The Chinese American Community Put up the Second Billboard in Speaker Jinkins’ District to Protest Her Decision To Allow Partisan Politics To Chinese American History Month

Bellevue Washington – July 14, 2022 – The second billboard was put up in Speaker Laurie Jinkins’ district to protest her decision to allow partisan politics to kill Chinese American History Month. This year, under Speaker Jinkins’ watch, Washington State House Democrats killed the Chinese American History Month. PRA (Public Records Act) records revealed the final 36 hours of hyper-partisan behind-the-door political maneuvering that doomed SB 5264, the Chinese American History Month bill.

In 2019, the Washington State Legislature passed SB 5865, establishing October as Filipino American History Month. Inspired by this bill, Washington Asians for Equality and American Coalition for Equality advocated for a bill to establish a Chinese American History Month.

In 2020, Senator Hans Zeiger from Puyallup, introduced SB 6679, near the end of the legislative session, declaring January as Chinese American history month and encouraging public schools to commemorate the month. SB 6679 had bipartisan co-sponsors and wide legislative support from both parties, but as is common with new legislative ideas, didn’t get through the process the first time.

In 2021, Senator Keith Wagoner reintroduced SB 6679 as SB 5264 for the 2021-2022 legislative session. In 2022, the Washington State Senate quickly passed SB 5264 48 to 0. On February 12th, the Senate State Government and Elections Committee Chair, Senator Sam Hunt sent an email with the subject line “Senate bills in House” to House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee Chair, Javier Valdez. In this email, Senator Hunt included SB 5264 on their priority list and considered it among “quick and easy bills.” This vote and the accompanying messages again show the strong bi-partisan support in the Senate.

The House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee passed SB 5264 unanimously. The bill was put on the House floor run list for a final floor vote on March 3rd. If passed, SB 5264 would have established January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.

However, less than an hour after the House Democrat Caucus decided to put SB 5264 on the run list, Rep. My-Linh Thai (D-41st) sent out a high-priority email to what is called the “House Democrat Members of Color Caucus” (MOCC) saying “I respectfully ask you to support us by voting NO to SB5264”. Thai continued to say, “I can’t say enough the backwardness of moving this legislation forward.”

Prior to establishing Filipino American History Month in 2019, Washington had already established a Japanese Remembrance Day in 2003, and a Korean American Day in 2007. Rep. Thai did not offer an explanation for why she personally voted to establish Filipino American History Month yet called the establishment of a Chinese American History Month “backwardness”. Several text messages from Rep. Thai to Speaker Jinkins in the morning of March 3rd offered a glimpse into her reason for stopping SB 5264. At 10:38 am, Rep. Thai texted Speaker Jinkins, “Please hold 5264”, then at 10:54 am, Thai asked, “Love to hear your take on the “politics” of not passing this bill.”

At 11:17 am on March 3rd, Rep. Cindy Ryu (D-32nd) sent out an email requesting a floor amendment to eliminate January as Chinese American History Month. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Wagoner, only found out about this elimination amendment on March 4th, the cut-off day of the 2022 legislative session. In his email to Ryu, Senator Wagoner said, “I respectfully request you withdraw your amendment to my bill. I appreciate the intent to connect to other important individuals and groups but feel that it has the potential to dilute the intent of the bill. Having it brought to my attention at this late juncture doesn’t allow time for us to discuss it and give your amendment the consideration it deserves. Thank you for your consideration.” The amendment seemed designed to kill the bill and make sure it could not pass.

SB 5264 was never brought out for a House floor vote and died on March 4th. Although Speaker Laurie Jinkins was aware of and allowed this anti-Chinese contingent in her caucus to kill the bill, many in her Caucus were left without knowledge of those behind-the-door activities.

In an April 1st email discussing the interview request from The Spokesman-Review on SB 5264, Rep. Valdez told House Democratic Caucus Senior Communication Specialist Guy Bergstrom that “Not much I could say. After the House bill cutoff date, our Committee only had four meetings to hear and pass Senate bills. We heard 5264 on the second meeting and passed it out unanimously on the third meeting date. Mr. James should probably talk to someone on leadership on why 5264 did not run on the Floor. Or perhaps to talk to Rep. Ryu who had a floor amendment that was dropped on the bill. ” Rep. Valdez is a member of MOCC.

