VOL 39 NO 1 JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA

VOL 39 NO 1 JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020 FREE 38 YEARS YOUR VOICE

Most memorable images of 2019

The Pike Place Market’s Golden Pig makes a trek across Seattle’s Chinatown. (Photo by George Liu)

Snowstorm in the ID (Photo by George Liu)

Andrew Yang at Gas Works Park (Photo by John Liu)

Jeremy Lin (Screencap from YouTube video) Co-champions of the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. From left: Shruthika Padhy, 13, of Cherry Hill, N.J., Erin Howard, 14, of Huntsville, Ala., Rishik Gandhasri, 13, of San Jose, Calif., Christopher Serrao, 13, of Whitehouse Station, N.J., Saketh Sundar, 13, of Clarksville, Md., Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Dallas, Texas, Rohan Raja, 13, of Irving, Texas, and Abhijay Kodali, 12, of Flower Mound, Texas. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Spread of dishes at Momosan Seattle (Photo provided by Momosan)

Compiled by Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY There has been no shortage of big news in the Asian and Asian American community in 2019.

The Northwest Asian Weekly assembled a selection of

Hong Kong protest (Photo by Jason Liu)

Gary Locke and Andrew Yang embracing at a Dec. 16 fundraiser in downtown Seattle. (Photo by Angelie Chong)

the most memorable images that graced our pages.

Here’s our list, arranged by date of occurrence.

Organizers need someone to take ownership

Nora Chan broke down in tears as she spoke of an ambitious project she kicked off a year ago.

“When I think of the seniors who gave me money, the cash was still warm because it just came out of their pocket… even two dollars touched my heart, so much more than thousands of dollars, because I know that’s how much they care.”

■

of the Year of the Pig. She’s the sister of the famous Rachel at Pike Place Market, and was created by artist Deng Zuolie, owner of Deng Studio.

JANUARY: “Ju Ju,” or Golden Pearl, the Chinese Art Pig ventured into Chinatown in January, in celebration

Chinatown CCTV project at a standstill

By Ruth Bayang NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Veterans honored at the Dec. 2 Seahawks game. From left (seated): Lip Mar, Bill Chin, Cal Fung, JB Chin, Tommy Lew, and Gene Moy. From left (standing): Seattle Asst. Police Chief Steve Hirjak, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, Seattle Senior Deputy Mayor Mike Fong, and Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scroggins. (Photo by Jason Cruz)

“I don’t know what I’m going to do if we cannot find someone to help us,” said Chan.

She’s referring to the Seattle Chinatown Public Safety CCTV Community Project, which Chan announced at the beginning of 2019.

The goal of the project was to have cameras that provided 100 percent coverage of all outdoor areas in Chinatown, including alleys with night vision closedsee CCTV on 3

see MEMORABLE on 13

Former Microsoft executive Scott Oki challenges himself to write haiku  7

Recalling notable AAPIs who died in the last decade  8

A clear enough mind to know I was insulted  9

The best and worst of 2019  10

412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • editor@nwasianweekly.com • ads@nwasianweekly.com • www.nwasianweekly.com

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38 YEARS

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

■ NAMES IN THE NEWS

Photo provided by Debadutta Dash

Nepal Development Consortium

Eun Sun Kim

From left: Habib Habib, State Sen. Bob Hasegawa, Mohan Gurung, Jim McDermott, Debadutta Dash, and Murthy Kalkura.

In the first meeting of the Nepal Development Consortium, held in Seattle on Dec. 17, the members unanimously agreed to build Nepal’s infrastructure for tourism, clean energy, and a sustainable environment.

At the meeting, chaired by former Congressman Jim McDermott, the Consortium decided to send one of its members—leadership development coach Murthy Kalkura—to Nepal in January to study the business climate and to meet Nepal CEOs and stakeholders as possible partners.

Other members of the Consortium include State Sen. Bob Hasegawa, Debadutta Dash, and Habib Habib.

This initiative was a follow-up to the recent Washington state visit by the Chief Minister of Gandaki Province, Prithvi Subba Gurung, and the state attorney general Rajendra Ghimire. 

Champion of Equal Education Rights Award to Holly Ham

On Dec. 19, the Asian American Coalition for

Education (AACE) awarded Holly Ham, former executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI), with the “Champion of Equal Education Rights” award.

Ham has dedicated her career in both the public and nonprofit sectors to increasing democratic representation of Asian Americans and the community’s common welfare.

As executive director of WHIAAPI, Ham played a key role in facilitating the advancement of AACE’s policy recommendations and other concerns to the federal government under the Trump administration.

Yukong Zhao, the president of AACE, called Ham is “an outstanding leader.” 

First Asian and woman music director at San Francisco Opera

Eun Sun Kim, has been named the San Francisco Opera’s next music director. The South Korean conductor will be just the fourth person to occupy the position in the company’s nearly 100-year history, and the only Asian woman to hold an artistic leadership role with a major North American opera company.

Born in Seoul, Kim began her musical life as a pianist, but switched to composing after finding piano

no age limit!

performance too nerve-racking. She originally took up conducting as a way to prepare for the possibility of having to conduct her own works and found it suited her.

She made her U.S. operatic debut just two years ago, leading Verdi’s “La Traviata” at the Houston Grand Opera. 

Pho Bac boat reopens

Seattle’s iconic Pho Bac boat-shaped restaurant— closed for renovations since November 2018— was set to reopen on Jan. 1, 2020.

The kitchen and interior were upgraded with a full bar at the nautical dining landmark on 1314 South Jackson Street.

But the diner atmosphere remains intact.

In addition to the signature pho, owner Yenvy Pham said the menu will have beef rib bun bo hue. 

Presented by

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2020 LUNAR NEW YEAR COSTUME CONTEST Contestants’ attire should be culturally relevant to the Lunar New Year Celebration

Please submit completed application through one of the following methods: Mail: Northwest Asian Weekly Lunar New Year Costume Contest 412 Maynard Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98104 Name: ____________________________________________________

School Name: _________________________________Age: ________ Profession: ________________________________________________ Phone: ____________________________________________________ E-mail: ____________________________________________________

Please send your photo of entry by February 1, 2020 to rsvp@nwasianweekly.com.

Contestants must adhere to all rules and regulations. Contest officials will remove any contestant failing to cooperate with officials or failing to comply with the rules and regulations. If you have any questions, please contact Northwest Asian Weekly at 206.223.5559 or via email at rsvp@nwasianweekly.com.

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Costume Parade Schedule: • 11 AM — Registration • 12:30 PM — Line up • 1 PM — Parade begins • 1:30 PM — Parade winners announced • Start from Northwest Asian Weekly’s front door, march to main stage • Contestants must be present at the announcement of finalists (1:30 PM).

• Finalists will be lined up in numerical order.

• The first 20 registered will get a gift.

Registration/Sign-Up: • You may pre-register for the contest by filling out this application and sending it in or

sign-up on the day of the contest (Saturday, February 8) beginning at 11 a.m. at the registration table. Registration table will be located in front of Seattle Chinese Post/ Northwest Asian Weekly – 412 Maynard Ave S. • Contestants must sign-in at the registration table 30 minutes prior to parade.

Rules/Guidelines: • Adults & children are welcome to participate • Parents are welcome to accompany their children during the Parade • All contestants will be given a contestant number for order of Parade lineup • Contestants must be present to win

Photo from Pho Bac’s Instagram

Holly Ham (left)

YOUR VOICE

■ COMMUNITY NEWS

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

CCTV from 1 circuit television (CCTV), to reduce crime, increase resident safety, and improve the business environment in Chinatown.

The issue isn’t money. It’s that no organization is willing to take ownership of the cameras.

“We have already raised $175,000, which is enough for phase 1 of the project,” said Chan.

She spearheaded the effort a decade ago to install cameras in Chinatown and at the time, Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA) managed and monitored the footage.

“BIA had good people, and so did SCIDpda. But those people are gone now.”

Chan said the cameras installed in 2011 are now outdated or no longer working. She is the founder of Seniors in Action Foundation (SIAF), a nonprofit which provides help to seniors living in the Chinatown-International District. Public safety is not within her purview.

But it is within the BIA’s.

On its website, the BIA states that its mission is to “ensure a clean and welcoming district and together with our partners, advocate for an increase in public safety and a healthy environment for businesses and the community.”

Steve Locke, a SIAF volunteer and supporter of the CCTV project, said the local nonprofits are not doing their job.

“The nonprofits are collecting money from the ratepayers. I am being assessed twice a year and those rates are doubling… the job of the BIA is to foster healthy business growth so this can be a thriving area.”

Locke is livid.

“What the city is doing is taking our money and the organization (BIA) that has been assigned to work on behalf of businesses is not addressing the key requirement and the most pressing need.”

