AUGUST 13, 2022

Hello, everyone!

Minnesota candidate, May Lor Xiong, is the first Hmong Republican in the country to win a GOP primary for a House seat – she earned 83% of the votes.

She will go on to challenge the current incumbent, U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat, for Minnesota’s Fourth Congressional District in the fall.

Xiong, a public school teacher in St. Paul, is a child of refugees. The protests in the state capitol from the Black Lives Matter movement largely influenced her decision to run, and her policy stances on inflation, crime and education are what she believes will help her win a challenging race.

She also notes that Hmong representation in local politics is huge, but the representation at a national level is lacking. The community, which has always been active in politics, is now reaching new heights with political power and influence with many Hmong candidates running and winning their respective elections.

Spotlight 💡

In the theater, Aya Ogawa is making waves with her critically acclaimed play, “The Nosebleed.”

The story was inspired by her late father, who Ogawa had a rocky relationship with. Now, after his death, she thought about memorializing him and talking about the failings she experienced going through life with an absent father through a creative medium. From that, “The Nosebleed'' was born.

She also analyzes her own failings in this vulnerable piece, which for Ogawa, is a rare thing. She never thought she would write about her father, and now, she is playing her father in her own play. The performance is compelling but not uncomfortable for those who may struggle with familial issues of their own.

“It’s a mind trip, you know?”

Race in America 🌎

Next Tuesday in San Francisco, California, a town hall on protecting Asian elders and prosecuting hate crimes will take place at 6:00 p.m. PT.

The police chief of the San Francisco Police Department, Bill Scott, and the San Francisco District Attorney, Brooke Jenkins, will both be present to listen and address questions of safety and legal proceedings. The town hall will also be live streamed for those who cannot make it in person. The official address is 829 Stockton St. in Chinatown.
 

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British India-born author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck on Friday as he prepared to give a lecture in New York City.

Rushdie, 75, was flown to a nearby hospital after witnesses saw a man punch or stab him 10-15 times as he was introduced at the Chautauqua Institution. Rushdie and event moderator Henry Reese were about to discuss the U.S. being a refuge for writers and other artists in exile when both were attacked. The attack lasted about 20 seconds.

While the motives for the incident are still unknown, Rushdie’s history of addressing sensitive political figures and issues through various publications is a possible reason. Visitors questioned why the security detail at the event was not more alert given the long history of threats against Rushdie’s safety.

In Other Asian News 🗞

The international Asian pride parade by InterPride was canceled after organizers demanded that Taiwan’s name be removed, despite the event itself being held in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung.

Taiwanese organizers blamed political considerations for the event’s cancellation while the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry prioritized the safety of Taiwanese interests and the LGBTQ+ community in Taiwan through its decision to withdraw from the contract. The Ministry released a statement that detailed how InterPride’s decision to remove Taiwan’s name not only disrespects “Taiwan’s rights and diligent efforts,” but also “harms Asia’s vast LGBTIQ+ community and runs counter to the progressive principles espoused by InterPride.”

If the event had taken place, it would have been the first WorldPride event held in East Asia that advanced regional equality and diversity.
 

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In South Korea, the heir to Samsung, Jay Y. Lee, or in Korean, Lee Jay-young, received a presidential pardon for his 2017 bribery conviction. He received the pardon after the government assessed that the company would propel the nation’s economy.

While he still faces charges for accounting fraud, which could land him back in jail, he expressed gratitude for having those bribery charges wiped from his record. Lee has been imprisoned twice for bribery, but emphasized that he will “work hard to fulfill my responsibility as an entrepreneur” with this new start. The pardon has received a 77% approval rate from the South Korean public, including South Korea’s big business groups who say that this move gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to revitalize the economy.

As the grandson of the founder, Lee’s signature still holds immense power across almost all Samsung operations, from smartphone insurance to electronic-vehicle batteries.

Entertainment 📺

Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI released her long-awaited “Nicole” album on Friday.

The album contains 12 total songs, three of which, “Before,” “Oceans and Engines” and “High School In Jakarta,” were pre-release singles. A standout element of this album is NIKI’s inclusion of old originals she once had uploaded on YouTube, but took down not long after becoming a signed artist. Accompanying the album will be the release of a short film, “But I’m Letting Go,” on Amazon Music and Prime Video on August 18. It stars NIKI and Peter Adrian Sudarso, as well as an original score from NIKI.

The 88rising artist will perform at their Head In The Clouds music festival later this month, August 20-21 at the Rose Bowl in California. She will then head out on her first solo North American tour in September.

One of Iraq’s most famous actors, Enas Taleb, is taking legal action against an article from the Economist for using her photo in a piece discussing obesity and gender gap.

A last paragraph in the article directly mentions Taleb with “Iraqis often cite Enas Taleb, an actress with ample curves (pictured), as the ideal of beauty.” Taleb, who has been on television since she was a teenager, has garnered over 9 million followers on Instagram.
 

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Michelle Yeoh is joining the all-star cast of the Russo Brothers’ next Netflix film, “The Electric State.”

Yeoh will star with the likes of Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate and Jason Alexander. The plot is adapted from the illustrated novel by Simon Stålenhag and centers around an orphaned teenager traveling the American West with a mysterious robot while searching for her brother.

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• Why does the generally insular country of Japan let in Ukrainian refugees, but not other refugees from places like Afghanistan? 

• Filipino food chain Jollibee is slated to open a flagship outpost in Times Square. 

• An Afghan family is still divided a year later after their daughter escaped the Taliban’s control and fled to Spain while the mother is still in Afghanistan.   

• A new study has discovered that children in Japan walk differently than those in other parts of the globe. 

• “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” a beloved Hindi romcom, is getting its spotlight on Broadway, but recast with a white male lead.