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#241 C100 Activities; Florida SB 264 Hearing; AANHPI Education Summit; Officer Angwang; +

In This Issue #241

·       Committee of 100 Activities and Annual Conference/Gala

·       Appeals Court Hearing on Florida Alien Land Law SB264

·       2024 AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development Summit

·       Update on NYPD Officer Angwang

·       News and Activities for the Communities

Committee of 100 Activities and Annual Conference/Gala

 

During the APA Justice monthly meeting on March 4, 2024, Cindy Tsai, Interim President and Executive Director, Committee of 100 (C100), reported on four primary C100 activities in addition to various ongoing collaborative activities with Asian American and other communities:

·       Interactive Map on Alien Land Bills.  C100 has been tracking all the 2023 bills by state at https://bit.ly/3Hxta4B. It is currently in the process of creating another layer for the 2024 legislative session.  With the basic structure in place, it is a matter of visualizing the data in an interactive map.  Cindy emphasizes that while the national organizations are keeping an eye on these developments, it truly is those who are on the ground that will hear about it first.  So as you hear about things that are coming out of your state, please share and verify with C100, which will in turn share it with the communities.  C100 researcher Sam Collitt can be reached at scollitt@Committee100.org

 

·       AAPI History and K-12 Curricula.  C100 has in the last 2 years tracked and updated state-by-state analysis state bills that are available tools for the AAPI community to use as they advocate for AAPI education in schools.  You do not need to have a stand-alone AAPI curriculum mandate to advocate to your school district for that type of education curriculum.  Additionally, C100 converted its 2018 report on the contributions of Chinese Americans into 5 middle school lesson plans.  C100 is organizing teacher workshops over the summer. If you have interest in this area, please reach out to Cindy.  C100 would love to provide these free materials to educators.

 

·       Next Generation Leaders Service Project.  On March 6, C100 hosted a virtual webinar titled Breaking Career Ceilings and Feeling Comfortable in Your Own Skin.  It was led by the C100 Next Generation Leaders Class of 2023.   As a community, some of our parents taught us to keep our head down and assimilate. We are now seeing a new generation of people saying: I want to be the authentic me and still achieve and break the glass ceiling. 

·       2024 Annual Conference and Gala.  The C100 annual conference and gala will be held in New York City on April 19, 2024.  This year, C100 is doubling the number of curated sessions with three general sessions and two concurrent tracks — one on U.S.-China related topics and the other on key domestic AAPI issues —and will include more than 50 guest speakers, panelists and keynotes. The event will be topped off with a black-tie Gala celebrating the achievements and accomplishments from those in and around the AAPI community.  For more information and registration, visit https://bit.ly/4ccKQkj

 

Cindy can be reached at ctsai@committee100.org.  A summary of the March 4 APA Justice monthly meeting is in progress.

General Session

·       Debate: Will and Should Corporate DEI Activities Suffer the Same Fate as Affirmative Action?

·       The 2024 Elections and Their Impact on Asian Americans

·       Charting New Paths: Innovative Solutions to Asian American Issues

Asian American Issue Track

·       Asian American Awareness Through Education

·       The Impact of U.S.-China Tensions on Asian Americans in Government

·       Asian American Career Ceilings – Findings and Solutions

·       AAPI Community Response to Rising Anti-Asian Hostility

·       U.S. National Defense Policies - Impact on Asian Americans and U.S. Competitiveness

U.S.-China Issues Track

·       Perspectives on China by Former U.S. Ambassadors

·       Will the Chinese Economy Stagnate Like Japan's Did?

·       Foreign Direct Investment – Both Ways – What is Happening and Why?