In a statement to the Northwest Asian Weekly, Monisha Singh, the executive director of the CIDBIA said, “The CCTV project is one av-

with the Chinatown-International District are encouraged to apply.

Applicants must be Seattle residents. If interested, send a letter of interest and resume

by Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. Electronic submissions are preferred. Email your letter and resume to: rebecca.frestedt@seattle.gov (reference the International Special Review District in the subject line).  To submit a paper copy, address: Rebecca Frestedt International Special Review District Seattle Department of Neighborhoods P.O. Box 94649 Seattle, WA, 98124-4649 For more information, contact Rebecca Frestedt at (206) 684-0226.

enue for improving public safety, but it is not the only way CIDBIA fulfils its mission. CIDBIA works with its partners inside and outside the neighborhood to advocate for increased public safety. The CIDBIA board has concerns over potential liability, such as privacy and property damage, as well as the increased operational costs.”

Locke said it’s not just about cameras.

“You have a taxing authority that takes money from businesses, which in turn has to pay a higher rate, leading to increased prices that customers have to pay.

What is the community getting other than an increased tax rate?”

Chan and Locke say the need for the cameras has come from the community. The group that is most impacted is the elderly, said Locke.

“They are the ones that are being held hostage in their apartments… they are fearful when they go outside… it doesn’t mat-

ter day or night. Our most vulnerable population is not being protected.”

Project Manager Donny Kwan admits even he doesn’t feel safe in Seattle’s Chinatown. He visited the Chinatown in Boston recently and noted that even though it’s older than Seattle, the buildings were well-maintained and the alleys were clean.

He also noticed something else.

“On every light pole, on every corner, there was a camera.”

In Seattle, Kwan said they are ready for phase 1 of the CCTV project. It will include cameras on five buildings on 6th Avenue, King Street, and South Lane Street. All they need is community cooperation.

“We need the approval from all five buildings [to install the cameras],” said Kwan. “Bush Hotel, one of the tallest buildings in Chinatown, is where we would store the server. Bush Hotel is a must… they have internet and

Starting on Jan. 2, 2020, the Seattle Public Library (SPL) says it will no longer charge daily late fines for overdue items, thanks to the 2019 Library Levy.

SPL joins scores of library systems across the country in eliminating overdue fines for books and materials, and clearing past overdue fines.

Fines can be a significant burden for some and also deter people from using the library, which means they stop using resources needed for

school work, to search for jobs, improve literacy skills and more.

“By removing late fines, every resident in Seattle has greater access to education and opportunity,” said SPL. It hopes the new policy will encourage prior users to come back, and attract new patrons to explore the library’s resources and services.

Borrowers are still responsible for paying replacement fees for lost or damaged items. 

the fiber optics already in there.

But they said no.”

Kwan said, “The project is probably dead now. We cannot move forward. Even if [building owners] give us permission [to install], we need someone to own the whole system.”

Ownership entails maintenance and management of the system, Kwan said, and being the point of contact, if there are requests to access the footage. He estimated that the cost to maintain the system after the first two years would be $15,000 to $22,000 a year.

As to privacy concerns that have been raised, Kwan said that video footage is accessed only when a crime is committed and the police are involved to help resolve it.

“There is no facial recognition, no surveillance,” he said.

“I even found someone willing to volunteer to monitor the system,” said Chan. “We just need someone to step up and take

ownership of the cameras.”

Locke said the cameras are vital to small businesses.

“They cannot survive if the customers stop coming here or are afraid to come here after 6 o’clock at night when it’s dark.”

Singh said the BIA “appreciates the efforts of Nora Chan and Seniors in Action on behalf of the neighborhood. After years of owning the cameras, we have learned the true costs of owning just 14 cameras and are simply unable to take on any more cameras.” She added that the BIA is unable to take on the large expense with its current budget without impacting other service areas such as street cleaning, graffiti, and marketing for businesses.

“I cannot do this all by myself,” said Chan. If the project is truly dead, Chan vowed to return “every last penny” to donors.  Ruth can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

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Seattle Public Library to stop charging late fees

Mayor seeks new member for ISRD board SEATTLE — Seattle’s mayor wants community members to apply for an open position on the International Special Review District Board (ISRD).

The seven-member board reviews façade alterations, signs, new construction, changes of use and street improvements, and makes recommendations to the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods director for all properties within the ISRD. Board members serve without compensation.

The goals of the board are to maintain architectural character, cultural heritage, social diversity, and, through the use of historic preservation, enhance the economic climate.

The open position is one of two seats on the board that are filled by mayoral appointment. Individuals who have an architectural background and an interest in historic preservation and/or familiarity

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Tacoma Office Wells Fargo Plaza Suite 1400 Tacoma, WA 98402 (appointment only)

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JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

■ NATIONAL NEWS

38 YEARS

Asian, Black faces misidentified more often by facial recognition software ASSOCIATED PRESS

BY MATT O’BRIEN, AP TECHNOLOGY WRITER A study by a U.S. agency has found that facial recognition technology often performs unevenly based on a person’s race, gender or age.

But the nuanced report published on Dec. 19 is unlikely to allay the concerns of critics who worry about bias in face-scanning applications that are increasingly being adopted by law enforcement, airports and a variety of businesses.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been studying facial recognition for nearly two decades, but this is the first time it has investigated demographic differences in how face-scanning algorithms are able to identify people.

According to the report, “For one-to-one matching, the team saw higher rates of false positives for Asian and African American faces relative to images of Caucasians.

The differentials often ranged from a factor of 10 to 100 times, depending on the individual algorithm.”

For example, the study found that Microsoft’s facial recognition tech has nearly 10 times more false positives for women of color than men of color. Microsoft has since said that it is reviewing the report, and hopefully make tweaks to address it.

Controversy hits Romance Writers of America over ‘exotic’ Asian women with ‘slanted’ eyes descriptions

By Associated Press NEW YORK — There’s not a lot of love at the Romance Writers of America this holiday season. Lots of passion, but not too much love.

The organization, which bills itself as the voice of romance writers and cites 9,000 members, has been upended over the way it has treated one of its authors, Courtney Milan, a Chinese American writer and a former chair of its Ethics Committee.

The Texas-based trade association initially accepted the vote of its Ethics Committee that Milan had violated the group’s code with negative online comments about other writers and their work. Then, just before Christmas, it reversed course, rescinding its vote ”pending a legal opinion.” Now its entire leadership has changed.

The controversy was sparked this summer when Milan in a tweet called Kathryn Lynn Davis’ 1999 book “Somewhere Lies the Moon” an “(expletive) racist mess.”

Davis and fellow writer Suzan Tisdale filed complaints.

Milan was suspended on Dec. 23, sparking an outcry from fellow Romance Writers of America members and making #IStandWithCourtney trend.

Author Felicia Grossman announced on Twitter that she had resigned her position at the association, saying it had “proven itself inconsistent with my values.”

Author Alyssa Day called the decision to punish Milan “appallingly and profoundly wrongheaded.” Added writer Racheline Maltese: “Speaking out against racism is not an ethics violation.”

A letter from 28 organization leaders in various regional positions asked for the resignation of the Romance Writers of America’s president, the presidentelect and the executive director, calling “the handling of see MILAN on 13

The study was prompted in part by growing concern among lawmakers and privacy advocates that biased results in commercial face recognition software could entrench racial discrimination in the criminal justice system and elsewhere.

The report cautions against “incomplete” previous research alleging biased facial recognition that has alarmed the public, but also confirms similar trends showing higher error rates for women, the youngest and oldest people, and for certain racial groups depending on which image database or software is being used.

“The main message is don’t try to generalize the

results across all the technology. Know your use case, the algorithm that’s being used,” he continued.

NIST, which is a part of the Commerce Department, tested the algorithms of 99 mostly commercial software providers that voluntarily submitted their technology for review. It ran those algorithms on millions of FBI mugshots, visa application photos and other government-held portrait images such as those taken at border crossings.

Microsoft, along with dozens of lesser-known video surveillance providers and numerous China-based companies such as SenseTime, Hikvision and Tencent participated in the research. Amazon, which markets face-scanning software to U.S. police agencies, did not participate.

Watson said that’s because Amazon’s cloud-based software doesn’t work with NIST’s testing procedures, though the agency is in talks with the company about how to test its algorithms in the future.

The agency’s report credits two widely-cited studies of facial recognition bias by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers for serving as a “cautionary tale” about uneven results across race and gender boundaries, though it also suggests they sowed public confusion in see FACIAL RECOGNITION on 13

Serena Williams, Jay-Z buy stakes in SE Asian coffee chain Billionaire rapper Jay-Z and tennis megastar Serena Williams are among global public figures who have invested Serena Williams Jay-Z their funds to back the growth of Indonesian coffee chain Kopi Kenangan.

Williams invested through her venture company, Serena Ventures, while Jay-Z made the investment through his venture firm Arrive, Edward Tirtanata, CEO of Indonesia’s homegrown coffee chain confirmed on Dec. 23.

