California Apologizes to Chinese Americans

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:44 AM By Ed Man Chew , In ,

To be serious for once. Chinese-Americans are finally getting an apology for the past racism during the Gold Rush Era in California. California approved a bill that will formally apologize for the racist laws during that time and also recognize the contributions of Chinese immigrants to the state of California.

During the Gold Rush Era, Chinese immigrants were forced to risk their lives building the Transcontinental Railroad that we still use today. All the while not having the same rights to own property, work in public, or marry whites.

To finally receive a formalized apology can start to bring some sort of closure and recognition to what our great great grandparents went through so that we can have the lives we have now.


California Apologizes to Chinese Americans
By LING WOO LIU Ling Woo Liu
Tue Jul 21, 5:05 pm ET

What's in an apology? Some expressions of remorse are commonplace - we hear them on the playground when kids smack each other on the head, or they land in your inbox after a friend forgets your birthday. It's the grand-scale apologies, it seems, that are harder to come by.


On July 17, the California legislature quietly approved a landmark bill to apologize to the state's Chinese-American community for racist laws enacted as far back as the mid–19th century Gold Rush, which attracted about 25,000 Chinese from 1849 to 1852. The laws, some of which were not repealed until the 1940s, barred Chinese from owning land or property, marrying whites, working in the public sector and testifying against whites in court. The new bill also recognizes the contributions Chinese immigrants have made to the state, particularly their work on the Transcontinental Railroad. (Check out a story about the Asian-American experience in late[EN]20th century California.)


The apology is the latest in a wave of official acts of remorse around the globe. In 2006, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a similar apology, expressing regret to Chinese Canadians for unequal taxes imposed on them in the late 19th century. Last February, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to his country's Aborigines for racist laws of the past, including the forced separation of children from their parents. Five months later, the U.S. Congress formally apologized to black Americans for slavery and the later Jim Crow laws, which were not repealed until the 1960s. And most notably, in 1988 the U.S. government decided to pay $20,000 to each of the surviving 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned in camps during World War II. Says Donald Tamaki, a San Francisco–based attorney who helped overturn wrongful WWII-era convictions of Japanese Americans: "Part of what a humane society does is recognize past injustices and address them."


The California resolution moved quickly through the state legislature since it was first introduced in February. "It's symbolic to recognize that the state made mistakes," says assembly member Paul Fong, who co-sponsored the legislation with assembly member Kevin de Leon. "These laws reverberate to this date because racism still exists." (Read about a new Asian-American stereotype in TIME'S 1987 cover story.)


Most of the direct victims of the laws in question have already passed away. Fong's grandfather was held for two months at Angel Island, an immigration station near San Francisco that targeted and detained several hundred thousand Chinese immigrants from 1910 to 1940. Dale Ching, 88, arrived at Angel Island from China's Guangdong province in 1937 at age 16. Though his father was an American citizen, immigration authorities detained Ching for 3½ months. "My intent was to try to have a better life, better than in China," says Ching. "But at that time, they didn't want you to get ahead."


How times have changed. In the throes of huge budget cuts, California is wooing cash-flush mainland Chinese tourists to its sun-kissed coastline and world-famous theme parks. So far this year, the state's Travel and Tourism Commission has opened offices in three Chinese cities. In 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger toured China on a six-day trade mission to peddle his state's produce, technology and raw materials. China is now California's fourth largest export market, after Mexico, Canada and Japan. In 2008 California exported $10.9 billion worth of goods to China, up 40% since 2005.


With the California bill in the bag, Fong now plans to take the issue to Congress, where he will request an apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only federal law ever enacted to deny immigration based exclusively on race or nationality. Passed in 1882, the law was not fully repealed until 1943, after China and the U.S. became allies in WWII. Given President Obama's decision to appoint Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary and Steven Chu as Energy Secretary, Fong says he's confident of the bill's passage. "As a person of color, President Obama would understand these issues," he says.


Fong does not plan to press for financial compensation for the surviving victims of the state and federal laws in question, despite the Japanese-American precedent. More important than individual compensation, he says, is to help educate younger generations about the mistakes of the past. That said, Fong may ask for funding to help preserve the Angel Island immigration station, dilapidated after decades of neglect. To complicate matters, the station is located within a state park that, along with several others, may be shut down to help balance California's budget shortfall.


Not long after his father helped negotiate his release, Dale Ching joined the U.S. Army and fought Japanese forces during WWII. He went on to become an electronics technician, but after retiring, he began volunteering as a docent at Angel Island in hopes of drawing more attention to that moment in history. "We've been fighting, but nobody would listen," he says. "Finally someone has said sorry."

Source

Back To School Special.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 10:57 PM By Ed Man Chew , In , ,



This is what happens when they drop sex-ed from schools because of budget cuts...

Attack of the Killer Ants!!!

11:14 AM By Ed Man Chew , In ,



WTF! I would kick an ants ass before it kills me.

Bolivian farmworker killed by ants

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

(07-21) 10:18 PDT LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) --

Bolivian police say that a 42-year-old man who fell asleep under an ant-infested tree has been killed by insect bites.

