Politics

By Mary Tablante A diverse group of people gathered for the 57th presidential inauguration on Jan. 21 to watch President Obama takes the oath of office for his second term. Although the crowds were smaller than the 2009 inauguration, there were still hundreds of thousands who flocked to the National Mall and the inaugural parade route to witness a part …

By Devika Koppikar

By Michelle Phipps-Evans Washington’s AAPI stars sparkled brightly the night of January 20, coming out in celebration not only of President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, but also for the unprecedented increase in Asian American representation in Congress. The Pearl Inaugural Gala was held at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, filling two ballrooms with men looking dashing in black tie and women gliding …

Sister Cities International welcomed guests from all over the world and across the country to attend its star-studded Inaugural Gala, which took place at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a stone’s throw from the White House.  

By Devika Koppikar The Indiaspora Inaugural Ball 2013, the first Indian American inaugural ball, featured more than 1,300 guests at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, January 19, 2013. The event began with a VIP reception featuring prominent political and business leaders in the Indian community.  

300 party-goers attended the Hawaii Presidential Center Inaugural Gala at the top of the Hay Adams Hotel, overlooking the White House, during Inauguration Weekend. The five-star affair raised money for the Hawaii Presidential Center Initiative, a community-wide project led by the University of Hawaii to compete for the location of Barack Obama’s Presidential Library against Chicago. Dignitaries from Obama’s birth …

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 …

By Michelle Phipps-Evans Forty years ago an American president who had built his political career as a hard-line anti-Communist shocked the world by opening doors between the U.S. and China. Richard Nixon went further, personally visiting the Asian giant in a trip which produced the “Shanghai Communiqué,” a statement of foreign policy views gingerly worked out between the two nations. …

By Norman Mineta   One of the greatest Americans in his­tory passed away recently. I’m not entirely objective about Sena­tor Daniel Ken Inouye. (None of us who knew him can be.) Many Americans know him as the second longest serving U.S. Senator in history, who most recent­ly, as President Pro Tempore of the Unit­ed States Senate, was third in line …

By Dottie Tiejun Li I don’t question D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s original decision to close the under-utilized Chinatown sub-station that was home to the force’s Asian Liaison Unit. Big-city policing has evolved since the unit was formed in 1996, and the Chief has helped create progress. She has incorporated the latest technologies so her officers can spend their time …

Compiled by Mary Tablante News Updates Low-Key U.S. Reaction to S. Korean Election Washington, DC—Reaction from the Korean-American community to the election of 60-year-old Park Geun-hye as the first female president of South Korea has been quiet. The daughter of the late military dictator Park Chung-hee, she leads the conservative New Frontier Party. The Asia Society extolled her 30 years …

By Kaye Lin US President, Barack Obama visited Burma during his Southeast Asian trip, and met with Burmese President Thein Sein as well as Nobel laureate and opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. As he boarded on this trip with Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Obama makes history as a new relationship embarks between the United States and this …

By Daphne Domingo   The state of Hawaii overwhelmingly voted for Congresswoman Mazie Hirono (D-HI) to take over the U.S. Senate seat vacated by longtime Senator Daniel Akaka. Hirono, who has represented Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district since 2007, now becomes the nation’s first Asian American female senator, the first Japanese-born senator and first Buddhist senator. At the APAI reception November 29, …

By Devika Koppikar As Susan Jin Davis watched the election coverage on Nov. 6, she was increasingly anxious and emotional about the congressional races of all the AAPI candidates. But as the results became final, Davis, a board member of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), was able to relax and celebrate the victories of five candidates …

By Michelle Phipps-Evans This year’s general election on Nov. 6 will likely be remembered for its long lines. It may also be remembered as the first presidential election where national political journalists began focusing on the role Asian Americans played, and are expected to play in the future. It’s all in the numbers, with 17 million Asian Americans in the …

By Glenn Magpantay, Democracy Program Director at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)     Nationally, a whopping 73% of Asian Americans voted for President Obama, according to the exit polls. In the swing state of Virginia, Obama captured 66% of our vote. Asian Americans were a driving force in Virginia’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race. Preliminary …