“Kopi Kenangan has the vision to take [the brand] internationally on the global stage. That’s why we decided to find investors that could help us with such

brand-building,” Tirtanata told The Jakarta Post.

In a news release, Kopi Kenangan’s owners said they were planning to add more than a thousand new stores over the next two years and expand the chain across Southeast Asia.

“We want to build a legendary brand,” Tirtanata said, “We have come a long way since our humble beginnings two years back and we want to continue learning and improving our service and products to meet the expectations of our customers in Indonesia and other markets.”

Founded in 2017, Kopi Kenangan aims to fill the gap between the lower-end instant coffee available at momand-pop shops and high-end espresso concoctions sold by global chains like Starbucks. In Indonesia, instant coffee is guzzled by lower-income earners, while highend brews are mostly consumed by the affluent. 

Hmong celebrate new year in California amid tighter security FRESNO, Calif. (AP) —Thousands of people gathered on Dec. 27 in central California to celebrate the Hmong new year amid heightened security in the wake of a neighborhood shooting in November that killed four people.

The celebration ran through Jan. 1 and featured Hmong foods, dance, music and games along with sports tournaments. It’s believed to be the largest of its kind in the country and typically draws tens of thousands of people from around the nation.

Minnesota state Sen. Foung Hawj shared a toast with Fresno Mayor Lee Brand for a more peaceful future as the event opened. Minneapolis-St. Paul has the largest Hmong population of any U.S. metro area.

“This is a wish for 2019 to move away (with) all the see HMONG NEW YEAR on 14

YOUR VOICE

■ WORLD NEWS

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

asianweekly northwest

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JAL to give away 50,000 flights during Olympics TOKYO — Japan Airlines (JAL) announced on Dec. 27 that it will give away 50,000 domestic return tickets to international visitors in the summer of 2020.

Participants must be a JAL Mileage Bank frequent flyer member registered outside of Japan. The traveling period for the “Win a Trip with JAL” campaign will be between July and September 2020. This is part of a larger tourism push by the Japan Tourism Agency and Japan National Tourism Organization to encourage tourists to “see Japan with fresh eyes” and “discover a new Japanese city.”

The campaign, which kicks off in late February

next year, lets passengers fly for free to select local destinations from Haneda Airport in Tokyo, as well as Itami and Kansai airports in Osaka.

By boosting tourist travel to other parts of Japan, it is hoped that the campaign will help ease the shortage of accommodation expected in Tokyo over the Olympics and Paralympics period, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

The Olympics is scheduled to run from July 24 to Aug. 9, while the Summer Paralympics will run from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6. 

China convicts researchers involved in gene-edited babies

By KEN MORITSUGU BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese scientist who set off an ethical debate with claims that he had made the world’s first genetically edited babies was sentenced on Dec. 30 to three years in prison because of his research, state media said.

He Jiankui, who was convicted of practicing medicine without a license, was also fined 3 million yuan ($430,000) by a court in the southern city of Shenzhen, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported. Two other researchers involved in the project received lesser sentences and fines.

The verdict said the three defendants had not obtained qualification as doctors, pursued fame and profits, deliberately violated Chinese regulations on scientific research, and crossed an ethical line in

both scientific research and medicine, according to Xinhua. It also said they had fabricated ethical review documents.

The court also confirmed a third birth, saying the researchers were involved in the births of three gene-edited babies to two women. It said all three scientists pleaded guilty during the trial, which Xinhua reported was closed to the public because of privacy concerns.

He, the lead researcher, shocked the scientific world when he announced in November 2018 that he had altered the embryos of twin girls who had been born the same month. He described his work in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.

The announcement sparked a global debate over the ethics of gene editing. He said he had used a tool called CRISPR to try to disable a gene that allows the AIDS virus to enter a cell, in a bid to give the girls the ability to resist the infection. The identity of the children has not been released, and it isn’t clear if the experiment succeeded.

The CRISPR tool has been tested elsewhere in adults to treat diseases, but many in the scientific community denounced He’s work as medically unnecessary and unethical, because any

genetic changes could be passed down to future generations. The U.S. forbids editing embryos except for lab research.

He, who is known as “JK,” told the AP in 2018 that he felt a strong responsibility to make an example, and that society would decide whether to allow the practice to go forward. He disappeared from public view shortly after he announced his research at a conference in Hong Kong 13 months ago, apparently detained by authorities, initially in an apartment in Shenzhen, a city in Guangdong province that borders Hong Kong.

It wasn’t clear if the three-year prison term includes any of the time he has already spent in Chinese custody.

A Chinese scientist said the sentence should have been harsher to deter others. see GENE-EDITED on 12

■ NATIONAL NEWS

Hope for Honolulu Chinatown revival via building restoration HONOLULU (AP) — A restoration of the iconic Wo Fat Building could serve as a catalyst in a makeover of Honolulu’s Chinatown, developers said.

The proposed $10 million restoration of the 86-yearold landmark is expected to include a cafeteria-style restaurant and 23-room hotel, The Honolulu StarAdvertiser reported on Dec. 26.

The building along Honolulu’s historic Hotel and Maunakea streets for decades had the main dining halls for one of the largest and most prestigious Chinese banquet restaurants on the island.

Investment group Mighty Wo Fat LLC presented its plan for the building’s renovation at a public hearing in

December as part of a request for a Chinatown Special District Design permit.

Acting Planning Director Kathy Sokugawa has until Jan. 21 to decide whether to approve the permit request.

The property was purchased for $4 million in July 2017. The owners want to receive National Historic Register designation that would make the building eligible for federal tax credits, they said.

“We’re going to restore all of the hand-painting where we can just to bring back the original feel of the place,’’ said John Davenport, Mighty Wo Fat team project manager.

Previous owners allowed the building to become a

nightclub, and its proprietors painted over distinctive artwork that adorned ceilings and columns. The building’s multi-colored, stained-glass windows were painted black.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if that can be brought back or not,’’ said historian Don Hibbard, a member of the project team.

Mighty Wo Fat’s parent company, the Mighty Union, is known for restoring historical buildings.

“We’re going to give it energy, we’re going to give it a new heartbeat and we’re going to ride this baby for another 100 years,” Davenport said. 

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asianweekly northwest

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

38 YEARS

■ COMMUNITY

■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR THROUGH JAN 11, 2020 ART EXHIBITION, “BRIGHTER FUTURE” Top floor, Arts at King Street Station, 303 S. Jackson St., Seattle Free admission seattle.gov/arts

JAN 4 THE DANNY WOO GARDEN’S COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY Danny Woo Community Garden, 620 S. Main St., Seattle 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

7 FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS HOSTED

BY ICHS Uwajimaya, 600 5th Ave. S., Seattle 9-11:45 a.m. ichs.com

18 CAPAA JANUARY BOARD MEETING Asia Pacific Cultural Center, 4851 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

18 & 19 TET IN SEATTLE Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

19 U.S.-JAPAN FRIENDSHIP COMING OF AGE CELEBRATION Bellevue College 1-3:30 p.m. japaneseinamerica.org

23 ICHS COMMUNITY KITCHEN C-ID Community Center, 719 8th Ave. S., Seattle 11 a.m.

24 TET CELEBRATION 2020 Vietnamese Student Association at UW Tacoma, 1900 Commerce St., Tacoma 6-10 p.m.

30 MODEL MINORITY, AN ASIAN WOMXN COMEDY SHOW Columbia City Theater, 4916 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle 8-10 p.m. caracolcreative.com

FEB 1 THE DANNY WOO GARDEN’S COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY Danny Woo Community Garden 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

8 APCC’S 22ND ANNUAL NEW YEAR CELEBRATION FEATURING VIETNAM, COUNTRY AND CULTURE Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall 11 a.m.-6 p.m. asiapacificculturalcenter. org LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION Hing Hay Park, 423 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

NWAW’S LUNAR NEW YEAR COSTUME CONTEST Northwest Asian Weekly’s front door, 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle 11 a.m.

For details, please go to nwasianweekly.com/ events

15 SEATTLE NIGHT MARKET: LUNAR NEW YEAR Magnuson Park Hangar 30, 6310 NE 74th St., Seattle 12-10 p.m.

21-29 3RD ANNUAL SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL DIRECTED BY CYRUS KHAMBATTA, JAEWOO JUNG, AND KYOUNG-SHIN KIM Capitol Hill’s Erickson Theatre $18-$30 seattleIDF.org

23 LUNAR NEW YEAR 5K WALK AND RUN Shoreline Interurban Trail 8:30-11:30 a.m. runsignup.com

29 JAPANESE IKEBANA HEADMASTER HIROKI OHARA AT NW FLOWER & GARDEN FESTIVAL 2020 Washington State Convention Center, 705 Pike St., Seattle 11:45 a.m. on the DIY Stage Tickets at gardenshow.com

Bruce Lee’s daughter sues Chinese fast food chain

Shannon Lee is suing a popular Chinese fast food chain over its use of an image of her late father and martial arts star, Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee Enterprises, a California-based company run by Shannon Lee, alleges that Shannon Lee Real Kungfu has used the image in its logo without permission. She wants the chain to immediately cease usage of her father’s image and pay $30 million in compensation.

