Celebrate APA Heritage Month Nation's City Leaders Push To
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FosteringC BusinessHINA and Cultural HarmonyINSIGHT between China and the U.S. VOL. 10 NO. 5 www.chinainsight.info May 2011 Fourth Annual Celebrate APA Heritage Month A Passage to China n 1978, a joint congressional resolu- to the strength of the United States, help The 2009 American Community Survey tion established Asian/Pacific Ameri- shape its future and share in its promise (http://factfinder.census.gov) found that at Ican Heritage Week. The first 10 days and opportunity. The 2011 National Asian there were 3.8 million Asians of Chinese Mall of America of May were chosen to coincide with two Pacific American Heritage month celebrates descent in the U.S. in 2009. Chinese-Ameri- important milestones in “Leadership, Diversity, cans were the largest Asian group, followed Pages 8-9 Asian/Pacific American Empowerment and Be- by Filipinos (3.2 million), Asian Indians (2.8 history: the arrival in yond”. million), Vietnamese (1.7 million), Koreans the United States of the According to popu- (1.6 million) and Japanese (1.3 million). first Japanese immigrants lation estimates from The Survey also found that 2.6 million (May 7, 1843) and con- the U.S. Census Bureau people 5 and older spoke Chinese at home in tributions of Chinese (http://www.census.gov/ 2009. After Spanish, Chinese was the most workers to the building popest/estimates.html), widely spoken non-English language in the of the transcontinental there were an estimated country. Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean railroad, completed May 16 million U.S. residents were each spoken at home by more than 1 10, 1869. In 1992, Con- of Asian descent in July million people. gress expanded the ob- 2009. Also, the percent- The Survey of Business Owners (http:// servance to a month-long age growth of the Asian www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/ar- celebration. Per a 1997 population between 2008 chives/economic_census/cb10-107.html) Office of Management and 2009 was 2.6 per- found that 1.6 million businesses were and Budget directive, the cent, making Asians the owned by Asian-Americans in 2007, an China Insight sits down with Asian or Pacific Islander second fastest-growing increase of 40.7 percent from 2002. Busi- young Minnesota performer racial category was separated into two minority group (following the Hispanic nesses owned by Asian Americans had total Andrew Moy categories: one being Asian and the other population). Both of these statistics include receipts of US$514 billion in 2007, up 57.3 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. those who said they were both Asian alone percent from 2002. Page 10 Asian Pacific American (APA) Heri- or Asian in combination with one or more Throughout May, there will be many tage Month honors the achievements of other races. ways to celebrate APA heritage, the strength American ethnic groups with roots in Asia All in all, 48 percent of Asians turned out of Asian Americans and the many contribu- and the Pacific Islands and recognizes their to vote in 2008 — up 4 percentage points tions of Asian American and Pacific Island- contributions to the United States. The from 2004. A total of 3.4 million Asians ers to their local communities and the United U.S. Census Bureau lists more than 25 voted. (http://www.census.gov/newsroom/ States. such groups. As Americans, they contribute releases/archives/voting/cb09-110.html) Nation's city leaders push to Delegation from Loudi, China visits Eden Prairie, MN expand U.S. ties Page 6 By Chen Weihua, China Daily "The lower the level, the less standing of modern Xi'an. Happy ideological it is," said Rogers He described Xi'an as China's version of Weed, director of the Depart- Seattle since both cities have a strong avia- ment of Commerce of the state tion industry and are leaders in education Mother’s of Washington. and technology. His words were echoed by On [April 19], Xi'an's bureau of com- Mark Funkhouser, mayor of merce and the Trade Development Alliance Day! Kansas City (Missouri), who of Greater Seattle signed a Memorandum of said: "We don't have that [kind Understanding to boost bilateral exchange of politics], this event is a posi- and cooperation. tive thing." In his presentation, Wang Guozhong, At the meeting, Chinese vice-mayor of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, mayors tried to impress their brought along Shi Zhengrong, founder of Yue Huafeng, vice-mayor of Xi'an, Shaanxi province, U.S. counterparts and poten- Suntech, while Xu Liquan, mayor of Wei- presents a gift to Rogers Weed, director of the tial investors by touting their fang, Shandong province, made the city's Department of Commerce of the Washington State on strengths. international kite festival a top selling point. Tuesday at the meeting of the US-China Initiative on Ma Zhengqi, vice-mayor A total of 41 U.S. cities sent their mayors City-Level