Northwest Asian Weekly

Transcription

PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage Paid
Permit No. 746
Seattle, WA
VOL 35 NO 11
MARCH 12 – MARCH 18, 2016
FREE
34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
NEW FACE
OF SCOTUS?
Potential court nominee
Jacqueline Nguyen
inspired by her family
kickass API women
Actors to debut in “Star Wars”
film and upcoming TV shows.
» see 8–9
What is Success?
Publisher Ng mulls over the
definition of success and how
she measures it, in her blog
» see 10
A Legend rises
Life of martial arts master Feihung Wong depicted in “Rise
of the Legend.” See how we
rated the movie.
» see 7
Maid
IN
Japan
Japanese rock
group Band-Maid
to debut overseas
at Sakura-Con
By Emiri Aoki
During an hour-long break,
five tired-looking Japanese girls
logged onto Skype because they
had a press interview with Northwest Asian Weekly. Despite their
fatigue, they answered many
questions in Japanese, patiently
and sincerely, with smiles. Their
soft, kind attitudes during the in-
terview would have made anyone
wonder if they are really the members of a hard rock band — one
whose members dress as maids.
A unique band of five
unique girls
Lead singer Miku Kobato has
liked singing since she was little
see MAID on 16
Don’t scapegoat
Sister of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad
Shah, the senior pilot of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370,
says he’s not to blame.
» see 5
Jacqueline Nguyen
By Sudhin Thanawala
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jacqueline Nguyen knows adversity.
She, her siblings, and their parents fled Vietnam, and the 10-yearold Nguyen spent her first days in
the United States in 1975 in a refugee tent city at Camp Pendleton in
California.
Nguyen, 50, says her parents’
perseverance to provide for their
six children and start a new life in
a foreign country has inspired her
to seize opportunities even when
they may be difficult or new.
Now a federal appeals court judge,
Nguyen may need to summon that
inspiration again if President Barack
see NGUYEN on 14
Obituary
Tek Hong Wong, a quiet
pioneer in the local Asian
Community, passed away on
Feb. 5.
» see 3
Another Stadium?
Our editorial on the proposed
SoDo arena and how it could
affect Chinatown/International
District businesses
» see 11
Community » 2
Calendar » 6
Sudoku » 6
Astrology » 13
Chamber sues over Seattle law letting Uber drivers unionize
By Phuong Le
Associated Press
Photo by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW
SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, on March
3, sued the city of Seattle over a
new law that allows drivers of
ride-hailing companies such as
Uber and Lyft to unionize over
pay and working conditions.
The “unprecedented” ordinance
violates federal antitrust law and
is pre-empted by federal law, the
lawsuit filed in federal court in
Seattle argues. It also says the ordinance illegally allows for-hire
drivers to get together and set rates
and restricts the freedom of independent contractors.
The law “will burden innovation, increase prices, and reduce
see UBER on 11
On March 3, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the City of Seattle over a new law that allows drivers of ridehailing companies to unionize over pay and working conditions. Many of these
drivers are immigrants.
■
412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • [email protected] • [email protected] • www.nwasianweekly.com
asianweekly
northwest
■ names in the news
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication
Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Jiang
LIHI’s Sharon Lee
explores homelessness
solutions in Hawaii
Seattle’s Aaron Balagtas receives
Navy’s Sailor of the Day award
Aaron Balagtas (left) and Capt. Gregory Huffman
Sharon Lee, Low Income Housing Institute executive director, with
Honolulu City Councilmember Joey Manahan (left) and Hawaii Gov.
David Ige.
Vandana Shiva
keynotes
resilience
symposium
On Feb. 25 and 26, scholars
and thought leaders from a
broad range of disciplines
gathered at Pacific Lutheran
University (PLU) to explore
the concept of “resilience”
during the seventh biennial
annual Wang Center Symposium, titled “The Countenance
of Hope: Towards an Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural
Understanding of Resilience.”
The two-day conference was keynoted by award-winning
scholar, anti-globalization author, and environmental activist
Vandana Shiva.
The Wang Center for Global Education, made possible by
a gift from Grace and Peter Wang, is an academic support
unit dedicated to providing faculty, students, and staff with
the resources necessary to a just, healthy, sustainable and
peaceful world at home and abroad. 
Photo from PLU
Last month, Sharon Lee, Low Income Housing
Institute (LIHI) executive director, was invited by
Joey Manahan of the Honolulu City Council to explore
solutions to the homelessness crisis in Honolulu,
including Chinatown and areas around Waikiki.
Religious Program Specialist 3rd Class Aaron Balagtas,
from Seattle, received the Sailor of the Day award from Capt.
Gregory Huffman, commanding officer of the USS John C.
Stennis.
Providing a ready force supporting security and stability in
the Indo-Asia-Pacific, Stennis is operating as part of the Great
Green Fleet on a regularly scheduled 7th fleet deployment. 
Touring cargo containers that were converted into transitional
housing at Sand Island in Honolulu, from left: Honolulu City
Councilmember Carol Fukunaga, Sharon Lee, Kimo Carvalho, and
City Councilmember Joey Manahan.
Lee also met with Gov. David Ige who had declared a
state of emergency due to the large numbers of homeless
people in the Hawaii. There are many homeless families
and individuals coming from Micronesia who end up in
shelters. Many homeless people also set up tents or build
sheds in parks, beaches, fields, and under freeways.
Lee met with elected city, county and state officials
and Waikiki tourism and trade leaders who were interested in LIHI’s experience with offering hygiene services at the Urban Rest Stops, building permanent supportive housing for homeless people, and Seattle’s effort
to create legal tent encampment and tiny houses. 
Obama nominates Sharon Yuan
to key administration post
On Feb. 12, President Barack Obama announced his
intention to nominate Sharon Yuan as a member of the Panel
of Arbitrators of the International Centre for the Settlement of
Investment Disputes.
Yuan is a principal with The
Asia Group, LLC, a position she
has held since 2015. She served
as deputy assistant secretary for
Trade and Investment Policy in the
Office of International Markets and
Development at the Department of
the Treasury from 2009 to 2015, and
Sharon Yuan
concurrently served as executive
secretary and senior coordinator for China Affairs and the
Strategic and Economic Dialogue from 2012 to 2015. 
Bharti Kirchner
releases new novel,
“Goddess of Fire”
Bharti Kirchner’s sixth novel,
“Goddess of Fire,” a literary history,
is now out in hardcover.
Kirchner is also the author of
four cookbooks. Her second, Indian
Inspired (Lowell House), was
selected among top ten cookbooks
of 1993 by USA Today and one
of the best cookbooks of 1993 by
Chicago Tribune.
Prior to becoming a writer, Bharti
worked as a systems engineer for
IBM and as a systems manager for
Bank of America, San Francisco.
She has also worked in Europe
and other continents as a computer
systems consultant. 
Bharti Kirchner
Robert Shimabukuro featured
speaker for Day of Remembrance
On Feb. 18, South Seattle College hosted noted
author and historian Robert
Shimabukuro as the featured speaker for the annual
Day of Remembrance.
This annual event marks
the anniversary that President Franklin D. Roosevelt
authorized the evacua- Robert Shimabukuro addresses the
tion and incarceration of audience during his speech on Feb.
18, at South Seattle College’s Day of
120,000 persons of Japanese Remembrance
ancestry, living on the West
Coast, most of whom were U.S. citizens or legal permanent
residents. The order, known as Executive Order 9066, was
signed on Feb. 19, 1942.
In Washington state alone, nearly 13,000 people of Japanese descent were sent to detention centers while Seattleites
were sent to Camp Minidoka near Hunt, Idaho. 
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South Lake Union ▪ 825 Harrison Street ▪ Seattle, WA 98109
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Photo by Rob Rose Photos
2
34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
3
■ IN MEMORY OF ...
■ world NEWS
Tek Hong Wong Nod to India’s female
(1921–2016)
Tek Hong Wong, a quiet
pioneer in the local Asian
Community, passed away on
Feb. 5. A dedicated family
man, decorated World War
II veteran, and Seattle businessman, his legacy is evident in our community and
through the many different
people’s lives he touched.
He is survived by his
children Rick Wong Andy
Wong, Phillip Wong, Ju- Tek Hong Wong
lie Wong Yuen, and Linda
Wong Abe; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He
is predeceased by his wife Lily Lee Wong
and his daughter Barbara Wong.
