vol 31 no 49 | december 1 - december 7, 2012

VOL 31 NO 49 DECEMBER 1 – DECEMBER 7, 2012 FREE 30 YEARS YOUR VOICE

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The InsIde sToryEDITORIALInslee looking for new employees. » P. 10

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

WORLD NEWSFactory fire sets off protests.» P. 4

NATIONAL NEWSSeventh soldier sentenced.» P. 5

BLOGA look at the possible 2013 mayoral candidates » P. 10

By Andrew LamNew AmericA mediA

Anthropologists and linguists are no doubt having a field day trying to chronicle and dissect how, in the early autumn of 2012, “Gangnam Style” became an American idiom-atic expression. it stands for some-thing along the lines of a brash,

flamboyant way of doing things, clownishness, or an act of in-your-face spoofing that is both original and entertaining.

A recently setup wikipedia page showcases “Gangnam Style” as the most watched YouTube video of all time. it has over 800 million

{see PSY cont’d on page 6}

Psy’s Gangnam Style becomes most viewed video on YouTube ever

By Charles LamNorThweST ASiAN weeklY

wallace loh, former dean at the University of washington law School and Seattle University, has been the president of the University of maryland for roughly two and a half years. in that time, he has spent much of his effort on the school’s athletics program, which saw the departure of its longtime athletic director, debbie Yow, football coach ralph Friedgen, and basket-ball coach Gary williams during loh’s tenure. in addition to the staff turnaround, loh was also faced with a surprised program budget deficit, leading to the elimination of seven of the university’s sports teams.

This month, focus was brought to the university’s athletics program again, as it has decided to move away from the Atlantic coast con-

ference, the sports conference it has been a member of for over half a century, to join the Big Ten, which boasts a more financially lucrative television deal.

{see LOH cont’d on page 7}

Loh shows strength in Big Ten movePresident Loh was recently named one of the 10 most popular college presidents.

Wallace Loh

Top ContributorsSam Ung, Someireh Amirfaiz,

Dennis Su, and Trong Pham

“ I grew up in the restaurant. I have passion. I didn’t have a teacher. I grew up in my

country in a restaurant. I always look at how cooks cook, how they cut the vegetables. It

was something I had to watch. Before they sent

the food out, I tasted them, so I get the flavor.

My mom said if you want to be a good cook, you have to have a good

[ability to] taste. ”— Sam Ung

“ The community is important to me. Meeting people gives me a chance to reflect on how I am and what is important to me. ”

— Trong Pham

“ None of us are entitled to anything. Being able to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes, having empathy for other human beings, and to extend a helping hand wherever you can. That’s what makes a good human being. More than your degree, more than where you go to school or how much money you make. ”

— Someireh Amirfaiz

“ I worry that if those kids don’t get a decent education, they will be a burden for China to really move forward — an investment into the future of the population. ”

— Dennis Su

By Manuel ValdesThe ASSociATed PreSS

SeATTle (AP) — if pollster matt Barreto is right, then latino voters in washington were one of the key factors in Gov.-elect Jay inslee’s win over republican candidate rob mckenna.

Barreto estimates that about 140,000 latinos voted in these past elections. while there were no wide ranging exit polls conducted here, by pooling polls, Barreto roughly projects that latinos in washington broke similarly — about 3 to 1 — for the democrat inslee as they did for President Barack obama.

That would be about 105,000 votes. inslee beat mckenna by more than 90,000 votes at last count.

Asian American voters, which at

{see INSLEE cont’d on page 15}

Asians, Latinos win it for Inslee

Jay Inslee

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Come and congratulate Governor-elect Jay Inslee on his recent victory!

{Read the full articles on pages 8 & 9}

2 DECEMBER 1 – DECEMBER 7, 2012 asianweeklynorthwest

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‘Uncle’ Bob Santos to receive Banaag award from the president of the Philippines

The international dis-trict’s ‘Uncle’ Bob Santos will be traveling to the Phil-ippines at the end of Novem-ber to receive the “Banaag Award” from President Be-nigno Aquino iii, as part of the country’s “Presidential Awards for Filipino individu-als and organizations over-seas” program.

The Banaag Award, taga-log for “bright light,” is con-ferred on Filipino individuals for their contributions that have significantly advanced the cause of overseas Filipino communities.

This will be Santos’ first time ever in the Philippines. his father, prize fighter “Sockin’ Sammy” Santos, left the Philip-pines never to return, and Bob Santos has never had a reason to travel there.

Born in Seattle in 1934, Santos was raised in chinatown and left to serve in the marines after high school. he returned to the city in 1955 to work for Boeing. Santos became involved with Seattle’s civil rights movement in the 1960s and served as the executive director of inter*im from 1972 to 1989. he served as regional director of the department of housing and Urban development in 1994.

Santos was also recently honored in the international dis-trict by the Filipino American National historical Society’s Seattle chapter, being featured in the organization’s interna-tional district historical kiosk entitled “honoring Filipino Americans in chinatown international district 1911–2012.”

Rotarians honored for polio work in Africa and South Asia

The Seattle Rotary Club, the largest rotary club in exis-

tence, honored former washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro, as well as six additional members of the rotary club international, at a dinner, hosted at the westin hotel on Nov. 14. munro and the team ventured to Africa and South Asia to help eradicate polio. each received a Paul harris award, named after the founder of the organization.

“it’s been 18 full months without one case of polio in in-dia,” said munro during the dinner. “we’re down to just three countries where polio is occurring in smaller and smaller por-tions, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nothern Nigeria.”

Polio is an infectious disease that targets the spinal cord, of-ten causing paralysis. A vaccine was developed in the 1950s, leading to the disease’s eradication in most of the world. cur-rently, there are less than 1,000 cases of polio annually.

Seattle Goodwill Glitter Gala raises money for English classes

Seattle Goodwill held its 2012 Glitter Gala dinner and fash-ion show on wednesday, Nov. 7, raising proceeds for its Eng-lish for Speakers of Other Languages (eSol) programs.

last year, the eSol program served 1,480 students with 102 native languages, helping them develop a strong grasp of english language skills to increase their employment pros-pects and support their families. The program is offered free of charge.

Approximately 700 guests attended the event, raising over $300,000. They were treated with a dinner and fashion

show featuring designed by students from the Art institute of Seattle.

Four hundred chickens donated to the ACRS food bank

A group organized by mulvannyG2 chairman Jerry Lee donated 400 roasted chickens from costco to the Asian Counseling & Referral Service (AcrS) food bank on Nov. 16 to help feed the needy. This is the fourth year the group has made this donation, which started when Jerry lee and cordell lui drove by the food bank and saw the long lines for food in 2009. They will be making an additional donation of 400 chickens in time for christmas.

From left to right: Ray Connell of the International District Rotary Club; Paul Ishii, President of the Rotary Club of Seattle; and Ralph Munro of the Rotary Club of Seattle

Gala emcee Denise Whitaker (left) with Seattle Goodwill President and CEO Ken Colling.

From left to right: Martha Lee (no relations), Yale Wong, Perry Lee (no relation), Jerry Lee (no relation), Eric Booker, and Fred Brown

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Santos featured on the FANHS Kiosk in the ID.

Come and congratulate Governor-elect Jay Inslee on his recent victory!

Presented by Northwest Asian Weekly and Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation

30 YEARS yoUr VoICe DECEMBER 1 – DECEMBER 7, 2012 3


■ WorLd neWs

By Farid Hossain and Julhas AlamThe ASSociATed PreSS

dhAkA, Bangladesh (AP) — when the fire alarm went off, workers were told by their bosses to go back to their sewing machines. An exit door was locked. And the fire extin-guishers didn’t work and apparently were there just to impress inspectors and custom-ers.

That was the picture survivors painted of the garment-factory blaze Saturday, Nov.

28 that killed at least 112 people who were trapped inside or jumped to their deaths in desperation.

For Bangladesh, where such factories com-monly ignore safety as they rush to produce for retailers around the world, the tragedy was unusual only in scope. more than 200 people have died in garment-factory fires in the coun-try since 2006.

About 15,000 Bangladeshi workers protest-ed blocks from the gutted building monday, Nov. 26 in the dhaka suburb of Savar, de-

manding justice for the victims and improved safety. Some 200 factories were closed for the day after the protest erupted. demonstrators blocked a major highway, threw stones at fac-tories, and smashed vehicles.

maj. mohammad mahbub, fire department operations director, said investigators suspect a short circuit caused the fire at the factory, which was making T-shirts and polo shirts.

But the Bangladesh Garment manufactur-ers and exporters Association urged investi-gators not to rule out sabotage.

“local and international conspirators are trying to destroy our garment industry,” as-sociation President Shafiul islam mohiuddin said. he provided no details.

mahbub said it was the lack of safety mea-sures in the eight-story building that made the blaze so deadly.

“had there been at least one emergency exit through outside the factory, the casualties

{see FACTORY FIRE cont’d on page 11}

By Niniek Karmini The ASSociATed PreSS

JAkArTA, indonesia (AP) — Thousands of indonesian factory workers took to the streets in the country’s capital Thursday, Nov. 22 to protest low wages and a new social security law that will require them to pay for health ser-vices.

Several thousand laborers rallied peacefully near the presidential palace in Jakarta before marching to the par-liament building, said Jakarta police spokesman col. rik-wanto, adding nearly 20,000 police and soldiers to watch over the demonstration organized by indonesian labor unions.

