News + Opinion

In 2010, China implemented a program called “Special Focus” in which waiting parents can drastically cut the waiting time for a child. Some children’s files are marked “Special Focus” if the child has more significant or multiple medical conditions than other “special needs” children and/or is older. Through the Special Focus program, an adoptive family may adopt two unrelated children …

By Dottie Tiejun Li (Washington, D.C.)—The Metropolitan Police Department is reporting progress on finding “workspace” in Chinatown for a still-to-be-hired “Community Outreach Coordinator,” a civilian police force employee who will act as a liaison between MPD and the Chinatown Community. And the process of filling the job is well underway, too, according to Chief Cathy L. Lanier, who told Asian …

Vietnam and the United States are making progress on an agreement to once again allow Americans to adopt Vietnamese children, according to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA). During a late February visit to Hanoi, Sen. Landrieu, one of a number of senators and adoption groups who have been pressing Vietnam to implement stronger safeguards and increase oversight over the adoption …

By Janelle Wong The hallmark of the Asian American community is diversity. We are made up of people who hail from distinct nations and places, we encompass many religious traditions, we speak a plethora of languages, and we represent a vast array of cultural practices and migration histories. Given these and many other distinctions that cross-cut our community, what binds …

Immigrant women, including those who are undocumented, will receive enhanced protection against domestic violence under an updated version of the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was approved by Congress after a year-long fight and sent to President Obama for his signature on February 28. The Act, originally put into effect in 1994, lapsed in 2012 because of opposition …

By Yuhui Wang Photo Exhibition by American High School Students in Japan During the Summer of 2012 The massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 was the most powerful known disaster ever to have hit the island nation. It left parts of the country destroyed and devastated the lives of many Japanese people. The Japan Culture …

The Chinese Embassy opened its doors Feb. 6th for its annual Chinese New Year celebration. Over 600 Chinese Americans, community leaders, business owners, Chinese students and embassy staff gathered for traditional, authentic Chinese fare. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui and Madame Chen Naiqing welcomed guests wearing festive garb. Zhang made one his last speeches here before before heading back to China, …

The Embassy also held a farewell reception for Ambassador Zhang on Feb. 21. Top members of the diplomatic corps were on hand, as more than 300 people from the business community, think tanks, media and the Chinese community. A new ambassador from China is expected to arrive in Washington sometime in late March or early April.  

OCA-DC, an Asian Pacific American advocacy organization, hosted a Lunar New Year dinner for the homeless on Feb. 13. The dinner was held at Shepherd’s Table in Silver Spring, MD. A dozen members of OCA-DC, along with members of OCA-W, the Chinese Bible Church of MD, and Shepherd’s Table staff decorated the dining hall with lanterns, dragons and birds while …

Members of the area’s Chinese American community celebrated Chinese Lunar New Year 4711 on Feb. 10 in Chinatown. The annual New Year event is sponsored by The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, a group representing 30 Chinese-American organizations throughout the Greater Washington area. Over 40,000 people attended the festival and parade that featured traditional Chinese Dragon Dance, Kung Fu demonstrations, live …

By Michelle Phipps-Evans WASHINGTON, D.C.—Mayor Vincent C. Gray administered the oath of office to newly appointed members of the District of Columbia’s Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Affairs, Feb. 8 at the John A. Wilson Building. D.C. About a hundred guests looked on as nine community members and 10 government agency ex-officio members were sworn in.   The …

Case Against Korean Food Truck Dismissed  By Dottie Tiejun Li   (Arlington, VA)—The Korean fusion food truck Seoul Food will continue to roll, thanks to a judge’s decision completely dismissing a case against Hyun “Anna” Shil Goree, who owns the mobile eatery with her husband J.P. Goree. Shil faced up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine for …

By Dottie Tiejun Li Washington, D.C.—Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Chinatown’s business and neighborhood leaders have been struggling to find common ground since December when the Department cleaned out the longtime, but under-utilized, headquarters of the special Asian Liaison Unit (ALU) on H Street, close by the ceremonial arch. At a meeting January 7, the Chief faced …

Accurate numbers are difficult to achieve, but according to The Pew Research Center, both Maryland and Virginia are in the top twelve states in the U.S. with the highest percentages of undocumented immigrants, in this order: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Maryland, Washington, and Virginia. Here are the Pew Center’s best guesses for …

Emerging From the Shadows By Mary Tablante and Jhee Yoon Rockville, MD—Ray Jose thought his future looked bright during senior year at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. The Philippine-born athlete with an interest in medicine was intent on attending a university. So he was elated to be offered three college scholarships for track. But when he announced the wonderful …

Ray Jose says he’s lucky to be able to attend Montgomery College now, but worries that some of his fellow undocumented students are suddenly not as fortunate. It seems the Dream Act, which took effect January 1, is having the unexpected result of making education cost more, not less, for some of them. High school students in Montgomery County are …

AF Adding a new Federal Column In March, AF will begin a new column, Asian Feds that will feature any federal agency’s work, history, fun events or tidbits about its AAPI employees. The very first story idea came from the Federal Aviation Administration. Dan Treadwell of FAA discovered some archival photos of the agency’s AAPIs in the vault of the National …

By Devika Koppikar Gaithersburg, MD—Jisu Nelson, a Korean American hairdresser was making a modest income during the dot-com boom. So when her then-teenage son wanted to attend a special ROTC program in Rockville, she moved the family from Virginia to Maryland and became a homeowner. It took holding down two jobs, but the single mother was able to make her …

From: Wylie Chen  Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 7:42 PM To: Lanier, Cathy (MPD) Cc:David Chung; Richard Chiang; Chris Y. Chan; Martha Watanabe; Koo, Soohyun (EOM); Lawrence Liu; Groomes, Diane (MPD); Quander, Paul (EOM) Subject: Asian Liaison Unit Relocation January 23, 2013 Dear Chief Lanier: As members of the Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs, we write to express our concern over …

A Sample of Community Response to the Chinatown Meeting “I think the meeting was productive. There will be a civilian officer, there’ll be a space where victims if they need to, they can run to, instead of looking for roaming officers. Sometimes the phones are stolen, and they can’t just grab the nearest stranger and ask for help. So they …

By Lily Qi Having lived in the National Capital region for 15 years and worked for two local governments on economic development and public policy, I have come to appreciate the need for serious collaboration across the boundary lines of our counties and state governments. It is essential, if we are to effectively deal with the area’s biggest problems, from …

International Leadership Foundation (ILF) held a 3-day leadership retreat in Rockwood Manor, MD, where presidents of 10 ILF chapters attended to plan next year’s activities and to attend the Inauguration. The 40-delegate ILF group was one of the biggest sponsors of the Pearl Gala where 1200 people participated in the celebration at Mandarin Oriental. ILF is helping to develop a …

By Mary Tablante Japanese American Veterans Honored New Orleans, LA—To spread the story of Japanese-American veterans, the Congressional Gold Medal that was collectively given to Japanese Americans who served in World War II is on a yearlong tour, starting Jan. 11 at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Irene Hirano Inouye, widow of the late Sen. Daniel …