Born in China in 1921, Tek Wong emigrated to Seattle at the age of 17, where he
worked with his father at a laundry business and later a neighborhood corner market purchased from Japanese Americans
that were interned because of the war. He
attended Broadway High School and graduated in 1943.
In 1944, he was called to serve in the
U.S. Army and, at boot camp, he met fellow soldier Wing Luke, who became a
lifelong friend. Wong served in a heavy
weapons regiment and earned a Purple
Heart for a gunshot received in the effort
to recapture the Philippines. He completed
his service in Korea until the end of the
war in 1945. Upon leaving the army, both
Wong and Luke attended the University of
Washington under the GI Bill.
After college graduation in 1949, Wong became
partners in a small grocery
store in Queen Anne and
later married in 1951. His
care for the Chinatown
community was evident in
his ensuing business ventures, which included the
Gim Ling Restaurant, the
co-founding of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, and his assistance
to Chinese Family Associations. He had other real
estate and business ventures in Renton, as
well as volunteered at the Renton Senior
Activity Center. He considered his greatest
attachment the Chinatown community.
Wong attended Kent Chinese Alliance
regularly and was baptized at the age of 86.
After moving to Merrill Gardens Retirement
Community on Mercer Island, he became a
member at Marketplace Church in Bellevue.
Over the last two years, Wong had multiple
health challenges, but consistent with every
chapter of his life, Wong was a real fighter.
He maintained a smile that spoke to his optimism, his love for his family, and a care for
the community around him.
A private memorial service will be held
March 19 at Faith Bible Church. 
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory
of Tek may be given to the Marketplace
Church in Bellevue. (marketplacechurch.
onthecity.org/give)
lawmakers highlights
how few there are
By Ashok Sharma
Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP) — What was meant
as a gesture of respect toward women
ended up reminding India that it needed to
improve female representation in politics.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call
for only female lawmakers to address
the Indian parliament on International
Women’s Day included silence — because
there weren’t enough women to speak.
Of 543 elected members in the lower
house, only 62 are women — or just 12
percent. The global average is 22 percent
for women in parliament, according to the
see LAWMAKERS on 15
Japan study: 1/3 of
working women were
sexually harassed
By Yuri Kageyama
Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese government
study has found nearly a third of working
women who responded to a survey
reported being sexually harassed on the
job, such as being subjected to unwanted
physical contact or degrading comments.
The study, released March 1 and the first
of its kind, examined responses from more
than 9,600 women employees, submitted
by mail or online. The response rate was
18 percent. It did not give a margin of error.
Of the respondents, 29 percent said they
had suffered sexual harassment. The most
common type of harassment was having
their appearance or age become the focus
see WOMEN on 15
asianweekly
northwest
4
■ national news
Former U.S. Rep.
Teen from India who
Joseph Cao enters
survived acid attack
Louisiana Senate race finds new life in Ohio
By Kevin McGill
Associated Press
ist in the Vietnamese
community of eastern New Orleans as
the area struggled to
recover after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In a hurricanedelayed election in
2008, he defeated
Jefferson, who would
Former U.S. Rep. Joseph
later go to prison for
Cao
corruption.
Cao’s defeat of the
once-powerful Jefferson in a strongly Democratic district made him a rising star in the
GOP.
So did his compelling life story: As a child,
he fled Vietnam with family members ahead
of the fall of Saigon.
He broke with the party at times to vote
with President Barack Obama. But his
votes against the 2009 economic stimulus
bill and his eventual vote against Obama’s
health care legislation didn’t play well in the
district. Richmond, then a state legislator,
defeated him in 2010 to return the seat to the
Democrats.
Cao’s news release said he is running
“because he believes Louisiana deserves a
Senator who puts delivering for Louisiana
ahead of party politics or political gain.” 
CINCINNATI (AP) — A woman from India
maimed by an acid attack as a 13-year-old
found both medical treatment and a new
family in Ohio.
The 2011 crime in Prerna Gandhi’s
hometown of Rohtak in the Indian state of
Haryana left severe burns over 40 percent of
her body, including the right side of her face.
Gandhi, 18, eventually was accepted for
treatment at Cincinnati’s Shriners Hospital
for Children, a facility whose specialties
include helping burn victims.
During Gandhi’s stay with a host family,
she met a down-the-street neighbor, Graci
Doll, a teen who became her friend and later
persuaded Mount Notre Dame High School
to allow Gandhi to audit classes.
When Gandhi’s host family moved out
of state, Doll insisted she live with her and
Asian American jab
at Oscars reveals
deeper diversity woes
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Chris Christie
nominated his pick to fill a longstanding
vacancy on the state Supreme Court on
Feb. 28, tapping a jurist he nominated four
years ago who never received a confirmation
hearing.
Christie announced Superior Court Judge
David Bauman’s nomination at a statehouse
news conference. He praised Bauman as the
best of a number of judges interviewed for
the vacancy and said he would be the first
Asian American appointed to the state’s high
court, if confirmed by the state Senate.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Another
Republican is joining the U.S. Senate race in
Louisiana.
Former U.S. Rep. Joseph Cao announced
his candidacy March 1 in a news release.
Cao became the nation’s first Vietnamese
American congressman with his unexpected
defeated of a scandal-plagued incumbent
Democrat, William Jefferson, in 2008. Two
years later, he lost the New Orleans-based
seat to another Democrat, Cedric Richmond.
Four other Republicans have announced
plans to compete for the seat on the November
ballot: U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, U.S. Rep.
John Fleming, state Treasurer John Kennedy,
and retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness.
A Democrat, New Orleans lawyer
Caroline Fayard, announced her candidacy
a month ago. Another Democrat, Public
Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, has
not made a formal announcement but has
begun telling news outlets that he will be a
candidate.
The seat is being vacated by David Vitter,
who announced he would not seek re-election
after losing last year’s governor’s race.
Cao, a soft-spoken attorney, first became
known in the New Orleans area as an activ-
By Lynn Elber
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — TV’s “Fresh Off the
Boat” creator Nahnatchka Khan was reveling
in Oscar host Chris Rock’s deft comedic
assault on white-fixated Hollywood. Then
three Asian American kids were brought
onstage for a gag mocking them as ethnic
stereotypes.
“It’s like going on a road trip with your
fun friend, and halfway to Vegas he pulls
over and shoots you in the leg,” Khan said,
recalling her reaction to last weekend’s
ceremony. “It was completely shocking and
just so unnecessary.”
Rock’s skit ignited an outcry from Asian
Americans and others angered by its
stereotyping and, more broadly, frustrated
by how non-black minorities are portrayed
— or ignored — by Hollywood, especially
movie studios.
The response also has illuminated the
gap between Black Americans, who have
made some on-screen gains, and the lagging
progress by other minorities, including Asian
American, Latinos, and American Indians.
Phil Yu, who observes Hollywood as
part of his Angry Asian Man blog, said he
welcomed the #OscarsSoWhite protest
against this year’s all-white slate of acting
nominees. But, as in years past, Yu said he
Chris Rock
Nahnatchka Khan
was struck anew by the greater challenge
Asian Americans face.
“When I watch the Oscars as an Asian
American, I think, ‘It must be kind of nice
to be disappointed that there were roles to
be overlooked.’ I wonder what that feeling is
like, because I can name no Asian Americans
that were in contention,” he said.
That perception is borne out by a
comprehensive study released last month
by the USC Annenberg School for
Communication and Journalism.
At least half of all TV or streamed projects
from September 2014 to August 2015 and
of the 2014 films studied lacked even one
speaking or named Asian or Asian American
character, the study found. By comparison,
22 percent didn’t include any such roles for
Black characters. Of lead characters that
see OSCARS on 13
her parents, Scott and Melissa Doll, who
took Gandhi in to allow her to continue her
treatments in Cincinnati.
“She’s a gift,” Scott Doll told the Cincinnati
Enquirer. “We look at her as a blessing. We
have learned things about the world that we
could never have known without her.”
Acid attacks are common in India, often
aimed at women when men feel jilted or to
settle family disputes.
The day of the attack, Gandhi had
persuaded a friend to let her drive her friend’s
scooter home from a tutoring class with her
on the back. As they were stopped in traffic,
two older boys approached on a motorcycle
and the acid was thrown.
The crime mystified authorities and
see ACID on 12
Gov. Christie nominates
Japanese American judge
for state Supreme Court
By Michael Catalini
Associated Press
Christie called Bauman “exceptionally
qualified.” Baumann, 59, serves as a judge
with superior court in Monmouth County.