Real Kungfu said that it will fight the accusations. It argues that local authorities approved its use of the logo. The image depicts a dark-haired man in a martial arts pose.

“The Real Kungfu chain’s logo is one that the company had applied for and obtained after a rigorous screening by the national trademark agency. We have already been using this for 15 years,” the company said in a statement posted on China’s Weibo platform.

“We are baffled that after so many years, we are now being sued.”

The Guangzhou-based fast food chain was founded in 1990 and has around 600 outlets across China. 

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YOUR VOICE

■ PROFILE

asianweekly northwest

7

By Kai Curry NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Scott Oki

Scott Oki's four volume set of haiku, written by Oki and designed by Tim Girvin.

question mark to imply that Oki may or may not publish more. The “O” in Oki, brushed across the spines of the four volumes, calls to mind the Japanese “ensō” symbol – perfect, yet imperfect, complete, yet incomplete. So, too, are Oki’s haiku, as haiku are meant to be, hints of a transitory moment, take of them what you will. As Oki says in the cover description: “Some of the haiku are so personal in nature that you may not understand them. That’s okay!” Several are specific to his own experience.

Nevertheless, after reading all of the poems, one obtains a definite sense of Oki’s life and loves.

It’s a Pacific Northwest life, full of concern about our natural habitat, and our urban problems. Oki is preoccupied with Seattle’s homelessness, and our broken education system.

Teachers of color Mirror students of color Vast chasm exists He is stricken by the plight of our wildlife. “We don’t do enough,” he said.

Mourning her baby The Orca whale baby’s death Similar to us

Oki suggested activities such as writing haiku as a way to encourage deeper thought and more mindful action.

“I think we all need to take time out on occasion to reflect. I don’t think we do enough of that…If we did more reflection, I think we might end up with more people who really cared about things, and we might see the needle being moved a little bit faster than it is…”

Take care of the Earth Will life be the death of us?

Abuse it and yes Next to these troublesome issues are Oki’s day-to-day observations of lighter subjects: his favorite foods, his hobbies, and time spent with his loved ones. There are several haiku that act as travelogues of trips to Italy, England, and Japan. And more than one poem alludes to his career.

Cool nicknames I love Oki doki and Scotto Microsoft: The Force Oki planned the presentation of his haiku with long-time friend and collaborator, Tim Girvin, principle creative director and founder of GIRVIN, in Seattle.

“I’m not an artist,” Oki insists. “I might be able to put the words down, but to reflect the poetry, and make it come to life, for that…I give Tim Girvin and his team all the credit.” Together, Oki and Girvin achieved just the right aesthetic, drawing from both Japanese and medieval tradition. For his part, Girvin was happy to work with Oki again.

“He has a special spirit, deep experience, and an enthusiasm for the exploration of creativity, examination of intention, definition of strategy, and tactical direction…Open. Wise.

Energetic. Passionate. He goes with his heart. I follow.”

Over the course of a year, Girvin did the calligraphy for each page of haiku by hand, using bamboo brushes and brush-tipped, broad-edged pens, in see OKI on 14

Photos courtesy of Tim Girvin and the GIRVIN design team

For Scott Oki, it is important to live a life that is challenging. Since retiring from Microsoft in 1992, Oki has lived by this maxim, continually occupied with charitable endeavors through the Oki Foundation, and challenging himself to grow every day. His latest personal project was the writing and selfpublishing of haiku poems. Comprising four volumes and a total of 600 haiku, these Japanese-style poems penned by Oki give us insight into the daily routines and over-arching interests of one of our homegrown corporate and philanthropic legends.

Oki is known for establishing Microsoft’s international business, and improving its domestic business. With the company since its early stages, he left as its Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Service. It should not be a surprise that someone with this track record of excellence would produce excellent results in other activities.

Oki has produced a fine collection of haiku, although he humbly attests, “I’m anything but a writer.” Oki, nevertheless, set himself the task of writing haiku, and did so over a total of three years.

His goal was to finish by this winter, and use the collection in fundraising and donor appreciation activities for nonprofits he supports, such as Denshō, an organization whose mission is “to preserve and share history of the

WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans to promote equity and justice today.”

Oki is Japanese American, born and raised in Seattle. His family came from Hiroshima. While he might have gravitated towards haiku in part due to it being a Japanese art form (he remembers only having written haiku once prior to this, in elementary school), it was more that his parents “provided countless real examples of the haiku,” as he states in the dedication to volume one.

“They were very careful about almost anything, whether it was the use of money or the use of words,” Oki told the Northwest Asian Weekly. “For me, it was a kind of a lesson. I didn’t realize it at the time, because I was too young, but looking back…it’s been a real eye opener, and it’s provided, at least for me, many opportunities to think about some of the haiku I would choose to write.”

Oki liked the “formulaic approach” required for writing haiku. The mathematics of the syllables, arranged 5-7-5 into three lines, appealed to his engineering mind. He found that having rules unexpectedly induced him to be more creative.

“I think the beauty, for me, about haiku is that it’s reasonably strict in terms of its form,” he stated. “Having that constraint…was actually almost giving me freedom to explore, and to do things that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have done.” And, the haiku were a welcome occupation while Oki had paused in writing his memoir (which he now plans to return in full force). In sum, he had the time, and he wanted a challenge.

“There are a lot of ways we can spend time. There are many ways we can live life. I continue to like to live a life that is challenging, and I look specifically for things to do that are a challenge.”

The haiku are arranged into four volumes in an attractively bound boxed set. Each volume carries a separate dedication and 150 haiku, which Oki said are arranged at random, except each volume’s final haiku, which has a completing tone. Yet, the entire experience is open-ended, and the final volume. titled “A Final Chapter?” has a

Photo courtesy of Tim Girvin

Former Microsoft executive Scott Oki challenges himself to write haiku

Tim Girvin prepares by hand one of the pages of Scott Oki's haiku.

Haiku number 600.

8

asianweekly northwest

38 YEARS

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

■ COMMUNITY NEWS Final goodbye: Recalling notable AAPIs with local ties who died in the last decade 2019

Anthony Ishisaka

that position.

Jan. 2, 2017. He established the Center for Career Alternatives in the 1980s and served as the first Asian American on the Seattle School Board in the 1990s.

2018

Edward Chow

6, 2017 at age 90 after a battle with Parkinson’s. The mother of former Gov. Gary Locke partnered with her husband Jimmy in running Sadie’s Cafe in the Pike Place Market in the 1950s.

Edward Chow died from pancreatic cancer on July 22, 2016. The son of Seattle civic activist Ruby Chow, Edward received a Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. He also served as a governmental appointee in Washington state, the federal government, and the state of Maryland.

Al Sugiyama

Ruth Woo

Fred Yee

2016

Bob Santos

Anthony (Tony) Hideki Ishisaka, the co-founder of Asian Counseling and Referral Service, died at home in his sleep on July 9, 2019. He was 75 years old.

David H. Fukui

Fred Yee died at his home on Aug. 7, 2018 after a sudden heart attack. He was 67 years old. Yee was a founding member of the Chinese Information and Service Center.

Ruth Woo passed away on July 13, 2016 at the age of 89.

Woo was a political mentor to people like former Gov. Gary Locke, state

“Uncle” Bob Santos died on Aug. 27, 2016. He was 82 years old. One of the Gang of Four, also known as the Four Amigos —a group of racially diverse friends who fought injustice —Santos also served as the executive director of InterIm from 1972 to 1989.

2017 Ed Lee

see GOODBYE on 15

Al Sugiyama passed away on

David H. Fukui died on March 31, 2019 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 79.

Fukui was an award-winning Seattle architect and he created the Mitsu and William O. Fukui Memorial Endowed Diversity Scholarship at the University of Washington.

Sam Mitsui

Sam Masami Mitsui passed away on March 24, 2019. He co-founded Walk for Rice, a major fundraising event for the Asian Counseling and Referral Service Food Bank.

Vikram Jandhyala

Vikram Jandhyala, 47, died on Feb. 28, 2019. He was the University of Washington’s vice provost of innovation and the first Indian American to hold

WEEKLY SPECIALS

Ed Lee died of a heart attack on Dec. 12, 2017. Born in Seattle to immigrants from Toisan, Lee was the mayor of San Francisco at the time of his death. He was 65 years old.

