VOL 31 NO 52 | DECEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 28, 2012

VOL 31 NO 52 DECEMBER 22 – DECEMBER 28, 2012 FREE 30 YEARS YOUR VOICE

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage PaidPermit No. 746Seattle, WA

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

The InsIde sToryPUB’S BLOGWhat’re your holiday traditions? » P. 10

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

WORLD NEWSS Korea elects its first Woman president. » P. 4

ENTERTAINMENTMeet the father of the Kung Fu flick » P. 7

A-POP!Twitter’s a-twittering with racism. » P. 8

By Charles LamNorthwest AsiAN weekly

local members of the Asian and Pacific American community be-lieve that they are not receiving ad-equate attention and engagement from the seattle Police Department.

the Asian Pacific Directors Co-alition (APDC) met with Connie rice, Mayor McGinn’s adviser, on the Department of Justice settlement reforms of the seattle Police Depart-ment (sPD), on Monday, Dec. 17. they discussed sPD issues central to the Asian Pacific American com-

munity. Connie rice, who has success-

fully won multiple discrimination lawsuits against police departments, was involved in the police depart-ment overhauls in los Angeles, New york, New orleans, Chicago, and several other cities. she was

brought to seattle after the sPD was subject to a Department of Justice investigation in December 2011. the investigation found that sPD offi-cers had violated the 14th Amend-ment and the Violent Crime Control

{see RICE cont’d on page 13}

By Andrew Taylorthe AssoCiAteD Press

wAshiNGtoN, D.C. (AP) — recov-ering from war wounds that left him with one arm, Danny inouye wanted a cigarette and needed a light.

the nurse at the Army hospital in Michigan threw a pack of matches on his chest. he wanted to curse her. in-stead, she taught him how to light it one-handed.

“then she said, ‘i’m not going to be around here for the rest of your life. you’ll have to learn how to light your own matches, cut your own meat, dress yourself, and do everything else. so from now on, you’re going to be learn-ing,’” inouye recalled decades later.

{see INOUYE cont’d on page 12}

By Stacy NguyenNorthwest AsiAN weekly

one striking piece from the Modern twist exhibit at the Bel-levue Arts Museum (BAM) is “hope,” an intricately woven bam-boo sculpture that looks as if it’s made of soft and shiny billowing ribbons. tucked into the side of the sculpture is a piece of textured and natural bamboo root. the root’s rough texture contrasts against its sleek surroundings.

when asked why she thought the piece by Mimura Chikuho was titled “hope,” BAM curator Nora Atkinson said, “it’s never-ending, just bound together without an end.”

while there has always been a strong bamboo basketry tradition in Japan, bamboo as an art form, rather than a craft, took hold in the 20th century, after world war ii. Post-war, the Japanese government created the Preservers of impor-tant intangible Cultural Properties, or, informally, the living Natural treasure program. the program designates living individuals or groups who have a high level of mastery in an art form in order to make sure the art form continues to proliferate.

in 1967, shono shounsai became the first bamboo artist to be desig-nated a living Natural treasure, setting off the bamboo art move-ment. Due to the art form’s relative

Bamboo art breaks boundaries in Bellevue

Police meeting leaves some APA leaders skeptical

Inouye, first Japanese American Senator, dead at 88

Members of APDC meet with Connie Rice, the Mayor’s advisor on the Department of Justice settlement reforms of the Seattle Police Department.

“Hope” by Mimura Chikuho “Sound of Wind” by Uematsu Chikuyu

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youth, most of the pieces from Mod-ern twist were made in the 2000s.

there have been only a few shows in the United states, the first taking

place at the end of the 1980s. this exhibit is the very first of its kind shown in the Greater seattle Area.

“we have really wanted to show

Japanese bamboo for a very long

{see BAMBOO cont’d on page 15}

2 DECEMBER 22 – DECEMBER 28, 2012 asianweeklynorthwest

■ nAMes In The neWsJapanese emperor’s birthday celebrated in Seattle

the Japanese government hosted a birthday celebration for the emperor of Japan in seattle on Dec. 5 at the residence of the Consul General of Japan in seattle, Consul General Ki-yokazu Ota. Emperor Akihito, who was born on Dec. 23, 1933, will be turning 79 this year.

washington state and Japan have long had a strong con-nection. washington is home to Bainbridge island, the home of the first Japanese Americans to be interned during world war ii. seattle is also the sister city of kobe, Japan. the two cities often work together to hold events, such as the annual seattle–kobe Female Jazz Vocalist Audition.

Betty Patu elected Vice President of the Seattle School Board

the seattle Public schools Board of Directors elected offi-cers for 2013. Kay Smith-Blum was elected president, Betty Patu was elected vice president, and Sharon Peaslee was elected member at large.

smith-Blum defeated Director sherry Carr by a vote of 4–3, with Directors Patu, Peaslee, and Marty Mclaren voting for smith-Blum.

Directors Patu and Peaslee were elect-ed unanimously.

Patu will serve on the executive com-mittee and preside over board meetings whenever smith-Blum is absent.

the officers are elected to one-year terms and serve as the executive com-mittee of the board. they provide leadership for the board in the areas of inter-government relations, evaluating the superintendent, board training, and

plan, agenda, and schedule development.

Seattle Chamber of Commerce hosts Ethnic Chamber of Commerce

the Seattle Chamber of Commerce hosted the first ever Multicultural Chamber and Business Organization Re-ception on thursday, Dec. 13 at o’Asian restaurant in an ef-fort to integrate the voice of minority business into the 2,200 member strong organization.

the event covered the future of multicultural and small business development programs and served as a networking opportunity.

Approximately 100 people attended the event, which was

organized by David Cho, the president of operations at Asian American television.

Legacy House receives donation from CenturyLink

Legacy House, the sCiDpda program designed to provide culturally appropriate care and housing for low-income com-munity seniors, received a check in the amount of $500 from CenturyLink’s Pacific Asian American Network (PAAN) on thursday, Dec. 13 to help support programs for low in-come senior citizen residents.

the staff at legacy house speaks about 15 different Asian languages and dialects. the program provides 75 assisted-liv-ing and independent apartments, culturally appropriate meals, house keeping services, group activities, and more.

PAAN is an employee-led program with a mission to pro-mote awareness of the Asian and Pacific islander community at Centurylink. in its 28 year existence, it has worked with many non profits, including ACrs, the Denise louie early Childhood education Center, legacy house, the wing luke Museum, helping link, the Filipino Community of seattle, the Chinese information and service Center, the Vietnamese Friendship Association, kin on Community health, and the iDeC.

Betty Patu

From left to right: Lieutenant Governor Brad Own, his wife Linda, Ota Junko, and Consul General Ota Kiyokazu

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Legacy House community members with the donated check

Regina Glenn – VP, Multicultural and Small Business Development, Maud Daudon – President & CEO David Cho- Board of Trustee / Ethnic Chamber, Bob Donegan – Chair of the Board of Trustees

30 YEARS yoUr VoICe DECEMBER 22 – DECEMBER 28, 2012 3


By Malcolm Fosterthe AssoCiAteD Press

tokyo, Japan (AP) — Japan’s conservative liberal Democratic Party returned to power in a landslide election victory sunday, Dec. 16, after three years in opposition, according to unofficial results, signaling a rightward shift in the government that could further heighten tensions with China, a key econom-ic partner, as well as rival.

the victory means that the hawkish former Prime Minister shinzo Abe will get a second chance to lead the nation after a one-year stint in 2006-2007. he would be Japan’s seventh prime minister in six-and-a-half years.

in the first election since the March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear di-sasters, atomic energy ended up not being a major election issue, even though polls show about 80 percent of Japanese want to phase out nuclear power.

Public broadcaster Nhk’s tally showed that the lDP, which ruled Japan for most of the post-world war ii era until it was dumped in 2009, won 294 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament. official results were not expected until Monday morning.

lDP, the most pro-nuclear power party, had 118 seats before the election. A new, staunchly anti-nuclear power party won just nine seats, according to Nhk.

in the end, economic concerns won out, said kazuhisa kawakami, a political science professor at Meiji Gakuin University.

