2022 – A $25,000 proviso to the OSPI “solely for the office to create and distribute promotional and educational materials to school districts for Americans of Chinese descent history month” was written in the 2022 Supplementary Budget. Despite the legislature’s failure to establish the Americans of Chinese descent history month that year, the proviso passed;

May 17, 2022 – Senator Keith Wagoner and Senator Christine Rolfes sent a letter to OSPI to clarify how the funding should be used. In the letter, the two senators state: “The budget proviso was included to provide OSPI the tools needed to provide educational and promotional materials, e.g., posters or flyers celebrating the unique history and contributions of these Americans”, and “…emphasize the fact that these materials specifically state Americans of Chinese Descent and not Chinese-Americans.”;

September 29, 2022 – CAPAA Executive Director, Toshiko Hasegawa, forwarded OSPI’s email on Americans of Chinese Descent History Month Resources Creation to Rep. Santos;

October 5, 2022 – OSPI started its RFP process for the Americans of Chinese Descent History Materials and Resource Contract;

October 18, 2022 – OSPI switched the Americans of Chinese Descent Contract “from an RFP to a Sole Source Contract” and give the contract to UW; (We are still investigating the reason behind the switch.)

October 21, 2022 – Rep. Sharon Santos sent an email to Jenny Plaja, Executive Director of Government Relations at OSPI, and Mia Tuan, Dean of the UW College of Education, on the Americans of Chinese Descent Contract. In her email, Rep. Santos indicated that she had discussed this contract with each of them prior to sending it out, and lauded her long term partnership with Plaja. She ended her email by saying, “Thank you, both, for your understanding and engagement on this important if thorny matter.” ;

November 9, 2022 – The dean of the UW College of Education, Mia Tuan, sent out an email and stated, “I spoke with Rep. Tomiko Santos today to make sure I understood her wishes. Based on that conversation, here’s what my Assistant Dean for Finance (Santhi) and I suggest: -it doesn’t make sense to involve the College of Education in this transaction. Santhi will follow up with Jenny to introduce her to Santhi’s counterpart in the college of Arts & Sciences (the academic home for Asian American Studies). This is a cleaner and simpler process than having funds pass through our college.” In other words, Rep. Santos’ wishes were to give the contract to Asian American Studies, where Professor Connie So teaches;

November 10, 2022 – Not knowing that their counterpart at the UW has changed from the College of Education to the College of Arts and Sciences, OSPI told WA Asians For Equality in an email, “we are contracting with the University of Washington’s College of Education to create the materials and OSPI will be in char[g]e of distributing them.”; 

Between November and December, 2022 – OSPI was working on the contract language that they thought was between the UW College of Education and followed up with the UW College of Education on the contract multiple times;

December 2, 2022 – In a meeting with Speaker Jinkins and members of WA Asians For Equality, Rep. Santos said, “The contract language [for the proviso] has been sent to the University of Washington, where we are engaging with the Asian American Studies program at the University of Washington to help conduct some research on the appropriate month for recognizing Americans of Chinese descent heritage.” At the same meeting, Rep. Santos admitted that Professor Connie So was her scholar on this subject at UW;

December 22, 2022 – In response to OSPI’s follow up email on the contract, Santhi Perumal, the Assistant Dean of the UW College of Education, said, “There has been some change of plans and so I am introducing my colleague over at the College of Arts and Science, Linda Nelson (copied on the email), who will be taking over this.” Linda Nelson, the Associate Dean of the UW College of Arts and Sciences, emailed OSPI: “I understand that the work outlined in this contract will be completed by Professor Connie So who is a member of the Department of American Ethnic Studies within the College of Arts & Sciences.“;

January 11, 2023 – Associate Dean Nelson, sent Professor So an email with the subject line “FW: Americans of Chinese Descent Contract Intake for OSPI”, and stated, “My contacts from OSPI are asking about the status of our contract review?” According to the Purpose of the Agreement section, the contract is “for the successful implementation and operation of a collection of materials and resources about the history of Americans of Chinese descent.“;

January 14, 2023 –  Professor So sent an email to four people who she later hired as consultants for her research project and said, “To make sure that an ‘appropriate’ month is chosen, OSPI has given the department of American Ethnic Studies some funds to find researchers to determine what month would work best. Since the money is going to AES, of course I will be one of the researchers because of the obvious conflict of interest. But I am hoping that the four of you, all with tremendous Chinese American historical credibility, might come up with at least 1-2 months that make sense. OSPI, through AES, will pay you (or a group that you designate) money for the research. ” In the same email, she also revealed Rep. Santos’ association with her research, stating, “Sharon Tomiko Santos is sponsoring a bill to create a Chinese American History/Heritage Month…. The deadline for this bill’s passage is February, so we should try to find a month by the end of January.”

January 15, 2023 – Professor So sent another email to the four consultants and stated, “I think the amount of research money I can distribute will be around $1000-$3000. I will know more this coming week.”;

January 18, 2023 – Professor So told her consultants in an email, “My meeting with UW budgeting and OSPI is next Tuesday”,  which was January 24, 2023;

January 23, 2023 – In an email to the OSPI, Associate Dean Nelson stated, “I’m meeting with Professor So on tomorrow”, which was January 24, 2023;

January 31, 2023 – Prof. Connie So sent her “Recommendations for Chinese American Month” to Rep. Santos and other recipients, but no one from OSPI was included in the report’s distribution list, despite her claim that the research was commissioned by OSPI. In the background section of her recommendation, she states: “On January 11, 2023, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) asked Dr. Connie So, teaching professor at the University of Washington’s American Ethnic Studies Department, to evaluate whether January is the best month to honor ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’ –the title of the original bill. … Dr. So created a survey to obtain additional perspectives on the title of the month, and whether January or another month would be the best choice to honor ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’/’Chinese Americans'”;

March 21, 2023 – Professor So told the panel of House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee members that “In January, OSPI has commissioned me to assess the appropriate month to honor Chinese Americans, yes, Chinese Americans, not just Americans of Chinese descent”. So claimed that “Americans of Chinese descent” is the wrong term to use;

March 21, 2023 – The contract between OSPI and the UW College of Arts and Sciences was signed;

March 21, 2023 – Rep. Santos sent Rep. Ramos an email, in which, she claimed that “OSPI contracted with Dr. Connie So at the University of Washington to fulfill the provisions of the proviso. Hence, the recommendations appended hereto were requested by the Legislature.“

March 22 to March 28, 2023 – Rep. Santos applied pressure to the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee to strike out the entire language of SB 5000, Americans of Chinese Descent History Month, and replace it with language from her own bill, HB 1759. HB 1759 consists of two parts: the first part is the intend section, which is about the history of people of Chinese descent in Washington. It is a nice addition, but it won’t be included in the state law and won’t have any practical impact on establishing the month in Washington. The second part is what actually goes into the state law, RCW 43.117. The only practical difference between SB 5000 and HB 1759 is that in SB 5000, the month is referred to as “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month,” while in HB 1759, the month is called “Chinese American Month”. Passing the bill without amending SB 5000 with Rep. Santos’ bill language would avoid the need to send the bill back to the Senate for concurrence and ensure the establishment of a commemorative month this year;