Another member of MOCC, Rep. Bill Ramos, also sent out emails on March 7th, three days after SB 5264 was killed, saying “I am hoping to have a specific mocc agenda item to talk this whole thing out” and “really look forward to a full open discussion. This is a complicated issue and love to get us all with full understanding of which I do not have it all either.”

“Rep. Thai and Ryu architected the killing of Chinese American History Month. Under Speaker Jinkins’ watch, they are now positioning themselves as leaders of the so-called “Work Group for Chinese American Day/Week/Month designation for Washington State”. We see them as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Speaker Jinkins left our community with no other choice but to continue putting up billboards to raise public awareness on this issue. The House Democratic Caucus states that they are an inclusive organization that works hard to do good policy work without being sidetracked by politics, but this racial bias against Chinese Americans and our issues because of politics says otherwise” said Linda Yang of WA Asians For Equality.

####

The post News Alert: New Billboard Is Up to Protest Laurie Jinkins for Allowing Partisan Politics to Kill the Chinese American History Month appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

If passed, ESB 5264 would declare January as Americans of Chinese descent history month and encourage (not mandate) public schools to commemorate Americans of Chinese descent’s lives, history, achievements, and contributions.

The Senate quickly passed ESB 5264 by 48 to 0 in January. The bill then passed the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee unanimously and reached the House floor calendar on February 26. The bill was even added to the House Democrats’ “Bills to Brief and Run” list on March 3rd. Then, the behind-the-scenes politics began to play out.

In a text message exchange on March 3^rd, Rep. My-Linh Thai told Speaker Jinkins to “Please hold 5264”, then asked, “Love to hear your take on the ‘politics’ of not passing this bill.” On March 4^th, shortly after ESB 5264 missed the cut-off and died, in an email exchange with her legislative assistant, Rep. Cindy Ryu said, “I am sure they will try to beat down our doors. Same group as those who were occupying the hallways and the rotunda with the drumming and yelling three sessions ago re: I-1000.” She later added, “With the passage of this bill, they would have been further emboldened.”

Clearly, rather than governing based on the bill’s substance, Speaker Jinkins allowed a few members of her caucus to play partisan politics, using ESB 5264 as a vehicle to seek revenge on the Chinese American community who legitimately disagreed with them on an entirely separate policy issue a few years ago.

Rep. Ryu went so far as to suggest that their caucus by-pass the most active and organized Chinese American advocacy groups that have been working on establishing a Chinese American history month for the past three consecutive legislative sessions and form a new one of their own to represent Chinese Washingtonians so that they can “lay the foundation, but in [their] own terms”.On March 9, Rep. Ryu wrote, “I’m thinking beyond them, to MOCC owning this messaging and in fact gathering people together (in spite of this group).” Having individual legislators, or the House Democratic Caucus, form a fake Chinese minority group to serve their own political interests is a frightening concept. It is politics at its very worst.  

When asked about the prospect of a Chinese American History Month in Washington State, in her interview with The Spokesman-Review in April, Speaker Jinkins could not look past the politics and refused to commit to supporting the long-overdue recognition that Chinese Americans deserve. 

And to suggest that “other racial and ethnic communities” may oppose ESB 5264 in that same interview, Speaker Jinkins is attempting to divide the Asian American community and the broader persons of color communities. Speaker Jinkins claimed that she is “standing against bad ideas that divide people and pit communities against each other.” We are hoping to see that she applies the same standards to the Chinese American community and the Chinese American History Month bill: governing instead of politicking; uniting instead of dividing. 