“we need to prioritize the economy, espe-cially since we are an island nation,” he said. “we’re not like Germany. we can’t just get energy from other countries in a pinch.”

the results were a sharp rebuke for Prime Minister yoshihiko Noda’s ruling Democrat-ic Party of Japan, reflecting widespread un-happiness with its failure to keep campaign promises and get the stagnant economy going during its three years in power.

the DPJ won in a landslide three years ago amid high hopes for change, but won only 57 seats, compared to 230 seats before the sun-day, Dec. 16 election, according to the Nhk tally. Among the casualties were eight Cabi-net ministers, the most to lose their seats in an election since world war ii, the kyodo News agency reported.

with Japan stuck in a two-decade slump and receding behind China as the region’s most important economic player, voters ap-peared ready to turn back to the lDP.

A serious-looking Abe characterized the win as more of a protest vote against the DPJ than a strong endorsement of his party.

“i think the results do not mean we have regained the public’s trust 100 percent. rath-er, they reflect ‘no votes’ to the DPJ’s politics that stalled everything the past three years,” he told Nhk. “Now, we are facing the test of how we can live up to the public’s expecta-tions, and we have to answer that question.”

Japanese tV stations compile their own tallies by adding all local government in-terim vote counts and are generally highly accurate. the central government does not provide a grand total until all the numbers are official the next day.

Calling the results “severe,” Noda told a late-night news conference he was stepping down as party chief to take responsibility for the defeat.

“i apologize deeply for our failure to achieve results,” he said. “it was the voters’ judgment to our failure to live up to their ex-pectations.”

the lDP will stick with its long-time part-ner New komeito, backed by a large Buddhist organization, to form a coalition government, party officials said. together, they now con-trol 325 seats, securing a two-thirds majority that would make it easier for the government to pass legislation.

Noda said a special parliamentary session would be held before year-end to pick a new prime minister. As leader of the biggest party in the lower house, Abe will almost certainly assume that post.

the new government will need to quickly deliver results ahead of upper house elections in the summer. to revive Japan’s struggling economy, Abe will likely push for increased public works spending and lobby for stronger moves by the central bank to break Japan out of its deflationary trap.

“the economy has been in dire straits these past three years, and it must be the top priority,” Abe said in a televised interview. he has repeatedly said in the past that he will protect Japan’s “territory and beautiful seas” amid a territorial dispute with China over some uninhabited islands in the east China sea that Japan calls senkaku and China calls Daioyu.

“we must strengthen our alliance with the U.s. and also improve relations with China, with a strong determination that is no change in the fact the senkaku islands are our terri-tory,” Abe said in the interview.

President Barack obama congratulated Abe in a statement issued sunday, Dec. 16 declaring that the U.s.-Japanese alliance “serves as the cornerstone of peace and pros-perity in the Asia-Pacific.”

obama said he looked forward to working close with the new Japanese government “on a range of important bilateral, regional, and global issues.”

some Japanese voters also said they sup-ported the lDP’s vows to build a stronger, more assertive country to answer increasing pressure from China and threats of North ko-rean rocket launches.

“i feel like the lDP will protect Japan and restore some national pride,” Momoko Mi-hara, 31, said after voting in the western

{see LANDSLIDE cont’d on page 14}

■ World neWs

By Staffthe AssoCiAteD Press

seoUl, south korea (AP) — Park Geun-hye, daughter of a divisive military strongman from south korea’s authoritarian era, was elected the country’s first female president wednesday, Dec. 19, a landmark win that could mean a new drive to start talks with rival North korea.

After five years of high tension under unpop-ular incumbent lee Myung-bak (lee Myuhng Bahk), Park has vowed to pursue engagement and step up aid to North korea, despite the latter’s widely condemned long-range rocket launch last week.

North korean state media, however, have repeatedly questioned the sincerity of Park’s North korea policy since she and lee are from the same conservative party.

ties between the koreas plummeted during lee’s term. Many voters believe lee’s policies drove North korea to renew nuclear and mis-sile tests and to launch two attacks in 2010 that killed 50 koreans.

the rocket launch made North korea an issue in the closing days of campaigning, al-though many voters said they cared more about the economy.

Park (Bahk guhn-hae) has said she is open to dialogue with North korea, but she has also called on Pyongyang to show progress in nuclear dismantlement. she has also raised the possibility of a meeting with North korean leader kim Jong Un, but only if it’s “an honest dialogue on issues of mutual concern.”

huge crowds lined up in frigid weather throughout the day to choose between Park and liberal candidate Moon Jae-in (Moon Jay-in), the son of North korean refugees. Both candi-dates steered away from lee’s policies, includ-ing, most strikingly, his hard-line stance on North korea.

turnout was the highest in 15 years, and some analysts thought that might lift Moon, who is more popular with younger voters. De-spite moving to the center, however, Park was

carried by her conservative base of mainly older voters.

they fondly remember her father, Park Chung-hee, dictator for 18 years until his in-telligence chief killed him during a drinking party in 1979.

Much of 60-year-old Park’s public persona is built on her close association with her father’s rule. when she was 22, her mother died in a botched attempt to assassinate her father, and she stood in as first lady for five years until her father’s death.

After Moon conceded defeat, Park said that she would dedicate herself to uniting her peo-ple and improving their livelihoods.

“i really thank you. this election is the people’s victory,” Park told a crowd packing a seoul plaza.

with about 98 percent of votes counted, Park had won 51.6 percent to Moon’s 47.9 percent, according to the state-run National election Commission. Park is to take office in February when lee ends his single five-year term.

{see GEUNHYE cont’d on page 13}

Conservative LDP wins landslide victory in Japan

South Korea elects its first woman president

Park Geun-hyeFormer Prime Minister Shinzo Abe


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By Doug FeinbergAP BAsketBAll writer

Maya Moore has excelled everywhere she’s played, winning championships from college to the wNBA and europe. Now, she’s leaving her mark on the Chinese women’s basketball league.

Averaging 45 points a game for the shanxi Flame, Moore has helped bring new fans to the women’s game in a basketball crazed nation.

“they show maybe five NBA games a week here,” Moore told the Associated Press in a phone interview. “they get a good amount of coverage and people love it. we are starting to get a little more interest about our game.”

the NBA long has seen China as a place for huge growth.

it was evident at the Beijing olympics in 2008 with the basketball games sold out and the contest between the U.s. men and China having nearly 100 million viewers. with europe still feeling the effects of the financial downturn, China’s competitive salaries and shorter season have made it one of the top destinations for the world’s elite women basketball players.

the former UConn star is earning mid-six figures, which is on par with european salaries. while most european leagues go from october to May, China only plays until February. this will give Moore time to rest before the Minne-

sota lynx open training camp in May. it will also provide the young face of women’s basket-ball the opportunity to participate at the NBA All-star game in February and be around for the women’s Final Four.

Besides Moore, the talent is improving throughout the league. tamika Catchings, elizabeth Cambage, sophia young, and Jayne Appel are all playing this year. swin Cash has played there in the past.

“i think it’s been a good introduction for a

lot of the fans seeing some of the olympic level women over here,” Moore said. “to see the tal-ent, it’s been, i think, a very surprising thing for the fans. interest will continue to spark more of a demand for players and the basketball level will rise. this area of the world will continue to want basketball even more, elevating that mar-ket.”

the wNBA has taken notice of the recent boom in China.

“we know the sport of basketball is on the rise in China and the wNBA has already had great success on the international stage,” wNBA President laurel richie said. “i am re-ally encouraged that there are now many more people around the globe — including China — who know what the wNBA is all about. we’ve exposed more people to the game, to the players, to the story both on and off the court ... and this will only help grow our league both domesti-cally and abroad.”

while Moore has definitely brought interest with her play, Catchings has tried to mentor her teammates.

“i think my approach is probably different than the approach of some of the younger play-ers,” Catchings said in an e-mail to the Asso-ciated Press. “i feel like my job is to teach my teammates how i play and how to have fun do-ing it.”

it didn’t take long for Moore to endear herself to her new team. Moore, the first woman bas-ketball player to be signed by the Jordan brand, gave a pair of yellow and red sneakers to each of her teammates.

then she started playing and the team only has lost once since. Moore introduced herself to the Chinese fans almost immediately with a 60-point performance in her third game, which just happened to be nationally televised.

