APIAVote Urges Responsible Coverage of Asian Americans and the Political Process

Leaders of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), a nonpartisan nonprofit civic engagement organization, yesterday urged media outlets to examine how their ongoing coverage of allegations involving political campaign donations by individuals of Asian descent may wrongly generalize the civic engagement of Asian Americans in the political process.

"An accumulation of stories focusing only on allegations involving donors of Asian descent creates an incomplete picture of Asian American civic involvement by neglecting to report on the overwhelmingly positive impact by Asian Americans in the political process," stated Vida Benavides, Chair of APIAVote.

"Prominent Asian Americans have in the past been subjected to generalizations in media coverage, such as Olympic athlete Michelle Kwan being identified in headlines as a foreigner, which is indicative of the ongoing struggle by many Asian Americans to dispel the myth that we are a homogenous group of outsiders to lawful campaign activity," said Eunsook Lee, APIAVote Board Member.

Asian Americans who donated to political candidates are exercising their right to participate in the electoral process. In 2004 it is estimated that Asian Americans raised and lawfully donated more than $6 million to local, state and federal candidates.

Gloria Caoile, APIAVote Board Member, urges the media to "report also upon the positive advancements that the Asian Pacific Islander American community has made over the last several election cycles and about the critical role this electorate will play in 2008 as potential swing voters in many jurisdictions nationwide."

Taeku Lee, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, wrote in an article published in 2000 that the media should not "racialize the issue of campaign contributions" by routinely representing "Asian Americans as homogeneous, voiceless, perpetual foreigners, and as Yellow Peril. Such media coverage surely feeds into the widespread myth and misconception about the political legitimacy and activism of Asian Americans."

The Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) is a national non-partisan, nonprofit organization that encourages and promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Islander Americans in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels.

Senate Democrats Highlight Legislative Progress for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today joined Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and Daniel Inouye (D-HI) to highlight how Senate Democratic achievements, and legislative priorities will help to improve the lives of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in the U.S.

“Senate Democrats have heeded the American people’s call for change and we have delivered on key priorities for hard working Asian American and Pacific Islander families and all Americans,” Reid said. “By putting the public interest ahead of the special interests we are changing the way business is done in Washington, DC. Whether it’s giving working families a long overdue pay raise, implementing key 9/11 Commission recommendations, providing healthcare coverage to millions of children, and giving more students the opportunity to achieve a college education, Democrats have worked hard and will continue to fight for a new direction for our nation.”

“Education has been the pathway to achieving the American Dream for Americans of Asian Pacific ancestry, as well as for all Americans,” Senator Inouye said. “The Senate’s new majority has widened that pathway with the passage of the Higher Education Bill, which provides the largest increase in college aid since the G.I. Bill.” Inouye said. “We have also shown our commitment to the Asian Pacific community and all Americans by raising the minimum wage, by providing health coverage for millions more of our children, and by increasing the security of our nation.”

“I am pleased with the progress we have made this year, opening access to education for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, increasing awareness of the needs of historically underrepresented groups such as Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, and ensuring students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to achieve a solid education,” said Akaka. “I am also very pleased that legislation authored by my colleague Senator Inouye to provide equitable benefits to brave Filipino veterans who fought alongside our troops in World War Two was favorably reported by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. As Chairman, I am well aware that our country owes them a debt of gratitude. This bill will remedy a long-standing injustice and fulfill our Nation’s promise to those who served.”

Some of the highlights of legislation Senate Democrats have passed and how it benefits Asian American and Pacific Islander families include:

* Minimum Wage Increase: More than 260,000 AAPIs will get a pay raise.
* Children’s Health bill: 9 million uninsured children will be covered. 12.2% of all uninsured children are Asian American.
* Higher Education bill: Will provide $17 billion in additional college aid to students – the largest increase since the G.I. bill – including many AAPI students, with over 20 percent of all AAPI students applying for federal student aid and loans.
* Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 -- the most sweeping ethics and lobbying reform in a generation: Giving the American people a government as good and as honest as the people it represents.
* Implementing key 9/11 Commission recommendations: This bill would make America more secure by implementing remaining critical homelands security recommendations made by the September 11th Commission.

Senate Democrats Working for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community: A Mid-Year Review of Senate Efforts to Address the Needs of AAPI Communities

Last November, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters sent a strong message to Congress that they expected a change in the way business was done in Washington, DC. Senate Democrats heard that call to action and have worked diligently to meet that challenge. From prioritizing and fighting for comprehensive immigration reform, to raising the minimum wage, increasing access to a Higher Education, and supporting our troops, Senate Democrats stand steadfast with the AAPI community in the mission to expand opportunities and improve the well being of Asian American and Pacific Islander families.

