SEPTEMBER 27, 2022

Hello, everyone!

Twenty-five Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations have banded together to advocate for state recognition and designation of Lunar New Year as an official holiday.

Their appeal to Governor Gavin Newsom will be decided on Tuesday by the San Francisco school board. While Newsom holds that “establishing a state holiday to recognize the contributions and history of the AANHPI community would be monumental for millions of AANHPIs,” concerns about the criteria of establishing school holidays arose.

Board member Ann Hsu was the only one to raise such concerns, stating that, “if we don’t establish any criteria and approve this request, every other community can ask for their own holiday and we would have to say yes to everyone,” which in her opinion is not “a practical way to manage a school calendar or run a school district.”

Spotlight 

Iranian American immigrants Arya Ghavamian, 31, and his co-founder, Mani Nilchiani, 36, of Cinema Tehran are dedicated more than ever to bringing Iranian film culture to the U.S.

The group organizes pop-ups throughout the city’s independent movie theaters to show films from around the globe, with a specific highlight on Iranian directors and creatives. Ghavamian explained that Cinema Tehran operates as the “​​antithesis” to mainstream film culture, creating “a space that is very inclusive of art that isn’t being marketed and pushed on Instagram feeds and billboards.”

Cinema Tehran comes after the duo’s huge success in organizing Disco Tehran, a performance project and party which sold out shows in the U.S. and Europe featuring slavic brass bands, Colombian tropical futurism quartets, Persian trap music, and much more. Hoping to continue this culture of intentional intersectionality, Nilchiani also explained their behind the scenes process also employs immigrants in their pursuit of cultural connection.

Race in America 🌎

In India, the icon of a bulldozer is often seen as an anti-Muslim symbol, but its use is traveling across borders, leaking into U.S. society and the South Asian community.

The bulldozer, which represents government-led demolitions of private homes and businesses of Muslims, outraged Hindus and Muslim Indians alike at the Indian Day Parade in New Jersey on August 14. Recognizing the discriminatory hate and Hindu nationalist ideals proported that day, organizers like Deepak Kumar, the co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights, expressed his outright disgust.

On the other side, some maintain the bulldozer’s symbolism to be one of law and order, and defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chandrakant Patel, an Edison restaurant owner who leads the Indian Business Association that organized the parade with officials, strongly advocated for that narrative. However, he apologized days later, stating that the group was aware it had “offended the Indian American minority groups, especially Muslims, from the local area and across the state and country.”

In Other Asian News 🗞

While Japanese government officials are gearing up to welcome international delegations sent to attend former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral, local residents are upset about the procession for various reasons.

Within the months following Abe’s death, information about ties between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the fringe religious group, the Unification Church, continued to emerge. Additionally, as plans to honor the late prime minister garnered national coverage, so did the numbers on the price tag. Along with existing negative sentiments about the LDP within the nation, citizens became increasingly upset with the procession and its toll on an already struggling economy.

On Monday, Typhoon Noru tore through the Philippines. At the time of this writing, at least eight people, including residents and rescuers, have died.

Noru landed first in the eastern Quezon province on Sunday, weakening as it blew into the South China Sea. Around 80,000 people have been evacuated from the affected areas, but some fishermen and citizens are reported to be missing.

Food and Music 🥘

Chef Yuki Onishi, founder of the first ramen shop to earn a Michelin star, has died at the age of 43.

It is unknown his exact date of death, but a tribute was posted on the restaurant’s website last Friday. “He was a meticulous and talented chef who enhanced the popularity of ramen across borders beyond Japan.  While mourning with his relatives and friends, Tsuta staff worldwide will strive to continue his legacy.”

BLACKPINK have made history by debuting at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for their newly-released second album “Born Pink.”

This is their first time debuting atop the chart and they are the first girl group to do so since Danity Kane with “Welcome to the Dollhouse” in 2008. They also topped the U.K. chart, making them the first girl group to top both the Billboard 200 and U.K. charts since Destiny’s Child 21 years ago.

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• A profile piece on how Kyoto is trying to set boundaries while still accommodating tourists. 

• Netflix unveiled a whole slew of trailers during their TUDUM livestream event over the weekend, including season two trailers for Korean series “Hellbound,” “Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Arena,” “Single’s Inferno” and much more. 

• The thousands of COVID-19 testing booths rolled out in China’s cityscapes may now be a permanent fixture. 

• A look at how Delhi has become a hub for art, fashion, nightlife and culture. 

• Former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev’s nephew has been sentenced to six years in prison on embezzlement charges.