VOL 32 NO 8 | FEBRUARY 16 - FEBRUARY 22, 2013

VOL 32 NO 8 FEBRUARY 16 – FEBRUARY 22, 2013 FREE 31 YEARS YOUR VOICE

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■ 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104 • t. 206.223.5559 • f. 206.223.0626 • [email protected] • [email protected] • www.nwasianweekly.com

The InsIde sToryBLOGThe Lunar New Year Festival and the Seattle Port Commission » P. 12

NAMES IN THE NEWSWho’s doing what in the Asian Community. » P. 2

DIVERSITYThe 2013 Diversity Makes a Difference applicants » P. 10

COMMUNITYFormer Medina Police Chief trial to start. » P. 11

PICTORIALThe Children’s Parade » P. 9

By Deanna DuffNorthwest AsiAN weekly

the wing luke Museum celebrated the lunar New year by embarking on a new chapter in its own future. Visiting U.s. secretary of the interior ken salazar des-

ignated the museum as an “affiliated area” of the Na-tional Park service on the morning of Feb. 10, the first day of the year of the snake.

“we take on these initiatives because if we are to

{see THE WING cont’d on page 18}

By Bob SantosFor the Northwest AsiAN weekly

the letter was dated Nov. 12, 2012 and said, “it is with great per-

sonal pleasure that i officially con-vey to you that you have been se-lected as one of the recipients of the

{see SANTOS cont’d on page 19}

The Wing receives distinction from National Park Service

From left to right: Casey Bui, John Travis, Sen. Patty Murray, Sec. Ken Salazar, Rep. Maria Cantwell, Rep. Jim McDermott, and Ellen Ferguson during the Daruma-doll ceremony.

President Benigno Aquino III (left) and Bob Santos

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Uncle Bob goes to the Philippines

By StaffNorthwest AsiAN weekly

Cheaper street parking is coming back to the international District, in-cluding a return to free parking dur-ing dinner hours in some areas.

the Chinatown–international District Business improvement Area (CiDBiA) and seattle Chinatown–iD Preservation and Development Authority (sCipda) announced on Monday, Feb. 11, a deal with the city of seattle to reduce parking rates in the international District.

the deal will bring rates in the outer areas of the district to free from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. and $2 hourly dur-ing daytime hours. evening rates in

the district will drop to $1.50 hourly from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and remain un-changed during daytime hours. the original iD rate was $2.50 per hour and free from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

the seattle Department of trans-portation (sDot) expects new signs to be displayed by late March.

seattle has also committed to work with Chinatown–iD stake-holders to measure the impact of the rate changes after six months, in addition to looking at alternative solutions for seattle Center parking issues.

“Bringing back the free evening

{see PARKING cont’d on page 16}

Chinatown–International District parking rates to drop in March

By Travis QuezonNorthwest AsiAN weekly

over 600 people rallied in support of seattle City Coun-cilmember Bruce harrell’s bid for mayor during his Feb. 7 campaign kick-off at the First African Methodist episco-pal Church on Capitol hill.

harrell told the multicultural crowd, made up predomi-nantly of African American and Asian supporters, that he was ushering in a new beginning for the city — calling for new leadership and a renewed focus on education, gangs, the police department, and environmental sustainability.

“this mayoral candidacy is about rewriting the rules in seattle, changing the way we think, which will change the way we act,” harrell said. “we are talking

{see HARRELL cont’d on page 18}

Bruce Harrell kicks off campaign on Capitol HillCouncilmember calls on city’s diverse communities for change

The crowd at the campaign kick off

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PICTORIALPICTORIALPICTORIALPICTORIALPICTORIALThe Children’s Parade »» P. 9 P. 9 P. 9

2 FEBRUARY 16 – FEBRUARY 22, 2013 asianweeklynorthwest

■ nAMes In The neWsNate Miles named chair of the Seattle Urban League

the Urban league of Metropolitan seattle has named Nate Miles of eli lilly and Company as chair of its Board of Di-rectors for 2013. he was unanimously elected chair for the 2-year leadership term.

“the Urban league of Metropolitan seattle has weathered many storms since it was founded in 1929,” Miles said. “with

a new leadership team and a renewed commitment to fiscal integrity, the Urban league will continue to empower, enable, and assist African Americans, other people of color, and dis-advantaged individuals.”

As one of seattle’s oldest not-for-profit organizations, the Urban league of Metropolitan seattle is committed to activ-ism and community work in education, employment, health, and housing.

Catherine Giudici featured on the Bachelor

Catherine Giudici, daughter of Carey and Cynthia Giudici, is cur-rently participating in the 17th sea-son of ABC’s “the Bachelor.” she if half Filipino American. she has survived seven episodes and is one of the four final contestants from the original 26. Before appearing on the show, Giudici was a graphic designer working with Amazon.

her parents are seattle residents Carey and Cynthia Giudici. Cynthia

Giudici is a current trustee of the Filipino American Nation-al historical society.

Lunar New Year Kids Parade breaks participation record

the 3rd annual Northwest Asian weekly lunar New year kids Parade happened on saturday, Feb. 9, breaking its pre-vious participation record. over 100 kids from the ages of 6 months old to 12 years old dressed up in lunar New year costumes and walked across the stage. Costumes from all cul-tures were represented, from korean dresses and Vietnamese ao dai to Chinese robes and Manchurian costumes. several kids brought homemade snakes and dragons to celebrate.

Awards went to five finalists and several honorable men-tions. the first place prize went to Joziah lagonoy. second prize went to sisters Mirabel, Violet, and lillian Peterson. luna and kaya Vanbrost and siri Masonsmith won third by appearing on stage as a group in costume. Fourth and fifth places went to Acadia Matyas and Mia ekle, respectively.

AAJA holds Lunar New Year Banquet and Silent Auction

the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) hosted its annual lunar New year Banquet and silent Auc-tion on the night of saturday, Feb. 9, raising donations for the Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship, which has sup-ported more than 100 college students since its establishment in the mid-1980s. the auction raised over $1,500. the event

was held at the Acquabar Bistro and lounge in Belltown. Ap-proximately 50 people attended the event. Auction items were sourced from local businesses and AAJA members.

thanh tan, a former broadcast journalist and current se-attle times editorial writer, was the emcee for the event. Julie Pham, managing editor of the Northwest Vietnamese News, was the keynote speaker.

Leah Li to represent Seattle in Miss Chinatown USA pageant

leah li will be representing the seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the 2013 Miss Chi-natown UsA pageant. leah is 20 years old and will be the young-est contestant. she is currently studying at NyU and attended high school on Mercer island. the competition will take place Feb. 16 at the Palace of Fine Arts theatre in san Francisco. her talent will be dancing. she is the daughter of hengda li, founder

of the hengda Dance Academy.

Nate Miles

Catherine Giudici Leah Li

Emcee Thanh Tan (left), Seattle Times Executive Editor David Boardman (center), and Keynote Speaker Julie Pham (right)

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Contestant received a stuffed panda courtesy of Panda Express.

31 YEARS yoUr VoICe FEBRUARY 16 – FEBRUARY 22, 2013 3

■ CoMMUnITy neWs

More than 1,000 Asians and Pacific is-landers, collectively speaking over 20 lan-guages, are expected to participate in this year’s Asian Pacific American legislative Day in olympia, the largest pan-Asian Pa-cific American gathering of its kind in the nation.

the Asian Pacific islander Coalition (APiC), community advocates and Asian Pa-cific Americans statewide will gather at the state Capitol Building in olympia, wash. to urge the governor and the state’s elected officials to prevent cuts and invest in critical services for the community, to ensure lan-guage access and culturally competent care throughout the state’s healthcare reform ef-forts, to invest in efforts to close the achieve-ment and opportunity gaps for low-income children of color in k-12 education, and in-vest in our community’s capital infrastruc-ture through projects like the new shoreline clinic being built by international Commu-nity health services.

the event will begin with entertainment at

10:00 a.m. and a rally at 10:45 a.m. on tues-day, Feb. 19 at the state Capitol Building in olympia, followed by visits with legislators.

the Asian Pacific islander Coalition is a statewide network of Asian Pacific islander community organizations dedicated to pro-moting health and human services, civil and human rights, equal access to education, eco-nomic development for small businesses, and other concerns of Asian Pacific Americans, including immigrants and refugees in wash-ington state. Participants for the event will come from all parts of the state, including Pierce, spokane, yakima, king, snohomish, and thurston counties, and southwest wash-ington.

“APA legislative Day is a key opportu-nity for Asian American and Pacific islander communities to make their voices heard on issues of critical importance to the commu-nity,” Diane Narasaki, chair of the Asian Pa-cific islander Coalition of king County, said. “the lives and well-being of all generations of our community is at stake.”

the Department of Veterans Affairs has announced the appointment of six new mem-bers to the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans on Jan. 31.

the committee advises the secretary of Veterans Affairs on the needs of minor-ity veterans with respect to compensation, health care, rehabilitation, outreach, and other benefits and programs administered by the VA.

“our Veterans are reflective of the soci-ety in which we live, and we draw strength from their diversity,” said secretary of Vet-erans Affairs eric k. shinseki. “VA relies on this committee to provide sound counsel on issues that impact the minority Veteran population, and we welcome the newest members.”

the committee members are appointed to one, two, or three-year terms.

the new committee members include tommy l. Daniels, Brig. Gen., retired Air Force, of Fort worth, texas; raymond Jar-dine, Col., retired Army, of honolulu, ha-waii; thanh Dinh, Air Force Veteran of Burke, Va.; harold hunt, Army Veteran of Pembroke, N.C.; shelia Mitchell, Air Force Veteran of Manassas, Va.; and elisandro t. Diaz, Navy Veteran of santa Ana, Calif.

they join current committee members Clara l. Adams-ender, Brig. Gen., retired Army; Committee Chair oscar B. hilman, Brig. Gen., retired Army; Benjamin C. Pa-lacios, Command sgt. Maj., retired Army; Celia renteria szelwach, Army Veteran; and Marvin trujillo, Jr., Marine Corps Veteran.

there are approximately 4.7 million mi-nority veterans in the United states and its territories, thus comprising nearly 21 percent of the total Veteran population.

