January 20, 2016 International Examiner

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER January 20, 2016 – February 2, 2016 — 1

FREE EST. 1974—SEATTLE VOLUME 43, NUMBER 1—January 20, 2016 – February 2, 2016

THE NEWSPAPER OF THE NORTHWEST ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITIES. FIND YOUR INSPIRASIAN.

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGEPAIDSEATTLE, WAPermit No. 2393

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Year of the MonkeyThe IE’s 2016 Northwest Guide to Lunar New Year

Cover art by: Raychelle Duazo

2 — January 20, 2016 – February 2, 2016 INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IESTAFF

Established in 1974, the International Examiner is the only non-profit pan-Asian American media organization in the country. Named after the International District in Seattle, the “IE” strives to create awareness within and for our APA communities. 409 Maynard Ave. S. #203, Seattle, WA 98104. (206) 624-3925. [email protected].

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IE OPINION

By Nicholas NolinIE Columnist

The well-being of a neighborhood, and in-turn, a city, depends on a number of key factors. While issues such as access to public transportation, the availability of top-ranked schools, and the propinquity of leisure sites usually attract the attention of current and prospective residents, an impor-tant consideration is often left overlooked: zoning laws. The ability for zoning laws to affect the vibrancy and makeup of a com-munity cannot be understated as they serve as the framework for how local land is to be utilized, what type of properties can exist in a particular area, setting the desired level of density and the extent to which development may occur. Therefore, zoning laws are able to influence the lives of individual residents as well as the community as a whole due to their association with the distribution of social services and utilities, crime rates, and income inequality.

Due to their overall importance in guid-ing the growth of a city, it should come as no surprise that reforming zoning laws is an integral part of the Mayor and City Coun-cil’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA). The current agenda seeks to address the suggestions developed by the Housing Affordability and Livability Advi-sory Committee. The committee consisted of 28 members ranging from “renters and homeowners, for-profit and non-profit de-velopers and other local housing experts” and was co-chaired by Faith Li Pettis of Pa-cifica Law Group and philanthropic-sector leader David Wertheimer. Among the 65 recommendations put forward by the com-mittee were suggestions to build more af-fordable housing units, increase the amount of land dedicated to multifamily housing, and allow for more diversity in the type of properties that may be constructed in single family zones.

Currently, nearly 110,000 people in Se-attle are considered “rent burdened” as they spend more than 30% of their total income on housing. People of color are dispropor-tionately represented in this category, ac-cording to Sharon Lee, the executive direc-tor of the Low Income Housing Institute.

Lee said that 55% of Asian renters have incomes less than 50% of the area median income (AMI). Lee worries about an “ex-panding economy that is leaving homeless people, seniors, people of color and mini-mum wage workers behind.”

To meet the demand being placed on the housing market, HALA has set a goal of creating or preserving 50,000 housing units over the next decade with 20,000 units being reserved for affordable housing. The financ-ing of affordable housing units—in addition to funds from the state and national govern-ment—will be supported by a two-pronged strategy, which has come to be known as the “grand bargain.” This arrangement re-lies upon a commercial linkage fee that requires developers to pay between $5 to $17 per gross square foot on all new com-mercial developments into a fund for new af-fordable housing units as well as mandating that new multifamily developments allot five to eight percent of their total housing units for those making 60 percent of the AMI ($37,680 for an in-dividual and $53,760 for a family of four).

While the plan for financing HALA is rather straight-forward, a wide array of op-tions are presented to quell the strain that is being placed on Seattle’s housing market. Two of the possibilities to increase the num-ber of housing units that deserve special consideration are the transformation of ar-eas from single family zoning to multifam-ily zoning, also known as upzoning, and the ability to add new types of properties to single family zones. Through these two developments alone, a significant number of new housing units may come into existence.

According to Maiko Winkler-Chin, the executive director of the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and De-velopment Authority, although issues may arise in relation to how they are permitted, financed, and built, the ability to develop new properties such as cottages and duplex-es in single family zones could, by some es-timates, add several thousand housing units to the Seattle area.

While the targets of 50,000 new units and 20,000 pegged for affordable housing have been considered a challenging task to achieve, even by the Mayor and members of HALA, they are by no means unattain-able. Considering that Seattle was able to add nearly 40,000 housing units from 2000 to 2010 (despite a nearly unparalleled reces-sion taking place in 2008) and created ap-proximately 400 new affordable housing units last year, the two goals set by HALA appear to be within the realm of possibility. Even if the final tally falls marginally below the stated goal, the political will exhibited to facilitate a deal that will meaningfully contribute to a growing municipal concern, despite depending on a diverse set of stake-

holders, should be ap-plauded.

It is important to note that since not all of Seattle’s neighbor-hoods are equally situated in regards to their current allot-ment of affordable

housing or state of population density, the changes proposed in HALA will not uni-formly affect all of the neighborhoods throughout the city. The ambitious nature of HALA will undoubtedly be more evident in some neighborhoods than others. While nearly two-thirds of Seattle’s land is zoned for single family homes, 94% of that land will not be upzoned. The 6% of land that will undergo zoning reform will be within or in the vicinity of designated urban vil-lages near public transportation sites or ex-isting multiple family zones.

Lance Matteson, the executive director of Southeast Effective Development Seattle, contends that although the urban villages and urban centers approach is fundamen-tally sound, “the scale of the [housing] need will also require more productive use of areas zoned [for] single family residential” usage. While this development will likely only have a modest impact due to the rela-tively low percentage of land being affected, it nevertheless allows for greater density and more affordable housing units in desirable areas of the city that have been shaped by a past of exclusion and restriction.

The creation of new affordable housing units through the construction of new prop-erties in single family lots such as duplexes and upzoning selected sections of the city will contribute to reaching the 20,000 unit goal. However, the majority of these units will be generated through preserving and restoring existing housing units. This strat-egy for growth would likely be applied to neighborhoods such as Chinatown Interna-tional District. Over the next decade, struc-tural improvements will be made to build-ings throughout the neighborhood.

“For those historic buildings that are under-utilized—for example, vacant upper floors—this push for housing development could help,” Winkler-Chin said.

Despite the fact that CID has one of the highest concentrations of poverty, limited English speakers, and elderly, Winkler-Chin said she believes that this initiative can produce benefits for the neighborhood. Due to the community’s proximity to down-town and major public transportation hubs, she explains, the creation of new affordable housing units through the preservation of ageing buildings will allow the CID to ex-pand its population and economic base in a manner that shouldn’t compromise the wel-fare of current residents or local businesses.

While neighborhoods such as the CID will primarily be affected by having its ex-isting buildings undergo a process of resto-ration, other areas will have a more drastic change due to the construction of entirely new structures. The Rainier Valley is one such area. By as early as late 2016, construc-tion on the fourth phase of Rainier Court may take place. This new addition would provide “93 units of affordable senior hous-ing and almost 6,000 square feet of com-mercial space.” According to Matteson, the development of the commercial space will be modeled after other SEED projects that were sold to “local immigrant owned busi-nesses at risk of displacement.”

As Seattle enters into an era of acceler-ated growth for both its population and its average monthly rent, ensuring the strength and vitality of neighborhoods by preventing current residents from being displaced war-rants considerable attention.

‘The changes proposed in HALA will not uniformly affect all of the neighborhoods throughout the city.’

HALA strategy in the ID to make use of historic buildings


IE OPINION

President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order on January 5th 2016 for stricter gun control. Simultaneously our Governor Jay Inslee also declared his executive order regarding gun control, too.

The reason is so simple: So many people lost their lives to gun shootings— in schools, theaters, shopping malls, on the street. Enough is enough. We need much stricter gun control. The President’s executive order is merely aimed at tightening up the loop-hole in existing laws on gun control. Yet many Republican senators bow down to the powerful National Riffle Association, reject any proposal for tightening gun control laws for many years, and just for the benefits of the gun business.

Years ago when our government restricted public smoking, the voice of opposition was not that strong as now with the guns. I just wonder: which is more dangerous to human beings, smoking leading to lung cancer slowly, or being shot by a gun or pistol and die instantly.

We need to support the administrative actions by both the President and our Governor. Let us stand up and say loudly, yes, to tougher gun control.

T. W.Renton, WA

Letter to the Editor

We need to support Obama, Inslee on gun control actions

A Filipina American Actress—Eloisa CardonaBy Velma Veloria

IE Columnist

For the past several years now, there have been a growing number of Filipino Ameri-can artists who are actors, actresses, direc-tors, playwrights, and professionals who have been major contributors in the Greater Seattle theatre community. Among them is Eloisa Cardona.

