ICHS Board Chair knighted by Seafair King and Queen
Seafair’s reigning King Neptune LVIII (Bob
Santos) and Queen Alcyone VIII (Mona
Locke) knighted Hiroshi Nakano, International
Community Health Services Board Chair,
and several others during a ceremony at the
Danny Woo International District Community
Garden on Friday, July 20. Nakano accepted
the honor on behalf of ICHS, who was recognized for its service to the Seattle community.
From left to right: Bob Santos, Mona Locke
and Hiroshi Nakano.
New leadership positions for APAs
The Asian Pacific Islander Community
Leadership Foundation (ACLF) celebrates
Asian Pacific American Congressional
Staff in new leadership positions: Frances
Youn, King County Director, Sen. Patty
Murray, Sharmila K. Swenson, District
Director, Rep. Jay Inslee and Nate
Caminos, King County Outreach Director,
Sen. Maria Cantwell. The Meet & Greet
Reception took place Thursday, Aug. 9 at
the home of Vera and Joey Ing. Photo by
Nhien Nguyen.
6 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
IE in the ID
LongtimeIDactivistShigekoUnopassesaway SueTaoka:Connectingcommunities
BY NHIEN NGUYEN
Examiner Editor
Editor’s note: The following profile of community activist Shigeko Uno first appeared
in the May 1992 issue of the International
Examiner. The story is being reprinted in
commemoration of Uno’s passing on Aug. 10
at age 92.
BY GARY IWAMOTO
Examiner Contributor
As amazing as it sounds, Shigeko
Uno just turned 77 years old. As Theresa
Fujiwara put it, “I hope I look half as good
as Shigeko when I get to her age.” We should
be so lucky. With five children, seventeen
grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren, Shigeko has earned the time to kick
back but continues to be a community volunteer who can’t say no.
A lifelong resident of Seattle, Shigeko’s
heart and soul have remained rooted in
the International District. Growing up, she
spent many hours of her youth at her father’s
White River Dairy, at Eighth and Weller, the
first Japanese American-owned dairy in the
United States. After the war, she and her husband Chick operated Chick’s Ice Creamery,
located at the Bush Hotel.
In the 1960s, Shigeko went to work for
the Rainier Heat and Power Company, a
management trust company which owned
large portions of land where such ID mainstays as Mikado Restaurant, the Jackson
Building, the Post Office, Seafirst Bank, and
the Rainier Heat and Power building now sit.
It was the responsibility of the Rainier Heat
Shigeko Uno. IE archives.
and Power Company to systematically sell
these portions of land to benefit the trust.
Shigeko was the Company’s first Asian
American employee.
A young Japanese American storeowner
of a small family-run business heard that
Rainier Heat and Power was going to sell
off a parcel of land at Sixth and Weller. He
didn’t think he had a chance to buy the land
because he and his family had little experience with “downtown types.” But friends
told him, “Talk to Shigeko, she’ll put in a
good word for you.” Shigeko did precisely
that. The Moriguchi family bought the land
and expanded Uwajimaya into the largest
retail outlet for Japanese goods in the Pacific
Northwest.
Tomio Moriguchi credits Shigeko for sen-continued on page 8
RonChewwillleaveWingLukeMuseum
BY KEN MOCHIZUKI
The Wing Luke Asian Museum announced
that Ron Chew, the museum’s executive director
for more than 17 years, will step down from his
position at the end of this year.
Chew led the Museum’s $23.2 million
Capital Campaign to build the new Wing
Luke Asian Museum at the site of the former
East Kong Yick building. The Museum has
announced that it is close to achieving its fundraising goal.
“After 17 amazing years as executive
director of an institution such as the Wing
Luke Asian Museum, I am so honored to
have served this community and plan to stay
very involved with the museum,” Chew said.
“The outpouring of support for the Capital
Campaign has really touched my heart personally. I was entrusted with the task of leading
this effort to build a new museum, and now
that the completion of the new museum is in
sight, it feels right to pass the torch to a new
leader for the next phase of this journey.”
Beth Takekawa, the Museum’s current
chief executive officer, will take Chew’s place
as executive director.
“Having worked with Beth for more than
10 years, it feels right to pass the torch to her
specifically,” Chew said.
The Museum, in a statement announcing
Chew’s departure, stated that he will “embark
on a new journey and return to his roots in
writing.”
IDHAannouncesnewdirectorShiu-Thornton
The International District Housing
Alliance (IDHA) announced its selection of
Dr. Sharyne Shiu-Thornton as its new executive director. She begins her new duties Sept. 1,
2007.
Dr. Shiu-Thornton joins IDHA from the
Department of Health Services, School of
Public Health and Community Medicine at
the University of Washington where she holds
a faculty position.
“The position of executive director,
IDHA, is a welcome opportunity for me to
return to the direct, community-based work
that is most inspiring and meaningful to
me,” stated Shiu Thornton. “My career began
in the International District with the ICHS
[International Community Health Services].
In this setting, I learned to appreciate and
conceptualize the challenges of working
across language and culture and to translate
this understanding into tangible tools for
improved program management, social and
health services delivery, and culturally competent organizational/staff development. Like
its sister organizations in the ID, IDHA has
a long historical presence and an unwavering
commitment to social and environmental justice. To return to the ID as IDHA’s executive
director is like my heart returning home.”
Suj’n Chon served as interim IDHA director since the departure of Stella Chao last
October.
The National Coalition for Asian Pacific
American Community Development
(CAPACD) is the first national advocacy
organization dedicated to addressing the
community development, organizing and
advocacy needs of the diverse and rapidly growing Asian American and Pacific
Islander communities nationwide.
CAPACD Chair Sue Taoka, who is also
executive director of Seattle Chinatown-ID
Preservation and Development Authority
(SCIDpda), talks to the IE about the coalition before the eighth annual national
conference in Honolulu, Hawaii on Aug.
22-24. This year’s convention theme is:
“Communities United: Our Passions, Our
Strengths, Our Future — He Waiwai Nui ka
Lokahi aka E Ala! E Kuilima!”
International Examiner: In a nutshell, how would you describe National
CAPACD or how it serves API groups?
Sue Taoka: National CAPACD is a coalition
of organizations and individuals committed
to building strong viable Asian Pacific communities. National CAPACD is involved in
federal policy issues as they impact Asian
Pacific communities and individuals from
immigration reform to the national housing trust fund to HUD reform to the APA
serving institutions legislation to Native
Hawaiian rights and more. National
CAPACD also works with corporations and
foundations to educate them on the needs
of Asian Pacific communities throughout
the nation.
IE: As president, what are some of the
major issues CAPACD is working on?
ST: Currently, we are being more purposeful
in making sure the Pacific Islander component of APA is not left out, we are educating
the broader APA community about Native
Hawaiian issues and the Native Hawaiian
community about the community development movement in APA communities on
the mainland. National CAPACD is weighing in on issues like the National Housing
Trust Fund to make sure that issues and
view of the Asian Pacific communities
specifically and communities of color in
general are on the table. From an overall
perspective we are striving to make sure the
APA voice is heard and that our issues and
perspectives are considered as policies are
developed.
IE: What is a major challenge facing API
groups when it comes to capacity building?
ST: This is a tough one. Building capacity
can mean so many different things — we
have communities and community organizations in very different places. Some
organizations’ building capacity can mean
having greater access to capital so projects
and dreams can be realized. For others it
is bringing interested people together to
talk about community and how to address
needs. For some it includes building a strong
advocacy voice while others are looking for
how-to for project management. Then adding this to the broad diversity of the APA
communities makes it even more difficult
— and then trying to explain this to elected
officials, policy makers and funders is even
more of a challenge.
Sue Taoka: SCIDpda director/CAPACD chair
IE: What makes this National CAPACD
conference in August important or different than others?
ST: This is the first time we have been able
to actively incorporate the issues of Native
Hawaiians into the discussion, workshops
and activities. We are introducing folks from
the mainland to folks, issues, and challenges
on the islands. It will be a joyful celebration
of our communities and a serious discussion of the many challenges facing us.
IE: There is going to be a strong showing
of Seattle groups at this conference. Why
do you think our presence is so strong with
CAPACD?
ST: First CAPACD was born in Seattle.
Second, Seattle is where collaboration
between Asian Pacific groups has a deep and
long history; Third, because of our history
we have a lot to share and we know there
is a lot to learn; and finally because folks in
Seattle like networking and collaborating
and it will be great fun!
IE: You’re going on a sabbatical as a James
S. Johnson fellow sponsored by Fannie
Mae. What do you hope to get out of it?
ST: I guess first and foremost this sabbatical will give me some down time to spend
with my family. We will get to do some
traveling that we haven’t been able to do.
It will also allow me to think more broadly
about the field of community development
— particularly how communities of color
collaborate and access to capital. And it will
give an opportunity to think about what I
want to do when I grow up! I know what a
great honor this is and how fortunate I am
to have been given this gift, because it is evidence that we have a great community and
I have had and still have the opportunity to
work with great and talented people.
IE: What are you looking forward to the
most for this conference in Hawaii?
ST: Meeting old friends and make new
ones! And I am particularly interested in the
policy round tables where we will be able to
blend Native Hawaiian issues with issues
facing APA mainland communities — and
of course the Hawaiian Grammys!
Look for IE coverage of this conference in the upcoming issue and on our
IE blog (www.iexaminer.org). For more
information on the conference, visit:
www.nationalcapacd.org.
POLITICS
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 7
Asian Americans run for Port of Seattle Commissioner No. 2
BY CHRIS PAREDES
UW News Lab
The IE profiles two Asian Ameircan candidates for the Port of Seattle Commissioner Position
No. 2: The-Anh Nguyen and Wen Wu Lee. The 2007 Primary Election is on Aug. 21.
The-Anh Nguyen
The-Anh Nguyen, 24, is one
of six candidates running for Port
of Seattle Commissioner Position
No. 2. Nguyen has served on the
board of the Seattle Youth Strategic
Partnership, which is part of the
Seattle King County Workforce
Development Council. He resigned
in October 2005.
Nguyen says he spends his
weekends teaching a class in entrepreneurship for young people. He The-Anh Nguyen
offers the course independently
to youth from the Central District
and consequences, better solutions, and
area. He also helps friends and family trou- social responsibility from local leaders
bleshoot their computers and has helped for wetlands. In regards to former Port
out at the Garfield Teen Life Center for the Commissioner Bob Edwards voting to put
past 10 years.
nearly $20 million toward cleaning up Puget
“I was dissatisfied with the last elections Sound, Nguyen said, “That’s not enough
— with the lack of qualified candidates. for natural estates preservation. Natural
I decided to get involved. I don’t believe estates are the wetlands; places that have
in taxation without representation,” said to be taken down to build freeways. They
Nguyen.
are places where folks can go hike. Imagine
When he was 10 years old, Nguyen and what would happen if we took down Seward
his parents came here from Vietnam.
Park?”
One of the things Nguyen is most proud
“I understand how the process works
of is the two years he spent in student and [have] seen a lot of programs get cut
government at North Seattle Community and people get laid off,” said Nguyen.