APA Legislative Day set to take place in Olympia

New members appointed to VA advisory committee

Northwest Asian Weekly / Seattle Chinese Post presentsChildren’s Costume Parade | Saturday, February 9, 2013Chinatown-International district Lunar new year Celebration

PrIMe sPonsor CorPorATe sPonsor Co-ChAIrs: Judy Lui, Charles Lam, and John LiuVoLUnTeers: Abby Horan (Panda), Ethan Crumbley, Tery Imamura, Jessica Lee, Tyler Nguyen, Austin Chau, Jack Boyd, Thi Tran, Sandy Yee, and Saphy Liem

CoMMUnITy sPonsors

In memory of“Aizawa Toshi”

Thank you to the judges, volunteers, and sponsors of our Lunar New Year Children’s Parade. Without you, the event could not

have happened. Here’s to a happy and health Year of the Snake!

The winners and judges of the children’s paradeJudges (from right): Vic Lim, Judy Lui, Billy Wang, and Ritchi Wu

The team from Panda Express Volunteers of the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation’s Summer Youth Leadership Program

the international District Community Center has started a lunchtime activities pro-gram running from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays. the program aims to help inter-national District residents and workers live healthy and active lifestyles. For a drop-in fee of $3 for adults and $2 for seniors, par-

ticipants can play basketball on Mondays and Fridays, Badminton and Pickleball on tuesdays, and use the Community Center’s fitness equipment on Monday, tuesdays, thursdays, and Fridays.

For more information, call 206-233-0042.

the six finalists vying to take over Gael tarleton’s Port Commissioner seat will be participating in two moderated town-hall-style forums in February.

the forums will take place tuesday, Feb. 26 and wednesday, Feb. 27 at the seattle Central library’s Microsoft Auditorium and the renton City Council Chambers, respectively. Both forums will run from

6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. the Feb. 26 forum will be moderated by kiro 7 news reporter essex Porter and the Feb. 27 forum will be moderated by former kiNG 5 political reporter robert Mak.

For more information, visit www.portseattle.org.

Port commission candidates to attend two moderated forumsIDCC announces

lunchtime programs

Mike’s noodle house Jade Garden restaurant

dim sum King


■ nATIonAL neWs

By Bob Driehausthe CiNCiNNAti eNqUirer

CiNCiNNAti, ohio (AP) — Pas-tor thomas kap rattles off the ac-complishments of his congregation of Myanmar immigrants as if they were family.

“we have five college students and 86 students total in the church,” he said. “there are 296 of us now.”

seemingly overnight, Crescent springs in northern kentucky — just across the ohio river from Cin-

cinnati — has become home to a vibrant Myanmar commu-nity that will soon top 300, as more immigrants make their

way to the commonwealth. they all fled Myanmar, formerly Burma, where the military-led government suppressed their Baptist faith and deprived them of other rights that Americans may take for granted.

the catalyst for the migration to Northern kentucky is kap, an unassuming man who has quietly and tirelessly worked to relocate refugees who have followed in his footsteps.

“he’s amazing, really, for what he does for all of the people he’s helping,” said Barbara klein, the lexington office direc-tor of kentucky refugee Ministries, which works with the U.s. state Department to relocate and settle refugees.

All or nearly all of the Myanmar refugees in Northern ken-tucky are part of Myanmar’s Chin ethnic minority, which is predominantly Christian in a country dominated by Bud-dhists. kap explained that ethnic and religious identity prede-termines how far you can climb the social ladder.

“even in the military, Christians can’t rise to the highest ranks,” he said.

worse for kap, 42, was the suppression of his faith. he led a growing congregation in his village, but could not get a permit to build a larger church through normal channels, forcing him to apply for the permit under his name, as if he were building a structure for non-religious, personal use.

each week, he had to print out his sermon and run it by government censors who edited out anything they didn’t like. the government encouraged Buddhist men to marry Chris-tian women, offering them cash for converting the Christians. Christian families too poor to send their children to school were offered free educations with a catch — being indoctri-nated in the Buddhist faith.

{see KAP cont’d on page 17}

Myanmar community flourishes in Kentucky

By Gosia Wozniackathe AssoCiAteD Press

FresNo, Calif. (AP) — last fall, narcotics agents confiscated thousands of marijuana plants, many 10 feet tall, from a 140-acre farm just on the edge of Fresno — one of the biggest pot busts in the coun-ty’s history. the pot grew hidden among rows of rotting peppers, tomatoes, and bitter melons, tend-ed by a dozen immigrant farming families.

Deputies detained 50 people, all of whom were lowland laotians, a refugee population from south-east Asia that has made its home in California’s Central Valley over the past three decades. inves-tigators say that some of these traditional vegetable growers have become increasingly involved in well-organized medical marijuana growing schemes, with the aim of selling the drug commercially.

the laotians’ involvement has expanded in re-cent years, with the move toward growing pot in California’s agricultural heartland. Now, authori-ties say, people from this relatively small com-munity account for much of the pot growing in backyards and on prime farmland, while Mexican drug traffickers dominate grows in the forests of surrounding mountains.

“there are many more laotians involved in the agricultural grows than Mexicans,” said lauren horwood, spokeswoman for the U.s. Attorney’s office in the eastern District of California, which conducted several prosecutions of lowland laotian growers last year.

the problem has become so widespread that the U.s. Attorney’s office is producing a brochure in lao and plans a television program on a local lao-tian channel.

while federal law still prohibits marijuana, California’s landmark 1996 ballot measure allows patients with a doctor’s recommendation or their caregivers to grow pot for medical use. however, investigators say many growers instead are selling marijuana commercially for profit, which is illegal under both state and federal law.

the laotians cultivate marijuana plants the height of trees, using the state’s medical marijuana law and the lush cover of other crops to avoid detec-tion.

{see NARCOTICS cont’d on page 15}

Laotians top growers of marijuana on Calif. farms

Pastor Thomas Kap



■ CoMMUnITy CALendAr

Attorney James C. Buckley

Attorney Paul B. Apple

Attorney Edward J. Hemingway

Attorney Efrem R. Krisher

Attorney Ronal Unger

Attorney Erica B. Buckley

Attorney Christine Kim

Seattle Office675 S. Lane St. Suite 300Seattle, WA 98104Office: (206) 622-1100Toll free: (800) 404-6200Fax: (206) 622-0688

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THU 2/14

WHAT: sayonara Counsel General from Nikkei CommunitiesWHERE: NVC Memorial hall, 1212 s. king st., seattleWHEN: 2-4 p.m.REGISTER: www.jassw.org

SAT 2/16

WHAT: China and india are one: An indian soldier’s travelogue of Beijing in 1890-1901WHERE: seattle Asian Art Museum, 1300 1st Ave., seattleWHEN: 9:30-11 a.m.INFO: www.seattleartmuseum.org

SAT 2/16 & SUN 2/17

WHAT: Vietnamese lunar New yearWHERE: seattle CenterWHEN: 2/16, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m., 2/17, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.INFO: www.seattlecenter.com

SUN 2/17

WHAT: Minidoka Pilgrimage 2013 taiko FundraiserWHERE: seattle University, 901 12th Ave., seattleWHEN: 1 p.m.COST: $10/students, $20/generalTICKETS: 206-568-7114, minidokataiko.brownpapertickets.com, seattle University international student Center

WHAT: Councilmember Pete von reichbauer to host town hall on Domestic ViolenceWHERE: thomas Jefferson high school, little theater Auditorium, 4248 s. 288th st., Federal wayWHEN: 6-8 p.m.

WHAT: Celebrating the 254th birthday of robert Burns and Chinese New year, the year of the water snakeWHERE: China harbor restaurant, 2040 westlake Ave. N., seattleWHEN: 4-8:30 p.m.COST: $35/eachINFO: 206-364-6025, [email protected]

WED 2/20

WHAT: race, MAP tests, and privatization: the fight for equality in public educationWHERE: New Freeway hall, 5018 rainier Ave. s., seattleWHEN: 7 p.m.INFO: 206-722-2453, [email protected]

THU 2/21

WHAT: kABA Annual BanquetWHERE: washington Athletic Club, 1325 6th Ave., seattleWHEN: 5 p.m.RSVP: February 8, kaba-washington.org/2013-banquet-registrationINFO: kaba-washingon.org WHAT: APis for Mayor Mike McGinn fundraiser WHERE: Nagomi tea house, 516th Ave. s., seattle WHEN: 5:30-7 p.m.SUGGESTED DONATION: $25-$200INFO: [email protected]

WHAT: the Greater seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s 50th

Anniversary lunar New year Banquet 2013WHERE: China harbor restaurant, 2040 westlake Ave. N., seattleWHEN: 6 p.m.COST: $45/person, $600/corporate tablePURCHASE: www.seattlechinesechamber.orgINFO: 206-552-0818, [email protected]

SAT 2/23

WHAT: Japanese noodle cooking demo with shirley karasawaWHERE: the wing, 719 s. king st., seattleWHEN: 3 p.m.COST: $25/members, $30/general admissionINFO: www.lovelylanvin.com

WHAT: the Bellevue Collection, the taiwan Benevolent Association of America and the overseas Chinese Affairs Council r.o.C. present an exciting all day eventWHERE: Bellevue square in Center CourtWHEN: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.INFO: bellevuecollection.com/lunarnewyear

SUN 2/24

WHAT: Growing our Community, one Pancake at a timeWHERE: kawabe house, 221 18th Ave. s., seattleWHEN: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.COST: $8/personINFO: www.kinon.org

MON 2/25

WHAT: 9th Annual seattle-kobe Female Jazz Vocalist AuditionWHERE: Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, 2033 6th Ave., seattleWHEN: 6:30-9:30 p.m.SUGGESTED DONATION: $5/students, $10/adults

THRU 2/23

WHAT: Naoko Morisawa’s collection got chosen by the CVG show WHERE: Collective Visions, 331 Pacific Ave., BremertonINFO: 360-377-8327,www.collectivevisions.com

THRU 2/26

WHAT: the last queen of koreaWHERE: Asia Pacific Cultural Center, 4851 s.

tacoma way, tacomaWHEN: 5:30-6:30 p.m.INFO: 253-383-3900

THRU 3/15

WHAT: Visions of the seattle Chinese Garden, a juried showWHERE: ArtsNow Gallery, edmonds Conference Center, 201 4th Ave. N., edmondsWHEN: reception on 1/17: 5-8 p.m.; gallery show is available weekdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.iNFo: 425-640-1234, [email protected]

THRU SUN 10/10/2013

WHAT: exhibition Display: etsuko ichikawaWHERE: sAM Gallery, 1300 1st Ave., seattleINFO: 206-903-5291, [email protected]

King County is requesting Proposals from qualified firms interested in providing engineering services in the implementation of a variety of transit priority treatments.