Eloisa was influenced at a very young age by the live performances of the world-renowned Bayanihan Dance Troupe, the premier National Dance Company of the Philippines, during the 1964 World’s Fair held here in Seattle.

In the 1960s, the Bayanihan was under the leadership of National Artist Lucrecia Urtula. Urtula went to Mindanao, to the Cordilleras, and almost every Island in the Philippines to look for katutubo ethnic Fili-pinos to dance their own ancestral ethnic or tribal dances. She captured their move-ments and translated them onto the stage for Bayanihan dancers to revive, interpret, and preserve.

Eloisa’s experience with the Bayanihan encouraged her to receive instructions on Filipino Folk Dance from two icons of the Filipino Community: Dorothy Cordova and Dolly Castillo. Since those formative expe-riences in the performing arts, she also sang in her Cleveland High School Choir and Vocal Ensemble, participating in their year-ly spring musicals. But acting always held her fascination. After graduating from high school, Eloisa went to Seattle Central Com-munity College where, among other things, she took an introduction to theatre class. From then on, she knew she didn’t want to be a business major. After transferring to the University of Washington she became serious in pursuing an acting career. She re-ceived her Bachelor of Arts in Drama.

As she shares her passion for acting, she explains to me what she and other Filipino American artists would like to see happen with their own careers. According to El-oisa, regardless of ethnic background, their

audience is not just Filipino Americans or Asian Americans, but the general society as a whole. They want the theatre to be reflec-tive of current populations. Gone should be the days of “traditional,” all-white casting in known classics, i.e. Shakespeare, or even contem-porary plays where certain roles are not eth-nically specific, or being cast only for Asian roles. But in a theatre scene where the voices of other ethnic groups are now being added, such as Latino, Vietnamese, Indian, and Middle Eastern to name a few, the Filipino pres-ence, voice or point of view have been miss-ing quite substantially. Eloisa wants to help bring stories of being Filipinos in America out into the theatrical consciousness. “There are so many stories and histories that need to told!”

But as all these other Fil-Am actors struggle for their place in the sun, they are also met with their own personal challeng-es. For Eloisa, her role as a mother places demands that must constantly be balanced with her professional life. Being involved with a theatre project requires a singular focus and time commitment, but so does the all-consuming and loving investment of raising and being “there” for her family. She is forever grateful for her late parents’ help and support with this in their tradi-tional Filipino manner, although they did not always agree or understand, especially at the beginning when she declared her major. Professional sacrifices are made.

Eloisa has had many different acting roles in her long, notable career. She began even while still in college by being cast in a touring play with Seattle Repertory The-ater, directed by Daniel Sullivan, then in-coming Artistic Director. Sullivan is now a prominent director in the New York the-atre community. She also played, Ofelia,

a Latina role in Anna in the Tropics. This play focuses on the effects of mechaniza-tion, the Great Depression, and the advent of cigarettes on the cigar industry in Ybor City. In the play, Ybor City is the cigar capital of the world. It was also about the arrival of an important “Lector” from Ha-vanna who would read books and literature to the cigar rollers while they work; books such as Anna Karenina. Eloisa was also in The Tempest, a William Shakespeare play set on a remote island, where the sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan plots to restore himself and his daughter, Miranda, to their rightful place using illusion and skillful manipulation. Eloisa played the role of Miranda.

Starting January 8, she will be Mar-ian Boyle, mother to Rita Boyle, in ReAct Theatre’s production of Prelude to a Kiss at West Of Lenin Performing Arts The-atre in Fremont. This will be her third time performing this role, and the only cast member to be the sole actress in the same role in all three productions. Prelude To A Kiss tells the story from the point of view of protagonist Peter Hoskins about meeting Rita, falling in love and getting married despite Rita’s pessimistic outlook on life. On their wedding day, something supernatural happens that helps Rita and her husband Peter learn what it means to risk loving another person courageously no matter what. At a poignant moment in the play, Marion Boyle delivers timely words of wisdom on love and marriage.

The Facebook event page is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1691156571160462/. Also visit Re-Act’s website: www.reacttheatre.org. For tickets, visit reactprelude.brownpapertick-ets.com.

Let us begin patronizing the theatre arts and discover that there are those in our community who are accomplished thes-pians, capable of award-winning perfor-mances.

I hope to see you all there.

Cardona


IE NEWS

IE News Services

Homicide detectives are seeking tips from the community regarding the murder of a clerk at Union Station Market on the corner of 5th Avenue and S Jackson Street in Se-attle’s International District Sunday, January 10.

The victim was identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office as Wil-liam H. Cross, The Seattle Times reported.

The Seattle Police Department said a wit-ness called 911 to report a stabbing at the market at 5:00 p.m. on January 10. Officers arrived and found a white male, in his 50s, unresponsive and immediately rendered aid, according to an SPD statement. Seattle Fire medics transported the victim to Har-borview Medical Center where he later died from his injuries.

Detectives are also investigating a distur-bance that occurred inside the store between the suspect and the victim clerk. SPD said there had been a separate disturbance at this same location the previous day.

Homicide de-tectives have re-covered surveil-lance video from inside the market. In one portion of the video, the sus-pect briefly walks into and out of frame just mo-ments after the attack.

KOMO News reported that cus-tomers inside the store said “a man was get-ting into a confrontation with the Union Sta-tion Market clerk and it escalated and then the man stabbed the clerk and ran away.”

City officials said they are working with the Chinatown/International District Public Safety Task Force in response to this and other complaints of crime in the area.

To provide any information on this case to homicide detectives, call the Seattle Police Tips line at (206) 733-5000.

Homicide detectives seek tips in Union Station Market stabbing

Union Station Market was open for business Monday, January 11, a day after the murder of a clerk. • Photo by Travis Quezon

The suspect in the January 10 murder was caught briefly on grainy surveillance footage.

Panama Hotel up for saleIE News Services

Potential buyers continue to tour the historic Panama Hotel, which is currently up for sale.

Property owner Jan Johnson told KPLU that she wants to ensure the hotel is preserved as a reminder of the city’s once bustling Japantown and the sad history of Japanese-American incarceration during World War II.

The hotel dates back to the early 1900s. Seattle’s first Japanese American architect Sabro Ozasa, a graduate of the University of Washington, designed it. The Panama Hotel was constructed in 1910 and the design, structure and materials continue to remain intact today.

The rooms evoke what pre-World War II life was like for Japanese Americans. The basement, which was used as storage, still contains suitcases and belongings from the past. It’s also home to the country’s only remaining and in tact Sento—or Japanese Bathhouse—which was used as relaxation and a cultural activity by generations of Japanese Americans. Signage of advertisements within the basement is preserved and can still be seen today.

Prior to World War II, the Japanese-American community in Seattle resided in an area 15 blocks north of

Jackson Street, known as Nihonmachi (or Japantown), according to SCIDpda.

“[The influence of Japantown] can be seen all the way back to the late 1800s, when Dearborn Street was named Mikado Street and Japanese-owned-and-operated businesses flourished in the area,” states the SCIDpda website on Japantown. “For half a century, Japantown thrived with bathhouses, dry goods stores, tailors and barber shops. This all changed, following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, when Executive Order 9066 forced residents of Japanese descent to leave their homes, businesses and communities and enter ramshackle [incarceration] camps.”

Last April, The National Trust for Historic Preservation added the Panama Hotel to its list of 19 National Treasures named in the Western region of the United States.

Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim declared April 9 is known as Panama Hotel day. • Photo by Joe Mabel

Petition to AG: Stop prosecution of innocent Chinese Americans

IE News Services

A number of organizations, scientists, engineers, professors, and members of the Asian Pacific Islander Community have condemned an apparent pattern of targeting Chinese-Americans by federal officials.

In November, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch concerning targeting of Chinese American scientists for alleged spying and espionage. The Commission’s letter expressed concern that the government may be failing to exercise sufficient due diligence when targeting Chinese Americans. The letter also requested that the Department of Justice increase training and oversight in ongoing and future investigations and prosecutions.

And recently, a petition to the Attorney General was created on Change.org by concerned scientists, engineers, and professors asking Lynch to conduct an independent investigation into several cases. As of this publication, the petition had 5,485 supporters and a goal of 7,500.

The petition reads: “While we support the government’s effort to investigate

and prosecute the stealing of government and corporate secrets, we are appalled by the apparent pattern of singling out Chinese-Americans, without adequate investigations, by federal law enforcement and prosecutors on the basis of ethnicity in violation of their equal protection rights. Following are two recent examples.