Moore was hard-pressed to remember ever scoring close to that before. she had 48 in high school and 48 was her college best.

Connecticut and olympic coach Geno Au-riemma wasn’t surprised by his former star’s success.

“Maya is Maya,” he said. “her scoring that many points isn’t a real shock. she can really do

whatever she wants.”Basketball has been the easy part for Moore

since coming over to China. Communicating with teammates has taken a little more work with up to four languages being spoken in team huddles.

“it’s pretty comical,” Moore said laughing. “i speak english, one of my teammates is korean. that’s two languages. two of our coaches are spanish — one is the spanish national team head coach. the first couple days i was there, my head was spinning.”

on the court, there didn’t seem to be many communication issues. the team uses hand sig-nals and numbers. Moore said she learned some basic words to get by.

“i’m getting better, i know about 10 words so far, i’m learning new ones every day,” she said.

Moore also has a personal assistant assigned by the team to help her with basics like grocery shopping and getting around.

“i think the success to playing overseas really relies heavily on your translator and how well the team is able to help you adjust to them and being in a foreign country,” said Catchings, who also spent time playing in korea. “it’s definitely an adjustment. your team and the organization becomes your family while you are over here.”

Moore, who played in spain last winter, also has had the benefit of having her mom with her. she came over in october and has spent most of the first two months in China, including thanksgiving. the two have been put up in a “western-style” hotel for the four-month sea-son.

“it’s really been great having her around and she’ll be here for Christmas,” Moore said. “she’s experiencing China herself.”

Among the things Moore has learned to ap-preciate while being in China are some of the freedom she has in the United states.

“it’s kind of hard not having unrestricted internet,” she said. “there’s certain things you can’t view. Certain liberties you don’t have. youtube, twitter, things like that. there are certain social media sites. you’re so used to having access to whatever we need. it’s differ-ent that way.”

Maya Moore leaving mark on Chinese basketball

Maya Moore


FRI 12/21

WHAT: CiDBiA’s Free e-CycleWHERE: old Uwajimaya parking lotWHERE: 11 a.m.–1 p.m.INFO: 206-382-1197

SAT 12/22

WHAT: Children’s Party eventWHERE: Meydenbauer theater, 11100 N.e. 6th st., BellevueWHEN: 1 p.m.RESERVATION: 425-284-0444, [email protected]: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/267437INFO: ibtbellevue.org/events

WHAT: holiday shop-o-ramaWHERE: the wing, 719 s. king st., seattle

WHEN: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.DISCOUNT: 15–25% off

SUN 1/6

WHAT: Celebrate 2013 at the 24th Anniversary of a Bainbridge island Japanese American community tradition – Mochi tsukiWHERE: islandwood, 4450 Blakely Ave. N.e., Bainbridge islandwheN: 11 a.m.–3 p.m.iNFo: 206-855-4300

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: Free

INFO: 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 12/30

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 12/31

WHAT: “Art Behind Barbed wire”: A Pacific Northwest exploration of Japanese American Arts and Crafts Created in world war ii incarceration CampsWHERE: Japanese Cultural and Community Center, 1414 s. weller, seattleCOST: FreeINFO: www.jcccw.org/nwnikkeimuseum, [email protected]

■ CoMMUnITy CAlendAr

Architects, Consultants & ContractorsKCLS Library Contract Information Available Online!

Check www.kcls.org/buildings for information about KCLS construction and the latest available

details on current and pending projects.Requests for Proposals•Requests for Qualifications•Current Project Bid Listing•Call for Art Proposals•Site Selection Policy•

Announcements of Finalists•Community Meetings•Contacts•New Releases•

The King County Library System recognizes strength and value within our communities, and we encourage all interested and qualified service providers to review

our public bid construction opportunities.

Contact Kelly Iverson, Facilities [email protected] or 425.369.3308

Have an event to promote? Please send us the details to [email protected].


■ ArTs & enTerTAInMenT

By StaffkoreAM JoUrNAlNew AMeriCA MeDiA

in the early 1970s, before Bruce lee popularized the martial arts genre and before english overdubs became so easy to mock, the first kung fu film to hit it big in the west was “Five Fingers of Death,” by korean director Chung Chang-wha. the cult classic is on filmmaker Quentin tarantino’s 2002 list of his top 12 favorite films of all time. tarantino, a well-known fan of cult cinema, paid homage to Chung in his kill Bill flicks. the use of the “ironside” tV theme before a fight and eye-gouging — give props to “Five Fingers of Death,” which was the title for its U.s. release. else-where, it is known as king Boxer.

how Chung — who was recently honored at the san Diego Asian Film Festival in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of his film — came to be the man responsible for this kung fu clas-sic. his life story could be a film itself. But it would take multiple genre flicks, from war to family melodrama, to do justice to the life of Chung, replete with heartbreaking tragedy, obstacles being overcome, and frenetic action. lots and lots of action.

in pre-war korea, Chung was possessed with a need to cre-ate. in college, he studied music composition, but what he really wanted to do was make movies. his father, a successful business-man, was less than thrilled with the idea of his son becoming a filmmaker, but nevertheless, helped Chung land a job as an as-sistant to Choi in-gyu, one of korea’s top directors at the time. Chung recalls fetching seolleongtang (a korean soup made from ox and beef) for Chae’s breakfast each morning and other fond memories.

“[Chae] was mean,” said Chung, in korean. “he would yell at

the actors if they didn’t act well. And he would kick me, since i was standing next to him. so i learned to move away from him whenever the director got mad.” After being an assistant for ap-proximately four years, Chung finally got the opportunity to direct his first film, using money borrowed from his father to produce the movie. But the korean war cut that dream short. “the [North korean] invasion happened, and everything burned,” said Chung.

Chung experienced the devastation of war firsthand. he re-membered the collapse of a bridge over the han river and seeing people plunge to their deaths. Chung was later captured by North korean soldiers and accused of being a spy, but eventually, a for-mer teacher of his convinced the soldiers he was no spy.

After his release, Chung learned that his parents and one of his two brothers died while trying to reach Busan, where the family had agreed to rendezvous. A member of the south korean army at the time, Chung was released from his military obligations in order to care for his younger brother. the one way he believed he could provide for his surviving family amidst the war was to complete his first film, and he used his inheritance to fund it. “i loved movies so much,” said Chung. “it was my life. i was able to find happiness through film.”

success, however, eluded him. “who had money to go to the movies?” said Chung, explaining why his film failed. “All that money invested was gone.”

with the war’s end, Chung was given the chance to make more movies, but he had something else in mind. “in korea, the mov-ies were heavily influenced by Japan, just dramas — melodra-mas, historic dramas. People sitting around, only talking,” said Chung.

{see CHUNG cont’d on page 11}

Meet the father of the kung fu flick

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» Jay Inslee, Governor-elect» Bob Ferguson, Attorney General-elect» Rep. Marcie Maxwell, 41st District» Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, 37th District» King County Superior Court Judge Hon. Patrick Oishi» King County Superior Court Judge Hon. Dean Lum» King County District Court Hon. Marcine Anderson» Seattle Municipal Court Judge Hon. C. Kimi Kondo» Mark Mitsui, President, North Seattle Community College» Albert Shen, Vice Chair, Seattle Community Colleges Board of Trustees» Stella Chao, Deputy Director, King County Environmental Health General Administration» Candace Inagi, Senior Advisor for External Affairs, Office of Mayor McGinn» Martha Choe, Chief Administration Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation» Al Sugiyama, upcoming Executive Director, Executive Development Institute» Millie Su, President, Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce

» Diane Narasaki, Executive Director, Asian Counseling & Referral Service» Kendee Yamaguchi, Executive Director, Wash. State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs» Karen Yoshitomi, Regional Director, Japanese American Citizens League» Debadutta Dash, Co-chair, WASITRAC» Regina Glenn, Vice President, Multicultural and Small Business Development, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce» Frieda Takamura, Chair of Education Committee, Wash. State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs» Janice Deguchi, Executive Director, Denise Louie Education Center» Lori Matsukawa, Anchor, KING5 TV» Kim Pham, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Northwest Vietnamese News» Yang Jun Hwang, Chief Editor, the Korea Times» Carolyn Kelly, former President, the Seattle Times

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Honoree Joan Yoshitomi (center back) with friends

Jun Bae Kim, Asia Discount Center, Sesinando Cantor, Someireh Amirfaiz, Mark Okazaki, Sam Ung, Dennis Su, Joan Yoshitomi, Trong Pham, and Bob Hasegawa



By Vivian NguyenNorthwest AsiAN weekly

the holiday season typically compels people to perform acts of goodwill despite conflicts and dif-ferences. this season, however, is off to a poor start with all the hate that’s been spewed about Asians lately. what ever happened to the holiday spirit? read on to see how racists made like the Grinch this past month and stole away all no-tions of common decency from their fellow man.

