By Yi Chen I have been a big fan of Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s films since his 1997 comedy Dream Factory. His films were part of a family tradition: around almost every Chinese New Year my family would go to see his Hesui Pian, or Lunar New Year blockbusters. Romantic comedies made him famous in China, but Feng Xiaogang is no …

Announces 2013 Summer Civic Fellowship Program for Asian Pacific American College Students in Washington, DC The International Leadership Foundation (ILF) is proud to announce that it is accepting applications for the 2013 Civic Fellowship program. For the fourteenth year, ILF will award over 30 fellowships to Asian Pacific American col¬lege students who the ILF identifies as exhibiting the qualities and …

By Amanda L. Andrei Ask any D.C. area resident for a recommendation on Vietnamese cuisine, and nine times out of ten you will be directed to Eden Center. Nestled on the northern edge of that legendary traffic nightmare known as Seven Corners in Falls Church, Virginia, Eden Center is more than a Vietnamese shopping plaza. It’s the largest Vietnamese commercial …

Virginia Virginia has some of the weakest regulations regarding guns of any state in the nation. State law preempts local gun regu­lation. The only firearms banned in Virginia are the Armsel Striker, also known as the Striker 12, similar shotguns, and plastic firearms. There are no limits on magazine capacity, although a concealed handgun permit is required to carry magazines …

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 …

By Jem Palo One night about 10 years ago in suburban Virginia, a young police officer was in the last hour of his shift on patrol when his experienced eye noticed something suspicious. There was a car cruising along, carrying four men. Wearing sunglasses. At night. Thinking that strange, the officer followed the car and the car slowed down. But …

By Dottie Tiejun Li Washington, D.C.—The Metropolitan Police Department finds itself still mired in controversy over a month after word leaked it was closing the longtime Chinatown headquarters of the Asian Liaison Unit, a team which combats crime against Asian American businesses and individuals citywide. Despite a promise from Chief Cathy Lanier to reverse the decision, made at a hastily …

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 …

Floyd Mori, former national executive director emeritus, Japanese American Citizen Alliance: As a young Mormon missionary back in 1959, when walking down the Main Street in Hilo, Hawaii, I ran into this distinguished gentleman with one arm. He was quick to shake my hand and tell me how his mother on Oahu often invited the Elders in for a cool …

By Michelle Phipps-Evans It has taken eight years, but area kids have their own museum back again. The National Children’s Museum (NCM) opened its brand new doors at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, Md., on Dec. 13. Scores of Washington area children joined by Sesame Street characters to welcome back the museum, which closed its Northeast DC location in …

By Michelle Phipps-Evans Several children converged at the Old Council Chambers at One Judiciary Square in Northwest Washington, D.C., for the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OAPIA)’s annual “Share a Smile, Give a Toy” Holiday Toy Drive celebration on Dec. 13. More than 340 donated teddy bears, Lego sets, dolls and cars made the more than 140 …

By Mary Tablante Falls Church, VA—After the Newtown tragedy last month, Mai Le, a petite 52-year-old originally from Vietnam, was frightened. Now living in Springfield, Va, she never felt threatened by gun violence before, but suddenly felt an urgent need to learn to defend herself. Le went to see Due Tran, a federally-licensed firearms dealer and lawyer based in Falls …

By Dottie Tiejun Li D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier fielded questions and comments from disgruntled citizens and business people Wednesday night (Dec. 5) over the abrupt shutting down of the Asian Liaison Unit’s longtime substation in Chinatown. By the end of the hastily scheduled and occasionally tense meeting, a somewhat chastened Chief promised to maintain a permanent police presence in …

D.C.’s newest A-Lister, Representative-Elect Tulsi Gabbard, Democrat of Hawaii arrives at an APAICS/CAPAC reception honoring the five latest House Members (and one Senator) of Asian descent to serve on Capitol Hill.  

During his stay at KenCen, celebrated pianist Lang Lang was busy around town, seen here autographing copies of “The Chopin Album,” his latest album for fans.

NASCAR driver Jeff Oleen (right) chats with Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett at an OCA-DC awards gala at the New Fortune Restaurant in Gaithersburg, Md. Oleen was recently named NASCAR “Rookie of the Year.”

New York and D.C. actor Christopher Mueller, right, greets Signature Theatre co-founder and artistic director Eric Schaeffer. The occasion was a Kennedy Center celebration for Schaeffer’s 50th birthday November 19. Mueller has performed at Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and in other D.C. and New York theaters. Schaeffer directs musicals around the world, including Broadway and London’s West …

By Jem Palo   Are Asian American students in Virginia public schools being held to a different—and higher— standard than children of other races? That is what some concerned parents and legislators see with a set of new state education goals, part of Virginia’s attempt to opt out of regulations in the No Child Left Behind law. But supporters of …

By Mary Tablante   Almost everything was perfect when Mala Nagarajan and Vega Subramaniam got married ten years ago. Surrounded by 155 family members and friends at the Seattle Aquarium, the couple had a joyous ceremony and honored their Indian roots with a Hindu ceremony. But the wedding was not completely perfect: the marriage wasn’t legal. Nagarajan and Subramaniam, now …

By Dottie Tiejun Li D.C. police Sgt. Kenny Temsupasiri steps out onto H Street, NW. It’s mid-morning, a partly sunny day in Chinatown, and the sidewalks are full of people. The rich smells of Chinese cooking are beginning to waft from the omnipresent restaurants. He’s planning to cross over to Sixth Street to visit a store which has been robbed …

Something on your mind? Tell us, at www.AsianFortune.com, and maybe everyone will see your comments here next month! While the world watched closely as China convened its 18th Party Congress in mid November, some Chinese Americans offered their view about the once-in-a-decade leadership change in China. The meeting of the 18th Party Congress marked the transition to a new generation of …

By Dottie Tiejun Li, Editor-in-Chief December is always a time to look back on the year that’s receding into the mists of the past and to peer into the year that’s coming. That’s especially true this year at Asian Fortune. Asian Fortune lost its founder, publisher and guiding light this past year. When Jay Chen left us, suddenly and much …

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, …