“Five months after the arrest of Sherry Chen of National Weather Service, the case was dismissed on the eve of her trial without explanation. Similarly, Dr. Xiaoxing Xi, Chair of the Physics Dept. at Temple University, was dragged from home with guns pointed at his wife and children. His case was also dismissed by the court. The government’s evidence was not even related to the technology it claimed to be. Chen and Dr. Xi’s reputation and careers have been damaged irreparably and their families have suffered mentally and financially.

“We request the DOJ to conduct an independent investigation into the cases of Sherry Chen, Dr. Xi, and other similar cases regarding whether race, ethnicity, or national origin played an illegal role.”

To view or sign the petition, visit www.change.org/p/stop-prosecuting-the-innocent.


IE COMMUNITY

DONATE to NAFCON’S

Typhoon Relief Program

For info on how to donate,

visit nafconusa.org.

Announcements

IE News Services

The community is invited to a King County APIC briefing on Thursday, January 21 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS), 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South in Seattle.

The community briefing will discuss some of the strategies and civic engagement events planned for the year. One of the focal points of the evening will be the legislative agenda for the upcoming Asian Pacific American Legislative Day on January 26 in Olympia.

APIC said in a statement: “Although we will not be bringing thousands this year [to APA Legislative Day], we will ask everyone to call and leave a message on the Legislative Hotline or contact the Governor and their legislators directly to support the legislative agenda. However, with your help and our community’s statewide leadership, we will bring thousands to a statewide civic engagement event on September 15 at the Tacoma Dome! We are planning for other activities as well.”

There will be light refreshments from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and a program from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Contact Monica Ng at [email protected] for any questions or requests for interpretation services.

King County APIC community briefing Thursday

Ethnic Chamber of Commerce

Coalition meetingThe Ethnic Chamber of Commerce

Coalition is holding its first “Call to Action” reception for the community to meet other ethnic chamber members, representatives from our elected officials, Boeing Company, Port of Seattle, and other concern business organizations.

Participating coalition members are: The Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Korean American Chamber of Commerce, King County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Greater Seattle Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, Filipino Chamber of Commerce/PNW, The Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce of Seattle.

The Call to Action happens Wednesday, January 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Seattle City Hall, Bertha Knight Landes Room, 601 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104. Keynote speaker is Huong Vu of

Boeing Washington and John Creighton, Port of Seattle Commission president. Ethnic food and drinks provided. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/call-to-action-tickets-20646796123. For more information, contact Martha Lee at [email protected].

Education Roundtable on

Student DisciplineThe Washington State Commissions on

African American Affairs, Asian Pacific American Affairs, and Hispanic Affairs, along with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will be holding an Education Roundtable on January 30 at El Centro de la Raza in Seattle.

Parents, youth, educators and community members will have the opportunity to share and address their concerns regarding the impacts of student discipline on communities of color with representatives from the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of the Education Ombuds and other government agencies and community organizations.

The Education Roundtable on Student Discipline happens January 30 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144. Light refreshments provided. For more information, visit the CAPAA website at www.capaa.wa.gov.

Rap Game 101 at Filipino

Community Center“Rap Game 101: How to Build Your

Own Empire” is a series of classes being held at the Filipino Community Center, 5740 MLK Jr. Way S, Seattle WA 98118, from January 29 to March 29. The two-hour classes are twice per week for ages 13 to 17.

Step into the world of music and video production with digital recording, editing, and mixing techniques. Discover culturally responsive production methods for Hip Hop and R&B music creation. Develop skills in addressing social issues through public speaking and performing arts. Learn how to organize our community and become a socially-conscious entrepreneur in promoting your music and art.

Space is limited. To register, call the Filipino Community Center at (206) 722-9372 or email Third Andresen at [email protected].

Asian American Struggle for

Racial Equality video showing on

January 27The Asian American Struggle for

Racial Equality is a video that chronicles the struggle of Asian Pacific Americans in Washington for equal rights in Washington State from the early 1800s to present.

Community activist Doug Chin coordinated the creation of the film through a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant through the City of Seattle. Chin said he hopes the film will one day be used in schools to help educate students on the long history of discrimination and struggles by the API community.

There will be a free showing of the video on Wednesday, January 27 at noon at Hing Hay Coworks (409B Maynard Ave. So.).

Families of Color dialogue on reproductive justice Friday

Families of Color is hosting the fourth in a series of five monthly community workshops on race and family titled, “Anti-Racist Birthing & Reproductive Justice.” The dialogue happens Friday, January 22, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (potluck) at Giddens School, 620 20th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144.

Speak with birthing professionals of color, ask questions regarding birthing options, fertility and meeting doulas & midwives of color. Also inclusive of sharing stories and truths of birthing inequities in low income and immigrant communities of color, even in Rainier Valley and South King County.

Families of Color said in a statement: “We hope to provide healing spaces for infant loss, miscarriages and challenging birth experiences for families of color in racist and disparate health care systems.

Panelists include Tara Mudaliar, MS; Penny Simkin, PT; Emi Yamasaki Mclaughlin, LM, CPM, MSM; Camie Jae Goldhammer, MSW, LICSW, IBCLC; Grace Uomoto, RN, BSN, CFAE; and Marquita Straus, SM, LD, PPD, LAC, CBE.

RSVP required. Register at https://goo.gl/kuHT9h.


IE ARTS

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR from Washington’s public charter school students!JOIN US in 2016 to SAVE OUR SCHOOLS and keep them public and open to all!

LEARN MORE: wacharters.org

By Leonard RifasIE Contributor

John A. Lent’s Asian Comics, the first book-length overview of cartooning in Asia, appears indispensable for those who al-ready study Asian comics. It also provides a clear introduction to the subject for others who might take a scholarly interest in these publications. Lent surveys comic books and comics mag-azines, graphic novels, newspaper comic strips, magazine gag panels, and more, in sixteen Asian nations.

Thanks in part to Lent’s work as the editor/publisher of The International Journal of Comic Art, which he founded in 1999, a wide network of scholars specifically devoted to the study of comics has popped into existence, but so far comics scholars have focused primarily on comics of the United States, Europe and Japan. With this book, Lent fills in some of the territory that has been missing on the comics scholars’ map of the world. Leaving aside the frequently told story of Japanese manga, he includes instead entire chapters on cartooning in China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan in East Asia; Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia; and Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in South Asia. Each chapter is thickly footnoted and comes with its own lengthy list of Works Cited.

Asian Comics is based on about 400 interviews with Asian comics editors, cartoonists, publishers, comics rental store op-erators, critics, scholars, officials, and others that the author conducted during about 60 of his self-financed trips to Asia

between 1986 and 2012. He visited publishing houses, studios, comics libraries, academic libraries and museums, and exam-ined rare primary documents including sketchbooks, scrap-books, personal collections and archives. He examines national histories of comics as stories of an evolving art, but especially as stories of an unstable industry.

Fortunately, Lent proves to be not only a su-premely knowledgeable guide to Asian com-ics, but also a smooth and organized writer, for those readers willing to slow … way … down … to absorb this densely packed text. Asian Comics supplies a catalog of important names, places, dates, titles, and press runs that is available no place else. His explanations of the ups and downs of each nation’s comics in-dustry bring in factors including technology, politics, business, foreign influences and oth-ers.

The author concludes each chapter with a frank, informed, and sometimes downbeat summary of the current situation of comics in that nation. Recurring challenges include declining readership, competition from television and digital media, and competition from cheap imported comics (often in pirated editions.) In some times and places, govern-ment support has boosted comics as an important cultural in-dustry, but in some times and places censorship of cartoons and harassment of cartoonists have also been issues. The book’s in-

formation about the struggles of Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar (who has been in the news recently because he is facing 43 years of prison if found guilty on nine counts of sedition) is footnoted to a 1993 interview with the author and the Lent’s

correspondence with Zunar from 2009 to 2014.)

Asian Comics’ introductory survey chap-ter, “A Lead-Up to Asian Comics: Early Asian Visual Humor and Narrative” covers thousands of years of history. This chap-ter’s overview of “caricature, satire/parody, humor/playfulness, and [graphic] narrative/sequence” cites 124 sources. Lent names the most important humor artists, and describes their influences, themes, working conditions, and formats. In several examples, he shows how to decode concealed meanings that the artists were unable (for political reasons) to safely express directly.