“Red Dawn” instills xenophobia among Twitter idiots

one of the big draws of this year’s holiday box office is the action war film “red Dawn” — a remake of the 1984 film of the same name. it follows an insurgent group of American teens as they defend the United states from North korean troops who attempt to conquer the nation with their weapons of mass destruction and massive military force.

yes, that’s right. the North ko-rean troops — as in ill-equipped, early Cold war-era army of North

korea somehow manages to in-vade the continental United states. Clearly, this is an escapist flick, and one that makes it necessary to check your disbelief at the door before viewing.

in the original script of “red Dawn,” the Asian invaders were supposed to be from China. while this admittedly would have been more believable due to China’s re-sources, this change was only made

because no film distributors would carry the flick lest it jeopardize po-tential profits in the Chinese mar-ket. so, the producers didn’t want to offend Chinese investors and audi-ences, but apparently it’s still okay

to lambast other Asian ethnicities?Unfortunately, and perhaps un-

surprisingly, the film bred a strong anti-Asian sentiment among view-ers. A film blog post for wsj.com featured an interview with “red Dawn” producer tripp Vinson who claimed, “to me, the movie is about these kids stepping up in an impossible situation — the ultimate underdog story. we make it clear in the very beginning that this is an al-ternate world, it’s a different Amer-ica. so it’s not about who the enemy is. the enemy could be anybody”.

sure, it could be anybody. But you could also rewrite the script to use alien invaders to still get across the idea of an “underdog” and avoid public shaming of any ethnicity al-together. the fact still remains that the villains were written Asian. And, while Vinson espouses this idea that viewers should view the enemy as “anybody,” the sad fact is that many people are unable to make that difference for themselves.

some “red Dawn” fans tweeted about how the movie instilled them with American patriotism while also declaring a newfound — and,

{see A-POP cont’d on next page}

Twitter idiots strike again,

and a farewell to Das Racist

A monthly column about all things Asian in popular culture

Das Racist


PSE customers Matt and Ashleigh Morio with their daughter Marielle - King County

Stay connected to PSEPSE.COM/KINGCOUNTY

MorePowerfulTogetherPuget Sound Energy honors the 2012 Top Contributors to the Asian Community Encompass Autumn Gala. PSE is committed to providing safe, dependable and efficient energy service in your community.


{A-POP cont’d from previous page}

in some cases, justified — hatred of Asians. the most ridiculous tweets

were the ones that told Asians to not take the ensuing racism from “red Dawn” personally.

when someone tells you that they want to kill your entire race based on a fictional war movie, but hey, don’t take it as a personal attack, how should you respond exactly?

i, for one, think impressionable mov-iegoers who perpetuate racism are idi-ots. so, don’t take that personally either.

Twitter idiots also find ways to spread racism through award shows

“red Dawn” wasn’t the only incident to send the twitterverse in an uproar against Asians. korean rap star Psy continued his world domination on all things pop culture, and appeared on the American Music Awards (AMA) to perform his hit single “Gangnam style” live on the show, as well as its iconic dance alongside American rapper MC hammer.

Maybe it’s because the music video for “Gangnam style” is entirely in ko-rean, or maybe people just be hating be-cause Psy is Asian, but several viewers took to twitter to spew racial slurs about his appearance on the show, claiming the AMA is an American spectacle, so non-American performers like Psy have no place in it.

Come on, guys. why all this racism when you can support other favorite non-American artists for actual AMA award nominations and wins?

how about the Canadian-born pop superstar Justin Bieber, who won the award for Artist of the year? or Carly rae Jepsen who, too, is Canadian, and still took home the title of Favorite New Artist? And then there’s shakira, the Colombian singer best-known for her catchy latin pop tunes, and who also won the top title in the Artist, latin cat-egory — an award category that doesn’t even have anything to do with American music or culture.

Case in point, twitter idiots. try not to let your racism blind you from some-thing that is genuinely fun and awesome like Psy and his sweet dance moves.

Goodbye to a music trioyou know who would be able to write

up a fun rap ditty about all this rampant racism? Brooklyn-based alternative hip hop group Das racist.

or, they could have had they not re-cently broken up. the group consisted of three MCs, including indian Ameri-can rappers himanshu “heems” suri and Ashok “Dapwell” kondabolu, as well as Victor “kool A.D.” Vaszquez, who is of Cuban and italian descent. the group was often noted for their use of academia, pop culture, and internet humor in their funky music, which often highlighted race issues.

Although the group has been around since 2008, it appears as if the members were drifting apart to pursue their respec-tive professional interests. suffice it to say that this is a big loss for the music world and fans of progressive music every-where.

Vivian Nguyen can be reached at [email protected].


opInIon

■ pUblIsher’s blog

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.

Don’t let anyone steal your Christmas. Not even a killer.

look at Newtown, Conn. with a population of over 27,000, the city is determined to keep Christmas going despite the tragedy of a mass shooting. their resilient spirit is amazing.

For those of you who have uneventful holi-days, don’t ever fret about not being invited to parties, being penniless, or being lonely. it’s too bad that when we see the misfortunes of others, we finally realize how lucky we are.

while we need to honor the dead, we have to celebrate the living. At the end of the year, we have to unburden ourselves from worry, stress, anger, and bitterness. Change your mindset to find joy, sweetness, and beauty in our existence.

it isn’t easy. some people find their fulfill-ment through eating and shopping during the holidays. one friend said he saw eight movies during the holiday. But you can go beyond these traditions and spend time with your friends and family or serve others in a variety of ways.

1. Winterfest Aegis living, recently voted as one of the best

places to work, started winterfest to help its em-ployees have a better Christmas. the company, which owns several assisted living quarters in washington state and California, invites its

caretaker staff to bring their families to choose free gifts, such as toys and warm coats.

Aegis buys all the new items in bulk, with dis-counts from retailers. over 450 attended on Dec. 8 in redmond for the gifts and free barbecue.

you can create your own winterfest, too.

2. Make your own Christmas treeone of my friend’s Christmas tradition is to

visit a tree farm with friends to select their trees. Afterwards, some plant their trees in their own backyards.

3. Make your own calendarMaking a calendar is easy with a computer.

Ho, Ho, Ho, what are your holiday traditions?

1221 S. King St. Seattle, WA 98144 206-720-0969Open daily: 8:30 a.m.–8 p.m. www.facebook.com/lamseafood www.lamsseafood.com

1221 S. King St. Seattle, WA 98144 206-720-0969Open daily: 8:30 a.m.–8 p.m. www.facebook.com/lamseafood www.lamsseafood.com

All sale lasts from Friday 12/21 to Thursday 12/27

you can pick a them, feature family photos, washington state scenery, and pictures of your kids, your trips, your coworkers’ funny moments, and more. if you need help, you can always go to kinkos. Give those calendars to your friends as gifts. they will remember you every day.

4. Volunteering

Cleveland high school students collect do-nations for the salvation Army outside Nord-strom.

you can also serve holiday meals to the homeless. Go to ACrs or Northwest harvest. they need your help.

5. Singing carolsMusic is a form of healing. research has

found that music can boost our mood. sing, sing, sing this Christmas or go to the seattle symphony holiday concerts.

6. Chicken traditionJerry lee started his chicken tradition with

friends, giving away hundreds of Costco chickens to the poor at the Asian Counseling and referral service food bank.