College (NSCC), one of which he was presi“We need to reduce the port to core bases
dent of the student body in 2002-2003. As and encourage small business growth,” said
president, he re-established voting rights for Nguyen. “I believe in small business owners.
students. In addition, Nguyen served on a They will redistribute income evenly and
budget committee at NSCC for two years. provide opportunities for people to come
He also proposed an initiative that freed up.
students from activity-fee increases. It did
“Let’s not raise taxes to pay for new port
not go through, however because not all jobs,” said Nguyen. “Instead, we need to get
three Seattle Community Colleges (North, permanent assets, look at how the bidding
Central and South) agreed to the statement. system works, make energy cuts, paper cuts,
“South Seattle leadership pulled back in and look at the budget. The port has grown
the end and we did not have the support so big that we can’t micro-manage.”
needed to take this to the administration,”
Nguyen has decided not to collect any
said Nguyen.
money during his campaign because he
As a young person, Nguyen developed an doesn’t want to burden hardworking famiinterest in ecology and environmental issues. lies or owe any favors to large corporations.
Once, while 12, he was digging for geoducks “In my culture there is a tradition of workin Alki Beach with his family. While doing ing hard and I want to continue that,” he
so, he noticed that health-hazard warning said.
signs were posted to alert citizens of possible
“In my neighborhood we have a saying:
toxins in the water and infected shellfish. “I 'It’s a tough neighborhood and the good
didn’t understand why,” said Nguyen. “It was people are leaving.' I started to succeed,
only later while cleaning the Duwamish that but instead of leaving, I decided to stay and
I understood.”
make a difference,” said Nguyen.
Nguyen received U.S. Department
“I appreciate the plan to acquire Boeing
of Labor Community Service Awards Airport to open up to businesses and the
for spending 320 hours cleaning up the direct flight to China because it improves
Duwamish. At age 16, while volunteering our image in international relations,” said
for the Student Conservation Association, Nguyen.
he encountered foul smells and rusty water
“This position deserves respect and I
in the Duwamish Terminals. “The Terminals want to bring that to the position,” said
are open spaces, like parks where people can Nguyen.
have picnics; basically they are vacant land,”
He is currently a student at Central
said Nguyen.
Washington University (CWU), study“I thought [the pollution] must come ing International Finance and Economics.
from containers found in landfills,” said “That will help me if I get into the position,”
Nguyen. Making the connection to Alki he said.
Beach, he realized this was what had
Nguyen said he admires another port
destroyed his favorite summer activity; commission hopeful, Wen Wu Lee, because
the geoducks were living in polluted water. she “speaks nothing but the truth.”
Nguyen supports higher standards
www.team369.biz
Wen Wu Lee
Wen Wu Lee is making her second bid
for Port of Seattle Commissioner. Her Web
site says that 37,117 King County residents
voted for her in 2005.
Lee is currently a flight attendant for a
major airline and is based in Seattle. “I ran
because I’ve want to reduce waste, “said Lee.
“As a flight attendant, I’ve noticed the airport has wasteful habits and has to answer
(to the public).”
Lee says she believes she has the experience and educational background to fulfill
the duties of the position. “As a citizen I have
a lot to offer for this position,” said Lee.
In the voter’s guide, Lee said that apart
from her MBA degree, she has “years [of]
experience” in handling billions of dollars and financial/budgeting projects.
“I have served as a volunteer board member for Wings Financial Credit Union for the
past seven years,” said Lee. “Wings Financial
is the biggest Credit Union to serve the air
transportation industry and has $1.8 billion
in assets and over 100,000 in membership.
“The airport has a lot of potential for
pollution,” said Lee. “The port should
focus on keeping a clean environment, and
increase shipments.”
In her job as a flight attendant, Lee is
trained to handle terror/threat and considers port security not a slogan but part of her
job, according to her statement in the voter’s
guide.
In her campaign statement, Lee said she
hoped to maximize the Port’s property holdings, and their economic usage. It should
offer under-utilized facilities to the public to
enjoy. For example, conference rooms with
views shouldn’t sit idle. “Port taxes should
be reduced,” said Lee. “My goal would be 5
percent per year. We should pay dividends to
residents and reduce waste.”
Lee also promised to promote trade,
which she defined as commodity flow and
conferences/tourism. “I’ve helped bring
business to the area,” said Lee. “My brother
bought some chemical plant facilities, which
are one of two such manufacturers in the
world, and are worth $5 to $10 million.
They are located in Alki Beach; my brother
bought these, and not the other facilities,
located in Italy, because I live in the area.”
Lee said she contributed to the economy
through conferences. “This year, Wings
Financials Board voted to hold their strategic planning session in Seattle, from Aug.
2-4,” said Lee. “If I wasn’t living here, Seattle
wouldn’t be on the list for [potential conference sites] at all, because so many other cities actively promote their conference attraction/ facility.
“We talk about enlarging capacity; I look
the other way. In China, U.S. products are
still welcomed,” she said. “Only if we know
how to get to the consumer can we have a
good potential to export [goods].
“I speak Mandarin, Cantonese and a little
Spanish, so I have a connection with a majority of the working population,” said Lee. “I
also understand Eastern and Western cultures, which is ideal [for a] trade ambassador.
“[The Port] doesn’t have any long-term
plans,” said Lee. “It’s only when we have controversial news that we hear about the future.
Nowhere in
the public
do we hear
about
10or five-year
plans that
[the Port]
would follow.”
Lee
referred to
terminals
that
were
built in the Wen Wu Lee
past,
but
later torn down. “Where was the long-term
plan?” said Lee. “That was a waste of energy,
time and taxpayers’ money. Lack of money is
not the issue.
“I [also] want to eliminate special group
lobbying and make a contribution to Puget
Sound,” said Lee. “It also bothers me that it’s a
$6,000 position and other candidates can raise
up to $100,000 for primary elections.”
She pointed out that it would take those
elected more than 16 years in the position to
earn back that money. “I don’t know how to get
the public to see that these candidates would
only represent corporate interests,” said Lee.
In the 2005 campaign, Lee chose not to
accept donations. In this election, she said
she was accepting a maximum $5 donation
per person.
Lee said if she is not elected, she will
devote time to local school issues, the credit
union industry and environmental conservation.
wenlee-for-commissioner.org
Chris Paredes is a student in the
University of Washington Department of
Communication News Laboratory.
8 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
Obama’s Da Bama: Rapper Jin speaks out
BY DIEM LY
While researching presidential candidates,
the New York City lyricist Jin Au-Yeung, 25,
found Barack Obama and his Myspace page.
They became buddies, if only in cyberspace.
The two haven’t met or spoken yet, wrote Jin
in an e-mail interview with the International
Examiner.
What could these two very different individuals have in common to spawn a connection? The explanation lies in their veiled
similarity to one another.
“This is totally my perspective, obviously,” wrote Jin. “But I sense he is a great
visionary and I like to think of myself as one
as well.”
Never before having any interest in the
election process or in any particular candidates, Jin read up on the African American
senator from Illinois. What Sen. Obama has
done thus far with his career as a grassroots
activist and senator thoroughly interested
the socially-conscious rapper.
After five years and five albums, with the
most recent recorded entirely in Cantonese,
Jin aka “The Emcee,” has had his share of
challenges merging into the dominantly
African American hip-hop scene. His talent
was often underestimated due to the rare
appearance of Asians in the industry.
In 2002, Jin appeared on a BET program
to face off in a nationally viewed freestyle
battle of words and tongue-twisting
rhymes. That year, undefeated, he was the
first Asian American to win the contest and
be inducted into the show’s Hall of Fame.
He emerged as the most visible Asian
American in hip-hop and the first to sign
with a major rap label.
Two years later, his first album titled
“The Rest Is History” debuted on the
Billboard Top 200.
But his struggle to gain a foothold in the
music industry, along with his insistence
to remain connected to his roots, fired his
independent spirit and led him to become
an advocate on social issues.
His method to voice his concerns: his
music, his voice, and his lyrics.
In response to Rosie O’Donnell’s
“ching chong” incident on “The View” last
December when she made fun of Asian
accents, Jin recorded the track, “You’re Fired”
to shed light on O’Donnell’s discriminatory
remarks. After the Virginia Tech tragedy, Jin
wrote a tribute song titled, “Rain, Rain Go
Away” to memorialize the victims of the
massacre. And on April 24, “Open Letter to
Obama” was released to voice his support for
the senator’s presidential ambitions.
His ability to overcome obstacles
and become a pioneer for young Asian
Americans has helped gain him more acceptance in mainstream society, and a role as a
beacon of hope for Asian Americans.
“There is still an overall sense of being
‘out of place,’” said Jin. “Even with the evergrowing population of Asian Americans in
this country, we are still viewed as a ‘minority’ as a whole.”
Jin said that society still has a lot of growing to do as far as “opening its collective
mind and exploring different perspectives
on race relations ... this goes for Asians as
well as non-Asians.”
His support for Sen. Obama stems from
this vital connection needed with common
people with real issues and social strife that
Jin believes only Sen. Obama can under-
stand and address.
“Aside from his stance and opinions
on all the issues,” said Jin, “I feel what he
brings to the table is an overall sense of
hope ... All we have as voters to go with
when making our decision at the polls
is a gut feeling. Who do we feel can lead
us?”
Leadership and trailblazing are elements Jin is accustomed to. Whether
he feels his music can lead to change
or impact an election, he said, “To me,
music is more of a vehicle to get out
certain ideas and spark dialogue and
interest.”
Whether a person is musicallyinclined enough to record their own
song to speak out on issues, Jin suggests
making one’s own trail, taking initiative www.jinsite.com
to be informed, and spreading the word.
Jin’s sixth album, “The Voice,” is recorded
“Make your vote count,” he said. “And
take your decision to the polls ... In this case, in English and set for release this year
through the Crafty Plugz record label.
that’s Obama.”
- continued from page 6
Shigeko Uno
sitizing the “downtown types” in her quiet way
to the needs of the International District community. Shigeko played a key role in helping
the Seattle Chinatown/International District
(PDA) acquire the Bush Hotel for use as a
community center and social service center.
As Tomio remembered, at the time it was
unheard of to think of an Asian community
center in such a valuable property as the Bush
Hotel. He said that it took a while for the PDA
to actually purchase the hotel. It was largely
through Shigeko’s influence that Rainier Heat
and Power offered to sell the Bush Hotel to the
community rather than to another developer
for a higher price. Shigeko later served eight
years on the PDA Board. In 1987, she was honored for her community involvement when
then-Mayor Charles Royer presented her the
Seattle “First Citizen” Award.
In some sense, Shigeko is responsible for
preserving the neighborhood feeling of the
International District. But when asked about
her days with the Rainier Heat and Power
Company, Shigeko didn’t talk about her role
as the unofficial power broker for land acquisition. Instead, she remembered “doing the little
things for the tenants,” such as responding to
complaints of leaky plumbing at 3:00 a.m. or
helping Asian small business find space.
It is this “behind the scenes” role that Shigeko
has played with little fanfare. The annual IDEA
(International District Economic Association)
Christmas Party continues to be a Shigeko
Uno production. Receptions for politicians or
community potlucks aren’t the same without
a plate of Shigeko’s teriyaki chicken wings. And
as Tomio Moriguchi said, “Even for community
functions, Shigeko will do more than asked of
her. She may be asked just to bring a plate of
chicken but she’ll stay to make sure things go
smoothly, help set up and clean up.”