In 1877, James Parton had said of Chinese caricatures that because of Chinese people’s “crude and primi-tive taste in such things, their efforts are seldom interesting to any but themselves.” Clearly, the people who would be most interested in reading the cartoons and comics mentioned and illustrated in this book would be those who understand the pertinent language and the conditions which these comics re-sponded to. Although cartooning has made a lot of progress since 1877, the crudeness and primitiveness of many cartoon drawings continues to be part of their vitality and appeal, wher-ever comics are sold. Nevertheless, in many countries Asia Lent observes that some highly skilled cartoonists have made their marks. (He mentions such personal favorites of mine as Zhang Leping, Lat, Tsai Chih-chung, Nestor Redondo and Winnie Hettigoda.) Lent reports that Asian cartoonists have been strug-gling to maintain or raise their professional standards and their professional standing.

The book remains alert to the situations of Asian women car-toonists. These include Lee Wai-chun of Hong Kong, whose character Miss 13-Dot stood for feminine equality. Miss 13-Dot wore 1,728 different articles of clothing in the first 28 is-sues of her comic book, and inspired some of her readers to show copies of the comic to their tailors to explain what they wanted. Women cartoonists in Nepal told the author that “A woman has to get married in our society and she has to make a crucial decision. It’s either your work or your family. It’s up to you to decide which.”

Lent’s involvement with Asian Comics has been so long-standing and wide-ranging, that it seems that any scholarly reviewer knowledgeable about some aspect of this story must already in some way or another be in his debt. At least I am. Lent’s chapter on Sri Lankan comics repeatedly cites a piece I wrote that originally appeared in an anthology he edited, Popu-lar Art in Asia. (He also cites my work on Malaysian comics.) Appropriately, most of the scholars and experts that Lent cites are from the nations that he discusses.

The book includes 178 illustrations, printed in black and white, pretty evenly divided among the chapters. These include many examples of the comics (sometimes to illustrate unusual formats or genres), and also photographs of cartoonists and a few photos showing how comics are displayed for sale.

The natural home for this volume would be in a university or college library’s reference collection. It would be a happy acquisition.

Lent’s Asian Comics a supremely knowledgeable guide


We are organizing for better jobs and better lives for you and your families. www.unitehere8.org

UNITE HERE Local 8祝大家農曆新年快樂，八號工會是代表酒店業員工的工會。我們組織員工，以帶來更好的工作，和為你和你的家庭帶來更好的生活。

Happy Lunar New Year from UNITE HERE Local 8, the labor union of hospitality workers.

We would like to thank our wonderful customers for dining at Tai Tung and Four Seas.

We look forward to serving you in theNew Year!

Tai Tung RestaurantBanquet Facilities * Catering * Delivery655 South King Street Seattle, WA 98104206-622-7372 * 206-622-7714taitungrestaurant.com

Four Seas Restaurant& Foreign Affairs Catering714 South King Street Seattle, WA 98104206-682-4900 fourseasrestaurant.com

Happy Lunar New Year to all our friends and Neighbors!

Happy Lunar New Year!Legacy House Assisted Living

and Adult Day Service Center

We provide the best services to seniors

206-292-5184 www.legacyhouse.org


IE COMMUNITY

Year of the MonkeyThe IE’s 2016 Northwest Guide to Lunar New Year

OCA—ADVOCATE2016 Golden Circle Awards & Lunar New Year CelebrationSaturday, January 305:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.Joy Palace Restaurant6030 MLK Jr. Way SSeattle, WA 98118

This year’s Golden Circle Award honorees include Rod Kawakami, Sharon Maeda, Betty Patu, Fred Yee, and SEA3eD. OCA members: $30. Non-members: $60. Students (24 years and younger): $25. Seniors (62 years and older): $25. RSVP at bit.ly/1BysMZz.

* * *

UWAJIMAYAThe following three events happen at

various Uwajimaya locations in Seattle, Renton, Bellevue, and Beaverton.

Lunar New Year Sale & Red Envelope GiveawayJanuary 27 to February 9, 2016

Presenting family and friends with red envelopes containing lucky money is a tradition of Lunar New Year. In honor of Lunar New Year, Uwajimaya will be handing out lucky red envelopes to customers who spend $30 or more (limit one per person, per day and while supplies last) during its Lunar New Year Sale. Open your lucky red envelope to reveal your special prize.

Lion DanceJanuary 31 and February 7, 2016

The Lion Dance is a Lunar New Year celebration to bring good luck and happiness in the coming year. Enjoy Lion Dance performances at multiple Uwajimaya locations.Sunday, January 31st• Seattle Store: 1:00 p.m.• Renton Store: 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 7th• Bellevue Store: 1:30 p.m.

Chinese CalligraphyFebruary 6, 7, 13, and 14, 201610:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In preparation for Lunar New Year, it is tradition for many families to thoroughly clean their house and sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck in the new year. Chinese calligraphy featuring the characters for “good fortune,” “happiness,” “wealth,” and “longevity” are often hung on windows and doors, also inviting good things in for the new year.

See skilled calligrapher Yenbo Huang, demonstrate the art of Chinese calligraphy and pick up your good luck character for the coming year. Prices vary. Huang will be at the Seattle Uwajimaya February 6, 7, 13, and 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

* * *

SEATTLE PARKS & RECREATIONLunar New Year Celebration

Friday, January 29, 201611:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.Garfield Community Center 2323 E Cherry St, Seattle, WA 98122$12

Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Lifelong Recreation program is hosting a Lunar New Year event in partnership with the Vietnamese Senior Association (VSA). The celebration will include cultural demonstrations like the traditional Lion Dance, Vietnamese food, and raffle prizes For more information, visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/seniors.

* * *

SEATTLE SYMPHONYCelebrate AsiaSunday, January 31, 20164:00 p.m.Benaroya Hall200 University St, Seattle, WA 98101

The Seattle Symphony’s annual Celebrate Asia concert is a rare opportunity to revel in the rich musical traditions of Seattle’s Asian communities. This year’s concert features Xiaogang Ye’s Starry Sky for Piano and Orchestra which premiered at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Plus, community choruses perform popular Asian folk songs including “Jasmine Flower” and “Arirang.”

For tickets, call (206) 215-4747 or visit seattlesymphony.org.

* * *

WING LUKE MUSEUMLunar New Year Fair Saturday, February 6, 2016 at 11:30 a.m.Wing Luke Museum719 South King Street, Seattle, WA 98104FREE for children/students with ID and for Members.

Grab a passport for a New Year journey through The Wing. Play games, create crafts, watch The Monkey King, and share New Year stories. “Pet” a New Year animal in The Wing’s stuffed zodiac animal zoo and enjoy face painting, a scavenger hunt, and raffle prizes.

Story TimeThursday, February 4 at 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Can Max, the son of the legendary Monkey King, forge his own claim to fame in Oliver Chin’s Year of the Monkey? Art activity to follow. Free at The Wing.

Lion DanceSaturday, February 6 at 11:00 a.m.

It’s not Lunar New Year without the traditional Lion Dance, and The Wing is the place to see it. Complete with

drums, firecrackers, and dancers, this will be a show for the whole family. Free performance at The Wing.

* * *

SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUMFree First Saturday: Lunar New YearSaturday, February 6, 201611:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Asian Art Museum, Fuller Garden Court1400 E Prospect St, Seattle, WA 98112

Celebrate the arts and cultures of Asia on the first Saturday of most months and enjoy the best kids movies at Kids Flicks.

This month celebrate the Lunar New Year with drop-in art activities that highlight the Year of the Monkey. Enjoy live martial arts performances by Mak Fai, music, dress-up, and family friendly sketching tours throughout the galleries.

Kids Flick: Monkey Trouble (Franco Amurri, 1994). Free and open to the public. RSVP requested. For tickets, visit tickets.seattleartmuseum.org/public/hall.asp?event=113466.

* * *

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICESICHS Lunar New Year 5KSunday, February 7, 20168:00 a.m. – Registration begins9:20 a.m. – Welcome and pre-race briefing9:30 a.m. – Runners begin9:35 a.m. – Walkers and leashed pets begin10:15 a.m. – Announcement of winnersMercer Slough Nature Park$25 before January 24 / $30 before February 6 / $40 Race day$10 off for seniors (65 and over) and children (ages 6-12). Discount automatically applied at check-out. FREE for children ages 5 and under (Please note that race course is not stroller-friendly.)

Take part in ICHS’s inaugural Lunar New Year 5K run/walk on Sunday, February 7, 2016 at the Mercer Slough Nature Park in Bellevue. This event will raise funds for uncompensated patient care at ICHS clinics. Register at www.ichs.com/make-a-gift/lunar-new-year-5k-registration.