The Request for Proposals, all addenda and current document holder’s list are available on the internet at http://www.kingcounty.gov/procurement. The County will not mail, ship or fax RFPs and addenda.

Interested firms must register with the County at time of download and ensure that a valid contact email address is given. Notification of addenda will be sent to the registered email address. Failure to register will result in the proposer not being notified of any addenda, which may result in rejec-tion of the proposal.

The County may award up to one (1) contract with a maxi-mum dollar value of $750,000. The contract will have an initial period of performance of one (1) year. The County reserves the right to amend the contract duration in one (1) year increments up to a maximum of three (3) years, if funds remain.

ContraCt title: Work Order Transit Systems and Traffic Engineering Services

number: E00283E13ProPosals due: March 5, 2013time: 5:00 p.m. Pre-ProPosal meeting: February 20, 2013 time: 1:30 p.m.loCation: Room 3D, King Street Center, 201 S. Jack-

son St., Seattle WA

summarY oF WorK: Perform traffic engineering and traffic analysis, transportation planning, transit signal prior-ity system design and implementation, and related services on a work order basis.

subConsultant oPPortunities: Provided for in-formational purposes only, following are subconsulting op-portunities that may be available on this Contract: traffic-related data collection; public outreach; conceptual plan development; traffic analysis and modeling; transit support-ive treatments design and implementation.

sCs utiliZation reQuirements: The Consultant shall ensure that at least 15% of the Total Price for all ex-ecuted Work Orders, as amended, shall be performed by King County Certified SCS Firms over the life of the Con-tract. Evaluation points for meeting and/or exceeding the SCS utilization requirements will be provided to each pro-poser responding to this requirement. King County will not evaluate the proposal and will not execute a contract with a Proposer who does not commit to meet at least the SCS utilization requirement as stated above.

Questions: Questions concerning this solicitation should be directed to Gib Myers, Contract Specialist at 206-263-9323, TTY Relay: 711. The Proposer may be request-ed to submit the question in writing. No verbal answers by County personnel will be binding on the County.

This information is available in alternate formats for in-dividuals with disabilities upon advance request by calling 206-263-9400, TTY Relay: 711.

King CountY reQuest For ProPosals


The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal:

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Happy New Year from the S E A T T L E C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E S

Reaching the world through Global Impact, Teach in China, and Study Abroad programs – and educating

thousands of international students every year in Seattle

Seattle Community Colleges Chancellor Jill Wakefield (2nd from left) and Executive Dean of International Education Andrea Insley (3rd from right) with representatives of Omeida Language College in Yangshuo, China.

By Amir Shah and Kim Gamelthe AssoCiAteD Press

kABUl, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan mod-els paraded down a candle-lined catwalk Friday, Feb. 8 as men and women watched from the audience in a restaurant off a muddy street in kabul.

the rare fashion show in this war-weary capital was a small production, but a big idea — part of an Afghan group’s efforts to em-power women by breaking down barriers in this highly conservative Muslim society.

“the situation always gets tougher and

{see FASHION cont’d on page 14}

By Jim Gomezthe AssoCiAteD Press

MANilA, Philippines (AP) — After years of fighting the government from hidden jun-gle bases in the southern Philippines, an Al-qaida-linked militant group is facing a new adversary, fellow Muslim insurgents who can match their guerrilla battle tactics and are eager to regain their lost stature by fight-ing the widely condemned terrorist group.

the emerging enmity between the Abu sayyaf militants and the Moro rebels could bolster a decade-long campaign by the Phil-ippines and western countries to isolate the al-qaida offshoot Abu sayyaf, which re-mains one of the most dangerous groups in southeast Asia.

in their first known major clash, Abu sayyaf gunmen battled rebels from the larger Moro National liberation Front in fighting early this week, leaving at least 22 combatants dead in the mountainous jungles

on southern Jolo island. A Moro rebel was beheaded — Abu sayyaf’s signature act.

Bonded by blood ties and war, the two armed groups had co-existed for years on Jolo in a predominantly Muslim region, where abject poverty, guns, and weak law enforcement have combined in an explosive mix to fuel their rebellions and pockets of lawlessness.

the trouble began after the Moro rebels — seeking to regain their former dominance in the region — tried to arrange the release of several hostages held by the Abu sayyaf, including a prominent Jordanian tV journal-ist and two european tourists. when the Abu sayyaf commanders refused to free the hos-tages, Moro rebels launched an attack.

the Moro rebels are now trying to rescue the captives and end the Abu sayyaf’s reign, Moro commander khabier Malik told the Associated Press.

{see FILIPINO cont’d on page 14}

Rare Afgan fashion show empowers women

Filipino extremists face new foe: fellow rebels

■ WorLd neWs

By Hyung-Jin Kimthe AssoCiAteD Press

seoUl, south korea (AP) — North korea apparently con-ducted a widely anticipated nuclear test tuesday, Feb. 12 strongly indicated by an “explosion-like” earthquake that monitoring agencies around the globe said appeared to be un-natural.

there was no confirmation from Pyongyang that it had con-ducted a test, which it has been threatening for weeks.

Any test would be seen as another big step toward North korea’s goal of building a warhead that can be mounted on a missile. it would also be a bold signal from young leader kim Jong Un, who took power in December 2011 following the death of his father, kim Jong il.

the south korean Defense Ministry, which raised its mili-

tary alert level after the quake, said it was trying to determine whether it was a test. Nuclear blasts can create tremors, but they are distinct from those caused by natural earthquakes.

A nuclear test would also be a challenge to the U.N. secu-rity Council, which recently punished Pyongyang for launch-ing a long-range rocket seen as a covert test of ballistic missile technology. in condemning that December rocket launch and imposing more sanctions on Pyongyang, the council had de-manded a stop to future launches and ordered North korea to respect a ban on nuclear activity — or face “significant action” by the U.N.

A world nuclear test monitoring organization said it detect-ed what it called an “unusual seismic event” in North korea.

“the event shows clear explosion-like characteristics and its location is roughly congruent with the 2006 and 2009 DPrk nuclear tests,” said tibor tóth, the executive secretary of the

Comprehensive Nuclear test Ban treaty organization. the DPrk refers to North korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s republic of korea.

“if confirmed as a nuclear test, this act would constitute a clear threat to international peace and security, and challenges efforts made to strengthen global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, in particular by ending nuclear testing,” tóth said.

kim Min-seok, a south korean Defense Ministry spokes-man, told reporters that North korea informed China and the United states of its plans to conduct a nuclear test. it was not clear when Pyongyang told Beijing and washington.

the U.s. Geological survey, as well as earthquake monitor-ing stations in south korea, detected an earthquake near a site

{see NUCLEAR TEST cont’d on page 14}

North Korea apparently conducts third nuclear test


■ WorLd neWs

By Christopher Bodeenthe AssoCiAteD Press

BeiJiNG, China (AP) — the an-nual lunar New year fireworks barrage in Beijing was notably muted sunday, Feb. 10, following government appeals to reduce the smoky celebrations after air pollu-tion rose to near catastrophic levels over recent weeks.

the holiday was also being cel-ebrated in Vietnamese and korean communities, and in North korea’s capital, Pyongyang, streams of resi-dents offered flowers and bowed deeply before giant statues of na-tional founder kim il sung and his son and late leader kim Jong il.

in Jakarta, indonesia, where Chi-nese cultural observances had been suppressed before 1998, ethnic Chi-nese flocked to the city’s oldest tem-ple to pray for health and success.

China’s capital saw almost twice the number of smoggy days as usu-al in January, with levels of small particle air pollution going off the charts at times. that prompted calls for restraint, along with a reduction in the number of licensed fireworks sellers and the amount of fireworks on sale.

the fusillades that began on lu-nar New year’s eve on saturday night started later than usual, but still grew to furious intensity at midnight. they also died out ear-lier than usual on sunday morning,

and relatively few explosions were heard during the day.

setting off fireworks to celebrate renewal and ward off evil spirits is a traditional part of the celebration that marks China’s most important

family holiday.sales of fireworks from tuesday

to saturday fell 37 percent over the same period last year, from 410,000 cartons to just 260,000, the official Xinhua News Agency reported,

citing figures from the city govern-ment. the city authorized 1,337 fireworks stands this year, down from 1,429 last year, and allowed 750,000 cartons of fireworks to go on sale, down from 810,000.

the Beijing Daily, the city gov-ernment’s official newspaper, car-ried appeals last week for residents to hold off on fireworks celebra-tions, saying not doing so would significantly worsen levels of PM2.5 particle pollution forecast to be in the hazardous zone. City envi-ronmental bureau readings showed levels well above 200 in most parts of the city sunday, dangerous but still well below readings of more than 700 seen last month, when Bei-jing experienced 23 days of smog, up from 10 the previous January.

Beijing was largely helpless in the face of the January smog, while schools canceled outdoor activities, some factories closed, and gov-ernment cars were ordered off the streets. scores of people, especially the young and elderly, were treated at hospitals for respiratory prob-lems, elevated blood pressure, and

{see FIREWORKS cont’d on page 15}

Fewer fireworks set off in smoggy Beijing

Normally a time for opulence, this year’s Lunar New Year celebration was toned down. Restaurant served smaller portion sizes, firework displays were shorter, and several events were cancelled.

Pho

to b

y La

Priz


■ PICTorIAL

Children’s Costume Parade 2013Over 100 kids from the ages of two months to 12 years participated in the Third Annual Children’s Costume Parade. First, second, and third place winners received prizes of $100, $50, and $25 respectively. Fourth and fifth place received golden dragon statues full of candy.

Fourth and fifth place winners Acadia Matyas and Mia Ekle

Third place winners Luna, Kaya, and Siri Masonsmith

sang a Chinese song on stage.To celebrate the Year of the

Snake, this year’s festival included

a reptile petting zoo.

First place winner Joziah Lagonoy danced during the entire parade.

The kid’s favorite attraction was Pei Pei the panda,

a 16-year-old panda from Panda Express.

Photos by George Liu/NWAW

Kids from all ages participated, showing off their colorful costumes.

Snakes, both fierce and cute, were present at the parade.

All types of costumes were featured, from Chinese and Korean to animal costumes.