March 26, 2023 – Rep. Santos admitted the proviso money was used to fund Professor So’s research: “I have confirmed with Dr. Connie So that she will be available tomorrow morning before 8:00 a.m. to discuss with you the position of the historians of Chinese American history with respect to the naming of the month to recognize the contributions of Chinese Americans to the state of Washington and to the United States of America. She will be reaching out to the other historians who provided the research and recommendations requested by the 2022 legislative budget proviso to OSPI, as well as to other Chinese American community leaders.”;

March 28, 2023 – In order to advance SB 5000 out of the committee, the bill’s prime sponsor, Senator Wagoner, and the bill’s supporters agreed to a striking amendment to SB 5000 that recognizes both names, “Chinese American History Month” and “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month”;

March 31, 2023 – In their email to WA Asians For Equality, OSPI denied any association or involvement with Professor So’s project, stating that “OSPI has no record of a contract with Professor Connie So” and “OSPI did not contract Dr. So to produce any survey about finding the appropriate month for Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. Therefore, we have no knowledge of the creation of the survey, funding, or payment breakdowns.”;

April 3, 2023 – The House passed ESSB 5187, the 2023-2025 state operation budget. In it, it states, “$25,000 of the general fund—state appropriation for fiscal year 2023 is provided solely for the office to create and distribute promotional and educational materials to school districts for Americans of Chinese descent history month.”

April 3, 2023 – UW Office of State Relations contacted Professor Connie So and asked for clarification about what she was “contracted by OSPI to study”, and Connie deferred the answer to Rep. Santos, saying “I’m going to ask Rep. Santos, my state representative, to send it to you. I want to go through the regular channels.”;

April 6, 2023 – Amended SB 5000 was voted on by the entire House. Despite all the compromises made to accommodate her request, including adopting the entire intent section of her HB 1759 word for word and adding the term “Chinese Americans” to the RCW 43.117 section, Rep. Santos voted “Nay” on the amended SB 5000;

April 13, 2023 – Senate concurred in the amended SB 5000. WA legislature passed January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.

April 16, 2023 – House attempted to revise the 2022 proviso language. The attempted revision reads, “$25,000 of the general fund-state appropriation for fiscal year 2023 is provided solely for the office to contract with the college of arts and sciences at the university of Washington to provide educational research about the contributions of Chinese Americans to Washington state and to make recommendations about a preferred month in which to recognize these contributions.” The WA legislature already passed January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month on April 13. Other than trying to cover up their wrongdoings after fact, this House revision makes no sense and is not needed.

The post Timeline of Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos’ Abuse of Power and Diverting Proviso Funds to Finance Research That Served Her Political Agenda appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

OSPI is a government agency responsible for public education. One may ask why OSPI would commission Professor So to conduct research related to state legislation. In an email on March 31, OSPI denied any association or involvement with Professor So, stating that “OSPI has no record of a contract with Professor Connie So” and “OSPI did not contract Dr. So to produce any survey about finding the appropriate month for Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. Therefore, we have no knowledge of the creation of the survey, funding, or payment breakdowns.” Furthermore, on January 31, 2023, Professor So sent her “Recommendations for Chinese American Month” to Rep. Santos and other recipients, but no one from OSPI was included in the report’s distribution list, despite her claim that the research was commissioned by OSPI. Professor So clearly misrepresented herself at the public hearing.

Upon reviewing the records obtained through the Public Records Act (PRA), it becomes evident that Professor So not only misrepresented herself in front of the panel of House committee members but also improperly redirected the OSPI proviso contract funds to finance her research project without the knowledge of OSPI. Moreover, her research project contradicted the purpose of the proviso contract between OSPI and UW. The contract is “for the successful implementation and operation of a collection of materials and resources about the history of Americans of Chinese descent.” However, Professor So asserted that her research, financed by the funds she inappropriately diverted from the OSPI contract, did not support the name “Americans of Chinese descent”.

Professor So was not only dishonest in front of the state legislators but also misleading to her survey participants. In the survey she referenced during her public hearing testimony, she stated, “the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction asked Dr. Connie So, teaching professor at the University of Washington’s American Ethnic Studies Department, to evaluate whether January is the best month to honor ‘Americans of Chinese descent’ –title of the original bill”. She then deceptively added a question about the name of the month as an afterthought, despite the name already having been determined.

Professor So’s politically motivated and problematic research raises significant concerns. She selectively sent a two-question survey to a small group of 40 individuals in her close circle of friends and political allies, including 26 people involved in the email chain discussing the name and month to be included in the survey. Notably, among them were Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos and Rep. Cindy Ryu, the only two legislators who voted against the Americans of Chinese Descent History Month bill, which successfully passed both the Senate and the House this year. Only 18 out of the 40 individuals she contacted responded to her survey, which was narrowly framed and biased in design, within the period of January 25 to January 29, 2023. Apart from the issues of sampling bias and an insufficient sample size, Professor So intentionally introduced survey bias by providing pros and cons commentary alongside each survey question—an approach frowned upon as it undermines the objectivity of the survey. Additionally, on January 27, Professor So provided a narrow definition of “Americans of Chinese Descent” to the 40 survey participants, which in turn influenced their answers to the survey. It is deeply appalling to witness such politically motivated and poor-quality work coming from a professor at the University of Washington.

Below is a quick summary of Professor So’s “research” methodology:

• Research Method: Survey;
• Research Timeframe: January 25, 2023, to January 29, 2023;
• Sampling Method: Non-scientific. Professor So simply emailed 40 people in her social and political circle to solicit answers to her survey. Among them, 26 were involved in discussing the survey design themselves. Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos and Rep. Cindy Ryu were among the group of 26. Her friends and associates, some of whom are not even of Chinese descent, are not a fair representation of the Chinese descent community in Washington, which introduced sampling bias;
• Sample Size: 18 respondents. Out of the 40 people she reached out to, only 18 responded. For any quantitative research, a sample size of 18 is too small to draw any valid conclusion;
• Survey Questions: 2 questions: name of the month and which month; 
• Survey Design: Each question has multiple answer options. Instead of letting respondents simply answer the survey based on their own opinions, Professor So paid 4 consultants to write pros and cons commentaries for each answer option and accompanied each survey question with those commentaries. This introduced survey bias, as the commentaries would inevitably influence respondents’ answers. This is especially true when the consultants fail to include Senator Wagoner’s floor speech. “When Americans are attacked, Americans stick together”, Senator Wagoner said on the floor. The senator recognizes that the Chinese descent community has been facing an uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes and purposefully chose the name “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month” to emphasize that they are Americans first. 
• Other: Professor So sent out an email to the 40 survey participants, and said “I have been asked by a few people to clarify ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’ versus ‘Chinese American Month’”. So then provided her version of explanation and asserted  “Chinese did not have naturalization rights until the Magnuson Act of 1943.  Thus, the early pioneers who built the railroad were NOT Americans.  However, ‘Americans’ of Chinese descent puts the emphasis on being an American.” So’s narrow definition of “Americans of Chinese descent” scared people away from selecting that term. We later learned that people thought adopting the name “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month” would leave out the history of early Chinese immigrants, which is completely untrue. Just as The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 applies to all individuals with disabilities, regardless of their citizenship, the term “Americans” is not reserved only for US citizens;

The proviso contract between OSPI and the UW College of Arts and Sciences was not signed until March 21, 2023. However, Professor So had already promised payment to her consultants for her research project, which was outside the scope of the contract and without the knowledge of OSPI, back in January. On January 14th, she wrote to her consultants: “To make sure that an ‘appropriate’ month is chosen, OSPI has given the department of American Ethnic Studies some funds to find researchers to determine what month would work best. Since the money is going to AES, of course I will be one of the researchers because of the obvious conflict of interest … OSPI, through AES, will pay you (or a group that you designate) money for the research. ” It is evident that Professor So also violated the clause in the OSPI contract that specifically states,”Neither CAS nor any subcontractor shall enter into subcontracts for any of the work contemplated under this Contract without obtaining prior written approval of OSPI.”