The protesters, dressed in red and black, shouted “reject the law” as buses and trucks arrived with loads of workers waving colorful flags and banners lambasting a 2011 law requiring workers to contribute a percentage of their pay for social security and health benefits. The law is scheduled to take effect in 2014.

The workers refuse to be burdened by additional premi-ums to obtain health insurance and social security, which they see as the government’s responsibility as mandated by the constitution, said Yoris raweyai, chairman of the confederation of indonesian workers’ Union.

“That law is clearly unconstitutional ... we want a revi-sion,” he said.

The protesters demanded an increase in the minimum wage and implementation of a government policy to stop companies from hiring temporary workers without benefits.

Similar protests have been held recently in other indone-sian cities, calling on the government to improve wages in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Factory workers in indonesia earn an average basic sal-ary of just more than $120 a month. The economy grew 6.5

{see BENEFIT cont’d on page 11}

By Olga R. RodriguezThe ASSociATed PreSS

meXico ciTY, mexico (AP) — Juan chiu Trujillo was 5 years old when he left his native mexico for a visit to his fa-ther’s hometown in southern china. he was 35 when he re-turned.

As chiu vacationed with his parents, brother, and two sis-ters in Guangdong province, mexico erupted into xenopho-bia fueled by the economic turmoil of the Great depression and aimed at its small, relatively prosperous chinese minor-ity. Authorities backed by mobs rounded up chinese citizens,

pressured them to sell their businesses, and forced many to cross into the United States.

Unable to return to their home, hotel, and restaurant in the southern border city of Tapachula, the chius stayed in china and began a new life.

chiu’s father took a job at a relative’s bakery and his chil-dren began learning chinese. But their life was soon turned upside down as china was invaded by the Japanese, endured world war ii, and then suffered a civil war that led to a victory by communist forces that persecuted religious people. in 1941,

{see MEXICO cont’d on page 11}

By Annie HuangThe ASSociATed PreSS

TAiPei, Taiwan (AP) — china has enraged several neighbors with a few dashes on a map, printed in its newly revised pass-ports that show it staking its claim on the entire South china Sea and even Taiwan.

inside the passports, an outline of china printed in the up-per left corner includes Taiwan and the sea, hemmed in by the dashes. The change highlights china’s longstanding claim on the South china Sea in its entirety, though parts of the waters also are claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, and malaysia.

china’s official maps have long included Taiwan and the South china Sea as chinese territory, but the act of including them in its passports could be seen as a provocation since it would require other nations to tacitly endorse those claims by affixing their official seals to the documents.

ruling party and opposition lawmakers alike condemned

the map in Taiwan, a self-governed island that split from chi-na after a civil war in 1949. They said it could harm the warm-ing ties the historic rivals have enjoyed since ma Ying-jeou became president four and a half years ago.

“This is total ignorance of reality and only provokes dis-putes,” said Taiwan’s mainland Affairs council, the cabinet-level body responsible for ties with Beijing. The council said the government cannot accept the map.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del rosario told report-ers in manila that he sent a note to the chinese embassy that his country “strongly protests” the image. he said china’s claims include an area that is “clearly part of the Philippines’ territory and maritime domain.”

The Vietnamese government said it had also sent a diplo-matic note to the chinese embassy in hanoi, demanding that Beijing remove the “erroneous content” printed in the pass-port.

{see PASSPORT cont’d on page 12}

Factory fire in Bangladesh highlights poor safety

Indonesian workers rally for benefits

Chinese Mexicans celebrate reparation in Mexico

Beijing’s rivals protest new passport map

The factory fire set off days of protest, reminiscint of protests following a similar fire in 2006. Factory fires have killed over 200 people in Bangladesh since 2006.


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By StaffThe ASSociATed PreSS

SeATTle (AP) — The washington State legislature that will gather in olympia early next year will be the least diverse group of state lawmakers in a generation, mostly due to fewer women.

even as the U.S. congress is becoming more diverse, washington’s 63rd legislature will include 44 women, or about 30 percent, among its 147 members — the fewest since 1990, The Seattle Times reported Sunday, Nov.

overall, nearly two-thirds of the legisla-ture, or 95 lawmakers, will be white men — the most since 1992.

depending on a too-close-to-call house race in Vancouver — where democrat mon-

ica Stonier, who identifies as Asian and his-panic, holds a 100-vote lead — there may be just one latino lawmaker, the lowest number since 1996, the newspaper reported.

There will also be two African Americans, two Native Americans, five Asian Ameri-cans, and, for the first time, an iranian Ameri-can, according to the latest vote tallies. There will be six openly gay or lesbian members.

The dearth of diversity is particularly ap-parent in the republican Party, whose legisla-tive ranks next year include no minorities and either 16 or 17 women, the Times reported.

lawmakers and advocates say there aren’t more women and minorities in the legislature for a number of reasons, including poor re-cruitment, low salaries, competing needs for women, and the rancorous nature of politics being a turnoff.

“This doesn’t happen overnight,” Tim ceis, a democratic member of the washington State redistricting commission, told The Times. he said increased minority representation will come, eventually. “it takes organizing. it takes candidate recruitment. it takes time.”

The commission, which redrew district boundaries last year after the once-a-decade census, made increased minority representa-tion a goal. Among other moves, the commis-sioners created the state’s first latino-majority district, the 15th, in the Yakima area.

But few latinos volunteered to run for of-fice there this year. democrat Pablo Gonzalez, 21, a central washington University student, challenged incumbent david Taylor (r-mox-ee) in the 15th, but took just 38.9 percent of the vote.

Gonzalez said he felt his surname hurt him.

Beth reingold, a political science profes-sor at emory University in Atlanta, said other state legislatures are generally not losing fe-male and minority representation, although few are experiencing the same gains as they did during the 1990s.

She called washington’s trend strange, not-ing that the ranks of U.S. female lawmakers and legislators of color have more or less re-mained constant over the past decade.

For cyrus habib, the iranian American who just won an open eastside seat, the prob-lem is party leadership.

“we need to do a much better job of re-cruiting people into the party,” said habib, of kirkland, who also will become the second blind state legislator in the country when he

{see DIVERSITY cont’d on page 11}


Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel received his sentence for his role in the suicide of Pvt. danny chen on wednesday, Nov. 21 at Fort Bragg. he was sentenced to two reductions in rank, an official reprimand, and 60 days of hard labor.

however, he will only serve 15 days after considering the 45 days he has already served during his court martial.

The jury found him guilty of hazing, three specifications of dereliction of duty, and two specifications of maltreatment. Van Bockel was acquitted of two additional specifications of maltreatment. he was not convicted of contributing to chen’s death, however. That charge was dropped at the beginning of the court martial two weeks ago.

danny chen was found dead on oct. 3, 2011, in a guard-house in Afghanistan with what the army said seemed like a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The case has raised questions about the Army’s treatment of Asian Americans.

chen was reportedly called racial slurs, forced to speak chinese to fellow soldiers, dragged and forced to crawl over

rocks, and do pushups with a mouth full of water.Van Bockel testified that chen was undergoing “corrective

training” to become a better soldier.

The soldiers charged in connection with the death were lt. daniel J. Schwartz, 25, of maryland; Staff Sgt. Blaine G. dugas, 35, of Port Arthur, Texas; Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel, 26, of Aberdeen, S.d.; Sgt. Adam m. holcomb, 29, of Youngstown, ohio; Sgt. Jeffrey T. hurst, 26, of Brooklyn, iowa; Spc. Thomas P. curtis, 25, of hendersonville, Tenn.; Spc. ryan J. offutt, 32, of Greenville, Pa.; and Sgt. Travis F. carden, 24, of Fowler, ind.

VanBockel, holcomb, hurst, curtis, and offutt were charged with the most serious offenses, including involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, and assault and battery.

Schwartz, the only officer among the accused, was charged with dereliction of duty.

Van Bockel was the sergeant of chen’s squad and is the sev-enth of eight soldiers to have been sentenced.

At the hearing, Van Bockel said that chen was weaker than other soldiers and would regularly forget his supplies and fall asleep during guard duty.

Four of the six other soldiers who were punished were con-victed by court-martial. The two others reached plea agree-ments with the persecution.

Seventh found guilty in connection with Chen case

Lack of diversity in Wash.’s new legislature

Danny Chen


■ CoMMUnITy CALendAr

{PSY cont’d from page 1}

hits and counting since July, and has spun off countless other videos. Among them is North korea’s own version to spoof a South korean presidential candidate, and the “mitt romney Style” spoof video. rob mckenna, the failed republican can-didate for Governor, even did the dance at an election event.

who’s the genius behind the dance that mimics riding an invisible horse? Jae-Sang Park, erstwhile Psy (short for psy-cho), a rapper whose career galloped into global super stardom with the distinction of topping the iTunes charts in the United States, United kingdom, Australia, and 28 other countries. Psy’s video is also the most “liked” video on YouTube, as well as the most-watched video in korean entertainment history.

But something beyond korean history has clearly occurred with the global sanctification of Psy. it’s the history of cross-over itself, the phenomenon that has traditionally been treach-erous and cruel, with so many talented entertainers from the Far east or elsewhere at the margins of the commonwealth falling off the tightrope on the way to global stardom.