Several contestants were too young to speak and needed to

be helped by parents.Red, a good luck color,

dominated the competition.

Boys and girls of all ages participated.

Judging took place during the festival as well as on stage.

Over 100 kids participated, a new record for the children’s parade.

Several families attended with all of their children in costume.


■ edUCATIon

All sale lasts from Friday 2/15 to Thursday 2/21

Cali orange $0.69/lb

big taro $1.39/lb

nong shim bowl Kimchi $7.99/case

Carribean Papaya $1.69/lb

long nappa $0.69/lb

House tofu (firm 19 oz)$1.59

$1.29

Vifon Fish Porridge $6.99/case

$6.19 case

trung nguyen Coffee Premier tin 15 oz. $6.99

$5.99

l&W grass Jelly $1.29

$0.99

Yali Pear $0.99/lb

enoki 100g $0.69/ea

orblanco $0.69/lb

lemon grass $0.99/ea

39¢lb

89¢lb

$1.39 lb

39¢lb

49¢ea

39¢lb

69¢lb

69¢ea

$7.49 case

dai bo de soy sauce $2.09

$1.69

To the Washington Asian and Pacific American Community,

I wish you a prosperous and successful Year of the Snake. May the Year of the Snake bring you continued success, fortune, and happiness!

Washington State Senator from the 21st District Paull Shin

Compiled by StaffNorthwest AsiAN weekly

the Northwest Asian weekly’s Diversity Makes a Differ-ence scholarship program celebrates young people who are committed to reaching across cultural lines. students are nominated by their school for being champions of diversity. From those nominations, a judging panel will choose five winners who will receive $1,000 scholarships and a number of finalists who will receive $200 scholarships.

the Diversity Makes a Difference awards dinner will take place on March 28 at the New hong kong restaurant. to buy tickets, visit diversity.nwasianweeklyfoundation.org. each week leading up to the dinner, we will publish a selection of short profiles of the nominees, in no particular order.

Dianjee CabreraSenior at Ballard High SchoolNominated by John Hernandez

“Dianjee is a true leader,” John hernandez, Proyecto sa-ber teacher, wrote in a nomination letter. “Dianjee has always been in the front of the crowd leading her peers to excel in school and be involved in the community. Dianjee has the charisma and personality to rally students from all ages and

backgrounds to get involved and make a positive impact on our school.”

“Dianjee is a true leader and someone that i am certain will continue to make invaluable contributions to society,” he con-tinued. “she shows the maturity to excel academically, while committing to after-school activities and holding a part-time job.”

in her personal essay on why diversity is important to her, Cabrera wrote, “Most of the time, i feel like other American teenagers, but at the same time, i’m excluded because i wasn’t born here. Being disenfranchised has made me aware of is-sues surrounding inclusion and exclusion, i am determined to advocate for immigrant rights with my education.”

Joel BervellSenior at Kamiak High SchoolNominated by Bryan Stelling

“As early as primary school, Joel learned the value of hard work and gained a passion for learning,” Bryan stelling, coun-selor at kamiak high school, wrote.

“Joel has continued to excel in leadership positions and ser-vice,” stelling continued. “he was voted by his peers to be the class president his freshmen, sophomore, and junior years. this year as a senior, he is the overall AsB president.”

in his essay, Bervell wrote, “As a first generation American, i have always taken pride in my Ghanaian heritage. After all, i cannot easily ignore the sounds of Nzema and twi, the as-sortment of colorful tailor-made ethnic attires in my closet, or spicy meals such as jollof rice that greet me at the dining table when i wouldn’t mind a simple burger. All these things define who i am. in my elementary school days, when my friends would describe me simply as Black, i would turn to them and proudly declare, ‘Actually, i’m Ghanaian!’ ”

Brian HuynhSenior at Roosevelt High SchoolNominated by Takeo Tashibu

“Brian is a warm and caring individual,” takeo tashibu, National honor society adviser, wrote. “he is a good listener and has a warm heart. whenever we’ve called upon students to be helpful, Brian has given his time with the same unending energy and commitment.”

in his essay, huynh wrote, “in the world today, technology is bringing us all closer together. we can turn on a computer in Guangzhou, China and video chat with someone in Florida. we can also text and e-mail some one in Germany or in iraq.

{see DIVERSITY cont’d on page 19}

Diversity Makes a Difference—Part 1—

Dianjee Cabrera Joel Bervell Brian Huynh Leonel Reyes Sandeep Kour Alma Castillo


■ CoMMUnITy neWs

Congratulations to our new Governor Jay Inslee, may your leadership lead Washington to prosperity and growth, and Happy New Year to our friends, family, and customers.

We hope you are able to celebrate with us!

Best wishes from Phnom Penh Noodle House

From left: Owner Sam Ung, Governor Jay Inslee, Ung’s wife Kim, and his daughter Diane

660 South King St. Seattle, WA 98104 | 206.748.9825 | www.phnompenhnoodles.com

By StaffNorthwest AsiAN weekly

Former Medina Police Chief Jeffrey Chen’s wrongful-termi-nation lawsuit against the city of Medina will finally be seeing a trial by jury. however, the lawsuit will be without several claims that were thrown out by the judge.

the trial is scheduled to begin on March 11.

U.s. District Court Judge thomas Zilly rejected on thurs-day, Feb. 7 Chen’s claim that he

was subjected to a hostile workplace. the decision follows an earlier rejection of a claim that multiple members of the Medina city government conspired to fire the then police chief.

in his order dismissing the claim, Zilly wrote that com-ments made by City Manager Donna hanson and former Mayor Bret Jordan did not create a hostile work environment because the comment did not interfere with Chen’s ability to do his work.

Chen claimed that he first began experiencing issues with the city manager following an investigation into the leak of important information by a city employee who logged into the police department’s archiving system.

Chen was dismissed from his position following a some-what bizarre release of a public resignation letter in Decem-ber of 2010, followed by a quick rescinding of his letter six days later. he then released a seven-page letter to the Me-dina City Council stating that he quit because he was being forced out by City Manager Donna hanson.

Chen was put on administrative leave following his re-scinding, pending the results of an investigation led by pri-vate investigator and Bellevue attorney ellen lenhart. the investigation eventually found Chen guilty on six counts: dishonesty, abuse of his position as chief, unauthorized re-moval and/or destruction of public records, improper access of city records, improper access of the city’s e-mail archives, and loss of confidence by subordinate officers.

Among lenhart’s findings were issues concerning “sev-eral purchases [Chen] had authorized using city funds … missing or voided tickets that had been issued by MPD of-ficers and then voided by [Chen] without the issuing offi-cers’ knowledge, and documents that had purportedly been authored by MPD officers and then approved by Chief Chen, but which the officers claim they did not author.”

Chen was officially dismissed on April 27, 2011. the dis-missal was not well received by members of the community.

Community members contended that he had been good for the city, reducing crime to nearly nonexistent levels,

though they said he did sometimes use extreme measures. During his tenure, the city of Medina installed a cam-

era system that would scan and search every license plate that entered the city. the police department also purchased four machine guns to protect the city, which is home to Bill Gates, amongst other high profile community members.

At a city council meeting in January 2011, a vote was called to dismiss hanson, but failed by a vote of 5–2. in a May 2011 meeting, a petition requesting Chen’s reinstatement, signed by approximately 100 Medina and hunts Point residents, was presented to the Medina city council. this represents roughly three percent of the combined populations of Me-dina and hunts Point, according to the 2010 census.

Neither Jeff Chen or his attorney returned a request for comment.

Staff can be reached at [email protected].

Medina Ex-Police Chief Chen trial set to begin

Jeffrey Chen

Among Lenhart’s findings were issues concerning “several purchases [Chen] had authorized using city funds … missing or voided tickets that had been issued by MPD officers and then voided by [Chen] without the issuing officers’ knowledge, and documents that had purportedly been authored by MPD officers and then approved by Chief Chen, but which the officers claim they did not author.”


The port seat is for ladies only

twenty-nine applicants were interested in the vacant Port of seattle Commissioner’s seat, vacated by Gael tarleton, who had left to become a state representative for the 36th District.

earlier this week, the then four current commissioners selected six finalists — all women. there are a few big names among the finalists.

the big names are stephanie Bowman, executive director of washington ABC and Courtney Gregoire, attorney with world-wide sales Group, Microsoft Corporation, and daughter of our former governor.

the other finalists include Claudia kauff-man, former state senator of the 47th Dis-trict and intergovernmental Affairs liaison for the Muckleshoot tribe; Deborah k. knutson, Principal of knutson strategies; Vicki orrico, attorney, Principal, orrico Consulting, and member of the Bellevue College Board of trustees; and Nancy e. wyatt, president and Ceo of the Auburn

Area Chamber of Commerce.only one of the finalists is a woman of color, former state

senator Claudia kauffman, who is Native American. if picked, kauffman would be the first woman of color to have the seat. whoever is selected, she’ll have to run for election to continue her job past tarleton’s original finish date.

Males of color who have held the commissioner job include lloyd hara, current king County Assessor, and rob holland, an African American, who resigned only this tuesday.

Jan Drago, an old pro in politics, is not among the finalists. Neither are Al yuen and Patsy tsui Bonincontri, who also ap-plied. the current commissioners seem to think alike, giving younger women a chance for fresh perspectives on the port’s business and future.

why do so many want the part-time job? the commissioner’s seat only pays roughly $6,000 a year. But it does have a lot of perks, including travel and meeting with important foreign and global business leaders. it also raises the profile and visibility of the commissioners. Don’t forget that it is a valuable stepping-stone for higher office. look at where hara and tarleton are now.

with the resignation of rob holland, the other 28 unpicked applicants might come in handy.

Can our community collaborate?

i wish that the year of the snake could grant me wings, so i could fly to all the great things happening in our community.

last saturday was lunar New year’s eve. there were numer-ous events celebrating the occasion. i wanted to be at all five of them, but i could only attend three. the Asian weekly organized one of the events, the children’s parade and costume contest. you can imagine how crazy it was for us!

Can our community organizations coordinate better, so i don’t have to choose which events to go to? the Asian Pacific Cultural Center’s New year Celebration at the tacoma Dome exhibition hall was held during the same time as the Chinatown/interna-tional District lunar New year’s Festival.

Perhaps, now it’s a good time to share with each other your schedule of events, so we can produce a master calendar for the Asian community.