Modest to a fault, Shigeko does not think
of herself as a leader. Yet, in her own quiet
way, she has been an outspoken voice. During
World War II, she and her husband Chick were
interned at Minidoka for one year before being
allowed to leave for the East Coast. And while
in Boston and Chicago, when she could have
tried to be inconspicuous and not draw attention to herself, she spoke in front of groups
about the internment. The FBI checked her
out in Boston to see if Shigeko was a threat
to national security. It didn’t stop her from
continuing to speak out. To this day, whenever
a filmmaker or a news reporter does a story
about the internment, Shigeko is often relied
upon to talk about her experiences.
After World War II, Shigeko became active
with the Japanese American Citizens League.
She recalled the time as “being involved in
helping the community readjust to coming
back to Seattle, getting families situated, trying to find property that had been stored.”
In a move that was ahead of its time, Shigeko
became the first woman co-president of the
Seattle Chapter of JACL in 1947, a position she
shared with Ken Nogaki and Toru Sakahara.
It was not unusual to find Shigeko as the
only woman at those meetings. “None of my
women friends did those kinds of things,” she
said, “but I’ve always believed there is a need
for volunteering.”
In the late ‘60s, Shigeko became a community activist. She was involved with the
Jackson Street Community Council, which
held meetings with then Seattle Mayor Wes
Uhlman to demand Model Cities funding for
the International District. Model Cities funding was soon provided to start Inter*Im.
Shigeko’s most recent volunteer work was
helping out with the “9066” exhibit at Wing
Luke Asian Museum. One of her roles was
to identify people from old photographs,
particularly those taken before World War
II and to help put those photographs into
historical context. David Takami, who wrote
the exhibit catalog, recalled one incident that
typified Shigeko’s commitment: “We phoned
Shigeko to ask her if she could come down
to the Museum to identify a picture. She said
that she didn’t drive, didn’t have a ride to the
museum and apologized. I told her that’s okay.
Fifteen minutes later, Shigeko walked through
the door to help out.” Shigeko does get around
for someone who never learned how to drive.
For her part, Shigeko enjoyed working
with “the young people” who helped bring
the “9066” project into existence. She said,
“I’ve loved being around the young people
because they’re idealists and dream of better
things to come.” The only community activity
she doesn’t enjoy is asking people for money.
When asked why she is still involved Shigeko
replied, “How can you say no to people like
Tomio or Harry Fujita or Theresa Fujiwara?”
Shigeko’s next project will be to help on the
major donor campaign for ACRS.
An Asian Pacific North American Review of Books
Facing the challenges of San Nong
“Will the Boat Sink the Water? The Life of China’s Peasants”
By Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao
Translated by Zhu Hong
Translated from Chinese by Zhu Hong
PublicAffairs, 2006
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 9
|
S pr i n g/ S um m e r 2 0 0 7
Focus on China
Reviewed by Shalin Hai-Jew
Based on the introductions and cover selling
points, “Will the Boat Sink
the Water? The Life of
China’s Peasants” should
be a tour de force. After
all, this is a book by two
of China’s leading novelists
about the plight of impoverished peasants in Anhui
Province who are trying
to advocate for themselves
against exorbitant taxation.
This should be an expose
of the first order.
China’s restive peasants
have seen many of their
own join the floods to the
cities to try to make better lives. They’ve seen the urban folks build
large financial portfolios, drive Americanmade Buicks, build modern homes, purchase modern consumer goods, and travel
abroad in increasing numbers as tourists.
They’ve seen their own lives strained
by ever-increasing government demands
and lessening support. The revolution in
1949 was theirs, and what was happening
to their socialist utopia? What is this “san
nong” (“three agriculture issues”) that has
emerged: “the problem of agriculture, the
problem of the rural areas, and the problem
of the peasant”? Is the PRC on the verge of
yet another revolution, with the boat possibly sinking the water (the peasants sinking
the country)? The concept works; the execution and the writing flop grandly.
Rather, Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao’s
“literary reporting” reads like a melodramatic soap opera, with very poor or
non-existent attributions and much use of
manipulative and emotional language. A
majority of this text, based on the povertystricken Anhui Province, consists of three
main cases of peasants aggrieved by exorbitant taxation (not the five percent promised
nationally) and end up in confrontations
that ended in peasant deaths.
(The authors do not address the cases of
tax officials stabbed or beaten to death by
peasants unwilling to pay
taxes, which is covered in
the mainstream Chinese
press. They also do not
discuss how peasants will
hide earnings or sabotage
public works, and so on.)
This book reads like a
propagandistic advocacy
piece, and the tragedy is
that the “nongmin” of
China do have reasons to
gripe.
Much of the petitioning of the peasants seems
very feudal, with the older
Chinese falling to their
knees to beg visiting officials for justice. They petition up the power hierarchy for the address
of issues. They get royal scrolls of official
letters to bring back with them to their own
county or township.
Too often, village justice tends to be the
choice. This means that there are public
recriminations, violent fights, faked kidnappings, and plenty of lies. Individuals use
their personal connections to officials in
power to combat each other. Without a fully
functioning legal system, it’s still more of the
same rule of individuals versus rule of law.
Policies that come down on the peasants’
behalf are vague and general and open to
various interpretations.
Within a system that has had a long
history of official corruption and bribedemands, the peasants are fighting more
than communist government oppression.
The peasants resort to violence. They
resort to shows of force by driving their
trucks and tractors to the county offices.
They bring with them those with a little
education and a little literacy as their representatives and spokespeople (and letter
writers).
The frustrated peasants save up their
moneys and make pilgrimages to the
“mecca” of Beijing as if the officials there
could remedy local village issues, issuance
of formal letters down the chain of bureau-
cracy. They may rally this amount of funds
to petition, but ironically, the original fight
may have been over a 6 “yuan” bill (less than
$1 US). Their frustrations at the low returns
on agricultural products, their low social
status, and the rising inflation may be a
cause for their restive actions.
The authors lose their sense of moral
high ground when they apparently seem
to advocate violence against officials and to
sanction sabotage of a van carrying police
who came to arrest village members at 11
p.m. at night. They seem to be appealing to
a mainstream Chinese readership, who may
vicariously enjoy reading about village officials who get their comeuppance whether
that be through demotion, public shaming
or execution.
“Through embezzlement, bribes, and
extortion, Shen clawed his way to money
and power,” Chen and Wu write. When
officials come to villages to collect taxes, the
authors switch to the second-person point
of view “you” so as to make the text more
personally compelling and subjective. They
name-call officials as “low-life” creatures.
These authors write with the assumption
that they define Truth. They lack attributions for officials’ thoughts and motives but
assert those with a sense of omniscience.
They shift in and out of the voices of the
dispossessed peasants, and include some of
their salty language. They confuse a domestic and an international audience, for whom
much of this may be misrepresentational.
A later chapter in this work offers some
much-needed (but not fully substantiated)
statistics and policy ideas. Their listing of
exorbitant taxes would not seem that unreasonable depending on the situation. With a
history of government subsidies and expectations of a socialist iron rice bowl, some
peasants may be put off by having to pay for
various infrastructure projects. A few mentioned include having a township outpatient
clinic, a township enterprise, school building repair, plumbing, and a group health
plan. This listing suggests that part of the
work of cadres should be to educate peasants about the needs and to get their buy-in
before making the investments and taking
the tax assessments. Knowing real-world
costs of services may be critical for the peasants as well.
The authors make the point well that,
compared to different periods in Chinese
history, there were many fewer officials as
compared to commoners. The Western Han
Period (206 B.C. to A.D. 8) had 1 to 7,945 to
1 to 67 in contemporary China. The larger
issue has to do with how the Chinese government will provide jobs and minimum needs
for its 1.3 billion citizens in a global society
that is highly competitive.
They make the points well that China’s
legal system needs to be more effective …
that officials shouldn’t launch poorly-conceived and expensive projects on the backs
of peasants … that officials shouldn’t feast
and run up bills of hundreds of thousands
of “renminbi.”
They make the point that peasant migrants
who go into the cities in search of work do
contribute to the local economies and should
be tapped for their insights on how to build
up their own home villages and towns.
The fact that the authors lost a slander
suit over this book (published as “Zhongguo
Nongmin Diaocha” or pseudo-translated as
“The Life of China’s Peasants”) may or may
not be relevant.
Chen and Wu are on to a major issue in
modern-day China. They show some of the
rifts between the social classes emerging in
this modern day. However, their “research”
and presentation in this book leave much to
be desired. The translation itself is full of clichés (pins and needles, no wiggle room) and
peculiar turns of phrases, once suggesting
that a police officer shouldn’t have arrested
someone without their permission.
A more systemic analysis would
strengthen this work. Some logistical questions involve how to change Chinese culture
with its endemic corruption, how to achieve
justice at every level of such a large country,
how to strengthen fair cadres who want to
do the right thing, and how to head off the
machismo and “dui lian” (loss of face) phenomenon that often lead to violence.
10 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
“Mortuary studies” of early Chinese in America unearths various beliefs
“Chinese American Death Rituals:
Respecting the Ancestors”
Edited by Sue Fawn Chung and Priscilla
Wegars
Altamira Press, a Division of Bowman &
Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005
From Virginiatown (Marysville, San
Francisco, and others), California, to Carlin,
Nevada, to the interior Pacific Northwest to
Hawaii, these locations have all been home
to early Chinese immigrants and sojourners, who were pursuing work in mining,
railroad building, gold mining, and other
endeavors.
How Chinese conceptualized and
buried their dead has become the subject of “Chinese American Death Rituals:
Respecting the Ancestors.” This collection,
edited by Sue Fawn Chung and Priscilla
Wegars, combines various works of anthropologists, archaeologist, museum curators,
and professors.
These researchers would investigate the
published accounts, interview survivors, and
delve into family albums. Their writings
probe grave goods. Others looked at coroner reports to understand the various types
of early Chinese deaths, many of which were
accidental and violent (in part due to racism, in part due to their dangerous work).
Others explore the quality of the remains,
the placement of the coffins, grave and
burial markers, and burning structures,
from which symbolic goods could be sent
to “heaven.”
The opening
chapter,
Wendy
L.
Rouse’s “‘What
We
Didn’t
Understand’:
A History of
Chinese Death
Ritual in China
and California,”
offers a brief
background
context
of
Chinese funerary customs and beliefs through its millennia of history. Her work includes the practice of human sacrifices under some periods
of ancient Chinese history. It also follows
the opulent burials of Chinese emperors.
The Daoist (which includes yin and
yang, qigong, and fengshui concepts) and
Buddhist belief systems involved after-life
beliefs and ways to speed the soul to its
proper place. The Confucian belief system
dealt more with proper hierarchies and governance in life, but alludes to proper heavenand-earth relationships.
In common Chinese thought, the dead
do affect the living. The dead demand reverence. Various deities are seen to affect life
and the underworld. “Upon arrival in the
underworld, the soul of the deceased must
visit purgatory to be judged by the authorities of the ten kingdoms of purgatory. The
individual would then receive either punishments or rewards for his deeds. Punishments
might include perpetual deprivation of food
and water, confinement in chains, boiling in
oil, disembowelment, or being eaten alive by
wild animals,” writes Rouse. Rewards would
be reincarnation in higher life forms, based
on Buddhist beliefs.