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YOUR VOICE

asianweekly northwest

9

■ WAYNE’S WORLDS A clear enough mind to know I was insulted

By Wayne Chan NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Apparently, vanity has no limits. Unfortunately, this is what I’ve discovered about myself.

Let me explain, and I have to start off with some bad news first.

About two months ago, while I was asleep, I suffered a seizure. I know this, because in the middle of the night, I woke up in bed with two paramedics standing over me telling me they were going to take me to the hospital.

I believe my first reaction was, “Why do I have to go to the hospital? Where is my wife? Why are you two guys in my bedroom in the middle of the night?”

After they explained that I had had a seizure, and particularly because I felt awful as a result of it, I thought it best to let them take me to the hospital. It’s good that I felt that way because at the time I didn’t seem to have much say in the matter.

My wife Maya kept me company in the ambulance, and for the next few hours in the hospital, I was poked and prodded any number of ways by nurses trying to figure out what happened to me. In the end, I was told that it was likely a singular event but that I would have to get an MRI to inspect my brain and make sure there wasn’t anything they needed to worry about.

The only problem with this was that the doctor told me that according to policy, anyone who suffers a seizure must have it reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and you automatically lose your driving privileges until you have an MRI and your doctor and the DMV approve you to drive again.

So, for the first time since I was 15 years old, I was grounded. I couldn’t go anywhere unless my wife could drive me or if I could bum a ride off of one of my friends or neighbors.

Now, with plenty of time on my hands, I started doing some research to better understand some of the potential

reasons why people have seizures in the first place. As I soon discovered, a number of things seemed to make sense.

The most common causes for seizures? Stress and lack of sleep.

Stress? The day of my seizure, I had been planning and hosting my uncle’s memorial service. I did a eulogy, drove out-of-town guests to the service, and attended to the meal afterwards. Check.

Lack of sleep? For the last four months, as my uncle’s health was deteriorating, my brother and I spent many days figuring out ways to keep him comfortable. Check.

In any case, if I was going to get my driving privileges back, I was going to have to get an MRI. For those of you who have never had an MRI, how best to describe it?

It’s as if you’re beans and rice, you’re being wrapped up in a flour tortilla, and then placed in a wrapper. For half an hour, I’m lying on a gurney, wrapped in blankets and

pillows with a mask on my face, and I’m placed snugly into a tunnel contraption that seems best suited for, well, a human burrito.

Fortunately, no one was going to douse me in salsa and guacamole afterwards.

A week passes, and not having heard back from the doctor, I give him a call.

The bottom line—it was good news. My brain function is fine.

But here’s where the vanity part comes in.

After caring for a sick family member, after mourning his passing, after organizing his memorial service and respecting his memory for the closest friends and family, and after suffering a seizure and losing my driving rights, upon hearing the good news that I was OK, you’d think I’d be elated, jumping for joy, and thankful that the future looked bright, right? Not exactly.

It wasn’t that he told me that I was going to be alright. It was HOW he told me.

I believe his exact words were, “It’s good news, Wayne.

Your brain function is fine…for someone of your age.”

“WHAT THE @#!%* IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?” I didn’t actually say that, but I was sure thinking it.

What he was trying to say was that while there were some changes he could see with my brain, it was something that everyone my age would have, but that I was perfectly fine.

My question is, if I’m perfectly fine, why couldn’t he just tell me I was perfectly fine without adding the “… for someone of your age” baloney? Because in my mind, I translated his words to: “You’ve got some level of brain function right now, but at your age, who knows how much time you have left before your mind goes kablouey.”

I probably shouldn’t share that with him or he might want to put me back in the burrito chamber again.  Wayne can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

■ AT THE MOVIES

“Ip Man 4: The Finale”

By John Liu NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

The Ip Man movie series has been entertaining moviegoers and pushed Donnie Yen to super stardom.

Since 2008, Ip Man has fought a Japanese General, British boxer, Frank a.k.a Mike Tyson, numerous Chinese Martial Art Grandmasters, and never lost once! In the finale, Ip Man will have his toughest fight yet.

At the end of “Ip Man 3,” Ip Man had just lost his wife to cancer. We find out immediately that Ip Man (Donnie Yen) is diagnosed with throat cancer from smoking throughout his life. His son, Ip Ching (Ye He) gets expelled from school after another fight, so Ip Man entertains the idea of sending his son to school in America. After receiving an invitation and plane ticket from Bruce Lee to fly to San Francisco to witness a karate tournament, he uses that as an excuse to check out America. Ip Man learns from his friend, Liang Gen, that a recommendation letter from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association led by President Wan Zong Hua (Yue Wu) will be required for his son to enter an elite private school. The associations are displeased that Ip Man’s student, Bruce Lee (Kwok-Kwan Chan), has been opening his school up to Americans and wants Ip Man to intervene if he wants his letter. Ip Man leaves without agreeing to their demands.

Ip Man heads to the private school for an interview, but is unable to get his son enrolled. After the interview, he notices Yoneh (Vanda Margraf) getting bullied and intervenes. Ip Man learns Yoneh is the daughter of Wan Zong Hua. Meanwhile a student of Bruce Lee, Hartman

(Vaness Wu), is trying to get his Gunnery Sergeant, Barton Geddes (Scott Adkins), to integrate martial arts into their Marines combat training. He is forced to prove himself by fighting their karate instructor, Colin Frater (Chris Collins), to a duel, but loses. Everything pretty much leads up to more fighting. It’s business as usual in the Ip Man finale and what we are here to see.

The plot is convoluted, but everything gets resolved at the end by fighting, of course. Going by the 1960s San Francisco setting, Ip Man is supposed to be in his 70s. That is okay because no one said this was a historically accurate

movie, so Ip Man still looks youthful. As usual, Ip Man barely gets a scratch on him until the final fight. I felt “Ip Man 4” is a mix of Ip Man 1 and 2.

Let’s talk about Bruce Lee, Ip Man’s most famous student.

I was satisfied with the way Bruce Lee was depicted in this movie and definitely much better than what I saw in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (OUTH). Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter, was displeased at her late father’s portrayal in OUTH and has not given a statement about “Ip Man 4” see IP MAN on 12

10

asianweekly northwest

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

■ PUBLISHER’S BLOG

38 YEARS

The best and worst of 2019 — PART I —

By Assunta Ng NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

service to diversify and supplement its revenue base in the 1997.

Let‘s start with the worst of 2019. I save the “best” for last, like having dessert to complete a meal. This will help us to focus on more positive news of 2019, and feel hopeful in the New Year.

But it was not easy to choose the worst news in our community. You decide which scenarios are the worst, which ones are redeemable, and which ones are after all —not so terrible—as they might yield happy endings years from now.

Protest at Koda’s grand opening

The fight on I-1000

Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, former Gov. Gary Locke, and former Seattle City councilmember Martha Choe speak about I-1000. (Photo by Mahlon Meyer)

While numerous Chinese immigrants from Mainland China initiated the opposition for I-1000, and petitioned it to be on the ballot (known as Referendum 88), for fear that it would discriminate Chinese Americans for college admissions and job opportunities, prominent Asian American leaders, including former Gov. Gary Locke, endorsed the initiative to protect affirmative action and support minority businesses to attain government contracts. The goal was to achieve equity for all people of color, and not just Chinese Americans. Ref. 88 was rejected in Washington state by a slim margin of 25,000 votes.

Those rejecting Ref. 88 are perceived as selfish and narrow-minded. Based on a limited vision that “if you gain, I lose,” rather than, “if we work and lift each other up, everyone wins.” Our society will be stronger and healthier in the long run. What these Chinese immigrants lack is the ability to view diversity as a strength, and the skills to build coalitions with communities of color. They reached out to Republicans for funds and support. I have received complaints from diverse groups, accusing Chinese immigrants rejecting Ref. 88 as being naive and ignorant.

Let me clarify that Chinese immigrants have diverse origins, they are not just from China, but all over the world, including Southeast Asia. I am a Chinese immigrant, too, raised in Hong Kong, and I favored I-1000. My mission is to support people of color, and learn and share from many ethnic and cultural groups. I like to collaborate with diverse communities to find solutions for the common good.

How am I able to nurture a mind of inclusivity, while others fail to do so? That should be a separate story. And I intend to share it later.

The closing of Keiro nursing home

It was the biggest shock for many of us, and the worst news of the year. It’s not something that we could ever imagine would happen to this community.

In late 2018, the Northwest Asian Weekly was the first media outlet to publish a story about Keiro NW’s trouble.

Founded four decades ago for Japanese Americans, it was the pride of the Asian community. The Keiro board reacted with anger, and instantly demanded a meeting with us. At the meeting, one board member repeatedly reminded us that Keiro was a five-star nursing home facility, much better than the Kin On Chinese nursing home. Keiro had inspired the Chinese community to start Kin On nursing home in 1985.