7. Kids talent show

James wong has an entertaining family gathering every Christmas. All the relatives’

kids perform a talent. this gives the kids a chance to build self-confidence. it’s best to videotape all the performances. they will be treasures in the years to come.

8. Cheering up the sickevery Christmas, Phil smart sr. dresses up as santa and visits the seattle Children’s hospital, giving gifts to cancer patients. smart, who is 93, has been doing this for over 45 years.

9. Travelour family has traveled to las Vegas, New

orleans, the Caribbean, and thailand during Christmas. what was wonderful was escap-ing the freezing snowstorms of seattle during those years. Guess i have a way of picking the right times and the right places. Chinatown travel agencies will be glad to help.

10. Organize your own partiesif you don’t get party invitations, you can

invite others. A party doesn’t have to be lav-ish. i went to one recently, where the host just served chips, fried chicken, and drinks. tell your guests to bring something if it is conve-nient. Although food was scarce, i enjoyed it because the guests were a dynamic mix of in-teresting people.

11. Showcase achievers and your company

i always enjoy attending the annual Christ-mas party organized by Greater China indus-tries, inc. held at the Glendale Country Club last Friday, Dec. 14, founder Ben Zhang gave out awards to his sales team. what better way to honor your workers than in front of your suppliers, attorneys, friends, and their family members? the food was amazing, salmon and filet mignon for 100 guests.

At the event, Zhang announced that the company is now exporting washington state wine to China.

if you still don’t want to do anything during the holidays, you are entitled to that. Doing nothing can be a sort of tradition, too. you can take Christmas time to be calm and rest. whatever you do, just don’t let Christmas slip away without joy, gratitude, sharing, and giving.

what’s your holiday tradition? Visit our website at www.nwasianweekly.com and let us know!

Aegis Living’s chairman, Dwayne Clark gets into the Winterfest spirit with employees

Cleveland High School students fundraising for the Salvation Army

The Wong family tradition

From left: Mel Cutter, Ben Zhang (company founder and ceo), and Christine Fei

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opInIon

■ edITorIAl

Project: South Treatment Plant, Digester No. 1, Roof Equipment Replacement, C00792C12

Sealed Bid time/date: 1:30pm, January 10, 2013location due: King County Procurement & Contract

Services Section, Contracts Counter, 3rd Floor, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104

engineer’S eStimate: $550,000 – $625,000ScoPe of Work: The Work under this Contract consists

of the replacement of the existing Digester No. 1 roof equip-ment which includes, but is not limited to, the following ma-jor elements: (1) Remove and replace the existing 10-inch pressure relief valve/air vacuum valve/flame arrestor PRV/AVV/FA assemblies, including 3-way selector plug valve and supports with the new County Furnished 10-inch PRV/AVV/FA assemblies and 3-way 10” safety selector valve; (2) Remove and replace the existing 30-inch diameter ac-cess manholes covers with the new County Furnished 30-inch diameter access manholes covers; (3) Extend floating roof condensate drain sump access pipes on the roof and install new hatch covers; (4) Modify the existing PRV/AVV/FA assemblies support structure on the roof dome for the new PRV/AVV/FA assemblies; (5) Remove and replace the existing 8” CS-2, 8” GC, and 10” LSG piping systems on the roof including pipes, fittings, nozzles and valves; (6) Dispose the existing flexible hoses of 8” CS-1, 8” CS-2, 8” GC, and 10” LSG piping systems which are removed by King County and are located at the parking lot on the east of Digester No 1; (7) Install new County Furnished flexible hoses for 8” CS-1, 8” CS-2, 8” GC, and 10” LSG piping systems; (8) Install access ladder and FRP grating platform on the roof dome for PRV/AVV/FA assemblies; (9) Repair

C3HP water supply piping underground branch lines and the wall mounted utility stations around the digester; (10) Provide roof insulation protection cover with plywood around the working areas; (11) Repair any roof insulation damages to match existing; (12) Install new roof insulation on the roof dome piping nozzles penetration areas to match existing as required; (13) Provide insulation for 8”CS-2 and 8”CS-1 piping systems as needed; (14) Maintain existing lightning protection system on the roof piping during con-struction and install new lightning cable and air terminals for the digester dome and piping as required. Work Site: King County South Treatment Plant, 1200 Monster Road SW, Renton, Washington.

contact information: Kelly McKeever, Contract Spe-cialist, (206) 263-9389, TTY Relay: 711, Fax: (206)-296-7675, or [email protected]. Please submit all bidder questions in writing via email. No verbal answers by any County personnel or its agents and consultants will be binding on the County.

mandatorY Pre-Bid / Site tour: January 2, 2013 at 10:00am and January 3, 2013 at 10:00am. Location: King County South Treatment Plant, Black River Conference Room, 1200 Monster Road SW, Renton, Washington. A site tour will be conducted immediately following the con-ference. Hardhats and safety boots are recommended for site tour. FAILURE TO ATTEND ONE OF THE MANDA-TORY MEETINGS AND SITE TOUR WILL RESULT IN A NON-RESPONSIVE BID DETERMINATION. A sign in sheet will provide evidence of attendance. It is your respon-sibility to ensure your sign in and out.

SuBcontracting oPPortunitieS: Thermal Protection

(insulation), Painting and Coating aPPrenticeShiP requirementS: No minimum Appren-

tice Utilization RequirementScS utilization requirementS: No minimum SCS Uti-

lization RequirementBid Bond: Not less than five percent (5%) of the Total

Bid PricePlanS/SPecS: Electronic copies of the plans, specifi-

cations, reference documents, and any addenda for this solicitation can be accessed through an external link to Builder’s Exchange of Washington from our website shown below. This site includes options and instructions for print-ing. Printed documents may also be ordered by contacting United Reprographics at 206-382-1177. Copies of docu-ments are not available for purchase from King County, but are available for review M – F 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the Contracts Counter: Chinook Bldg, 3rd Floor 401 Fifth Av-enue Seattle, WA 98104.

To receive email notifications of addenda or other impor-tant information concerning this solicitation, you must reg-ister to be a planholder under the “Solicitations” tab at the following internet link:

WeBSite: http://www.kingcounty.gov/procurement.This information is available in alternate formats for in-

dividuals with disabilities upon advance request by calling 206-263-9400, TTY Relay: 711.

noteS: Bids received after Sealed Bid Time will not be considered. Bidders accept all risks of late delivery, regard-less of fault. King County is not responsible for any costs incurred in response to this Invitation to Bid.

King County Invitation to Bid

{CHUNG cont’d from page 7}

the classic 1953 American western film “shane” left an im-pression on Chung. “the story was good, and the tempo was fast. ‘we need to make movies like this. i need to get like this,’ is what i thought,” said Chung. “For korean movies to live on, they would need to emulate the American style, with better sto-ries and faster-paced action.”

years later, Chung shot a film in hong kong called “special Agent X-7,” which caught the at-tention of run run shaw, the head of the preeminent hong kong movie maker, shaw Brothers studio. shaw recruited Chung to bring modern action sensibilities to their studio in the late 1960s, to go along with their slate of kung fu and wuxia films.

As the lone korean working for the shaw Brothers, Chung often didn’t get to work with the best fight choreog-raphers, stuntmen, or crew members. Meanwhile, the stu-

dio’s other directors would often give him the cold shoul-der. “it happens everywhere,” said Chung. “even amongst animals, when you come into their boundaries, they get defensive. ‘But i’m going to make it here,’ i thought. i had that kind of confidence.”

After enjoying success with his modern action movies, Chung wanted to expand into kung fu films as well. “i wanted to do a wuxia film because i hadn’t tried it yet, and because i wanted to show i could do that as well, and may-be even better,” said Chung. “[But] run run shaw laughed when i said i wanted to do a wuxia film.”

But when those turned out to be hits as well, shaw told Chung to make more, which eventually resulted in “Five Fingers of Death,” in 1972. “i thought i’d try to find the middle point between wuxia and the modern martial art film in order to be attractive to not only the hong kong and Chinese audience, but also abroad and America. that was Five Fingers of Death.”

