ber 4th! If you are interested

in the candidates’ positions on

Asian American issues, there

are some great resources on the internet. Both candidates

have Asian American coali-

tions (www.asianamericans

forobama.com/ and www.asianamericansformccain.

org/). Obama's coalition has

posted a policy document for

AAPIs that explicitly states his position on several issues es-

pecially concerning to Asian

Americans and Pacific Island-

ers, such as immigration and equal rights. For info on both

candidates' views on Asian

American issues go to

www.asianam.org/. During the Asian American Film Festival,

we will be distributing pledge

forms to vote on Nov.

4th. Fill one out and be en-tered into a drawing for

prizes.

Happy October!

Wow, I can't believe that a

third of the semester is al-

ready over! It's been a great

start to the year. Thanks to all of you who came out to

AAA events this

month. There's a lot more to

look forward to in the month of October. We start off with

the Moon Festival on 10/4,

AAA GBM on 10/8, followed

with Laser Tag on 10/10 and end with the Asian-American

Film Festival 10/29 -10/31. Be

sure to check out one or all of

these events!

The Asian American Film Fes-

tival will be featuring 3 films

that portray the Asian Ameri-can experience. The Asian

American experience is a

unique one and I'm sure no

two people share the same experience. For me it meant

growing up in my grandpar-

ents' Chinese restaurant, par-

ticipating in cultural dancing,

and as my Po Po taught me,

enjoying food. While every-

day events remind me of my

uniqueness-- preferring my

McNuggets in sweet & sour sauce, taking off my shoes

when entering a house, or

thinking twice before exposing

my skin to the sun-- I realize that we're also all the

same. The human experience

is not unique. Certain things

are important to all of us.

I urge everyone to get their

voice out and vote on Novem-

In the week that I was in Bei-

jing this past summer, I had

the privilege of attending six

separate Olympic events that

included basketball, track and

field, boxing, weightlifting,

swimming, and gymnastics.

From the Bird’s Nest to the

Worker’s Gymnasium, each

venue was unique and mag-

nificent in its own right. Yet I

found myself not so much

amazed with the city’s effort

in unparalleled architecture

but more with its personality.

In the two years since I last

stepped foot in Beijing, the

city and its people have made

a complete 180-degree turn-

around. I no longer had to

fear asking for directions nor

did I have to worry about

stepping in something un-

pleasant.

See THOUGHTS pg. 2

Greetings From Your AAA Prez

Sarah Wong

Thoughts on China Charles Qiao

Asian American Association

Newsletter October 2008 Volume 2, Issue 2

AAA Executive Board

2008-2009

President Sarah Wong

External VP Alex Lin

Internal VP Jeff Lin

Treasurer Charles Qiao

Secretary Alice Gu

PR Yena Kwon

PR Marina Cheung

Historian Andrew Shaw

Fresh. Rep Amy Lam

Fresh. Rep Brandon Lee

Fresh. Rep Patrick Ng

Upcoming

Events:

Oct. 4

Moon Festival The Swamp 7pm

Oct. 8

AAA GBM Ursa’s Fireside 8pm Free Thai Tea!

Oct. 10

Laser Tag Outing 6pm

Oct. 29- Oct. 31

Asian American

Film Festival On campus 6:30pm

Free Food!

P A G E 2

YouTube Pick of the Month

Channel: SDAFF2006

Playlist: Reel in the Vote 2008

Chinese Astronauts Return Home Patrick Ng

From THOUGHTS pg. 1

I even witnessed

some of the bluest

skies that I have ever

seen while touring

the Great Wall. In

fact, Beijing made

such a good impres-

sion that one of my

friends who also

made the trip vowed

to return to the

capital upon gradua-

tion.

Beijing used the

Olympic Games as

the unveiling of the

People’s Republic of

China to the world.

Its progress repre-

sents the coming-of-

age of the Chinese

people. As an individ-

ual of Chinese de-

scent, there is noth-

ing that boosts ethnic

self-assurance quite

like going to the 2008

Olympic Games. The

games proved to me

what it has proved

to everyone else.

China is no longer

to be a marginalized

member of the in-

ternational commu-

nity. It wants to be

known and re-

spected. I am truly

honored to be part

of the opening cere-

mony.

The three astronauts will

be quarantined for about a

month, but they will likely

meet great adoration upon

their release.

While China has made

headlines in recent years for its forays into space

exploration, Asian Ameri-cans have long played a

part in NASA manned mis-sions. Ellison Shoji Onizuka

was the first Asian Ameri-can astronaut in 1978;

sadly he perished in the Challenger explosion in

1986. Another Japanese-American astronaut,

Daniel Tani, performed the

100th spacewalk on the International Space Station

in 2007. Other Asian American astronauts in-

clude Eugene Trinh, first Vietnamese-American in

space, Leroy Chiao, Ed Lu, Taylor Wang, first Chinese

-American in space, Kal-

pana Chawla, and Sunita

Williams.

The distinction of the first

Southeast Asian to fly to

space, however, belongs to

Phạm Tuân, a Vietnamese

cosmonaut, who per-

formed plant experiments

in space from July 23 to

July 31 in 1980 for the

Soviet Union.

The nation of China is ec-

static as three Chinese

astronauts, Zhai Zhigang,

Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng returned to earth.

