Sharkbites Newsletter

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AUGUST 27, 2022


Hello, everyone!

The Texan man who sent Asian American physician, professor and author, Dr. Leana Wen, threatening messages for her advocacy of the COVID-19 vaccine has been sentenced to six months in federal prison.


He sent Dr. Wen multiple messages and swore by his “12 gauge” that he would not take the vaccine. Other messages also referred to Wen’s race and national origin.

His public attorney, Elizabeth Oyer, said that he “sincerely apologizes for his conduct.” According to Assistant Federal Public Defender Cynthia Frezzo, at the time of his offense, he “was in the throes of undiagnosed, service-related mental illness,” but his arrest and supervision provided the mental health care that he needed.

Spotlight đź’ˇ

When the Taliban reentered and took over Afghanistan, journalists like Fawzia Saidzada were deciding to flee or stay.

Initially, the slogan that Saidzada and her brother agreed on was
“either freedom or death." However, the experience made her realize that her work had to be done abroad, rather than from within the country. After falsely promising the Taliban to report on other journalists like herself, Saidzada was able to get out of Afghanistan the day after the takeover. Meanwhile, her brother was held for 15 days.

She arrived in Berlin with the rest of her family six weeks ago, including her 13-year-old son, her mother, two brothers and one of her brother’s families. She continues to fight for women and young girls in Afghanistan, describing Afghan women as “heroes.” To Saidzada, "Afghan women are courageous, they are fighters who have faced war in the past four decades but have not lost hope."

She plans to finish her master’s degree in International Relations and to set up an aid program for Afghan youth in the country and to maintain contact with human rights defenders, women activists and former soldiers.

Fawzia Saidzada speaks to Reuters about her hope to set up an aid program for Afghan youth.

Image: Reuters

Race in America 🌎

MIT professor Gang Chen was wrongfully accused of spying for China back in 2021, but his research helped make a significant scientific discovery that carries huge commercial potential. 


In January 2021, accusations of espionage against Chen were dropped, but the experience of being arrested in front of his family and having his home raided by the FBI impacted his reputation and career heavily. Others have expressed support, telling him that all will go back to normal, however, Chen explained that finding his equilibrium again would be difficult. He still loves science but, “It’s really unfortunate. The wrongful prosecutions have created terror in people like me.”

For the Chinese professor, his research, along with his colleagues from MIT and other institutions like the University of Houston, helped determine that cubic boron arsenide materials can successfully conduct electricity and heat – an effective semiconductor. Currently, silicon materials dominate the semiconductor industry, but this discovery, as announced by MIT, could become a “promising candidate for next-generation electronics,” ranging from computer chips to smartphones.

MIT Professor Gang Chen speaks to CBS Mornings.

Image: CBS Mornings

In Other Asian News đź—ž

Indian families are bearing more girls than boys, and the Pew Research Center finds that the preference for male children is slowly fading.


In the 1980s, India, like many other countries, was largely daughter-averse, with many families using ultrasound and sex-selective abortions to ensure a baby boy. Consequences of this large gender imbalance included a shortage of women for marriages and the increased trafficking of and violence against women. 
However, since 2011, the gap in religious and patriarchal communities for the ratio of newborn boys to girls has been narrowing, with the most recent data from India’s National Family Health Survey showing that from 2019-2021, 108 boys were born to every 100 girls.

While affluent families are able to bypass the ban on identifying the sex of babies inside the womb, established in 1996, the numbers for boys in richer demographics have also been shrinking. 

 

...


In China, a leaked memo from Huawei’s founder on the bleakness of Chinese business futures sparked an online discussion of international relations and its impact on the general public.

After Huawei technology was considered a national security risk, Washington and other Western governments restricted the company from their markets and from purchasing foreign technology. As the Chinese economy struggles to reach its economic growth target of 5.5% this year due to pandemic restrictions and property industry crises, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei warned his employees that “the chill will be felt by everyone.”

As the company redirects its focus on profit over cash flow and expansion to survive the next three years, Ren’s words signal potential job cuts and divestments. His memo went viral on Chinese social media, sparking conversations on economic concerns on small businesses and the future of Chinese industries with some users blaming U.S. suppression as a cause for economic troubles.

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei speaks to TIME about his company goals.

Image: TIME

Film and Music đź“ş

“Batgirl” star Ivory Aquino was slated to be the first trans actor in a live-action DC film, playing the role of Barbara Gordon’s best friend. 


Aquino has tweeted a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to reconsider his decision to axe the film’s release, even though it was complete with a budget of $90 million. Aquino wrote, “As one of many who poured our hearts into the making of this movie, I ask that this measure be reconsidered. As much as I’ve tried my best to be strong these past few weeks, I’d find myself crying, for lack of a better term, from grief, and tonight was one of those nights.”

Ivory Aquino speaks about her experiences in a GLAAD video. She wears a black dress with her hair parted at the side.

Image: GLAAD

Arden Cho’s Netflix series “Partner Track” dropped on Friday. The series follows Cho’s character, Ingrid, as she fights for success as an Asian American woman and lawyer at her white male-dominated legal firm. 

Cho had this to say about one scene where her fellow Asian mentor did not particularly care for her character. 

“I think it's because as minorities, it's already so tough for us to get there. When we get into these positions, it's almost like a trigger. A lot of this pain and trauma, they had to battle alone. So they just don't have the energy, or the heart and capacity to help the next generation. It's almost like it's like generational trauma.” 
 

...


K-pop superstars TWICE released their new album “Between 1&2” with the music video “Talk That Talk” on Friday. It is their first comeback since all nine members renewed their contracts with label JYP Entertainment.  

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

  • A new report finds that about 16 million working-age Americans have Long COVID and two to four million are out of work because of it.  

  • China’s largest freshwater lake, Poyang, has shrunk, causing an island with a pagoda on it to become fully visible due to an extreme drought.

  • The minimum wage is being raised… in Thailand, for the first time in two years. 

  • The New York Times reviews the Korean action-comedy film “Seoul Vibe.”  

  • A 77-year-old woman is claiming to be the first Filipino to visit all 195 countries in the world.

Which country would you like to visit?

Daniel wants to visit South Korea to somehow run into BLACKPINK. I want to visit Vietnam and see the imperial palaces.

Sincerely, Mya Sato and Daniel Anderson

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