·       U.S.-China Tech and Industrial Rivalry

·       Diplomacy Through Food and Culture

 

Appeals Court Hearing on Florida Alien Land Law SB264

 


 

Following its ruling to temporarily halt the enforcement of the Florida alien land law known as SB 264 against two Chinese immigrants on February 1, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will hold hearings in Miami, Florida, in the morning of April 19, 2024.  It is one of three cases that will be heard by a three-judge panel. Location of the hearing is James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building, 13th Floor, 99 NE 4th St, Miami, FL 33132.  The hearing is open to the public.Read the docket of the civil lawsuit of Shen vs Simpson: https://bit.ly/43idmvB.  Read the ACLU statement on the February 1 Appeals Court decision: https://bit.ly/3Utx0Ub

 

2024 AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development Summit


 

WHAT: 2024 AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development SummitWHEN: April 2, 2024, 8:30 am - 7:30 pm Pacific Time WHERE: In-person event, University of California, Berkeley - Martin Luther King Jr. Building, 2495 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94704HOSTS:  White House Initiative on AA and NHPI; U.S. Office of Personnel Management DESCRIPTION: The one-day summit will focus on cultivating and transforming leaders in their careers within the higher education space. Together, we will engage in curated professional development topics that address challenges that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPIs) face in the higher education workplace, and bring together a rich community of administrators, staff, and faculty who are leading by example – whether it be as part of an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institution (ANNHSI), or at other degree-granting institutions (including trade and technical schools).REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3Vncrco

 

Update on NYPD Officer Angwang


According to a report by Documented on March 13, 2024, Baijmadajie Angwang, a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer and ethnic Tibetan immigrant from China, was fired by NYPD on January 29, 2024.Angwang’s case is part of a wave of prosecutions of Chinese immigrants living in the U.S. under the umbrella of the now-defunct "China Initiative," the first country-specific enforcement program in the history of the Department of Justice (DOJ). It targeted mainly scholars and scientists and had gained a reputation for being racially biased and ineffective. An analysis by the MIT Technology Review at the end of 2021 found that only about a quarter of the defendants were charged for violations against the Economic Espionage Act, while many others faced integrity issues, such as failing to reveal their affiliations with research institutes in China in grant applications. On September 21, 2020, a handful of FBI agents pointed M4 rifles at Angwang's head and handcuffed him in front of his wife and 2-year-old daughter at his home on Long Island.  He spent six months in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he was only allowed two individual one-hour meetings with his family and lawyer.In January 2023, after Angwang's lawyer John Carman reviewed classified evidence at the U.S. district court in Brooklyn, prosecutors abruptly dropped the charges against Angwang. The dismissal came with a vague note citing newly discovered evidence.Carman, expressing skepticism, believed Angwang's ethnicity played a role in his arrest, noting the weak evidence against him. As a defense lawyer for nearly 30 years, Carman has observed an increase in Chinese clients in federal criminal cases over the past five years.

NYPD continued its internal investigation against Angwang based on the dropped federal charges, and, later, terminated his employment.  “Most internal investigations based on court cases would be dropped after the court cases are dismissed,” said Angwang, who worked as a community affairs officer at the 111th precinct in Queens before he was arrested. “It’s hard to believe in the city most welcoming to immigrants, they’d treat a new immigrant cop like me in this way.”  He had also served as a US Marine in Afghanistan.“The financial burden, the toll on your mental health. Even when your charges are dropped, the impact on your family and your career is far from over,” said Haipei Shue, president of United Chinese Americans, a civil rights organization that has supported Chinese scientists.The NYPD official file on Angwang's termination is posted here: https://bit.ly/3THjLOX.Angwang's termination by the NYPD has not been reported by mainstream media.  Read the Documented report: https://bit.ly/3TkslSl.  Read Anywang's story: https://bit.ly/3RIqXId

 

News and Activities for the Communities

1.  APA Justice Community Calendar


 

Upcoming Events:2024/03/24 Committee of Concerned Scientists Annual Meeting 2024/03/25 C100: Asian American Career Ceiling Challenges in Broadcast News2024/03/26 Rally Opposing Florida SB 8462024/03/28 CSIS: U.S.-China Scholarly Recoupling: The Path Forward2024/04/02 2024 AA and NHPI Higher Education Leadership Development Summit2024/04/07 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/04/08 APA Justice Monthly MeetingVisit https://bit.ly/45KGyga for event details.