Timeline of evidence:

• 2022 – A $25,000 proviso to the OSPI “solely for the office to create and distribute promotional and educational materials to school districts for Americans of Chinese descent history month” was written in the 2022 Supplementary Budget. Despite the legislature’s failure to establish the Americans of Chinese descent history month that year, the proviso passed;
• May 17, 2022 – Senator Keith Wagoner and Senator Christine Rolfes sent a letter to OSPI to clarify how the funding should be used. In the letter, the two senators state: “The budget proviso was included to provide OSPI the tools needed to provide educational and promotional materials, e.g., posters or flyers celebrating the unique history and contributions of these Americans”, and “…emphasize the fact that these materials specifically state Americans of Chinese Descent and not Chinese-Americans.”;
• November 9, 2022 – The dean of the UW College of Education, Mia Tuan, sent out an email and stated, “I spoke with Rep. Tomiko Santos today to make sure I understood her wishes. Based on that conversation, here’s what my Assistant Dean for Finance (Santhi) and I suggest: -it doesn’t make sense to involve the College of Education in this transaction. Santhi will follow up with Jenny to introduce her to Santhi’s counterpart in the college of Arts & Sciences (the academic home for Asian American Studies). This is a cleaner and simpler process than having funds pass through our college.”
• December 22, 2022 – In response to OSPI’s follow up email on the contract, Santhi Perumal, the Assistant Dean of the UW College of Education, said, “There has been some change of plans and so I am introducing my colleague over at the College of Arts and Science, Linda Nelson (copied on the email), who will be taking over this.” Linda Nelson, the Associate Dean of the UW College of Arts and Sciences, emailed OSPI: “I understand that the work outlined in this contract will be completed by Professor Connie So who is a member of the Department of American Ethnic Studies within the College of Arts & Sciences.“;
• January 11, 2023 – Associate Dean Nelson, sent Professor So an email with the subject line “FW: Americans of Chinese Descent Contract Intake for OSPI”, and stated, “My contacts from OSPI are asking about the status of our contract review?” According to the Purpose of the Agreement section, the contract is “for the successful implementation and operation of a collection of materials and resources about the history of Americans of Chinese descent.“;

• January 14, 2023 –  Professor So sent an email to four people who she later hired as consultants for her research project and said, “To make sure that an ‘appropriate’ month is chosen, OSPI has given the department of American Ethnic Studies some funds to find researchers to determine what month would work best. Since the money is going to AES, of course I will be one of the researchers because of the obvious conflict of interest. But I am hoping that the four of you, all with tremendous Chinese American historical credibility, might come up with at least 1-2 months that make sense. OSPI, through AES, will pay you (or a group that you designate) money for the research. ” In the same email, she also revealed Rep. Santos’ association with her research, stating, “Sharon Tomiko Santos is sponsoring a bill to create a Chinese American History/Heritage Month…. The deadline for this bill’s passage is February, so we should try to find a month by the end of January.”;

• January 15, 2023 – Professor So sent another email to the four consultants and stated, “I think the amount of research money I can distribute will be around $1000-$3000. I will know more this coming week.”;
• January 18, 2023 – Professor So told her consultants in an email, “My meeting with UW budgeting and OSPI is next Tuesday”,  which was January 24, 2023;

• January 23, 2023 – In an email to the OSPI, Associate Dean Nelson stated, “I’m meeting with Professor So on tomorrow”, which was January 24, 2023;

• January 31, 2023 – Prof. Connie So sent her “Recommendations for Chinese American Month” to Rep. Santos and other recipients, but no one from OSPI was included in the report’s distribution list, despite her claim that the research was commissioned by OSPI. In the background section of her recommendation, she states: “On January 11, 2023, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) asked Dr. Connie So, teaching professor at the University of Washington’s American Ethnic Studies Department, to evaluate whether January is the best month to honor ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’ –the title of the original bill. … Dr. So created a survey to obtain additional perspectives on the title of the month, and whether January or another month would be the best choice to honor ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’/’Chinese Americans’”;
• March 21, 2023 – Professor So told the panel of House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee members that “In January, OSPI has commissioned me to assess the appropriate month to honor Chinese Americans, yes, Chinese Americans, not just Americans of Chinese descent”. So claimed that “Americans of Chinese descent” is the wrong term to use, and insisted that based on her “research”, the commemorative month should be called “Chinese American Month” instead of “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month”;
• March 21, 2023 – The contract between OSPI and the UW College of Arts and Sciences was signed. In the OSPI contract, it specifically states,”Neither CAS nor any subcontractor shall enter into subcontracts for any of the work contemplated under this Contract without obtaining prior written approval of OSPI.”;
• March 31, 2023 – In their email to WA Asians For Equality, OSPI denied any association or involvement with Professor So’s project, stating that “OSPI has no record of a contract with Professor Connie So” and “OSPI did not contract Dr. So to produce any survey about finding the appropriate month for Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. Therefore, we have no knowledge of the creation of the survey, funding, or payment breakdowns.”;

The post Examining Professor So’s Problematic Research That Was Financed by Improperly Diverted Funds From the Proviso to OSPI appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

If it weren’t for the striking amendment insisted on by Rep. Santos, the bill would have passed the Washington State legislature and been on its way to being signed into law by the governor. However, due to the amendment made in the House committee, the bill has to be sent back to the Senate for concurrence. SB 5000 needs to pass the Senate again by April 23, or it will fail to become law again. Below is a recount of the four year struggle to establish a commemorative month for the Americans of Chinese Descent Community in Washington state.

Background:

• 2019 – The WA Legislature passed SB 5865, and established October as Filipino American History Month in Washington. Inspired by this bill, WA Asians for Equality and American Coalition for Equality lobbied for a bill to establish a Chinese American History Month;
• 2020 – Then-Republican Senator Steve O’Ban sponsored a Senate Resolution, SR 8684, Honoring Chinese Americans. The WA Senate passed this resolution unanimously;
• 2020 – Encouraged by the support for SR 8684, then-Republican Senator Hans Zeiger introduced SB 6679, declaring January as Chinese American history month and encouraging public schools to commemorate the month. The bill was introduced near the end of the 2020 legislative session, and due to time constraints, the bill did not move out of its original committee. However, SB 6679 had bipartisan co-sponsors;
• 2021 – Republican Senator Keith Wagoner reintroduced SB 6679 as SB 5264 for the 2021-2022 legislative session. SB 5264 passed the Senate State Government and Elections committee unanimously, yet was stalled by Senate Democrat leadership, and missed the deadline to move out of the Senate in 2021;
• 2022 – Seeing the rise in anti-Asian attacks, Senator Wagoner gave a Senate floor speech saying, “When Americans are attacked, Americans stick together,” and changed the name to “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month” to emphasize that community members are Americans first. The WA Senate quickly passed the amended SB 5264. The bill passed the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee unanimously, and was put on the House floor run list for the final floor vote on March 3. However, a behind the door political manipulation led by Reps. Cindy Ryu, My-Linh Thai, and Sharon Tomiko Santos, eventually blocked SB 5264 from getting a final floor vote and killed Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. Could not oppose the month outright, Reps. Ryu, Thai, and Santos wanted to move the month from January to May, which has already been designated as AAPI Heritage Month. In a message to the House Democratic Caucus on March 3, 2022, Rep. Ryu said, “If 5264 must run, I’d like to amend the bill to change the month to May.”
• July 11, 2022 Rep. Santos’ office contacted Prof. Connie So, a Teaching Professor at UW, “to discuss the proposed Chinese American history month in Senate Bill 5264”;
• December 2, 2022 – During a meeting with Speaker Jinkins and members of WA Asians For Equality, Rep. Santos insisted that the month should be decided by her scholar from the UW. Rep. Santos admitted in the meeting that Prof. Connie So was her UW scholar. She also said to members of WA Asians For Equality, “Don’t you just want a month? Isn’t that the most important thing? People in my constituency would want to have Chinese American History, period. They will celebrate whenever it is that we decreed it to be.” Members of WA Asians For Equality brought physical copies of the petition to establish January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month signed by over 1,000 people from the Chinatown International District to the meeting and presented them to Speaker Jinkins and Rep. Santos;
• December, 2023 – More than 700 people signed the online petition to establish January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.
• January 14, 2023 – Prof. Connie So sent an email to four people who she later hired as consultants to her research project and claimed, “OSPI has given the department of American Ethnic Studies some funds to find researchers to determine what month would work best.” However, OSPI denied any association and claimed that “OSPI did not contract Dr. So to produce any survey about finding the appropriate month for Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. Therefore we have no knowledge of the creation of the survey, funding, or payment breakdowns. “ Among the four consultants So hired, two openly admitted that they had discussed this topic with Rep. Santos prior.
• Between January 14 and January 25, 2023, a group of 26 people were on Prof. Connie So’s email chain discussing the name and month to be asked in the survey to “evaluate whether January is the best month to honor ‘Americans of Chinese Descent'”. Among the 26 people were Reps. Sharon Santos, Cindy Ryu. 
• January 25, 2023 – Prof. Connie So sent her two question survey to forty people in her close circle, including the above group of 26 people. Again, Reps. Sharon Santos, Cindy Ryu were among the 40 people she surveyed; 
• January 27, 2023 – Prof. Connie So sent out an email to the 40 survey participants, and said “I have been asked by a few people to clarify ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’ versus ‘Chinese American Month'”. So then provided her version of explanation and asserted  “Chinese did not have naturalization rights until the Magnuson Act of 1943.  Thus, the early pioneers who built the railroad were NOT Americans.  However, ‘Americans’ of Chinese descent puts the emphasis on being an American.” So’s narrow definition of “Americans of Chinese descent” scared people away from selecting that term. We later learned that people thought adopting the name “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month” would leave out the history of early Chinese immigrants, which is completely untrue. Just as The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 applies to all individuals with disabilities, regardless of their US citizenship, the term “Americans” is not reserved only for American citizens;
• January 31, 2023 – Prof. Connie So sent her “Recommendations for Chinese American Month” to Rep. Santos and other recipients, but no one from OSPI was included in the report’s distribution list, despite her claim that the research was commissioned by OSPI. Among the 40 people she surveyed, 18 responded. The recommendations were based on answers of the 18 people in the period of January 25 to January 29, 2023;
• February 1, 2023 – Rep. Santos forwarded Prof. Connie So’s recommendation to Speaker Jinkins and Counsel Desiree Omli;

History of SB 5000:

• December 5, 2022 – Senator Wagoner pre-filled SB 5000, Americans of Chinese Decent History Month;
• January 13, 2023 – SB 5000 passed the Senate State Government and Elections Committee unanimously. Senator Bob Hasegawa, who is the bill’s co-sponsor, voted for the bill;
• Feb. 1, 2023 – SB 5000 passed the Senate 48 to 0;
• Feb. 3, 2023 – SB 5000 entered the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee;
• Feb. 6, 2023 – Rep. Santos sponsored her own bill, HB 1759, Chinese American Month, claiming that it was supported by Prof. Connie So’s research. Only one bill is needed to establish a commemorative month for people of Chinese descent, and every bill must pass both the Senate and the House. By that time, SB 5000 had already passed the Senate, whereas HB 1759 still needed to pass the House first and then the Senate;
• Feb. 24, 2023 – HB 1759 failed to advance out of House committee, and is considered dead this session;
• March 21, 2023 – SB 5000 had a public hearing in the House. More than 100 people signed up in support of it. Many testified, asking the committee to pass it as is. Prof. Connie So showed up to testify in support of HB 1759, a bill that could not advance this session. Prof. So claimed that “Americans of Chinese descent” is the wrong term to use;
• March 22 to March 28, 2023 – Rep. Santos applied pressure to the House committee to strike out the entire language of SB 5000 and replace it with language from her own bill, HB 1759. HB 1759 consists of two parts: the first part is about the history of people of Chinese descent in Washington, which is a nice addition but won’t be included in the state law and won’t have any practical impact on establishing the month in Washington. The second part is what actually goes into the state law, RCW 43.117. The only practical difference between SB 5000 and HB 1759 is that in SB 5000, the month is referred to as “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month,” while in HB 1759, the month is called “Chinese American Month”. Passing the bill without amending SB 5000 with Rep. Santos’ bill language, would avoid creating an additional obstacle to its passage and ensure the establishment of a commemorative month;
• March 26, 2023 – Rep. Santos had a conference call with the Committee Chair, Rep. Bill Ramos, and Rep. Mia Gregerson. After the meeting, she arranged a conference call between Rep. Gregerson and Professor So and some people from the January group of 26 in the morning of March 27;
• March 28, 2023 – In order to advance SB 5000 out of the committee, the bill’s prime sponsor, Senator Wagoner, and the bill’s supporters agreed to a striking amendment to SB 5000 that recognizes both names, “Chinese American History Month” and “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month”. However, in an unexpected twist, the original language, which urged the recognition of Americans of Chinese descent’s history in the US, was intentionally removed from the final amendment due to Rep. Santos’ influence. WA Asians For Equality tried to have the language reinstated, but that request was denied;
• March 29, 2023 – SB 5000 passed the House committee as amended;
• April 6, 2023 – Amended SB 5000 was voted by the entire House. Reps. Sharon Tomiko Santos and Cindy Ryu were the only two who voted Nay;
• Update: April 13, 2023 – The Senate concurred in the House amendment to SB 5000; SB 5000 passed the Senate 47 to 0, which marked SB 5000’s final passage of both chambers;
• Update: May 9, 2023 – Governor Inslee signed SB 5000 into law. Washington is the first state in the nation to establish Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.