“Snaky” in the IDthe year of the snake sneaked into the iD with a lot of good

omens. the weather forecast said it was going to be sunny for the New year’s festival, but the sun hid the whole day. those who had seen the sunny forecast came anyways. the iD was so packed that many restaurants had over 10 people in line waiting outside the restaurants. light rain came at the end of the festival, around 4 p.m., but by then, who cared?

Normally, no politicians come to the iD’s New year Festival, but the mayoral race is hot this year and three candidates showed up, including Mayor Mike McGinn, former City Councilmember Peter steinbruek, and City Councilmember Bruce harrell.

May i say to the elected officials, don’t just appear during elec-tion year, visit us every year.

Passing the torchin case you don’t know, Congressman Adam smith of the 9th

district is now representing part of the Chinatown/international District, after redistricting. it used to only be Congressman Jim McDermott.

since 1997, smith has served in Congress. Now, he is one of the top Democrats on the house Arms service committee. to

introduce himself, smith showed up on both saturday to take part at the New year Festival and sunday at the wing luke Museum.

A father of two, smith, 47, was born in the year of the snake. A Bellevue resident, smith is praised by many to be thought-ful, smart, and for reaching to both republicans and Democrats. smith started his political career early, winning his first state senate seat at 25. At the time, smith was the youngest state sena-tor to be elected in the country.

impressively, he took a job loading UPs trucks to put himself through college. he’s also a husky, having gotten his law degree from Uw. he has also studied at western washington University and did his Bachelor’s at NyU.

his staff is diverse, featuring two Asian Americans, four African Americans, one person of hispanic descent. two-thirds of his office is women. he has hired linh thai, who is of Vietnamese descent, to do his community outreach.

Rhea Suh, a product of the American Dream

it’s always wonderful to see obama’s Asian appointees in seattle. last sunday, rhea suh accompanied secretary of the in-terior ken salazar to the signing ceremony for the wing luke Museum’s becoming an Associated Affiliate of the National Parks system.

As Assistant secretary of policy, management, and budget in the Department of the interior since 2009, suh oversees

the department, which has a $12 billion budget and over 70,000 employees.

A korean American, suh’s parents left korea after the korean war. with halting english, no relatives or friends, and “not [hav-ing] seen a hotdog or jello,” her parents came to this country with only $200 in their pockets.

But they had dreams and a belief in America that their children could prosper, said suh.

A Fulbright and Marshall Fellowship recipient, suh graduated from Columbia University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. she also attended the Graduate school of education at harvard University.

oPInIon

■ PUBLIsher’s BLoG

■ edITorIAL

Want to get the inside scoop on the latest happenings of Seattle’s Asian American community? Follow Publisher Assunta Ng’s blog at nwasianweekly.com under the Opinion section.

From left: Don Blakeney (LNY festival organizer), Jan Drago, and Erin Abu-Rish at the Hong Kong Association gala one day after the commissioner announcement.

This year’s Lunar New Year Festival was the most highly attended festival, well, ever.

Jim McDermott and Adam Smith shaking hands

Phot

o by

Geo

rge

Liu/

NW

AW

Rhea Suh

Claudia Kauffman

last year, during the opening of the year of the Dragon, the Northwest Asian weekly wished for a few things. we wished that the economy would improve. we wished that business would go up. we wished for less vacant properties in the in-ternational District.

Now, as the year of the snake opens, it’s safe to say that our wishes came true. through the hard work of everyone, we’re making a slow but sure economic recovery. Vacant spaces in the international District are down, partly through work of organizations such as storefront seattle and the Massive Monkees and partly through the work of big companies such as intel and Avvo, who both just recently moved into Union station office space.

Just a week into the year of the snake and our prosperity is still increasing. Parking rates are going down in the inter-national District, hopefully bringing restaurant business back up. on the very first day of the year of the snake, the wing luke was named one of the National Park service’s affiliated areas, bringing honor to the international District. this dis-tinction will only help them grow and prosper.

this year’s mayoral race is also looking to be a crowded one, which is good. More candidates means more issues being discussed, more ideas being offered, and more solutions being found. we welcome candidates to come to our community to have discussions on how they and we can both improve.

And finally, the biggest wish of all: immigration reform.

immigration reform has long been a major issue, but now, Congress finally looks like it’s ready to do appreciable work on it. President obama has been pushing on the legislature, and both houses now have bipartisan teams working on legis-lation. we know that there will be some opposition, but that’s okay — even more, it’s welcome. this is a democracy and in a democracy, you have to fight, you have to argue, and you have to negotiate to make change. this process is good. it will make the outcome more satisfactory for everyone involved.

there are a lot of questions and a lot of challenges, yes, but hope is coming. recovery and success are coming in the year of the snake.

Hope coming in the Year of the Snake


oPInIon

■ LeTTer

Connie Young Yuto the Northwest AsiAN weekly

thank you for printing the excellent article, “tAM sale of Chinese treasures upsets donors” in the Northwest Asian weekly. you reported the story fairly, giving the overall picture of tAM’s policies, while allowing my viewpoint, and that of my brother, to be heard. we feel a responsibil-ity not just to the legacy of our parents, but also to the community in the Northwest, to let the people know what tAM is doing and the Chi-nese art they are losing.

i attended the auction at Bonhams in san Fran-cisco in December, as did sue lee of the Chi-nese historical society of America. it was quite a spectacle, heartbreaking for me, to see the intense bidding for the qing dynasty robes and antique jades donated by my parents, the very items tAM’s executive director, stephanie ste-bich, considered “not of museum quality.” i’ll be attending the auction on March 11 to witness the sale of the rest of the young collection. this fi-nal deaccessioning of Chinese art and culture by tAM will not go unnoticed by the public, as sue and i will be informing the san Francisco media, just as Al will be updating you in the Northwest.

Attached are photos taken several days ago at the opening of a new exhibit. “Border Cross-ings: From the imperial to Popular life,” at the Cantor Arts Center at stanford. i’m standing by a red “birthday robe” donated by my parents to stanford’s museum. this was one of the dozen robes brought by stanford to tacoma in 1979 for a showing of the entire qing textile collection of the youngs. tacoma will no longer have any of these treasures, while stanford continues to value their collection (yes, it’s museum quality) and showcase it for the benefit and enrichment of the students and the community.

thanks again, for bringing this story to your readers.

Best regards,

Connie Young Yu

Yes, it’s museum quality

Connie Young Yu, daughter of Col. and Mrs. Young, in front of a robe from her parent’s collection displayed in a currently running exhibit at Stanford’s Cantor Art Center.

A robe from the Young collection currently on display at Stanford.

Phot

os p

rovi

ded

by C

onni

e Yo

ung

Yu

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Visit www.nwasianweekly.com.


{FASHION cont’d from page 7}

tougher day by day, but we should not back down. we are here to move on and move for-ward, so i think if women step up and they show up in this field, i think they will do a good job,” said shahar Banoo Zeerak, the designer whose clothes were featured in the show.

the idea of women on display remains mostly taboo in Afghanistan more than a decade after the 2001 U.s. assault that ousted the taliban from power after a five-year reign of terror by

the fundamentalist movement.some women still don’t go outside without

wearing blue burqas that cover them from head to toe. Violence against women is still common in Afghanistan, and there are reports of women being stoned, executed in public, or imprisoned for having affairs with men. women have even set themselves on fire to escape domestic vio-lence.

Friday’s fashion show was organized by young women for Change, an independent, nonprofit Afghan organization committed to empowering Afghan women and improving their lives.

Most of the 10 models, including three young men, who showed off 33 designs, including col-orful short-sleeved dresses, jeans, tunics, and more traditional outfits — were Afghan women who volunteer for the group.

one of them, 17-year-old Farkhonda taheri, had never even seen a fashion show before. she said her father and other family members were supportive of her decision to participate, but her grandmother was not happy.

“the biggest challenge for us is that we cannot do these things in Afghanistan because people

do not like it,” she said afterward. “i was excited because i felt i am going to bring a change.”

she said it was important for Afghan youths to take risks to bring change as the country struggles to achieve a semblance of normalcy, with international combat forces preparing to withdraw by the end of 2014.

“who will bring the peace? we are going to bring it. Afghans. the new generation,” taheri said.

there have been a few other fashion shows in Afghanistan, but most were geared toward

an international audience and seldom featured Afghan women or a mixed Afghan audience. reflecting the obstacles, the organizers did not permit local Afghan media to film the event to protect the women, who on occasion appeared without headscarves and in short skirts.

“it may not be perfect and professional, but it’s a beginning,” said salma Gul, the 26-year-old tailor who made the clothes.

organizers said they had two reasons for staging the show despite fears of violence in a country that sees frequent bombings and suicide attacks, often against targets deemed un-islamic by extremists. one was to raise money for the advocacy group and the other was to gradually change attitudes toward women.

A spokesman for the advocacy group, Mo-hammad Zafar salehi, said they earned more than $1,000 from the show, which sold tickets and drew mostly group members and friends.

“we want to change the mindset of the people, but at the same time, i worry about the security of the girls,” he said as the famous Afghan rock band Morchaha performed in another room. “i believe in a change that can be slow.”

{FILIPINO cont’d from page 7}

“we breath the same air, speak the same language, and live and fight in the same jungle,” he said by telephone. “we’re a bigger force and we cannot al-low this small group to reign with this brutality.”

For years, a shadowy alliance is be-lieved to have existed between the groups. while the Moro rebels signed a limited peace deal with the government years ago, some Moro commanders are suspected of giving sanctuary to Abu sayyaf men and carrying out kidnap-pings for ransom with them.

“Collusion between the Abu sayyaf Group and MNlF members — many of whom are relatives — on Jolo is a ma-jor reason why large swaths of the island have been essentially ungovernable for years,” said Bryony lau of the Brussels-based international Crisis Group think tank. the government “should consider whether the recent clash has shifted rela-tions between them in a way that could make it easier to isolate senior figures of the Abu sayyaf Group.”

But the rift offers no easy answers for the Philippines. weaning the Moro reb-els from hardened militants would mean a true government alliance with the rebels, some of whom are suspected of involvement in attacks on civilians and government forces.

walking a tightrope amid the clashes, President Benigno Aquino iii said the Moro offensive was not sanctioned by his government. But government of-ficials also are not trying to stop the fighting, presumably hoping each group weakens the other. Police and soldiers have simply set up checkpoints to seal off the area around the fighting, trying to keep it from spilling into other rural areas.

sulu Provincial Governor Abdusakur tan said he would allow the Moro at-tacks to continue, at least for now.