Chung was now established in hong kong, but one day, he got a call from south korean President Park Chung-hee. “[Park] said, ‘if you come and make films here, i’ll support you,’ ” said Chung. “i made a lot of money in hong kong. And i also felt homesick.”

About a year and a half after Chung’s return, Park was

assassinated, and his eventual successor, military strong-man Chun Doo-hwan, censored multiple forms of expres-sion. For Chung, that meant 10 to 20 minutes of his films would be randomly cut. “People wouldn’t understand the story, so the films just flopped,” said Chung. “All the mon-ey i made in hong kong, i lost.”

with his health deteriorating, his wife took action. “with-out telling me, she got the visas to immigrate to America,” said Chung. they settled in the san Diego suburb of la Jolla and his filmmaking career came to an end.

today, Chung is highly regarded by both the korean and hong kong film industries. he was an early supporter of hong kong action director John woo, and im kwon-taek was one of his assistants.

in November, the san Diego Asian Film Festival joined other festivals in honoring Chung on the occasion of Five Fingers of Death’s 40th anniversary. the hometown crowd, filled with friends, had Chung beaming and speaking some phrases in english, which he is very reluctant to do in pub-lic. At his age, which he would not reveal, he still cuts an impressive figure. And he still has the fingers of a man you don’t want to mess with.

the Asian Pacific American community and the seattle Police Department have never had the best relationship. in 1974, the state of washington created the Commission on Asian American Affairs to address issues concerning the Asian Pacific American community. in 2010, the com-mission released a report, which included their policy rec-ommendations. what was at the top of their list of needed changes in the criminal justice system?

Providing training to officers in cross-cultural compe-tency. Appropriate translation and interpretation services. working to ensure diversity at all levels of the criminal jus-

tice system.these should have been recommendations in 1974, not in

2010. But, despite decades of work, these problems still per-sist. this is completely unacceptable.

As a community, we need to take advantage of the op-portunity we have right now. Because of the settlement with the Department of Justice, sPD is being forced to change, and we need to make sure that they keep us in mind while they do it, because it’s fairly obvious that our community has only been a second thought for a long time.

Now, it’s time that the police department becomes a mem-

ber of our community, not just an outsider. it’s time for sPD to understand our culture and for us to understand theirs. it’s time that Asian and Pacific Americans stop being the most underrepresented racial or ethnic group in the police depart-ment. it’s time for a fair share of our officers to be promoted to command positions.

we need to apply more pressure now than ever before, be-cause even though it’s taken decades to get to where we are now, we can’t afford for change to take decades any longer.

Seattle Police reform is better late than never

Chung Chang-wha


{INOUYE cont’d from page 1}

From that moment on, it seemed like nothing would stop a determined Daniel k. inouye, who died Monday after a uniquely American life de-fined by heroism in war and decades of service in the senate — and a lifelong love of hawaii symbolized by his last utterance.

“Aloha.”inouye, who broke racial barriers on Capitol

hill and played key roles in congressional in-vestigations of the watergate and iran-Contra scandals, was 88.

A senator since January 1963, inouye was currently the longest serving senator and was president pro tempore of the senate, third in the line of presidential succession. his office said Monday that he died of respiratory complica-tions at a washington-area hospital.

less than an hour after inouye’s passing, sen-ate Majority leader harry reid announced in-ouye’s death to a stunned chamber. “our friend Daniel inouye has died,” reid said somberly. shocked members of the senate stood in the aisles or slumped in their chairs.

inouye was a world war ii hero and Medal of honor recipient, who lost an arm to a German hand grenade during a battle in italy. he became the first Japanese American to serve in Con-gress, when he was elected to the house in 1959, the year hawaii became a state. he won election to the senate three years later and served there longer than anyone in American history, except robert Byrd of west Virginia, who died in 2010 after 51 years in the senate.

President Barack obama, a native of hawaii, said in a statement, “tonight, our country has lost a true American hero with the passing of sen. Daniel inouye. ... it was his incredible brav-ery during world war ii — including one heroic effort that cost him his arm but earned him the Medal of honor — that made Danny not just a colleague and a mentor, but someone revered by all of us lucky enough to know him.”

obama also sent a tweet that ended “Aloha, Danny.”

inouye died after a relatively brief hospital-ization. once a regular smoker, he had a portion of a lung removed in the 1960s after a misdiag-nosis for cancer. Just last week, he issued a state-ment expressing optimism about his recovery.

Despite his age and illness, inouye’s death shocked members of the senate.

“i’m too broken up,” said sen. Patrick leahy (D-Vt.), who becomes president pro tem of the

senate. leahy also is poised to take over the senate Appropriations Committee.

“he was the kind of man, in short, that Amer-ica has always been grateful to have, especially in her darkest hours, men who lead by example and who expect nothing in return,” said senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (r-ky).

hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie will appoint a replacement, choosing from a list of three can-didates selected by the state Democratic Party. “we’re preparing to say goodbye,” Abercrom-bie said. “everything else will take place in good time.”

whomever Abercrombie appoints would serve until a special election in 2014.

inouye has represented hawaii since it be-came a state in 1959, first in the house. he was handily re-elected to a ninth term in 2010 with 75 percent of the vote.

his last utterance, his office said, was “Alo-ha.”

inouye became president pro tem of the sen-ate in 2010, a largely ceremonial post that also placed him in the line of succession to the presi-dency, after the vice president and the speaker of the house.

earlier, he had taken the helm of the power-ful Appropriations Committee, where he spent most of his senate career attending to hawaii. At the height of his power, inouye routinely se-cured tens of millions of dollars annually for the state’s roads, schools, national lands, and military bases.

Although tremendously popular in his home state, inouye actively avoided the national spotlight until he was thrust into it. he was the keynote speaker at the 1968 Democratic Na-tional Convention, and later reluctantly joined the senate’s select committee on the watergate scandal. the panel’s investigation led to the resignation of President richard Nixon.

inouye also served as chairman of the com-mittee that investigated the iran-Contra arms and money affair, which rocked ronald rea-gan’s presidency.

A quiet but powerful lawmaker, inouye ran for senate majority leader several times with-out success. he gained power as a member of the senate Appropriations Committee and chairman of the defense appropriations sub-committee before republicans took control of the senate in 1994.

when the Democrats regained control in the 2006 elections, inouye became chairman of the senate Commerce Committee. he left that

post two years later to become chairman of the powerful senate Appropriations Committee.

inouye also chaired the senate indian Af-fairs Committee for many years. he was made an honorary member of the Navajo nation and given the name “the leader who has re-turned with a Plan.”

in 2000, inouye was one of 22 Asian Ameri-can world war ii veterans who belatedly re-ceived the nation’s top honor for bravery on the battlefield, the Medal of honor. the junior sen-ator from hawaii at the time, Daniel Akaka, had worked for years to get officials to review records to determine if some soldiers had been denied the honor because of racial bias.

inouye’s first political campaign in 1954 helped break the republican Party’s political domination of hawaii. he was elected to the territorial house of representatives, where he served as majority leader. he became a territo-rial senator in 1958.

inouye was serving as hawaii’s first con-gressman in 1962, when he ran for the senate and won 70 percent of the vote against repub-lican Benjamin Dillingham ii, a member of a prominent hawaii family.

he is the last remaining member of the sen-ate to have voted for the Civil rights Act of 1964.

“he served as a defender of the people of this country, championing historic changes for civil rights, including the equal rights of wom-en, Asian Americans, African Americans, and Native hawaiians,” said a visibly emotional sen. Daniel Akaka, his longtime hawaii col-league. “it is an incredible understatement to call him an institution, but this chamber will never be the same without him.”

in 1968, President lyndon Johnson urged Vice President hubert humphrey, who had won the Democratic nomination for president, to select inouye as his running mate. Johnson told humphrey that inouye’s world war ii in-juries would silence humphrey’s critics on the Vietnam war.

“he answers Vietnam with that empty sleeve. he answers your problems with re-publican presidential candidate richard Nixon with that empty sleeve,” Johnson said.