He said he was “truly honored” by the
nomination.
The nomination comes as the Republicanled U.S. Senate has vowed not to consider a
U.S. Supreme Court nominee from President
Barack Obama. Christie, whose nominee
faces vetting by a Democrat-led state Senate,
directly addressed the comparison, saying
U.S. lawmakers should do the “right thing”
and consider a nominee.
“It’s the right time for us to move forward
see CHRISTIE on 12
34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
■ WORLD NEWS
5
American tests positive for
Zika virus after Philippine trip
Photo by James Gathany/CDC
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An
American woman who visited the
Philippines in January has tested
positive for the Zika virus in the
United States, the Philippines’ top
health official said March 6.
Health Secretary Janette Garin
said her department was coordinating
with the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to get more
information about the woman and find
out where she stayed during her Jan.
2–28 visit to the Philippines.
The health department’s spokesman,
Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, said that the
Sister says don’t
make missing Flight
370 pilot the fall guy
By Eileen Ng
Associated Press
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)
— Time has not eased the pain for the
family of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the
senior pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight
370. Nearly two years after the plane
disappeared, they must cope not only with
his loss but with the theory that he was to
blame.
Allegations that he was a jihadist, or
suicidal over a marital breakup, or that he
doomed the aircraft in a political protest do
not square with his family’s memories of a
kind, generous and happy man, his eldest
sister said in an exclusive interview with
The Associated Press.
The “rogue pilot” theory has been a
focus of investigations after the Malaysian
government said the plane was deliberately
steered off course, but authorities have
found no evidence linking Zaharie or
his co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, to any
wrongdoing.
“When the search [for the plane] revealed
nothing, they came back to this theory,
but it’s only a theory,” said Zaharie’s
sister Sakinab Shah. “If you have nothing
tangible and nothing by way of evidence,
it’s tantamount to predicting he is guilty
until proven innocent. This sets us back in
the Dark Ages.”
She said it was “very convenient” to
make Zaharie the scapegoat to absolve the
airline from claims or protect the Malaysian
government from possible cover-ups and
U.S. airline manufacturer Boeing from
losing business.
“Please do not judge him based on
theories. … don’t blame him unless there is
evidence. I want to say that [he’s] innocent
until proven guilty. That is the mantra of
modern civilization,” she said.
Zaharie was 53 when the Malaysia
Airlines’ Boeing 777 jet he was piloting
disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014,
with 239 people on board during a flight
from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
A detailed report by an independent
investigation team released a year after
the plane vanished affirmed the family’s
assertion that Zaharie had no known
history of apathy, anxiety, or irritability.
The report said there were no significant
changes in his lifestyle or family stresses.
Zaharie has several bank accounts, two
national trust funds, two houses and three
vehicles but no record of him having a life
insurance policy, it said.
An ongoing search for the plane in the
southern Indian Ocean, where it was
believed to have crashed, has turned up
nothing so far. A flaperon wing part was
found washed ashore on France’s Reunion
Island last July, and American, Australian.
and Malaysian officials said on March 2
that a piece of aircraft debris that washed
ashore in Mozambique also appears to
belong to a 777.
Sakinab said she was excited by the new
finding but didn’t want to give herself false
hope. She noted there was some skepticism
about the latest find, in part because the
piece was not encrusted in barnacles as the
flaperon was.
“I am not 100 percent convinced, but I
am hopeful,” she said.
Sakinab, 72, said in an earlier interview
that her family has come to terms with her
brother’s death. Still, one of her sisters had
to be hospitalized last month after reading
a hoax report that Zaharie had been found
and was being treated in a Taiwan hospital.
“It is a sadness that we have learned
to endure. It is the not knowing that has
inflicted us with pain and with misery,”
Sakinab said. “All along, my siblings and
I have had the notion that he would always
be there to care for us in our old age. …
now two years have gone … we want
closure. We need closure. We seek and we
cry for closure.”
Sitting on a patchwork rug in the middle
of the living hall at her home in a suburb
outside Kuala Lumpur, Sakinab paused
often and spoke haltingly as she tried to
hold back tears. She hadn’t talked to a
see FLIGHT on 12
woman was apparently exhibiting the
symptoms of Zika in the final days of
her stay in the Philippines, but that she
was not diagnosed with the virus until
she returned to the U.S.
Garin said that if it is determined
that the woman was infected in the
Philippines, it would be only the
second Zika case to be reported in the
country, and stressed that there have
been no reports of an outbreak. She
said the public should not be alarmed
but should take steps to prevent
infection, including by destroying all
breeding places of mosquitoes, which
can spread Zika, dengue and other
tropical diseases.
A 15-year-old boy got infected in
Cebu city in the central Philippines in
2012, but recovered fully after three
weeks of rest and treatment, according
to the health department.
Philippine health officials have
advised pregnant women to consider
deferring nonessential travel to Zikahit countries and worked to raise
public awareness on how to fight
infections, including by using insect
repellents and wearing protective
clothing. 
asianweekly
northwest
6
■ COMMUNITY calendar
MARCH
10
12
14
15
Screening and talk
with “Joy of Man’s
Desiring” director
Masakazu Sugita
SIFF Center, Seattle
12 and 6 p.m.
Free Tax Help
Chinese Baptist Church,
Seattle
10 a.m. –3 p.m.
206-725-6363
Forum, Seattle Colleges
Chancellor Search:
Meet Shouan Pan
Seattle Central College,
Siegal Center, Broadway
Performance Hall
Boardroom
10:15 a.m.
seattlecolleges.edu
Chancellor Search:
Meet Shouan Pan
North Seattle College,
Health Sciences & Student
Resources Building, Room
2634A 8:30 a.m.
seattlecolleges.edu
Chancellor Search:
Meet Shouan Pan
South Seattle College,
Olympic Hall, Room 120 1:30 p.m.
seattlecolleges.edu
Webinar: Develop your
English for a career
in government
3–4 p.m.
www.ehlsprogram.org
17
18
19
Community meeting:
On naming of
International
Children’s Park after
Donnie Chin
Bush Hotel Community
Hall, 409 Maynard Ave S,
Suite P6
6:30–8 p.m.
Vietnamese Friendship
Association 2016
Benefit Dinner
Saint Demetrios Hall,
Seattle
6 p.m.
[email protected]
“Virtuosity of
the Soloist in
Performance,”
featuring Wu Han,
Benjamin Beilman,
Kristin Lee, Sean Lee,
Richard O’Neill, and
Nicholas Canellakis
Meany Hall, UW of Seattle
Campus
7:30 p.m.
$40–$45
206-543-4880,
uwworldseries.org
Class: Planting
Windswept/Cascading
Bonsais
Oriental Garden Center,
30650 Pacific Highway S.,
Federal Way
10 a.m.
$75
253-839-1639,
orientalgardencenter.net
APIA Scholarship Fund
Jump Start College
Tour
University of Washington
Bothell
8:15 a.m. –3 p.m.
www.apiasf.org/JumpStart
19
24
25
(ALSO ON MARCH 20)
Awareness Enabled
Life Positioning
Workshop
Nalanda West, 3902
Woodland Park Ave. N.,
Seattle
3/19 at 9:30 a.m. –12:15
p.m.
3/20 at 2–5 p.m.
nalandawest.org/events/
awareness-enabled-life
8th Annual Tomodachi
Luncheon Fundraising
Event
Seattle University, Campion
Ballroom
12–1:30 p.m.
$150/person, $300/couple
[email protected],
206-568-7114, jcccw.org/
tomodachi-luncheon-2016
28
29
31
12th Annual Seattle–
Kobe Female Jazz
Vocalist, live auditions
Jazz Alley, Seattle
6:30–9:30 p.m.
$15/adults, $10/students &
seniors
206-441-9729, jazzalley.
com
Author Bharti
Kirchner discusses
“Goddess of Fire”
Central Library, Level
1, Microsoft Auditorium,
Seattle
7–8:30 p.m.
206-386-4636
Webinar: Develop your
English for a career
in government
12–1 p.m.
www.ehlsprogram.org
(LAST DAY)
“Imprint: Identity
Through Art”
exhibition
The Wing Luke Museum,
Seattle
Wingluke.org
3/26
“Identity Through Art,” the
Wing’s 2016 Dinner and
Auction
The Westin Seattle
5 p.m
$200
wingluke.org/2016auction,
206-623-5124, ext. 106
Navruz 2016: Central
Asian Spring Festival
North Seattle College
4:45–8 p.m.