A crossover, as far as the world of arts and entertainment is concerned, is to go from the margin to the center, from one set of culture to another, trying to succeed in the latter. But, as a rule, it demands the betrayal of the original, and it requires reinvention — something nearly impossible for those who are entrenched in their own language and cultural sensibilities.

Take the case of hong kong actors chow Yun Fat and Jackie chan, and South korean singer Bi rain. Bi rain, with his extraordinary dancing skills and his teenage heartthrob status, is known all over Asia as its own michael Jackson. But rain met with drought in North America, where he starred in two movies that flopped, and his bid for global stardom quick-ly failed. chow Yun Fat, voted by lA Times as “the coolest actor” in the world in the mid-90s, too, failed in hollywood, in part because that very hong kong coolness turned luke-warm in hollywood movies, and the hard boiled image that made him famous in the east came off stilted in the west. in addition to bombing at the box office with his action movies, chow also played a stereotypical hideous character in Pirates of the caribbean: At world’s end. his role was deemed so of-fensive that it was cut in the version shown in china.

Jackie chan, the most successful of them all, is worthy of note for his repeated attempts over three decades as an action star in hollywood. when he finally made it big, he was, alas, already steeped in middleage.

Then came Psy, whose crossover moment seems to suggest a major shift in the history of the entertainment world itself. For one thing, it turns the old rules upside down. That crossing over requires giving up the original way of doing things, that

the odds are stacked against those who try, and that it takes years of toiling and perseverance, even for the super sexy, cool, and talented. or, at the very least, you have to leave your home country to do so.

well, not anymore. Not if you do it Gangnam Style. The first thing for cultural critics to take note of is the speed with which a cultural event can transmit in these more globalized days. Psy bursts like a supernova from regional to world stage in a matter of weeks -- and he didn’t even need to leave Seoul. The second thing to take note of is equally important, if not more so. his video, performed in korean, is downloaded largely by people who don’t understand one word of the language.

Psy, mindful of this, told NPr recently, “if i have a chance, i want my music lyric[s] to be korean … The world’s most famous and popular language is music. So if we have some sort of solution with these kinds of dance moves and this kind of music video, so that i can use korean if possible? it’s really huge history for my country.”

in other words, since he didn’t try to crossover, but the phe-nomenon nevertheless crossed him, why not continue to do what he does best? it is the kind of thinking that may very well revolutionize the margin in its relationship to the center.

let’s look at it another way. All major recording stars from england and North America do not worry about crossovers to the rest of the known world. There’s an undeniable central-ity to the west. From The Beetles to Beyoncé to lady Gaga, western stars are idolized all over the world, their songs mem-orized, even if their adoring fans don’t understand english. Broadcasting from the center, one has no need for translation. whatever is good for the west is deemed good enough for the rest of the world.

Such is the shape of the powers and unwritten rule taught subliminally long ago — going from west to east, as well as elsewhere, has always been a passage of relative ease since the european conquest of the known world 500 years ago. it does not demand transformation or self-reinvention from a west-erner. it is catered to.

The reverse, however, has always been a difficult path and an enormous undertaking. An American moving to Vietnam to work and live, for instance, doesn’t need to learn Vietnam-ese to thrive. his language is coveted, his status assumed su-perior. on the other hand, a Vietnamese who hopes to make it big in the United States needs to master the english language, at the very least.

The significance of Gangnam Style video is extraordinary in that it refutes that assumption. it assumes a centrality all on its own. it sets its own terms, has its own rhythm, and it dwells in its own particularities.

Yet, its rise to universality is no fluke. its success occurs

when the world is shifting in radical ways, at a time when individuals, empowered by the information technology, can change world history.

The oppa Gangnam Style video also arrived at a moment when the east is integrating with the west at full speed, reit-erating the idea that globalization is no longer a one-way love affair. it arrived at a time when yoga replaced aerobics, acu-puncture and herbal treatment are alternative choices for treat-ing chronic diseases, and the world’s children are enthralled by Japanese anime and manga, and kung-fu becomes a norm for action films.

That a South korean video gained global stardom is also no fluke. South korea, after all, actively supports its artists and totes its pop culture abroad as part of its foreign policy. it takes as much pride in its economic rise as it does in its cultural as-cendancy. it even built a hallyu — korean wave — museum at the incheon Airport to celebrate its global stars and their achievements.

indeed, in Asia, there is an old dream of resistance. it was first a dream of 19th century Japan after the defeat of russia in the russo-Japanese war. it imagined the continent as one, a continuous land, its people interconnected. That idea was resuscitated by Prime minister lee kuan Yew of Singapore a century later, during the rise of Asian economic powers in the post cold war era. while lee spurred the phrase “Asian Values,” nearby malaysia’s leader, dr. mahathir mohamad, came up with a similar “look east Policy.”

But those ideas had been more or less top down, militaristic, and largely ideological -- a regional chauvinistic reaction to its colonial past, and a need to assert its newfound prowess against western influences. what is happening now, a couple of generations later, however, is much more organic, more sol-idly on the cultural ground, and hardly anti-west.

Gangnam Style, after all, is a rap song. And its rise occurs at a time when ours has become a world in which traditions ex-ist side by side for the borrowing and taking, and, ultimately, the mixing. it would seem that in a world where cultural in-tegration and hybridization are the norm, all forms of art can become at once both intensely global and local.

indeed, from religion to cuisine, from medicine to music, from dance to literature, from agricultural practices to filmmaking, all are available to the contemporary alchemists to reshape and re-imagine. The playing field is slowly being leveled.

So if America could make a movie called “kung Fu Panda” and turn it into a number one hit in china, then it follows that a korean artist, too, can rise to the top of the music chart in America, riding an invisible horse and rapping in his own lan-guage -- Gangnam Style, of course.

SAT 12/1

WHAT: “The Asian Grandmothers cookbook” book talk and signing with Patricia TanumihardjaWHERE: columbia Branch library, 4721 rainier Ave. S., SeattleWHEN: 2 p.m.INFO: 206-386-1908

WHAT: Author Nellie wong reads from new book, “Breakfast lunch dinner”WHERE: New Freeway hall, 5018 rainier Ave. S., SeattleWHEN: 7 p.m.INFO: 206-722-2453, [email protected]

WHAT: 2nd Annual APcc christmas BazaarWHERE: APcc, 4851 South Tacoma way, TacomaWHEN: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.INFO: 253-383-3900

WED 12/5

WHAT: china in 2013: domestic developments and Global implicationsWHERE: davis wright Tremaine’s offices, 1201 3rd Ave., Ste. #2200, SeattleWHEN: 7:30–10 a.m.COST: $20/person, includes breakfast

RSVP: no later than 11/30, wscrc.org/node/273

THU 12/6

WHAT: music with deems and holiday marketWHERE: Nagomi Tea house, 519 6th Ave. S., SeattleWHEN: 3–9 p.m.COST: Free admissionRSVP: 206-623-0100, [email protected]

WHAT: Uprooted and invisible: Asian American homelessnessWHERE: The wing, 719 S. king St., SeattleWHEN: 3:30–8 p.m.RSVP: 206-623-5124 extension 107, [email protected]: 206-623-5124

SAT 12/8

WHAT: home movie day 2012WHERE: Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., SeattleWHEN: 10 a.m.–1 p.m.INFO: 206-321-8301, www.homemovieday.com

WHAT: Asian American Santa is back!WHERE: The wing, 719 S. king St., SeattleWHEN: 2–4 p.m.INFO: 206-623-5124

WHAT: Jcccw omoide “writers’ workshop”WHERE: Jcccw library, Building 3, 1414 S. weller St., SeattleWHEN: 1:30–3:30 p.m.INFO: [email protected], [email protected]

MON 12/10

WHAT: Spam*o*rama holiday Sketch ShowWHERE: Theatre off Jackson, 409 7th Ave., SeattleWHEN: 8 p.m.COST: $6-$10TICKETS: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/300433iNFo: www.porkfilled.com

2ND & 4TH TUES OF MONTH

WHAT: international district Special review Board meetingWHERE: Bush Asia center, 409 maynard Ave. S., SeattleWHEN: 4:30 p.m.INFO: 206-684-0226 www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/historic_districts.htm

EVERY TUE

WHAT: Asian counseling and referral Services employment

Program orientationWHERE: AcrS, 3639 martin luther king Jr. way S., SeattleWHEN: 3–4:30 p.m.INFO: 206-695-7527, [email protected], acrs.org/services/employmentandtraining

EVERY WED

WHAT: Seattle University School of law citizenship ProjectWHERE: Yesler community center computer lab, 917 e. Yesler way, SeattleWHEN: 5–6:30 p.m.COST: FreeINFO: 206-386-1245

EVERY THU

WHAT: Free chronic disease Self-management workshopWHERE: kin on health care, 4416 S. Brandon St., SeattleWHEN: every Thursday, 10 a.m.RSVP: 206-652-2330INFO: [email protected]

THRU 12/1

WHAT: Gardner center for Asian Art & ideasWHERE: Seattle Asian Art museum, 1400 e. Prospect St., SeattleWHEN: 9:30–11 a.m.