The soul’s salvation comes from works
during life and also a kind of magical act
of relatives and friends, who could commit
supplication and bribery of spirits with sacrificial foods, burned incense, burned paper
symbols of cars, homes, and money. The
wealthy would hire mourners and various
Daoist and or Buddhist priests to conduct
the funerary ceremonies. They would have
the proper placement of their coffins based
on particular beliefs about lucky placement according to fengshui (although little
research bears this practice out).
In addition to appealing to the spirit
world, some had their bones disinterred after
a certain number of years, their flesh scraped
off the bones and the bones prepared for
reburial in a bone-scraping practice. “Belief
in the dangers of the flesh, and the desire to
rest in native soil, led to exhumation practices,” asserts Rouse.
Many funerals offered opportunities for
the living to show off their wealth and social
economic status.
Some early press coverage of the practices
of Chinese funerary practices explain their
unpopularity, with some remains buried too
close to the surface and the spread of refuse
and germs in the poor burial methods. The
burning of symbolic rewards to heaven for
the deceased also caused risks of fire, which
added to their unpopularity.
Paul G. Chace observes how the Chinese
often went to Euro American undertakers for
the very lowly job of handling the dead, in
“On Dying American: Cantonese Rites for
Death and Ghost-Spirits in An American
City.”
The excellent work of California State
University’s archaeological field class, under
the direction of Dr. Jerald J. Johnson and
Melissa K. Farncomb, offer rich insights
in Wendy L. Rouse’s “Archaeological
Excavations at Virginiatown’s Chinese
Cemeteries.” This work carefully offers
what may be concluded and also what may
not be concluded from the findings and
excavations. “In addition to the ceramic
remains, the bones of a gray fox, an unidentified rodent, two jackrabbits, a cat, two
owls, an unidentified bird, and a chicken
were discovered in seven of the grave pits.
It remains uncertain whether these animals
represented food offerings that accompanied
the deceased or were the result of a naturally
occurring deposition.”
Descriptive photos appear throughout
this text — of various cemeteries (such as the
Manoa Chinese Cemetery in Oahu), ceramic
bone containers, grave sites, headstones,
the rituals of praying to the dead, funerary motorcades, spirit goods for sale in the
modern era, and other graphical artifacts.
“Chinese American Death Rituals” may
be highly unfamiliar to a majority of Chinese
Americans today. This work captures what
the graves say about the dead and the living
and evolving belief systems.
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 11
“Oracle Bones”: Deconstructing the Chinese language in the Modern Age
“Oracle Bones: A Journey between
China’s Past and Present”
By Peter Hessler
HarperCollins Publishers, 2006
“The fee for a single published word in the
New Yorker—more than two dollars—was
enough to buy lunch in Beijing. With one long
sentence, I could eat for a week.”
A constant flow of foreigners visits China on
personal journeys — of self-discovery and more
importantly of unraveling this large country’s
mysteries.
When Peter Hessler landed there to teach
at Fuling Teacher’s College for the U.S. Peace
Corps (1996 – 1998), he discovered writing.
He discovered archaeological writings on
“oracle bones” from Henan province. He discovered salacious and funny plays on words by
his Chinese students.
He discovered a deep need in himself to
write of what he saw, first as a Beijing bureau
news clipper for the Wall Street Journal, then
a stringer for daily newspapers (The Boston
Globe) and then national magazines (The New
Yorker, National Geographic).
He discovered debates and fights over possibly changing Chinese characters and language
into an alphabet, to bring the country into the
20th century under the communists and how
those efforts resulted in a simplification of
Chinese characters and the institutionalizing of
“pinyin.”
Peter Hessler’s “Oracle Bones: A Journey
between China’s Past and Present” opens like a
typical young Westerner’s adventures in China.
Charismatic, funny and astute, he shows himself
willing to endure discomfort and near-constant
travel to learn more about this complex country.
He lives frugally because he must because of his
low wages and sporadic publications. He has a
journalist’s eye for details, but at heart, he is a
philosopher-writer.
In a nation with
its thousands of
years of history,
he sees the past
as
ever-present,
whether it be in
the form of an
archaeological dig
in Huanbei which
is unearthing an
underground city
from the 14th or
13th centuries …
or digging up the
life of the late, talented Chen Mengjia and his
discoveries of precious bronze artifacts (before
his suicide under great political duress) …
or discovering the political secrets of modern
China with its preparations for the Olympics
and growing democracy with village elections
and struggles with all things “jiade” (faked, imitation).
A persistent loyalty creeps into Hessler’s
relationships. He observes his students with
tender eyes, such as his students named William
Jefferson Foster and his girlfriend Nancy Drew,
and the adventuresome Emily who goes to
Shenzhen to find her fortune. He stays in touch
with them over the years. He writes letters to
former students and their students, to the tune
of over a hundred a year. He visits his friends
and acquaintances all around the world, including his Uighur dining partner and buddy “Polat”
(who enters the United States under false papers
… and settles into an uneasy food deliveryman’s
job on the East Coast).
Hessler, funded by his various publishers, pursues the threads of his historical and
archaeological and literary interests throughout
China and the United States. He meets up with
Chinese scholars like the renowned Victor Mair
and the brilliant Imre Galambos. He interviews
the octogenarians and other aged movers and
shakers in the Chinese archaeological and academic scenes.
He witnesses the destruction of a “hutong”
after the owners are forced out by the government to make way for modern buildings. He
laughs at himself when he writes public relations
chaff in order to survive in his early years in the
- continued on page 12
12 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
“China Candid”: Modern China on the make
“China Candid: The People on the People’s
Republic”
By Sang Ye
Edited by Geremie R. Barme, with Miriam
Lang
University of California Press
Berkeley, 2006
Chinese novelist Sang Ye knows a little something about human nature. He understands the
power of a listening ear.
Recently, he traveled through 100 cities and
villages of the PRC over a four-year period to
capture the voices of Chinese on the street. As a
former Chinese citizen who moved to Australia
post June 4, 1989, Ye ostensibly wanted to capture
these individual stories to belie the simplified,
monolithic, propagandistic Community Party
narrative.
The “conversation narratives” (a la Studs
Terkel) purposefully engaged ideas beyond Sang
Ye’s own stated comfort zone. He went with
others’ self-representations whether they had
ulterior motives, deceit or a high dose of ego.
He pointed out a UFO-ologist (who is looking
for a savior from outer space) whose ideas he
did not support as an example of this breadth.
Some interview subjects were pursued because
of press coverage in Chinese media. Others were
acquaintances. Others were pursued because of
their formal roles. Others were found by chance.
Ironically, while “China Candid” strengthens
the role of individual voice, the shapes of the
narratives still focus on larger themes and events.
The subtext engages China’s reforms and at heart
asks: Where is this
nominally socialist
behemoth headed
as it experiments
with
continuing
openness to the
world, economic
liberalization,
encouragement of
global investments
and “socialism with
Chinese characteristics”?
Ye engages a
range of individuals who may be seen as social
nodes: a salty-tongued street entrepreneur who
is a millionaire, full of schemes for “illegal profiteering”; a member of the “floating population”
of Chinese displaced by economic upheavals; an
old revolutionary cadre who sees the reforms as a
total compromise of his political ideals; a Union
Rep and a Consumer Protection Association
cadre who see their work as only providing
false pressure valves to a system dominated by
the government; parents whose children were
kidnapped or disappeared to be sold to those
desirous of children for raising; and a People’s
Deputy Congresswoman who dreams of more
democracy and direct voting of the people.
There is a piano prodigy who is reluctant
to be pressured into high achievements by his
policeman father,
The individual voices that are most memorable are those who emerge as individuals: a
Muslim man accused and jailed for attempted
murder who redeems himself by running an
orphanage for abandoned children outsourced
by the local government; a disabled girl who
learns to paint with her feet and who aspires to
a college degree at Anshan Normal University;
a teenage national athlete who describes widespread drugging for formal competitions and
the great pressure to save Chinese face; a fringedweller artist in one of Beijing’s art villages who
is cynical about the pimping that goes on by the
artists.
The individuals of “China Candid” are invariably dark and cynical. They can see compromises
at every tier: political compromises and ineffectual decision-making, Chinese women who sell
their bodies and dream of buying husbands back
home; kept women who serve China’s nouveau
riche and very-married entrepreneurs; an official
who can see the scams and inauthenticity of the
products; even a U.S.-educated physician who
has returned to the PRC to work in a sex shop
and to promote libertinism. A Christian strives
to protect the Word from heresies in a remote
village. An English professor gives her name over
to some fly-by-night trainers to help them get
by financially. One interview subject essentially
bribes Sang Ye to help him go abroad by some
scheme.
Everything is about self-promotion and getting ahead at any price.
An entrepreneur who deals in forestry products and agro-products describes his ease with
flaunting his wealth because he is also serving the
“public good” by offering free goods to Chinese
officials. He’s not worried that he’ll be considered
one of the entrepreneurial pigs being fattened for
the slaughter given China’s political vicissitudes.
Everyone is on the take, with an avaricious
“diannao chong” (computer bug) who gleefully
steals software programs through his expertise.
Even the People’s Liberation Army is thinking of
ways to pull a fast “renminbi.”
“China Candid” shows a nation that is a freefor-all for those opportunistic and savvy enough
to get ahead, but it also shows a place in a political free-fall.
-continued from page 11
“Oracle Bones”
People’s Republic of China. He catches glimpses
of the isolated North Korea by a boat drive-by
off the shores of that nation. He gets detained
by the Chinese police when he visits a local village after sleeping in a sleeping bag on a deserted
part of the Great Wall during a gritty sandstorm
(which leaves him with “sandruff”).
He knows how to get through “houmen”
(back doors) and is a master of “guanxi.” He
connects. His adventures include being on the
scene with the world-famous Chinese actor
Jiang Wen filming “Warriors of Heaven and
Earth.” He covers the visit of the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) to Beijing. He lands
himself in happening places.
“Oracle Bones” integrates rich threads of
narrative that attempt to make sense of a country from rich angles. Hessler brings substance
and wisdom to this work combined with a
young man’s intrepid curiosity.
He is a collector of words and meanings in
an age that may no longer value complexity and
literacy, but one that goes for the fast, simple
understanding.
ARTS
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 13
Jiro Yonezawa: Japanese basketry as sculpture at William Traver Gallery
BY CLAIRE EMIKO FANT
Jiro Yonezawa is a soft-spoken Japanese artist who prefers to let his artwork do most of the
talking for him. His medium is the art and craft
of Japanese bamboo basket weaving, which he
brings into the realm of sculptural form. The
pieces in his current exhibit, “Crossroads,” at
William Traver Gallery in Seattle, are eloquent
and graceful. The details reveal Yonezawa’s skill
and passion in working with bamboo using
time-honored traditional techniques.
When Yonezawa was young, he worked on
a farm adjacent to a bamboo forest. Impressed
with its magnificence, he grew curious about
how it is molded into different objects.