Media Coverages:

• May 9, 2023 – Washington the first to mark January as Americans of Chinese Descent Month
• May 9, 2023 – Making time to celebrate the Chinese community’s place in state history
• April 17, 2023 – Compromise calls for honoring Chinese community each January
• April 1, 2023 – Spin Control: Debate on Chinese American month asks, ‘What’s in a name?’
• February 1, 2023 – Bill to honor ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’ in January passes through Washington Senate
• January 17, 2023 – WA Democrats hid messages on Chinese American History Month bill
• October 16, 2022 – Rantz: Democrat lawmaker axed Chinese Heritage Month because sponsor is white
• April 12, 2022 –  When could there be a Chinese History Month? Repeated efforts fail in Legislature
• May 1, 2021 – Spin Control: Why a bill to designate Chinese American history month hit a brick wall this session
• April 29, 2021 – No Chinese American recognition in Washington. Simple bill dies peculiar death, twice
• April 15, 2021 – New Black history holiday good for Washington. But don’t slight this minority group

The post The Four Year Struggle To Establish Americans of Chinese Descent History Month appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

Community speaks out about scandalous research used as an excuse to amend a bill against their wishes and urges Speaker Laurie Jinkins to NOT kill Americans of Chinese Descent History Month again.

BELLEVUE, WA, April 05, 2023 – Last year, the Washington House Democrats killed Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. This year, after almost two months of waiting, SB 5000, the bill to designate January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month, finally passed the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee on the cutoff day. The bill quickly passed the Senate on a 48-0 vote, but was in a holding pattern in the House committee. A recent The Spokesman-Review article highlighted the bill’s four-year struggle to pass through the Washington legislature and its battle in the House committee this year. The article also questioned whether the bill would suffer the same fate as last year and fail to pass in the House.

In light of this article, the community that has been advocating for the bill for four years has decided to speak out. “What we have been seeing is appalling. There has been scandalous research and strong-armed political manipulation to alter the bill’s trajectory and limit its influence to Washington state only. After all the discrimination our community has endured in this state and country, we do not deserve this kind of mistreatment,” said Linda Yang, Director of Washington Asians For Equality, with frustration.

After SB 5000 passed the Senate on February 1, Rep. Santos introduced her own bill, called Chinese American Month, on February 6. It took SB 5000 a month and a half to finally receive a public hearing on March 21. By that time, Rep. Santos’ bill had missed the House bill of origin cutoff and was considered dead for this session. However, Committee Chair Bill Ramos held a “courtesy” public hearing on Santos’ bill on the same day, which was out of the ordinary. During her testimony for Santos’ bill, UW Teaching Professor Connie So claimed that she was commissioned by OSPI to “assess the appropriate month to honor Chinese Americans”. She argued that the term “Americans of Chinese Descent” should not be used to refer to all “Chinese Americans” because early immigrants, such as the Chinese railroad workers in the 19th century, were prohibited from naturalization. According to So, “The Chinese American experience is not the Chinese experience and is not an American experience.” She argued that the name “Chinese American Month” was supported by her research, which turned out to be a problematic survey of only 18 people in her close circle.

Despite So’s claim, OSPI denies any association or involvement with her: “OSPI has no record of a contract with Professor Connie So.” and “OSPI did not contract Dr. So to produce any survey about finding the appropriate month for Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. Therefore we have no knowledge of the creation of the survey, funding, or payment breakdowns.” WA Asians For Equality is investigating who actually funded So’s research. According to Public Records Act (PRA) records, Santos’ office initially contacted So on July 11, 2022, regarding “Chinese American history month”.

After the public hearing, there was eight-day pressure on Senator Keith Wagoner, the prime sponsor of SB 5000, and the bill’s community supporters to accept striking out SB 5000’s original bill language and replacing it with that of Rep. Santos’ bill. Professor So’s research was used as the excuse for such an amendment. However, the community wanted the committee to pass SB 5000 without amendment. Many people testified at the public hearing, including Yongsheng Sun, a sociologist and professor of Asian American Studies. In order for the bill to move forward, Senator Wagoner agreed to some changes.  The community and Senator Wagoner rejected the change that would replace the name “Americans of Chinese Descent History Month” with “Chinese American History Month”.

WA Asians For Equality obtained a copy of Prof. So’s research report, “Recommendations for Chinese American Month,” which Rep. Santos sent to Speaker Laurie Jinkins under high priority on January 31. Upon close examination, So’s entire research is problematic, as it is full of sampling bias, an insufficient sample size, and survey bias. So and her four paid consultants designed a two-question survey that only 18 people in her close circle answered. So’s consultants wrote pros and cons commentary that accompanied each survey question, which is a frowned-upon approach that introduces survey bias.

In an email sent to the entire House committee on March 28, Yang stated, “The term ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’ acknowledges that we are Americans first and foremost, which brings a sense of belonging and safety to our community members.” Yang also pointed out that “More than 1,000 people living, working, and running businesses in Rep. Santos’ own 37th legislative district have physically signed the petition to designate January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. Additionally, over 700 people have signed the online petition, which was drafted by a Central Valley High School Junior, in support of designating January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.” The committee ended up passing the bill with an amendment that designates January as Chinese American/Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.

In an unexpected twist, Chair Ramos removed the language that urges commemoration of Americans of Chinese descent’s history in the United States from the final amendment. The removal turned out to be intentional. According to a March 6 article, Rep. Santos told the reporter for NW Asian Weekly, “we’re focusing on what was important to Washington state to commemorate and recognize the contributions of Chinese Americans in the state”. Yang’s group tried to request adding national history back in without success.

The community remains cautiously optimistic that the House will pass SB 5000 this year. “We have sent Speaker Jinkins the findings of our investigation into Professor So’s research”, said Yang. “We hope that as the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, she will take the commanding effort to establish January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month this year.”

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The post Press Release – Community Speaks Out About Scandalous Research Used Against Them and Urges Speaker Laurie Jinkins to Not Kill Americans of Chinese Descent History Month Again appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

Dear Dean Harris,

The College of Arts and Sciences has recently entered into an interagency agreement (#20230360) with the OSPI to produce materials and resources about the history of Americans of Chinese descent. However, due to Teaching Professor Connie So’s recent xenophobic comments regarding “Americans of Chinese descent,” we feel that she would be biased and is unsuitable for working on this project. Additionally, we have serious concerns about the quality of her work, judging from her poorly conducted research for the OSPI. Therefore, we would like to request that Professor Connie So be removed from the OSPI Americans of Chinese descent history project (interagency agreement # 20230360).

Exhibition #1:

During the House public hearing on March 21, 2023, Professor Connie So argued that the term “Americans of Chinese descent” does not include people of Chinese descent in the US who were banned from naturalization. She went on to argue that Chinese railroad workers of the 19th century and many others are not “actually Americans” (https://youtu.be/t2uHaXFUQJQ). So’s xenophobic comments should be condemned.

Regardless of our heritage, we can all agree that America is a country of immigrants. Our family roots in this country trace back to immigrants who came to this land. Being an American is not defined by one’s race, ethnicity, or national origin, but by shared values and contributions to this country. It is our responsibility to rectify historical injustices and acknowledge that our ancestors, who built railroads, dug canals, and worked on plantations, in this country, are Americans. Their stories are an integral part of American history, and they are identifiable as “Americans of Chinese descent.”

While our society commonly uses the terms “Chinese Americans” and “Americans of Chinese descent” interchangeably, Professor So insisted on drawing a distinction between the two terms. As a result, Professor So’s definition of “Americans of Chinese descent” is much narrower than the intent and scope of OSPI’s Americans of Chinese Descent History project. Therefore, her involvement in the OSPI project will inevitably leave out a large part of the history of people of Chinese descent in this country.

