AUGUST 25, 2022

Hello, everyone!

On Sunday afternoon in the Little Saigon neighborhood of Oakland, California, surveillance footage caught the fatal robbery of beloved 56-year-old Chinatown dentist Lili Xu.

Xu was rushed to the hospital and confirmed dead after being shot multiple times. Her death was followed by an outpour of community rage. Little Saigon has been experiencing disproportionate amounts of crime, with burglaries distressing local, hardworking communities. 

Being Oakland’s 77th homicide this year, community members gathered outside Oakland City Hall to protest the lack of action from authorities and investigators about increasing attacks. Fearful, angry and concerned, Xu’s colleagues and patients shared stories of her kindness and thoughtfulness at a rally organized by Chinatown leaders.

Nikki Fortunato Bas, the Oakland City Council President, shared a few words: “What does it say about our community when we cannot walk down our own street, visit a neighbor, or enjoy a picnic on the lake on a Sunday afternoon? We can and must do better. NO ONE should presume they can come into Oakland at any time and commit a violent crime without repercussions.” But, while elected leaders were speaking, community members criticized their responses to crime, citing that their policies are not working.

Spotlight 💡

Fahmida Azim is the first Bangladeshi American to receive a Pulitzer Prize for her illustration work in the Insider report “How I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp” published in December of 2021.

Azim’s team, Anthony Del Col, Josh Adams and Walt Hickey, was also named on the prize in the “Illustrated Reporting and Commentary” category.

But, this is not her first prestigious award: Azim’s work, which centers on identity, culture, autonomy, and has been featured in various publications including The New York Times, NPR, Glamour, Scientific American, VICE and The Intercept, was also recognized with the “Golden Kite” award for book illustration earlier this year.

Race in America 🌎

Asian Americans are speaking up about their racist experiences in the workplace, and some of their stories are shocking. In addition to being overlooked in workplaces, Asian Americans often also keep racist and discriminatory experiences to themselves. Now, they feel the need to speak up and tell their stories.

Yeong Cheng, the founder of the Denver Asian Collective who formerly worked in a technology firm, retells the story of an Asian co-worker whose desk was covered in yellow tape and a biohazard sign by their white colleagues in February 2020. Despite this, those same white co-workers were later promoted while the targeted Asian co-worker was not.

Michelle Lee, an attorney who previously worked for investment firm Portfolio Advisors, is suing due to unwanted sexual advances and anti-Asian remarks that ultimately led to her resignation.

Charles Jung, an employment attorney who represents executives, professionals and founders, explains that Asian Americans are reaching a tipping point: “Pre-pandemic, I would say that the proportion of Asian Americans who wanted to tell their stories couldn't have been more than 5% of my clients. Post-pandemic, over 50% of my practice is Asian American employees.”
 

...

The Asian American Pacific Islander Design Alliance is a new advocacy organization dedicated to uplifting and supporting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders working in the home and design industries.

The organization was founded in 2021 after Taiwanese American Jessica Davis, co-founder and owner of Atlanta-based Atelier Davis, saw the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. She felt the need to support AAPI members within her own field and reached out to her friend, Young Huh, a New York-based interior designer, who reached out to multiple people and created a founding group for the organization.

While the organization is still “figuring out a formal structure,” their main goals are “to promote awareness, inclusivity, and collaboration within the AAPI design community with access to mentorship and scholarships.”

In Other Asian News 🗞

The dugong, a large and gentle marine mammal, is now extinct from southern Chinese waters. This is the first functional extinction of a large mammal in Chinese waters.

Since 1988, China’s State Council has listed the animal as a Grade 1 National Key Protected Animal, but fishing, ship strikes and human-caused habitat loss has contributed to its disappearance. While the dugong itself is found in coastal waters from East Africa to Japan, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has also categorized the mammal as vulnerable.

With the dugong gone, ecosystem function will be impacted as its vegetarian diet helps clean up coastal seagrass, but the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences welcomes any evidence that contradicts their finding that the dugong is extinct from China.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has been suspended by the nation’s Constitutional Court after a petition from the opposition arguing that he has fulfilled his full term length of eight years.

The opposition, the Pheu Thai party, explained that Prayuth’s time in a military junta that took over the country to the installment of the new constitution in 2017 amounted to four years time, which in addition to his time as the Prime Minister since 2019, equates to eight years. While the surprise suspension threw Thai politics into some confusion, the court has yet to make a firm decision on the permanence of Prayuth’s displacement. It may take a month to ascertain whether or not he will be ousted.

In the meantime, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan will serve as acting Prime Minister. As general elections approach, around two-thirds of Thai citizens expressed dissatisfaction with Prayuth, responding in a poll that they want him out of office. Anti-government protestors think Prayuth’s suspension was not enough, in fact, one protestor expressed that he thinks the whole cabinet should have been suspended along with Prayuth.

Art and TV 📺

BTS leader RM is an avid art collector, helping to boost interest in the subject to his BTS fans, called ARMY. 

Veteran dealer Park Kyung-mee says, “He is throwing away the kind of barrier between the art institutions — galleries and museums — and younger people.” 

RM’s love of art moves him. When he is able to see a piece of work, he says, ”I’m motivated. I want to be a better person, a better adult, because there is this aura that is coming from these artworks on display.”

The director of “Train to Busan,”  Yeon Sang-ho, is teaming up with Netflix for a K-drama adaptation of the manga series “Parasyte” from Hitoshi Iwaaki.

“Parasyte” or “Parasyte: The Grey” as the K-drama version will be called, centers around a group of humans fighting to survive against evil parasitic life forms that desire host bodies and power. This iteration will star actor Jeon So-nee playing the character Jeong Su-in who somehow coexists with her parasite. 

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• As the economy tumbles due to the pandemic, people in China are turning to street businesses such as a mobile coffee cart. 

• Nepalese immigrants are bringing their Sherpa cuisine to the mountain communities of Colorado.  

• Japan is looking to restart more power plants to focus more on nuclear energy.  

• In the face of climate change, scientists in India are hard at work researching alternatives to keep India’s status as a top diary leader.  

• The Japanese branch of the U.S. breakfast sandwich chain Eggslut has introduced a new menu item featuring eel.