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Washington University in St. Louis Asian American Association
Citation preview
ber 4th! If you are interested
in the candidates’ positions on
Asian American issues, there
are some great resources on the internet. Both candidates
have Asian American coali-
tions (www.asianamericans
forobama.com/ and www.asianamericansformccain.
org/). Obama's coalition has
posted a policy document for
AAPIs that explicitly states his position on several issues es-
pecially concerning to Asian
Americans and Pacific Island-
ers, such as immigration and equal rights. For info on both
candidates' views on Asian
American issues go to
www.asianam.org/. During the Asian American Film Festival,
we will be distributing pledge
forms to vote on Nov.
4th. Fill one out and be en-tered into a drawing for
prizes.
Happy October!
Wow, I can't believe that a
third of the semester is al-
ready over! It's been a great
start to the year. Thanks to all of you who came out to
AAA events this
month. There's a lot more to
look forward to in the month of October. We start off with
the Moon Festival on 10/4,
AAA GBM on 10/8, followed
with Laser Tag on 10/10 and end with the Asian-American
Film Festival 10/29 -10/31. Be
sure to check out one or all of
these events!
The Asian American Film Fes-
tival will be featuring 3 films
that portray the Asian Ameri-can experience. The Asian
American experience is a
unique one and I'm sure no
two people share the same experience. For me it meant
growing up in my grandpar-
ents' Chinese restaurant, par-
ticipating in cultural dancing,
and as my Po Po taught me,
enjoying food. While every-
day events remind me of my
uniqueness-- preferring my
McNuggets in sweet & sour sauce, taking off my shoes
when entering a house, or
thinking twice before exposing
my skin to the sun-- I realize that we're also all the
same. The human experience
is not unique. Certain things
are important to all of us.
I urge everyone to get their
voice out and vote on Novem-
In the week that I was in Bei-
jing this past summer, I had
the privilege of attending six
separate Olympic events that
included basketball, track and
field, boxing, weightlifting,
swimming, and gymnastics.
From the Bird’s Nest to the
Worker’s Gymnasium, each
venue was unique and mag-
nificent in its own right. Yet I
found myself not so much
amazed with the city’s effort
in unparalleled architecture
but more with its personality.
In the two years since I last
stepped foot in Beijing, the
city and its people have made
a complete 180-degree turn-
around. I no longer had to
fear asking for directions nor
did I have to worry about
stepping in something un-
pleasant.
See THOUGHTS pg. 2
Greetings From Your AAA Prez
Sarah Wong
Thoughts on China Charles Qiao
Asian American Association
Newsletter October 2008 Volume 2, Issue 2
AAA Executive Board
2008-2009
President Sarah Wong
External VP Alex Lin
Internal VP Jeff Lin
Treasurer Charles Qiao
Secretary Alice Gu
PR Yena Kwon
PR Marina Cheung
Historian Andrew Shaw
Fresh. Rep Amy Lam
Fresh. Rep Brandon Lee
Fresh. Rep Patrick Ng
Upcoming
Events:
Oct. 4
Moon Festival The Swamp 7pm
Oct. 8
AAA GBM Ursa’s Fireside 8pm Free Thai Tea!
Oct. 10
Laser Tag Outing 6pm
Oct. 29- Oct. 31
Asian American
Film Festival On campus 6:30pm
Free Food!
P A G E 2
YouTube Pick of the Month
Channel: SDAFF2006
Playlist: Reel in the Vote 2008
Chinese Astronauts Return Home Patrick Ng
From THOUGHTS pg. 1
I even witnessed
some of the bluest
skies that I have ever
seen while touring
the Great Wall. In
fact, Beijing made
such a good impres-
sion that one of my
friends who also
made the trip vowed
to return to the
capital upon gradua-
tion.
Beijing used the
Olympic Games as
the unveiling of the
People’s Republic of
China to the world.
Its progress repre-
sents the coming-of-
age of the Chinese
people. As an individ-
ual of Chinese de-
scent, there is noth-
ing that boosts ethnic
self-assurance quite
like going to the 2008
Olympic Games. The
games proved to me
what it has proved
to everyone else.
China is no longer
to be a marginalized
member of the in-
ternational commu-
nity. It wants to be
known and re-
spected. I am truly
honored to be part
of the opening cere-
mony.
The three astronauts will
be quarantined for about a
month, but they will likely
meet great adoration upon
their release.
While China has made
headlines in recent years for its forays into space
exploration, Asian Ameri-cans have long played a
part in NASA manned mis-sions. Ellison Shoji Onizuka
was the first Asian Ameri-can astronaut in 1978;
sadly he perished in the Challenger explosion in
1986. Another Japanese-American astronaut,
Daniel Tani, performed the
100th spacewalk on the International Space Station
in 2007. Other Asian American astronauts in-
clude Eugene Trinh, first Vietnamese-American in
space, Leroy Chiao, Ed Lu, Taylor Wang, first Chinese
-American in space, Kal-
pana Chawla, and Sunita
Williams.
The distinction of the first
Southeast Asian to fly to
space, however, belongs to
Phạm Tuân, a Vietnamese
cosmonaut, who per-
formed plant experiments
in space from July 23 to
July 31 in 1980 for the
Soviet Union.
The nation of China is ec-
static as three Chinese
astronauts, Zhai Zhigang,
Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng returned to earth.