* * *

EMERALD QUEEN CASINO I-5 SHOWROOMLunar New YearFebruary 8, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.2024 E 29th St, Tacoma, WA 98404

Celebrate the year of the monkey with a colossal evening of entertainment featuring Dan Nguyen and many more. Lunar New Year is coming to the I-5 Showroom on February 8th and it’s free. Must be 21 or older to enter.

* * *

SHODO HARADA ROSHI OF SOGENJI TEMPLENew Year’s Celebration & BlessingFebruary 8, 2016


IE COMMUNITY

16SE

AS

ON2015Celebrate Asia

The Seattle Symphony’s annual Celebrate Asia concert is a rare opportunity to revel in the rich musical traditions of Seattle’s Asian communities. This year’s concert features Xiaogang Ye’s Starry Sky for Piano and Orchestra which premiered at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Jindong Cai, conductorCharlie Albright, pianoAnjali Joshi, santoorMurl Allen Sanders, accordionYayu Khoe, soprano / Yujin Kim, sopranoKorean Music Association Evergreen ChoirSeattle Chinese Chorus

RICHARD RODGERS: Overture to The King and IAARON AVSHALOMOV: In Hutongs of PekingSHAO ZHENG: Bai Chuan Fu Hai (World Premiere)ALIREZA MOTEVASELI: Fantasia for Santoor and Accordion (World Premiere)XIAOGANG YE: Starry SkyTAN DUN: Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and BirdsPLUS! Community choruses perform popular Asian folk songs including “Jasmine Flower” and “Arirang”

Pre-concert: 3–4pm | Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand LobbyConcert: 4pm | S. Mark Taper Foundation AuditoriumPost-concert: 6pm | Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby

Featuring performances by:BELLEVUE ACADEMY CHILDREN’S CHOIR | KINNALY Lao Children’s Dance Group | KAROUN DANCE ENSEMBLE Persian | LION DANCERS Northwest Kung Fu & Fitness | SCHOOL OF TAIKO | RHYTHMS OF INDIA Bhangra / Bollywood Dancing

HERITAGE ATTIRE ENCOURAGED

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2016 | BENAROYA HALL | 4PMPresenting Sponsor:

Supporting Sponsors

TICKETS:

206.215.4747 | SEATTLESYMPHONY.ORG

4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.NWLA Cultural Center5024 Langley Rd, Langley, WA 98260

For the fifth year in a row, NWLACC and friends will welcome in the New Year with the help of Whidbey Island’s Tahoma One Drop Zen Monastery. The ceremony will be led by Shodo Harada Roshi, Tahoma’s founder, and the abbott of the three-hundred-year old Sogenji temple in Okayama, Japan. Members of the public from all faiths and traditions are invited to join in a nondenominational celebration of our common humanity and the setting of intentions for the New Year, including ringing the 108 bells, while learning about some of the ancient New Year’s traditions of Japan. Following the ceremony, light refreshments will be served. The event is open and free of charge; no reservations are required. For more information, visit nwlacc.org.

* * *CHINATOWN/INTERNATIONAL DISTRICTSeattle’s Annual Lunar New Year FestivalSaturday, February 13, 201611:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.Hing Hay Park423 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104Admission Free$3 food walk

The Chinatown/International District Lunar New Year Festival encompasses a little bit of all Asian cultures—Chinese lion dances, dances from the Philippines, China, and other countries, Taiko drumming from Japan, and even a bit of Bollywood might be in the mix. Equally as diverse is the delicious range of foods available for tasting. Chinatown-International District restaurants usually open their doors for Lunar New Year and offer affordable tastes of select menu items.

* * *

ASIAN PACIFIC CULTURAL CENTER18th Annual New Year CelebrationSaturday, February 13Doors open at 10:30 a.m.Programs start at 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall 2727 E.D Street, Tacoma, WA 98421Free admission family event

This year Indonesia will be hosting and there will be over 70 booths of food, drinks, cultural arts, retail booths, games, and crafts etc. from Asian Pacific countries.

* * *SEATTLE CENTERTet Festival: Vietnamese Lunar New Year

LUNAR NEW YEAR: Continued on page 11 . . .


Happy Lunar New Year from InterIm CDA!

Join us this year at our annual gala auction and dinner: Saturday, April 23, 2016 at the Seattle Waterfront Marriott.

Honoring Our Past, Upholding Our Future

Office ofImmigrantand RefugeeAffairs

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Learnmoreat:www.bit.ly/citizenSEA

新年快乐 Chúc MừngNăm Mới!

Become a U.S. citizen this year!

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IE COMMUNITY

and Your Insurance Super Team wish

you a Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy LunarNew Year!

From all of us at Hugo House, Seattle’s place for writers

hugohouse.org206.322.7030

Book Party for Alexander Chee’s NovelThe Queen of the NightFeb. 18, 7 pm

TAKE WRITING CLASSES FROMEJ KohJane WongRoberto AscalonMichelle PenalozaAnne Liu KellorAlexander Chee

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EDI scholarships available to aspiring female entrepreneurs

Announcement

IE News Services

The Executive Development Institute recently announced two available scholarships for EDI’s 2016 Leadership Discovery program: The Yu & You Scholarship and the Sirius 6 Corporation Entrepreneur Scholarship.

The Yu & You scholarship is awarded to an aspiring female Asian Pacific Islander (API) leader and will provide a platform for the leader to build business skills and acumen to move beyond the challenges that are uniquely faced by APIs. The Sirius 6 Corporation Entrepreneur Scholarship will help female entrepreneurs build business skills to move beyond challenges that are uniquely faced by Asian Pacific Islander women entrepreneurs. Both scholarships are in the amount of $1,925, which covers half of the tuition for EDI’s Discovery program.

Lorraine Yu, PhD, PMP, CSM, MCP, CTT+, is an EDI Discovery & Navigation Alum and past EDI Board of Director & Facilitator. She credits much of her success to the skills she garnered through EDI programs, and has decided to provide opportunities to others through both of these scholarships.

Interested applicants can visit the following website for scholarship information: http://www.ediorg.org/scholarships/. Applications are due by January 31.

For more information, contact EDI at [email protected] or (425) 467-9365. Visit www.ediorg.org for more details on EDI’s programs and scholarships.

February 13, 14305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109

Explore and experience the cultural roots and contemporary influences of Vietnam through live performances, hands-on activities, foods, crafts, games, martial arts, and a lively marketplace. The Lunar New Year Celebration welcomes the return of spring and chases out evil spirits with the traditional roaring lion dance and the crackle of firecrackers. Revisit one thousand years of Vietnamese history at this festive New Year celebration. Presented by Tết in Seattle. For more information, visit tetinseattle.org.

* * *HONG KONG ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATIONThe 2016 Chinese New Year GalaFebruary 13, 20165:30 p.m.Sheraton Seattle Hotel1400 6th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101Individual $250.00Couple $500.00Friends of CNY Gala $2,500.00

Hong Kong Association of Washington Foundation annual Gala is fundraising for Bellevue LifeSpring, a 104-year-old non-profit children’s charity that provides pro-grams and services for 3,600 children and their families living in poverty in the Bel-levue community. Bellevue LifeSpring’s wraparound support addresses basic needs including food, clothing, educational schol-arships, and emergency support so children have the opportunity to achieve self-suffi-

cient futures. Their goal is to break the cycle of poverty for these children who are in des-perate need of support.

To register, visit https://goo.gl/yuz7qV. For questions or to RSVP, call (206) 465-9888 or email [email protected]. For more information, visit www.hkbaw.org/gala. Guests are seated on a first come first served basis.

* * *BELLEVUE SQUARELunar New YearSaturday, February 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Bellevue Square575 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004

The Bellevue Collection and The Taiwan Benevolent Association of America welcome the 2016 Lunar New Year, sharing in the cultural heritage of our community. The exciting weekend-long event will be held in February 2016 at Bellevue Square in Center Court. For more information, visit bellevuecollection.com/events.

* * *THE GREATER SEATTLE CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCECelebrating the Year of the MonkeyThursday, February 25China Harbor Restaurant2024 E 29th St, Tacoma, WA 98404Individual ticket: $65, Corporate table: $1,000

It will be a night filled with good food, networking, and new friends. Learn about the Chamber’s review of 2015 and goals for 2016.