Ensuring a Pay Raise for Workers

Democrats respect the contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander workers and won the fight to raise the minimum wage. After a 10 year battle against Republican oppositionists, Democrats successfully increased worker pay checks. More than 260,000 hardworking AAPIs will benefit from the increase in pay. The new law raises the minimum wage from $5.15/hour to $7.25/hour in three steps over two years. The impact of this increase for low income Asian American families is significant because 8.2% of Asian Americans live in poverty. When the $7.25/hour minimum wage kicks in, workers will see a growth of nearly $4,200 in their income. That will translate into almost two years of child care; more than full tuition for a community college degree; a year and a half of heat and electricity; more than a year of groceries; and more than 8 months of rent.

Expanding Educational Opportunities

Democrats passed landmark legislation to make college more affordable for Asian American and Pacific Islanders. While higher education is becoming increasingly important to achieving the American dream, access to a college is becoming less affordable and accessible. Over 20 percent of all AAPIs apply for federal student loans. According to a Government Accountability Organization report approximately 81 percent of Vietnamese undergraduates reported that their parents paid none of their tuition. Over a quarter of Vietnamese, Filipino and Indian students depend on federal student loans. That is why Democrats worked to pass legislation to level the playing field and ensure access to a higher education is available to all. The Higher Education bills passed in the Senate there would:

* Increase student aid for low and middle-income students $17 billion in new student aid and expanding Pell grant eligibility to 250,000 low income students.
* Make student loan debt more manageable
* Expands student loan debt forgiveness for those who commit to public service
* Hold colleges and states accountable for rising educational costs
* Simplify the financial aid process, and reform the student loan system to work for students, not banks.

Under Democratic Leadership, the Senate passed legislation to expand the Head Start program. The program provides children with cognitive, social-emotional, and academic skills, helping to prepare them for success in school. Studies show that children who have participated in Head Start programs are better prepared for school than their peers who have not had the benefit of Head Start. On June 19, the Senate passed the “Head Start for School Readiness Act,” which would increase funding and expand access for the Head Start program to include additional low-income children up to 130 percent of the federal poverty line. The bill would also double the size of Early Head Start, delivering services to over 56,000 additional children.

Expanding and Improving Healthcare

Democrats are working to ensure health care coverage for children. Approximately nine million American children do not have health insurance and in 2005, 12.2% of Asian American children were uninsured compared to 7.2% of non-hispanic white children. . The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) extends health insurance to low-income children who do not qualify for Medicaid but whose families cannot afford private insurance. To address this year’s budget shortfalls, which would have left 14 states without money to provide full CHIP coverage, Congress included $650 million in funding to CHIP the 2007 Emergency Supplemental. The Senate approved CHIP Reauthorization legislation, which includes a $35 billion increase to the program. The bipartisan bill in the Senate will maintain coverage for all 6.6 million low-income children currently in CHIP and provide health insurance to 3.2 million more.

The 110th Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to ensure the availability of breast and cervical cancer screenings for low-income women. According to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, AAPI women have the lowest rate of cancer screening compared to other ethnic groups. For instance, the rate of cervical cancer among Vietnamese Americans is five times higher than that for white women, representing the highest rate for any racial or ethnic group. In April the President signed the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, which reauthorized and increased funding for the program to subsidize mammography exams, pap tests, and other screening exams. The law would also allow some states to spend grant money on outreach programs to underserved women who may not otherwise know about the program.

Supporting, Honoring, and Caring for Our Troops and Veterans

Democrats provided funds to support our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are over 62,000 AAPIs on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, many of them serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In the 2007 Emergency Supplemental, Democrats support our troops and fully funded the President’s requests for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, which includes funding to support the current troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and funds for the escalation force of 21,000 combat troops and 4,729 support personnel in Iraq and 7,200 troops in Afghanistan.

Democrats are also committed to investing in the resources needed to care for our veterans. There are nearly 295,000 Asian American military veterans, one in three of whom are 65 and older; over 28,000 are Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, one in five of whom are 65 and older. One of the best ways to honor America’s more than 24 million veterans for their service and sacrifice in past and current conflicts is to provide them with high-quality, comprehensive care once they return home. In both the 2007 Emergency Supplemental and the 2008 Budget Resolution, Congress provides for additional funding for veterans’ health programs.