Growing up in Japan exposed him to bamboo’s
myriad uses. At age 23, Yonezawa entered the
Beppu Vocational Arts Training Center, earned
certificates in bamboo basketry, and afterwards
studied at the Oita Prefectural Industrial Arts
Research Institute in Oita, Japan. He also
apprenticed to the well-known master Ono
Masakatsu. Today at 51, Yonezawa himself is a
well-known artist and teacher.
The Japanese bamboo arts tradition
includes an involved process of preparing
bamboo for weaving. It is first steamed to
“SHANGRI-LA,” 2007. Bamboo, cane, steel, and
urushi lacquer. Photo: Bill Bachhuber.
remove oils and to stabilize the fiber. After it
has been air-dried, Yonezawa skillfully splits it
vertically into strips, which are then sliced into
a preferred thickness — all done with knives
specifically created for these tasks. The strips
are then beveled along their edges for smoothness by pulling them against the knife blade.
Yonezawa then applies a dye or coat of “urushi” lacquer (a traditional Japanese lacquer
made from the “urushi” tree) before weaving
and after construction of the basket, which
darkens the finish to a rich reddish brown or
black hue depending on the bamboo, the dye,
and number of coats. He works both the inside
and outside of the basket he is weaving.
Yonezawa’s bamboo basket sculptures
range in shape and size. They are a dynamic
and beautiful blend of traditional technique
and abstract form. Four long narrow “baskets” constructed of a tight plaited weave
and low sides that curl inward are arched or
bowed high in the middle, bringing to mind
a bridge and all its connotations. In fact, each
is named after a particular bridge in close
vicinity to members of Yonezawa’s family in
Japan. Yonezawa also uses cedar root from the
Pacific Northwest as a subtle texture accent
along the baskets’ rims.
Yonezawa utilizes an elongated vertical
weave of thicker bamboo for “Mino,” which
has the shape of a mysterious faceless mask
and shows off Yonezawa’s masterly and
expressive use of the “urushi” lacquer finish
for color, texture and effect.
The great pioneer and master of bamboo
art, Iizuka Rokansai (1890-1958), inspired
many young bamboo artists. One can detect
his influence in Yonezawa’s work where the
combination of accomplished craftsmanship in a revered tradition is coupled with
artistic, original expression. “Untitled,” a
totally enclosed upright cocoon that stands 55
“BRIDGE” series, 2007. Bamboo, cane, cedar
root, and urushi lacquer. Photo: Bill Bachhuber.
inches high, departs from basketry into pure
sculpture. Broad bamboo strips comprised of
narrower slats lying side by side, four or five
to a strip, create an open, spontaneous weave
going in every direction, like a wound ball of
yarn resembling chaotic motion, and at the
same time delineating a cylindrical oblong
shape — an ambiguous form that can represent anything from a child to a stone.
Yonezawa’s other works in the show reflect
the same dual dedication to precision and
experimentation. “Guide” is a free-standing
stick sculpture which, upon closer inspection,
is made of stacked bamboo slats that weave in,
out and over each other like so many worms.
The current show at William Traver Gallery,
Seattle (110 Union St., Suite 200), which runs
through Sept. 2, is a not-to-miss opportunity
to see a sampling of the array of weaves and
forms Yonezawa creates for his sculptures and
baskets. www.travergallery.com.
See the IE video blog interview with Jiro
Yonezawa on our Web site: www.iexaminer.org
(under Community, Blog link) or www.iexam
iner.blogspot.com.
14 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
“Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga” on display at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
BY THOMAS R. BRIERLY
“Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga”
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Through Sept. 9
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 581-3500, www.asianart.org
Summer is a time for wistful days spent
in the sun, a time of air-conditioned movie
theaters where one can avoid the coming
global warming and hopefully avoid the
blockbuster bombs, too. Museums across
the country are showcasing attractive
works to bring in those languished crowds.
While on the East Coast, one can look in
retrospect at the offering of Whitney’s
“Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic
Era,” which can be said drew a lot of inspiration from the ‘60s era seismic rumblings
from the city by the bay.
its only U.S. destination.
For us on the West Coast
The impressive artwork
and the residents of that bay
of Japanese manga and
area city, San Francisco, we
anime illustrator, Osuma
have an exhibit looking
Tezuka (1928-1989) has
even further westward. All
been influential in his
the way to the Far East at
native country casting the
another seismically prone
“kawaii” (cuteness) style
region, and the rumblings
throughout the sum of his
of this exhibit captures the
life’s work, which can be
imagination of our current
seen in modern Japanese
generation’s purveyor’s of
artist like Takeshi Murikami
pop. Curator Philip Brody
and Nara. Tezuka’s iconic
and the National Gallery of
work of Astro Boy or
Victoria have amassed a colJungle Emperor has the
lection of Osuma Tezuka’s
“kawaii” characters preswork to be exhibited for the
ent, but this exhibit’s range
first time outside of Japan.
qualifies his lesser known
“Tezuka: The Marvel of
work here in the states, the
Manga” exhibition is on its final leg arriving “gekiga” (drama pictures) that are more for
at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, adults, like “Human Metamorphosis.”
What you’ll find in the gallery are milestone kiosks introducing a primer of each
manga series Tezuka created over the 30plus years. A handful of framed works per
each series show the detailed changes and
revisions done in pen, brush, ink and transfer decal. The showcase of this exhibit are the
covers and the numerous panels rendered
in gouache and watercolor, which afford
more freedom in dramatic affect and the
vibrant colors bring in more of the fantasy
that is manga. Tezuka certainly doesn’t hold
back when it comes to fantasy or absurdity,
whether it’s in the storyline or graphically
composed.
In a separate viewing area for the video,
“Film is Alive,” the program details Tezuka’s
anime with interviews and snippets of the
prolific features-length films he produced
which used to come out every summer,
earning him the title, “Father of Anime.”
The Manga Lounge, which the “otaku” can
appreciate, has an area where children and
adults can try their hand at drawing manga
amongst the many titles of other manga
and anime series from Japan available for
perusal.
In conjunction with the Tezuka exhibit
in the Osher Gallery, the AAM has another
exhibit of artist Taiso Yoshitoshi(1839-1892),
“Yoshitoshi’s Strange Tales: Woodblock
Prints from Edo to Meiji.” This is a great
compliment representing the continuation
and evolution of storytelling and illustration
within Japan’s popular culture. From “Oban”
sheet to newsprint, the aesthetics of Japanese
pop art, manga has captured the Western
imagination and Tezuka is certainly one to
be credited in seismic proportions.
T H E AT R E
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 15
ReAct’s “Wonder of the World” will change the way you think of Barbie dolls …
BY JUDITH VAN PRAAG
David Hsieh, founder and director of
ReAct: The Repertory Actors Theatre, stays
on top of what’s published in the theater
world through his day job at Elliott Bay
Books. This is how he first laid his hands
on the wacky comedy “Wonder of the
World” by Pulitzer Prize winner David
Lindsay-Abaire.
“We included the play in our 2003
Staged Play Reading Series and had a lot of
fun with it,” Hsieh said.
Hsieh worked on producing the play
ever since. Originally, the play was slated to
be part of ReAct’s “2004 Season Spectacle,”
but due to budgetary cutbacks that year,
it was put on the backburner until this
season’s theme, “Great Escapes.”
Finding the right actors for “Wonder of
the World” was not without its challenges.
Many of the actors Hsieh had envisioned
in certain roles had conflicts with the production schedule.
Hsieh described: “The gal I’d originally
cast as Cass had moved to Chicago, but
was going to be back in Seattle this summer to plan her wedding, but those plans
got delayed, so I had to replace her ... The
gal I replaced her with found out she was
pregnant and bowed out. Fortunately, Gigi
[Jhong], who’s taking a break from school,
was willing to step in at the last moment.”
No small feat for the leading lady role
of Cass, considering that comedy is hard —
“harder than drama,” as Hsieh says. “Just
from knowing them, I’d say all of the cast
Gigi Jhong as Cass and Ellen Dessler as Lois
in a publicity photo for “Wonder of the World.”
Photo: David Hsieh.
would prefer a good, meaty drama.”
After jumping through some hurdles,
Hsieh eventually gathered a diverse group
of actors with sensitive funny bones.
Together, Hsieh’s troupe portrays LindsayAbaire’s odd cast of characters — each and
every one of them tackling life’s big questions — with a magnified, and in some
cases, deadpan sense of humor.
A dramatic discovery in her husband’s
sweater drawer drives Cass (Gigi Jhong) to
embark on the adventure of her lifetime: a
bus trip to Niagara Falls. Along the way, she
befriends Lois (Ellen Dessler), a rambunctious drunk threatening suicide. Thrown
together by fate, the women encounter others who’ve been hit hard by life as well, each
and every one of them coping with major
setbacks in an extraordinary, often hilarious way.
Life’s coincidences, its twists and turns,
become hysterically funny when touched
by Lindsay-Abaire’s magic wand, and when
performed by actors with feeling for the
comedic beat. The playwright’s work is in
good hands; well timed, the participants
don’t miss a beat, and if they do, it’s on
purpose.
Dessler, whose character could be
pathetic, manages to remain funny, even
endearing, in her unhappiness. In the end,
it is she who allows Jhong’s Cass to finally
open her eyes to the true wonders of the
world. Kerry Christianson has a box full
of tricks, or a lot up her sleeves — she
appears as a tourist, a deadpan helicopter
pilot, a clown cum counselor, and hustles
on the side as a couple of waitresses. Walayn
Sharples and James B. Winkler portray a
couple of chameleon clowns, even without
the wigs, the shoes or the noses. Zachariah
Robinson as Kip has his moment when he
admits to his fascination for Barbies. (I’m
not going to give away more, you’ve got
to hear it to believe it!) Richard Sloniker’s
Captain Mike would have been Prince
Wonderful if only he could have stayed
around a bit longer …
Costume designer Anastasia Armes
clearly had fun at the Niagara, Colleen
McManus’ lighting sets the ever-changing mood, and Justin Lockwood’s sound
design pulls all the scenes together. Always
having to work with a limited budget has
made Hsieh a designer who knows how to
set the stage for scenes in different locations
effectively with a minimum of materials.
At opening night, a patron, apparently
the leader of a group of young thespians,
told a young man that his girlfriend should
have come.
“You can always skip class for the theater,” she said.
“A typical drama teacher,” my companion whispered in my ear, “for her the theater
comes before anything else.”
But we agreed, she might be right. After
all, big lessons may be learned from a play,
and sometimes inadvertently even more so
WHILE you’re laughing your head off.
Tip: Don’t lose your ticket stub. It may
win you a raffle prize, or a friend who presents the stub will receive $2 off the ticket
price.
“Wonder of the World” runs Fridays
and Saturdays through Aug. 26 at Richard
Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle.
For tickets call (206) 364-3283 or visit
www.reacttheatre.org. Advance admission: General - $12, Students/Seniors - $9,
Children - $6. On day of the show admission: General - $15, Students/Seniors - $12,
Children - $9 and Theatre Artists - $6.
16 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
BY ALAN LAU
“An-My Le: Small Wars” is an exhibition that
explores the war in Vietnam and the current war
in Iraq and Afghanistan. But unlike some wartime
news photojournalists, Le avoids the real battlefield
in favor of documenting the eerie netherworld of
practice staging areas where soldiers spend their
weekends reenacting battles in the forests of
Virginia or the California desert. What emerges
is a unique kind of war imagery that seems at
once removed but unnerving nonetheless. Aug. 18
– Nov. 4 in the East Gallery, Henry Art Gallery on
the UW campus at 15th Ave. N.E. & N.E. 41st St.,
(206) 543-2280.