Beni city Police Chief Rolando Ramos says that farmworker Santiago Ortiz apparently had been drinking before sitting down beneath a Palo Santo tree — a type noted for its aromatic wood and for hosting a particularly aggressive sort of ant.

Ramos said Tuesday that when police reached the scene, the man was already dead, but swarms of ants were still crawling across his body.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/21/international/i101814D28.DTL

Racism Still Exists...

Saturday, July 18, 2009 12:56 PM By Ed Man Chew , In ,


All men are created equal...

One More...

Monday, July 13, 2009 11:03 AM By Ed Man Chew , In ,


They never showed this version of Jon on TLC...

Jon is Doing Fine Without Kate

Sunday, July 12, 2009 12:37 PM By Ed Man Chew , In , ,




No more lame "No Worry Beef Curry" shirts for this guy. He drops the baggage and his true douchebaggery comes to light.

Hanging out with Christian Audigier and his new GF. Forget about the kids and the ex-wife. He's got a life to live now.

All he needs now is to start training for MMA and he'll be the total douchebag package!

I wonder what Kate thinks? LOL!

Epic Fail!

Thursday, July 9, 2009 12:43 AM By Ed Man Chew , In , , , , , ,

Toy Yoda not Toyota

Soooooooooo funny.

Source - http://www.failpost.com/2009/05/toy-yoda-epic-fail/

Stuff Asian People Like - Free Calendars! LOL, it's so true.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 11:20 PM By Ed Man Chew , In , ,




Posted from Stuff Asian People Like

Free Calendars
Posted May 31st, 2009 by Peter

Hey there, SAPL Readers! This week’s post is based on Dustin’s observation about Asian people putting up advertisement calendars. He asks: “Have you ever noticed that whenever you go to some Asian person’s house, they have one of those calendars on the wall? *Like the ones from the bank with that part for the days that you could pull out that’s all perforated?* My dad’s family friend loves those. I also went to my other friend’s house the other day, and he had one on the wall too!”

Right when you walk into an Asian household, you can tell a lot about their buying habits and preferences. No, it’s not from the shoes they wear, paintings that adorn their walls, or the size of their television screens. It’s actually from one of the simplest forms of advertising: Free Promotional Calendars.

As long as shops have been around in Asia, shop owners have been giving out free calendars. Bank owners do it; Supermarkets embrace it; butchers, bakers, farmers and even tailors partake in this century old advertising scheme.

Allow me to explain: When an Asian goes into a supermarket, they expect a bonus when they leave. These bonuses are determined by how much money they have spent in that one outing. For example, if they’ve purchased 100 dollars worth of groceries, they should receive something to the extent of a 25-40 lb. bag of rice (and if you know bags of rice, they can get pretty pricey). I savor all those times I spent with my mom at the “giver’s” station (which was right before the supermarket exit. That is where we would receieve gifts ranging from calendars; to gas stoves; to even soy milk at our local ABC supermarket).

At a Traditional Tailoring Shop (which is the case with my family), clients would also expect a calendar around Lunar New Years (peak time for a traditional Vietnamese dress to be worn). I can also recall a number of disgruntled Asian women walking out of my mom’s store without calendars because they were out of stock. Why were they all pouting?

For the same reason metrosexual people purchase GQ and dads, Home Improvement magazines, Asian people can’t get enough of free business calendars. My mom’s shop, for example, relies heavily on this because the calendar would sport pictures of Ao Dai models and the various styles offered there. They would also provide customers with important information: the date and days of the week (hehe). Furthermore, they would also have our phone number in handy. Why pay for a 12-month magazine subscription when your calendar lasts 12 months and has new dresses every month? This brings us back to one of the core Asian principles…

Asians are Cheap. When will you find an Asian that would pass up something free? It doesn’t matter if it’s a calendar’s from a little-known bank or tailoring shop. The main point is that the item is free. In the end, life is so monotonous and boring. Free things give life a much-needed zest. In fact, I’m staring at a Vietnamese “Bank of the West” calendar as I type this post. (The odd thing is that my family has never even opened an account at Bank of the West). Walking down my hall, there is a Korean Drama Calendar and Christian Verses calendar; both compliments of our church and the local video rental store. Free Calendars are just good business practice in Asia.

TIP: I hope you enjoyed this post about Asian Promotional Calendars. The next time you go to an Asian store, keep a lookout for free calendars. Also note that they are seasonal (we all know no one needs a 2009 calendar in December of 2009). Other places to look are bakeries and restaurants.

Amy Has A Shirt Named After Her...

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:18 PM By Ed Man Chew , In , , ,

My GF has a shirt named after her. Like literally, the designer named the shirt after her.

I'm kinda jealous about that. I want something named after me...



You can buy it here - http://store.starsandinfinitedarkness.com/annchenamy.html

Or visit the official site here - annchen.us

It's only $145.

Happy Independence Day!

Saturday, July 4, 2009 12:47 AM By Ed Man Chew



Happy Fourth of July!

Be careful with the fireworks...