Democrats are moving forward on addressing the needs of Filipino veterans. Eligibility for compensation and pension benefits are the greatest concern for the aging Filipino veteran population, many of whom live in the Philippines. A modified version of Senator Inouye’s Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007, was included in the omnibus veterans benefits bill that was ordered reported in June. This bill, S. 1315 as amended, would increase the rates of VA disability compensation for Filipino veterans residing outside of the United States. This legislation would create parity among these veterans, mandating that they all receive the full-rate of disability compensation, regardless of whether they live in the United States or abroad.

Advancing Energy Independence and Environmental Protection

Democrats worked to pass Energy legislation that encourages fuel diversity and renewable energy to reduce costs, pollution and our dependence on oil. The Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 is a landmark energy legislation that will increase our energy independence, strengthen the economy, enhance our national security, reduce global warming emissions, and protect consumers.

Supporting Small Businesses -- the Engine of our Economy

Democrats restored funding and resources to critical Asian American and Pacific Islander small business programs. There are more than 1.1 million Asian American owned firms, contributing $327 billion to the economy, and nearly 29,000 are owned by Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Over 2.2 million workers are employed by AAPI small firms.

The vast majority of these firms are considered small businesses. In the 2008 Budget Resolution, Congress rejected the President’s proposal to cut assistance to America’s small businesses and provided for the restoration of funding for the Manufacturing Extension Program, which helps small businesses adopt advanced manufacturing technologies. The measure also provided robust resources for the SBA’s budget, which has already experienced deep cuts to key programs including federal contracting oversight, veterans’ small business programs and microlending.

Restoring Transparency and Accountability in Washington

Senate Democrats delivered on yet another promise made to the American people by achieving final passage of S. 1, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 -- the most sweeping ethics and lobbying reform in a generation. In so doing, we are giving the American people a government as good and as honest as the people it represents.

The legislation will prohibit gifts and travel from lobbyists and companies that hire lobbyists, put an end to pay-to-play schemes like the Republican K Street Project, dramatically increase public disclosure of lobbyist activity, slow the revolving door between Congress and the lobbying world, require transparency in the earmark process, and increase penalties for corrupt politicians and lobbyists.

The American people have made it abundantly clear that unethical and illegal behavior will no longer be tolerated in the halls of Congress, and we look forward to the President enacting this sorely needed reform.

Maeley Tom: 'API Politics: How We Got Here,'

The following article was originally published in Maeley Tom's Capitol Watch column in the July 6, 2007, issue of AsianWeek. Maeley is a CAPA board member.

At the national OCA convention in Sacramento on June 29, I was asked to share a panel with my colleagues Kathay Feng and Asian American journalist William Wong, in order to discuss the state of Asian Americans. My role was to discuss API politics: past, present and future. Here are some excerpts from my presentation.

The ‘70s: Politically speaking, APIs were an invisible ethnic community in terms of state politics. APIs were considered academically superior, economically advantaged and model citizens, yet politically speaking, we were impotent.

There were many reasons why political recognition eluded this community. Historically speaking, the legacy of discrimination barring APIs from voting and the naturalization process is rather recent, compared to other immigrant groups in this country. The complexity of the various API ethnic groups, separated by cultural histories and rivalries, fractionalized these communities against one another. The language and cultural obstacles tended to insulate the predominately new immigrant communities from assimilating into American culture. The preoccupation with economic survival, education for financial security, and the value of self perseverance as a way to attain individual success, left little time for political participation. And finally, a disdain for the political process, which only reminded the new immigrants of the tyrannical governments they fled, made them reluctant to vote.

APIs who did participate in politics during those days were generally one-dimensional political participants, donors who were not so interested in engaging in the political process, but instead, were interested in making contributions for self-enhancement, with no real sense of obligation to community issues.

This community was reluctant to make waves to bring attention to itself. It was incapable of delivering a large block of votes because of low voter participation, compounded by the fact that APIs was pretty evenly split between two parties. No wonder they were ignored by the political institutions and were considered the invisible minority.

However, there were a small number of organizations during this era that tried to bring some focus on API issues such as the Japanese American Citizens League, Chinese American Citizens Alliance, and of course, the Organization of Chinese Americans. But their specific ethnic identity and their non-profit status provided some barriers to their political involvement.

The Political Maturation of the ‘80s: During the 1980s, there was a sign of political maturation among APIs because there were highly charged issues that mobilized this community to get involved, such as the Japanese redress issue, the U.C. admissions issue, the rejection of the confirmation of Dan Lungren for State Treasurer of California, and the growing number of hate crimes like the Vincent Chin tragedy. These test cases of activism helped motivate a new generation of activists and political leaders to mobilize coalitions representing the various interests and ethnic groups of the API communities.

