OCA - Orange County Chapter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUGUST 30, 2007

CONTACT:  CHRISTINE CHEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 202-223-9170

APIAVOTE URGES RESPONSIBLE REPORTING IN COVERAGE OF ASIAN AMERICANS AND THE POLITICAL PROCESS

Washington, DC - Leaders of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), a nonpartisan nonprofit civic engagement organization, today urged media outlets to examine how their ongoing coverage of allegations involving political campaign donations by individuals of Asian descent may  wrongly generalize the civic engagement of Asian Americans in the political  process.

“An accumulation of stories focusing only on allegations involving donors of Asian descent creates an incomplete picture of Asian American civic involvement by neglecting to report on the overwhelmingly positive impact by Asian Americans in the political process,” stated Vida Benavides, Chair of APIAVote.

“Prominent Asian Americans have in the past been subjected  to generalizations in media coverage, such as Olympic athlete Michelle  Kwan being identified in headlines as a foreigner, which is indicative of  the ongoing struggle by many Asian Americans to dispel the myth that we are a homogenous group of outsiders to lawful campaign activity,” said Eunsook Lee, APIAVote Board Member.

Asian Americans who donated to political candidates are exercising their right to participate in the electoral process. In 2004 it is estimated that Asian Americans raised and lawfully donated more than $6 million to local, state and federal candidates.

Gloria Caoile, APIAVote Board Member, urges the media to “report also upon the positive advancements that the Asian Pacific Islander American community has made over the last several election cycles and about the critical role this electorate will play in 2008 as potential swing voters in many jurisdictions nationwide.”

Taeku Lee, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, wrote in an article published in 2000 that the media should not “racialize the issue of  campaign contributions” by routinely representing “Asian Americans as  homogeneous, voiceless, perpetual foreigners, and as Yellow Peril. Such media coverage surely feeds into the widespread myth and misconception about  the political legitimacy and activism of Asian Americans.”

###

The Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) is a national non-partisan, nonprofit organization that encourages and promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Islander Americans in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels.

Christine Chen, Executive Director
1666 K Street NW, Suite 440
Washington, D.C. 20006
TEL: (202) 223-9170
info@apiavote.org

When: Sept 29 (Sat: 3-5pm)
Where: Cerritos Library (3rd Floor Skyline Room) 18025 Bloomfield Avenue, Cerritos, CA
What: Higher Education Legislations Affecting APIs and the College Cost Reduction Act
Speaker Bio:  Dr. Howard Wang will speak on recent Higher Education legislations affecting Asian Pacific Islanders and the College Cost Reduction Act.  Dr. Howard Wang, is the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Acting Executive Director, Student Health and Counseling Center, Acting Director, Student Affairs Research Center California State University, Fullerton.  He has been a member of the Asia Pacific Student Services Association (APSSA) since 1998 and regularly presented papers and served as a panelist at APSSA’s international conferences.

The Honorable

Judy Chu, Ph.D., Vice Chair, state Board of Equalization

and The Honorable

TED W. LIEU, ASSEMBYMEMBER, 53RD DISTRICT

Cordially invite you to a

FREE SMALL BUSINESS SEMINAR

In Redondo Beach

Said Chu, “It is important to encourage entrepreneurship and provide businesses with the resources they need and deserve. This seminar will provide small business owners with the knowledge and tools necessary to continue working to build a strong and healthy financial future for our state.”

Representatives from the State Board of Equalization, Employment Development Department, Internal Revenue Service and the Los Angeles County Bad Check Restitution Program will give presentations on sales and use tax compliance issues, record keeping, business expenses, payroll reporting requirements and recovering restitution on bad checks.

Attendees are able to have their questions about tax laws and regulations answered by the experts.

This event is FREE for everyone to attend.

Date: Thursday, September 6, 2007
Time: 7-9pm

Location:
Alta Vista Community Center
715 Julia Avenue
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

To RSVP:
E-mail: Intern1@boe.ca.gov
Call: (323) 980-1221
Fax: (323) 980-1236

Flyer: redondo-lowres_flyer.pdf
Registration: redondo-fax-reg.pdf

Buses in Taiwan switch from requiring payment when you enter the bus to requiring it when you exit the bus. There’s a little sign that says which one it is at the particular time. But either way, you only have to pay once. However, sometimes it will switch mid-route, so some unlucky people who paid when they got on the bus end up having to pay again when they get off. Keep this in mind.

It’s not Father’s or Mother’s Day, but I was writing in my journal when I suddenly came to a great appreciation of Asian American parents. Here’s why.

The American Way

In many modern European and American cultures, parents are considered as having a responsibility to their children. They are expected to provide for them without any real expectations of direct repayment. In return, those children are expected to provide for their own children when they have them, which is tolerable because the new parents were provided for when they were younger, and they aren’t expected to repay their own parents. In this sense, children are a sort of a task that is completed when they leave home, and then the parent is no longer obligated to do anything. This is how the cycle goes. Gifts move down generations.