COST: $5–$86INFO: www.seattleartmuseum.org

THRU 12/30

WHAT: The Space Needle and Bartell drugs launches “rocket to the Top of Space Needle,” with exclusive offer to free visits to the observation deckHOW: while supplies last, Bartell drugs is offering vouchers for one free adult or up to two free youth tickets (vouchers valid with purchase of one adult observation deck ticket).WHERE: All 58 Bartell drugs locations in king, Snohomish, and Pierce countiesWHEN: Now until 12/30INFO: www.spaceneedle.com, www.bartelldrugs.com

THRU SUN 10/10/2013

WHAT: exhibition display: etsuko ichikawaWHERE: SAm Gallery, 1300 First Ave., SeattleINFO: 206-903-5291, [email protected]

Have an event to promote? Please send it to us at [email protected].


■ WorLd neWs

{LOH cont’d from page 1}

The move, which breaks up long rival-ries with duke and the University of North carolina, took many by surprise as many of the negotiations took place behind closed doors.

loh kept the news close to his chest until it was announced, initially only informing his cabinet, his superior, University of maryland System chancellor william kirwan, and high level donors.

Though the move was initially viewed with surprise and shock, none of the university’s most visible supporters spoke out against it.

“i think, with all of us, the first reaction was, ‘This isn’t going to happen,’ ” kirwan said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun. “But the more you think about it, the more sense it makes.”

Frank kelley, a longtime regent of the university was taken aback, but ultimately agreed with the move.

“The money was just so attractive,” kelley said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun. “Anybody looking at those numbers would have said that we didn’t have a choice here.”

loh has been complimented on his strong leadership on the issue, reinforcing his reputation that was built on diversifying the University of washington law School and curbing under-aged drinking at the University of iowa.

loh, who was born in Shanghai and immigrated to Peru with his diplomat father, came to the United States on his own after high school, eventually earning

a bachelor’s degree from Grinnell college, a master’s from cornell, a doctorate from the University of michigan, and a law degree from Yale.

he eventually continued on to serve as the dean of the University of washington law School, the dean of Seattle University, the vice provost at the University of iowa, and the first Asian American president of the University of maryland.

he was recently named one of the 10 most popular college presidents in the United States by Glassdoor ratings, sharing the top spot with three other presidents who scored a perfect “100” from their employees.

Sports programs have personal impor-tance to loh, whose daughter plays soccer at the division 3 californian occidental college. he reportedly sat and cried with the athletes whose teams he was forced to cut last year.

But, despite the cuts, the university’s athletics program still rested on a weak foundation, which has been borrowing from the university’s reserve emergency fund for several years.

Though the numbers behind the deal have not been publicly released, loh told the Baltimore Sun that “the revenues from the Big Ten would be so large that i could go to the Board of regents and say, ‘This truly guarantees the future of maryland athletics for years to come.’ This is not hyperbole.”

Charles Lam can be reached at [email protected].

By StaffThe ASSociATed PreSS

BeiJiNG, china (AP) — The on-line version of china’s communist Party newspaper has hailed a re-port by The onion naming North korean dictator kim Jong Un as the “Sexiest man Alive” — not re-alizing that The onion has been a satirical paper since its inception in 1988.

The People’s daily on Tues-day, Nov. 27 ran a 55-page photo spread on its website in a tribute to the round-faced leader, under the headline “North korea’s top leader named The onion’s Sexiest man Alive for 2012.”

Quoting The onion’s spoof re-port, the chinese newspaper wrote, ’̀with his devastatingly handsome,

round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is ev-ery woman’s dream come true.”

“Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, kim made this news-paper’s editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile,” the People’s daily cited The onion as saying.

The photos the People’s daily se-lected include kim on a horseback squinting into the light and kim

waving toward a military parade. in other photos, he is wearing sun-

glasses and smiling, or touring a facility with his wife.

People’s daily could not imme-diately be reached for comment. A man who answered the phone at the newspaper’s duty office said he did

not know anything about the report and requested queries be directed to their newsroom on wednesday morning.

it is not the first time a state-run chinese newspaper has fallen for a fictional report by the just-for-laughs The onion.

in 2002, the Beijing evening News, one of the capital city’s big-gest tabloids at the time, published as news the fictional account that the U.S. congress wanted a new building and that it might leave washington. The onion article was a spoof of the way sports teams threaten to leave cities in order to get new stadiums.

Two months ago, iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reprinted a story from The onion about a supposed survey showing that most rural white Americans would rather vote for iranian President mah-moud Ahmadinejad than President Barack obama. it included a quote from a fictional west Virginia resident saying he’d rather go to a baseball game with Ahmadinejad because “he takes national defense seriously.”

China’s party paper falls for Onion’s joke on Kim

The Onion’s Sexiest Man Alive


Sam Ung tells his story from the Cambodian Killing Fields

ReWA’s Amirfaiz sends message

of hope and resiliency

■ ToP ConTrIBUTors

By Stacy NguyenNorThweST ASiAN weeklY

in 1975, after five years of civil unrest and increasing cruelty, the khmer rouge became the ruling party of cambodia. Bat-tambang, the city where Sam Ung was born and where his family lived, combusted on April 15. The khmer rouge launched mis-siles into the city center, and Ung, then 20 years old, remembers the smoke, the chaos,

the wounded, and the dying with grisly de-tail. it’s a scene from his life that he revisits in his autobiography, “i Survived the kill-ing Fields: The True life Story of a cam-bodian refugee,” which he wrote with his friend, Thomas mcelroy.

Ung witnessed the death of loved ones, genocide, the loss of his country, and un-derwent a life of extreme hardship.

{see UNG cont’d on page 12}

By Travis QuezonNorThweST ASiAN weeklY

For the thousands of new immigrants and refugees who make washington state their home each year, there are immediate obsta-cles to overcome. The language barrier may keep individuals from finding jobs and servic-es. For those with degrees not recognized in the United States, minimum wage jobs might be the only option. many refugees face issues

of separation from their families, and those from places such as Nepal, Burma, and Bhu-tan have been witness to war, trauma, and po-litical strife and have lived in refugee camps for up to 30 years.

For Someireh Amirfaiz, executive director of the refugee women’s Alliance (rewA), the key to overcoming these challenges lies in carrying on a message of hope and

{see AMIRFAIZ cont’d on page 15}

Phnom Penh Noodle House owner Sam Ung (center white) with his family including wife Karen (left from center) and daughters (from left) Darlene, Diane, and Dawn.

Someireh Amirfaiz

Phot

o by

Geo

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NW

AW

Phot

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Work doesn’t stop after

retirement for CTEF’s Dennis Su

Trong Pham, a man about

building community

■ ToP ConTrIBUTors

By Elizabeth WangNorThweST ASiAN weeklY

At 71, dennis Su takes his retirement seri-ously. whether it’s attending board meetings for multiple organizations around Seattle or overseeing and carrying out projects for his

main focus, china Tomorrow education Foun-dation (cTeF), Su isn’t spending his retirement lying down.

Born and raised in hong kong in the late 1950s, Su moved to the United States, where

{see SU cont’d on page 13}

Dennis Su staffing a CTEF booth.

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when Trong Pham was young, he wanted to become an educational ambassador, so he could help raise the standard of living in Viet-nam. he worked hard to achieve his goal, becoming an active member and lead-er of organizations such as the Boy Scouts of Vietnam, catholic teen groups, and associated student bodies. Unfortunately, the Vietnam war happened, the new communist govern-ment cracked down on catholicism, and Pham was forced to flee the country in 1980 for the United States. he was completely alone.

“i was basically on my own when i came here,” he said. “i didn’t really have anyone to help me out.”

But that challenge didn’t stop him. he didn’t forget his dreams. in 1986, he graduated from washington State University with a computer science degree and began to help bring his family to the United States.

“it took me over a decade to bring my family of 9 broth-ers and sisters, their individ-ual families, and my parents out of Vietnam,” Pham said. “only when the last member of my family left Vietnam in late 2002 was i able to men-tally break free of my obliga-tions.”

his family safe and to-gether, Pham was able to turn his attention back to his childhood dream and help the community.

“i left engineering in late 2003 when i no longer had to

be the primary caretaker of my extended fam-ily, so i could work closer with the commu-nity,” Pham said. “i involved myself in many Seattle organizations and charitable causes, such as Tet-in-Seattle, Seafair, the Vietnamese chamber of commerce, and AcrS. i believe that each of us has a calling in life, and we can significantly influence the world if we follow this calling.”

Forgoing engineering and pursuing service

{see PHAM cont’d on page 11}

Trong Pham


oPInIon

■ PUBLIsher’s BLoG

■ edITorIAL

You might say that Seattle’s 2013 election will be boring after the dra-matic presidential and governor rac-es that happened this year, but that’s not true.

on the contrary, thanks to mayor mike mcGinn’s vulnerability, eight contenders have thought about re-placing him, according to a Nov. 25 Seattle Times article.

The prospective candidates are State Sen. ed murray, Se-attle city councilmembers Tim Burgess (who officially an-nounced his intent to run on Nov. 26) and Bruce harrell, for-mer councilmember Peter Steinbrueck, former king county executive and federal official ron Sims, businessman charlie Staadecker, engineer and businessman Albert Shen, Seattle Port commissioner Bill Bryant, and former mayor of Bel-levue and Bremerton cary Bozeman. what a fascinating mix of talent eyeing to be the No. 1 guy in Seattle!

it’s times like these when i wish i were a comedian who could craft jokes about mcGinn and his challengers bullfight-ing at the key Arena, firing missiles at each other from mt. rainer and the Space Needle, or maybe even roundhouse kicking each other during a martial arts tournament in china-town’s hing hay Park. But i’m not and i can’t.

eight might not even be the final number of mcGinn’s op-ponents. what about those who are waiting for the right time to announce their intent to run? The fun has just begun.