There was a stark absence of API elected officials during the ‘80s. Here in California, a small cadre of API legislative staffers tried to fill the void by forming a network of volunteers who conducted community outreach to recruit more APIs to work at the state Capitol, encouraged political participation through voting or running for office, and served as an information source for elected members to understand the API community and its issues.

There were efforts to unite all the API ethnic groups to gain some political attention as one group, versus a lot of little groups. The result of this effort was the first statewide API democratic leadership conference, which brought together California gubernatorial candidates to address API issues for the first time. Based on the success of this statewide effort, this group convened a national API democratic leadership conference that provided presidential candidates with the first national public forum to address API issues in U.S. history.

In short, the API communities were finally publicly asking candidates where they stood on issues important to their respective communities, before committing their dollars and votes to candidates. Mainstream political institutions were finally starting to understand that this community was no longer willing to be politically ignored.

More and more API candidates were breaking barriers by being successfully elected to local offices, school boards, state legislatures and to state constitutional offices, such as March Fong Eu, and of course, former Gov. Gary Locke, who started in the Washington legislature in 1982.

Eu’s quest for a statewide seat, in a state outside of Hawai`i, demonstrated that APIs were no longer shy about seeking seats at the highest level.

Ming Chin’s appointment to the Alameda County Superior Court in 1988 started his 1996 ascension to the State Supreme Court, a monumental achievement for APIs who are still fighting for fair representation in judicial appointments.

CAPA Support for Bill Allowing Public Access to Disciplinary Records of Police Officers

CAPA board president Dale Minami and board members Henry Der, Tessie Guillermo, Carole Hayashino, Yvonne Y. Lee and Steve Ngo sent a June 20, 2007, letter to Calif. Assemblymember Jose Solorio requesting the Assembly Public Safety Committee's support for SB1019, legislation that would overturn a misguided California Supreme Court case in Copley Press that has "had the effect of closing down public access to information abut police complaints in jurisdictions throughout the State," said the letter.

"CAPA is a political action committee registered in California for the purpose of supporting and promoting political and policy concerns of the Asian Pacific American community and supporting civil rights of all Americans. The ability of members of the public, community organizations, and the press to have access to information about government is of particular importance to our community. In 1942, Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced into internment camps based on the now discredited justification of 'military necessity.'

Forty years later, documents unavailable at the time of this civil rights disaster proved that the government was lying to the Supreme Court and the public to justify governmental action. The lack of transparency in official actions is also illustrated by the experiences of the Chinese and other Asian immigrants who were detained at, or sent back from , the Angel Island Immigration Station with no explanation from the authorities. THIS occurred until the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943.

"Most other states provide greater access to records about sustained police complaints that California and even in California, members o f the public can access information about sustained complaints about all other public employees, doctors, and lawyers. We should have the same right of access with regard to police complaints.

"Transparency and open access are fundamental to the public’s trust in a democracy. Secrecy around citizen complaints about police misconduct and discipline will only result in greater mistrust of the police and poor police-community relations. We strongly urge your support for SB1019."

Presidential Candidate John Edwards Meets with CAPA and Bay Area Asian Americans

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards expressed his commitment Monday evening to more than 40 leaders in the Asian American community that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders "will be represented at the highest levels of my campaign and my administration." He also answered questions related to immigration reform, marriage equality and the Bush administration's erosion of civil liberties in its "war" on terror.

The gathering was hosted by the law firm of Minami Tamaki LLP and the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA),a political action committee supporting candidates with a record of advocating issues important to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

CAPA had previously endorsed Senator Edwards in his 2004 Presidential bid but has not made a Presidential endorsement yet. “We were pleased to respond to Edwards’ outreach to the API community with a meet-and-greet and not a fundraiser” said Steve Ngo, CAPA Board member.

CAPA President Dale Minami recognized Edwards' previous track record in hiring AAPIs: "Sen. Edwards hired Asian Americans in senior campaign staff positions in his previous campaign and has API's represented in this campaign. I believe John Edwards is truly committed to diversity and inclusion”

One of the highlights of the event was the attendance by John Chiang, California State Controller and the highest-ranking Asian-American officeholder in the continental United States.

Other notable elected officials attended the meeting, including Board of Equalization chair Betty Yee and San Francisco Assessor Phil Ting. Other guests included former U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner, Yvonne Lee, state Democratic Party AAPI caucus chair Julie D. Soo, immediate past president of the Bay Area Asian American Bar Association David Chiu, and Asian American Small Business PAC political director Bill Wong.