The post Speaker Jinkins owes the public an answer for allowing her caucus to politicize and kill Chinese American History Month appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

THE CHINESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN WASHINGTON PUT UP A BILLBOARD IN SPEAKER LAURIE JINKINS’ DISTRICT TO PROTEST HER DECISION TO KILL CHINESE AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH

Bellevue Washington – May 18, 2022 – A billboard was put up in House Speaker Laurie Jinkins’ district last Friday. The message on the billboard says, “1885 Chinese expelled from Tacoma. 2022 Speaker Laurie Jinkins killed Chinese American History Month. Learn from history.” This is the continuation of the Chinese American community’s protest against Speaker Jinkins’ decision to kill ESB 5264, the Americans of Chinese descent history month bill

If passed, ESB 5264 would declare January as Americans of Chinese descent history month and encourage (not mandate) public schools to commemorate Americans of Chinese descent’s lives, history, achievements, and contributions. 

Last year, Senator Wagoner sponsored SB 5264. The bill has zero fiscal impact, and was passed out of committee unanimously. Yet, Senate Democrat Leadership sat on it and let the bill die twice. The Chinese American community strongly condemned Senate Democrat Leadership’s missing in action.

This year, Senate quickly passed ESB 5264 by 48 to 0 in January. This would allow this bill enough time to navigate through the House. After the bill finally reached House floor calendar on February 26, House Democrat Leadership intentionally blocked this bill, having plenty of time and all the power to bring this bill out for an all member vote.

The Chinese American community was outraged by the House Democrat Leadership’s intentional expulsion of the Americans of Chinese descent history month bill from WA State Law. They sent out a press release on March 7th and called out the House Democrat Leadership for discriminating against and humiliating the Chinese American community.

In her interview with The Spokesman-Review in April, House Speaker Jinkins told the reporter that “majority Democrats had questions about assigning months to ‘sub-ethnic’ groups.“ Just 3 years ago, in 2019, ALL House Democrats, Laurie Jinkins included, voted to pass SB 5864 and designate October as Filipino American History Month. House Democrats clearly had no “questions” about passing SB 5864 and designating a month for the Filipino “sub-ethnic” group, yet they now claim to have “questions” about assigning a month for Chinese Americans, the largest Asian ethnic group in Washington. 

In a March 3rd text message exchange with Speaker Jinkins , Rep. My-Linh Thai asked, “Love to hear your take on the ‘politics’ of not passing this bill [i.e. ESB 5264, the Americans of Chinese descent history month bill].” On March 4th, less than an hour after ESB 5264 missed cutoff and died, Rep. Cindy Ryu celebrated their victory with her legislative assistant and said in an email, “With the passage of this bill, they [i.e. the community organizations behind ESB 5264] would have been further emboldened.” Rep. Ryu later dismissed the community organizations in another email exchange with her legislative assistant on March 9th, and said, “It’s a community of 200-300 people max. They’ve been taking up too much of certain legislators (seems females only so far) like Sen. Kuderer and Rep. Walen.”

The power to pass ESB 5264 was firmly in the hands of House Speaker Laurie Jinkins of Tacoma. As Speaker of the House, she had the ultimate authority to determine if this bill received a vote, but she chose not to. Given Chinese Americans’ long history in this state, their large contributions, and their painful discriminated past, Washington State is long overdue for a Chinese American History Month.

The Chinese American community is holding Speaker Jinkins accountable. In 1885, Chinese immigrants were forcefully expelled from Tacoma. They lost their homes and possessions, and some even lost their lives along this terrible journey. The city later built Chinese Reconciliation Park to commemorate this dark history. Rep. Jinkins apparently did not learn from her city’s dark past. This billboard’s message is clear: “Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it. (by George Santayana)”

####

The post News Alert: A Billboard Is up in House Speaker Laurie Jinkins’ District to Protest Her Decision To Kill Chinese American History Month appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

Dear House Democrat Legislators,

This year, SB 5264, the Chinese American History Month bill, passed the Senate 48 to 0, and the House State Government and Tribal Relations committee unanimously. The Democrat-controlled House had the opportunity to do the right thing and pass this long-overdue bill. However, under Speaker Jinkins’ leadership, the House blocked this bill from getting a floor vote, effectively killing Chinese American History Month. The Chinese American community is deeply offended by this outcome. Many people of Chinese descent are asking why?

