Women are Half of Party, Gov’t Officials in NW China Ethnic Region

Jul 23, 2008 11:01AM | by Alvin Lin in Community Culture Education

Western societies and literature love to paint Asian nations as somehow more backwards, sexist, oppressive, and misogynistic towards women.  But let’s look at the stats.  There are like two female CEO’s in the entire Fortune 500, a very small number of female senators and congresswomen, and a very small percentage of female entrepreneurs in this country. Before Westerners point fingers and act all smug, perhaps they should look at their own backwards statistics as they pertain to female equality.
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http://www.chinaview.cn

URUMQI, July 22 (Xinhua)—Woman account for nearly half of Communist Party members and government officials in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the latest report from the Xinjiang branch of the All-China Women’s Federation.

The number of female officials has been rising over the past five years and reached 330,700 at the end of last year, accounting for 49.16 percent of the total, the branch said. That was an 11.22 percent rise from 2003.

“Many women who have both ability and political integrity were put into leading positions, which enhanced women’s participation in various sectors,” said Wang Jianling, vice chairwoman of the Xinjiang branch of the federation.

The Chinese government has taken economic, legal and administrative measures to ensure that women enjoy equal rights with men in such areas as politics, the economy, culture, social affairs and family life.

About 350 million urban and rural women are employed, accounting for 45 percent of the employed population. In urban areas, more than 40 million women are employed, comprising 38 percent of total urban employment, according to official statistics. In rural areas, women make up more than 60 percent of the labor force.

Women also comprise more than 20 percent of the entrepreneurs in China. Among the professionals in the state-owned enterprises and organizations, women account for more than 40 percent.

Editor: Jiang Yuxia

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Minority women and the issue of getting along

Jun 27, 2008 09:50PM | by Alvin Lin in Community Culture Education People

This is a very interesting article posted over at Fallout Central, about minority women in White male dominated society.  I think interesting parts or conclusions of this essay (from my interpretation) are that minority women who act in blatantly Uncle Tom or self hating ways, or revel in being the token Asian ‘honorary White’ among their friends, or who try to assimilate or get their White trophy, in reality are not actually gaining in privilege, though in their minds they somehow derive self esteem from this.

Article

[A lot of the times when I see another Asian girl that is a stranger on the street, for some reason I automatically act hostile towards them. We exchange unapproachable glances, and in my mind I am judging them by the way they look, the way the dress, who they are with, and sizing them up to see if they are any threat to me. Why do I do this? Every Asian girl I have talked to admits to doing this.. Actually, scratch that, every minority girl I know acts this way towards someone of their own race. Why?

It seems Asian and minority men don’t face this same hostility with each other. When I asked my brother if he felt the way that I do towards Asian girls he asked quite shocked, “You actually feel threatened?” I got similar astounded responses from my Asian guy friends as well. Why do they not judge each other as much as Asian women do?

Perplexed by this issue, I turned to my friend Soumya (pronounced like Sonya with an “m”–Somya), a beautiful girl from California who happens to be Indian as well. I asked if she felt threatened at times, and she said yes. We were both surprised by our own responses. It seems that while many girls feel threatened or hostile, rarely do we acknowledge it. Even when we acknowledge it, we don’t even know exactly why we feel and act this way. For me, the actual reason may be a little frightening. It reveals an intense insecurity about our identity as minority and Asian women.]

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US Education Dept Expands Investigation into Anti-Asian Bias in College Admissions

Jun 14, 2008 11:46AM | by Alvin Lin in Community Culture Education Offensive

This is related to that Jian Li case from two years ago where he filed a civil suit against Princeton for its discriminatory admission practices against Asian American applicants, who must have higher SAT’s, gpa’s, and leadership activities than their nonAsian peers for the same percentage rate of admission:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/06/11/asians

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Found an Old Interview With Tak Toyoshima, Secret Asian Man

May 28, 2008 04:45AM | by Alvin Lin in Culture Education Entertainment

Q: What is your ultimate goal with the strip?