But inouye was not interested.“he was content in his position as a U.s.

senator representing hawaii,” Jennifer sabas, inouye’s hawaii chief of staff, said in 2008.

inouye reluctantly joined the watergate pro-ceedings at the strong urging of senate Dem-ocratic leader Mike Mansfield. the panel’s investigation of the role of the Nixon white house in covering up a burglary at Democratic National Committee headquarters at the wa-tergate in June 1972 ultimately prompted the house to initiate impeachment proceedings against Nixon, who resigned before the issue reached a vote in the house.

in one of the most memorable exchanges of the watergate proceedings, an attorney for two of Nixon’s closest advisers, John ehrlichman and Bob haldeman, referred to inouye as a “little Jap.”

the attorney, John J. wilson, later apolo-gized. inouye accepted the apology, noting that the slur came after he had muttered “what a liar” into a microphone that he thought had been turned off following ehrlichman’s testi-mony.

After the hearings, inouye said he thought the committee’s findings “will have a lasting effect on future presidents and their advisers. it will help reform the campaign practices of the nation.”

he achieved celebrity status when he served as chairman of the congressional panel inves-tigating the iran-Contra affair in 1987. that committee held lengthy hearings into allega-tions that top reagan administration officials had facilitated the sale of weapons to iran, in violation of a congressional arms embargo, in hopes of winning the release of American hos-tages in iran and to raise money to help support anti-communist fighters in Nicaragua.

“this was not a happy chore, but it had to be done,” inouye said of the hearings.

the panel sharply criticized reagan for what it considered laxity in handling his duties as president. “we were fair,” inouye said. “Not

because we wanted to be fair, but because we had to be fair.”

Born sept. 7, 1924, to immigrant parents in honolulu, inouye was 17 and dreaming of be-coming a surgeon when Japanese planes flew over his home to bomb Pearl harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, changing the course of his life.

in 1943, inouye volunteered for the Army and was assigned to the famed Japanese American 442nd regimental Combat team, which earned the nickname “Go For Broke” and was one of the most decorated units of the war. inouye rose to the rank of captain and earned the Distin-guished service Cross and Bronze star. Many of the 22 veterans who received Medals of hon-or in 2000 had been in the 442nd.

Unlike the families of many of his comrades in arms, inouye’s wasn’t subjected to the trauma and indignity of being sent by the U.s. govern-ment during the war to internment camps for Japanese Americans.

“it was the ultimate of patriotism,” inouye said at a 442nd reunion. “these men, who came from behind barbed wire internment camps where the Japanese Americans were held, to volunteer to fight and give their lives. ... we knew we were expendable.”

inouye said he didn’t feel he had any choice but to go to war.

“i tried to put myself in the shoes of my neighbors who were not Japanese,” inouye once said. “i felt that there was a need for us to dem-onstrate that we’re just as good as anybody else.

“the price was bloody and expensive, but i felt we succeeded,” he said.

inouye’s dream of becoming a surgeon end-ed in the closing days of the war.

on April 21, 1945, he was leading a charge on a machine gun nest in italy’s Po Valley. he was shot in the abdomen, but kept inch-ing toward the machine gun and managed to throw two grenades before his right arm was shattered by a German grenade. even then, he continued to direct his platoon.

“By his gallant, aggressive tactics and by his indomitable leadership, second lieutenant in-ouye enabled his platoon to advance through formidable resistance,” his Medal of honor citation said.

he spent the next 20 months in military hos-pitals. During his convalescence, inouye met Bob Dole. the two later served together in the senate for decades.

“with sen. inouye, what you saw is what you got and what you got was just a wonderful human being that served his country after the ill-treatment of the Japanese, lost an arm in the process,” Dole said Monday. “he was the best bridge player on our floor. he did it all with one arm.”

Despite his military service and honors, in-ouye returned to an often-hostile America. on his way home from the war, he often recounted, he entered a san Francisco barbershop only to be told, “we don’t cut Jap hair.”

he returned to hawaii and received a bache-lor’s degree in government and economics from the University of hawaii in 1950. he gradu-ated from George washington University’s law school in 1952.

inouye proposed to Margaret shinobu Awamura on their second date, and they mar-ried in 1949. their only child, Daniel Jr., was born in 1964. when his wife died in 2006, in-ouye said, “it was a most special blessing to have had Maggie in my life for 58 years.”

he remarried in 2008, to irene hirano, a los Angeles community leader. sen. ted stevens, with whom inouye forged a remarkable friend-ship and alliance, served as inouye’s best man.

inouye shunned the trappings of washing-ton’s elite, leaving the telephone number of his Bethesda, Md. home in the phone book.

he took pride in handling even the smallest requests from his constituents.

he said he once was awakened at 2 a.m. by a telephone call from a hawaii family asking for help in getting a soldier home for a family emergency. inouye said he immediately called the Pentagon, and 30 minutes later, the soldier had his orders to return home.

“that’s a special type of satisfaction that i can enjoy that none of you can,” he said.


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.

RATEven the most fruitful of sources needs time to replenish. Rely on a variety of resources, rather than depending solely on one.

OXDo you feel as though your personal space has been encroached on this week? Don’t be afraid to set boundaries when they are needed.

TIGERA renewed sense of vigor has you quite energized. This is a good time to clean out those areas that you have been meaning to for awhile.

RABBITRacing against the clock is enough to make anyone nervous. Set out a plan for action, so you can take on the project in stages.

DRAGONContrary to your usual style, you are investing much in a single idea. It is simply too early to do this, leverage your risk instead.

SNAKEWhen venturing into an area in which you have little experience, ask plenty of questions and listen carefully to the answers.

HORSEIn preparation for a busy period ahead, stock up on essentials so that you do not run out during an inopportune moment.

GOATEvery once in a while, you meet someone with whom you have an instant connection. Time will tell if it’s meant to last.

MONKEYSifting through all that is coming your way lately could be a daunting task. Work your way through in segments.

ROOSTERPhysical proximity does not guarantee that you are connecting the way you would like. Bridging the gap will require more.

DOGIt is much easier to put your schedule on hold than it is to restart it. Even if you deviate every now and then, stay true to your planned course.

PIGDoes the theory you heard recently sound too good to be true? Base your assessment on actual facts.

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{RICE cont’d from page 1}

and law enforcement Act of 1994 and had a pattern of excessive use of force that violated the Constitution. this finding follows several highly publicized police actions, including the kicking and verbal assault of two detained latino men and the killing of First Nations woodcarver John t. williams, both in 2010. in July 2012, the city and the DoJ reached a settlement agreement, requiring the setting of new guidelines for the use of force and the creation of a community police commission to increase com-munity input.

originally planned for one hour, the meeting attended by 25 ran slightly over time. highlighted during the discussion were the needs for increasing recruitment of Asian Pacific American of-ficers, addressing the fact that APA officers are often looked over for promotions, and increasing cultural training of police officers.

“As far as we’re concerned, the police guild is not advocat-ing for Asian and Pacific islanders to get promoted,” said Frank irigon, former executive Director of washington Asian Pacific islander Families Against substance Abuse. “we see the police guild as our enemy and that’s why we have problems with get-ting our people promoted. we don’t have enough representation of Asians in the police force.”

According to 2009 data, the sPD sworn personnel is 76 per-cent white, 9 percent Black, 5 percent hispanic or latino, 2 per-cent American indian, and 8 percent Asian. however, seattle’s

population overall is 70 percent white, 8 percent Black, 7 percent hispanic or latino, 1 percent American indian, and, most im-portantly, 14 percent Asian, making APAs the most underrepre-sented minority.

“Former Assistant Chief harry Bailey, part of Mayor Mc-Ginn’s team to implement his 20/20 plan is here, and he’s really trying to recruit, and some of the others are trying to recruit more minorities into the police force and that’s good,” added Al sugi-yama, executive Director of the executive Development insti-tute. “But a lot of the people you try to recruit will say ‘there’s no upward mobility.’ ”

rice said that the situation in seattle was workable, especially compared to the situations previously found in los Angeles, and that progress would be made. however, she stressed that they would take time, originally stating that change might take “15 to 20 years.” she later said that the 15- to 20-year time line was based off a situation like that found in lA. she continued on to say that realistically, change in sPD would come faster.