The OSPI project originated from a proviso in the 2022 state budget. Senator Keith Wagoner, the primary sponsor of the Americans of Chinese Descent History Month bill, requested $25,000 to the OSPI for developing educational and promotional materials for Americans of Chinese descent. We, representing many people of Chinese descent in Washington, requested Senator Wagoner’s bill. Our intent for such a bill is to promote the entire and complete history of Americans of Chinese descent, which includes the early immigrants since the 18th century, regardless of their naturalization status. The term “Americans of Chinese descent” is used in the bill because it acknowledges that we are Americans first and foremost and fights against the exact xenophobic views that Professor So has on immigrants.

Exhibition #2

According to Professor So, she was commissioned to “evaluate whether January is the best month to honor ‘Americans of Chinese Descent’ –the title of the original bill”. On January 31, 2023, she submitted a report named “Recommendations for Chinese American Month” based on poorly constructed “research” from a survey of 18 respondents out of a homogeneous group of 40 people. (See attached) Professor So justified her recommendation based on the answers of 18 people from her list of close friends and political allies, which lacks diversity in immigration background, social economical status, and geographic representation. There was no modern survey sampling technique at all in her “so-called” research, and the size of her survey would NOT be qualified as quantitative research by any standard.  The survey itself was confusedly designed with a bias towards their preferred name “Chinese American Month”. Professor So’s survey results can’t withstand any academic scrutiny. 

It is appalling to see such poor quality work come out of a professor at UW. Professor So demonstrated a lack of basic research skills. The 2022 proviso is for our community, the OSPI project is for our future generation, and we don’t have confidence that professor So will be able to deliver quality materials that are free of errors or biases. 

Copying OSPI and Senator Wagoner on this request.

Regards,

WA Asians For Equality

The post Letter to UW College of Arts and Sciences Dean Requesting Teaching Professor Connie So To Be Removed From the OSPI Contract Project appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

UW professor, Connie So, disavows Chinese Americans as Americans. Outraged Chinese American community plan to file a complaint with the UW Senate.

BELLEVUE, WA, March 27, 2023 – At the Washington State House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee’s public hearing on March 21, University of Washington teaching professor, Connie So, asserted that Chinese Americans are different from Americans. Because, according to So, only American citizens can be recognized as Americans. So went on to claim that the Chinese railroad workers of the 19th century “none of them are actually Americans“, because they were denied citizenship back then.

So’s testimony added salt to a more than century old wound that the Chinese American community is attempting to heal by asking the state’s legislature to pass SB 5000, a bill to establish January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month, and correct the “perpetual foreigners” stereotype. The bill’s sponsor and supporters deliberately chose the words “Americans of Chinese Descent” over “Chinese Americans” to emphasize that they are part of American society.

In his email to the committee members, Kan Qiu, President of the Americans Coalition for Equality, told the legislators, “I’m appalled by the hurtful and discriminatory remarks made by a UW teaching professor, … belittling immigrants without naturalization as not being “actually Americans” ! We call America the melting pot. America is an inclusive country. I am confident that every member of this committee would stay distant from such a divisive view.”

In a tweet about So’s testimony, WA Asians For Equality tweeted, “Those Chinese railroad workers were wronged, denied recognition as members of American society. It is on us to right the wrongs and recognize them as Americans. Connie’s rant was hurtful and discriminatory to all immigrants in this country. Urge @uw to denounce her comments.”

Last year, the Americans of Chinese Descent History Month bill, which passed the Senate 48 to 0, was killed by Washington State House Democrats. Outraged, the Chinese American community ran large bill boards in Speaker Laurie Jinkins’ district, urging her to learn from history. So’s comments that disavow Chinese Americans’ history as American history came at a sensitive time when, after passing the Senate by 48 to 0 again this year, the Americans of Chinese Descent History Month bill has been stuck in the House since February 3rd and is facing uncertainty again.

“The Chinese immigrants who built the Pacific Railroad, as well as those who have been living in the US, may not have been citizens, but their efforts and contributions were instrumental in the development of the United States. To deny their place in American history is to overlook the profound influence they had on the country’s growth and to diminish their legacy. This viewpoint can be perceived as another form of racism.” Said, Jessica Xie, who was at the House public hearing on March 21, heard So’s testimony.

“We plan to file a complaint with the UW Senate. Such kinds of speech should not be tolerated.” Said Linda Yang, Director of Washington Asians For Equality, “We also hope that the House Democrat Caucus would distance itself from this kind of narrative and support establishing January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.”

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Dear House Democratic Caucus Members & Leadership Team,

Some members of House MOCC are claiming authority on the Americans of Chinese Descent History Month bill when they truly do not have the qualifications to make such a claim. Although the Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese communities are often treated as a monolith in the eyes of non-Asians, it is deeply offensive to mistake any of these individual identities for one another. Likewise, it is also offensive for a member outside of the Chinese American community to attempt to make decisions on behalf of our community. We want to make it crystal clear to the entire WA Legislature that between Rep. Cindy Ryu, Rep. Sharon Santos, and Rep. My-Linh Thai, there is not a single drop of Chinese blood and not a single ounce of authority within the Chinese American community. They have demonstrated a lack of understanding of the over 5,000-year-old Chinese culture; and they do not share the same interest and passion for establishing a culturally and historically meaningful Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.

Rep. Ryu and Rep. Santos have been in Olympia for many years. If they had any sincere interest in establishing Americans of Chinese Descent History Month, they would have done it long ago. Their attempt to move Americans of Chinese Descent History Month from January, which is requested by the Chinese American community, to May, which is already designated as AAPI month in Washington, would achieve only one goal: to effectively nullify a standalone, dedicated, month-long recognition that the Chinese American community deserves.

Although the Chinese Americans’ heritage is currently being celebrated as part of the AAPI community during May AAPI month, we have heard loud and clear from students of Chinese descent that there is a clear lack of mentions and coverage of their ancestors’ history in this country at our schools. Chinese Americans’ contributions and mistreatment have received little attention in our schools or society. Given Chinese Americans’ large contribution and well-documented mistreatment on the West Coast and in this country, it makes sense to have a standalone and month-long commemoration of Chinese Americans’ history in the US. In 2019, the WA Legislature designated October as Filipino American History Month. The concept and practice of designating a specific month other than May for a sub-Asian group have been established.

Many factors went into consideration when deciding which month is most suitable to be Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. The designated month needs to have both cultural and historical significance, and it also needs to be during the school year so that our schools can use the designated month to educate students on Chinese Americans’ history and contributions in this country. January was picked because no other month better met the above selection criteria. It is during the school year. And it also holds unique cultural and historical importance to the Chinese American community.

For people of Chinese heritage, we all know that Chinese New Year is the most significant festival in Chinese culture. Chinese New Year often falls in January, and the days leading up to it are one of the most exciting times for Chinese people. According to Chinese tradition, the celebration of the Chinese New Year actually starts eight days before the Chinese New Year’s day, known as Xiao Nian (小年).  On New Year’s Eve (年三十), the entire family gets together to have dinner, send off the previous year (舊年), and welcome the new year (新年). And the Chinese New Year celebration does not end on the Chinese New Year Day (大年初一). The entire festival lasts an additional fifteen days and concludes on Yuan Xiao (元宵).

From the first large wave of Chinese immigrants, to slavery, the fight against racial segregation, and the inhumane detention of Chinese immigrants as a result of the notorious Chinese Exclusion Act, January holds very special historical meaning for the Chinese American community. Many important historical events happened to the Chinese Americans in the month of January. Designating January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month will undoubtedly raise awareness of the unfair treatment of Chinese Americans in the United States.