The expulsion and systematic murder of Chinese from many Washington cities, Tacoma among them, is a dark part of our history. Tacoma built a reconciliation park to begin to bring closure to this terrible period. The only way we can keep things like this from happening again is to teach and learn from them. Anti-Chinese sentiment and attacks in the last year show how current the need is to begin to address this major public policy issue.

It is deeply concerning that the opportunity to begin to address this historic racial injustice was not important enough to get a very brief floor vote, but the Pickleball bill was passed at the end of the session. Jinkins defended her decision to pass the Pickleball bill because there was no “question” about the bill. The reality is that, with only 260K people playing pickleball in all three West Coast states combined, most people, except the privileged few, are not aware of this sport.Think of how the relatives of those killed and forcibly removed from their homes feel about this newest injustice? Some of the most terrible and unspeakable things that happened to any racial group in the history of Washington State and on the West Coast happened to the Chinese.   

But here is what your leadership team had to say. 

On April 12th, this The Spokesman-Review article ( https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/apr/12/when-could-there-be-a-chinese-history-month-repeat/ ) revealed the reason behind the decision to block SB 5264. According to the article, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins claimed “the (Chinese American) history month bill (SB 5264) didn’t get a vote because majority Democrats had questions about assigning months to “sub-ethnic” groups. ” She also claimed, “it’s our caucus that makes the decisions about bills that they feel comfortable voting on. 

Since Speaker Jinkins claimed this to be a caucus decision, we want to remind all members of the House Democrats that just 3 years ago, in 2019, all House Democrats, Laurie Jinkins included, voted to pass SB 5864 and designate October as Filipino American History Month. Based on voting records, there are 44 current House Democrats who voted to establish Filipino American History Month.

If House Democrats had no “questions” about passing SB 5864 and designating a month for the Filipino “sub-ethnic” group, why do they now have “questions” about the same practice they ran in 2019? And to put things in further context, Chinese Americans are the largest Asian ethnic group in Washington. I want to challenge everyone to name another minority group that has had such a profound impact on Washington State’s development. Why do House Democrats have a double standard here? Racism against Chinese Americans is a long and deep chapter in our history, and sadly, we feel it is happening once again. 

I want to point out several other anti-Chinese comments by Speaker Jinkins:

1) Jinkins claimed that under the name of “equity”, you are unwilling to designate a month for Chinese Americans. Let me remind you that Washington State has January 13, as Korean American Day; February 19, as Japanese American Remembrance Day; and October as Filipino American History Month. Notice which Asian ethnic group is missing? Yes, the Chinese Americans.

2) Jinkins claimed that SB 5264 lacked broad support. Let me point out that among the similar bills, SB 5264 was the only one that CAPAA (state’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs) signed on to testify in support. Commissioner Kendall Kosai of CAPAA gave a powerful speech in support of Chinese American History Month. SB 5264 has the support of many of the state’s largest school districts and the Jewish community. Both “The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle” and “the JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle” support this bill. I would challenge Speaker Jinkins to show me this type of broad support for other similar bills.

3) Jinkins claimed that to get this bill passed, the Chinese American community needs to get approval from all other racial and ethnic groups in the state in advance. When the state legislature passed the Korean American Day; Filipino American History Month, they did not consult with the Chinese American community. The WA legislature has never had such a high bar for passing a bill. Why is Speaker Jinkins setting this unreasonable bar ONLY for Chinese American History Month?The Democrat-controlled House keeps changing the rules on Chinese American History Month, making it a never-ending task for Chinese Americans. And clearly, House Democrats are only doing this to Chinese Americans.

We believe that even though Speaker Jinkins claimed this to be a caucus decision, many of you may not share these same anti-Chinese values. I am hopeful that you will consider denouncing Speaker Jinkins’ anti-Chinese claims and her action to kill SB 5264. I also hope you will have a serious internal caucus discussion on this matter, and consider such racially exclusionary positions, and biases, intentional or not, against Chinese Americans.