Also at issue was the importance of cultural understanding.“if this is going to take 15 to 20 years, our kids are going to

die,” said Mark okazaki, executive Director of Neighborhood house.

he continued, “i’m going to ask the mayor’s staff to consider some funding that goes to Asian Pacific islander organizations to teach our children what to do when they get stopped by the police. i understand they do that in the African American Community.

i’d like to do that in our community.”the need for police to better understand and engage the APA

community was also stressed.in a 2010 report from the washington state Committee on

Asian Pacific American Affairs, the first policy recommendation on crime was to “provide resources to train police officers, pro-bation officers, and other law enforcement agents with regard to cultural competency regarding APA communities.” rice agreed with the popular opinion.

“Cross-cultural competence in cities like lA and seattle and all cities that are going to end up like lA and seattle with this level of global diversity and immigrant diversity, because immi-grant diversity is even more complex, is absolutely essential,” she said. “Police officers don’t even know how to deal with Black people and we’ve been together for over 400 years.”

however, despite the meeting, skeptics remained in the room. “the APDC was started 30 years ago because there was gang

violence,” okazaki said. “the city put together a strategy, and they didn’t include us. they didn’t think we had a problem and we had to demand to be at the table and to be part of the strategy. thirty years ago, and we’re still here.”

he continued, “i’m sorry. i wish i could feel more confident, but i don’t.”

Charles Lam can be reached at [email protected].

{GEUNHYE cont’d from page 4}

No korean woman is believed to have ruled since the ninth century. Park becomes the most powerful figure in a country where many women earn less than men and are trapped in low-paying jobs despite first-class educations.

her father’s legacy is both an asset and a weak spot. older south koreans may revere his austere economic policies and tough line against North korea, but he’s also remembered with loathing for his treatment of opponents, including claims of torture and summary executions.

Park’s win means that south korean voters believe she would evoke her father’s strong cha-risma as president and settle the country’s eco-nomic and security woes, according to Chung Jin-young, a political scientist at kyung hee University in south korea.

“Park is good-hearted, calm, and trustwor-thy,” 50-year-old housewife lee hye-young said at a polling station at a seoul elementary school. “Also, i think Park would handle North korea better. Moon would want to make too many con-cessions to North korea.”

Associated Press writers Youkyung Lee and Sam Kim contributed to this story.


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{LANDSLIDE cont’d from page 4}

tokyo suburb of Fuchu. “i hope Mr. Abe will stand tall.”

A dizzying array of more than 12 parties, including several news ones, contested, some with vague policy goals.

one of the new parties, the right-leaning, populist Japan restoration Party, won 54 seats, Nhk said. the party, led by the bombastic national-ist ex-tokyo Gov. shintaro ishihara and lawyer-turned osaka Mayor toru hashimoto — both of whom are polarizing figures with forceful leadership styles — could become a future coalition partner for the lDP, analysts said.

ishihara was the one who stirred up the latest dispute with China over the islands when he proposed that the tokyo government buy them from their private Japanese owners and de-velop them.

the anti-nuclear tomorrow Party — formed just three weeks ago —captured just nine seats, according to Nhk. Party head yukiko kada said she was very disappointed to see lDP, the original promoter of Japan’s nuclear energy policy making a big comeback.

Abe, 58, is considered one of the more conservative figures in the in-creasingly conservative lDP.

During his previous tenure as prime minister, he pursued a nation-alistic agenda pressing for more pa-triotic education and upgrading the defense agency to ministry status.

it remains to be seen how he will behave this time around, though he is talking tough toward China, and the lDP platform calls developing fish-

eries and setting up a permanent out-post in the senkaku/Daioyu islands, a move that would infuriate Beijing.

During his time as leader, Abe also insisted there was no proof Japan’s military had coerced Chinese, kore-an, and other women into prostitution in military brothels during Japan’s wartime aggression in Asia. he later apologized, but lately has suggested that a landmark 1993 apology by then-Chief Cabinet secretary for sex slavery needs revising.

he has said he regrets not visit-ing the yasukuni shrine, which en-shrines Japan’s war dead, including top war criminals, during his term as prime minister. China and south ko-rea oppose such visits, saying they re-flect Japan’s reluctance to fully atone for its wartime atrocities.

the lDP wants to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution to strengthen its self-Defense Forces and, breaching a postwar taboo, designate them as a “military.” it also proposes increas-ing Japan’s defense budget and al-lowing Japanese troops to engage in “collective self-defense” operations with allies that are not directly related to Japan’s own defense.

it’s not clear, however, how strong-ly the lDP will push such proposals, which have been kicked around by conservatives for decades, but made no headway in parliament because of limited support among a group of right-wing advocates. lDP could push them harder this time as it and coalition partner now controls two-thirds in the lower house, though they lack control of the other chamber.

AP writers Elaine Kurtenbach, Mari Yamaguchi, and Eric Talmadge contributed to this report.


{BAMBOO cont’d from page 1|

time,” said Atkinson. “it’s such an inno-vative art form.”

HistoryBamboo is a fast-growing grass that

comes in a variety of forms. the species most often used for bamboo basketry and art is madake, noted for its flexibil-ity.

since the 8th century, Japanese bam-boo baskets have been used in Buddhist tea ceremonies to hold materials. Japa-nese baskets began as replications of Chinese baskets. eventually, the Japa-nese came to use their baskets in ike-bana, the art of flower arranging. thus, many works in the Modern twist are vessel-like, with places to hold vases.

For centuries in Japan, young would-be basket-makers apprenticed under masters for six to 10 years before they were even able to touch bamboo.

“once the apprentices learned it, they started from the very, very beginning,” said Atkinson. “Most Japanese masters grew their own bam-

boo, so the apprentice would learn the whole process, from the seed to the stalk, to harvesting, to tearing it. you need perfect stems. then there’s the drying, taking the skin off, and get-ting rid of the separations.”

Currently, a significant number of the more renowned artists have devi-ated from that tradition. Many artists have established careers in different fields before undertaking bamboo work and many don’t study under a master.

what hasn’t changed is that the work continues to be labor-intensive. today, most bamboo work is still done by hand.

Innovation in formUndoubtedly, the artist with the

most unusual and provocative works featured in Modern twist is Nagakura ken’ichi, known for being a recluse.

“Most bamboo artists are involved in groups or are in a master-apprentice relationship,” said Atkinson. “he has

stayed alone, very hermit-like, pretty much for his whole career.

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he was taught by his grandfather and has been on his own ever since.”

Nagakura’s work breaks away from tradition more so than other artists featured. his work is abstract in form and often bears little resemblance to the vessel-like con-struction of traditional basketry.

“Fire” is an impressively large piece made of raw-looking rope — made painstakingly from bamboo — intertwined spontaneously and nearly haphazardly. A stain of red bleeds into the twines of the rope and a sense of danger permeates the piece. it’s difficult to remember that the piece ultimately comes from straight stalks of green bamboo.

Geography and genderModern twist is broken up into three sections: works

from the south, east, and west. while the work in the south and east somewhat blend together and are more ex-perimental, there is a distinct style in the west.

works displayed in the west are more function-orient-ed and look more basket-like. Atkinson said this is due to the strong tradition passed through centuries in that area.

“Most of the artists in the west room come together from the same lineage,” said Atkinson.

Notably, tanioka Aiko, the only female artist in the exhibit, comes from the tradition. her work is displayed alongside the works of her husband, tanioka shigeo, and the creations of husband and wife bear many similarities. it is easy to jump from piece to piece and see the com-mon thread linking them all together.

Aiko is the only female artist shown because bamboo work was not a traditional craft for women. Few bamboo masters ever taught women. As the artistic movement is taking off, however, more female artists are coming onto the scene. But, as the movement is still relatively young, very few women have yet to be recognized for their work.

The Modern Twist exhibit is well-labeled and is informative without the benefit of a guide. However, the BAM does hold daily docent tours that museum-goers can take advantage of. The exhibit will be available for viewing through Feb. 3, 2013.

For more information, visit www.bellevuearts.org.

Stacy Nguyen can be reached at [email protected].

“Fire” by Nagakura Kenichi

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Documents

VOL 31 NO 52 | DECEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 28, 2012