“they’re cleaning their ranks. these kidnappers are either their former mem-bers or one of their own,” tan said.

the Moro National liberation Front spearheaded an underground movement in the early 1970s for a separatist islamic state. But it dropped its secessionist goal when it accepted limited autonomy for minority Muslims in the predominantly

roman Catholic nation’s south, prompt-ing key guerrillas to break away, includ-ing a libyan-educated radical, who es-tablished the Abu sayyaf.

Another major guerrilla bloc broke off from the original Moro group and formed the Moro islamic liberation Front, which has emerged as the coun-try’s largest Muslim rebel group.

the Moro rebels were not required to disarm under the landmark 1996 peace deal, allowing fighters to settle to their Jolo communities with their weapons. the accord also lacked a provision to formally enlist the rebels in hunting down criminals and terrorists straying into their strongholds, an oversight that may have helped foster collusion years later between the Moro rebels and the Abu sayyaf.

Philippine officials forged such a pact in peace talks with the Moro islamic liberation Front with impressive results. hunted by U.s.-backed Filipino troops in 2005, Abu sayyaf chieftain khadaffy Janjalani and other militants sought ref-uge in a stronghold Moro islamic lib-eration Front, which turned them away. Janjalani, then among the most-wanted terrorist suspects in southeast Asia, was killed by troops the following year on Jolo.

the Abu sayyaf — “Bearer of the sword” in Arabic — was founded with funds and training believed to come from a collection of Asian and Middle eastern radical groups, including al-qaida. it came to U.s. attention in 2001 when it kidnapped three Americans, one of whom was beheaded, along with doz-ens of Filipinos and openly swore alle-giance to osama bin laden’s movement.

the kidnappings prompted washing-ton to deploy hundreds of troops in the south in 2002 to train Philippine forces and share intelligence, helping the mili-tary capture or kill most of the Abu sayyaf’s top commanders. Now without a central leader, the group has less than 400 armed fighters, who the military says are constantly on the run from U.s.-backed local offensives.

Philippine security officials attribute the Abu sayyaf’s resilience to the diffi-culty of hunting down small pockets of fighters by soldiers unfamiliar with the vast mountainous jungles of Jolo and outlying islands.

{NUCLEAR TEST cont’d from page 7}

where North korea conducted its second nuclear test in 2009, according to the gov-ernment-funded korea institute of Geosci-ence and Mineral resources.

“there is a high possibility that North korea has conducted a nuclear test,” said Chi heoncheol, an earthquake special-ist at the institute. Chi said a magnitude 3.9 magnitude earthquake and a magni-tude 4.5 earthquake were detected in the North’s 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests.

south korean, U.s., and Japanese seismic monitoring agencies put the magnitude of tuesday’s quake between 4.9 and 5.2.

“we think it is possible it came about as a result of a nuclear test by North ko-rea from looking at past cases,” Japanese government spokesman yoshihide suga said at a news conference tuesday, not-ing that they were still gathering infor-mation.

“A natural earthquake normally starts with a smaller tremor followed by a larger one. this quake’s strength was the same throughout,” according to yosuke igarashi, an official at the Japan Meteo-rological Agency. he declined to elabo-rate on the length of the quake or other details, saying the agency was studying the data.

the United states and its allies have been on edge since North korea said last month it will conduct its third nuclear test to protest toughened sanctions over the December rocket launch.

in washington, the white house had no immediate comment on tuesday’s developments.

North korea’s politburo vowed to continue firing “powerful long-range rockets,” but a statement by state media tuesday made no mention of a nuclear test.

North korea’s National Defense Com-mission said Jan. 23 that the United states was its prime target for a nuclear test and long-range rocket launches. North korea accuses washington of leading the push to punish Pyongyang for its December rocket launch.

last october, a spokesman from the commission told state media that the country had built a missile capable of striking the United states, but did not provide further details. A missile fea-tured in an April 2012 military parade appeared to be an intercontinental bal-listic missile, but its authenticity has not been verified by foreign experts.

Associated Press writers Youkyung Lee in Seoul and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

“The biggest challenge for us that we cannot do these things in Afghanistan because people do not like it. I was excited because I felt I am going to bring a change.”

— Farkhonda Taheri


{NARCOTICS cont’d from page 4}

“in the Valley, they’re the ones growing acre-age,” said Brent wood, a special agent with Cal-ifornia’s Department of Justice, who heads the multi-agency Central Valley Marijuana inves-tigation team. “they will have 20 to 30 doctor recommendations from family members, and their plants are humongous monsters. they’re very organized and very good at selling the pot out of state.”

Community leaders say some laotian refu-gees and their adult children, who suffer high unemployment and poverty, turn to pot farm-ing out of desperation, because it seems like the only way to make a decent living.

laotians started streaming into the Central Valley in the early 1980s, in the wake of the Vietnam war and the communist takeover of laos. they fled bombings, forced labor and per-secution to refugee camps in thailand, and later moved to countries, such as the United states.

About 10,000 laotians settled in central Cali-fornia, refugee advocates estimate. the region’s productive agricultural land drew them, be-cause many were farmers in laos and hoped to transplant their skills here.

instead, community leaders say, laotians have languished in a region with high poverty levels. Many cannot find work, and at least 40 percent receive government assistance, said John Bosavanh, a laotian caseworker with the Fresno interdenominational refugee Minis-tries.

Most lack an education and have limited eng-lish skills, he said. And small-scale vegetable farming brings in little money and a lot of head-aches, including the inability to compete with bigger farmers.

“People are on welfare, they don’t have jobs, and those who are working hard cannot make good money,” Bosavanh said.

those in the community who are against growing marijuana are afraid to speak up, be-cause the growers often have guns, he said. Bo-savanh, who is also a pastor, says people come to him instead to complain. “in laos, we had nothing, and we came to the U.s. because we wanted to improve our lives. Most of us are hon-est, good citizens.”

there are no official estimates of how many laotians grow marijuana on farmland and in backyards, but community leaders say it has become common and blatant — something people talk about openly at the grocery store. Multi-generation families are making enough on marijuana farming to buy houses and cars,

Bosavanh said, eventually pushing those who cannot afford such comforts to also start plant-ing pot.

“they say, ‘i do it because everyone else does it,’ ” he said.

lt. richard ko, head of marijuana eradica-tion for the county sheriff’s office, said the in-centive for growers is great, high grade mari-juana can bring up to $2,500 per pound locally and $4,000 per pound out of state. each plant can produce 3 to 10 lbs — and plants grown on prime farmland with good soil and irrigation tend to be big.

A farmer could reap millions of dollars per acre growing pot, ko said, compared to a few hundred dollars per acre growing vegetables. “there’s a lot of money to be made in farming marijuana.”

this summer and fall, federal authorities and six sheriff’s offices across the Valley made 188 arrests, and seized 82 weapons, $113,783 in cash, and more than 480,000 marijuana plants. investigators say many of those arrested were southeast Asian growers, mainly laotians.

But few growers are charged and convicted, said wood, the special agent with the Depart-ment of Justice, because there are simply too many growers and too few resources to pros-ecute them. And investigators have to catch them selling out of state or for profit, he said.

in the september raid on the Fresno County farm, all 50 people were released and none were charged with a crime, according to the U.s. Attorney’s office. officials declined to say why no one was prosecuted.

last year, wood said, saw a large increase in home invasion robberies and other crimes con-nected with agricultural marijuana grows — including the shooting of a teenager in April at a Fresno-area marijuana farm. two brothers, both laotian, will stand trial in the slaying of the teen and burying him in an orange grove.

Michael Voravong, 29, is charged with shooting 16-year-old sammy Mercado when the teen and two others tried to steal marijua-na. Marshall Voravong is charged with being an accessory.

After a third laotian man was arrested in Utah with a trunk full of processed marijua-na, he had led detectives to Mercado’s grave. he told investigators he helped the Voravong brothers bury the body, and that the three of them planned to split the pot profits.

Neither brother has entered a plea. Charles Magill, the lawyer representing Michael Vora-vong, said his client was “being framed by the guy who was caught with the dope.”

What’s your animal sign?Rat 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 Ox 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 Tiger 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 Rabbit 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 Dragon 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 Snake 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013Horse 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 Goat 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003 Monkey 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 Rooster 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 Dog 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 Pig 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007

*The year ends on the first new moon of the following year. For those born in January and February, please take care when determining your sign.

RATFinishing the job quickly is high on your priority list, but care should be taken so that you finish as strongly as you started.

OXWant to stay longer even though you have other places to go? Honoring your commitments should take priority.

TIGERYou are not interested in being just average. Instead, you want to know what it takes to make it a cut above the rest.

RABBITIf something is bothering you, then it is best not to keep it bottled up inside. Try to articulate your frustration in a constructive manner.

DRAGONAs a caring leader, you often put the needs of the team above your own. Although admirable, you must focus on yourself now and then.

SNAKEWhy waste your energy on something that isn’t working? A fresh start may be what you need to go further than you have ever dreamed.

HORSEWhile you are only a few steps into the beginning of a personal journey, others around you will be quite interested in your experience along the way.

GOATNot fully up to speed on what you need to know? It’s your duty to learn what you need to know as soon as possible.

MONKEYThere is no harm in preparing a soft landing in advance. Whether or not you end up using it, the comfort it provides you will be worth it.

ROOSTERHave you been sending hints to your partner, but to no avail? Reassess your approach and step it up a notch, if appropriate.

DOGAn idea that was dismissed in the past will come to the forefront again. This time, it will be much better received.

PIGSetting multiple appointments for a single day? Space them far enough apart, so that you do not have to rush from one to the next.

For the week of February 16–February 22, 2013■ AsTroLoGy

{FIREWORKS cont’d from page 8}

heart complaints.last year’s fireworks display created a

thick haze that sent 2.5 microgram pollu-tion levels as high as 1,500.

Beijing on saturday night also saw just 25 injuries and 83 fire emergencies related to fireworks, down almost 29 percent and 45 percent, respectively, from last year.

Beijing permits fireworks displays over a 16-day period surrounding the lunar New year, but largely restricts them to suburban areas outside the densely populated city center.

the holiday will continue through the week, with government and businesses shut down and millions of Chinese trav-eling to their home towns to visit family. Many foreign residents also leave the city, taking the opportunity to enjoy warmer weather in southeast Asia or travel to Ja-pan and south korea for skiing holidays.