On Saturday, September
27th, Zhai performed the first ever spacewalk by a
Chinese astronaut. The walk lasted twenty minutes
in which Zhai waved a Chi-nese flag and collected
debris from the area sur-rounding the Chinese
spacecraft, Shenzhou VII.
He performed the space-
walk in an approximately $4.4 million space suit,
manufactured by the Chi-
nese company Feitian. Fit-tingly, the elements to the
suit manufacturer's name, "fei" and "tian", can be in-
terpreted as fly and sky, respectively. Prior to the
mission of the Shenzhou VII, China had also per-
formed manned space-
flights in 2003 and 2005.
A S I A N A M E R I C A N A S S O C I A T I O N
Zhai Zhigang
Join the
“Asian American
Association”
Facebook Group!
Become a AAA
Member Today!
Contact
Movie Review: Shanghai Kiss Jeff Lin
P A G E 3 Volume 2, Issue 2
I really hadn’t ever seen a movie that
dealt with Asian Americans very well
until one random afternoon when I
was wikipedia-ing Hayden Panettiere.
Yes, creepy, I know, but I found a di-
rect-to-DVD movie she did called
Shanghai Kiss. Intrigued, I found some
site that hosted it online and began to
watch.
Shanghai Kiss starts out like it's going to
be a romantic comedy, but it’s not long
before it changes into something more
interesting. The film is about connect-
ing with people, culture, and one's own
identity. Before the lead character can
love another, he must understand him-
self.
That person is Liam Liu (Ken Leung), a
would-be Asian actor who spends his days in Los Angeles auditioning for
roles and frustrated by the fact that
producers only see him suited for kung
-fu roles. He is an Ivy League dropout,
doesn’t speak a word of Chinese, and
estranged from his alcoholic father
(James Hong), but dependent upon the
allowance checks that arrive monthly.
His best friend is Adelaide (Hayden
Panettiere), a pretty and perky teen-
ager he meets one day on a bus. She's
convinced they are a couple, but hesi-
tant. The twelve-year age difference
scares him, but it’s obvious that being
emotionally intimate with another per-
son is his true fear.
His life changes when he unexpectedly
inherits a house in Shanghai from his
grandmother. Desperate for cash, he
goes to China to sell the house but
when the deal falls through, he finds
himself with an empty house and no
money. That's when Liam meets and
falls for Micki (Kelly Hu), a beautiful,
sophisticated Chinese woman whose
impact upon him is so profound that he
leaves everything in America (including
a heartbroken Adelaide) behind and
moves to Shanghai, intending to recon-
nect with his Chinese roots. But he
soon finds that the true nature of his
identity is not so easily uncovered. In
the United States, his Asian appearance
is his essential characteristic. In China,
his American attitude defines him. To
find himself, he must make peace with both aspects of who he is.
Shanghai Kiss is obviously a personal
story for whoever made it and feels
incredibly familiar to any American-
born Asian. The conflict with identity,
the conflict with parents, the struggle
to connect both cultures, etc. are all
explored here in intimate detail. I re-
lated to this movie more than any
other I've seen in recent memory. Ken
Leung, recognizable from small parts in
Rush Hour and X-Men 3, steals the
show here and really proves that Asian
actors can do more than fight. His
character is not the most noble and
likeable of people but Leung is careful enough never to completely alienate
the audience. His transformation is
satisfying, if handled a little quickly.
Hayden Panettiere and Kelly Hu are
well cast for their roles as the two
biggest influences in Liam’s life. Both
bring enough energy to believe that
Liam could love—or learn to love—
either one.
All in all, it’s great to see such a small
independent movie have such profound
impact. The rest of the world might
never see it, but you should, especially
if you are Asian- American.
(Vida Ghahremani), who fled the
Iranian Revolution. Neither Mr. Shi
nor Madam speak English well, but by
gesturing and talking in their own
tongues, Mr. Shi and Madam start a
rare friendship, in which they find
momentary haven from the world of
lies they have to weave to keep
themselves hopeful. Directed by
Wayne Wang (Chinese Box, The Joy
Luck Club), based on the short story
by screenwriter Yiyun Li.
Synopsis: Mr. Shi (Henry O) is a wid-
ower and a retired man from Beijing.
When his only daughter Yilan (Faye Yu)
gets divorced, he decides to visit her in
Spokane, Washington where she works
as a librarian. His intention is to stay
with her until he helps her recover from
the trauma. But Yilan is not interested
in his plan to rescue her marriage and
reconstruct her life. Disappointed but
not discouraged, Mr. Shi explores the
town and meets an old woman, Madam
Limited Engagement at the Tivoli Oct. 3-Oct. 9
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
“I really hadn’t
ever seen a movie
that dealt with
Asian Americans
very well until one
random afternoon
when I was
wikipedia-ing
Hayden
Panettiere. “
AAA in September!
Angry Little Girls By Lela Lee
Big Bang- I Survived a Japanese
Game Show
AAA Exec. Board at The Banquet Emperor’s Palace
Membership Dormstorming
Big Bang- I Survived a Japanese
Game Show
Emperor’s Palace First GBM
First GBM AAA/KSA Basketball Tourney
AAA/KSA Basketball Tourney
AAA Newsletter Edited By Sarah Wong