Since the founding of Kin On, the Chinese community has referred Keiro as the “bigger brother.” “We learned

Painting by Keiro client Sallie Yamada. Yamada painted this when she was 90 years old.

from Keiro,” said Sam Wan, former Kin On CEO. “Tomio Moriguchi helped us to launch Kin On.” Ironically, the bigger brother not only shut down, the whole building is now sold and will be torn down. The monumental effort of Keiro’s seven founders and the community has now been reduced to rubble.

Keiro’s demise was unnecessary.

“Keiro could have been saved with the right people (board and management),” said former board member Fred Kiga. It didn’t help that the former CEO was getting a $400,000 salary with the specific task of shutting down Keiro, and threatening people with a lawsuit if employees talked to outsiders about Keiro. Also, some board members didn’t have the community’s interest at heart, according to more than one source. It is heartbreaking to hear those comments, and hard to accept that Keiro doesn’t exist anymore.

Tomio Moriguchi

Instead of engaging their efforts in saving Keiro, some Asian community members resorted to the “blame game.” They protested Tomio Moriguchi, co-founder of Keiro and former chairman of Uwajimaya, right outside its store. C’mon, if you investigate, you would find that Moriguchi wasn’t the cause of Keiro’s closure.

The board asked Moriguchi to return to lead Keiro board in late 2018, to save Keiro. It was too late.

Keiro’s financial trouble was too deep, losing tens of thousands of dollars each day, since the state’s reduction of Medicaid reimbursement for clients in 2008-2009. Keiro’s problems were way beyond any one person’s ability to solve. Past Keiro leadership should have foreseen its budget shortfalls coming and taken precautions years ago. Kin On leaders knew a long time ago that nursing homes relying on state support, is never a sustainable model. Kin On started its home care

Koda executives and other officials pose with shovels during a Feb. 28 groundbreaking ceremony. (Photo by Rebecca Ip/ NWAW)

Koda Condominiums’ ground breaking ceremony was met with a protest organized by Interim and CID Coalition. Founded by a Taiwan company, Koda project is designed for a 17-story, market-rate condos at 450 South Main Street in Japantown, part of the International District (ID). The activists said the reason for the protest is due to gentrification, displacement, and affordability.

It created an outrage among Chinese community see BLOG on 12

YOUR VOICE

■ EDITORIAL

JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

asianweekly northwest

11

All white debate?

Andrew Yang had an idea for how the Democratic National Committee (DNC) can increase diversity at the next presidential debate. But he was shot down!

As you’ll recall, he was the only person of color during the December debate— calling it an “honor and disappointment” at the same time. So far, the only five candidates to have qualified for the first debate of 2020, to take place in Iowa—Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar; Joe Biden, and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg—are all white. And Yang hasn’t yet qualified.

In a letter dated Dec. 21 sent to DNC Chair Tom Perez, Yang suggested that the DNC should commission more qualifying polls to increase diversity in the Jan. 14 debate. He wrote that an all-white debate stage was a “troubling prospect” for the DNC that could lead to “unfounded claims of bias and prejudice.” More polls “would provide an accurate snapshot of the current state of the race and where voters’ hearts and minds are.”

Yang’s letter also argued that the lack of polling in more than a month in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina (states where candidates have recently focused their time and resources), will render useless any candidate’s increase or decrease in popularity since the sixth debate on Dec. 19.

In a statement to Newsweek, the DNC stood by its belief the governing body has been “more than inclusive throughout this entire process with an expansive list of qualifying polls.”

Twitter user Scott Santens wrote, “Latest non-qualifying national poll from Morning Consult has Yang at 5%

■ HEALTH

Study: ‘Asian glow’ may contribute to Alzheimer’s

Daria Mochly-Rosen

A new study from Stanford University of Medicine, published on Dec. 12, has found that ‘Asian glow’ may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

‘Asian glow’ is a condition that causes people to develop flushes on their face and other areas of their body after consuming alcohol. The facial redness is caused by a mutation in aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 or ALDH2. That enzyme helps break down alcohol in the body and it is defective in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

The mutation is also most prevalent among East Asians and affects about 560 million people, or about 8 percent of the

world’s population.

Findings from the study in the journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications, suggest that alcohol increases injury to brain cells, accelerates signs of Alzheimer’s in animals, and increases cell damage in patients with the disease.

“The science means that it is a bad idea if you have this mutation and have a family history of Alzheimer’s disease to drink excessively,” said Daria MochlyRosen, senior author of the study and a professor of chemical and systems biology at Stanford. 

and outpolling Amy Klobuchar, who will be on the Jan debate stage because the DNC drew the lines around her using old polls. It’s a gerrymandered debate. Can we call it amymandering? #pollthepeople #YangGang.”

Fellow Democrat James Ellars, who is running to represent California’s 8th Congressional District, tweeted in support of Yang, saying the people deserve better.

“DNC hasn’t released any new polls since the December debate, & they require more polls to qualify for the Jan debate. There’s no excuse for corruption #PollThePeople,” he wrote.

Yet another Twitter user noted that (hash)PollThePeople was trending in the United States and worldwide. Countless people on the Twitterverse are urging voters to flood the DNC’s number (877-336-7200), and to email the DNC chair at Perezt@democrats.org.

In the spirit of wanting to avoid an all white debate on Jan. 14, we support the push to #PollThePeople! 

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members as some non-English speaking Chinese seniors didn’t know they were carrying a sign with an expletive expletive during the protest. Some claimed seniors were misled and used. A couple of seniors told Nora Chan, founder of Seniors in Action Foundation, that they didn’t know what the protest was about. One senior told the Asian Weekly why she protested, “[Koda] wants to occupy Chinatown, we won’t let them.”

Wow, can Koda have the power to take over the entire Chinatown!? One CID member claimed that Koda has contributed nothing to the community, and the $4.4 million upzoning funds went to the City directly. Not true. Koda had paid Hirabayashi Place LLC $248,000 for construction easements, plus legal and engineering fees.

22 robbery cases in the ID

Public safety is a problem in the ID, especially after dark. In early 2019, there were 22 robberies at ID businesses, and the suspect broke glass and doors.

Surveillance cameras showed that it was done by the same female suspect. During the middle of the year, a male suspect broke into a restaurant’s safe and stole a substantial amount of cash. A few months ago, someone broke into several businesses and the library, within a week. Several residents, young and old, told me that they were afraid to venture out in the evening. One night, I was driving my employee back to Nihonmachi Apartment at 651 South Main Street after 10 p.m. I saw a man sitting inside the Danny Woo Garden. The only reason I saw his head was because of his light-colored hat. My employee said other residents have complained about suspicious men sitting inside some cars blocking both sides of the road about 5 a.m.

One ID apartment manager told the Asian Weekly, every Monday, when he walks around the building, he finds a mess created by homeless camps next to the freeway. He saw evidence of them disrupting the building, including filling the building’s nooks and corners with garbage, sleeping in them with their sheets and leaving them behind, and trying to break into the garage and entryway with hard objects.

work and spirit clearly stand out.

When someone loses an election, be it small or big, the least he/she can do is to show some grace. Take a long view: Learn from it, and move on. And if you run again, you know you can count on those from the other side to support you, not fight you. Those candidates who lost are young. Regardless of their motive, I give credit for their willingness to run. Whoever came up with the idea to challenge the results is short-sighted and not thinking strategically. With the internet, you will be remembered as “the bad egg” for years to come! The decision to contest reveals pettiness and destroys goodwill.

The ISRD board election is held every year, and more than one seat is usually open. There are countless opportunities to serve. Sooner or later, it will be your turn.

Leadership void in our community

The protest, Ref. 88, and the contested election illustrate a divided Asian community. Divisiveness is evident between Chinatown community leaders and activists; businesses and younger Asian Americans; and Chinese immigrants from China and the greater Asian community.

It’s not that we don’t have leaders in the community, but leaders who could bring opposing groups to the table to talk and listen to one another. Those leaders have died in the past few years. Or they are no longer active.

And the gap among different interest groups is growing bigger and bigger.

GENE-EDITED from 5 Kehkooi Kee, a Tsinghua University researcher who conducts gene-editing research on stem cells, also said that He should be held responsible for any fallout from the experiment on the lives of the babies and their families.

Dr. William Hurlbut, a Stanford University bioethicist whose advice He sought for more than a year before his experiment, said he felt sorry for the scientist, his wife and two young daughters.

“I warned him things could end this way, but it was just too late,” Hurlbut wrote in an email addressed to the AP; the director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins; and gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Sad story—everyone lost in this (JK, his family, his colleagues, and his country), but the one gain is that the world is awakened to the seriousness of our advancing genetic technologies,” Hurlbut wrote.

Dr. Eric Topol, who heads the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, noted it’s almost unheard of for a scientist

Chin’s car with bullet holes being towed

Donnie Chin

Donnie Chin, a community hero and volunteer patrol of the ID, was murdered in 2015. A victim of rival gangs’ crossfire, Chin died during his patrol at night. His murderer is still at large.