A: I want the strip to be a bridging text between Asian Americans and mainstream America. I don’t want to crap down people’s throats with stories of oppression and suffering. Okay, well, maybe sometimes I do. But I think there’s a lot of work to do on both sides of the fence and I’ve always had a knack for seeing both sides.

I also want it to be educational. Every now and then I do straight biographical or historical event strips that bring up things that may otherwise barely get any exposure. I’m very excited to have the reach of a daily strip to bring some of these stories to the masses. It’s like a big open Asian American history class.

Q: Many Asian Americans feel torn between their Asian ethnicity and their American nationality. Did you ever feel that way over the course of your life?

A: Absolutely. But Asians are definitely not alone in feeling like this and that’s where we should feel better about it. Internal conflicts arise when we are forced to choose between wanting to be treated just like everyone else and demanding special recognition for our differences.

Then there is the whole debate over the overly broad term “Asian American.” Asian Americans, as well as every other type of American, need to come to terms with the fact that whatever they do to express their cultural heritage should be considered American. That’s the beauty and hope of this country.

http://glamhub.com/2007/07/tak_toyoshima/

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My Huge Problem with ‘Integral Theory’

May 25, 2008 04:43PM | by Alvin Lin in Community Culture Education

It seems a lot of Asian Americans these days love ‘integral theory’ and ‘holons’, it sounds like new cult terminology, but anyways I have MAJOR problems with this theory. Look at the following link, an intro description of the theory:
http://holons-news.com/altitudes.html

Basically, I think the reason why Asian Americans have gotten screwed so much the past 200 years in the West, is because we actually need to lower ourselves to the thinking of Western society, and we haven’t yet. Western society, democracy, and market economy in targeting marketing segments, is based on: 1. Might is Right (whether it be political or economic or military), 2. Ethnocentric behavior among every other racial group in America except for Asians, 3. Egocentric, self interested behavior.

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Asian vs Asian American Perception of Asian Beauty Treatments

May 17, 2008 10:33AM | by Alvin Lin in Beauty Community Culture Education Entertainment

The article is about an Asian American going to Asia, observing, and commenting or hinting on things like eyelid or nose ridge surgery being linked to Caucasian-centric beauty standards, as well as the many beautiful Asian woman with mediocre White men couples she saw in the cities as a symptom of ‘cultural repudiation’.

There is a link to the original article below, with comments in it. What is interesting is how emotional and strongly the Asian posters living in Asia deny or defend Asian beauty treatments, or about the AF/ugly WM couples, and also bash that writer as well as Asian Americans, for our views on this topic.

What do you guys think? Are we, Asian Americans, projecting our own Westernized viewpoint in a way that creates bias or incorrect observations on our part? Or, are Asians in Asia in denial or ignorance, over eyelid or noseridge surgery, or over the attractive Asian female / low quality White male pairings in Asia?  Article Link

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Asian Americans: Be Ready for Backlash

May 9, 2008 02:34PM | by Alvin Lin in Community Education People

Here is an interesting article out from AsianWeek.  I think it is an excellent piece that summarizes a lot of points.  It doesn’t address much to tie in how anti-China sentiments affect all Asian Americans, but it’s not hard to see why.  An easy example is how Vincent Chin, a Chinese American, was murdered by two auto workers, who were frustrated over Japan.  Here are some excerpts from the article

“China is now America’s number 3 Enemy. A February 2008 Gallup Poll found that Americans declared that China had replaced North Korea as our number 3 enemy. Is anyone surprised that China is perceived to be a greater threat than the long time trouble maker North Korea? It seems that every day our fellow Americans are feeling more and more threatened by China’s growing economic power, in addition to China’s growing international influence in Asia, Australia, South America, Africa and the Middle East..”

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Chicago Screening of ‘Vincent Who?’ Documentary

Apr 12, 2008 07:44AM | by Alvin Lin in Community Education Offensive

Though it’s only showing in Chicago, this is post-worthy because many aren’t aware of the story/murder of Vincent Chin, and how his killers basically got away.  Come see the documentary VINCENT WHO? during the Asian American Film Showcase in Chicago. Director Tony Lam will be there for a Q & A.