. . . LUNAR NEW YEAR: Continued from page 9


IE ARTS

By Roxanne RayIE Contributor

Weddings are appreciated as happy occasions, and Mozart’s comic opera The Marriage of Figaro, a collabora-tion with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte presented this month at Seattle Opera, celebrates both love and humor.

In the title role of Figaro is Shenyang, a 31-year-old bass-baritone opera singer and emerging conductor who was born in China and later trained at Juilliard School. Originally named Shen Yang, he responded to confusion in the West-ern press by combining his name into a single word.

Although Shenyang has visited Se-attle before as a tourist, Figaro will be his debut performance at Seattle Opera.

“This is an opera house to which I dreamed to come,” Shenyang said. “I call Seattle Opera the American Bayreuth, because Speight Jenkins [former Seattle Opera general director] gave this house a tradition of Wagner opera.”

Mirroring the opera, Shenyang ex-udes gratitude for this opportunity, as well as for the art form of opera in general. “We are going to perform the greatest gift from Mozart for human beings,” he said. Of his character Figa-ro, Shenyang asserts that “Mozart gave him the best music and Da Ponte gave him the best character. He is smart and humorous.”

Shenyang also lauds his fellow art-ists, including general director Aidan

Lang. “I really enjoy working with Aidan and our production team here,” he said. “It’s just like a family and I think I’ll enjoy all the moments when I’m on the stage with all of us.”

Beyond the pleasure of the perfor-mance, Shenyang emphasizes the cul-tural and historical importance of opera.

“All music is de-veloped from this,” he said. “We all should know what is the tradition.”

He is concerned that opera is often overlooked these days. “Honestly, we

do have too many choices now,” he said. “People don’t really have to go to opera house.”

Worries about whether opera is seen as relevant weigh heavily, as well. “They think it’s old fashioned and boring, per-haps,” Shenyang says. “But I would say, think about how an opera which is a legendary piece can last more than 200 years. There isn’t any pop song like this.”

With this rich history, Shenyang looks forward to sharing this particular work widely. “Le Nozze di Figaro is not only a great opera, but is a gift from God,” he said. “It’s the treasure of all of us. We all need to listen to it at least once.”

‘The Marriage of Figaro’ runs from January 16 to 30, at Seattle Opera, Mc-Caw Hall, 321 Mercer Street, Seattle. For more information, visit www.seat-tleopera.org/on-stage/the-marriage-of-figaro.

Opera star Shenyang makes Seattle debut

in Marriage of Figaro

Shenyang

By Yayoi L. WinfreyIE Contributor

The 11th annual Seattle Children’s Film Festival will showcase movies from 29 Asian countries, as well as several directed by Asian Canadians and Asian Americans. Among them are two feature narratives about animals and the children that love them. Although that combo is always a winning formula, these two films are anything but formulaic.

Celestial Camel takes place in the arid steppes of Kalmyk where life can be harsh. Rain has been sorely lacking and one family of sheepherders is in dire need of it. But when their female camel, Mara, gives birth to a completely white colt born under a camel-shaped cloud, Bayir, the family’s oldest son, is ecstatic. Remembering what his late grandfather taught him about the magical powers of a “celestial camel,” the teenager is certain much-needed rain will soon bless them.

Unfortunately, Bayir’s father has other ideas. With three children and another on the way, he decides to sell the baby camel to a Russian film producer who lost his in a stunt gone wrong. No matter how much Bayir cajoles his father, the baby camel, Altynka, is carted away, his heartbreaking cries echoing throughout the vast plains. But no one has predicted the steely resolve of Altynka’s mother, Mara, in getting back her baby. Galloping away into the parched steppes, she bleats for the child ripped away from her. Realizing that losing Mara means losing their livelihood (camels locate water for the sheep to drink), Bayir doesn’t hesitate to go after her.

As Bayir’s mother goes into labor and his father drives her miles away to the doctor, Bayir abandons his younger brother and sister, hops onto his father’s old motorcycle and chases after Mara, and by default, Altynka. Along the way he meets a shaman chanting for rain, some villagers who invite him to a community folk dance, a lama studying to be a priest, and an orphan boy, Quarter, who’s a petrol thief.

An emotionally-driven tale, Celestial Camel not only proves the deep love animals feel for each other, but for their human caretakers, too. The fascinating Kalmyk culture is prominently featured in scenes like Bayir’s parents communicating with smoke signals while his father herds sheep far from home. Young Mikhail Gasanov as Bayir displays remarkable acting chops as do both camels.

One scene, however, mars the feel-good ending. In it, Quarter insensitively tells Bayir after both get soot all over themselves, “They won’t recognize you now. You’re black like an African.”

Russian and Mongolian with English subtitles.

* * *In this film from Thailand, the animal

bonding with children is a water buffalo named Samlee. An intriguing tale, Buffalo Rider features two main characters that never speak—one in defiance, and the

other unable to. When 13-year-old Jenny is sent by her white stepfather to live with her Thai grandmother in Thailand, she is furious. Raised in Los Angeles, she’s like any other American teenager—playing basketball and never without her mobile device, the epitome of cosmopolitan.

In the rural area where her dead mother’s family lives, Jenny is treated well by her relatives yet feels alone and alienated. Refusing to speak to anyone, she nonetheless attends school where she’s spared some torment since the grandson of the village’s wealthiest man has a crush on her. But Jenny finds someone else more to her liking, a mute boy named Boonrod that she identifies with strongly when he’s humiliated in front of the class.

Hailing from an impoverished background, Boonrod finds solace riding or lying on top of Samlee while his father drinks and gambles away the family’s money. When Jenny discovers a competition for water buffalo riders to race to a finish line, she convinces Boonrod that winning would get his family out of debt. This rather heavy story highlights class differences, poverty versus prosperity, and even the privilege of having light skin over dark. Intense and dramatic, it also features beautifully shot scenes of Buddhist statues in a lush forest.

Lily Bhusadhit-a-nan as Jenny and Tuchapong Rugtawatr as Boonrod are utterly engaging. A scene where Boonrod is severely punished for fishing in waters belonging to an affluent family is memorable. While being caned by his angry father, he tearfully stares at a photo of a happy family advertised on a bag of rice.

Warning, the word ‘bitch’ is flung around a lot. Thai with English subtitles.

* * *From India, comes Rainbow, a sweet

story about a blind eight-year-old, Chotu, and his devoted ten-year-old sister, Pari. Living with their malicious aunt and submissive hookah-smoking uncle, the two orphans can’t bear to be separated. Pari even fails her class on purpose so she can sit with her younger brother in his.

Although the two are inseparable, whenever Pari ties Chotu to herself with a scarf, he protests, imploring her not to treat him like a dog. In fact, Chotu often complains about everything leading Pari to exasperation.

When Pari sees a movie poster of her favorite Bollywood star, Sha Rukh Khan, raising money to help the blind see again, she insists on meeting him where he’s shooting a new film—nearly 200 hundred miles away. Of course, Chotu accompanies her on the road as the two encounter a collection of folks, both good and bad.

Although a bit intense, this movie has a happy ending. Some light cursing includes the British term “bloody” and “asses,” as in butts. Still, it’s worth it to see the vibrant and charming actress Swastik Ram Chavan display the biggest, sunniest smile in the world. Hindi with English subtitles.

* * *

A live-action short, Mami, is a touching dramedy about two boys living in the Philippines. While one is a street beggar, the other attends school and has a father although neither has a mother. Meeting in their usual spot one day, they decide to draw pictures of what they think their mothers might have looked liked. This endeavor takes them on a heartfelt journey through a marketplace and speaking to strangers about their facial features.

Other notable live-action shorts include Autumn Leaves about an Iranian girl who can’t stop playing on her way to school; Story of a Lonely Goldfish with an Indian boy whose grandparents argue incessantly; Ghosts of Grandpa Tong featuring a hapa Chinese girl who’s the only one who can see the ghost of her Chinese Canadian friend’s grandfather; and, Moustache about an Indian boy experiencing puberty.

Among the animated shorts are: Onigiri-kun by the fabulous Japanese

filmmaker Mari Miyazawa known for her artful bento; Fabric Cosmos about a boy, a chipmunk and their material universe; Perfect Houseguest featuring a fastidious mouse; PAWO with an adventurous courageous girl; Noir about a crow searching for its identity; Papa Cloudy’s Orchestra, a captivating tale about an ensemble of environmentally-aware animal musicians; and, The Reward a gripping tale of a Taiwanese man who pays back a vendor that once helped him with free food.

