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Hello, everyone.

After a racially-motivated shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY, another gunman shot up a church in Laguna Woods, California.

The gunman chained the doors, put superglue in keyholes, and hid firebombs before opening fire on a Taiwanese congregation. During the shooting, Dr. John Cheng, a 52 year-old man, tackled the shooter, saving many church members. Dr. Cheng passed away while 5 other individuals were severely injured.

At this time, authorities suspect the reason behind the shooting, as determined through handwritten notes, to be the gunman’s hatred towards Taiwan. Further investigation reveals that the gunman was born in Taiwan after his family was “forcibly removed from mainland China to Taiwan sometime after 1948.” Further details are still being investigated.

Race in America 🌎

Since the onslaught of anti-Asian sentiment, harassment and violence motivated by the pandemic, Stop AAPI Hate, a non-profit organization dedicated to tracking anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, has been supporting three pieces of legislation aiming to curb violence.

These bills frame “harassment and violence as a public health issue” to change mindsets and ideologies instead of focusing solely on criminalizing racist behavior.

The first bill, SB 1161, requires “California’s ten largest transit systems to study harassment experienced by commuters and develop a plan to promote ridership,” while the second bill, AB 2549, “aims to raise awareness about street harassment by directing the California Department of Public Health to launch a public education campaign.”

In Other Asian News 🗞

In Myanmar, the shadow government's defense minister has called on the West to provide arms to its resistance forces.

Seeing the world rally to Ukraine’s aid has increased the request for international solidarity for Myanmar. In handwritten remarks to Reuters, the resistance expressed that they would be even more appreciative should there be “physical support such as arms and funding.”

With these resources, the rebellion could end sooner, which minimizes the damage to the nation. The alliance of anti-junta groups, otherwise known as the National Unity Government (NUG), currently fights with rudimentary and light weaponry. According to Reuters, the United States embassy and European Union delegation did not respond immediately to the call.

In North Korea, the effort against the recent fever outbreak continues.

The DPRK has reported “269,510 more people with fever, bringing the total to 1.48 million,” and a growing death toll from 6 to 56. The government has mobilized the military and 10,000 healthcare workers to distribute COVID medication and help with contact tracing.

While Pyongyang keeps its COVID infections heavily under wraps, estimates of infections climb.

Entertainment 📺

At the Juno awards, Indian Canadian artist Hitesh Sharma, known as Tesher, danced to his hit song, “Jalebi Baby,” with Simu Liu, in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month.

Initially, the song and performance started with Tesher listing a bunch of traditional South Asian deserts, but then Simu Liu joined the fold along with several South Asian dancers. The performance lasted 2-minutes and featured Liu and Tesher “bursting into a final Punjabi-style bhangra dance sequence.”

What else is on our minds? 🧠

Redrawing Kashmir assembly seats in India?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration released a list of redrawn constituencies in India-administered Kashmir to give more representation to the Hindu areas in the Muslim-majority territory. Experts and politicians say that this move to gerrymander the area will cause the Muslim vote to lose relevancy.

Mind-controlled technology?
At the University of Minnesota, researchers have developed a more “accurate, and less invasive” technology, allowing amputees to move their robotic arms through brain signals instead of their muscles. Current mainstream technology relies on a cable and harness system, but this new technology relies on “a small, implantable device that attaches to the peripheral nerve in a person’s arm.” Using AI, the device reads and interprets the brain signals, allowing patients to control their limbs using their thoughts. This effort included multiple Asian researchers along with their colleagues from different universities.

Celebrating Princess Mononoke’s 25-year legacy?
Considered one of Ghibli’s best films, “Princess Mononoke,” released in 1997, will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Despite its success in international and domestic markets, the film faced many challenges during distribution in the U.S., specifically against Harvey Weinstein. He wanted to cut the original 133-minute run time to 90 minutes. Thankfully, Miyazaki refused.

As always, thank you for reading, and stay safe.

Sincerely, Mya
Newsletter Editor

Sharkbites Newsletter

Taiwanese hate led to church shooting

Race in America 🌎

In Other Asian News 🗞

Entertainment 📺

What else is on our minds? 🧠