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A new survey from Coqual, a global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion think tank, has revealed the impact of rising rates of violence and anti-Asian sentiment on the mental health of Asian and Asian American professionals.

The survey, which was completed by 2,634 college-educated professionals who were employed full-time, found that 63% of respondents said the ongoing violence has negatively impacted their mental health, while 45% said it has impacted their physical health. It also broke down the findings by regional background when possible, with 824 Asian participants completing the survey, 405 of whom identified as East Asian, 227 as South Asian, 167 as Southeast Asian, and 25 as having multiple Asian backgrounds. However, a small survey sample size led researchers to capture the experiences of Pacific Islander populations through focus groups and interviews.

Over 60% of Asian and Asian American respondents said the violence has also negatively impacted how safe they feel while commuting to work, while half reported it has affected their ability to focus at work. "In urban areas, commuting on public transportation has changed from a routine practice to something to avoid at all costs" for some professionals, according to the report authors. Hybrid and fully remote work were welcomed by many Asian and Asian American professionals in the wake of COVID-19, as some feared harassment or assault once they left their homes. However, only 33% of respondents said that their remote work options met their personal needs. Almost 60% of respondents noted their companies offered mental health resources, but only 1 in three thought the resource addressed their needs sufficiently. Almost half of the respondents strongly believed their companies should address violence in the AAPI community, but only 26% felt their company was vocal about the issues.   

Additionally, there were generational differences in responses as well. Younger Asians and professionals were more open to tackling mental health conversations while older generations were less familiar. According to Sy Stokes, Vice President of Research at Coqual, older professionals "didn't really have the privilege of having access to the knowledge and education related to racism and mental health, like current generations do." 

• Korean American wedding planner Christine Chang has become known for her specialization in combining Asian and American traditions to weddings. Chang, who also creates Korean tea ceremonies for clients, can now add actor to her resume. Art imitates life as Chang stars as a lead in the film “The Wedding Hustler,” playing a wedding planner. She studied with an acting coach multiple times a week and filmed from May to June of 2021.     

• Chinese massacre memorial: The city of Los Angeles will soon have its memorial for the 1871 massacre of Chinese people that killed at least 18 people, or about one-tenth of the Chinese population in the city at the time. The Department of Cultural Affairs has selected six design finalists from a pool of 176 entries submitted from all over the world, with all the design teams including members with AAPI backgrounds. The proposed budgets for the memorial vary widely, from $350,000 to $1.5 million, and will be paid for by a combination of support from the city and private donors. The public will have a chance to provide feedback on the designs before a winning design is chosen by late March. The project to build a more meaningful memorial was launched in 2021 on the 150th anniversary of the massacre by former Mayor Eric Garcetti, who also issued an apology on behalf of the city for the killings. Check out the six proposed designs in the link. 

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• Sawant steps down: Councilmember Kshama Sawant, the most senior member of the Seattle City Council and the city's only elected socialist, has announced that she will not seek reelection when her term expires in December. Instead, Sawant will form a new national labor campaign called Workers Strike Back, which will aim to achieve pay raises, affordable housing, union jobs, and other protections for the working class. Sawant, who represents District 3, has been on the council for a decade and has pushed for progressive policies, including successfully mobilizing supporters of a $15 minimum wage and helping to deliver a key promise of her initial campaign. She also helped pass the JumpStart payroll head tax on the city's largest employers, defeated an effort to recall her from the council, and pushed to defund the Seattle Police Department.

• Fire in Seoul village: A fire occurred in Guryong Village, a shanty town in Seoul, South Korea on Friday, causing the destruction of 60 homes and evacuation of around 500 residents. Emergency services took five hours to control the fire, which broke out before dawn in the slum area. There were no reported casualties. Guryong Village is one of the few remaining shanty towns in the capital and is known as a symbol of inequality in South Korea. The village has a history of fires and flooding and has ongoing safety and health issues. The government had previously planned to redevelop and relocate the area after a fire in 2014, but these plans have not progressed due to ongoing disagreements between landowners, residents, and authorities.

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• The last generation?: The Chinese government announced this week that the country has entered an "era of negative population growth" due to figures showing a historic drop in the number of people for the first time since the great famine between 1958 and 1961. This decline is attributed to the rising costs of bringing up children and the lack of welfare provisions. Despite the government offering incentives such as tax breaks, subsidies for childcare, and longer parental leave, many young Chinese people, particularly women, are not keen on having children. Eunice, a 34-year-old English tutor, said, “I heard that some hospitals refused to treat children who couldn’t produce negative test results… The pandemic brought on a strong feeling of uncertainty. Having children is not something I’m considering now.” Others remarked, “In this country, to love your child is to never let him be born in the first place,” and, “It costs too much to give kids a decent life. The stuff they teach at school is propaganda, so I’d want to send them to an international school or abroad. But I can’t afford that.”

• “Interior Chinatown” expands: “Interior Chinatown,” a new series in the works for Hulu from 20th Television and creator/executive producer Charles Yu, has cast Diana Lin, Archie Kao, and Tzi Ma in series-regular roles. The drama centers around Willis Wu, a background character stuck in a police procedural. He uncovers secrets about the strange world and his family’s history. Lin will play Willis' mother, Kao will play Willis' grumpy boss, and Ma will play Willis' father. Taika Waititi will direct the pilot episode. 

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• TWICE’s new English single: K-pop girl group TWICE dropped their latest English-language single “Moonlight Sunrise” on Thursday. The new track is the pre-release for their upcoming 12th mini-album “Our Youth,” which is set to come out in March. “Our Youth” is a follow-up to their previous mini-album “Between 1&2,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. “Moonlight Sunrise” is the group’s second English-language single following their 2021 song “The Feels.” Not only is “Moonlight Sunrise” a pre-release, but it’s also a precursor of what’s to come. In late 2022, JYP Entertainment released an investment plan stating that TWICE’s return with “Our Youth” will be followed by a massive world tour. TWICE’s Japanese subunit, known as MiSaMo, also recently released its debut song, “Bouquet.” The subunit consists of TWICE’s three Japanese members, often referred to as the “J-Line”: Mina, Sana and Momo.

• The University of California Board of Regents fired tenured UC Davis professor Ting Guo after an investigation revealed he sexually assaulted an 18-year-old high school student. 
   
• A documentary about BTS member J-Hope will premiere on Disney Plus on Feb. 17. 
   
• Domino’s in Japan released a bacon milkshake meant for dipping your pizza in. 
   
• A pet fish revealed the credit card info of its Pokémon Youtuber owner on a livestream.
   
• Vietnam is celebrating the year of the cat, not the rabbit.