Besides films, there will also be hands-on filmmaking workshops and a drop-in animation station. Indian classical dancers will perform live at the Carco Theatre on January 23 with Indian sweets for sale in the lobby.

Seattle Children’s Film Festival happens January 21 to 31 at Northwest Film Forum on Capitol Hill and Carco Theatre in Renton. For more information, visit www.childrensfilmfesetivalseattle.org.

Children’s Film Festival to showcase films from 29 Asian countries


IE ARTS

By Roxanne RayIE Contributor

Third time’s a charm—so ReACT Theatre hopes as they remount Craig Lucas’s 1990 romance play Prelude to a Kiss for the third time. First produced by ReACT in 1994, and then again in 2008, this latest presentation occurs as the play enjoys its 25th anniver-sary. “Prelude to a Kiss was one of our very first productions when our theatre started

22-plus years ago,” said Da-vid Hsieh, ReACT Theatre’s Artistic Director. “It has al-ways been a popular success for us, and many who have missed our previous stag-ings have hoped we would bring it back in the future.”

This re-staging is partially the result of serendipity. “We had a last minute opportu-nity to do a show in January at West of Len-

in, and with the talent pool we had available, it just made sense to kick off our new season with this show,” Hsieh said.

Hsieh will again serve as director, but this time, ReACT is offering a twist: “This is the first time we’re staging the revised Broad-way version from the recent revival,” he said.

Combining the familiar with the new is appealing to Hsieh: “It’s always great to be able to revisit a script you know really well

and work with new artists to present a new production,” he said.

It isn’t just the revival version of the play that is new, Hsieh said, but also our local community of theatre artists who will par-ticipate in the production. “Ai Nguyen, who plays the lead ingenue Rita, wasn’t even born when our first production premiered back in 1994,” he said.

In contrast, other participating artists have links to prior ReACT productions of Lucas’s play. “One of our actresses, Eloisa Cardona, has appeared in every single performance of this play that we have done,” Hsieh said. “When we originally staged it, she was ac-tually far younger than her character’s age, but now, over twenty years later, it is finally about right.”

Hsieh said he believes these casting choices support the theatre company’s mis-sion. “Our company is known for our eth-nic diversity in casting, and with prior stag-ings, our casting was very diverse,” he said. “With this staging, I wanted to increase that even more.”

But Hsieh found that this goal was far from simple. “It wasn’t an easy task because of scheduling challenges and some artists I had really hoped to cast not being available,” he said. “But in the end, everything worked out.“

Now Hsieh is enjoying sharing the en-semble’s work with audiences. “I’m always surprised how many people I mention it to have never even heard of it at all,” Hsieh said.

He added: “It’s been great sharing the show with a whole new generation of artists ... and hopefully a new generation of audi-ences.” Now local audiences will have that chance.

‘Prelude to a Kiss’ runs from January 8 to February 7, at West of Lenin, 203 North 36th Street, Seattle. For more information, visit www.reacttheatre.org.

Answers to this puzzle are on Wednesday, February 3.

ReACT Theatre’s Prelude to a Kiss is a diverse undertaking

David Hsieh


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HomeSight5117 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118ph: 206-723-4355 fx: 206-760-4210www.homesightwa.org

HomeSight creates homeownership opportunities through real estate development, home buyer education and counseling, and lending.

InterIm Community Development Association310 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104Ph: 206-624-1802 Services: 601 S King St, Ph: 206-623-5132Interimicda.orgMultilingual community building: housing & parking, housing/asset counseling, projects, teen leadership and gardening programs.

Asia Pacific Cultural Center4851 So. Tacoma WayTacoma, WA 98409Ph: 253-383-3900Fx: 253-292-1551faalua@comcast.netwww.asiapacificculturalcenter.orgBridging communities and generations through arts, culture, education and business.

Kawabe Memorial House221 18th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-322-4550 fx: [email protected] provide affordable, safe, culturally sensitive housing and support services to people aged 62 and older.

Address tobacco control and other health justice issues in the Asian American/Pacific Islander communities.

601 S King St.Seattle, WA 98104ph: 206-682-1668 website www.apicat.org

Asian Counseling & Referral Service3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S, Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-695-7600 fx: [email protected] www.acrs.orgACRS offers multilingual, behavioral health and social services to Asian Pacific Americans and other low-income people in King County.

Formerly Nikkei Concerns1601 E Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122ph: 206-323-7100 www.nikkeiconcerns.orgrehabilitation care | skilled nursing | assisted living | home/community-based services | senior social activities | meal delivery | transportation | continuing education | catering services

Legacy House803 South Lane Street Seattle, WA 98104ph: 206-292-5184 fx: [email protected] www.scidpda.org/programs/legacyhouse.aspx

Description of organization/services offered: Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, meal programs for low-income seniors. Medicaid accepted.

Senior Services

WE MAkE LEADERS

Queen Anne Station, P.O. Box 19888, Seattle, WA [email protected], www.naaapseattle.orgFostering future leaders through education, networking and community services for Asian American professionals and entrepreneurs.Facebook: NAAAP-Seattle Twitter: twitter.com/naaapseattle

Social & Health Services

Chinese Information & Service Center611 S Lane St, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-624-5633 fax: [email protected] www.cisc-seattle.org

Creating opportunities for Asian immigrants and their families to succeed by helping them make the transition to a new life while keeping later generations in touch with their rich heritage.

International District Medical & Dental Clinic720 8th Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98114 ph: 206-788-3700email: [email protected] website: www.ichs.com

Bellevue Medical & Dental Clinic1050 140th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98005ph: 425-373-3000

Shoreline Medical & Dental Clinic16549 Aurora Avenue N, Shoreline, WA 98133ph: 206-533-2600

Holly Park Medical & Dental Clinic3815 S Othello St, Seattle, WA 98118ph: 206-788-3500

ICHS is a non-profit medical and dental center that provides health care to low income Asian, Pacific Islanders, immigrants and refugees in Washington State.

Seattle Chinatown/International District Preservation and Development Authorityph: 206-624-8929 fx: 206-467-6376 [email protected]

Housing, property management and community development.

Executive Development Institute 310 – 120th Ave NE. Suite A102 Bellevue, WA Ph. 425-467-9365 • Fax: 425-467-1244 Email: [email protected] • Website: www.ediorg.org EDI offers culturally relevant leadership development programs.

Professional & Leadership Development

ph: 206-624-3426 www.merchants-parking-transia.org

Merchants Parking provides convenient & affordable community parking. Transia provides community transportation: para-transit van services, shuttle services and field trips in & out of Chinatown/International District & South King County.

Social & Health ServicesSenior Services

Horizon House900 University St Seattle, WA 98101 ph: 206-382-3100 fx: [email protected]

www.horizonhouse.orgA welcoming community in downtown Seattle, offering seniors vibrant activities, independent or assisted living, and memory care.

FAIR! ph: 206-578-1255 [email protected]

FAIR! provides undocumented Asians and Pacific Islanders with access to free immigration services, legal services & financial assistance, with translators available upon request.

IDIC is a nonprofit human services organization that offers wellness and social service programs to Filipinos and API communities.

7301 Beacon Ave SSeattle, WA 98108ph: 206-587-3735fax: 206-748-0282 [email protected]

Southeast Seattle Senior Center4655 S. Holly St., Seattle, WA 98118ph: 206-722-0317 fax: [email protected] www.sessc.orgDaytime activities center providing activities social services, trips, and community for seniors and South Seattle neighbors. We have weaving, Tai Chi, indoor beach-ball, yoga, dance, senior-oriented computer classes, trips to the casino, and serve scratch cooked lunch. Open Monday through Friday, 8:30-4. Our thrift store next door is open Mon-Fri 10-2, Sat 10-4. This sweet center has services and fun for the health and well-being of boomers and beyond. Check us out on Facebook or our website.

2500 NE 54th StreetSeattle, WA 98105ph: 206-694-4500 [email protected]

Working to prevent and end youth homelessness with services including meals, shelter, housing, job training, education, and more.

Organization of Chinese AmericansAsian Pacific American AdvocatesGreater Seattle ChapterP.O. Box 14141Seattle, WA 98114 www.ocaseattle.org

OCA—Greater Seattle Chapter was formed in 1995 and since that time it has been serving the Greater Seattle Chinese and Asian Pacific American community as well as other communities in the Pacific Northwest. It is recognized in the local community for its advocacy of civil and voting rights as well as its sponsorship of community activities and events.