In 1982, Vincent Chin was brutally murdered in Detroit at the height of anti-Japanese sentiment. In a travesty of justice, the judge ruled it a case of manslaughter and the two killers, both autoworkers, never served a day in jail.

More than twenty-five years later, that case remains a touchstone in the struggle for civil rights and the advancement of the Asian American community. In this new documentary, VINCENT WHO?, we take a quick look back at the case, but more importantly we examine the effects the case had on the leading community activists of today and the future leaders of tomorrow.

Saturday, April 19, 2008
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Siskel Film Center
164 North State Street
Chicago, IL

(7) Comments

CNN: Is Mike Myers’ new film asking for trouble?

Apr 11, 2008 07:35AM | by Alvin Lin in Education Entertainment

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/01/film.theloveguru.ap/index.html

[LOS ANGELES, California (AP)—As the people of Kazakhstan know all too well, mockery of culture and religion seems to be kosher in Hollywood, under the following conditions:

The humor must be so over-the-top, so beyond reality, that it could never be misconstrued as mean-spirited. That, and the targeted groups cannot be large enough, loud enough or organized enough so that their hurt feelings make an impact at the box office.

Just ask Borat. Though Kazakhs complained that their country and customs were grossly misrepresented in “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” the film was a $128 million domestic success—among the top-grossing films of 2006.

In the context of Sacha Baron Cohen’s uncomfortable in-character interactions with unwitting Americans, Mike Myers’ parody of another cultural minority in the U.S.—as the oversexed, overly ambitious, American-born spiritual leader in the summer comedy “The Love Guru”—would hardly seem cause for complaint.

Myers’ character is an amalgamation of Eastern-style spiritual movements, never making reference to any particular religion. And yet the Guru Pitka—billed as “the second best guru in India”—draws a distinct picture.

He wears long hair, a long beard and a flowing caftan. “Prepare to get your enlightenment freak on,” Pitka tells visitors to his MySpace page, where he blends real information—such as the Sanskrit origins of the word “guru”—with silliness, including impossible yoga poses that would require elastic limbs. He plays sappy pop songs on the sitar. His mantra is “Mariska Hargitay.”

Pitka identifies himself as “a spiritual teacher affiliated with no one faith” and has the same crass-and-goofy charm as Myers’ Austin Powers and “Wayne’s World” characters. And the movie’s plot—he heads West when he’s offered $2 million to heal a hockey star’s romance so the team can win the Stanley Cup—is harmless enough.

Still, weeks before the movie is even ready for screening, some in the Hindu community feel that “The Love Guru” has the potential to ridicule important elements of their religion.]

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“Model minority” goes nutzoid

Apr 10, 2008 11:16PM | by Alvin Lin in Education Entertainment

Link to the article
(excerpt below)

“Dark Matter,” the filmmaking debut of Chinese-born opera and theater director Chen Shi-zheng, gets full credit for slamming head-on into any number of hot-button topics in American society. First and most interestingly, Chen’s film captures, from the inside, the strange and insular world of the Chinese graduate students who increasingly dominate the math and science fields at major American universities. It also engages the subtle forms of racism and stereotyping that continue to inform non-Asians’ perceptions of this “model minority.” I guess this is a spoiler, but there’s no way around it: Finally, “Dark Matter” tries to convey how an underslept, overworked, culturally dislocated student could erupt in a psychotic outburst of violence, as has happened in a couple of notorious cases.

Chen’s film (written by Billy Shebar, from a story he co-wrote with Chen) is based on a shooting incident at the University of Iowa in 1991, and was completed well before the Virginia Tech shootings in April 2007. Neither the movie nor the Iowa case bears any resemblance to the Virginia Tech case, in which the shooter was an undergraduate English major and a longtime legal resident of the United States, not a foreign student. (If you don’t want to know more about the plot of “Dark Matter,” don’t read news accounts of the Iowa case, as the fictional events follow the real ones closely.)

“Dark Matter” is rich with interesting themes and ideas, from the slippery, sycophantic nature of academic success to the Orientalist attitudes of rich Americans and the outer edges of astrophysical theory.

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