• January 24, 1848, was the beginning of the Gold Rush, a time which attracted thousands of Chinese immigrants to the United States; 
• January 3, 1852, 195 Chinese laborers arrived in Hawaii to work on sugarcane plantations, and this marked the beginning of foreign contract workers, or rather, slaves, in the islands; 
• January 9, 1885, the Superior Court of California ruled that excluding “children of Chinese parents” from public schools violated state law and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment;
• January 21, 1910, Angel Island Detention Center opened to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. An estimated 175,000 Chinese were processed there and went through inhumane detention conditions. The poems and inscriptions inscribed on the walls of the detention barracks tell the stories of those Chinese immigrants;
• And most recently, Anna May Wong, who was born on January 3, 1905,  became the first Asian American featured on a US quarter.

The list of events can go on and on…

Our students are eager to have their ancestors’ stories heard and talked about. This year, many students, ranging from middle school to high school, participated in an essay competition to write about “the importance and the value of having Washington State officially recognize January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.” One student wrote, “This very train of Chinese American history tumbles through time, retracing back to dates of shame, humiliation, and unity- and the rails ran most in January.  “At the essay competition’s award ceremony, one student said, “The Chinese community, they faced many discrimination and racism in the United States. I felt we do not really speak up about it that much.”

The students are doing their part to spread the word about their ancestors’ history in this country. As adults, we are doing our part to advocate for establishing January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month so that every January, as the Chinese American community prepares for and celebrates its cultural festival, schools and society also commemorate Chinese Americans’ history and have conversations about Chinese Americans’ contributions and mistreatment in this country.

More than 700 people living, working, and running businesses in Rep. Santos’ own 37th legislative district have physically signed the petition to designate January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. There is also an online petition with hundreds of signatories in support of January being designated as American of Chinese Descent History Month.We reached out to Rep. Sharon Santos both in person briefly at an event in Seattle, and via email to request a meeting to discuss the importance of establishing January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. Rep. Santos told us that her calendar was fully booked until January 2023, when PRA records showed that she had many openings in November and December. Rep. Santos’s office did not respond to our email request either.  Rep. Santos, who has no Chinese heritage, refused to engage in civil and meaningful discussion with the Chinese American community, yet she wants to sponsor a bill against the Chinese American community’s will.

We urge the WA Legislature to support establishing January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month.

The WA Legislature should not allow a small group of legislators who have no ties with the Chinese American community to take away Chinese Americans’ wishes and decide for them.

Sincerely,

WA Asians For Equality

The post An Open Letter to WA Legislature: The WA Legislature Should Not Allow a Small Group of Legislators Who Have No Ties With the Chinese American Community To Take Away Chinese Americans’ Wishes and Decide for Them appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

On the Eve of the Anniversary of the Tacoma Expulsion, the third billboard is up in Tacoma to protest House Speaker Laurie Jinkins for killing Chinese American History Month for partisan political reasons.

Bellevue Washington – October 20, 2022 – Another billboard urging the WA Speaker of the House, Laurie Jinkins, to learn from history is up in Tacoma. This time it is right across from a middle school with students who come from the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park neighborhood. On November 3, 1885, Tacoma’s remaining 300 Chinese Americans were forcefully expelled from town. The city later built Chinese Reconciliation Park to commemorate this terrible history of hatred, murder, and repression. The Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation is organizing a Walk for Reconciliation event on October 29th to remind people of this dark past. “People in the community deserve to know that there was a bill to establish January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month, and it was killed by their representative, Laurie Jinkins,” said Linda Yang, Director of WA Asians For Equality. 

Early this year, SB 5264, a bill that would designate January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month, passed the Senate 48 to 0, and the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee unanimously. The bill was later killed by a final 36-hour behind-the-door political maneuvering.

PRA records revealed that Rep. Cindy Ryu sent a chat message to the House Democrat Caucus (HDC) on March 3rd and said “SB 5264=ethnical appropriation”. On March 4th, SB 5264 failed to advance to the House floor before the cutoff, and missed the opportunity to become a law. Ryu’s email to the HDC on March 5th further explained her accusation: “SB 5264 was [c]ultural appropriation, especially when we have Members of Color who could have easily carried this bill”. Seattle radio show host, Jason Rantz, covered this story in his exclusive: Democrat lawmaker axed Chinese Heritage Month because sponsor is white. Rantz pointed out in his story that, unlike Ryu, who is a Korean American, SB 5264’s sponsor, Senator Keith Wagoner, actually has strong ties to the Chinese American community. Wagoner’s wife is “is a naturalized United States citizen from Taiwan, who is Chinese”. Yang’s group met one of Senator Wagoner’s daughters, who is American-born Chinese. They instantly connected. “To us, as the son-in-law of a Chinese family, Senator Wagoner is part of the Chinese American community,” Yang said.

A Democratic House Representative from the 48th was willing to sponsor SB 5264 the following year. Then, after Cindy Ryu labeled the bill “cultural appropriation” because Ryu thought the bill’s sponsor was not “people of color,” this representative balked and told her constituents, “Rep Ryu is the person you should speak with first.” The 48th LD is one of the few minority majority districts in WA, with a large population of Chinese Americans. When asked about their reaction, Yang said, “Yes, we are disappointed. Elected officials are in Olympia to represent the constituents of their district and carry bills for their constituents, regardless of race or ethnicity. “

The Chinese American community mailed a letter to every member of the HDC during the summer. In the letter, they expressed their willingness to work with HDC members and have an open and respectful dialog on policy matters of concern. To date, only one member has met with them. 

A small number of HDC members have been insisting on moving the month from January to May. In Ryu’s amendment to SB 5264, she asked to “strike ‘January’ ” from the bill. The Chinese American community disapproves Ryu’s move. 6th-grade student Emily Shi pointed out, “If Americans of Chinese Descent History Month is conjoined with AAPI Month, there will be no use for Americans of Chinese Descent History Month… the result will be the same as the current situation and won’t make a difference.”

A national contest was held for student essays to accompany a petition to the legislature on the matter.  11th-grade student Lucy He said in her essay: “The particular month of January especially holds historical, social and cultural importance.”

10th grade student Sammi Wang wrote in her essay “”[t]his very train of Chinese American history tumbles through time, retracing back to dates of shame, humiliation, and unity- and the rails ran most in January,” citing many historical events that happened to Chinese Americans in the month of January. 

To Yang and the supporters of SB 5264, it is critical that the WA Legislature respect the Chinese community’s will by designating January as the commemorating month. They vowed to fight on with a stronger force if Speaker Jinkins and House Democrat Leadership continue to allow what the Chinese American community perceives to be a small group of legislators who have no ties with them to take away their wishes and decide for them. 

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By Ryu’s logic, only legislators of color can sponsor bills related to people of color. This is threatening our representative democracy and will effectively create a segregated legislature in Olympia. Elected officials are in Olympia to represent the constituents of their district, regardless of race or ethnicity. Imagine a legislator telling his/her constituents that he/she can’t sponsor the bill they want because he/she is not the right race. Ryu may fail to represent her constituents. However, she is in no position to tell other legislators how to represent their constituents. 