Their attendance was not an endorsement of Edwards.

Asian American Leaders Criticize AsianWeek For Printing “Why I Hate Blacks”

Asian American leaders joined together Feb. 23 to criticize AsianWeek for printing Kenneth Eng’s column “Why I Hate Blacks” in its February 23rd edition. The leaders condemn the piece as irresponsible journalism, blatantly racist, replete with stereotypes, and deeply hurtful to African Americans.

They called on AsianWeek to take immediate action and issue an unequivocal apology, terminate their relationship with Kenneth Eng, print an editorial refuting the column, review their editorial policy and process, and hold those responsible accountable.

(The original column was deleted from the AsianWeek website the morning of Feb. 24. Download a PDF of the article.)

An online petition is available at: http://www.capaweb.org/awpetition

“Eng’s article is unacceptable and offensive not only to African Americans, but to all Americans,” said Karen K. Narasaki, President and Executive Director of the Asian American Justice Center. “AsianWeek has a responsibility to its readers and to the community to take immediate and appropriate action to repair the serious damage it has caused by publishing this piece.”

“Most Asian Americans would not be here in America today, but for the civil rights movement led by African Americans that resulted in the change to racist immigration quotas,” said Stewart Kwoh, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California.

"It's irresponsible for a publication like AsianWeek to publish an article that advocates hate and bigotry," said Vincent Pan, Executive Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action.

“The publication of these racist statements is completely irresponsible and damaging to all our communities. Not only should there be a retraction but a serious effort to repair the harm caused,” said Gen Fujioka, Program Director of the Asian Law Caucus.

“Asian Americans should recognize the debt we all owe African Americans who blazed the civil rights path we have walked on in our journey to equality,” said Dale Minami, President of the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans.

“Eng’s column harkens back to a era of Jim Crow and bigotry that should not be tolerated in our society,” said Eric K. Yamamoto, Professor of Law

“Eng’s vile racism is a setback to the efforts of people of color working together against discrimination, oppression and injustice,” said Keith Kamisugi, Associate Director for Communications at the Equal Justice Society. “His words alone are disgusting; that it was printed in a prominent English-language Asian Pacific American newspaper is shameful.”

“Asian Americans do not share Eng’s extremely racist views. Asian Americans need to take this opportunity to reach out and build a constructive dialog.” Yvonne Lee, Former Member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

“It is critical that our Asian American community stands up and tells America — and particularly our African American brothers and sisters — that our community has no tolerance for the racism expressed by Mr. Eng,” said David Chiu, President of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area.

Sign our petition!
http://www.capaweb.org/awpetition

Boycott Quicken Publisher; Intuit Trying to Buy Election Against John Chiang

The Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans is asking consumers to stop buying Quicken software and other products made by Mountain View-based Intuit in response to the company's attempt to buy an election away from state Controller candidate John Chiang.

CAPA is also asking Intuit senior vice president and chief financial officer Kiran M. Patel and other Asian American and Pacific Islander officers and employees of the company to explain why their company is spending money against a qualified APA candidate to preserve software sales numbers.

Chiang, a Board of Equalization member running for Controller, supports a simplified tax filing process called "ReadyReturn," which helps low-income Californians because it does not require the purchase of tax software such as Quicken.

Intuit apparently believes that Chiang's election as Controller would impact sales of the company's products and is willing to spend $1 million to prevent that.

DONATE TO JOHN CHIANG

"Boycott new purchases of Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax if you're against corporations blatantly buying candidates," said Dale Minami, president of CAPA. "With a million dollars, Intuit could have donated at least 20,000 copies of their product to low-income tax filers, but instead threw that money to prevent the election of John Chiang."

In an Oct. 29 editorial, the Sacramento Bee said: "When you see attack ads against Chiang on the television, you know who paid for them, and what kind of favors they will expect in return. You can make sure they are wasting their money by helping to elect John Chiang as California's next controller."

DONATE TO JOHN CHIANG

CAPA is asking people to send pledges to boycott Intuit products via email or fax to co-founder and executive committee chairman Scott Cook, president and CEO Steve Bennett and chairman Bill Campbell:

Bill Campbell, Chairman of the Board
Bill_Campbell@intuit.com
fax 650-944-5295

Scott Cook, Co-Founder & Executive Committee Chairman
scott_cook@intuit.com
fax 650-944-5295

Steve Bennett, President
fax 650-944-5295