As Hmong refugees in Thailand face deportation back to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Hmong activists in the U.S. are seeking help from President Obama to prevent what would be involuntary deportations. President Obama has stated in an earlier letter before taking office that as president, he would bring back American commitment to international human…
This was the featured article in Pacific Ties’s The Dialogue Issue, Winter 2009. By Evelina Giang The journalism industry is hurting these days. The Los Angeles Times announced last month that it will be cutting 300 jobs, and many newspapers and magazines are following suit. With the recent cessation of print publication for AsianWeek, the…
The administration and Congress under President Obama is more diverse than ever. In our latest issue of Pacific Ties (available soon online), Elizabeth Park reports on seven prominent Asian Pacific Islanders (APIs) in Obama’s administration and First Family. I am pleased to see a variety of ethnic backgrounds and areas of expertise represented in his…
“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.” – Barack Obama, 2009 Presidential Inauguration. January 20, 2009. Photo from nytimes.com.
Placienta, Calif. – 19 year-old Jeremy Yamaguchi has become the youngest elected official in Orange County. Yamaguchi is an El Dorato High School grad and a student at Cal State Fullerton. After reading a step-by-step guide book “How to Win Local Election” he started campaigning to be Placienta’s city councilman by going door-to-door, established a…
This week’s TIME Magazine features Michelle Rhee, public schools chancellor of Washington D.C. Her unorthodox approach to school reform has earned her many opponents as well as supporters. The city’s legendary troubled public school system boasts a mere 24% graduation rate for some schools. In her first year and a half on the job, she…