Regards,

Linda
WA Asians For Equality

The post An Open Letter to All House Democrats – Laurie Jinkins’s decision to kill the Chinese American History Month Bill was wrong. appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

From building the Transcontinental Railroad, and the Northern Pacific Rail Line, to digging the canals that connect Lake Union with Salmon Bay and Lake Washington, the work and contributions of Chinese Americans are everywhere. Washingtonians are enjoying the fruits of that work, yet not many are aware of their stories. The Washington Legislature established Japanese American Remembrance Day in 2003, Korean American Day in 2007, and Filipino American History Month in 2019. However, there is no designated time in Washington to recognize the contributions and hardships of Chinese Americans.

This year, Washington legislators were presented with ESB 5264, the Americans of Chinese Descent History Month bill. If passed, ESB 5264 would declare January as Americans of Chinese descent history month and encourage (not mandate) public schools to commemorate the lives, history, achievements, and contributions of Americans of Chinese descent.

The Senate quickly passed ESB 5264 by 48 to 0 in January. This gave the bill enough time to navigate through the House. After delays in the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee, it finally reached the House floor calendar on February 26. House Democratic Leadership had plenty of time and all the power to bring this bill out for an all-member vote. It would have easily run and passed in only a few minutes, yet the bill was blocked by leadership from having a vote. By contrast, House Democratic Leadership swiftly passed the pickleball bill, which had just reached the floor calendar on the cutoff day!

The power to pass ESB 5264 was firmly in the hands of House Speaker Laurie Jinkins from Tacoma. As Speaker of the House, she had the ultimate authority to determine if this bill received a vote. She chose to take the floor time to pass the pickleball bill but ignored the Americans of Chinese Descent History Month bill.

The Chinese American community is deeply insulted.  Chinese Americans’ 237 years of history seem to carry little weight in the eyes of the House Democratic Leadership compared to the pickleball bill. Our generations of contributions, discrimination, and sufferings are not worthy of recognition, but pickleball is? We see no concern or compassion from House Leadership or Speaker Jinkins. This has been going on for far too long.

I have been sending all Washington legislators a daily note about Chinese American history since January 10th. It is deeply saddening that the rich history of Americans of Chinese descent is once again ignored. This is even more deeply puzzling, considering House Speaker, Laurie Jinkins, is from Tacoma, a city with such a dark Chinese exclusion history. On November 3, 1885, Tacoma’s remaining 300 Chinese Americans were forcefully expelled from the town.  They lost their homes and possession, and some lost their lives along this terrible journey.     

On November 30, 1993, the Tacoma City Council adopted the milestone Resolution 32415, acknowledging that the 1885 Chinese expulsion was a most reprehensible occurrence. Now, on Tacoma’s beautiful Ruston Way waterfront, sits Chinese Reconciliation Park, a park dedicated to commemorating Tacoma’s terrible history of hatred, murder, and repression.  It expresses the city’s commitment to ending racism and hatred.  But unfortunately, the Democratic Leadership in our legislature has not learned from Tacoma’s dark past.

The Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs gave strong testimony supporting this bill at the House Public Hearing. Tacoma Public Schools, Seattle Public Schools, Bellevue School District, and Lake Washington School District all signed up to support this bill. Our schools were ready to embrace this bill. House Democratic Leadership failed the Chinese American community, failed our schools and our students. We deserve an answer and closure. There must be accountability.

The post Democrats should be held accountable for denying Chinese American History Month appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

CALLING IT 21^st CENTURY CHINESE EXCLUSION, CHINESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY STRONGLY CONDEMNS HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP FOR EXPELLING AMERICANS OF CHINESE DESCENT HISTORY MONTH BILL FROM WA STATE LAW

Bellevue Washington – March 7, 2022 – Outraged by House Democratic Leadership’s expulsion of the Americans of Chinese descent history month bill from WA State Law, the Chinese American community calls out the House Democratic Leadership for ignoring the Chinese American community.

If passed, ESB 5264 would declare January as Americans of Chinese descent history month and encourage (not mandate) public schools to commemorate Americans of Chinese descent’s lives, history, achievements, and contributions.