What’s possible!

“what are their chances?” were some of the reactions we heard when two Asian Americans — harrell, who is of Japa-nese and African American descent, and Shen, whose parents are Taiwan immigrants — are aiming for the mayor’s office. But that might not be the relevant question.

it doesn’t matter what their chances are. if they don’t try, they’ll never find out! if they lose, that’s no big deal either! A life without dreams, living with regret, is not what we want to teach our kids.

Four years ago, mcGinn was an unknown. Seattle elites quickly wrote him off and endorsed the incumbent mayor and another candidate, a high-powered executive. Then what hap-pened? mcGinn won by wooing the little guys and the envi-ronmentalists.

The critical Asian vote

of the 600,000 Seattleites, Asians make up the largest mi-nority with 14 percent of the population, followed by Blacks at 8 percent, and latinos at 6.6 percent.

President obama won with an overwhelming support from people of color, and they are more likely than ever to deter-mine the mayoral race next year.

we have to do our best to encourage our community to get out to vote. when Asian candidates are running, more Asians will be interested in voting. when Gary locke, who ran for governor in 1996, became U.S. Ambassador to china, he in-spired many Asian Americans to register to vote for the first time in their lives. history will repeat itself. Just use Presi-dent obama’s organization strategy — registering new vot-ers rather than hoping the same old voters show up. when he first ran in 2008, no one believed he could win, but the obama team fought without fear. many republicans believed that he would lose in 2012, too, but who has the last laugh now!

Strategies for Asian American voters

mayor mcGinn has already sent his surrogates to test the waters. he’s pushing for early commitment from the Asian community. But what mcGinn does for the Asian commu-

nity is marginal. he has not worked out the parking or safety issues that affect the livelihood of businesses in the interna-tional district. his leadership in the troubled Seattle Police department is questionable. his record in hiring and retaining Asian Americans in top jobs for his administration is weak. his combative personality, fighting against the department of Justice to reform the police department and voters-approved tunnel project, hurts not only the city’s resources, but also their morale. To understand why other people don’t want to work with him, you might notice that he’s quick to take credit, rather than sharing it. i can go on and on.

Between december and next November, anything can hap-pen. if you commit too early, you’ll leave yourself with lim-ited options. make a candidate prove to you that he deserves your support. we need to see a stronger performance.

Never rule out your options. interview candidates you like to support, including Asian and non-Asians. Understand their positions and issues before you commit. if you are happy with the candidate, you can join his campaign to make a difference.

Asian mayor’s dream

The last time Asian Americans ran for mayor was in 1997 with candidates cheryl chow and charlie chong. Both lost because they appealed to a narrow group of voters. The can-didate that the Asian and mainstream communities thought would have a chance was martha choe. She even had the mayoral campaign set up. everything was ready to go, but something happened last minute and she backed out.

Then, there was the late city councilmember wing luke who was of chinese decent. i never met him, but old timers really believed he would be a great mayor if he were still alive. his life was cut short when he died in a plane crash in 1965.

A few years ago, San Francisco and oakland folks would have never dared to even dream of having an Asian mayor. But by a twist of fate, the magic wand pointed to San Fran-cisco mayor ed lee and oakland mayor Jean Quan. life is full of serendipities.

when Governor-elect Jay inslee announced the co-chairs of his transition team, the Northwest Asian weekly received angry letters from people who were upset that the chairs didn’t include an Asian American. instead, the committee leaders were made up of microsoft VP Brad Smith, renton School district Superintendent dr. mary Alice heuschel, and wSU President dr. elson Floyd. one writer felt that inslee had be-trayed Asian Americans, forgetting us even though we are the largest minority group in Seattle and king county.

when inslee released the full committee list on Nov. 27, however, 4 Asian Americans were present. included on the 34 member transition team are APAs Someireh Amirfaiz, execu-tive director of rewA; marilyn Strikland, mayor of Tacoma;

hyeok kim, executive director of interim cdA; and Sue Tao-ka, executive VP of craft3.

we can’t be content with just that however.inslee is currently reaching out to the community for rec-

ommendations for people to fill his staff. every position is open for recommendation, including high-level cabinet seats and department heads. we have to take advantage of this op-

portunity. inslee wants to move quickly, and this opportunity only comes around rarely.

let’s collect resumes, find our best, and present them to the new governor with a united voice. only then can we make sure we’re represented in his staff and have a voice at the de-cision-making table. if you have an opinion or a resume, let us know at [email protected].

Time to look towards Inslee’s staff

The race is on

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.

Mayor Mike McGinn

Ed Murray

Peter Steinbrueck

Albert Shen

Ron Sims

Bill Bryant

Charlie Staadecker

Cary Bozeman

Bruce Harrell

Cheryl Chow

Ed LeeWing Luke

Charlie Chong

Jean Quan

Martha Choe

Tim Burgess

Included on the 34 member transition team are APAs Someireh Amirfaiz, executive director of ReWA; Marilyn Strikland, mayor of Tacoma; Hyeok Kim, executive director of InterIm CDA; and Sue Taoka, executive VP of Craft3.


{FACTORY FIRE cont’d from page 4}

would have been much lower,” he said. he said firefighters recovered at least 100 bodies from the factory, and 12 more people died at hospitals after jumping from the building. lo-cal media reported that about 100 injured people were being treated at hospitals.

The government was unable to identify many victims because they were burned beyond recognition. They were buried monday in a grave outside dhaka. The government an-nounced that Tuesday, Nov. 27 will be a day of national mourning, with the flag lowered to half-staff.

Survivor mohammad ripu said he tried to run out of the building when the fire alarm rang, but was stopped.

“managers told us, ‘Nothing hap-pened. The fire alarm had just gone out of order. Go back to work,’ ” ripu said. “But we quickly un-derstood that there was a fire. As we again ran for the exit point, we found it locked from the outside, and it was too late.”

ripu said he jumped from a sec-ond-floor window and suffered mi-nor injuries.

Another worker, Yeamin, who uses only one name, said fire extin-guishers in the factory didn’t work, and “were meant just to impress the buyers or authority.”

TV footage showed a team of in-vestigators finding some unused fire extinguishers inside the factory.

it was Bangladesh’s deadliest gar-ment-factory blaze in recent memo-ry, but there have been several major factory fires in recent years, includ-ing one that killed 63 people in 2006 in southern chittagong town.

labor leaders hope outrage over the latest disaster will prompt change. Tahmina rahman, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment workers Federation, said the group wants the government to work harder to punish factories for safety lapses.

“The owners go unpunished and so they don’t care about installing enough security facilities,” she said. “The owners should be held respon-sible and sent to jail.”

The factory in Saturday’s blaze is owned by Tazreen Fashions ltd., a subsidiary of the Tuba Group that has produced clothing for wal-mart, at least in the past. Neither Tazreen nor Tuba Group officials could be reached for comment.

The Tuba Group is a major Ban-gladeshi garment exporter whose clients also include carrefour and ikeA, according to its website. its factories export garments to the United States, Germany, France, italy, and the Netherlands, among other countries. The Tazreen fac-tory, which opened in 2009 and employed about 1,700 people, made polo shirts, fleece jackets, and T-shirts.

online records appear to indicate the factory was given a “high risk” safety rating after an inspection in may 2011 and a “medium risk” rat-ing in August 2011.

wal-mart spokesman kevin Gardner said it was not clear whether the factory was still making products for wal-mart.

“our thoughts are with the fami-lies of the victims of this tragedy,” the retailer said in a statement. “while we are trying to determine if the factory has a current relationship with wal-mart or one of our suppli-ers, fire safety is a critically impor-tant area of wal-mart’s factory audit program and we have been working across the apparel industry to im-prove fire safety education and train-ing in Bangladesh.”

in its 2012 Global responsibil-ity report, wal-mart said it stopped working with 49 factories in Bangla-desh in 2011 because of fire safety issues.

Bangladesh has some 4,000 gar-ment factories. The country earns about $20 billion a year from ex-ports of garments, mainly to the United States and europe.

The Bangladesh Garment manu-facturers and exporters Association said it would stand by the victims’ families and offered $1,250 to each of the families of the dead.

Associated Press video journalist Al Emrun Garjan contributed to this report.

{DIVERSITY cont’d from page 5}

is sworn in. “The No. 1 reason people give for not running for office is that they haven’t been asked.”

Brown, the outgoing Senate majority lead-er, said women are often hindered by needs at home. “women who could potentially serve in the legislature still have a more difficult balancing act with respect to their families and professional life than men do,” she told The Times.

recruiting new people into political life

has also gotten harder as politics has gotten nastier, said kim Abel, co-president of the league of women Voters of washington. “i think the incivility is making it hard for some people to step forward,” she said.

Several republicans said they believe the party has been doing a good job of recruiting women and minorities.

“i think we have a lot to be proud of,” said longtime Sen. Pam roach (r-Au-burn). “we don’t elect people based on gender or race. we elect people based on their philosophy.”

{MEXICO cont’d from page 4}

the family fled to macau, then a Portuguese colony.They never stopped dreaming of mexico, and Juan

chiu Trujillo returned in November 1960. he came back with his pregnant wife and four children and with 300 other chinese mexicans after President Ad-olfo lopez mateos, trying to improve mexico’s global image, paid for their travel expenses and decreed that they would be legally allowed to live in mexico. They were eventually granted mexican citizenship.