“Emergence” is a group show featuring the
works of artists Aalyah Gupta, Jennifer Neal
and Ying Zhou. The works are reflections
on different states of transition and inner/
outer spaces encompassing the physical and
metaphysical. Gupta’s drawings show the
inner workings of the body during pregnancy. Neal’s work is a combination of word
and self-expression that examines personal
struggle. Dancer/performance artist Ying
Zhou uses video to compile a diary of private
messages expressed in the public domain as
a blog. Through Sept. 30 Free. Hugo House’s
Hugo Gallery, 1634 11th Ave.
Seattle Asian Art Museum opens two new shows.
“Shu: Reinventing Books in Contemporary
Chinese Art” examines the impact and notion of
the book in the artists’ upbringing and in their art,
Through Dec. 2. Also a new video installation by
Sioleng Ng entitled “Representing Ink” inspired
by the artist’s observation of ink flowing through
water when rinsing out her brushes is on view Aug.
23 - Dec. 2. (206) 654-3121.
The work of Tomoyo Kiraiwa and Kee-Ho Yuen
is included in a group show of contemporary studio jewelry artists entitled “Amuse, Amaze, Amend:
Jewelry Art For The Uninhibited” set through Aug.
25. Opening artist lectures and reception is on Aug.
8 from 4 p.m. on. Please RSVP for the lecture as
seating is limited – (206) 624-6768. Facere Jewelry
Art Gallery in the US Bank/CityCentre, 1420 Fifth
Ave., Suite 108.
Diem Chau keeps expanding her media show
after show. This time, her “Lost in Translation”
incorporates thread as a metaphor for the continuity of family and cultural history, as seen in
wall-hung dishware covered in fabric onto which
portraits are stitched. On view through Aug. 31.
Gallery4Culture at 101 Prefontaine Place S., (206)
296-8674.
meaning of life. With Gigi
Jhong, Richard Nguyen
Sloniker and others. Hugo
House, 1634 N. 11th Ave.
In addition, ReAct Theatre
will present a staged reading
“36 Views of Japanese Woodblock Prints” is an of the moving docu-drama,
exhibit that showcases selections from the museum’s “The Exonerated” at 10
collection. Through Sept. 16. Tacoma Art Museum, a.m. on Aug. 19 at University
Unitarian as a preview for a
1701 Pacific Ave. www.tacomaartmuseum.org.
full mainstage production
“How the Soy Sauce Was Bottled” is a special to be performed later at the
exhibition featuring the artwork of Heinrich Toh, Ethnic Cultural Theatre
James Lawrence Ardena, June Sekiguchi, Saya from Aug. 30 – Sept. 23. Call
Moriyasu and Susie Jungune Lee who created new (206) 364-3283 for more
Xiaoqing Ding: “Act 2” pastel on paper. Xiaoqing Ding and Jason
works based on the Wing Luke Asian Museum’s information on both these D’Aquino in “A Fine Line” at Roq La Rue Gallery, 2312 2nd Ave.
permanent collection. This will be the last show productions or log on to Through Sept. 1. (206)374-8977. www.roqlarue.com.
in the present site before the Museum moves. On www.reacttheatre.org.
view through Nov. 20, 2007. “Family Day at the
Wing” presents a poetry workshop with James The Children’s Museum and Seattle Children’s small and simple project grant to Tasveer to help
Lawrence Ardena and Brady Lien Worrall on Aug. Theatre collaborate in presenting theatre for one organize their 4th Annual South Asian Film Fest
18 from 1 – 3 p.m. For details, call (206) 623-5124 to four year olds when they present “The Green set for Broadway Performance Hall from Oct. 3
ext. 114 or email [email protected], 409 Seventh Sheep” now through Aug. 31. At the Children’s – 7. Tasveer is looking for program sponsors for
Museum located at 305 Harrison St. in Seattle this event as well as volunteers and donations. If
Ave. S., (206) 623-5124.
you can help, email [email protected].
Center, (206) 441-3322 for tickets.
The new expanded Seattle Art Museum is now
open downtown. New shows include the fol- Seattle’s Japanese Garden has a season of Ken Song, manager of the Union Station Branch
lowing: “SAM at 75 – Building a Collection Saturday tea demonstrations through Oct. 4, of Starbucks, would like to offer space for API
artists to display their work in his store. If you are
for Seattle” runs through Sept. 9 and showcases www.urasenkeseattle.org.
interested, contact Ken at [email protected].
recent promised gifts of art to the collection. A
showcase on Ukiyo-e woodblock prints from the
Kollar Collection and “Five Masterpieces of Asian IE’s Alan Lau will do a reading this summer Congratulations are in order for conductor
Art – The Story of Their Conservation” and per- premiering the recently published limited edition Carolyn Kuan. She started out as assistant conmanent installations by Cai Guo-Qiang and Do Ho letterpress chapbook of poetry on Japan entitled ductor for the Seattle Symphony and has now
Suh are some of the highlights – 1300 First Ave., “No Hurry” (cash machine press-cashmach@o been promoted to associate conductor. Her stellar
penpoetrybooks.com) as well as reading other conducting skills filled with a positive energy that
(206) 654-3100.
poems and prose pieces. On Monday, Aug. 20 is infectious no doubt contributed to her rise in
The work of Gerard Tsutakawa is included in the at 7:30 p.m., Lau and Susie Kozawa will perform rank as well.
annual West Edge Sculpture Exhibition presented at Elliott Bay Book Company at 101 South Main
outdoors at Benaroya Hall, Harbor Steps and the in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. For this reading “Yumi’s Life Lessons” is a just-published book by
Seattle Art Museum steps downtown. On view Lau will read poetry and prose taken from his Kay Hirai of Studio 904 Salons. The book details
through Oct. 20. With a gala party & live auction at journals on Japan and part of a manuscript in the lessons she learned from her dog on how to
the Alexis Hotel on Sept. 7 from 5 – 11 p.m., 1007 progress tentatively called “Walking The Worn become a better human being. To pick up a copy,
First Ave. Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/ Path” (of which “No Hurry” is a small part). go to www.yumihappyday.com. Ten percent of
He will read about his days living illegally with sales goes to the animal protection organization,
events15367. www.westedgesculpture.com.
Doshisha College students in a boarding house Pasado’s Safe Haven.
“Reflections on China” is the title of a show by in the Nishijin (Kyoto’s kimono silk weaving disprintmaker Dionne Haroutunian inspired by the trict) and his discovery of a noodle maker in the Noted Northwest photographer Johsel Namkung
artist’s recent trip to China. On view through mountains who makes his noodles by hand and will be honored with a retrospective show at The
Aug. 23 with a series of lectures with special guests sells them by subscription only. (206) 624-6600. Museum of Photography in Seoul Aug. 25 – Oct. 6.
Namkung will travel to South Korea and give a talk
on Aug. 8 & 15 at 6:30 p.m. Baas Art Gallery & www.elliottbaybook.com.
at the Museum on Sept.4.
Framing, 2703 E. Madison, (206) 324-4742.
Tess Uriza Holthe comes to read from her new
Shinichi Miyazaki has work in a group show novel entitled “The Five-Forty-Five to Cannes” A retrospective show on the work of Paul
entitled “Boxes” on view through Sept. 4. The (Crown) about an intriguing cast of characters Horiuchi is planned for spring 2008 at the
Gallery at Bainbridge Arts & Crafts, 151 Winslow who all come to make their mark on this most Museum of Northwest Art in La Connor. The show
Way E. in Bainbridge Island, Wash., (206) 842- glamorous European city. Aug. 21 at 7:30 p.m. will be curated by Barbara Johns with an exhibiElliott Bay Book Company. 101 S. Main, (206) tion catalog to be published by the University of
3132. www.bacart.org.
Washington Press, (360) 466-4446.
624-6600.
The work of Wuon Gean Ho is included in a
group show entitled “Introductions 2007” at
Davidson Galleries – Original Prints and Works
on Paper” through Sept. 1. 313 Occidental Ave. S.
www.davidsongalleries.com.
Vancouver Art Gallery presents the first North
American retrospective of contemporary Chinese
artist Huang Yong Ping entitled “House of Oracles:
A Huang Yong Ping Retrospecitve” on view through
Sept. 16 – 750 Hornby St in Vancouver, B.C., (604)
“Hai and Thanh – New Work from Vietnam” 662-4700 or log on to www.vanartgallery.bc.ca.
is the first West Coast exhibition of Duc Hai and
Le Ngoc Thanh – twin brothers and artists from
Vietnam. Their mixed-media lacquer paintings Examiner contributor Kiki Yeung is in the cast of
contain elements of Impressionism, Vietnamese a musical entitled “North Arcade,” a celebration
cultural history and their own playful symbolic of the 100th year anniversary of the Pike Place
language. Through August. ArtXchange Gallery at Market. Runs through Aug. 19. Pike Place Market
512 First Ave. S., (206) 839-0377.
Theatre at 1428 Post Alley. Log on to www.ticketwi
ndowonline.com or www.TheNorthArcade.com.
Portland-based artist Jiro Yonezawa (see related
article) has a show of his “Woven Bamboo David Hsieh’s ReAct Theatre Company (see related
Sculpture” which combines a respect for the article) presents a multicultural cast in the Seattle
Japanese basketry tradition with an American premiere of “Wonder of the World,” David
zest for self-expression and innovation. On Lindsay-Alaire’s award-winning comedy and the
view through Sept. 2. William Traver Gallery at 2007 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
110 Union St. – second floor, (206) 587-6501. Opens Aug. 2 and runs through Aug. 26. The story
www.travergallery.com.
of a woman running away from marriage on an
adventure to Niagara Falls to find herself and the
Winner of more Oscar nominations than any
foreign language film in history, Ang Lee’s intrepid
take on the martial arts film, “Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon” screens Aug. 22 at 7 & 9:30
p.m. as part of the Metro Classics Series. Metro
Cinemas, 4500 Ninth Ave. N.E., (206) 781-5755.
ImaginAsian Home Entertainmeent has just
released their newest DVD entitled “COMEDY
ZEN Season 1.” This multiethnic showcase of
the best stand-up comics in America includes
Bobby Lee, Dat Phan and Dr. Ken. Log on to
www.iapictures.tv for details.
Examiner contributor Mari L’Esperance has
had her first full-length poetry manuscript, “The
Darkened Temple” selected for the 2007 Prairie
Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and will be published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2008.
Violet de Christoforo has received a Lifetime
Honor from the National Endowment for the Arts
in Washington, D.C. This particular award recognizes artists who have contributed to folk or traditional arts of the United States. Her compilation
of poetry written in the internment camps, “May
Sky,” is a classic and a labor of love. She translated
and preserved many tanka and haiku written by
Issei in the camps.
ZEN Green Tea Liqueur, America invites consumers 21 and over to participate in their “What is
Zen? photographyy contest for a chance to express
their interpretation of ZEN and win a trip for two
to Japan. Deadline is Dec. 15, 2007. Log on to
The Department of Neighborhoods granted a www.zen-greentea.com for details.
