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Senate Campaign Finance Hearings Make a Right Turn, Finally

(Posted: September 22, 1997)

The Senate Government Affairs Committee's campaign finance hearings have dragged on for almost three months and spent tens of million of taxpayers' dollars. But thank heaven they seem to be finally producing some constructive, albeit unplanned, results.

Republican Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee, chairman of the Committee, opened up the hearings in July with a bombshell: He accused China for using illegal campaign donations on a huge scale to buy political influence. When witnesses after witnesses the Committee was able to call on to testify failed to provide believable evidence to support the accusation, Senator Thompson switched gears and pointed his finger at President Clinton and Vice President Gore for soliciting campaign donations via phone calls from their offices.

All the while, it has become clear to all but a few of the committee members that the root of all these campaign financing irregularities is the rotten campaign financing system that Congress and party leaders have fashioned over the years. It forces political candidates to raise huge amounts of money in order to win. Under this system, the candidate's track records, position on issues or abilities are at best secondary and at worst irrelevant.

Senators John McCain (R-Arizona) and Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin) have introduced a bill that would ban "soft money" contributions, require greater disclosure of contributions and spending, and make other major changes. Sound fair enough, but the Senate majority leadership refused to consider the bill.

But while the latest attack of the Committee has yet to drag down its targets, pressures from other members of Congress and from the media have grown so much that leaders of both parties have grudgingly agreed to begin discussing campaign financing reform. The fact that President Clinton has threatened to make the Congress miss their recess unless they agree to talk did help.

The Prez and the Veep are not out of the woods yet. But this new development may just give the Committee a face-saving way out. If they continue to expose campaign finance irregularities, chances are both parties will come out filthy and no one will win. Senator Thompson now directs his committee to look at faults in the way the campaign finance system operated.

By aiming the spotlight on reform, the country can look forward to a better system in the future when political candidates won't have to kowtow to money bags but rather spend their time on doing something good for their constituents. After all, people already know that campaign finance irregularities are the norm. We don't have to spend millions of dollars to find out.

Warning: We now must keep a watch on those guys who are talking reform, lest they come up with a new system that is worse than the present one, god forbid.

Nine Indicted in Paterson, NJ Chinese Restauranteur Beating Case

(Posted October 1, 1997)

Last May, a Chinese American restaurant owner in Paterson was attacked and severely beaten by a gang of 10 to 15 African American men outside of his restaurant because he was unable to give them changes for a dollar bill. And that wasn't the first time that restaurant get into that kind of trouble. Lin Zhi Gen was beaten unconscious and spent a month in the hospital.

A Passaic County grand jury just indicted 9 men for attempted murder in a bias crime. Lin is now recuperating at home.

Although the final outcome of the case remains to be seen, the indictment represents a victory for the community when one considers that many similar or worse cases in other parts of the country have never gotten this far in the process.

A key reason for the victory is community involvement. The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund provided the victim with legal representtion immediately, and worked with the county prosecutor's office to ensure that police investigation is conducted properly and that the case is properly identified as a bias crime. The Asian Pacific American Lawyers' Association also provided much needed legal support.

While Lin went through surgery at the hospital, the New Jersey chapter of OCA launched a letter writing campaign urging the Passaic County prosecutor Ronald Fava and Paterson Police Chief Vincent Amoresano to treat the case seriously, and collected several thousand dollar from a fund raiser for the victim's family.

Support from the Asian American community not only comforts the victim and his family, it shows everone involved that the victim is not alone and the case must be treated properly. To contribute to the victim's relief fund, contact Julie Wang, OCA-NJ president, at 201-327-3925

Support Bill Lann Lee Appointment as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights

(Posted October 1, 1997)

Bill Lann Lee, a Chinese American public interest lawyer and currently the Western Regional Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, has been nominated by President Clinton to be the next Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. If confirmed by the Senate, he will be the nation's chief civil rights enforcer and the first Asian American to hold that position.

Lee is one of the country's leading civil rights attorneys with a long and distinguished history of defending the rights of all Americans. But his confirmation is far from assured because he is considered by some conservatives as too "radical and activistic." In other words, they would support Lee only if he gets the position and shuts up.

A confirmation battle is looming in Congress this fall. Not just Asian Americans but all Americans who believe in equal civil rights for all should support his nomination.

In an editorial supporting Lee's nomination, the Star-Ledger pointed out that one of the White House's expectation of Lee was to expand the civil rights discussion beyond black-white relations and to include other minorities and underprivileged groups.

To support Bill Lee's nomination, you are urged to write to Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (224 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510) and our own Senator Bob Torricelli who is a member of the committee (113 Senate Dirksen Building, Washington, D.C. 20510) Other members of the committee are: Republicans: Spencer Abraham (MI), John Ashcroft (MO), Mike DeWine (OH), Charles E. Grassley (IA), John Kyl (AZ), Jeff Sessions (AL), Arlen Specter (PA), Fred Thompson (TN) and Strom Thurmond (SC). Democrats: Patrick Leahy (VT, Ranking member), Joseph Biden (DE), Richard Durbin (IL), Russell Feingold (WI), Diane Feinstein (CA), Edward Kennedy (MA, and Herbert Kohl (WI).

