Race in America 🌎

When George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, a Hmong mother saw similarities between his death and her own son’s passing.

In 2006, 19-year-old Hmong American Fong Lee was also killed by Minneapolis police after police officers thought that Lee possessed a gun. His mother, Youa Vang Lee, saw the need for Asian communities to stand up in solidarity with the Black community to combat police brutality. 

Her son was shot three times while standing and five times on the ground. Police officers labeled Fong Lee as a gang member, but Black and Asian activists and community organizers who supported Lee’s family said otherwise, reminding people that Fong Lee was a student from a family of refugees.

When Lee’s mother heard that Floyd had called out for his mother, she described the moment as “heartbreaking,” as she was reminded of her son.

In Other Asian News 🗞

Biden’s Asia tour aims to strengthen Indo-Pacific ties as he visits South Korea and Japan.

Biden arrived at the Osan Air Base in South Korea on Thursday evening. He plans to stay for a three-day summit before departing for Japan on the weekend.

President Biden plans to discuss several agenda items, including North Korea’s nuclear program and “​​boosting cooperation on technology, trade and security issues.” In Tokyo, there will be a summit of Quad leaders from Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the U.S. However, South Korean experts and academics in the international relations field worry as “there is concern that the Biden administration has got its hands tied in the Ukraine war when the real threat is China and the key region of the US interest is the Indo-Pacific, not Europe.”

Meanwhile, the climate crisis in South Asia continues to worsen. Rural women in Bangladesh show the rising cost of climate change on low-income families.

Studies from Kingston University in London and the UN Development Program on families in rural Bangladesh show that 30% of their income is being spent on protection from extreme climate conditions. Households led by women, especially, are allocating a majority of their lower incomes to survive climate disruption.

Many of these families are in flood-prone areas, and women are trying to adapt by “raising the plinth of their houses above flood-water levels, planting trees and making shelters to keep livestock safe.” Bangladesh’s geographical features make the nation extremely vulnerable to rising global temperatures, which bring severe monsoon flooding, fierce storms, and higher sea levels. 
 

Entertainment 📺

The boxing world welcomes another Asian champion: Nikhat Zareen, from India. 

Previously a junior youth world champion, Zareen from the city of Nizamabad is now the fifth Indian champion at 25 years old. The last champion from India, Mary Kom, won the championship in 2018. 

After winning the Women’s World Boxing Championship in Turkey, her name trended on Twitter. Congratulations poured in from almost all social media outlets, and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed that Zareen made “India proud.” 
 

What else is on our minds? 🧠

Japan pays you to live near older people? 
Greater Tokyo’s Chiba city will subsidize up to 300,00 yen ($2,319) for newlyweds who settle into housing complexes primarily occupied by the elderly starting next month. This program attempts to replenish the area’s aging population, with only those under 39 eligible to apply. LGBTQ+ couples are also allowed to apply under the city’s partnership system. 

North Korea relies on traditional medicine to fight COVID?
The North Korean media advises drinking herbal teas and using alternative traditional remedies such as gargling salt water for those who are not seriously ill. Even as the nation is mitigating high infection rates in a largely unvaccinated population, Pyongyang has refused outside medical assistance. 

Sri Lanka closes schools and limits work due to fuel shortages? 
On Friday, Sri Lankan authorities closed schools and asked non-essential workers not to come to work. As the nation faces imminent bankruptcy, its citizens gather in long lines at gas stations that provide little to meet the demand. The situation is only worsening as the remaining resources are running out.