 

2. CSIS: U.S.-China Scholarly Recoupling: The Path Forward


 

WHAT:  U.S.-China Scholarly Recoupling: The Path Forward WHEN: March 28, 2024, 9:00 - 10:00 am Eastern Time WHERE: WebcastHOST:  Center for Strategic and International StudiesMODERATOR: Scott Kennedy, Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, CSISPANELISTS:

·       Scott Rozelle, Co-Director, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions

·       Deborah Seligsohn, Assistant Professor, Villanova University

·       Yu Tiejun, President, Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Peking University

·       Xie Tao, Dean and Professor, School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Beijing Foreign Studies University

·       Zhang Ran, Associate Professor, Peking University

DESCRIPTION:  Over the last two years, the Trustee Chair has led an initiative to avoid U.S.-China scholarly decoupling and restore ties amongst scholars, students and institutions. In 2023, CSIS and Peking University co-hosted a pair of conferences with participation from leading experts from both countries that examined the obstacles to scholarly ties and steps that could be taken to overcome these challenges and create a stronger foundation for renewed ties. This event centers around the release of a major report with contributions from over two dozen of the project participants. REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/4aaCKGV

 

3.  Racially Profiled for Being A Scientist: A Discussion of the US DOJ's China Initiative


 

WHAT:  Racially Profiled for Being A Scientist: A Discussion of the US DOJ's China InitiativeWHEN: April 17, 2024, 4:30 - 6:00 pm Eastern Time WHERE: In-person event; Press Hall, 1st floor lobby, New York University HOST:  New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human DevelopmentMODERATOR: Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, Vice Dean for Research and Equity, NYU SteinhardtPANELISTS:

· Daniel Tam-Claiborne, Executive Director, Serica Initiative

· Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, the Asian American Scholar Forum

· Frank Wu, President, Queens College

DESCRIPTION:  A discussion of the China Initiative, a Trump-era - but potentially revived - effort "inciting widespread fear of racial profiling for Asian Americans across the country."REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3THMOlt 

4.  Serica Initiative: AAPI Women's Gala 2024


 

WHAT:  AAPI Women's Gala 2024 WHEN: May 14, 2024WHERE: In-person event, Tribeca 360, New York CityHOST:  Serica InitiativeDESCRIPTION:  An event that celebrates the remarkable journeys of women who embody the essence of our theme, "Strength Unveiled: A Celebration of Women's Success Through Resilience and Perseverance."  It honors the achievements of women with significant ties to Asia—be they from the AAPI community, other parts of Asia, or those who have significantly contributed to bridging cultures and fostering inclusion across continents. REGISTRATIONhttps://bit.ly/3PxI4fJ

 

5.  Lunar New Year A Holiday In The State Of Washington


 

According to Seattle Times, Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation on March 13, 2024, officially making Lunar New Year a recognized legislative holiday in the state of Washington.  The bill’s sponsor, State Representative My-Linh Thai, D-Bellevue, proposed it as part of an effort to promote inclusion of Asian Americans earlier this year. The bill passed the House on January 31 with a vote of 96-1 and on February 28 it unanimously passed the Senate with a 96-0 vote.  Washington now joins Colorado and  California, which mark Lunar New Year as an official, but unpaid, holiday.  In recent years, New York state and Philadelphia began recognizing it as a public school holiday, and U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., reintroduced a proposal to make Lunar New Year a federal holiday. Lunar New Year celebrations include Tết in Vietnam, Seollal in Korea and Spring Festival in China. Because the holiday is based on the lunar calendar, it does not fall on a set day and floats between January and February. Lunar New Year is generally a 15-day celebration. More than 900,000 Washingtonians identify as Asian, about 12% of the state’s population and about 20% of King County’s population, according to 2020 census data. Read the Seattle Times report: https://bit.ly/3PtCY3Y

March 20, 2024

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