Chinese leaders have made few public appearances in recent days, although state broadcaster CCtV said new Communist Party leader Xi Jinping visited saturday with policemen, subway construction workers, taxi drivers, and street cleaners in Beijing to thank them for their service.

Premier wen Jiaobao, who has made a point of spending the holiday eve with workers and the poor, celebrated the last such occasion of his term in office with vic-tims of earthquakes and landslides in west-ern China, CCtV said. wen steps down in March.

the holiday took on a strong political fla-vor in North korea, where current leader kim Jong Un, the son of kim Jong il, who

died in December 2011, recently marked his second year in office.

“My longing for our great leader and general has grown stronger as i visited their statues,” Pyongyang resident kim son sil told the Associated Press at Mansu hill, which overlooks the city. “After this lunar New year’s Day, i will work harder, true to the leadership of Marshal kim Jong Un.”

Crowds of children also packed a Pyong-yang plaza and played traditional korean games and watched singing and dancing performances, with the capital’s streets covered in snow that had fallen saturday.

Along North korea’s border with China last week, impoverished residents could be seen returning home by bicycle ferry and oxcart. North korea’s economy is on the brink of collapse, and the country remains dependent on China for food and fuel sup-plies.

At Jakarta’s 350-year-old Buddhist tem-ple, Vihara Dharma Bhakti, thousands of celebrants from the indonesian capital and surrounding regions prayed before burning incense sticks and performed other rituals.

“our hope for this new year is for our health, well-being, and success to be even better than last year,” worshipper Nio Ju-ie said.

the lunar New year could be celebrated only in private under Gen. suharto’s bru-tal 32-year dictatorship, but the occasion is now a national holiday in indonesia, honor-ing the country’s small but highly influen-tial Chinese community.

Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim contributed to this report from Seoul, South Korea.


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{PARKING cont’d from page 1}

parking is the best Chinese New year present i could have asked for,” said Amy Zhang, owner of the Fortune Garden restaurant. “i appreciate all of the hard work that went into this—it has been a long effort, but we made it.”

working with the Mayor’s office and seattle’s office of economic Development (oeD) and sDot, the CiDBiA, and sCiDpda, they were able to collect substantial data demonstrating a drop in business since the evening parking program had been enacted.

Area restaurants had seen a drop of 20-30 percent in dinner time business since the parking rate changes. in addition, the CiDBiA and sCiDpda communicated the community’s concerns about the loss of the Free ride Area and the ongoing streetcar construction that have compounded the sense of urgency in the business commu-nity.

“the family-run restaurants of the Chi-natown-international District are the life-blood of this community, and we are very much focused on how to make sure they are successful and healthy for years to come,” said Don Blakeney, the executive director of the Chinatown-iD Business improve-ment Area. “there are a lot of great oppor-tunities on the horizon for the district, like a booming residential market with thousands

of new units landing in the next few years, the waterfront redevelopment, the incom-ing streetcar, and light rail expansion to the University of washington. we are thrilled that the city is working with us to make sure that our current businesses will be here to enjoy these developments when they come on line.”

this effort to examine parking is part of a larger center-city initiative, spear-headed by the Mayor’s office. over the past six months, representatives from the Chinatown-iD have worked in collabora-tion with city departments to look at a variety of quality of life issues facing the Chinatown-iD and have identified a com-prehensive list of opportunities to affect significant change and improvements in the neighborhood.

Programs range from new directed patrols by sPD in crime hot spots of the district, to additional litter bins on sidewalks and the rolling out of a clear alley program later this spring. Neighborhood stakeholders participating in this larger center-city initiative include representatives from businesses, family associations, the CiDBiA, sCiDpda, and interim Community Development Association.


Have a story idea that you think would fit perfectly in Northwest Asian Weekly?

We want to know about it. Send it to us at [email protected].


{KAP cont’d from page 4}

By 2003, kap had had enough and fled to Malaysia, where he began plotting his move to America. in 2008, along with his wife, es-ther sung, and 3-year-old daughter, he had the family’s application approved to move to kentucky with the help of kentucky refugee Ministries in lexington, relying on a hope and a prayer and little other information.

“i just knew there was a state called ken-tucky,” he said.

kap and his family quickly warmed to their new home, with his daughter enrolling in river ridge elementary. kap worked for a time at levi strauss in hebron, but gradu-ally shifted his workload back to his original calling as a minister. he volunteers to help the newly resettled refugees, doing big and little things, like driving them to lexington for two rounds of extensive physicals that are paid for by the state Department.

immigrants who are designated by the state Department as refugees generally those fleeing oppressive governments arrive after a long bureaucratic journey with a permanent employable status and the opportunity to ap-ply for full citizenship five years after arriv-ing. they have access to most services as U.s. citizens, including receiving a social security card, Medicaid benefits, and other support.

But agencies like kentucky refugee Min-istries are charged with a goal of helping the refugees become self-sufficient within 100 days of arrival.

Northern kentucky has no federally desig-nated refugee office, though Catholic refu-gee services tried unsuccessfully two years ago to obtain the funding, said william Jones, executive director of the Catholic Charities in the Covington diocese.

As a result, most initial placements in ken-tucky occur in the louisville and lexington areas, where kentucky refugee Ministries is a federally designated refugee service pro-vider.

within the Chin Myanmar community, the results have been nearly picture perfect. “we have had 100 percent success within 120 days of the Myanmar Chin refugees becoming

self-sufficient,” klein said.klein said her office continues to reunite

relatives of those refugees already in North-ern kentucky.

Darko Mihaylovich, director of migration and refugee services for Catholic Charities in louisville, another official refugee relocation agent, worked with the Covington diocese on its unsuccessful effort to be designated a refugee sub office and receive federal funds. he said Northern kentucky has drawn many refugees who were placed elsewhere because of the job opportunities and because of kap.

kap’s reputation has made Northern ken-tucky a coveted spot for Myanmar refugees who want to continue practicing their faith and building a new life among family and friends.

in January alone, another six adults and three children moved to the area. All of them attended kap’s service offered in their native language on Jan. 27 at Crescent springs Bap-tist Church, joining 100 or more in the con-gregation that chilly afternoon. Most wore the slacks or dresses typical of churchgoers in Northern kentucky, though some wore black or red blazers or skirts embroidered with a Chin pattern of vertical stripes of colorful diamonds.

After the two-hour service, which featured sermons offered by different people, a youth choir and soloists backed up by electric gui-tars, piano, and drums, kap gathered the nine new immigrants in the first pew to share some of their stories. kap translated for them.

it took Cung Bik thawng and his fam-ily eight years to make it from Myanmar to Northern kentucky by way of Malaysia.

“in our country, there is no freedom. there is a lot of persecution from our government, especially the military,” said Ngum hlei tlem. “when we were in Malaysia, we heard news of the state of kentucky and the Chin people living here.”

whatever apprehensions Zaar thang had about being accepted here have already be-gun to dissipate.

“here, it is better, i think. i always see smil-ing faces. All of my burden is gone.”

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To the entire APA community of Washington,

May the Year of the Water Snake bring you health and happiness.

— Washington State Representative from

the 32nd districtCINDY RYU


{THE WING cont’d from page 1}

become a more perfect union, we need to make sure that we’re celebrating the history and heritage of all of America’s people,” said salazar.

the recognition makes wing luke, the only museum dedicated to the Asian Pacific American experience, the park service’s 25th affiliated site. other sites include the inupiat heritage Center in Alaska and the American Memorial Park in saipan. Although affiliated sites are not national parks nor operated by the Park service, the partnership means in-creased national promotion and assistance.

salazar also announced the launch of the nationwide Asian American Pacific islander theme study at the wing luke event, which will spotlight the community’s often untold heritage. the AAPi study is the Department of the interior’s most recent cultural focus following previous efforts to feature African American, latino, and women’s histories.

“the Northwest has the fifth highest por-tion of Asian Pacific islanders in the country. we have the most diverse zip code, 98118, in the country,” said senator Maria Cantwell. Cantwell hopes, “this designation means a lot of people will be coming to visit the inter-national District.”

Community participation, a hallmark of the wing’s success, was evident throughout the day’s events. the memory of wing luke — the museum’s namesake and washington’s first Asian American to hold elected office via the seattle City Council in 1962 — was hon-ored by the attendance of his three sisters.

Community traditions were woven throughout the programming. Before the for-mal presentations, the vividly-costumed lieu quan lion Dance team performed before the packed auditorium. the custom is believed to impart joy, good luck, and prosperity. to the delight of the crowd, salazar gladly partici-pated in the good-luck “feeding” of the lions.

Among the multitude of attending digni-taries were Assistant secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget at the Department of interior rhea suh; National Park service Director Jonathan Jarvis; king County ex-ecutive Dow Constantine; and washington’s congressional delegation senators Cantwell and Patty Murray and Congressmen Jim Mc-Dermott and Adam smith.

Prior to the dedication, special guests were given a private tour by wing luke executive

Director Beth takekawa. included in the tour were special exhibits, such as “Asian Ameri-can homelessness” and a trip through the east kong yick Building, which recreates the typical, spartan rooms where early 20th-century immigrants lived.

“Museums are often thought of as build-ings and you bring artifacts and ancient things and stick them in there, and people come in and look around and that’s a museum,” said Congressman McDermott, longtime museum supporter and representative of the interna-tional District. “this is not that kind of mu-seum. this is the home of the Asian Pacific community,”

A segment that particularly resonated was a presentation by youthCAN representatives karen liang and Nicholas kaman. youth-CAN provides youth, ages 15 to 19 years, the opportunity to connect with their cultural histories.

“when i joined a few years ago, i was mainly interested in the art, but the experi-ence has become more of a chance to learn about my Asian culture and myself,” said ka-man.

strengthening the connections between the past and present is an objective for wing luke Board of trustee Midori Fulghum, who understands the importance of engaging and making the museum relevant to the youth.

