OCA - Orange County Chapter

In 2007, OCA-OC coordinated and sponsored events that are as diverse as its members in Orange County and surrounding areas. In January, we sponsored the Asian Film Night at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) and screened a documentary series titled Chinese Restaurants: Latin Passions. The documentary tells the story of the Chinese diaspora through its most recognizable and enduring icon - the family-run Chinese restaurant. Filmmaker Cheuk Kwan visits Latin American cities of Lima, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires encountering restaurant owners enthralled in their passion for cooking, soccer and tango. Together, these stories illustrate the wider story of Chinese migration, settlement and integration and celebrate the resilience and complexity of the Chinese diaspora. They highlight the fluidity and highly personal nature of identity, and the human impulse to find passions in life.

In February, the OC Chapter hosted an Open House at Kantina restaurant in Newport Beach where the 2007 board members and officers were introduced: Betty Chu (President), Vicki Ta (Vice President), Alex Quong (Secretary), Amy Wang (Director of Publicity), Natalia Yamashiro (Treasurer), Jhemon Lee, (Board Advisor and Past President) and Officers Derek Lai and Eileen Tao. Another one of our most dedicated board members, Albert Wong, relocated to Sacramento but continues to volunteer his time virtually and we are grateful to have his help. Later in the month, OCA-OC joined other leaders of API Organizations (Asian Business Association of Los Angeles; Asian Business League; Asian Professional Exchange; Taiwanese American Professionals) at the Community Night at the Clippers event.

OCA-OC celebrated the Chinese New Year at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana co-sponsored by the Chinese Cultural Arts Council. Members visited the museum’s newest exhibit “Treasures from Shanghai: 500 Years of Chinese Art and Culture” followed by lunch with Author Oliver Chin at Tangata Restaurant. Oliver Chin is the author of “The Tao of Yao: Insights from Basketball’s Brightest Big Man,” and the graphic novel “9 of 1: A Window to the World.”

On March 29, OCA-OC hosted an Immigration Dinner Talk with a brief overview of immigration history by its President and immigration attorney Betty Chu — From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to the USA Patriot Act post 9/11 – followed by Attorney Tammy Peng of Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) on how U.S. immigration policies affect our community. The dinner talk opened up a community discussion on empowering Asian Pacific Americans through the naturalization process and the importance of the right to vote.
In April, OCA-OC assisted with the APIA–U: Leadership 101 program at CSUF focusing on the development of leadership and organizational skills that are relevant to APIA campuses and communities. During the day, college students are involved in hands-on exercises, small group discussions, and at the end of the day, OCA-OC volunteer mentors mingled with the students to provide networking opportunities. More than 25 volunteer mentors donated their time to help make this event a success! Later in the month, OCA-OC hosted a Coffee Talk on the topic of “Generational Conflict” at Panera Bakery-Cafe in La Mirada.
On May 3, OCA-OC and UC Irvine’s Asian Pacific Student Association (APSA) co-sponsored a community dialogue following the tragic incident at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007 where a student of Asian descent, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and wounded 25 before committing suicide, making the incident the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.
Our panel of speakers included UCI Professor and Faculty Advisor Dr. Linda Vo, CSUF Professor Dr. Fujita-Roney, Campus Police Officer R. Chiu, APSA Student Chair Narinda Heng, and Staff Psychologist Jonathan Flojo. The purpose of the community event was to allow students, professors, community members to continue the dialogue about what positive changes we can make as individuals to ensure that we get counseling and help before it is too late. From this event, we were able to recruit our newest OCA-OC officer, Ellen Lu, who was instrumental for coordinating the forum through UCI’s government and community relations.
During the first weekend in May, OCA-OC and Greater LA co-presented an independent film at the Asian American Film Fest Directors Guild Association in celebration of Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month—a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. AMERICAN FUSION (USA, 2005) is a romantic comedy about a Chinese American family’s misadventures, and the dutiful daughter (Sylvia Chang), who struggles to keep her family together and still finds time to fall in love with her dentist (Esai Morales).
During the summer months, OCA-OC planned events that are more social in nature and allow collaboration with other community groups. On June 20, OCA-OC along with other community groups and East West Players co-sponsored “YELLOWFACE” at the Mark Taper Forum. The play “Yellow Face,” was written by acclaimed Asian American author David Henry Hwang. This evening brought together the following community supporters: Asian Professional Exchange, (H)API Hour, LAFun, OCA-GLA, Taiwanese American Professionals, and Young Generation Asian Professionals.

On July 7 OCA-OC & JACL members of San Fernando met up for dinner at Palms Thai restaurant in Hollywood before heading over to the Ivar Theatre for a comedy show about race, stereotypes, and empowerment. The comedy entitled N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK (N*W*C*) finds the absurdities in the complex issues surrounding race relations in modern America by mining new ground the intersections of cultures. The laugh-out-loud comedy traces the impact these derogatory terms had on the three tour-de force performers through real-life stories and send-ups of American icons.

On July 26 OCA-OC co-sponsored the 5th Summer Mixer in Orange County at the Doubletree Irvine Spectrum with Hong Kong Association Irvine Chamber of Commerce. Later in the month, OCA-OC planned a wine tasting event at the Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Niguel. The Loft is the resort’s popular casual gourmet restaurant complete with panoramic ocean views. Members enjoyed a nice Sunday afternoon getting to know one another over wine and cheese. At the end of August, OCA-OC and Hing Wa Lee Jewelers (Irvine) co-presented a Social Mixer/Speaker Event on “Entrepreneurship and Marketing to the Asian Americans in the Luxury Goods industry”

This fall, OCA-Orange County Chapter will be participating in the Orange County Race for the Cure® on September 23, 2007 to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The event will take place at Newport Beach. Last year, Teams alone raised over $1 million for the fight against breast cancer, and together, we can make that total even higher this year!

On September 29, OCA-OC will sponsor a community event at the Cerritos Library’s Skyline Room (3-5pm). Our keynote speaker is one of our OCA-OC members, Dr. Howard Wang. He 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. 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.

In October, OCA-OC will be host another Open House to recruit new members and officers for the next year!

Until then, enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

Warm Regards,
Betty Chu
President of OCA-OC
www.oca-oc.org