“It would be the easiest bill in the world to run in only a few minutes, yet House Democratic Leadership chose to take the time to pass the pickleball bill at the very end of session and ignore the Americans of Chinese descent history month bill.” Said Linda Yang, Director of Washington Asians For Equality, “It was a long overdue bill, yet, Americans of Chinese descent’s 237 years of history in this country carries little weight in the eyes of House Democratic Leadership, in comparison to the pickleball bill. I have been sending all WA legislators a daily note of Chinese American history since January 10^th.  We are deeply saddened that the rich history of Americans of Chinese descents can’t convince them to support this bill, but pickleball made the cutoff.  After several tries, it seems they simply do not want to make the Americans of Chinese descent history month bill a law. This is deeply puzzling to us, considering Speaker of the House, Laurie Jinkins, is from Tacoma, a city with such a dark Chinese exclusion history. In 1885, Chinese immigrants were forcefully expelled from her district in Tacoma. The city later built Chinese Reconciliation Park to commemorate this terrible history of hatred, murder, and repression. Rep. Jinkins apparently has not learned from Tacoma’s dark past.

Last year, Senator Wagoner sponsored SB 5264. The bill has zero fiscal impact, and was passed out of committee unanimously. Yet, Senate Democratic Leadership sat on it and let the bill die twice. The Chinese American community strongly condemned Senate Democratic Leadership for being missing in action last session.   

This session, Senate quickly passed ESB 5264 by 48 to 0 in January! This would allow this bill enough time to navigate through the House. However, the bill was let sit in the House State Government and Tribal Relations committee for 4 weeks, and finally reached House floor calendar on February 26. House Democratic Leadership had plenty of time and all the power to bring this bill out for an all member vote, yet, they intentionally blocked this bill.  By contrast, House Democratic Leadership swiftly passed the pickleball bill, which just reached the floor calendar on cutoff day!

“They have deeply insulted the Chinese American community. Their message was clear: Chinese Americans’ contributions and sufferings are not worth recognition. The Washington legislature passed Japanese Remembrance Day bill in 2003, Korean American Day bill in 2007, and Filipino American History Monty bill in 2019.  Yet, they think the Chinese American community should settle for less. We feel that they are practicing bias without even an ounce of concern or compassion. This has been going on for a very long time.  In the past, Americans of Chinese descents were always silent when these things happened to them. The House Democratic Leadership is where this bill was killed in the 2022 legislative session and there must be some accountability. Their action is a direct insult to the Chinese American Community”.

 “This was not the first time we experienced anti-Chinese bias from leadership in the Legislature. We are calling this out now because this has to stop “, said Kan Qiu, President of American Coalition For Equality. “The Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific Americans Affairs gave strong testimony supporting this bill at the House Public Hearing. Seattle Public Schools, Bellevue School District, Lake Washington School District, Tacoma Public Schools all signed up supporting this bill. Our schools were ready to embrace this bill. House Democratic Leadership failed the Chinese American community, failed our schools and our students.  Now they need to provide the general public and Chinese American community an answer and closure.”

####

The post Press Release – Calling it 21st century Chinese Exclusion, Chinese American community strongly condemns House Democratic Leadership for expelling Americans Of Chinese descent history month bill from WA state law appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

Chinese immigrants first landed in the U.S. in 1785. In 1886, more than 350 Chinese immigrants were forcefully expelled from Seattle. There are over 177K Chinese living in WA . By comparison, pickleball was first invented in 1965, and only has 260K players in CA, OR, and WA combined. 

Rep. Cindy Ryu’s email to Senator Wagoner said “The caucus briefing on your bill was not going well.” What was it in ESB 5264  that House Democrats did not like? Rep. Ryu’s amendment (https://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2021-22/Pdf/Amendments/House/5264.E%20AMH%20RYUC%20OMLI%20089.pdf  ) removes the designation of January as American of Chinese Decent History Month. Why is it that Washington can have Korean American Day, Japanese Remembrance Day, and Filipino American History Month, yet can’t have Chinese American History Month?

A party that runs on the notion of inclusion has been practicing Chinese exclusion at every opportunity. We have to ask, what is a House Democrat’s true identity? 

I-200 PAC is raising money to fund Independent Expenditure Campaigns to remove racist legislators this election year. Please donate to support their cause.