The community cannot be at peace until Chin’s murderer is caught.

Empty streetcars in the ID

Cold Lunar New Year canceling all our new year events

A contested election

When their own candidates lost in the International Special Review District (ISRD) board election last November, Interim challenged the results. Interim’s letter stated that Chinese seniors said Beth Ku influenced their votes on site. Four seniors later said that they didn’t know their names were being used in the letter, and they were unaware of Ku’s inappropriate behavior.

The winners of the election were Faye Hong, Matt Chan, and Russ Williams. I don’t know much about Williams. But Hong and Chan’s enormous volunteer

Donnie Chin’s murder still unsolved

Photo by George Liu

BLOG from 10

38 YEARS

Photo by George Liu

12

northwest

Freezing temperatures and snow in January and February struck Seattle, forcing many Lunar New Year community events to be canceled. Traditionally, Lunar New Year is the busiest time of the year for many ID businesses. The snow hit them hard financially.

Next week: The best of 2019.

Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

to get imprisoned “but in this case the sheer recklessness and unethical behavior warranted it.” Topol praised China for standing up “for proper medical research conduct.”

Doudna told the AP she was concerned about the “mysterious” legal process in China, but she said the sentences are “a step toward bringing this case to closure” and send a strong message to discourage other such work. (Doudna is paid by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which also supports AP’s Health and Science Department.)

“As a scientist, one does not like to see scientists going to jail, but this was an unusual case,” Doudna said. He’s work was “clearly wrong in many ways.”

Before setting up a lab at the Southern University of Science and Technology of China in Shenzhen, He studied in the U.S. The verdict accused him of colluding with Zhang Renli and Qin Jinzhou, who worked at medical institutes in the same province.

Zhang was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 1 million yuan, Xinhua said. Qin received an 18-month prison sentence, but with a two-year reprieve, and a 500,000 yuan fine. 

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Everytime a streetcar passes through the ID, I can‘t help but notice that there are few to no passengers. What a waste of taxpayer money! In addition, it takes away valuable road space for other vehicles. The traffic signs on South Jackson Avenue and 5th Avenue South are confusing. The road is already crowded with gigantic trucks, buses, motorcycles, cars, and bikes. Presently, the mess poses nothing but risks and frustration for pedestrians and drivers.

I hope City Hall is reading this. 

IP MAN from 9 at the time of printing. Lee has limited screen time, but from what I saw, it was positive. He ends up assisting Ip Man in various ways throughout the movie, but the focus is very much on Ip Man. I am going to miss that epic Ip Man theme composed by Kenji Kawai, who did the soundtrack for all four Ip Man movies. There is a nice tribute at the end of the film to Ip Man’s life. It is hard to believe Ip Man died on Dec. 2, 1972, only seven months before Bruce Lee. Thank you, Donnie Yen, for the good times—this is not only the last Ip Man film but also Donnie Yen’s final kung fu film. This is like another movie saga ending in 2019! Be sure to catch Donnie as a General in the upcoming Disney’s “Mulan.”  Ip Man 4: The Finale is playing at AMC Pacific Place, Cinemark Lincoln Square, and Regal Thornton Place.

John can be reached at john@nwasianweekly.com.

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JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

YOUR VOICE

■ ASTROLOGY

asianweekly northwest

13

Predictions and advice for the week of January 4–10, 2020

By Sun Lee Chang Rat — If you want something done in a specific way, be as clear as possible in your instructions.

Dragon — The warning signs are there, but you are not sure what to do. Let common sense rule the day here.

Monkey — If you are going to be out and about, limit what you bring so that you can get around quickly.

Ox — Are you worried about a looming deadline? Don’t wait until the last minute, and start working on it early.

Snake — Although not readily apparent to others, you have put in place a system that will stand you in good stead.

Rooster — Does something seem amiss or not quite right? Following your hunch could lead to a surprising discovery.

Tiger — Trading one issue for another in the name of change? The exchange might not be worth all the hassle.

Horse — Yearning for that which is not quite within reach? Be prepared to travel in order to acquire it.

Dog — Tread lightly where matters of the heart are concerned. You will be rewarded for your gentle approach.

Rabbit — You should be proud of what you have accomplished so far, but don’t rest on your laurels just yet.

Goat — Is an obligation weighing on you?

The burden should be lessened by those with whom you share it.

Pig — When given a choice between two desirable options, choose the one that is closest to your heart.

WHAT’S YOUR ANIMAL SIGN? RAT 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 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, 2017 DOG 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 PIG 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019

*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.

MILAN from 4 this situation is shameful.” The dissenting writers said a so-called ”failure of leadership” made them “wonder if there is anywhere to go from here.”

The outreach group Bookstore Romance Day parted ways with the Romance Writers of America and bestselling author Deanna Raybourn returned the 2008 trophy she won from the organization for penning the Best Novel With Strong Romantic Elements, saying “I want no honors from them.”

The organization admitted in an open letter on Dec. 26 that the last several days left it at a “turning point.”

President Carolyn Jewel, as well as board members Denny S. Bryce, Pintip Dunn, Seressia Glass, Tracey Livesay, Adrienne Mishel, Priscilla Oliveras, Erica Ridley and Farrah Rochon all resigned their positions.

“We have lost the trust of our membership and the romance community and we must find a way to rebuild that,” the organization said in a statement. “We will

MEMORABLE from 1 FEBRUARY: Seattle’s metro area was hit by many snowstorms in February, making it the snowiest month in Seattle in more than 50 years.

MAY: Andrew Yang made his first Seattle appearance as a Democratic presidential candidate at Gas Works Park in May, as part of his Humanity First campaign tour. Yang later met with 460 supporters at a fundraising dinner at China Harbor Restaurant.

MAY: The Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in an unprecedented 8-way championship tie after organizers ran out of challenging words. The co-winners were Shruthika Padhy, 13, of Cherry Hill, N.J., Erin Howard, 14, of Huntsville, Ala., Rishik Gandhasri, 13, of San Jose, Calif., Christopher Serrao, 13, of Whitehouse Station, N.J., Saketh Sundar, 13, of Clarksville, Md., Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Dallas, Texas, Rohan Raja, 13, of Irving, Texas, and Abhijay Kodali, 12 of Flower Mound, Texas.

FACIAL RECOGNITION from 4 the way they sought to measure performance.

Joy Buolamwini, who led those studies

strive to uphold the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do.” Damon Suede, who had been named president-elect, was made president.

The tumult spiraled when Milan said she had been outraged by several sections of Davis’ book, including depictions of “exotic” Asian women (with “slanted almond eyes”) and a passage spoken by the fictional Chinese elder Madam Chin that “we are demure and quiet, as our mothers have trained us to be. We walk with our eyes lowered politely, and may not look higher than a man’s breast.”

Milan blasted back: “The notion of the submissive Chinese woman is a racist stereotype which fuels higher rates of violence against Asian women,” Milan wrote.

“It is hard not to be upset about something that has done me and my loved ones real harm.”

Davis is white but she “immersed herself in Chinese culture for six years before writing the novel,” according to a statement by Tisdale. “Keep in mind, this book was written and published in the 1990’s,” she wrote.

JULY: Hong Kong has been seized by protests for months, and the movement shows few signs of slowing down. A controversial extradition bill was the initial trigger for the 2019 unrest. Although the extradition bill has now been formally withdrawn, protesters’ demands have broadened, now mostly focusing around police violence.

JULY: Jeremy Lin broke down in tears during an emotional appearance in Taiwan when he described hitting “rock bottom” and feeling abandoned by the NBA as he languishes as a free agent.

The first Asian American to win an NBA title, Lin was part of the Toronto Raptors team that won the championship last season, but he was often seen on the bench during the playoffs as he struggled with his form.

SEPTEMBER: Masaharu Morimoto of Iron Chef fame opened his ramen and yakitori Izakaya concept, Momosan Ramen & Sake, in the ChinatownInternational District in September. Located inside The

and has urged a halt to the technology’s proliferation, said in an email that NIST’s study is “a sobering reminder that facial recognition technology has consequential technical limitations.”

She was echoed by the American Civil

Tisdale further alleged that Davis had lost a book deal over the online attacks and compared having Milan on the Romance Writers of America’s ethics committee to having a ”neo-Nazi in charge of a UN human rights committee.”

In a twist, the Romance Writers of America this winter watched as another wholesome organization— The Hallmark Channel—found itself in controversy.

The Hallmark Channel reversed itself and decided to reinstate commercials featuring same-sex couples that it had pulled following a complaint from a conservative group. The Romance Writers of America cheered the reversal, saying it hoped Hallmark “will choose the path of celebrating diversity and inclusivity.”