$25/adult, $15/student,
$5/5+ years, free/kids under
5
seattle-tashkent.org
APRIL
1
(THROUGH APRIL 3)
Japanese literature
public reading,
“People Sitting in
Darkness”
University of Washington,
Penthouse Theatre, Seattle
Fri–Sat, 7:30 p.m., Sun, 2
p.m.
$8–$10
206-543-4880
drama.uw.edu/performances
View the solution on page 15
Assunta Ng
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34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
7
■ at the movies
Martial arts legends shine on big screen
By Andrew Hamlin
You may not know the name Fei-hung Wong (1847–1924),
but if you’re into martial arts movies, you’ve probably seen
some semblance of the legendary hero onscreen.
His story of strength, steadfastness, and loyalty provided
the backbone for Jackie Chan’s two well-known “Drunken
Master” films and also the “Once Upon a Time in China”
film series, starring Jet Li.
Between Hong Kong and mainland China, more than
100 film and TV titles have featured master Wong, some
fairly close to his real life.
“Rise of the Legend,” directed by Roy Chow, isn’t
a straight autobiography, but it emphasizes Wong’s
dedication to those around him, which was something
Wong exemplified.
Within this story, Wong (played by Eddie Peng) emerges
from the corrupt scene along the docks, circa 1868, in
China’s busy port city of Guangzhou. He demonstrates such
ferocity and inventiveness in battle that he’s summoned
before the terrifying Master Lui (Sammo Hung), leader
of the Black Tiger gang. Lui wants Wong on his side. But
Wong’s playing a game behind the scenes, a long con so
complicated that he can’t trust anyone with all the details.
Eddie Peng, a native of Taiwan’s capital city of Taipei,
began film acting in his early 20s. He’s played both martial
arts heroes and romantic leading men. “Rise of the Legend”
allows him to combine the two — appropriately enough,
since Wong, in this film, is many things to many people
and must always be sure to present the right face for the
right occasion. He’s caught between two lovers (played by
Screencap from the "Rise of the Legend" trailer
trained with Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao at the legendary
China Drama Academy, a school for Peking Opera skills
presided over by Yu Jim Yuen. He began appearing in
films at age 9 and has had more than 75 starring roles —
plus directing, producing (he’s a co-producer on “Rise”),
running his own film production company, and starring in
his own American TV series, “Martial Law.” He’s known
for being slightly overweight, but until heart surgery in
2009, that didn’t slow him down on screen.
After leaving the hospital, Hung’s spent more time behind
the camera and often contented himself with smaller parts
in front of it. Here, though, Hung renders Master Lui with a
deft combination of fancy fighting skills (bolstered here and
there with CGI effects) and cold determination. He knows
everything there is to know about the anthill of humanity,
enough to always come out on top. Or so he believes.
Of course, things don’t run smoothly on either side. This
is the collapsing Qing Dynasty, and nothing stays stable
for long. Lui believes he can definitively eliminate all of
his competition, so long as he’s willing to spill unlimited
blood. Wong, the ying to Lui’s yang, wants all corruption
Angelababy and Luodan Wang). He must juggle his Black
Tiger loyalties with his multiple secret missions, always
keeping the ultimate purpose in mind.
Peng comes off as charming, ferocious when necessary,
and, except in battle, just slightly nervous. A deft touch.
Martial arts fans will of course know Sammo Hung, who
see LEGEND on 12
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asianweekly
northwest
8
■ arts & entertainment
P
O
P
A
!
all
things
Asian
in
popular
culture
34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
So over you,
9
Academy
Awards!
And Asian American newcomers
on the big and small screens!
By Vivian Nguyen
tweet about it on your phone that was
also made by these kids.”
And rage-tweet people did. People
were upset that one of the only mentions of Asians in the entire show came
in the form of an overplayed stereotype
on being a model minority and a casual
remark about child labor.
To add insult to injury, these ‘jokes’
came immediately after two South
Asians, in succession, won Oscars in
the documentary categories. Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won the
award for best documentary (short
subject) for “A Girl in the River: The
Price of Forgiveness,” while Asif Kapadia, co-director of “Amy,” won the
best documentary (feature) category.
Additionally, actors Priyanka Chopra,
Lee Byung-hun, and Dev Patel were
presenters during the evening.
One could argue that Rock was being
“equal opportunity” with his ribbing —
he did roast fellow Black celebrities as
well. But with so much of Rock’s race
conversation skewed toward the Black
experience, the lack of representation
from Asians and Latinos in Hollywood
went largely overlooked and this joke
made Asians seem like a cheap prop.
What purpose did the joke even serve
in the greater dialogue of diversity?
The whole bit seriously felt like several
steps in the wrong direction.
With February coming to a close,
we’ve finally reached the holiest of
award shows: the Oscars. Read on to
see what the Academy Awards meant
to Asians and other news in Hollywood this past month.
Asians: the butt of
the joke
Even if you didn’t catch the Academy Awards, there’s a strong chance
you’ve heard about the racist jokes that
went down at this year’s Oscars.
For the annual broadcast, which
aired on Feb. 28, Black comedian
Chris Rock served as host. Rock had
the difficult job of not only hosting,
but also addressing the ongoing controversy of how people of color were
not represented in any of the major
award categories this year. Famous
Black celebrities had boycotted the
Oscars in response.
Rock talked a lot about diversity (or
the lack of it) in Hollywood, but ironically, with little mention of Asians or
Latinos. There was, however, one exception during the evening — when
Rock brought three Asian children
onto the stage that were posing as
“bankers” from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditing firm that certifies all
Oscar votes.
“They sent us their most dedicated,
accurate, and hard working representatives,” said Rock. “Please welcome
Ming Zhu, Bao Ling, and David Moskowitz.” He followed this bit with, “If
anybody’s upset about that joke, just
Kelly Marie Tran cast in
next “Star Wars” film
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was
one of 2015’s biggest smash hits and
has become one of the highest grossing films in history. Even though “The
Force Awakens” is still in theaters, the
production team is already hard at work
on the franchise’s next installment.
“
Even though ‘The Force Awakens’ is still in
theaters, the production team is already hard
at work on the franchise’s next installment.
Several new key cast additions were recently
announced, including that of newcomer Kelly
Marie Tran.”
Several new key cast additions were
recently announced, including that of
newcomer Kelly Marie Tran.
This is a huge deal. It’ll be amazing to
see an Asian American face on the silver screen in one of the most profitable
and popular franchises ever. Little is
known about Tran at the moment except
that she is active in the improv comedy
scene in Southern California. Her current credits include appearances in numerous CollegeHumor digital shorts as
well as small roles on television shows
including “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
The franchise’s next film, “Star Wars:
Episode VIII,” is scheduled for release
December 2017. No word yet on who or
what Tran will play. So, stay tuned!
Television castings for
next season
Actor and comedian Elizabeth Ho
has been cast as one of the leads in
an untitled NBC comedy pilot from
the executive producers of “30 Rock”
and “Parks & Recreation.” Ho is best
known for appearances on the shows
“Melissa & Joey” and “Rake.”
Loosely based on “30 Rock” producer Matt Hubbard’s life, this untitled
NBC project revolves around Andrew
and Josie — a happily married interracial couple whose lives take a turn
when they move closer to Josie’s family in Missouri. Ho will play a “hardchanging woman who has never failed
at anything” opposite actor Chris
Smith, who will play Andrew, a white
and “likeable nerd lawyer,” according
to an online article from Deadline.
Since Josie’s family sounds like they
will play a significant role in the show,
this sounds like a great opportunity for
Asian American series regulars or guest
starring roles in the coming future.
Meanwhile, actor, writer, and comedian Ali Wong has been cast as a series
regular in the ABC comedy pilot “The
Second Fattest Housewife in Westport.” Wong will play Doris, a responsible and hands-on mother who doesn’t
fit in with the other moms on the show.
Wong is currently a staff writer on
“Fresh Off the Boat.” She also has a
one-hour stand-up comedy special
coming out soon on Netflix.
If you weren’t previously familiar
with Wong, get acquainted with the
name now — it sounds like she’s about
to take Hollywood by storm. 
Vivian Nguyen can be reached at
[email protected].
asianweekly
northwest
10
■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG
OPINION
How do you
Define
Success?