The post How much does House Democrat hate the Chinese American Community? appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

CHINESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY STRONGLY CONDEMNS SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP FOR BLOCKING CHINESE AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH BILL, AND SAYS ANTI-ASIAN RACISM SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED IN OLYMPIA

Bellevue Washington – April 26, 2021 – Outraged by Senate Democrat Leadership’s intentional derailment of SB 5264, the Chinese American history month bill, the Chinese American community calls out the Senate Democrat Leadership for being insensitive and missing in action when it came to passing common sense and simple legislation to battle anti-Asian racism in Olympia and Washington State.

If passed, SB 5264 would declare January as Chinese American history month and encourage (not mandate) public schools to commemorate Chinese Americans’ lives, history, achievements, and contributions to this state and country.

“It would be the easiest bill in the world to run in only a few minutes, yet Senate Democrat Leadership repeatedly refused to bring the bill forward for a vote.” Said Linda Yang, Director of Washington Asians For Equality, “It was a long overdue bill, yet, Senate Democrat leadership blocked the bill not once, but twice, this past session. We advocated our position based on merits of the bill and on equity, a fair standard that they themselves set as an achievable objective for this session when battling racism. They simply do not want to make the Chinese American history bill into the law. This is deeply puzzling to us, considering the national media attention to anti-Asian violence that has exploded in our country this year”.  Yang went on to say, “How can this be seen as anything more than an extension of the anti-Asian racism that Asians have been experiencing for generations now?  While national efforts to combat anti-Asian racism and violence were being led by both Democrats and Republicans, Senate Democratic leadership here in Olympia was missing in action and could not even bring themselves to pass this one simple bill to begin to address the problem of anti-Asian racism.”        

Early this year, Senator Wagoner sponsored SB 5264. The bill has zero fiscal impact, and was passed out of committee unanimously. Yet, Senate Democrat Leadership sat on it for 37 days and the bill eventually died at cutoff on March 11th.

After Washington Asian For Equality fiercely blistered Senate Democrats in the media for stalling SB 5264, while swiftly passing HB 1016, making Juneteenth a legal holiday bill, Senate Democrat leadership pulled SB 5264 from X file pile on April 14th, and gave everyone the impression that they would do the right thing and bring this bill forward. Yet, despite daily reminder emails to Senator Andy Billig, Senator Marko Liias, and all legislators, Senate Democrat Leadership sat on SB 5264 again, for 11 days, and let the bill die at Sine Die.

Democrat leadership in Olympia claimed that passing the Chinese American history month bill would divide Asian Americans and African Americans, yet, they had no problem passing HB 1016, making Juneteenth a legal holiday while ignoring the bill that supports Asians. “That was double standard.” Said Linda Yang. “They were just finding excuses to block this Asian bill.”

Democrat leadership also claimed that the Chinese American history month did not need to be written into the law and suggested the Asian community should settle with a Senate resolution, or an Executive Order. “If that is the case, why did the legislature passed SB 6313 and made disability history month into the law?” Linda continued saying. “They lack the respect to the Chinese American community, they think the community should settle for less. We feel that they are practicing bias without even realizing it. This has been going on for a very long time and in the past Asians were always silent when these things happened to them. The Senate Democratic leadership is where this bill was killed in the 2021 legislative session and there must be some accountability. Their inaction and disrespect are deeply disappointing and frustrating to us”.

“This was not the first time we experienced Asian bias from the Senate Democratic leadership. We are calling this out now because this has to stop “, said Kan Qiu, President of American Coalition For Equality. “Organizations such as League of Women Voters of Washington also support this bill. Senate Democrat Leadership put their anti-Asian bias on display. And now they need to provide the general public and Chinese American community an answer and closure.”

####

The post Press Release – Chinese American Community Strongly Condemns Senate Democrat Leadership for Blocking Chinese American History Month Bill, and Says anti-Asian Racism should not Be Tolerated in Olympia appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

Senate Democrat staged a show without the real intention to pass SB 5264, Chinese American History Month Bill

Senator Democrat Leadership put their anti-Asian mindset on display

Less than a week after we sent out a news alert and called out Senate Democrat’s inherent racism against Asian Americans, SB 5264 was revived – at least on the surface. Yet, a closer look at the bills new development suggests all was a staged show put up by Senate Democrat leadership. And this time, we want to particularly call out Senate Floor Leader, Senator Marko Liias for lacking the real intention to move the bill forward.