At least one romance author was looking toward a brighter new year. “The future of the organization may be shaky but our commitment to our beloved genre is not,” wrote Beverly Jenkins, whose next book is “On the Corner of Hope and Main.” 

Publix building, Momosan Seattle is Morimoto’s third Momosan location. His first and second were in New York and Waikiki, respectively. Morimoto will open his fourth Momosan location in Brooklyn in 2020.

DECEMBER: The Seattle Seahawks honored Chinese American World War II veterans on Dec. 2.

At the two-minute warning in the second quarter of the game against Minnesota, five local Chinese American veterans gathered on the south end goal line and were celebrated by the crowd.

DECEMBER: Former Gov. Gary Locke introduced presidential candidate Andrew Yang at a December fundraiser in downtown Seattle. Yang called it “an honor and privilege,” and that he felt like “the torch is being handed off to me.” The fundraiser raised over $100,000.  Staff can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

Liberties Union, which in a statement said that government agencies like the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection should take heed of the report and halt their deployment of face-scanning software.

“Even government scientists are now confirming that this surveillance technology is flawed and biased,” said ACLU policy analyst Jay Stanley. 

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EMPLOYMENT Want to be a part of the NWAW team?

Northwest Asian Weekly is accepting applications for freelance writers. Send resume and writing samples to: Ruth Bayang editor@nwasianweekly.com.

spreading and cutting Want to be a part of Experience fabric. Cotton and polyester. Able the NWAW team? to lift 50/+ lbs. Speaks some Engor willing to learn.

Northwest Asian Week- lish Subscribe to the NorthHours 7am – 3:30 Monday – west Asian Weekly $40 ly is accepting appli- Friday Medical Benefits after 2 months for one year. cations for freelance Parking available or bus nearby Email peter@mistymtn.com or Mail info to: NW Asian writers. Send resume call Todd (206) 763-6762 Weekly 412 Maynard and writing samples to: Ave. S. Seattle, WA Find NWAW on Ruth Bayang 98104 social media on editor@nwasianweekor call 206-223-0623 Facebook, Twitter ly.com.

38 YEARS

Subscribe to the Northwest Asian Weekly $40 for one year.

Name_________________________ Address _______________________ City ________________State____ Zip Code __________Phone _______ Mail to: NW Asian Weekly 412 Maynard Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98104 or call 206-223-0623

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HMONG NEW YEAR from 4 evil,” Hawj said as a toast, according to the Fresno Bee. The November attack on a backyard TV football-watching party in Fresno killed four Hmong men and wounded six other people. No arrests have been made.

Law enforcement was increased at the Fresno Fairgrounds for the new year's celebration.

Police Chief Andy Hall told the families of the four slain men, that police are committed to finding the killers, the Bee reported.

“We will not rest until justice is done,” Hall said.

OKI from 7 honor of Japanese tradition. The spacing of each page follows the mathematics of the golden mean, and of medieval manuscripts. Even the selection of the texture of the covers of the books, and the paper for the pages, was based on these same influences. Kanji characters accompany each haiku, with translations overseen by Chie Masuyama. The resulting boxed set is not only a successful sensory experience, but also, the reading of all 600 haiku is a successful mental exercise, after which

Hmong fought for the U.S. during the Vietnam War. Recruited by the CIA in Laos to fend off communist forces, they helped guide U.S. bombing missions and rescued downed American pilots, often risking their own lives.

After the war, many Hmong refugees moved to Minnesota, Wisconsin and California, where they settled in the Central Valley, Sponsors hoped they could find work there given their agricultural background.

There are about 300,000 Hmong in the U.S. California has the most of any state and Fresno has the nation’s secondlargest concentration with about 34,000 people. 

SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.

you feel as if you have been given a gift—the gift of two people’s intense caring, for art, for each other, for the world at large—and the gift of 600 windows into the life of Scott Oki. Incidentally, Oki’s haiku set is currently only available as a gift. Keep a lookout in the future, as Oki may include the books as an incentive for giving to one of the organizations he holds dear.  Kai can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.

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JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

YOUR VOICE GOODBYE from 8 Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, and Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu.

2015

Tsuguo Ikeda

mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer.

Ticiang was a founding member of the Asian Pacific Women’s Caucus and the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, and a leader in the City of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative.

2014

Henry Miyatake

of Seattle to engage young people in extracurricular activities that instilled cultural awareness. He also created the award-winning Filipino Youth Activities Drill Team.

obituary, Chen was the first Taiwanese woman to work as an engineer at Boeing.

Most people in the Asian community called her “Auntie June.”

asianweekly northwest

famously known for being imprisoned when he defied the federal government’s internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. His conviction was overturned four decades later.

2011

Donnie Chin

Henry passed away on Sept. 16, 2014. He was 85 years old.

Miyatake was one of the earliest proponents behind the redress movement from the early 1970s. His efforts met resistance from the community until the first “Day of Remembrance” was held on Nov. 25, 1978. The event was one of several watershed moments that helped galvanize the Japanese American community on the road towards righting a wrong.

Vera Ing

Donnie Chin was murdered on July 23, 2015, a victim of crossfire between rival gangs.

A “first responder” to many emergency issues in the ChinatownInternational District and a neighborhood hero, Chin founded the International District Emergency Center.

His murder remains unsolved.

Ticiang Diangson

Vera Faye Ing died on Jan. 18, 2014. She was 73.

Ing was an urban planner with Ing & Associates, where she developed 10-year master plans for both Everett and South Seattle community colleges, as well as plans for an expanded International District.

2013

Fred Cordova

Ticiang Diangson died on Jan. 29, 2015 from

Fred Cordova died on Dec. 21, 2013 at the age of 82.

In 1957, he and his wife Dorothy founded the Filipino Youth Activities

Tama Murotani-Inaba passed away peacefully on Dec. 21, 2013. She was 93 years old.

Murotani-Inaba was an active chairperson on numerous civic committees and president of the Nisei Veterans Auxiliary.

Cheryl Chow passed away at her home on March 29, 2013. She was 66 years old. The daughter of the late Chinatown leader Ruby Chow, Cheryl served on the Seattle City Council and Seattle School Board.

2012

Ark Chin passed away on Nov. 13, 2011.

He was 87 years old.

Chin was the CEO of engineering firm Kramer, Chin & Mayo—the firm known for designing the Seattle Aquarium. He was also a founding member of the Chinese Nursing Home Society and Kin On.

Ping Chow

Jimmy Mar

James Malcolm Mar died on July 11, 2012, on his 98th birthday. Mar was an early supporter of the vision to convert the East Kong Yick building into the current Wing Luke Museum in the Chinatown-International District.

Gordon Hirabayashi

Edward Shui “Ping” Chow passed away on June 29, 2011 at the age of 94.

Chow built a Chinese restaurant, Ruby Chow, named after his wife. It was the first successful Chinese restaurant outside of Seattle’s Chinatown neighborhood. Chow was the president of the Chong Wa Benevolent Association and he was active in the American Legion Cathay Post #186.

James Leong

June Chen

June Chen died of a heart attack at the age of 78 on May 21, 2013.

According to her

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Urbano Quijance

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Kip Tokuda

Kip Tokuda passed away on July 13, 2013. He was 66.

Tokuda was a fourterm state representative from the 37th district and community activist who founded the Asian Community Leadership Foundation. He was also a past president of the Japanese American Citizens League.

A renowned artist, Leong is perhaps most remembered for painting the first Chinese American historical mural in San Francisco.

Ark Chin

Tama MurotaniInaba Tsuguo “Ike” Ikeda died on Dec. 2, 2015. He was the first Asian American executive director of a nonprofit in the United States, according to the National Association of Social Workers. Ikeda was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 2011 for his service in the U.S. Army during World War II.

15

Gordon Hirabayashi died on Jan. 2, 2012 at age 93.

Hirabayashi is

James “Jim” Leong died on April 21, 2011 from complications of heart failure. He was 81.

Urbano Quijance died on Jan. 22, 2011 at age 95.

He was a defender of Bataan in World War II. He was captured and a POW, and walked the infamous Bataan Death March. Quijance led the unprecedented effort by the Filipino Community of Seattle to document the community’s rich history in the Seattle area through three published books.

Jimmy Locke

Jimmy Locke passed away January 5, 2011.

He served as Staff Sergeant in the Fifth Armored Division during World War II and saw action in the battles of Normandy Beach, Ardennes, and the Rhineland. After the war, he opened Sadie’s Café, a restaurant in the Pike Place Market. He was the father of former Gov. Gary Locke.

2010

Ted Choi Tam

Ted Choi Tam died on Oct. 1, 2010 at the age of 74 after a fight with cancer.

In addition to serving in the U.S. Army, Tam was involved in many organizations, including the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and he was a co-founder of Kin On. 

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JANUARY 4 – JANUARY 10, 2020

38 YEARS

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