Artist Trust 2007 Grants for Artist
Projects (GAP) recipients include Susie Lee,
Tiffany Li-chin Lin, Maki Morinoue, Cuong Vu,
June Sekiguchi and Thuy-Van Vu.
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 17
FEATURE
NEWS
arts
senior services
Northwest Asian American Theatre
NIKKEI CONCERNS
409 Seventh Ave S. Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-340-1445 fx: 206-682-4348
Seattle’s premiere pan-Asian American performing arts center.
Manages Theatre Off Jackson.
Wing Luke Asian Museum
407 7th Ave. S Seattle, WA 98104
ph:206-623-5124 fx: 206-622-4559
[email protected]; www.wingluke.org
The only pan-Asian Pacific American museum in the country, the Wing
Luke Asian Museum is nationally recognized for its award-winning exhibitions and community-based model of exhibition and program development. WLAM an affiliate of the Smithsonian Instititue, is dedicated to
engaging the APA communities and the public in exploring issues related
to the culture, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans. Offers guided
tours for schools and adult groups, and provides excellent programs for
families and all ages.
business
Chinatown/International District
Business Improvement Area
409 Maynard Ave. S., Suite P1 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-382-1197
www.cidbia.org
Merchants association enhancing business, parking and
public space in the International District. Sponsors Lunar New
Year and Summer Festival events.
Japanese American Chamber of Commerce
14116 S. Jackson Seattle, WA 98144
ph: 206-320-1010 www.jachamber.com
Encourages entrepreneurial & educational activity
among Japanese, Americans and Japanese Americans and promotes increased understanding of Japanese culture & heritage.
Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce
675 S. King St Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-332-1933 fx: 206-650-8337
[email protected]
Acts as an advocate for local Chinese businesses and in a public
relations role. Organizes the Seattle Miss Chinatown Pageant.
political & civil rights
Commission of Asian Pacific American Affairs
210 11th Ave. SWRM 301 Olympia, WA 98504
Olympia ph: 360-725-5667
[email protected] www.capaa.wa.gov
Statewide liason between governmnet and APA communities.
Monitors and informs public about legislative issues.
Japanese American Citizens League - Seattle Chapter
316 Maynard S. Seattle, WA 98104
www.jaclseattle.org
Dedicated to protecting the rights of Japanese Americans and
upholding the civil and human rights of all people.
Organization of Chinese Americans Seattle
Chapter
606 Maynard Ave S., Suite 104 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-682-0665 www.ocaseattle.org
Civil rights and Education, promotes the active participation of chinese
and Asian Americans in civic and community affairs.
schools
Asia Pacific Language School
14040 NE 8th, #302, Bellevue, WA 98007
ph: 425-785-8299 or 425-641-1703
www.apls.org
Multilingual preschool, language classes, adult ESL, “One World Learning School Program”Academic enrichment, prep for WASL and SAT’s.
Denise Louie Education Center
801 So. Lane St. Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-621-7880
[email protected] www.deniselouie.org
Half day and full day Head Start program located in the International District, Beacon Hill, Mt Baker, and Rainier Beach.
Comprehensive multi-cultural pre-school for children ages 3-5.
church
St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish
1610 S King St. Seattle, WA 98144
ph: 206-323-5250 email: [email protected]
website: www.stpeterseattle.org
St. Peter’s invite all people to a life of faith through worship education, service, and spiritual development.
Enriching the lives of our elders.
1601 E. Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122
Ph: 206-323-7100 www.nikkeiconcerns.org
Seattle Keiro, Skilled Nursing Facility
24-hour skilled nursing facility offering high quality medical
and rehabilitation programs, activities and social services.
1601 E. Yesler, Seattle, WA 98122
Ph: 206-323-7100
Nikkei Manor, Assisted Living Community
50 private apartments. Service plans tailored to individual
needs. Nurse on staff 8 hrs./day.
700 – 6th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104
Ph: 206-726-6460
Kokoro Kai, Adult Day Program
Provides social opportunities, light exercises, lunch and
activities 3 days a week.
700 – 6th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104
Ph: 206-726-6474
Nikkei Horizons, Continuing Education Program
Offers tours and excursions, courses in arts, computers,
language and more.
700 6th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104
Ph: 206-726-6469
Legacy House
803 South Lane, Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-292-5184 fx: 206-292-5271
[email protected]
Assisted living, Adult Day services, Independent Senior apartments, Ethnic-specific meal programs for low-income seniors.
National Asian Pacific Center on Aging
(Senior Community Service Employment Program)
1025 S. King St. Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-322-5272 fx: 206-322-5387
www.napca.org
Part-time training program for low income
Asian Pacific Islander age 55+ in Seattle/King County.
professional
Asian American Journalists Association - Seattle Chapter
P.O. Box 9698 Seattle, WA 98109
www.aajaseattle.org
Professional deveopment for journalist, scholarships for
students and community service since 1985.
National Association of Asian American
Professionals - Seattle Chapter
PO Box 14344 Seattle, WA 98104
[email protected]; www.naaapseattle.org
Fostering future leaders through education, networking and community
services for Asian American professionals and entrepreneurs.
housing & neighborhood planning
HomeSight
5117 Rainier Ave S. Seattle, WA 98118
ph: 206-723-4355 fax: 206-760-4210
www.homesightwa.org
First-time home buyer purchase assistance services including low-interest
loans, deferred payment loans, financial coaching, for-sale homes and more!
Inter*Im Community Development Association
308 6th Ave So Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-624-1802 fx: 206-624-5859
[email protected]; www.interimicda.org
Low-income housing, economic development,
neighborhood planning and advocacy for the APA community.
International District Housing Alliance
606 Maynard Ave. S #104/105 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-623-5132 fx: 206-623-3479
Multi-lingual low-income housing outreach,
rental information, homeownership community education.
Low Income Housing Institute
2407 First Ave Suite #200 Seattle, WA 98121
ph: 206-443-9935 fx: 206-443-9851
[email protected]; www.lihi.org
Housing and services for families, individuals,
seniors and the disabled in Seattle and the Puget Sound Region.
Seattle Chinatown/International District
ph: 206-624-8929 fax: 206-467-6376 [email protected]
Housing, property management, and community development.
social & health services
Asian Counseling & Referral Service
720 8th Ave S Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-695-7600 fx: 206-695-7606
www.acrs.org
ACRS offers nationally recognized, culturally competent health and
social services.
Food for survival and culture: food bank, specializing in Asian/Pacific
staples; emergency feeding; senior ethnic lunch programs
Healthy mind and body: assistance for elders and adults with disabilities; bilingual, bicultural counseling for children and adults; problem
gambling treatment; substance abuse treatment and recovery services;
domestic violence batterers’ treatment and community education
Building blocks for success: youth leadership development and academic support; vocational and employment services
Stronger communities through civic engagement: naturalization and
immigration assistance; community education, mobilization and advocacy Information for taking action: legal clinic; information and referral;
consultation and education
Asian & Pacific Islander Women & Family Safety Center
P.O. Box 14047, Seattle, WA 98114
ph: 206-467-9976 email: [email protected]
website: www.apiwfsc.org
Provides community organizing, education, outreach, training, technical assistance & comprehensive culturally relevant service on domestic
violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking to API community members, services providers, survivors & thier families.
Center For Career Alternatives
901 Rainier Ave So. Seattle, WA 98144
ph: 206-322-9080 fx: 206-322-9084
www.ccawa.org
Need a Job! Free Training, GED, and job placement service.
Chinese Information and Service Cener
611 S. Lane St. Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-624-5633 fax: 206-624-5634 www.cisc-seattle.org
Helps Asian immigrants achieve success in their new community by
providing information, referral, advocacy, social, and support services. Our bilingual & bicultural staff offer after school programs,
English as a Second Language, citizenship classes, employment
training, computer classes, elderly care services and additional family support services. Please contact us.
International Drop-In Center
7301 Beacon Ave S. Seattle, WA 98108
ph: 206-587-3735 fx: 206-742-0282 email: [email protected]
We are open form 9 till 5 Mon-Fri and do referrals, counseling,
fitness and recreation, social, arts & cultural activities for elderly
member and walk-ins.
Helping Link
ph: 206-781-4246 fx:206-568-5160
www.cityofseattle.net/helpinglink
Vietnamese community-based organization providing social service,
education, social activities and more for the greater Seattle area.
International Community Health Services
International District Medical & Dental Clinic
720 8th Ave. S. Suite 100 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-788-3700
Holly Park Medical & Dental Clinic
3815 S. Othello St. 2nd Floor, Seattle WA 98118
ph: 206-788-3500
www.ichs.com
We are a nonprofit health care center offering affordable medical,
dental, pharmacy, acupuncture and health education services primarily
to Seattle and King County’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
Kin On Community Health Care
815 S. Weller St. Suite 212 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-652-2330 fx:206-652-2344
[email protected]; www.kinon.org
Provides home care, home health, Alzheimer’s and
caregiver support, community education and chronic care
management. Coordinate medical supply delivery. Install
Personal Emergency Response system. Serves the Chinese/Asian
community in King County.
Refugee Women’s Alliance
4008 Martin Luther King Jr. Seattle, WA 98108
ph: 206-721-0243 • fax: 206-721-0282 www.rewa.org
A multi-ethnic, multilingual, community-based organization
that provides the following programs to refugee and immigrant women and families in the Puget Sound area: Development Disabilities, Domesitc Violence, Early Childhood
Education, Youth Family Support, Mentel Health, Parent
Education and Education and Vocational Training.
Washington Asian Pacific Islander Families Against Substance Abuse
606 Maynard Ave. S, Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-223-9578
Alcohol, tobacco & drug prevention; early intervention &
outpatient treatment for APIA youth and their families.
Join our Community Resource Directory. Email: [email protected]
18 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007
Friday, Aug. 17
• The YWCA Women’s Health Outreach program
will offer mobile mammography screenings at
the Breath of Life Seventh Day Adventist Church,
9807 26th Ave. SW in West Seattle. The screenings
will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are
for women age 40 and older. Call the YWCA at
(206) 436-8671 or (206) 436-8623.
CALENDAR
Monday, Aug. 20
• Maple Pruning in the Japanese Garden. Enjoy
a combination lecture and demonstration with
professional pruner and landscaper, Barb Engram.
The pruned tree will be available for purchase. 9:
30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost $50 (includes admission to the garden). Advance registration recommended. Seattle Japanese Garden, 1075 Lake
Washington Blvd. E., inside the Washington Park
Saturday, Aug. 18
• Homeownership 1-2-3 Center. Free English Arboretum. (206) 684-4725.
Homeownership Education Class. 9829 16th Ave. SW, Seattle. 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22
Hosted by IDHA. (206) 957-1316. E-mail: • APDC will be co-hosting a reception for
new Seattle Public Schools Superintendent
[email protected].
Maria Goodloe-Johnson. 5:30 p.m., Four Seas
• India Day, the celebration of 60th anniversary Restaurant.
of India’s independence, will be celebrated by the
India Association of Western Washington at the • Alaskan Way Viaduct & Seawall Replacement
HUB auditorium of the University of Washington Project: Pioneer Square Update Event. WSDOT
from 5 to 9 p.m. Kemper Freeman Jr. of the is moving forward to repair and replace the aging
Kemper Development Company; Assunta Ng of Alaskan Way Viaduct, and Pioneer Square will
the Northwest Asian Weekly and Habib M. Habib, be the first to experience construction this fall.