“sometimes for the following generations, there is the ‘who am i?’ identity question,”

said Fulghum. “the museum is a great re-source for the many biracial families and children to understand and help keep the tra-ditions alive.”

while the museum celebrates the past, its mission is equally forward looking, which is why the increased visibility is so valuable. that effort personally and professionally resonated with Assistant Director of the in-terior suh, herself a first-generation korean American, whose parents arrived in the Unit-ed states following the korean war. those hopes culminated in suh becoming the high-est ranked Asian American in the Depart-

ment of the interior.“this isn’t just the story of my parents or

the story of Asian American immigrants. it’s truly the story of America. the wing luke Museum shares these stories,” said suh, terming it “an American gem.”

salazar signed the official documents con-firming wing luke’s new status in the eyes of the government. in the eyes of the com-munity, the partnership was confirmed with a Japanese, Daruma-doll ceremony. A sign of good luck, eyes are painted on the brilliantly red, globe-sized heads once an endeavor is successfully completed. one will remain at wing luke and the other shall reside with the National Park service, both favorably over-seeing the new partnership.

“what we heard today is that the youth and community feel very responsible for the future of this museum.” senator Mur-ray said. “they’re taking that responsibil-ity and continuing with it, which means the wing luke will be tremendous for genera-tions to come.”

For more information, visit www.wingluke.org.

Deanna Duff can be reached at [email protected].

Sec. Salazar participating in the lion dance.

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From left to right: Asst. Sec. Rhea Suh, Rep, Jim McDermott, Sen. Maria Cantwell, Wing Luke Executive Director Beth Takekawa, Sec. Ken Salazar, and National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis

Sen. Patty Murray, Sec. Ken Salazar, and Sen. Maria Cantwell during the Daruma-doll ceremony

{HARRELL cont’d from page 1}

about a rebirth in the city, physically, politically, socially, and spiritually.”

Born to a Japanese American mother and an African American father, harrell was a practic-ing attorney before being elected to the seattle City Council in 2007.

he will be competing in a crowded mayoral race that thus far includes seattle City Council-member tim Burgess, state senator ed Murray, former councilmember Peter steinbruek, and real estate broker Charlie staadecker, political newcomer David ishii, and incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn. the race is expected to grow.

“ ‘A lack of resources’ is always the excuse of the unresourceful. what we have is not a lack of resources, it’s a lack of leadership. it’s a lack of commitment.”

headed into the new year, McGinn continues to face a lagging economy and public concerns over traffic, public education, and an increase in population — struggles harrell said can be overcome directly through good leadership.

“leadership is when you put your differences aside, and you pull on something deep inside and say we can improve this city,” harrell con-tinued.

harrell said immediate action must be taken in empowering the city’s youth.

“A city that values the progress of its children will act accordingly,” harrell said. “And i as-sure you, we are not doing that.”

seattle’s education system faces a wealth of criticism in the form of teacher-boycotted standardized tests and a less-than-stellar show-

ing for African American, latino, and Native American elementary students in core subjects, according to the National Assessment of educa-tional Progress.

Jamie Asaka, a seattle public schools educa-tor and administrator who spoke at the cam-paign kick-off, said harrell places a high value on education.

“he values the need to meet kids where they are,” Asaka said.

harrell, a former University of washington football standout, said that as mayor, he would concentrate on raising the quality and availabil-ity of extracurricular activities, which he said are key for students of low-income families to

resist the pressures of gangs and drugs.“the rule that gangs are just a way of life in

our city, that we must accept them, is a rule i do not accept,” harrell said. “i believe we can eradicate gangs in this city.”

Former seattle Mayor wes Uhlman, who also spoke at the rally, praised harrell’s role as chair of the city council’s Public safety, Civil rights, and technology committee.

“Bruce has been your diligent protector on the city council,” Uhlman said. “he kept an eye on the department (seattle City lights), made sure they were efficient, and made sure they didn’t raise our utility bills without excellent full justification.”

on the City Council, harrell has champi-oned public safety issues and police reform. As mayor, harrell said he would hire community service officers who reflect the racially diverse and low-income communities they come from.

harrell also said he would push for a $20 mil-lion endowment fund for public school students to attend their first year of community college free of fees.

“i believe we can illuminate and activate all of our streets,” harrell said. “we can have a neighborhood where our police officers actually know our names. they are not there with armed shoulder. they are not to intimidate us — they are there to protect us. with the right focus and the right intensity, we can have people walking at night in nice leD lights, getting exercise, and talking to one another. we can have structure. we can have a vibrant city. But again, it needs focus.”

Current legislation put forward by harrell is aimed at combating discrimination in hiring practices and reducing recidivism for people who have been arrested, convicted, or charged with a crime.

Jeff Zhou, who attended the campaign kick-off, said that he is looking forward to seeing the different ways harrell can change the city.

“Bruce can bring some good planning and regularity into the management of the city,” said Zhou.

Travis Quezon can be reached at [email protected].

Councilmember Bruce Harrell speaking at his kick off.

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“Secret Asian Man” comic books are now available at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Seattle.

{SANTOS cont’d from page 1}

Banaag Award of the 2012 Presidential Award for outstanding in-dividuals and organizations overseas. this distinct honor being conferred upon you by the President of the republic of the Philip-pines is a fitting recognition of your numerous accomplishments, your selfless dedication to the public and community service, as well as efforts to raise the status of Filipino Americans in U.s. mainstream society.” the letter was signed by Marciano Paynor, Consul General of the Philippines based in san Francisco, Calif.

i was going to be traveling to the Philippines for the first time ever.

the Presidential Awards for Filipino individuals and organiza-tions overseas are held every two years and are sponsored by the Commission on oversees Filipinos in the office of the President of the Philippines. there are over 8.5 million Filipinos who work in 214 countries around the globe, and it is from this number that the

recipients of the Presidential awards are selected.the Awards are presented at Malacanan Palace by President

Benigno Aquino.this year, 25 individuals and four communities received awards,

including the Filipino Community of seattle, for their service to the community’s elderly and youth. Among the 25 individuals were doctors, some of whom were non-Filipino, but had practiced exclusively in the Filipino communities in their countries.

i was surprised to learn that 1.9 million Filipinos work in the oil fields of saudi Arabia as engineers, medical professionals, ac-countants, and domestics.

other individual awardees were erik spoelstra, head coach of the Miami heat (he was unable to attend) and Allan Pineda, who is also known as apl.de.ap, of the popular hip hop group Black eyed Peas.

Apl received an award for his philanthropy work. his founda-tion has built 30 schools with hundreds more planned in the poorer

regions of the Philippines.i was nominated for the award by elaine ko and ei-

leen Aparis. eileen — who was schooled in seattle, went out of washington for college, and was selected as an Ur-ban Fellow for the National Urban Fellows program out of New york — decided to see the world after gradua-tion and ended up in the Philippines. there, she used her education, energy, and selflessness to help the country grow to be players at the table with the other fast growing economies of the region.

eileen and her Filipino American friends were my hosts and guides through the night club scene. we would meet up with apl.de.ap and his entourage several nights and stay out until the early hours. one memorable night was a surprise birthday party for apl hosted at a private club by eileen’s boss.

one other highlight of my trip was a tour of the Bayani wall of Martyrs in quezon City. the wall and museum are dedicated to Filipinos who were killed or lost during the Marcos dictatorship. included on the wall are silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, the only U.s. born Filipinos enshrined on the wall.

Domingo and Viernes were local community activists who supported our goals to preserve and develop seat-tle’s international District, so people who immigrated to the United states had a strong community to join and live with. they also led the struggle to reform the local 37 cannery workers union. they died in their efforts to raise awareness of deplorable human rights conditions in the Philippines under the Marcos dictatorship.

i will remember my trip for the wonderful reception and hospitality i received from everyone, the beautiful people i met, and, of course, the award from President Aquino.

Bob Santos can be reached at [email protected].

{DIVERSITY cont’d from page 10}

And we soon realize that we are all living in the same ever shrinking world, a diverse world with thousands of different cultures.”

Leonel ReyesJunior at Sehome High SchoolNominated by Kip Jones

“[leonel] spends one day a week work-ing with students for an hour,” kip Jones, counselor at sehome high school wrote.

From the Tsue Chong Chinese EggNoodles and Fortune Cookies Company to the community of Seattle,

Have a fruitful and happy Year of the Snake!

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“he helps them work on speaking and reading in spanish. Many of these students have parents who are bilingual, but are not so themselves.

“when i asked him about it, he explained to me that many families only speak eng-lish at home in an effort to improve their skills,” Jones stated. “the result is that many of the next generation lose out on their spanish language skills. the time he spends with them is an effort to allow them to keep their skills and culture intact. he understands the value of being bilingual and encourages students to be proud of themselves and their history.”

in his essay, reyes wrote, “Diversity also provides our culture and society with unique and inspirational ideas and perspec-tives in which the different ideas that peo-ple think are beneficial.”

Sandeep KourSenior at Squalicum High SchoolNominated by Karen Anastasio

“when i first met sandeep kour, she had just arrived at squalicum high school from her native country of india,” karen Anastasio, a teacher at squalicum high school, wrote. “As was to be expected, she seemed overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds of a large American high school. in a very short time, she became accustomed to her new cultural home and her language skills rapidly increased.”

“when i was her english teacher, i would ask sandeep to mentor new indian students to assist with their integration into American culture,” Anastasio continued. “she willingly and joyfully accepted the responsibility, always reminding me that she remembered what it was like when she first arrived and wanted to give back.”

in her essay, kour wrote, “America is

not only known for being a huge melting pot, but is also recognized for accepting new concepts, ways, and ideas of basically anyone. … i believe that the many different races here have shaped our beautiful coun-try into the way it is now.”

Alma Castillo OropezaSenior at Ballard High SchoolNominated by Michael Smith

“when i think of Alma Castillo oropeza as a student, ‘determined’ comes to mind,” Michael smith, a yearbook adviser, wrote. “her seriousness and lightheartedness come through in her academic life.”

“it is amazing to think that she has been in the United states for only six years,” smith continued. “Despite such a trans-formation in culture, Alma has worked extremely hard and immersed herself as a quiet leader in our high school.”

in her essay, oropeza wrote, “My roots are important to me. i speak spanish at school and with my friends. however, when non-latinos at school see this, they label me with stereotypes, assuming that i’m not capable.”

she continued, “there was a time when i refused to speak spanish at school and even at home because i wanted so badly to fit in. eventually, i got involved in the Proyecto saber classroom at school and be-gan to understand that belonging to Ameri-can culture doesn’t mean that i have to give up on spanish or forget about my family’s history.”

For more information, visit diversity.nwasianweeklyfoundation.org.


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VOL 32 NO 8 | FEBRUARY 16 - FEBRUARY 22, 2013