Commission on Asian Pacific American AffairsGA Bldg., 210 11th Ave SW, Suite 301AOlympia, WA 98504ph: (360) 725-5667 www.facebook.com/[email protected] www.capaa.wa.gov

Statewide liaison between government and APA communities. Monitors and informs the public about legislative issues.

Public Interest Law Group, PLLC705 Second Avenue, Suite 1000, Seattle WA 98104Ph: 206-838-1800 Email: [email protected] attorneys Hank Balson, Wendy Chen, and Nancy Chupp provide information, advice, and representation in areas such as employment discrimination, unpaid wages, and other violations of workers’ rights.

Legal Services

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER January 20, 2016– February 2, 2016 — 15ADVERTISEMENT

IE ARTS

Employment

Security

WA State Convention Center (WSCC) is accepting applications for Full-Time Security Officer. Must have experience working directly with the public & strong customer service skills. Officers are responsible for the safety and security of the facility, property & occupants. Requires HS diploma or GED and at least 2 years security experience.

Visit www.wscc.com for further info or to download an application. Applications are also available at the WSCC Service Entrance, 9th and Pike, Mon-Fri, 8a-5p. WSCC applications must be completed for consideration. Jobline: (206) 694-5039. EOE.

Help WantedLabor & Hospitality

Washington State Convention Center (WSCC), located in downtown Seattle, is accepting applications for On-Call Event Set-Up Personnel. Responsibilities include manual tasks relating to setting meeting rooms and event support. Requires HS diploma or GED and minimum of 6 months experience in hospitality or event set-up activities preferred. Applicants must be available to work flexible hours including weekends, evenings and nights.

Visit www.wscc.com for further info or to download an application. Applications are also available at the WSCC Service Entrance, 9th and Pike, Mon-Fri, 8am – 5pm. WSCC application must be completed for consideration. Jobline: (206) 694-5039. EOE.

By Paul Mori IE Contributor

Even if you think you know Ansel Adams’ Manzanar photographs, there are still new wonders and surprises in the exhibit Manzanar: The Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams at the Skirball Cultural Center Museum in Los Angeles. Not only is the presentation of these well-known Adams photographs fresh and engaging, but also these 50 “Born Free and Equal” prints are expanded with a variety of other photographs by other prominent photographers, including letters, graphics, video, and rarely seen artifacts that together tell the story of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans brilliantly.

Adams had already established a wide reputation for his landscape photographs of Yosemite and other parts of the west, when another subject drew his attention in 1943—the plight of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during the height of the war.

Adams visited Manazar, the incarceration camp near Bishop, CA, four times between 1943-1944. The resulting photographs were shown in a controversial wartime exhibition at New York’s MoMA, and 64 were included in his book, Born Free and Equal, in which Adams portrays those who were incarcerated as loyal Americans.

The entrance to the exhibition begins with two of Ansel Adams’ classic landscapes, which illustrate the artistic grandeur and serenity that Adams is so well known for. Visitors are then jolted into a hateful wartime fever with disturbing magazine cover art, mostly Collier’s, but also Time and Vanity Fair, of horrific caricatures of Japanese soldiers, some portrayed as disfigured monkeys.

Iconic photographs by Dorothea Lange of the evacuation and by others of the construction of the camps and of the Santa Anita Racetrack Assembly Center set the stage for the long hall-like gallery of the Ansel Adams photographs, as well as offer contrasting perspectives.

Subsequent galleries tell about the Fair Play movement, the infamous loyalty questions (27 and 28), with samples of actual forms on display, and life in the camps. Another sub gallery features Toyo Miyatake, who was incarcerated in Manzanar and whose work compares favorably with Lange’s and Adams.’

In addition, the many fascinating artifacts that go beyond just letters and documents, there are video displays (many from Seattle’s own Densho Project) and installed tablet computers which allow visitors to examine things deeper, such as the one that allows every page of Adam’s original Born Free and Equal to be viewed.

Other museums have used similar materials and methods to tell their stories, but what sets the Skirball’s Manzanar exhibition apart is that almost every photograph, display device, and object has a purpose which adds reality and depth to

both the story and the photographs. And taken as whole, the installation has unity and a singular purpose.

For example, the inclusion of contemporary and ugly, sub-human Japanese caricatures becomes strikingly clear as one compares them with Adam’s humane portraits, which add understanding to his mission to put a human and American face on the internees. The contrast is stark and effective.

Likewise, an unassuming letter from Lange to Adams in a display case has significant purpose. Typed in the body of the letter is an excerpt of Lincoln’s 1855 letter to Joshua Speed, whose most memorable and sarcastic line is “all men were created equal, except negroes, foreigners and Catholics” which Adams later used in his book and is prominently displayed in exhibition.

But most significantly is the note in her own hand in which Lange’s admonishes Adams to “keep it (photographs) stripped to the bone of its meaning. Love D-” because she knew he would resist, as Adams could rarely escape his aesthetic sense.

Lange’s photographs serve a purpose of counterpoint in this exhibit, as they show raw emotional blood and despair; whereas, Adams’ Japanese are stoic, loyal, but domesticated, and served his intent. Her letter tells volumes of their relationship and their differences of style, but also their similarity of purpose

Though it may be true that a “picture is worth a thousand words” the artifacts with several of the famous Adam portraits are worth far more. Some portraits are accompanied with original photo release forms, which reveal feelings about incarceration, such as the one with the haunting portrait of Nurse Aiko Hamaguchi, in which she wrote “only after evacuation have I come to realize the false sense of security I enjoyed prior to the war.” In short, the people in the photographs come alive to speak again to a new generation.

There are other nice touches everywhere. A childhood portrait of Joyce Nakamura Okazaki is accompanied with a Densho video interview in which she retells an encounter with Adams many years after the photo shoot.

A year in the making, this exhibition presents materials never seen together and some artifacts, documents, and even some photographs that have never been seen publicly ever. Thanks to Skirball’s associate curator Linde Lehtinen’s hard work and brilliance, the exhibition is a revelation for the newly initiated and a marvel for those already familiar.

Ansel Adams was a specialist in land-scapes, and his polished skills and his earthbound tripod-harnessed cameras were ill suited to portraiture. From an ar-tistic aesthetic, these internment photos cannot compete with his landscape mas-terpieces, where the human element is al-together absent or inconsequential.

But with finesse and a deft touch, Skir-ball’s presentation will make you forget that you are looking at nothing other than Ansel Adams’ masterpieces of the soul of humanity.

‘Manzanar: The Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams’ and ‘Citizen 13660: The Art of Mine Okubo’ run through February 21, 2016 at the Skirball Cultural Center Museum in Los Angeles, 14 miles north of LAX. These exhibitions are presented with association with the Japanese American National Museum and Photographic Traveling Exhibitions. To view samples of the exhibition, including Aiko Hamaguchi’s portrait, go to http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions.

To view samples of the exhibition, including Aiko Hamaguchi’s portrait, go to http://www.skirball.org/exhibitions.

Also, for photos of the exhibition itself, go to: http://photos.dailybreeze.com/2015/10/p h o t o s - a n s e l - a d a m s - m a n z a n a r -photographs-at-the-skirball/#10.

To view Born Free and Equal on the Library of Congress website, go to http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/book.html

To view JANM’s collection of Mine Okubo’s Citizen 13660 go to: http://www.janm.org/collections/mine-okubo-collection/.

An online Riverside Community College’s Library gallery is here: http://library.rcc.edu/riverside/okubo/gallery1.html.

Manzanar: The Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams at Skirball

Ansel Adams, School Children, 1943. Gelatin silver print (printed 1984). Private collection; courtesy of Photographic Traveling Exhibitions.


IE COMMUNITY

Happy Year of the Monkey!

To International Examiner Readers And Our Community Partners

Muckleshoot Indian Tribe

12/1 12/8 12/15 12/22 12/29

UNHEALTHY

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GOOD

December 2015

What does our air quality look like?

Visit pscleanair.org for a daily air quality forecast.

December was wet and windy. But thanks to the winter weather, last month had the cleanest air since we set up monitoring equipment in the neighborhood during the summer of 2014!

For the first time, the Chinatown-International District’s air quality remained in the “good” range for all the days of the month. A great end to the year!

Idling a car or truck for more than ten seconds uses more fuel (and creates more pollution) than restarting the vehicle.

December review

Did you know?

International District Air Quality

Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

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2014 2015

JunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMar

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2014 2015December 2015

Construction begins on the Hing Hay Park expansion project. Crews begin to demolish the grounds of the old ID post office January 14, 2016. • Photo by Lexi Potter

January 20, 2016 International Examiner

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