Photo by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW
By Assunta Ng
“H
ow did you become successful in the newspaper
business?” asked Sarah Lubitz, a Bellevue College
student who interviewed me for a class project.
To be honest, I don’t consider my business successful. The
more I think about it, the more I feel like I have failed. I flunk
the vision test not just a little — but a lot — I have been completely off base.
In my early publishing days, I was not convinced that the
internet would one day rule the world.
You could defend me by pointing out that I don’t have a technology background. But the truth is, my drive is stronger than my longterm planning skills. Running a newspaper business is demanding
on a daily basis. There is little time for developing strategic plans.
One time, I was on a panel of news executives, discussing about
the changing future of print media. An editor from the Oregonian,
a pioneer in developing digital media in news, demonstrated how a
news page worked and looked on a computer.
“It looks great on the computer screen, but can
you take the computer to the toilet?” I recall stupidly saying. At the time, few knew that wireless
“You can’t say you
was the answer.
So why do students believe that the Northwest
are successful
Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post are sucunless it has been
cessful papers?
A reader once said, “You can’t say you are sucvalidated [by
cessful unless it has been validated [by others].”
That implies that you can’t declare yourself a sucothers].”
cess, only others can — through recognizing that
you have climbed impossible mountains where
others could not.
Master John Leong of Seattle Kung Fu Club said to me, “You are the
only papers [not funded by government] that have their own building.”
Another friend said, “You have no bad debt.”
We own all of our equipments free and clear. A banker taught me
that financing your own is an efficient way to save money, rather
than paying loan interest. Also, we have never filed chapter 11.
Why have none of these aspects of success made me feel that
I have ‘arrived’? Instead, small things have made an impact on
my emotions. Recently in the Chinatown/International District library’s small conference room, I saw a man reading the Seattle
Chinese Post attentively, behind a closed door. Why didn’t he just
sit in the open lobby like the other visitors?
see BLOG on 15
34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
11
OPINION
■ editorial
Make your voice heard regarding proposed
SoDo Arena at public hearing March 15!
Next Tuesday, March 15, there will be a
public meeting at 5:30 at Seattle City Hall
for citizens to chime in on how they feel
about the proposed SoDo Arena, a stadium
from San Francisco developer (but Rainier
Valley-raised) Chris Hansen.
The much-delayed stadium project,
sometimes dubbed the “Sonics Arena” has
been in the works for a number of years
and is part of a larger plan to return an
NBA franchise to Seattle. (A reason cited
for the Sonics relocation to Oklahoma City
was that the KeyArena was too small and
lacked the proper amenities for the Sonics.)
The SoDo Arena would be built near
the International District (ID). (Two
blocks of Occidental, south of the Safeco
Field parking garage, would be vacated.)
We fear that construction of the stadium
■ LETTER
Stereotypes
during Oscars
hardly reflect
Asian Americans
Dear Northwest Asian Weekly,
I read your editorial [last week] regarding
the Oscar joke portraying kids as Asian
accountants [at PricewaterhouseCoopers]. I
did work at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
When I started with the firm a while ago,
there were only two Asians, including me, in
the Seattle office of more than 100 staffs. I was
hardly smarter or more hardworking than other
staff. So, this stereotype is completely wrong.
I believe we, as a community, need to
voice our opinion on this. 
— David Chan, Seattle
would disrupt ID businesses, resulting in
significant losses to the local community,
the effects of which would be long-felt and
far-reaching.
Already, the ID is a ghost town on game
days because street parking is very hard to
come by.
The results of a Port of Seattle survey
has been circulating, which states that
75 percent of Seattle voters oppose city
support for the SoDo Arena. According
to the Port, opposition to the SoDo Arena
was consistent across all geographic areas
of the city and across all demographic
groups.
For us, this is a familiar issue. In 1972,
Seattle Asian Americans loudly protested
the construction of another stadium — the
Kingdome — over fears that game traffic
and rising property values would drive
out what made the International District
unique, it’s residents. This was after the
residents protested the construction of the
freeway, which split the neighborhood in
two.
Over the last few years, local businesses
also bore financial losses because of the
dragging streetcar construction in Chinatown, with some businesses stating that it
was some of the worst years they’ve had.
We urge the developers to consider this
neighborhood in their plans, to protect it
and help ensure its cultural significance is
not diminished.
It’s important for you, our readers, to
go to the public hearing next Tuesday and
articulate your opinions regarding this
arena loudly. It’s important to be heard. 
UBER from 1
quality and services for consumers,” said the chamber, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that represents more than 3 million
businesses.
In December, Seattle became the first city in the U.S. to allow
drivers of taxis, for-hire transportation companies and app-based
ride-hailing services to bargain with their employers, if a majority shows they want to be represented by a union. Drivers would
be represented by nonprofit organizations certified by the city.
A spokeswoman for the Seattle City Attorney said March 3 that
the office is reviewing the complaint and will file a response with
the court.
The bill’s main sponsor, Councilman Mike O’Brien, had said
he wanted to make sure workers had access to good-paying jobs.
He noted that many drivers in Seattle are immigrants who depend
on full-time work, but some make less than minimum wage and
lack basic worker rights, such as sick leave and protection from
retaliation.
The bill passed on an 8–0 vote, and it became law despite the
mayor declining to sign it.
There’s good reason that none of the thousands of other municipalities have tried to authorize collective bargaining by independent contractors, the chamber said about its lawsuit, arguing
that the ordinance violates the National Labor Relations Act and
TAITUNG
“
This ordinance threatens the
ability not just of Seattle, but
of every community across the
country, to grow with and benefit
from our evolving economy.”
— Amanda Eversole
federal anti-trust laws, among others.
“This ordinance threatens the ability not just of Seattle, but of
every community across the country, to grow with and benefit
from our evolving economy,” Amanda Eversole, who is president of the group’s Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation, said in a written statement.
San Francisco-based Lyft and others had urged the mayor and
council to reconsider the measure and listen to those who seek
the flexible economic opportunity the company offers.
An Uber spokeswoman said in a statement that the group’s
lawsuit “raised serious questions not only about whether the city
has run afoul of federal laws, but also about the impact on drivers who rely on ridesharing to earn flexible income.” 
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asianweekly
northwest
12
ACID from 4
Gandhi’s family until eventually police
learned Gandhi’s friend — who was
supposed to be driving
the scooter — was the
intended target. Two
men were sentenced to
life in prison; a female
relative of Gandhi’s
friend who hired them
was sentenced to a
year behind bars.
In India, Gandhi
underwent more than
two dozen skin graft
surgeries. At the
hospital in Cincinnati,
she has gone through
several
additional
procedures, including
surgeries to reduce
rigid neck scarring,
construction of a new
eyebrow and laser
treatment to smooth
burn scars.
“She has matured
a lot just in the short time I’ve known
her,” said pediatric plastic surgeon Ann
Schwentker. “She’s older than her years.
She seems very quiet, but she really has
quite a voice. She has the potential to
make quite a big difference in the world.”
Graci Doll, also 18, said meeting Gandhi
has changed her perspective on life.
“Before I met her, I wasn’t really aware
of what was going on in the world. I didn’t
know about the hardship,” Doll said. “She
has opened my eyes. Now I want to do
something to help the world.”
Gandhi returned to India last summer to
see her family for the first time in two years.
“
CHRISTIE from 4
on this,” Christie said. “It’s the right time to
set an example for Washington, D.C.”
But whether Bauman will get a hearing
in New Jersey is unclear. A spokesman for
Senate President Steve Sweeney said he
was unavailable for comment. Judiciary
Committee chairman state Sen. Nicholas
Scutari also declined to comment.
The current makeup of the seven-member
court includes two Democrat-nominated
justices and four Republican-picked ones.
Judge Mary Catherine Cuff has been
serving temporarily since 2012. She was
appointed to the bench by Gov. Tom Kean,
a Republican.
LEGEND from 7
eliminated, so the people of the docks can
start over fresh.
Two tall orders. And no guarantee
that either of them can be filled. But it’s
fun, and even educational to watch the
immense efforts of these two opposites. 
She has matured a lot just
in the short time I’ve known
her. She’s older than her
years. She seems very
quiet, but she really has
quite a voice. She has the
potential to make quite a
big difference in the world.”
— Ann Schwentker
She returned to the U.S. in December on a
student visa and began taking classes at
the University of Cincinnati’s Blue Ash
campus last month.