Economic Cooperation being held in Seattle, of Chongqing, a sister city of and representatives to the conference. Washington. Chen Weihua / China Daily Seattle for the past 28 years, "It's a great thing and a huge opportunity described the largest city in for cities in the United States to talk with SEATTLE, Washington - Mayors from western China as an undeveloped region. cities in China for real economic benefit. both the United States and China shrugged But he painted a five-year blueprint in which This is not a zero sum game and this is good ALSO IN THIS ISSUE off the ideological conflicts that have come Chongqing will make leaps in urbanization, for both sides," Funkhouser said. to underscore bilateral trade between both industrialization and internationalization. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said it's Opinion...................................2 nations and said on [April 19] they only care He talked about the city's fast improving important for his city to identify its advan- Events.................................3-4 about the bottom line. transportation and infrastructural facilities tages and build on its strength "so we can Education..............................6 A 70-member Chinese delegation, com- and inexpensive land and utilities prices in successfully trade with Chinese cities and A Passage to China.............8-9 prising businesspeople, mayors and vice- Chongqing. regions which are building their strength in Community....................10 & 16 mayors from large and medium-sized cities Yue Huafeng, vice-mayor of Xi'an, the global economy". Culture...........................11 such as Shanghai, Chongqing and Xi'an, Shaanxi province, introduced his city, the The state of Washington exported US$9 Government..................... attempted to demonstrate their strong inter- site of the terracotta warriors, as a natural billion in goods to China, making it one of 12 est in strengthening cooperation with their history museum on par with Athens, Rome the top U.S. exporters to the country. Commentary.....................13 U.S. counterparts at a [April 19] meeting and Cairo. McGinn said mayors in both the [United Economics.....................14 for the US-China Initiative on City-Level He said he believes the city's ancient Business.......................15 Economic Cooperation. wonder should not cloud people's under- U.S. ties continues on Page 14 PAGE 2 > MAY 2011 opinion www.chinainsight.info Release Ai WeiWei: to be awarded the Unilever Series commis- sion for the Tate Modern’s massive Turbine CHINAINSIGHT An overseas Chinese perspective Hall in London, in an exhibition that con- tinues through May 2. The Tate Modern Publisher: By Christine Wong Yap, New America Media, Posted: Apr 17, 2011 is one of the most popular art museums in Gregory J. Hugh the world, receiving about 7 million people import when viewed in this larger familial [email protected] visitors per year. continuum. Ai was detained on April 3 at the Beijing Visiting China colored my perception Airport. Since then, the Chinese govern- Editor: of Chinese issues. But my views are shaped ment has maintained almost total silence Jennifer Nordin by my personal experiences there—not on his whereabouts and physical safety. In [email protected] my status as an overseas Chinese that the addition, some of Ai’s associates have been government was so keen to impress on me. taken away by police or have gone missing. For example, my perspective on China’s Manager of Operations/ According to FreeAiWeiWei.organd the economic growth is complicated by the fact Circulation: Ai Weiwei Guardian, the whereabouts of Ai’s friend that my relatives live in rural villages sur- Richard He Wen Tao, studio partner Liu Zhenggang, rounded by rice paddies where generations [email protected] ver since international artist Ai driver Zhang Jingsong (Xiaopang), and of ancestors were farmers, an occupation Weiwei’s arrest by Chinese se- lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan are also unknown. that is no longer tenable. I met a distant Marketing Director: curity forces, I’ve felt compelled Ironically, Ai would have been con- E cousin who rode a rusty bicycle to work in to speak out against China’s human rights sidered an overseas Chinese during his Will Ahern a factory. That job, however low-wage or abuses. I am a Chinese-American artist stay in New York spanning the 1980s to [email protected] long-shifted, was a critical financial lifeline. whose deepening sense of pride in my par- early 1990s. He returned to China when I could no longer take my privilege as an ents’ homeland prompted me to identify as his father, a poet forced into re-education Production Editor: American for granted. an overseas Chinese. Now that pride is su- camps, fell ill. Nor can I tolerate dismissive, simplis- Dawn Murphy perceded by a deeper moral imperative—to The Chinese government may view tic statements about China. I tend to be [email protected] demand Ai’s release.