After SB 5264 was revived, we received news that senators were expecting to vote for it by the past weekend. Yet, that did not happen. We later learned that Senator Marko Liias was the one holding the bill up again. When we say again, it literally means again. In March, Senator Marko Liias’ unwillingness to bring the bill out for a floor vote caused the bill to die at cutoff. Unlike what was described by Senator Democrat Spokesman, SB5264 was not lost in the shuffle, it was intentionally let die despite our requests and reminders.

Senator Liias sponsored SCR 8403, gave people the impression that he truly wanted to move SB 5264 forward this time. Yet, once again, he came up with various excuses to sit on SB 5264, and refused bring SB 5264 forward.  

If Senator Marko Liias’ lack of action in moving SB 5264 forward in March was a big disappointment, then his staged show to fool our community is a direct insult. 

Senator Liias’ lack of support to the Chinese American community was also on display last year, at SR 8684, Honoring Chinese Americans, floor debate. While other senators were paying tribute to the Chinese American community, Senator Liias gave an empty political speech and talked about Iranian American at Canadian boarder. 

There is no better time to pass SB 5264 than this year. We urge Senator Mark Liias and the legislature to do the right thing, and pass the bill. Time is running out. 

###

The post News Alert: Is reviving SB 5264 just a staged show put up by Senate Democrat? – Evidences suggest yes appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

Senate Democrat needs to exam its inherent bias against Asians

Democrat controlled Senate stalled Asian bill and let it die yet put Black bill on fast track to pass

Bellevue, WA – April 9th, 2021 – Early this year, Senator Wagoner sponsored SB 5264, a bill that would declare January as Chinese American History month, and encourage public schools to commemorate Chinese Americans’ contributions to this state and country. It is a much needed bill especially when this country is waking up to longstanding anti-Asian racism. This bill has zero fiscal impact, and passed out of committee unanimously. Yet, Democrat controlled Rules committee let it stalled there for 17 days, then Democrat leadership sat on it for another 20 days. This bill eventually died at cutoff on March 11th. 

By comparison, HB 1016, a bill that would make Juneteenth a legal holiday, with a fiscal impact of $7.5million biennially swiftly moved through the Senate. Rules committee placed it on the floor calendar in just 5 days, then Democrat leadership quickly brought it out for a floor vote in only 2 days. HB 1016 passed Senate and the legislature today, April 9th.

Apparently, an Asian bill and and Black bill were treated differently.  Asian bill was let slowly die and Black bill was a a fast track to pass.

Although we do not want to guess the intention to stall SB 5264, for it being lacking the will to support the bill, or lacking the interest in the bill, Democrat controlled Senate clearly demonstrated its inherent bias against Asians. 

The insensitivity to bills’ negative impact on Asian American community has been showing in many bills. SB 5228, for example, would, without a doubt, create racial quotas against Asian students in medical school admissions. Increasing the number of underrepresented students at medical schools, while excluding Asian students from the underrepresented student definition, will effectively decrease the number of Asian students at medical schools.  While the bill’s sponsors and supporters emphasizing its benefits to other people of color communities, they have shown in indifference in its negative impact on Asian American community.  

We formed a national coalition calling on real actions to combat anti-Asian racism. We hope the Washington Senate would exam its own inherent and implicit bias towards Asians, and walk the talk to combat anti-Asian racism in Olympia.

###

New Development: News Alert: Is reviving SB 5264 just a staged show put up by Senate Democrat? – Evidences suggest yes

Update:

Tacoma News Tribune Editorial Board: New Black history holiday good for Washington. But don’t slight this minority group

The Jason Rantz Show: Linda Yang (WA Asians 4 Equality) says Senate Democrats needs to exam their inherent bias against Asian Washingtonians

The post News Alert – Democrat controlled WA Senate stalled Asian bill and let it die yet put Black bill on fast track to pass appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.