JUNE 22, 2022

Hello, everyone!

The House of Representatives passed the 21st Century President Act (H.R. 3285), which would protect the President and their families including if they were women or LGBTQ+ individuals.

Previously, 18 U.S.C. 879 criminalized threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict bodily harm on the President, his wife or widow and his family. But, with this revision, Presidents and their spouses or other family members would not fall under any gendered assumption. Instead, all language referring to the protection of the President and the First Family will be gender-neutral to extend full protection to anyone who may be elected.

The bill, proposed by U.S. Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02), passed unanimously by voice vote. 

Race in America 🌎

Bee Nguyen, a child of Vietnamese immigrants, is the Democratic State Representative who won the Georgia run-offs this election season.

She gained the party’s nomination and will face the incumbent, Brad Raffensperger, for secretary of state in November’s elections. Rep. Nguyen also raised more money than any other Democratic candidate in the primaries and received an endorsement from former member of the Georgia House of Representatives Stacey Abrams.

Nguyen currently serves in the State House seat that Abrams previously occupied and was the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Georgia’s General Assembly in 2017. If she wins her upcoming election, she will become the first Asian American elected to statewide office.

In Other Asian News 🗞

In China, two lawyers who fought for class issues are now facing a closed trial under the national security law.

Xu and Ding, aged 49 and 54, respectively, have prior arrests and convictions for their outspokenness and advocacy. They are influential figures in the New Citizens Movement that calls for wealth transparency in the CCP and for the government to recognize and allow Chinese citizens to exercise their constitutional rights.

While Ding went missing in December 2019, his friend, Xu, went missing in February 2020 after writing an open letter calling for President Xi Jinping’s resignation for mishandling the pandemic. They were both formally arrested on June 19, 2020 and civil rights groups are demanding their release, calling the trial a “sham.”



In Afghanistan, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake has rocked the Southeastern region, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring over 1,500.

The earthquake, with tremors felt in Iran and Pakistan, destroyed many homes across the area. The United Nations has already sent in teams to assist, but the Taliban government has not requested any aid, causing world leaders to wait on standby.

Details concerning the disaster are still being released and updated. 



Film 📺

Janet Yang, known as “the godmother of Asian Americans in the industry,” was honored with a pillar and a dinner at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Yang, a long-time producer for Hollywood and the current governor-at-large on the Academy’s board, is expected to succeed David Rubin as the new Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president. Her Chinese buffet dinner also saw many giants of the entertainment industry, including but not limited to James Hong, Daniel Dae Kim, Katherine Ho and even California State Treasurer Fiona Ma.

Oh, to be an icon in the film industry and have a Chinese buffet dinner in your honor. One can dream, right? 

Lucy Liu is part of a new animated adventure film from Walt Disney Studios, "Strange World,” featuring a spaceship and a multi-generational family.

Recently, the film industry has been focusing on the theme of family and relationships. And it’s working. I will still spend my money at theaters for this type of content.

Disney has brought on director Don Hall, who has worked on animated adventure movies that feature quirky families like “Big Hero 6,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Moana,” “Emperor’s New Groove” and “Meet the Robinsons."

Liu will be joining Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union, and Jaboukie Young-White in this film, which will hit theaters on Nov. 23.

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• Across Asia, sexual assault continues to be a major problem. In Japan, a government study found that this happens most frequently in public schools, where students are often manipulated by their educators.

• A Chinese father of two has been working two jobs, day and night. But he’s not just providing for his own family, he’s supporting seven other children in his neighborhood who are in need. 

• Sports competitions are not cheap, and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo cost more than a pretty penny — approximately $10.4 billion. 

• Do you want to be a curse-exorcising sorcerer? Look no further than Universal Studio Japan’s new collaboration with “Jujutsu Kaisen,” featuring a 3D ride, merchandise and food starting on Sept. 16.) 

• What does your kimchi taste like? North and South Korean recipes, ingredients and flavor profiles differ greatly. Here are the differences.