International Examiner Community Voice Award Join us for a neighborhood meeting to talk about
winner and the commissioner to the Washington upcoming work in Pioneer Square, including the
State Commission on Asian Affairs will be the relocation of nearby electrical lines and viaduct
column repairs between Columbia Street and
Guest of Honors and Speakers. www.iaww.org.
Yesler Way. Project engineers will be on-hand to
• Seattle’s Chinatown-ID Night Market 2007: This answer questions and to get your feedback on
year’s program will include a movie and chances construction activities. The meeting will be held
to explore unique arts and crafts vendor booths, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Grand Central Arcade in
sample delicious food, enjoy fun activities for all Pioneer Square, 214 First Ave. S.
ages, and much more! 6 - 11 p.m. Hing Hay Park
Saturday, Aug. 25
(423 Maynard Ave. S.).
• Moon Viewing (tsukimi). This is a unique
opportunity to experience the Japanese Garden
Sunday, Aug. 19
• Seattle Paint Out: Chinatown/ID: Hing Hay at night lit with luminaries, lanterns, boats
Park (423 Maynard Ave. S.). 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and light from a full moon. Entertainment
includes performances of koto and shakuhachi,
www.paintout.org.
Japanese traditional dances to honor the moon,
Japanese art songs and haiku readings. View
the moon through high powered telescopes
provided by Seattle Astronomical Society. Tea
will be served in the Shoseian teahouse every 40
minutes starting at 6:30 p.m. Tea and sweets are
$10. Advance reservations recommended. 7 to 10
p.m. Admission: $15 donation. Available at the
gate or online at brownpapertickets.com or by
calling 1-800-838-3006. www.seattle.gov/parks/
parkspaces/gardens.htm.
• Bellevue Library - Know Your Rights: Clarifying
Immigration Law for Persian Speakers. The
Iranian American Community Alliance and
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project present
an encore workshop. Mozhdeh Oskouian, J.D.,
will cover applying for a family visa, citizenship and naturalization, refugee/asylum status,
and protection for domestic violence. 2:30 p.m.
Workshop is in Persian, free, and childcare is
available upon request, contact (206) 522-5007 or
[email protected].
for, including a trip to Vietnam which includes
hotel accommodations at high quality hotels
such as the Vinpearl Resort. Therefore, come
enjoy good food and drink, good company, and
outstanding music while contributing to a good
cause. Reservations can be made with: Thuy
Phuong (206) 686-9997 or Duy Huong (206)
898-4287.
Thursday, Sept. 6
• ICDA Fundraiser Dinner & Live Auction, featuring auctioneer extraordinare Larry Taylor. 5:
30 p.m. Bell Harbor International Conference
Center, Pier 66, 2211 Alaskan Way. Contact
Nancy Ko, Fund Development Coordinator, at
[email protected], (206) 624-1802 x15.
Saturday, Sept. 8
• 10th Annual Japanese Cultural Arts Event (Aki
Matsuri). Japan comes to Bellevue Community
College for a weekend! A two-day program of
Japanese cultural and educational events for all
ages. The programs include on-stage performing
arts, martial arts demonstrations, tea ceremony
• Women’s Rights Day forum, “Supreme Injustice: demonstrations in the Tea House, more than
the Grassroots Verdict against the High Court.” 60 fine art, craft, & Japan-related exhibits, and
A panel of speakers will explore strategies Japanese food booths. Browse through “Nomito stop the rightwing shift in the courts and no-ichi … a Japanese style flea market” to make
Congress.Saturday, August 25, 7:30pm. Simply a lucky find! This is a unique opportunity to
Sumptuous Summer Dinner, with vegetar- experience some of Japan’s rich cultural heritage.
ian option, available at 6:00pm. Door donation Saturday, Sept. 8 (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.) and Sunday,
$2, dinner donation $10, sliding scale and Sept. 9 (11 a.m. – 5 p.m.) Admission & Parking
work exchange available. New Freeway Hall, are free. Fees apply to some workshops. Bellevue
5018 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle (air conditioned). Community College (BCC), Main Campus, 3000
For more information, rides or childcare, call Landerholm Circle SE, Bellevue. (425) 861-7865.
206-722-6057 or 722-2453. Hosted by Radical www.enma.org.
Women. Everyone welcome. Wheelchair accessible. www.RadicalWomen.org
• First Hill Lions Club’s Sukiyaki Dinner and
Bake Sale will be on from 3 to 7 p.m. at Blaine
Sunday, Sept. 2
Memorial Methodist Church, 3001 24th Ave.
• The 2007 Summer Festival, sponsored by the S., Beacon Hill. Tickets are a $10 donation per
Vietnamese Catholic Church of Seattle, will person. Tickets are available from any First Hill
include a Night of Music on at 6 p.m. at Jumbo Lions Club member or by calling Roger Shimizu,
Restaurant. Featured artists are Khanh Ha, Bang (206) 725-2062.
Kieu, and QuangLe. During this event, we will
also have many valuable items that you can bid Saturday, Sept. 15
Asian Counseling & Referral Service presents:
“Faces of community, Masks of tradition.” A
benefit auction and dinner for ACRS presented
by The Nielsen Company. Sheraton Hotel Grand
Ballroom, 1400 6th Ave. Seattle. $125 advance/
$175 at the door. (206) 695-7551. www.acrs.org/
auction.
Thursday, Sept 20
Buy your tickets now for the Legacy House Moon
Festival Dinner! Don’t miss your chance to enjoy
great food, fun performances, and prizes, while
supporting our senior assisted-living facility
and adult day service program. Legacy House
is the only 100 percent Medicaid facility in the
state that serves a low-income, frail, multi-Asian
senior clientele. Cost: $30. 5 - 7 p.m. Four Seas
Restaurant, 714 S King St.
Saturday, Sept. 22
Denise Louie Education Center 7th Annual Jazz
Night Dinner and Auction at The Fenix (1700
First Ave. S., Seattle). Live jazz from Sonando!
Announcement
Free Vocational Assistance Is Available at Asian
Counseling and Referral Service. Tired of your
dead-end job? Start on a path to a career with
a future by calling (206) 695-7569 to see if you
qualify for free help. ACRS’ Vocational Services
can help Seattle jobseekers get training and
jobs after graduation. Call ACRS or e-mail
[email protected]. Trainings start in September and
space is limited, so call today. A better job and a
brighter future can be yours.
CLASSIFIEDS
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
Administrative Specialist
$17.30 to $19.27/hour
Plus Excellent Benefits
Answer the City of Seattle’s main telephone information number to assist
customers and employees. Greet
walk-in customers, maintain statistics,
and distribute mail. Part-time schedule, 8:00 to 2:30, M-F 30 hours/week.
Requires one year of reception or
telephone operator experience, with
strong Word and Excel skills. Bilingual
skills are highly desirable. For more
information and an Online Application
Form,
visit
www.seattle.gov/jobs
by 8/19/07. The City is an Equal
Opportunity Employer that values
diversity in the workforce.
Out Of School Programs Manager
$4,849 - $7,273/month
Manage the Seattle Parks & Recreation
Department’s role in programs offered
at K-8 and middle schools, including
athletics and transportation. Develop
procedures for scholarship billing and
reimbursement, monitor budgets, and
ensure that programs comply with
service agreements. Promote partnerships with community agencies
and groups to contribute to program
goals, and develop resources to
expand access and improve outcomes. Requires the equivalent of five
years of experience developing and
coordinating recreation and childcare
programs and leading public-private
partnerships, and a bachelor’s degree
in Education, Recreation, or a related
field, with a working knowledge of
license compliance policies for
school-aged care. For more information and an Online Application Form,
visit www.seattle.gov/jobs by 8/26/
07. The City is an Equal Opportunity
Employer that values diversity in the
workforce.
Education: Chinese/Vietnamese
Home Visitor:
12-13.33 hr/+Bene/ 30wks per year;
prior experience with children and
families. Model positive adult/child
interactions with free books/toys.
Liaison to the community. Send
app/resume to Neighborhood House,
905 Spruce St., Seattle, WA 98104.
See website for full job description
www.nhwa.org.
Fam Support Wrkr – Social Services;
FT start $14.38-16.50/hr + excl
bfnts. Case mgt. svcs. To families/
elderly, SE Seattle / White Center,
BA preferred, 1 yr exp Soc Svcs, fluent Vietnamese; Send agency app,
resume, cover ltr to Neighborhood
House, 905 Spruce St., Sea WA 98104
or by email to [email protected] - See
www.nhwa.org/newjobs for full job
desc.
Legislative Assistant
$26.10 to $27.53/hour
Research issues and develop legislation and implementation strategies for
Seattle City Councilmember Richard
Conlin. Communicate with the media,
provide advice on community outreach strategies, and represent the
Councilmember at community meetings. Perform administrative duties,
prepare reports and press releases,
and respond to constituent requests.
Requires three years of related experience, strong communication and
editing skills, and either a relevant
bachelor’s degree or additional experience. Experience with environmental, urban sustainability, or community
development issues is highly desirable. Proficiency with PowerPoint and
Excel is a plus. For more information
and an Online Application Form, visit
www.seattle.gov/jobs by 9/2/07. The
City is an Equal Opportunity Employer
that values diversity in the workforce.
TENANTS UNION EXEC DIRECTOR
Non-profit housing justice org seeks
Director and Membership Organizer.
Resume, letter to siobhan@tenantsunio
n.org. More at www.tenantsunion.org.
WEBSITE AND ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS
The Children’s Alliance is hiring a
website manager and coordinator for
our electronic communications.
Health, dental, and retirement benefits
included. People of color and women
are encouraged to apply.
More at childrensalliance.org.
Are you ready for WaMu? We’re now
hiring for Systems Analyst.
Develops enterprise architecture
strategies and leads implementation. Requires BA/BS in C/S or MIS
+ 1 yr exp for a fin svcs company,
developing enterprise architecture
& strategies for security, enterprise
app integration & SOA, incl: bldg
solutions for data warehousing & BI,
call ctr computer-telephony-integration app’s connecting to backend
mainframe transactional systems.
Position in Seattle, WA includes
competitive salary and outstanding
benefits.
Please
apply
online
at
www.wamu.com/careers referencing job # 437591.
Washington Mutual is an equal
opportunity employer. We embrace
differences, welcome diversity, and
value a culture of respect.
FREELANCERS WANTED
International Examiner seeks
freelance
writers.
Submit
resume/bio and writing samples to [email protected] or
fax (206) 624-3046.
Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007 —— 19
ARE YOU BILLS
IN A STACK?
WANT YOUR LIFE BACK?
GIVE US A CALL
1-877-280-0266
& WE’LL HANDLE IT ALL
DEBT CRISIS!
Consolidation is the key to personal loans,
mortgages, and other financial services. Available
up to $500,000. Low interest.
CALL TOLL FREE:
1-866-779-1942
20 —— Aug. 15 - Sept. 4, 2007

Obama`s Da Bama - The International Examiner

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