Twenty-one of those chinese mexicans and their descendants celebrated for the first time on Saturday, Nov. 24 the anniversary of their return. Gathering at a chinese restaurant in mexico city, they shared emotional memories of their lives in china and paid tribute to the late lopez mateos.

Adrian lay ruiz remembered his father, ramon lay mazo, who was born in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa and who campaigned tirelessly for the repa-triation while living in macau.

“he passed down to me the Spanish language and his great longing to return to mexico, our home-land,” said lay, his voice breaking.

For many, the commemoration has brought reflec-tion on their status as chinese mexicans. it’s a group that feels deeply mexican, but also has been scarred by persecution by their countrymen and still faces ethnic prejudice, despite growing acceptance.

“i thought, ‘my children need to know this his-tory. They need to know where we come from, and they need to know how much hard work it has taken for us to be here,’ ” said chiu’s youngest son, ignacio chiu chan, a 46-year-old lawyer.

chiu chan began a Facebook page to share pho-tographs of the repatriation that he found in his fa-ther’s photo albums and to collect the stories of other chinese mexicans who were brought back by lopez mateos. So far, more than 260 people have joined his page, sharing images and recounting family stories.

chiu chan, who is married to a mexican woman of Spanish and indian descent and has four children, said he struggled with his identity while growing up because of bullying and got into several fights be-cause of name calling.

he was a young bachelor when a group of elders invited him to lunch at a restaurant in mexico city’s tiny chinatown. Three young women were at the table and he was asked to say which one he would like to marry.

“i thought, ̀ what are these dudes talking about?’ ” he recalled. “For the first time i felt mexican and thought, `i don’t belong to this.’ ”

large numbers of chinese began arriving in northern mexico in the late 1800s, drawn by jobs in railroad construction and cotton. The country rep-resented a haven from the United States, which had passed the chinese exclusion Act, an 1882 law that banned chinese immigration.

But from the moment they began to arrive, they

faced racism, which was exacerbated during the 1910-17 mexican revolution and its aftermath, when the country was trying to build a national identity that celebrated the mixture of indian and Spanish cultures.

mexican women who married chinese men were considered traitors, and in some cases, families dis-owned them. with the Great depression, large num-bers of destitute mexicans began returning home from the United States and resentment about the fi-nancial success of chinese people grew.

“even though there was a small number of chi-nese people, their economic prowess and their po-sition in the labor force made them a threat,” said Fredy Gonzalez, a Ph.d. candidate in history at Yale University, who is studying 20th century chinese migration to mexico.

in the northern border state of Sonora, anti-chi-nese leagues formed and thousands of chinese were taken to the border of the United States and forced to cross. Because of the chinese exclusion Act, they were immediately detained by U.S. immigration of-ficials and sent to china.

in 1930, mexico had 18,000 chinese citizens and mexicans of chinese descent. By 1940, there were only 4,800, Gonzalez said.

Today, there are at least 70,000 chinese citizens and chinese mexicans in the country, according to a report in 2008 by the Foreign relations department.

in china, chiu Trujillo’s mexican mother spoke to her children in Spanish and often sang mexican ranchera songs so loudly that she could be heard all around the stream where she washed the family’s laundry.

Their mother also instilled in her children devo-tion for the Virgin of Guadalupe, mexico’s patron saint.

“we would recite the rosary in Spanish, she would teach us,” chiu, 87, remembered during an interview in his small apartment in mexico city’s rough la merced neighborhood, its walls decorated with im-ages of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Jesus christ, a couple of chinese calendars, and lots of family photographs. “She would tell us, don’t forget you are catholics, don’t lose your religion.”

Three years after his mother and two siblings re-turned, chiu, his pregnant chinese wife, and four children finally were flown to mexico.

After working at his brother’s grocery store in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, he decided to move to mexico city, where he worked as a cook and eventu-ally opened his own cafeteria.

“i was able to give my sons an education. The boys all graduated from college,” chiu said. “The oldest is an accountant, the second is a chemist, the third is a mathematician, and the young one is a musician.”

chiu said he always felt more mexican than chinese.

“i have always thought that wherever you can find tranquility, that’s where your home is,” he said.

{PHAM cont’d from page 9}

was an idea that Pham had long thought about, but had not been able to follow. The idea planted itself into his head in 1992, but it wasn’t until 1997 that he thought about it seriously. Though the transition was difficult, Pham was not deterred.

“[leaving my career] was a very difficult first step at the time, but everyone was eventually able to adjust to it and now everyone is doing quite well,” Pham said. “i was able to devote my time with the community and help the elderly who were struggling with their new lives here the same way my parents had… we all share our challenges in life, and the differences are in our attitudes. when i face tough challenges, i remind myself that i only need to live through today, one day at a time.”

Pham refocused his energy, becoming exceptionally skilled at finance, climbing the ladder at UBS Financial Services and

morgan Stanley, and now uses his skills to aide community or-ganizations.

“Trong is one of the most generous and authentic community leaders i know,” said Julie Pham, co-owner of the Northwest Vietnamese News. “Although he’s really busy as VP at morgan Stanley, he still dedicates many hours to community service. he brings his business savvy and extensive networks to his non-profit organizations, and he helps elevate them to the next level.”

despite his community work, Pham has not been involved with a health organization until recently, when he became one of komen’s Pink Tie Guys for 2013. As a Pink Tie Guy, he pledged to use his visibility in the Vietnamese community to help spread breast cancer prevention. he has been proactive on that mission, traveling to Vietnam last week to speak with U.S. consul General An le and share the importance of the issue.

“Breast cancer is still a taboo subject in our community,” Pham said. “You don’t hear about it in newspapers, blogs, or in group conversations. People are afraid to get check-ups. husbands don’t understand the disease or how to support their wives after the diagnoses… i want to be a messenger to un-cover these myths and bring peace and hope to the families who are dealing with these tragedies.”

like his other work, Pham took on this project to strengthen his community.

“The community is important to me,” he said. “meeting dif-ferent people gives me a chance to reflect on who i am and what is important to me. it gives me a chance to improve myself, and to help improve others, too.”

Charles Lam can be reached at [email protected].

{BENEFIT cont’d from page 4}

percent last year, the fastest pace since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. But the cost of living has been increasing, making it harder for workers to pay for food and other basic necessities.

The new governor of Jakarta agreed Tuesday to increase the minimum wage in the capital by more than 40 percent to $228 from $158, a move that has prompted labor groups across the country to ask for higher pay. local authorities in indonesia set mini-

mum wages, so they vary in each region.Sofyan wanandi, chairman of the in-

donesian employers’ Association, said frequent worker protests and higher labor costs could frustrate business communities and may lead to massive layoffs.

“That’s bad for the country ... not all com-panies can afford it,” wanandi said, referring to a boost in the minimum wage.

he said the labor protests and higher labor costs, combined with poor infrastructure, red-tape, and corrupt officials, could lead investors to flee to neighboring countries.


{UNG cont’d from page 8}

when he talks about the past, Ung refers to the fact that he had died, many times over, and he came back from death.

he thinks it’s important to record history. “But — it’s kind of hard.”

“during those times, we used to have some things — it was not a great life — but our family was a lot better off than a lot of others,” Ung said. “in 1975, when the khmer rouge came, they push everyone out of city. in those years, no people lived in city. No currency. No market. No noth-ing. So everyone was forced to work on farms, so whatever they give you to eat, you eat, otherwise you get nothing.”

As a teen, before the khmer rouge took power, Ung was combative, sometimes tough and sometimes a hustler. in his novel, he describes his youth with a fondness. he was fascinated by the way clint eastwood held a cigarette between his lips in movies, fascinated by the line it made against his face. Ung was enamored with surfing, even though he didn’t really know what it was. he just knew it was cool.

But after the khmer rouge came to power, he starved and was forced clean human waste out of sewage ditches.

“These days, when we feel alone, when we’re shorted food or kind of broke — it doesn’t compare to what i’ve been through. it’s nothing. Back then, we couldn’t find any-thing to eat. we had to eat the wild vegetation in the fields. And when the bell rang, we’d go get food. if the bell didn’t ring, we didn’t get food. i’ve been through so many things in life. Today, i know of a different, harder life.”

The khao-i-dang refuge camp on the Thai–cambodian border held approximately 160,000 cambodians refugees in 1979, one of them Ung. After the khmer rouge fell in 1980, Ung arrived in Seattle.

“when i came here, i had two separate [sets of] clothes. we landed. [my wife and i] walked off the plane. The first thing — when we got here — the 747 was full of refugees.

The pilot said, ‘welcome to America.’ everyone cheered. we were so happy. we were in the greatest country in the world. we told ourselves, ‘it’s a great country.’ So we got out of the plane doors — and that’s when i said, ‘i don’t know nobody. i don’t have nothing. what am i going to do?’”

when the Ung arrived in the States, his wife kim was eight months pregnant. Their daughter dawn was born four weeks later. it was with the birth of his daughter and the weight of the responsibility on his back that Ung made a promise to himself. he was going to eventually write his story, so that dawn and his future kids, diane and darlene, and his grandkids, derin and devin, would know what he survived.