Denny's Has Special Menu for Asian Americans

Next time you stop by a Denny's restaurant for a quick bite, rejoice. They have a special menu for you Asian Americans.

Back in April this year, a group of Syracuse University students, most of them of Asian descent, stopped by a Denny's restaurant just outside their campus to eat. According to their account, they waited for about half an hour, watching other (white) patrons being seated and served while they were ignored. When one of the students, Li Chiu, complained to the hostess, the group was asked to leave and was escorted out by two armed guards who were also off-duty deputy sheriffs. Two of the students were pushed and shoved in the process.

When the students walked towards their car preparing to leave, a group of white men who had been eating inside the restaurant came out yelling racial slurs and, without provocation, attacked the students while the two security guards just looked on. One of the students, Yoshika Kusada, was knocked unconscious.

The case was subsequently referred to the Onondaga County (New York) District Attorney's office for investigation. And this is the curious part: After five months of investigation, the DA's office came up with a totally different story.

The DA's report says the investigation revealed no evidence of discrimination on the part of Denny's or the deputies; that the students were drunk and the only one who was asked to leave was Derrick Lizardo because he allegedly used obscenities toward Denny's staff and the deputies.

The students are represented by he Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and have filed a lawsuit against Denny's. A report made by a federal civil rights monitor, Sharon Lybeck Hartmann, recommends that the manager involved be fired and the hostess be suspended without pay, and that the deputies, who are no longer employed by Denny's, not be rehired.

Denny's is no stranger to racial incidents. In 1990, the chain was subject to a series of lawsuits alleging discrimination against black customers. In 1994, Denny's entered into a consent decree to settle two class action suits in California and Maryland under which the chain must report any allegation of racial or religious discrimination against any Denny's restaurant to a federally appointed civil rights monitor: Sharon Lybeck Hartmann.

John Romandetti, president of Denny's, said the company will comply with the federal civil rights monitor's recommendations. Meanwhile, an FBI investigation of the incident has been launched and the AALDEF has asked Attorney General Janet Reno to closely monitor its progress. Stay tuned.

Can Asian Americans be Innovators and Leaders?

(Posted October 3, 1997)

The conventional wisdom in this country was that Asian Americans are the model minority. We are models for other minorities because we are polite, low-key, easy going, and very hard working. We are models for other minorities also because we don't argue, we don't compete vigorously, we don't fight for our rights, we don't make waves, in other words, we are not likely to create troubles for the non-minority so we are safe and useful to have around.

Therefore, the theory goes, Asian Americans are at their best serving as followers, helpers, peeons, vice this and deputy that, but never as leaders, bosses, decision-makers, or someone that can be trusted with "real" responsibilities. And, because they are all so good at math, chemistry and such nerdy stuff, in this hi-tech age they are the perfect "hi-tech slaves."

Indeed, this mentality is one of the main pillars (not the only one, mind you)that support the "glass ceiling" that has been built over our heads by governments and private corporations.

Of course many people in the mainstream society no longer intellectually believe in this myth. Besides it is no longer politically kosher. But the idea has gotten so deeply ingrained in people's subconsciousness that sometimes it just bubbles up before you can dover it up.

Such is probably the case with Thomas Monroe, a controller of AT&T and apparently a very honest fellow.

Mr. Monroe was one of the 13 business executives interviewed by Forbes Magazine (September 8, 1997, page 20-21) about overseas assignments, each providing a short and concise comment. Here is Mr. Monroe's comment:

"Asians have a strength in doing things fast. If you can show them how to do something, they can probably do it faster than you could on a repetitive basis. But I found it was difficult to force them to innovate. They innovate as a result of seeing what's wrong, as opposed to innovating on the conceptual level."

Apparently Monroe accepted the interview on his own, without going through the company's Public Relations department as required by company rules, and company brass was furious upon learning of the comments. AT&T officials from Chairman Bob Allen on down has publicly apologized. An official told AAPC that Mr. Monroe's comment doesn't represent company position and that he has been reprimented.

Actually, Mr. Monroe may very well just spoke his mind about his personal, annecdotal experience. It is entirely possible that Asians that fit such description did work with Mr. Monroe. But by speaking his mind, he did bring up a mentality that is quite prevailant among business executives, that Asian American employees are hard workers, good technicians, but generally lack leadership quality, only most of these executives are refined enough not to say it aloud.

Reprimenting Mr. Monroe along will not change anything. If AT&T, or any other corporation or government entity for that matter, truly believes that Asian Americans are just as smart or dumb, just as innovative or inert, just as prone to be leaders and followers, as other Americans, the best way to demonstrate that belief is not reprimenting Mr. Monroe but elevating Asian American employees to leadership and innovator positions.

An Asian-Bashing Climate Dawning?

