SEPTEMBER 24, 2022

Hello, everyone!

Lists honoring the Japanese American citizens incarcerated during WWII are notoriously incomplete due to the lack of proper documentation by the U.S. government at the time.

However, after three years of hard work, a research group, directed by project founder Duncan Ryuken Williams at the University of Southern California, finally finished compiling a masterlist recording all the names of those imprisoned in internment camps.

Their total was 125,284 names, including babies who were born during imprisonment.

This hand-bound 1,000 page book, along with an online searchable database, will be unveiled this Saturday at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

Spotlight 💡

Xiran Jay Zhao’s critically acclaimed novel, “Iron Widow,” is getting its own franchise adaptation.

Picturestart recently obtained adaptive rights and is planning to create a franchise around Zhao’s work. The New York Times Bestseller features a fictional universe battling alien invasions with giant robots, piloted by a male and female operator.

The Chinese YA novel features a young protagonist who volunteers in battles with the sole aim to avenge her sister who was killed by a male pilot during a mission.

Race in America 🌎

In Yuba City, California, Sikh Americans gather to celebrate at an annual parade started by the infamous “Peach King” that leaves behind a legacy of community and immigrant resilience.

The “Peach King,” whose real name is Didar Singh Bains, was a farmer and a community leader that started the parade in 1980, and soon popularized the area and created the largest peach farm in the state.

His work at the local Gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, and through employing Sikh immigrants on his farm made him a pillar for his community. Bains died last week at 84.

In Other Asian News 🗞

Han Lay, a beauty queen from Myanmar, was denied entry into Thailand. Han Lay, whose real name is Thaw Nandar Aung, found that her travel documents were invalid after attempting to re-enter Thailand from a trip to Vietnam.

As a public figure who spoke out against the military junta during her pageant speech, Han Lay took refuge in Thailand. Now, activists and Han Lay’s employer are advising Thai government agencies to not send her back as they remain concerned about her safety within the country.

After the national and international response against Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who claims he will not tolerate chaos, also announced at the U.N. General Assembly press conference that Amini’s death “must certainly be investigated.”

Raisi also pointed out that “every day, in different countries, including the United States, we see men and women dying in police encounters, but there is no sensitivity about the cause and dealing with this violence.” He asked, rhetorically, “Did all these deaths get investigated?” to highlight the double standards in the Western response against Iran.

Film and Culture 📺

A new trailer dropped for M. Night Shyamalan’s horror flick “Knock at the Cabin.” Based on a novel from Paul Tremblay, “The Cabin at the End of the World,” a family goes on a trip to said cabin in a forest.

Then, a stranger, played by Dave Bautista, arrives with a gang who are all carrying weapons. Bautista’s character tells them the fate of the world rests on a decision by the parents in the family.

The V&A museum in London has a new exhibit dedicated to pop culture in South Korea. “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” will contain over 200 objects ranging from clothes worn by K-pop artists like ATEEZ and Aespa to a replica of the bathroom in Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” film.

The exhibition has different sections highlighting Korean film and television, K-pop and beauty and fashion.

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• A bill aiming to grant Afghan refugees a pathway to permanent legal status in the U.S. has hit a snag. 

• A survey of Japan’s entertainment industry has found that over 90% cited power harassment as the most rampant harassment they’ve witnessed or experienced.  

• Saudi Arabia is launching its own space program with hopes to send a female astronaut into space next year.   

• Coastal cities in Asia are sinking the quickest due to climate change.  

• China has sentenced the man who attacked four women in a restaurant to 24 years in prison.