“This attack has made me into the
woman I am today, a strong, independent
young woman who wants to make
a difference,” she said at an August
fundraiser for her tuition organized by Dr.
Anisha Singh, a Cincinnati internist who
has made acid attacks a personal cause. 
Christie has clashed with Democrats
over court nominations in the past. In
2014, Christie agreed to re-nominated
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, a Corzine
administration appointee, in exchange for
the Senate confirming Lee Solomon, whom
the governor nominated.
That deal left one vacancy, filled
temporarily by Cuff.
The nomination came just three days after
Christie endorsed Republican presidential
front-runner Donald Trump, who in recent
days has sparred with reporters over the
endorsement of white supremacist and
former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
Christie declined to answer any questions
not related to the nomination. 
“Rise of the Legend” opens Friday,
March 11, at Seattle’s AMC Pacific Place
11 Theater, 600 Pine Street, Pacific Place
Mall. For more information, check local
listings or visit wellgousa.com/theatrical/
rise-of-the-legend.
Andrew Hamlin can be reached at
[email protected].
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FLIGHT from 5
reporter for more than a year and a half. She
shifted through a pile of old photographs of
Zaharie as a teenager, a newly graduated
pilot, a bridegroom.
He was the second-youngest of nine
siblings born to a poor family in northern
Penang state. He had wanted to fly since
childhood and after high school, he
obtained a scholarship to pursue his dream,
Sakinab said. After graduating from an
aviation school in the Philippines, he joined
Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and logged more
than 18,000 flight hours.
Sakinab said Zaharie was his normal,
happy self when she last saw him at a
family dinner two weeks before the flight.
She said he was close to all his siblings and
they often have boisterous gatherings at her
house.
“Zaharie was helpful, obliging, happygo-lucky, good-natured, generous, funloving and the list goes on,” she said.
He often took his siblings to the park to
watch him fly remote-controlled aircraft,
she said. He also built a flight simulator
for his home using three large computer
monitors and other accessories, which had
grabbed attention after the tragedy. Police
seized the simulator for their investigation
but reported nothing suspicious about it.
“Possession of the simulator was linked
to him as suicidal. That is crazy. It’s his
passion for gadgets, and he has the means,”
Sakinab said.
She said Zaharie was an enthusiastic
handyman who posted several YouTube
videos on topics including how to make
air conditioners more efficient, how to
waterproof window panes and how to
repair a refrigerator icemaker. He was also
a competitive home cook who boasted of his
‘nasi briyani’, a rice-based dish prepared
with spices, meat, eggs, and vegetables.
Sakinab said her brother was generous,
often donating clothes and other goods
to poor jungle villages. The two siblings,
along with a few family members, had
planned to go on a one-month road trip
around Italy.
“I want to tell the world that he is a good
fellow. His life is surrounded by love and
he has an unblemished flying record. He
wouldn’t stoop so low as to murder more
than 200 people,” Sakinab said.
Zaharie was a member of the opposition
party headed by jailed political leader
Anwar Ibrahim. Sakinab said he was an
ordinary member and accusations that he
downed the plane to protest Anwar’s jailing
for sodomy just a day before the flight were
“ridiculous.”
“For us, it is a double dose. On top of
losing him, we have to defend him against
all the accusations,” she said.
Sakinab said she and her siblings find
it hard to believe that investigators with
sophisticated equipment have been able
to find no trace of the plane. Flight 370
is believed to be in an area of the Indian
Ocean where the sea floor is a few miles
underwater, making the search effort
especially challenging.
“Nobody seems to know anything. This
is just not possible … They have found
water on Mars and yet they cannot locate
this huge plane,” she said.
The Australian-led search of the
120,000-square-kilometer (46,000-squaremile) area where the plane is believed to be
is expected to be completed in the middle
of the year. Authorities have said the
search, which has cost about $130 million
so far, will not be expanded in the absence
of fresh leads.
“Our biggest fear is that MH370 will go
into oblivion, that it will remain a mystery
forever and we will not get closure,”
Sakinab said. 
34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
■ astrology
13
Advice and predictions for the week of March 12–18
By Sun Lee Chang
Rat — Great results usually don’t just happen by
themselves. It will likely require your input in some
way.
Dragon — There are events swirling that are beyond
your control. Acknowledge that basic truth and focus on
how best to maneuver under the current circumstances.
Monkey — Is someone asking you to stretch yourself
farther than you are willing to go? Be firm on what
you are able to offer.
Ox — No matter how welcomed, big changes take
time to get used to. You will reach a point of comfort,
but it won’t be immediate.
Snake — An unpleasant reminder does not need to be
kept in a visible place. Instead, surround yourself with
items that prompts a more positive response.
Rooster — Avoid taking your old friends for granted in
favor of paying more attention to your newest friends.
Make an effort to schedule some time together.
Tiger — Fulfilling a simple wish may be the hardest
one to come by. There are probably things you can
put in motion now to make it a reality.
Horse — Although you pride yourself on being a
good host, avoid bending over backwards to make an
unwelcome visitor feel as though they can extend their
stay.
Dog — Planning a short getaway in the near future?
Beware of scheduling too many activities that you run
out of time to actually relax.
Rabbit — Quick fixes by their very nature are
temporary. Put some care into thinking of a long-term
solution that fixes the problem.
Pig — As much as you would prefer to be at the
wheel. There are advantages to letting someone else
take the reins when appropriate.
Goat — Did an accidental discovery catch you by
surprise recently? Now that things are out in the open, it
might be an opportunity to start a dialogue on the issue.
What’s your animal sign?
Rat 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 Ox 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 Tiger 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010
Rabbit 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 Dragon 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 Snake 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013
Horse 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 Goat 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 Monkey 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
Rooster 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 Dog 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 Pig 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007
*The year ends on the first new moon of the following year. For those born in January and February, please take care when determining your sign.
OSCARS from 4
were minorities in 100-plus movies, nearly 66 percent were
black and 6.3 percent were Asian.
In the U.S. population, Black Americans are a greater
percentage, 12.3 percent, to about 5 percent for Asians.
But Rock’s attack on the industry’s diversity failures
was fully Black-centric, from one-liners to Black History
Month skits. Then came the tuxedoed Asian American
kids, whom Rock presented as the “dedicated, accurate”
accounting team that tallied Oscar votes, adding, “If
anybody’s upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your
phone, which was also made by these kids.”
Basketball player Jeremy Lin did just that. “Seriously
though, when is this going to change?!? Tired of it being
“cool” and “ok” to bash Asians,” he posted on his Twitter
account.
Rock declined a follow-up interview through his
publicist. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, as well as the ceremony’s producers, did not
respond to requests for comment.
Rock had company at the Oscars. Presenter Sacha Baron
Cohen, in character as Ali G, made a sexually demeaning
crack about “little yellow people.” Despite his pretense
of talking about Minions, the cartoon characters, it was
considered a slap at Asians.
Such humor, especially from the host, made the evening’s
“relentlessly black and white” take on diversity even more
disheartening, said Daniel Mayeda, co-chair of the Asian
Pacific American Media Coalition. To an extent, that dual
focus parallels the movie industry itself.
“There have been significant changes in television. Film
is way behind,” said Mayeda, whose group is part of an
umbrella organization, the Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition,
that’s prodded the TV industry since 2000 to boost
minority hiring and last month announced it was targeting
movie studios to do likewise.
He and other coalition leaders have said the quest for
opportunity should not pit minorities against one another
and that Hollywood must make room for all groups.
But there are specific biases and challenges to overcome,
said Nancy Wang Yuen, a Biola University sociology
professor who conducted a wide range of interviews for her
forthcoming book, “Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors
and Racism.”
“One casting director told me the industry perceives
Asian American actors as inexpressive,” Yuen said. “If this
is the kind of stereotyping against Asian Americans as a
race, then that really disadvantages them from being cast.”
Hollywood has a dismal track record in depicting Asians
and Asian Americans that goes beyond invisibility. Actors
have suffered the further indignity of losing major roles to
white actors, including Luise Rainier as a Chinese peasant
in 1937’s “The Good Earth” and Marlon Brando as a
Japanese interpreter in 1956’s “The Teahouse of the August
Moon.” Rainier won an Oscar.
And the practice hasn’t stopped. In last year’s “Aloha,”
Emma Stone played the half-Asian character Allison Ng, a
casting decision that drew howls of protest.
