Hello everyone!
 

A new report from the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) has revealed lackluster AAPI representation numbers on local TV news. 

AAJA looked at AAPI reporters, anchors, meteorologists and hosts in the top 20 TV markets and found nearly 25% have no AAPIs on air. Additionally, more than 70% of the stations had disproportionate on-air staff to the AAPI population in their designated market area (DMA). Only four out of 20 DMA had on-air staff that was representative of their local AAPI populations: Phoenix, Denver, Miami and Cleveland. 
 

AAJA Director of Programs and Partnerships Waliya Lari said of the findings, “The lack of transparency was surprising, especially the fact that so many newsrooms completely ignored our request to verify their data. Most of the very few stations that did respond declined to comment on or verify the data we collected." 

• Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) was elected by House Democrats on Wednesday to serve as vice chair of the caucus for next year. This makes Lieu the highest-ranking Asian American in Congress. Lieu said of his appointment, “It’s not lost on me the importance of this vote for the Asian American community. And I want to thank both the Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for endorsing me for the position.”   

• ICE’s immigration incident: More than 6,000 detainees in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody had their personal data leaked on Wednesday.  The information was posted to the ICE website for about five hours. The data included names, nationalities, where they were being held, and their unique government identification number.     

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• Tri-College tries Asian Studies: The Tri-College Consortium, a collaboration among Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College and Swarthmore College, has launched a minor interdisciplinary Asian American Studies program. The program has been in development for five years, but this fall, students can choose to enroll in Asian American Literature and/or Asian American History.   

• Thailand’s battle against HIV/AIDS: AIDs took the lives of 9,300 people in Thailand last year. Moreover, nearly two-thirds of new HIV infections are in young people. The country has free comprehensive care available for those living with HIV, but deaths persist. Experts think young people in Thailand forget that AIDS exists and may be careless in protecting themselves adequately. 

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• Dictatorship with drivers: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is being compared to past authoritarian presidents for his use of an administrative order to end the trucker strike and protests. The nationwide protests have run a week long with strikers expressing discontent over minimum wages. Their activity has resulted in the loss of $224 million each day.

• K-drama actor becomes marvelous: South Korean actor Park Seo-Joon, best known for his lead roles in K-dramas such as “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim” and “Itaewon Class,” will join the cast of the upcoming Marvel film “The Marvels.”

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• All of the Lees: Oscar winner Ang Lee will direct his son, Mason Lee, as he plays the role of Bruce Lee in an upcoming film about the martial arts icon. Attached as a co-producer is Bruce Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee.     

• Gucci has collaborated with a Japanese silk company to release some luxurious and limited-edition bags. 
   
• Japan’s education ministry will allow kids to talk during school lunch again, reversing an earlier Covid-19 rule.  
   
• Fashion designer Terrence Kim had a Korean BBQ feast in the mountains of South Korea. 
   
• A temple in Thailand is vacant after all the monks got defrocked after testing positive for methamphetamine. 
   
• Traditional Chinese tea ceremonies made the U.N’s protected heritage list.