“i had a wish when i came to the States in 1980. i said, ‘one day, i will write the story.’ i just wanted to record history for my grandchildren, so they know why we came here. it was the biggest thing i’ve accomplished in my life.”

it was a goal that he reached 30 years after coming to the States. he and mcelroy started the book in 2009 and took 25 months to complete it.

in the time between publishing the book and coming to the United States, Ung built a family and a beloved restau-rant, Phnom Penh Noodle house, in Seattle’s Asian com-munity.

“i grew up in the restaurant. i have passion. i didn’t have a teacher. i grew up in my country in a restaurant. i always look at how cooks cook, how they cut the vegetables. it was something i had to watch. Before they sent the food out, i tasted them, so i get the flavor. my mom said if you want to be a good cook, you have to have a good [ability to] taste.”

“he works a lot,” said Ung’s eldest, dawn cropp. “So many hours. every day of the week. if he’s not taken away out of town, he’s here. … he is like a machine. i’m so afraid of the machine not working. Because you can only go so hard so long before it breaks down. he’s so amazing.”

Ung is quick to say that he may not have the most money, but he has heart and skill sets. he became known for do-

nating his time and talents in support of social causes and community fundraisers.

“i only got educated six years, but i always use my common sense. That’s how i survived. during the khmer rouge, they took me once. They tied me up. when they tie you up, you don’t come back. i’ve been there — what they call the slaughterhouse, where the army is. i talked my way out. … A lot of people come by and tell me they appreciate the stories [in my novel]. They say they understand what really happened. There’s a lot of stuff in the book. it’s more than just how i survived. i also look at life differently now.”

Since the book’s publication, Ung has been tapped as a lecturer and presenter at educational institutions across the country, a process he finds cathartic.

“Growing up, he never spoke about it,” cropp said. “Now, this has given us a different outlook. Growing up, we got bits and pieces. And he always said, ‘one day, when you have your own kids, you’ll understand why i am the way i am.’ i used to think my dad was crazy. Just being the first generation here was really tough for my dad. All he wanted to do is guide and protect. it’s hard to deal with sometimes, when there are two different cultures. But as an adult, knowing what my parents have gone through has given me a great appreciation for him. i always feel so in-debted to him.”

“People always talk about passion, compassion,” Ung said. “i always say, especially to college-aged kids, i tell them: i didn’t have much chance in my life. i had only six years of grade school. And i worked like a dog all my life. You all must help educate. You have more chance at success than anyone. we should support our community. when you support, you build a stronger community.”

“Sometimes when i lecture, i say, ‘Sorry i break down when i speak,’ ” Ung said. “i’ve lost a lot of people. Family. But i think it’s a good thing for me, because every time i break down, i release that young man inside me, out.”

Stacy Nguyen can be reached at [email protected].

Architects, Consultants & ContractorsKCLS Library Contract Information Available Online!

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{PASSPORT cont’d from page 4}

in Beijing, the Foreign ministry said the new passport was issued based on international standards. china began issuing new versions of its passports to include electronic chips on may 15, though criticism cropped up only this week.

“The design of this type of passports is not directed against any particular country,” chinese Foreign ministry spokeswoman hua chunying said at a daily media briefing Friday, Nov. 23. “we hope the relevant countries can calm-ly treat it with rationality and restraint so that the normal visits by the chinese and foreigners will not be unnecessar-ily interfered with.”

it’s unclear whether china’s South china Sea neighbors will respond in any way beyond protesting to Beijing. chi-

na, in a territorial dispute with india, once stapled visas into passports to avoid stamping them.

“Vietnam reserves the right to carry out necessary mea-sures suitable to Vietnamese law, international law, and practices toward such passports,” Vietnamese foreign min-istry spokesman luong Thanh Nghi said.

Taiwan does not recognize china’s passports in any case. chinese visitors to the island have special travel docu-ments.

china maintains it has ancient claims to all of the South china Sea, despite much of it being within the exclusive economic zones of Southeast Asian neighbors. The islands and waters are potentially rich in oil and gas.

There are concerns that the disputes could escalate into violence. china and the Philippines had a tense maritime standoff at a shoal west of the main Philippine island of

luzon early this year.The United States, which has said it takes no sides in the

territorial spats but that it considers ensuring safe maritime traffic in the waters to be in its national interest, has backed a call for a “code of conduct” to prevent clashes in the dis-puted territories. But it remains unclear if and when china will sit down with rival claimants to draft such a legally binding nonaggression pact.

The Philippines, Brunei, malaysia, and Vietnam are scheduled to meet on dec. 12 to discuss claims in the South china Sea and the role of china.

Associated Press writers Oliver Teves in Manila, Philippines, Chris Brummitt in Hanoi, Vietnam, and researcher Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report.

Thank you for recycling this newspaper!


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, 2001Horse 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.

RATThere are times when you need to do more than just be present. There is a range of involvement to consider. Pick the level that is right for you.

OXHold off on any major changes for now. Things are still in flux, and it would be prudent to wait until the dust clears.

TIGERSometimes, there just isn’t a set formula for how to proceed. You might have to make it up as you go along.

RABBITAre you feeling as though you are on the out-side looking in recently? It is not too late to turn the situation around, if you are up to the chal-lenge.

DRAGONWhen all else fails, falling back on good old-fashioned common sense is the way to go. In fact, it’s recommended even in the best of times.

SNAKEHas a friend or loved one faltered in a recent dealing with you? While it is your prerogative to forgive, it may be difficult to forget.

HORSEBlanket statements should be avoided, as they are usually inaccurate. Limit your comments to that which you have direct knowledge of.

GOATMustering enthusiasm when you aren’t com-pletely on board can be a lot to ask. You must find a way to deal with your reservations.

MONKEYHas someone you have been depending on come up short of what was expected? Strive for understanding as opposed to judgment.

ROOSTERWhat seems like an ending might actually be a new beginning. It all depends on how you choose to see it.

DOGLimitations stop some, but you do not get dis-couraged easily. Your perseverance is evident to all who encounter you.

PIGThere should be as much thought put in the fin-ishing touches as the rest. Skimping on that part will diminish everything.

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{SU cont’d from page 9}

he graduated from oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering. he was an architect for over 30 years working for various firms in Seattle, eventually starting his own in 1975.

when his architectural work started to slow around 1999, Su pursued other endeavors. he had heard about a program at the Northwest chinese School in Bellevue that would help people in the Guangzhou province of china. There was no water supply ac-cessible to the people, so the school raised money to build a pump system connected to a nearby well to get them running water.

Su was able to visit the area and oversee the project with other coordinators from the school. After the project was completed, he and those coordinators decided to found a spin-off organiza-tion. Su took the role of president, filed the financial documents, gathered a few donors, and cTeF was born.

cTeF is a Seattle-based, non-profit organization dedicated to aiding and funding children in the most rural parts of china. it is entirely run by volunteers, and together, they hope to create an environment that, as Su, now the president emeritus of cTeF, said, “prepares young children to enter the world stage with good citizenship.”

“we all read about how china is growing so fast, but once you travel there, you realize how backward some of these villages are,” he said. “i worry that if those kids don’t get a decent educa-

tion, they will be a burden for china to really move forward — an investment into the future of the population.”

Schooling wasn’t always easy for Su either. when he was in preschool, right after the end of world war ii, conditions in hong kong were very tough. he specifically recalls a carton of milk, then a government subsidy, being delivered once a week to his school. The whole class was able to enjoy a glass, a luxury many of us take for granted.

later, he spent his college summers doing odd jobs in restau-rants in Seattle, chicago, and New York, once washing dishes at ruby chow’s restaurant.

likewise, Su said the majority of the cTeF donors experi-enced similar hardships growing up in different parts of Asia. They can relate to the harsh circumstances. Su and the donors want to afford others a better opportunity to grow and learn.

Since its inception in 1999, cTeF has funded over $1.8 mil-lion dollars for 171 schools in 13 provinces in china, including Guangxi, Gansu, and hunan.

“i feel a sense of accomplishment, similar to what you get as an architect,” Su said. “You’re building on and investing in the human.”

Su is currently working on a documentary film he’s producing for cTeF. The film follows two high school students from Seattle Preparatory School, who decided that they wanted to help under-privileged children in china.

raising over $2,000, the two students visited 10 schools in the

Guangxi province and were able to provide all of the children with colored pencils, balls, and jump ropes. with over 50 hours of footage collected from the trip, Su plans to create a 30-minute movie depicting the harsh conditions of the villages they visited, along with the reactions of the two students after each trip. he hopes the film, titled “higher hat,” will be finished before the end of this year.

Though Su is used to being on his feet, travelling overseas and keeping his hands busy with any project he gets, he cannot say he acts alone in the whole process.

“i have to give some credit to my family and my wife for sup-porting me,” Su said. “Not every wife can see the husband off going to rural chinese villages all the time.”

Su is also keeping his retirement busy as a board member for the Seattle chinese Garden Society and as co-chair at the china-town Seafair Parade — his fun, annual project.

“i’m an executor,” Su said. “once i come up with a plan, i will carry it out. i enjoy doing things. i enjoy seeing results. i never put it in words, but i think it’s in the blood.”

For more information on the China Tomorrow Education Foundation, visit www.ctef.org.

Elizabeth Wang can be reached at [email protected].