And contrary to Rep. Ryu’s false accusation, Senator Wagoner is one of the most qualified legislators in Olympia to sponsor such a bill. Senator Wagoner himself is a “person of color” (his grandparents were Hispanic). And his wife is “Chinese” born in the Republic of China. His kids are ABC. As a son-in-law, Senator Wagoner is part of the Chinese American community.

In comparison, Rep. Ryu’s far-fetched ties to the Chinese American community are laughable. Having parents who lived in China in the past or having lived with Chinese immigrants in Brunei in co-housing does not entitle her to the credentials to represent the Chinese American community or, worse, decide for the Chinese American community, especially when she repeatedly stabbed the community that opened their arms to her parents in the back. Ryu’s amendment to SB 5264 effectively eliminated American of Chinese Descent History Month. As the 6th grade student, Emily Shi, pointed out, “If Americans of Chinese Descent History Month is conjoined with AAPI Month, the result will be the same as the current situation, and won’t make a difference. If Chinese Americans got their own history month, people would think about their history. ”

Rep. Cindy Ryu’s accusation is wrong, divisive, and a direct threat to our republic. She needs to be called out and condemned. 

The post Rep. Cindy Ryu’s False Accusation Is Divisive and Is Threatening Our Representative Democracy appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

Below is Sammi’s petition letter.

Dear Washington State Legislature,

As one who lives in the land “with liberty and justice for all”, the pledges I used to recite daily throughout my childhood seem to lose their purpose and their stand. In a nation of diversity, minorities, and differences, I hold firm to those pledges, in hopes of it acting as a shield to protect my group of people against discrimination. However, this very shield transforms into a reflective mirror, and baleful words constantly stab the identity of many others in this minority. It is painful to watch Chinese Americans struggling to survive in the rise of Anti-Asian crime cases. We, as Chinese Americans, wish to speak our voices and thrive in pride in who we are as we stand upon the land our ancestors helped to make into what it is today. Standing on the soil of America, we aspire to believe that the “land of the free ” would allow the representation of every thriving culture. I, representing Chinese Americans, urge Washington state to establish an Americans of Chinese Descent History Month in respect of Chinese Americans’ impact and contribution towards the development of America, validate our presence, protect our rights with fairness between every minority, and incarnate the abstract shield that America vowed to protect us under.

Nothing excites me more than when my teacher opens up the lecture with a simple “Happy Lunar New Year” during January. During those times I would usually look around to see who else is as thrilled as I am, and seeing proud faces warms my heart. I firmly remember the highlight of my freshman year of high school- when everyone in my school, no matter their race, gender, or identity- dressed up in bright red for the Lunar New Year. I remember glancing toward the crowd of eye-catching red, thinking how proud I am to be contributing to the boldness. The month of January is vital as it bonds tightly with Chinese culture. As we look back in history, January 24, 1848, was the beginning of the Gold Rush, a time that attracted thousands of Chinese immigrants to the United States,  January 3rd, 1852, 195 Chinese laborers arrived in Hawaii to work on sugarcane plantations, and marked the beginning of foreign contract workers, or rather, slaves, in the islands; January 9, 1885, the Superior Court of California ruled that excluding “children of Chinese parents” from public schools violated state law and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This very train of Chinese American history tumbles through time, retracing back to dates of shame, humiliation, and unity- and the rails ran most in January. In Rep. Cindy Ryu’s claim, questioning the significance of January during a period with other events like Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the opening of the Legislature, and the start of the new year in the Gregorian calendars, we believe designating the month in January will not overrule other events and hoard the spotlight. Placing Chinese American History Month in January will allow schools, just like mine, to commemorate a period that is significant to the Chinese. More importantly, this will allow schools to educate Chinese American history for generations to come.

According to NBC news, Anti-Asian hate crimes increased 339 percent nationwide in the last year of 2021. And the most recent Stop AAPI Hate data show that Chinese Americans were the victims of the most (43%) anti-Asian hate crimes. The rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes does not suddenly come from nowhere, though; the subtle cases of racial crimes trace all the way back to 1885 when 28 Chinese were killed by a white mob in an Anti-Chinese riot in Rock Springs, Wyoming; in the same year, 700 Chinese residents were expelled in an Anti-Chinese demonstration in Tacoma; just a year after, 350 Chinese residents were forcibly expelled in Seattle. Ironically enough, just a few years before 1885, nearly 17,000 Chinese contributed to the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad transcontinental railroad- and a few years after 1885, Washington became a state. Establishing a Chinese American heritage month allows a chance for schools to educate their students on the importance of Chinese American contribution, therefore limiting the chances of Anti-Asian crime cases in the future. State Sen. John Liu, D-NY, echoed that Asian American history is one of the many tools that can be used to combat anti-Asian discrimination. Education is needed to promote a better understanding of the minority and not a simple and blunt label of “foreigner” or the “yellow peril.” 

Moving this legislature forward does not promote the backwardness of segregation, but represents the forwardness of inclusiveness. Rep. My-Linh Thai, who personally voted to pass SB 5865 to establish Filipino American History Month in 2019, claims that establishing a month for Chinese Americans will promote unfairness between every other minority group. Along with Rep. My-Linh Thai, all House Democrats and Laurie Jinkins voted to designate October as Filipino American History Month, though Laurie Jinkins claims that Chinese American history month did not get a vote due to concerns about assigning months to sub-ethnic groups. Whywould passing SB-5865 be fair to every minority group, while passing for Chinese American History Month be not? The answers stay unclear, though the contradicting action of those who doubt the bill made us feel more excluded than united. It is hurtful to experience discrimination during the journey of establishing the bill just to eliminate the exclusion, but it is also what made us know that the journey must go on no matter the obstacle we face. Along the way to justice exists more contradicting voices of inequality. The Washington State legislature allowed the establishment of Korean American Day and Filipino American History month without prior discussion with the Chinese American community. However, in the case of establishing a month dedicated to the Chinese group, Jinkin suddenly claims that we must seek approval from all other racial and ethnic groups in the state. Those actions counter the vows of the Pledge of Allegiance, and there is no “liberty and justice for all.”

A month is not enough. This is a period meant to resonate within the culture and stand with purposeful representation. Chinese American history month deserves a month that is not merged with another such as the May APPI month. Both holidays have their own purpose; merging both together defeats the purpose and will possibly mislead generations to come. A month is not enough to respect the longevity of Chinese American contribution to America’s exponential development and growth. Immigrants came to the United States to contribute to the construction of the railway- the exact Transcontinental Railroad that put Washington state on the map. The immigrants endured racial discrimination whilst shedding sweat and blood to build the railroad, yet the Chinese Americans still have not received an acknowledgment of their heritage to respect their efforts. The attempt of Rep. Cindy Ryu to shorten the recognition of Chinese Americans’ history from a month to a day or a week disregards this very contribution. We, as the Chinese American community, are not the only ones advocating for the establishment and passage of the bill. SB 5264 was the only one state’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs signed on to testify in support of; the bill obtained the support of many of the state’s largest school districts, such as the Seattle Public Schools, Bellevue School district, Lake Washington School District, and Tacoma Public School. The bill also has the support of the League of Women Voters of Washington and the Jewish community: both “The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle” and “the JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle” support this bill. The broad support from many communities will continue to support us to urge equality and the establishment of January as the Americans of Chinese Descent History Month. 

We humbly await your response,

Sammi (Yufei) Wang

The post A 10th Grade Student’s Petition to the WA Legislature To Establish January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.