Constance Yu, who achieved success starring in “Fresh
Off the Boat,” an ABC immigrant family drama, doesn’t
see deliberate discrimination.
“The biggest roadblock I’ve found is not people with
bad intentions,” Yu said. “It’s a lack of imagination about
the type of roles that Asian Americans can play. They
want to include them but they don’t know how, unless as
a stereotype supporting a white man’s story” or an Asian
foreigner.
Jason Lew, whose “The Free People” premiered this year
at the Sundance Film Festival, also called on the industry
to expand its vision.
“A lot of the stories I want to tell are about my people —
the Asian American experience. And I constantly run into,
‘Well, who’s going to be in it?’ It’s a catch-22,” Lew said.
“Who’s going to be in it is my amazing Asian American
cast who are going to have big careers and make money for
you guys, but you have to give them a chance. You have to
start somewhere.” 
AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.
Thank you for recycling
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14
NGUYEN from 1
Obama names her as his pick for the U.S. Supreme
Court, with a bruising partisan battle looming regardless of
the nominee Obama sends to the U.S. Senate. The court is
operating with only eight justices since the death of Justice
Antonin Scalia last month.
Senators confirmed her nomination by Obama to the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2012 by a vote of 91–3,
making her the first Asian American woman to serve as a
federal appellate judge. But her record on the 9th Circuit,
where she has sided with the circuit’s more liberal judges
in several cases, would draw scrutiny from Republicans,
said Arthur Hellman, a law professor at the University of
Pittsburgh and a scholar on the 9th Circuit.
“There’s a very, very consistent pattern that does say
where she stands,” Hellman said.
For example, he cited a 6–5 ruling in 2015 that overturned the Bush administration’s decision to exempt the
Tongass National Forest in Alaska from rules that limited
road construction and timber harvesting in national forests.
In another 6–5 ruling, Nguyen was among the judges
who overturned an Arizona’s man death sentence in 2015
on the grounds that the state wrongly dismissed his posttraumatic stress disorder as a mitigating factor.
The ruling said Arizona’s Supreme Court had been making the same underlying mistake for years, opening the
door to many potential court challenges from Arizona in-
mates sent to death row between the late 1980s and 2006.
The decision brought a sharp dissent from Judge Carlos Bea, who was appointed by President George W. Bush.
Bea said the decision ignored 9th Circuit and U.S. Supreme
Court precedents, brushed aside gruesome crimes and
smeared the Arizona Supreme Court.
Nguyen was a federal judge in California when Obama
nominated her to the 9th Circuit. She had previously
worked as a state judge and a federal prosecutor.
But her work experience had more humble beginnings.
Nguyen has talked about one of her mother’s first jobs
peeling, cutting and packing apples and how she would
help her with the work late into the night. Nguyen also
worked at her family’s doughnut shop in Los Angeles. 
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34 YEARS YOUR VOICE
BLOG from 10
I was tempted to knock his door and ask, “What are you
reading that demands your undivided attention?”
At an event last week, Sandy Sun, owner of China Harbor, came to my seat in the restaurant, and said, “Good job
on Facing East [restaurant story].”
Yoshi Minegishi, a community leader, recently sent me a
note, raving about a Northwest Asian Weekly editorial, underlining parts of it emphatically. I could give you a lot more examples that have brightened my day. Because I savor all these
moments of joy, which so many of you have given me.
Just last week, another community leader Joan Yoshitomi emailed me, “I loved the article in the Weekly about
Denise Morighcui and Tomoko Moriguchi-Matsuno (‘Top
women: Uwajimaya bosses on leadership’).”
When readers say to me, “We trust your stories,” and “You
have been fair and are objective,” and “The information really
helps us,” these comments are worth more than gold to me.
Why Lubitz picked us to interview is because she perceived
us being successfully in more conventional terms. “You have
lots of readers and customers,” she said. “Your papers are well
known (according to her survey) and profitable.”
I could argue against every point she made. We do have
lots of readers, but compared to mainstream media, we are
only a drop in the ocean. Many have never heard of us or
know that we even exist. I don’t feel terrible when people
say, “This is the first time I’ve heard about the Asian Weekly,” despite the fact that we have published for 34 years.
Many have simply said, “I know about the papers, but I don’t
read them.” This shows we have done a poor job of reaching
out or that we don’t have a sufficient number of relevant stories
that inspire certain people to pick up the Asian Weekly.
Two versions of success
Entrepreneurs and professionals should separate their
personal successes from their career achievements. You
have probably heard that some successful people end up
divorced. They could be lousy parents, drunks, or drug addicts — as it’s hard to handle the business stress.
Please allow my self-indulgence for a moment. I consider
my personal success to be greater than my company’s success.
Despite my busy career, I have raise two wonderful, normal, and happy sons. It would make my life miserable if my
kids suffer from depression, as I have seen what it does to my
friends’ families. And yes, they enjoy working with tough
women, a rare quality in many men.
I don’t drive a fancy Mercedes or Lexus. I still love my
messy, dirty Toyota, which I bought 12 years ago. Dressing in
Gucci doesn’t make me feel special. Receiving second-hand
clothes from my mother’s closet actually thrills me because
no one can tell it’s old clothes. If I don’t take her clothes, she
would likely give away her expensive stuff to someone else.
So what are your criteria for personal success? The number
one question is, are you happy with your life and what you do?
If your answer is yes, you have achieved much personal success. Other people have added criteria such as, are you in good
health? Do you feel you are constantly learning and being
challenged in a positive manner? Do you have good friends
and loved ones to share in your success and support you?
Beyond those, having the ability to give back is key. After I graduated from the University of Washington (UW), I
wanted to support my alma mater any way I could. I was fortunate to give back several times more than the scholarships
I received in my junior and senior years at the UW. In addition, I have helped organize three scholarship endowments,
two for the University of Washington and one for Seattle
Colleges. I am so grateful and fortunate that I am in a position to support education for those in need. It is my business
success that propels my personal success.
Keeping the publications going is also my expression of
gratitude to the community. Over the years, the community
has supported the Asian Weekly through thick and thin.
Not many realize my company’s role in nurturing youth and
women of color. But we have over the past decades. Some of my
young staff didn’t know much when they started working for
me. Now, not only are they much smarter than me, they have
wonderful jobs and careers in many fields. And all the young
leaders we have trained through the Northwest Asian Weekly
Foundation’s 20-year-old Summer Youth Leadership Program
are making their marks on the community. Many women of
color in leadership have made their voices heard through our triannual Women of Color Empowered luncheons. For 20 years,
we have opened doors for women of color.
Despite the incredible amount of contributions we have
made to the community over the years, we can’t avoid the
fact that print media is dying. If I fail to secure a future for
the Asian Weekly for the next decade, would anyone still
consider me or the Asian Weekly to be successful?
It may sound like I am sad. On the contrary — this is the
irony. The more odds I am facing, the more fun I have. The
freedom that my company provides, to live the life I want,
is a sign of success for me. This freedom has granted me
constant inspiration to do amazing things.
In the meantime, I am enjoying the suspense and uncertainty in the process of finding solutions for both publications, just like a surfer waiting for the right wave before she
can push herself up. The surfer might fall. That’s the risk
she has and is willing to take. But the exhilaration to see
that wave rushing in is exactly like the opportunities that
my staff seek and fight for each week. It’s rewarding and
interesting to watch. No one can accuse me of not trying.
Although each week is getting harder and harder, miraculously, my people have often steered me toward uncovering opportunities and making the paper interesting
to read. So we will expect the unexpected in this journey
with patience, courage, and a purpose. As Nobel Prize winner Fritjof Nansen said, “The difficult is what takes a little
time. The Impossible is what takes a little longer.” 
Assunta can be reached at [email protected].
KING COUNTY NOTICE TO BIDDERS
Comments about
appearance or age
Unwanted touching
Sexually related
questions
Asked out for meals
and dates
54%
40%
38%
27%
According to a
survey, 29 percent
of Japanese women
said they have
suffered sexual
harassment at work.
Infographic by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW
WOMEN from 3
of conversation, at 54 percent.
The next most common was unwanted touching at 40
percent, followed by sexually related questions at 38 percent.
Twenty-seven percent were asked out for meals and dates.
Japan trails much of the world in achieving gender
equality, ranking 101st among 145 nations and economies
in the World Economic Forum’s study on the “gender
gap,” which measures how fairly women are treated based
on economic, educational, health-based, and political
indicators.
Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made
encouraging women to work and get promoted one of the
pillars of his policies, progress has been gradual.
One big reason behind that effort is that this nation’s
society is aging and the workforce is rapidly shrinking.
LAWMAKERS from 3
Inter-Parliamentary Union
The women who spoke in the assembly March 8 raised
issues including allowing women’s entry into Hindu
temples and better education for girls. They also demanded
renewed effort in passing long-stalled legislation to require
that 33 percent of lawmakers be women.
“Surely, maximum governance also means giving us
women our legitimate due, namely the much-awaited
Women’s Reservation Bill,” opposition Congress party
leader Sonia Gandhi said, chided her colleagues for failing
to push it through since it was first floated in Parliament at
least two decades ago.
The legislation aims to correct some of the social
imbalance between genders, but has been blocked by
powerful socialist groups and political leaders worried that
a female quota system would cost their male-dominated
parties seats.
Women now make up for about 8 percent of leadership
positions in companies hiring 100 people or more.
The March 1 study did not propose any specific measures
for how the situation could be fixed, such as stiffer penalties
for harassment or discrimination.
In many Japanese companies, women are placed on a
different career track from men. They often have parttime jobs, partly because many Japanese men rarely help
out with housework.
The so-called “M-curve” in employment that used to be
so pronounced in the West for women some years ago, in
which they drop out of the workforce to have children then
rejoin later, is still prominent in Japan.
The study also found many complaints of “maternity
harassment,” in which women were bullied into quitting
their jobs when they became pregnant, or were targeted with
suggestions they do so. 
Communist lawmaker K. Sreemathi Teacher sought to
shame her male colleagues by noting that Afghanistan’s
parliament is 28 percent female, even with the Taliban
presenting a constant threat to women.
Her colleague from West Bengal state’s Trinamool
Congress party agreed.
“We don’t want a separate seat in the bus. We want to
drive that bus. We don’t want separate queues. I want to
earn money and pay my taxes,” said Shatabdi Roy.
Meanwhile, Bhavna Gawali from the Hindu nationalist
group Shiv Sena party said male priests were being
ridiculous in holding to the ancient, sexist practice of
barring women from the inner sanctum of the Shani
temple in the western state of Maharashtra. “While we
talk of equality, we can’t go to temples,” she said.
Not all of the women in the assembly were prepared to
speak, but after all those who wanted to speak had taken
their turns, there was enough time left for the Speaker to
ask the men in the house for input on the day’s agenda. 
15
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Solution
asianweekly
northwest
16
and had wanted to pursue a music career.
While she was working in Tokyo at a maid
cafe, where waitresses wear maid outfits,
she decided to start her own band.
She asked her friend Kanami Touno, who
plays the guitar, to join the band. Not only
did Touno say yes, but she also found drummer Akane Hirose and bassist MISA (who
does not reveal her full name professionally).
The four girls formed BAND-MAID in
July 2013 and another vocalist, Saiki Atsumi, joined after about a month because they
thought “twin vocals (two vocalists in one
band) would be cool,” said Kobato.
In August 2013, the group performed for
the first time as an opening act at a concert hosted by the music company they belonged to.
“We were not nervous, but excited and
full of adrenaline. It was so much fun,” Kobato said.
Each member has her own persona and
role in the group. Kobato is an idol, and she
uses the phrase kuruppo, a grammar particle at the end of sentences, which makes
her comments sound cute. In Japanese, the
particle is an onomatopoeia of the way a pigeon cries, and she uses it because her last
name means pigeon. Atsumi’s persona, on
the other hand, is cool and aloof.
“We thought that two vocalists who have
opposite characteristics would make the
group more interesting,” said Kobato.
Drummer Hirose has really energetic and
cheerful characteristics. Guitarist Touno is
ditzy and clumsy. MISA is a drink-lover,
and her stage drink is sometimes alcohol.
Why MAID?
“I had already decided to make a band
featuring a maid before I started looking for
band members,” said Kobato. The members
wear pretty maid outfits, which have different designs matching each member’s characteristics. Also, they call their male fans
masters, female fans princesses, and their
performances as serving.
It may sound really odd, but “we found
this really interesting, and this makes us
unique from the other bands,” said Atsumi.
Unlike in the United States, it is natural
for bands to have their own concepts in Japan. For example, one of the most popular
groups, AKB48, has the concept of ‘idols
fans can meet,’ and the group actively creates opportunities where they are accessible to fans, which includes autograph and
handshake events.
However, even among numerous music
groups in Japan, the concept of BANDMAID is especially unique and differentiates the girls from others.
“We want a big gap between how we look
and how we perform in order to be unique,”
said Kobato. The band plays hard rock.
Their strong vocals and powerful drumming contrast their sweet and cute appearance, which has attracted many fans.
However, this contrast was not set at the
beginning.
“At first, we were more like a pop-rock
music group,” said Kobato. “But when we
recorded the song ‘Thrill’ from our first album, which is more like hard rock, we felt
that this style would go best with us. We
found a way to be unique.”
Using SNS to get fans around
the world
While they are now becoming popular,
BAND-MAID started with just a few fans.
They were especially discouraged by their
first headlining concert in 2013. Because
of the heaviest snowfall in years, even the
number of fans they had at the time couldn’t
make it to the concert hall.
“It was kind of funny that we performed in
an almost empty hall,” Kobato said, laughing.
In order to gain fans both inside and outside of Japan, they have been actively using
Photo by Shigo Tamai
MAID from 1
BAND-MAID performs in Japan.
social networking services (SNS), such as
Twitter and Facebook, to reach fans around
the world. “We have been trying to tweet in
English,” said Kobato.
They also post their music videos on
YouTube and Facebook as soon as possible,
which has helped them get reactions and
comments from people from many countries. Last year, after they posted the music
video of “Thrill” on Facebook, the video
earned more than 2 million plays in a week.
The controversial concept
Although they have enthusiastic fans, their
odd concept, unsurprisingly, has been controversial. Some people think that the members are dressed too sexually, that they portray overly sexualized young women. Others
think that the members’ servile behaviors,
including how they address their fans, are uncomfortable or even unacceptable.
Thomas Fotheringham, an American
college student, said, “It makes me think
of a strange otaku (a zealous fan of anime
or manga, usually male) who has a wall of
manga and a wall of posters, who wants to
be called a master.”
When asked for more details, Fotheringham said, “It is kind of surprising that they
are accepted by people in the U.S. Since we
have history of slavery, I don’t think it is
appropriate to call someone a master here.”
Another American student, Taylor Allred, is also critical of the band’s concept.
“BAND-MAID seems really ‘Japanese.’ I
remember someone explaining maid cafes
to me and [me] thinking, ‘What?’ It seems
like there are a lot of people in Japan who
find the whole maid thing to be really cute
and attractive. I see why, but it is definitely
weird and a little demeaning.”
BAND-MAID’s fans, however, seem
to enjoy their monikers. “Many fans become happy when we call them masters on
SNS,” said Kobato. Some of the fans have
left tweets saying that they are looking forward to hearing the word directly from the
BAND-MAID members at Sakura-Con, an
anime convention running March 25–27.
The best place to debut?
Sakura-Con is an annual anime convention held in Seattle. It is the oldest and most
well- attended anime convention in the
Pacific Northwest. More than 23,000 individuals attended last year.
“Last year at Sakura-Con, I ended up
meeting many people from different places,
including Colorado, Canada, and even Ja-
pan,” said Fotheringham.
This year is its 19th year. There are a
variety of amusements, including gaming,
cosplay, cultural panels, dances, concerts,
industry guests, anime theaters, and more
than 100,000 square feet of exhibits hall.
Sakura-Con is BAND-MAID’s very first
concert outside of Japan. They are also
planning to perform a headlining concert
in London this May.
They are excited to perform overseas.
“We found that comments and tweets from
foreign fans are more enthusiastic and
high-tension compared to ones from Japa-
nese fans,” said Atsumi. Some of the members are into anime, so they are also excited
about booths and panels at the convention.
“Through this concert, we want to be
bigger,” said Touno. “Our goal is to conquer
the world.” 
For more information about Sakura-Con,
visit sakuracon.org/ or e-mail info@
sakuracon.org. For more information on
BAND-MAID, visit bandmaid.tokyo.
Emiri Aoki can be reached at info@
nwasianweekly.com.

Northwest Asian Weekly

Transcription

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