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

{AMIRFAIZ cont’d from page 8}

resiliency. rewA is a multi-ethnic, community-based organization that

provides culturally and linguistically appropriate services to refugee and immigrant communities throughout king and Sno-homish counties.

when Amirfaiz came on board as executive director in 2001, rewA’s budget was under $1 million, and it had a staff of 28. To-day, rewA has grown to a staff of 158, operating from 10 offices, and its budget has increased 6-fold.

in 2011, rewA helped 630 families find employment with liv-able wages and benefits with job placement assistance. last year, rewA’s Youth Program offered over 30 academic and enrich-ment classes to more than 600 students in grades 4 through 12 in king county. rewA’s domestic Violence Program also serves 540 victims of domestic violence and sexual assault each year.

“most if not all of our clients, the commonalities, are that they are the first to leave their countries, they have been witness to tremendous trauma, there has been some sort of political or re-ligious operation ongoing in their country of origin for a long time,” Amirfaiz said. “in some manner, most of them have been in refugee camps before they got here.”

The first step for rewA’s clients, Amirfaiz explains, is helping them to find a place where they can fit. Arriving in a new place not knowing the language or culture can be difficult. For many of the refugees who have been separated from their families and are still coping with the trauma experienced in their countries of origin, that difficulty is overcome with a sense of determination that’s fostered by every interaction with rewA’s employees.

“hope and resiliency — i see that every single day when i come to rewA and we have our eSl classes,” Amirfaiz said. “These are individuals who, despite the atrocities, despite what they have been through, every single day, they show up to learn english and they are so joyous and so thankful.”

in addition to the language barrier and the economic hardships that many of rewA’s clients face, there is also a stigma that im-migrants and refugees must also overcome, Amirfaiz said.

“Because of the language, because of the lack of transferable skills … [some refugees and immigrants] have to do jobs that pay the minimum wage or they cannot find jobs, especially in this economy, so they are poor and hence dependent on public assistance,” Amirfaiz said. “And that leads to the stereotype that all refugees and immigrants are on welfare and so on. what we are adamant in proving is this shift in paradigm that not all refu-gees and immigrants are on public assistance. we do have a lot of refugees and immigrants who are the head of Fortune 500 com-panies, universities, and non-profits.”

rewA’s own staff is composed of 90 percent refugees and im-migrants. rewA’s bylaws mandate that its board of directors rep-resent the communities it serves — 75 percent of rewA’s board is made up of refugees and immigrants.

“when we hire and we train, we are really leaving a legacy for the next generation,” Amirfaiz said. “People who come here, our clients, they look at someone like me and say, ‘if she can make it, i can, too.’ or they look at our advocates, our case managers, our managers, and directors, and say, ‘i have a place, too.’ So we do become role models and that’s pretty powerful.”

This sense of belonging is essential to overcoming obstacles of prejudice and intolerance that many immigrants and refugees face in the United States, Amirfaiz explained.

“i think people don’t want to talk about it, but i think we need to put it on the table,” Amirfaiz said. “how you look and what religion you are really plays an important role in terms of how the host country is going to accept or reject you and how fast you are going to be assimilated.”

when Amirfaiz arrived in the United States in 1980 on a stu-dent visa at the time of the iranian revolution, she could not re-turn home. She had lived in the United States as a displaced per-son and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2003. She recalled facing a wealth of intolerance herself, especially after 9/11.

“Yes, still we are the land of opportunity,” Amirfaiz said, “but we cannot become oblivious to the racial tensions and the preju-dice and the assumptions that people make based on where you are from.”

Amirfaiz said the key for her transition to living in the United

States was finding a sense of community and being will-ing to embrace the larger community as well.

“For every individual, it’s different,” Amirfaiz said. “The challenges that i faced are different than challenges that someone else faces, who is new to this country who is dealing with poverty, a lack of an ability to speak eng-lish, having a large family, or is older. For my challenges, i really try to understand who am i. But still, i struggle.”

“i think because we are so multi-cultural, our chal-lenges are so different,” Amirfaiz continued. “You really need to find where you belong. And when you say, ‘i’m an American,’ know in your heart that you are. whether or not people accept you, at some point, it has to be irrel-evant. Because once you are a citizen of the United States of America, you have to psychologically understand that you do belong.”

Amirfaiz said the rewA clients are often faced with the questions: who are we? where do we belong? does anyone actually acknowledge and accept us as Ameri-cans or not?

As rewA has grown under Amirfaiz’s leadership, the organization has focused on finding a political voice for refugees and immigrants.

“one goal for us was to make sure we do have a pub-lic policy arm and public policy agenda,” Amirfaiz said. “we really believe that without that, nothing is going to change for the populations we serve, which are mostly invisible and are not counted. The goal has always been and continues to be to provide quality services in the lan-guage of the clients to our communities with the public policy agenda.”

rewA will be carrying on that message at the capitol in olympia as part of refugee and immigration legisla-tive day on February 14.

“i hope the governor really understands that he is the governor of all washingtonians, including refugees,” Amirfaiz said. “we should all care about refugees and immigrants.”

when Amirfaiz is not busy putting in 12 to 15 hour days as an executive in Seattle, she is a mother of two sons, aged 26 and 17, at her home in Bellevue.

when asked what was the one thing she hoped to pass on to her children, she said she hoped to teach them about empathy and equality.

“None of us are entitled to anything,” Amirfaiz said. “Being able to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes, having empathy for other human beings, and to extend a helping hand wherever you can. That’s what makes a good human being. more than your degree, more than where you go to school or how much money you make.”

“empathy is really understanding the plight of an-other person at their level and not taking pity on them,” Amirfaiz continued. “it’s different than sympathy. And that’s the measure of your character. That you never look down, that you always look to other people as your equal, even if they need your help.”

Travis Quezon can be reached at [email protected].

{INSLEE cont’d from page 1}

7 percent of the voting pool have a bigger share than lati-nos, are also thought to have broken for inslee similarly in this state.

“without these two growing minority electorates, inslee would not have been able to win,” said Barreto, a University of washington professor and director of polling outfit latino decisions.

But with historically lower turnout numbers, Barreto thinks the full potential of latinos has not been fully tapped. he es-timates that there are another 140,000 eligible latino voters in washington state that aren’t registered.

“People in washington state have not come to terms with the potential and growth of latino electorate,” Barreto said. The parties “still don’t feel latinos are voters.”

The 2012 elections brought renewed attention to minority voting blocs after exit polls showed that obama claimed the lion’s share of votes from latinos and Asians, giving him a key edge over republican candidate mitt romney, who won a majority but shrinking white vote.

Nationally, obama nabbed more than 70 percent of the votes among latinos and Asians. Just a few years ago, those two voting blocs were up for grabs. President George w. Bush took 40 percent of the latino votes, compared to romney’s 23 percent.

The sound defeat has forced many republican thinkers to call for changes to the way the party has spoken about issues, specifically immigration, that those groups care about.

locally, however, it’s harder to ascertain how minority vot-ers affected statewide elections.

But Barreto thinks similar forces played out in this state and

this election serves as a reminder of what’s shaping washing-ton politics. minorities could redraw the state’s political land-scape.

if minority groups continue voting in masse with demo-crats, it could push washington to become a solid blue state from the legislature up. current republican strongholds like central washington, for example, could turn to swing dis-tricts, and swing districts in western washington could be-come bluer.

in total population, latinos now make up 11 percent of washington’s 6.7 million residents and are the fastest growing minority group, while Asians clock in at 7 percent, according to state figures.

“Just like the rest of the country, there’s no doubt that the electorate is becoming less white,” said republican consultant chris Vance.

Vance didn’t mince words about what the state GoP needs to do to attract minority voters here.

“Becoming sane about immigration,” he said. “You can’t talk to latino voters with the insane notion that you’re going to round up 11 million people and deport them.”

republicans had fielded one of their strongest gubernato-rial candidates in mckenna for a generation. he had branded himself as a moderate and had been well liked — and re-elect-ed twice — as attorney general.

mckenna made it a point to campaign hard among minor-ity groups, dancing “Gangnam Style” at a washington State korean Association forum and giving a full introduction in Spanish at a Yakima debate.

But he also focused on issues affecting those groups. he spoke of his work to crack down on fraud among the so-called “notarios” who pose as immigration agents in the latino

community. he ran radio ads in Spanish and recruited latino and Asian field organizers.

But Barreto and Vance both said mckenna couldn’t shake the national republican image that the party is anti-immi-grants.

For the latino vote, Barreto also thinks mckenna’s stance on driver’s licenses and his participation in the lawsuit to overturn the Affordable care Act also may have cost him votes, he said.

“latinos are more likely to be working class to support health care reform,” Barreto said.

randy Pepple, mckenna’s campaign manager, thinks it’s too early to assess which way people voted. he’s waiting to see precinct data to see details and see where the campaign had missteps and questioned whether a turnout of more than 80 percent among registered latino voters is a safe assump-tion.

Pepple said there’s not one group of voters that mck-enna’s campaign didn’t work toward getting.

“You’ve got to compete in all groups,” he said. “i think it’s a mistake to write off any segment of the population.”

democrats aren’t doing too well among latinos, either, Barreto surmised. inslee may have been helped more by obama’s coattails than his direct campaigning.

he points to the 15th legislative district — the state’s first latino majority district. The democratic candidate this year, a college student, was soundly defeated.

“if the democrats would put some serious effort on voter registration, they could easily get a democratic victory in that seat,” he said.

vol 31 no 49 | december 1 - december 7, 2012

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