On Saturday, September

27th, Zhai performed the first ever spacewalk by a

Chinese astronaut. The walk lasted twenty minutes

in which Zhai waved a Chi-nese flag and collected

debris from the area sur-rounding the Chinese

spacecraft, Shenzhou VII.

He performed the space-

walk in an approximately $4.4 million space suit,

manufactured by the Chi-

nese company Feitian. Fit-tingly, the elements to the

suit manufacturer's name, "fei" and "tian", can be in-

terpreted as fly and sky, respectively. Prior to the

mission of the Shenzhou VII, China had also per-

formed manned space-

flights in 2003 and 2005.

A S I A N A M E R I C A N A S S O C I A T I O N

Zhai Zhigang

Join the

“Asian American

Association”

Facebook Group!

Become a AAA

Member Today!

Contact

aaa@sugroups.wustl.edu

Movie Review: Shanghai Kiss Jeff Lin

P A G E 3 Volume 2, Issue 2

I really hadn’t ever seen a movie that

dealt with Asian Americans very well

until one random afternoon when I

was wikipedia-ing Hayden Panettiere.

Yes, creepy, I know, but I found a di-

rect-to-DVD movie she did called

Shanghai Kiss. Intrigued, I found some

site that hosted it online and began to

watch.

Shanghai Kiss starts out like it's going to

be a romantic comedy, but it’s not long

before it changes into something more

interesting. The film is about connect-

ing with people, culture, and one's own

identity. Before the lead character can

love another, he must understand him-

self.

That person is Liam Liu (Ken Leung), a

would-be Asian actor who spends his days in Los Angeles auditioning for

roles and frustrated by the fact that

producers only see him suited for kung

-fu roles. He is an Ivy League dropout,

doesn’t speak a word of Chinese, and

estranged from his alcoholic father

(James Hong), but dependent upon the

allowance checks that arrive monthly.

His best friend is Adelaide (Hayden

Panettiere), a pretty and perky teen-

ager he meets one day on a bus. She's

convinced they are a couple, but hesi-

tant. The twelve-year age difference

scares him, but it’s obvious that being

emotionally intimate with another per-

son is his true fear.

His life changes when he unexpectedly

inherits a house in Shanghai from his

grandmother. Desperate for cash, he

goes to China to sell the house but

when the deal falls through, he finds

himself with an empty house and no

money. That's when Liam meets and

falls for Micki (Kelly Hu), a beautiful,

sophisticated Chinese woman whose

impact upon him is so profound that he

leaves everything in America (including

a heartbroken Adelaide) behind and

moves to Shanghai, intending to recon-

nect with his Chinese roots. But he

soon finds that the true nature of his

identity is not so easily uncovered. In

the United States, his Asian appearance

is his essential characteristic. In China,

his American attitude defines him. To

find himself, he must make peace with both aspects of who he is.

Shanghai Kiss is obviously a personal

story for whoever made it and feels

incredibly familiar to any American-

born Asian. The conflict with identity,

the conflict with parents, the struggle

to connect both cultures, etc. are all

explored here in intimate detail. I re-

lated to this movie more than any

other I've seen in recent memory. Ken

Leung, recognizable from small parts in

Rush Hour and X-Men 3, steals the

show here and really proves that Asian

actors can do more than fight. His

character is not the most noble and

likeable of people but Leung is careful enough never to completely alienate

the audience. His transformation is

satisfying, if handled a little quickly.

Hayden Panettiere and Kelly Hu are

well cast for their roles as the two

biggest influences in Liam’s life. Both

bring enough energy to believe that

Liam could love—or learn to love—

either one.

All in all, it’s great to see such a small

independent movie have such profound

impact. The rest of the world might

never see it, but you should, especially

if you are Asian- American.

(Vida Ghahremani), who fled the

Iranian Revolution. Neither Mr. Shi

nor Madam speak English well, but by

gesturing and talking in their own

tongues, Mr. Shi and Madam start a

rare friendship, in which they find

momentary haven from the world of

lies they have to weave to keep

themselves hopeful. Directed by

Wayne Wang (Chinese Box, The Joy

Luck Club), based on the short story

by screenwriter Yiyun Li.

Synopsis: Mr. Shi (Henry O) is a wid-

ower and a retired man from Beijing.

When his only daughter Yilan (Faye Yu)

gets divorced, he decides to visit her in

Spokane, Washington where she works

as a librarian. His intention is to stay

with her until he helps her recover from

the trauma. But Yilan is not interested

in his plan to rescue her marriage and

reconstruct her life. Disappointed but

not discouraged, Mr. Shi explores the

town and meets an old woman, Madam

Limited Engagement at the Tivoli Oct. 3-Oct. 9

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

“I really hadn’t

ever seen a movie

that dealt with

Asian Americans

very well until one

random afternoon

when I was

wikipedia-ing

Hayden

Panettiere. “

AAA in September!

Angry Little Girls By Lela Lee

Big Bang- I Survived a Japanese

Game Show

AAA Exec. Board at The Banquet Emperor’s Palace

Membership Dormstorming

Big Bang- I Survived a Japanese

Game Show

Emperor’s Palace First GBM

First GBM AAA/KSA Basketball Tourney

AAA/KSA Basketball Tourney

AAA Newsletter Edited By Sarah Wong