(old X supports young Y and then supports old self; old Y supports young Z and then supports old self) = (Y generation gives support twice and receives support twice)

The Asian Way

But in most Asian cultures, it’s the opposite. Children are considered as having a responsibility to their parents. The parents work hard to raise the children and pay for them when they are little, and it is expected that the children will grow up to support the parents in their old age. They are culturally obligated to do so. It’s a lot of pressure to be expected to directly repay your parents for raising you, but it’s tolerable because the children know that they will have their own children to provide for them later. In this sense, children are sort of an investment for the future. Gifts move up generations.

(X supports both young Y and old W; old Y supports young Z and old X, old Z supports young a and old Y) = (Y generation gives support twice and receives support twice)

The Asian American Way?

This is where the Asian American parents come in. They make the move to America, and not only are they changing locations, they are also changing paradigms of parenting and generational responsibility. They were most likely raised in a family and society espousing the Asian cycle of gifts moving up generations, but their children will be raised in a society (if not family) that espouses the American/European cycle of gifts moving downwards. So while the immigrant parents were raised with all the pressure of having to repay their Asian parents, their Asian American children often do not feel the cultural obligation to repay their immigrant parents. Or more often than not, the Asian American children feel the pressure to repay their parents and resent it, because according to their American worldview, children shouldn’t be expected to do this. The immigrant parents have to pay both when they get on the bus and when they get off. They support their parents with the incentive and expectation that they will be supported by their own children, but their children end up feeling bitter because their culture doesn’t hold the same values. The cycle of generational responsibility is reversed, and the immigrant parents are the fulcrum.

(old X supports both young Y and old W; old Y supports both old Z and young X; old Z supports young a and old self) = (Y generation, the immigrant parents, gives support twice but only receives support ONCE)

I feel like this causes many conflicts within Asian American families because the older generation feels cheated out of what they deserve, the right that they’ve earned by receiving and complying with pressure from their own parents. The younger generation, on the other hand, feels like they are receiving unfair pressure. I think understanding this can help both children and parents see from the other’s perspective. I’m not saying that any side is right or wrong, but understanding is one of the first steps towards peace.

The de Sosa Way

This isn’t strictly an Asian thing though. One of the reasons I am incredibly thankful for my father is that he also broke the cycle for us, his children. He’s paying twice on the bus. He spent tens of thousands of dollars paying his own way through college because his dad wouldn’t pay, and then he spent hundreds of thousands paying for ours. He expects no direct repayment, only that I do the same for my children. Because of his sacrifice, I’ve had the freedom to wander for the past year and a half instead of immediately having to find a job and start repaying student loans. I’ve finally found my direction, and I have him to thank. But he wouldn’t let me support him in his old age if I tried. No matter what, I will do the same for my own children.

(note: the generational cycle thing isn’t so much a product of Asian or European cultures. It has more to do with modernization and urbanization. In primarily rural cultures, family groups are larger and the old are more likely to live with the younger generations. I think America faced issues similar to these in the early 20th century, although it was easier for us because of America’s traditional emphasis on freedom and individuality. I believe the ideals are changing more slowly over the course of Asian urbanization because Confucian values support the upward generational cycle)

Timbo de Sosa has a B.A. in Chinese Language and Literature from the University of California, Irvine. He is currently working in Taipei.

Anti Trafficking Conference

Chapman University
Benefit Dinner: Friday, August 24, 2007, 6:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.
Anaheim Plaza Hotel: 1700 S. Harbor Anaheim, CA 92802
Day Conference: Saturday, August 25, 2007, 8:30 a.m.—5:00 p.m.
One University Drive Orange, CA 92688

Awareness Training: Human Trafficking in Orange County

Seminar & Workshops
• Role of Law Enforcement
• Services for Victims/Survivors,
• Public Policy on Human Rights.
• Action for Anti Human Trafficking

Awareness Training: Human Trafficking in Orange County flyer

Asian-American Youth Venture Into Cal Politics - NAM
SACRAMENTO — Jessica Zou’s parents want her to go to school, get good grades, find a high-paying job and avoid causing trouble — like getting into politics.

“Culturally, most Asians in my generation are taught to not cause trouble, that is to say, not ‘stir things up,’” says Zou, 19, a junior at the University of California, Irvine. “I think this is partially because, coming from our parents’ generation, politics can end up in riots, chaos and even death.”

After seeing the violence at Tiananmen Square in 1989, Zou said her parents decided to emigrate from China to the United States, where they thought she could live a peaceful life.

But political advocacy organizations are actively trying to dispel that notion and encourage young Asian Americans like Zou, an intern at California Assemblyman Ted Lieu’s office, to participate in politics.

In recent years, several Asian Americans have risen to prominent political positions, such as U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. Californians have also elected several Asian and Pacific Islanders to state legislative office, including Sen. Leland Yee, Assemblymen Mike Eng and Van Tran, and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. But despite increasing leadership in this community, Asian Americans make up less than 10 percent of the California legislature even though they are 13 percent of the population.