(Posted October 1, 1997)

An unprecedented coalition of Asian American organizations and individuals has asked the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to look into a pattern of actions by members of Congress, the Democratic National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and others that, altogether, are forming a hostile racial environment for Asian Pacific Americans.

The coalition is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm of Minami, Lew and Tamaki of san Francisco. The petition points out the following developments:

A number of bills are now in the Congressional hopper with provisions that limit the First Amendment rights of Asian Americans immigrants and legal permanent residents to free speech and participation to the political process;
Asian Americans have been treated as suspects by political parties simply because a very few Asian Americans allegedly committed campaign finance misconduct;
Well-qualified Asian American candidates for political appointments were inexplicably dropped by the Administration, with their Asian American background being an apparent factor;
There has been an increase in anti-Asian bias crimes in various parts of the country;
The combined effect of all the above factors has created a chilling effect on Asian Americans' political involvement and exercise of their civil rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.

The coalition anticipates that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, chaired by Mary Frances Berry, will review their petiiton for commission hearings some time this fall.

It's all well and good that we call the Commission's attention to the development. We certainly should do that. How much the Commission can do to raise the issue, and whether the powerful party bosses and media tycoons will give a dime to what the Commission say is quite another matter.

So our community leaders in Washington, D.C. are doing their job. Now let's see whether us rank and file Asian Americans will do ours. If we can have a million Asian Americans writing to the White House, to Trent Lott, to Dick Gephardt and to the Commission (plus to their own senators and congress members,) I think that would create a great impact on the politicians. Can we do that?

To view a copy of the 20-page civil rights petition, please go to OCA's home page.

OCA Letter Writing Campaign to Support the Civil Rights Petition

(Posted October 1, 1997)

The National Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) has launched a letter writing campaign to support the petition filed by a national coalition of Asian American organizations urging the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to investigate the current anti-Asian climate.

A sample letter can be downloaded or printed out and sent to the Commission to register your support. So that the organizers have a sense of how many people participate in the campaign, please also send a copy of your letter to: Bob Sakaniwa, Washington, D.C. representative, JACL, 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW #704, Washington, D.C. 20036 (fax: 202-296-8082).

As you are reading this item, it's a simple matter to click on the word "letter" and have the letter printed out right away. You could retype it and either fax it to the Commission or use the snail mail. I hope this will also get you used to sending letter to people or organizations that listen to us. Remember that "squeaky wheel....?"

OCA is also looking for individuals who are willing to tell their experiences of how the campaign finance controversy has impacted their political involvement. Any legal permanent resident who is awaiting naturalization or first time voter who now hesitates to vote again due to the chilling effect of the investigations should contact OCA by calling 202-223-5500 or e-mail to: oca@ari.net.

Filipino Americans Form National Federation

(Posted: September 25,1997)

Over 1,000 Filipino American leaders and members of several community, cultural, business and political groups have reached an agreement to form a national federation which will unite all 3,000 national, regional and local Filipino organizations from all over the U.S. They also elected an interim leadership group, including a full-time executive director who will run a Washington, D.C.-based office.

The decision was reached at a conference held in Washington D.C. August 22-24, 1997. This is the first time ever this major Asian American ethnic group has been able to form a national embrella organization.

The National federation of Filipino American Associations (NFFAA) will be officially inaugurated at a confederation convention next year. In the meantime, a national working committee was formed to begin the task of building the new organization.

Alex Esclamado, former publisher of the Philippine News and National President of Filipino American Political Action was elected Chairman. The Vice Chair is Gloria Caoile, Special Assistant to the President of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees(AFSCME) and Executive Vice President of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. Jon Melegrito, President of the Philippine American Heritage Fderation, was appointed as Executive Director.

With the forming of this national group, it is hope that all Asian Americans will have made another giant step towards unity in their fight for the equal partner status in this country.

Sign the Petition to Help Older Immigrants Gain Citizenship

(Posted: May 22, 1997)

A campaign to change the law to give elderly legal immigrants aged 70 and above the option to take the citizenship test in their native languages has been conducted for the past nine months. There is still time for you to add your signature.

Initiated by the Asian American Political Coalition (AAPC) and spported by a number of other Asian Aemerican civic and community organizations, the petition has gained grassroot support nationwide. So far 7,000 signatures have been collected.

Organizers plan to collect 10,000 signatures before presenting them to the President, and are now lobbying congressmen and senators to draft the appropriate bill in Congress.

Immigrants at that old age did not come here to compete for jobs;they came here legally to spend their golden years with their children and grandchildren. Last year's so-called Welfare Reform bill unceremoniously and unjustly took many of the critical social benefits from them. The only way they can reclaim such benefits as SSI and Mediaid is to become citizens.

Please go to the Campaignspage and print out the petition form. Sign it yourselves, and pass it on to your families, relatives, neighbors and co-workers and club members and send the form back to the stated address by the end of June. Put yourselves in their shoes for a minute if you can, and feel their anguish and pains for being doublecrossed.

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