View Full Version : only 1 Chinese-American in Congress out of 535!
Did you know that there is only 1 Chinese-American member in all of Congress (both House and Senate)? :o
David Wu is that person and he represents District 1 in Oregon.
http://www.house.gov/wu/
If Chinese-Americans aren't in the federal government, our issues are not even considered or thought of. David Wu stood up for Wen Ho Lee and exposed discrimination at the federal office of the Dept of energy!
http://www.pacificnews.org/content/pns/200...l/0703flag.html (http://www.pacificnews.org/content/pns/2001/jul/0703flag.html)
He is the chair of the Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Please consider supporting him financially if you are out of his district and by voting if you are in his district. If we all send in $5 or whatever we feel it is worth to have at least 1 Chinese-American in Congress, we can make a big difference. :)
http://www.wuforcongress.com/
If we lose David, we will have no one representing Chinese-Americans and one less person representing Asian-Ams in Congress.
Thanks!
wylin
10-18-2002, 09:10 PM
why because he'z asian, i'd rather for arguements sake support the most qualified politician race be dammed. someone whose beliefs line up w/ mine like...no Digital Rights Management and Digital Bill of Rights.
ChinaLama
10-18-2002, 10:24 PM
wylin just wants to pirate w/o guilt or repercussion. ;)
I don't think having a Chinese American in Congress is the most important thing. The most important thing is for Asian Americans to unite and vote in a bloc, so that politicians will pay attention to our concerns. THEN, the white ppl may actually fight our battle instead of telling us to stuff our mouths w/ rice or go back to China. :P
wylin
10-18-2002, 10:44 PM
i want a taiwanese politician
karizma
10-19-2002, 12:18 AM
>> and i want a cat riding a donkey....
>> i kinda agree with wylin...even though i dont vote =)...just because he's asian doesnt mean he's qualified to be the voice of the asian community...but then again i dont know much about him so maybe he is the best thing for us...
>> but i admit it is nice seeing an asian in congress...any asian...makes me feel like the world is a bit more balanced..
angel nympho
10-19-2002, 12:44 AM
I'd like to see an Asian in Congress, too. But I would much rather vote for somebody who's views I agree with than somebody just because of his race. Isn't that racism? *Scratches head* Either way, I'd like Asians to be in government, too, but only if I agree with their views. If not, GET THE FUCK OUT, I WONT VOTE FOR YOU! :unsure:
Although I admit there should be more Asian Americans in government, we aren't doing to badly:
Hawaii Gov - Ben Cayetano
Hawaii Lt. Gov - Mazie Hirono
Senator Dan Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Senator Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii)
Washington Gov - Gary Locke
Rep David Wu (D-Oregon)
Any others that I may have missed (at the national or state governor level)?
Look at it this way - Asians are governors of 2 of 50 states (4%). Not too shabby...
Like I said, David Wu stood up for the Wen Ho Lee incident. he exposed the dept of energy's hypocrisy. (they invited him to speak and then questioned him and his aide 3 times if they were "US citizens"! He's a member of Congress!!! duh! Of course he is a citizen.)
You are right, I would not support him just because of his race. I agree with his views and it is all the more sweeter that he is Chinese-American.
He's prochoice. He supports public education.
For wylin, he is also Taiwanese! :) So he is the only Taiwanese-American in Congress. He is also the FIRST and ONLY Chinese-American in Congress.
doesn't that blow your mind?!?!? 1 out of 535. That is less than .19%. Now don't tell me that represents the Chinese-American population of the US.
and he is from Oregon? why isn't there a Chinese-American representative from California and NY at the least? in the House!?!
loserbutt
10-19-2002, 04:17 AM
lol an asian caucus in congress? what, all of 2 members?
kimpossible
10-19-2002, 11:16 AM
David Wu is the guy that keeps sending me the Asian American political junk mail I was complaining about. No way I would vote for him just because he's Asian.
angel nympho
10-19-2002, 01:19 PM
Originally posted by mtso@Oct 19 2002, 09:37 AM
Although I admit there should be more Asian Americans in government, we aren't doing to badly:
Hawaii Gov - Ben Cayetano
Hawaii Lt. Gov - Mazie Hirono
Senator Dan Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Senator Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii)
Washington Gov - Gary Locke
Rep David Wu (D-Oregon)
Any others that I may have missed (at the national or state governor level)?
Look at it this way - Asians are governors of 2 of 50 states (4%). Not too shabby...
There's some in California, I think. Not very high up, though. Either way, good for them. I know we're well on our way.
loserbutt
10-19-2002, 01:25 PM
heres the question. should we view ourselves as blacks and hispanics do and vote in solid blocks, or be more like say italians or irish who have basically completely assimilated into white american society. that has always sorta vexed me.
well its sorta hard to put in terms... are we more like white immigrant groups such as italians and irish who suffered some discrimination on arrival but since then have more or less fully integrated into white society, or are we more like blacks with a long history of oppression, or what?
I'm thinking with increased immigration of non-professional asians perceptions will change within my lifetime
angel nympho
10-19-2002, 01:32 PM
Originally posted by loserbutt@Oct 19 2002, 09:25 PM
heres the question. should we view ourselves as blacks and hispanics do and vote in solid blocks, or be more like say italians or irish who have basically completely assimilated into white american society. that has always sorta vexed me.
well its sorta hard to put in terms... are we more like white immigrant groups such as italians and irish who suffered some discrimination on arrival but since then have more or less fully integrated into white society, or are we more like blacks with a long history of oppression, or what?
I'm thinking with increased immigration of non-professional asians perceptions will change within my lifetime
I think we've got more of a history of oppression than Irish immigrants, but nowhere near as bad as blacks. But either way, I don't demand retribution for what happened in history. What I care about is the here and now, and as it is, we're more accepted into community than many other minorities. So I think we should embrace community, but value our differences, as well. Integrate, not assimilate. :) We don't have to turn into them to be able to get along with them.
Are we more accepted in society than other minorities?
Did you hear about the Asian-American that was shot when he was trick or treating b/c they weren't used to Asian-ams in that part of the country?
How about the guy that was shot in Rohnert park? April 29, 1997: Kuan Chung Kao, 33, a Chinese American engineer, was shot by Rohnert Park police Jack Shields and Mike Lynch responding to a call for disturbing the peace. Based upon his ethnicity and his carrying a stick, Shields believed Kao to be a martial arts expert and killed him within 34 seconds of arriving at the Kao home. Mr. Kao leaves behind a wife and three children. Shields was never criminally charged and is still on the Rohnert Park police force today.
My friend moved to San Diego with her husband. she is an Korean-American. She was jogging and a biker came at her yelling "get out of the way chink"!
San Francisco used to have 4 Asian-Am supervisors. Now we only have 1. Again, we only have 1 Chinese-American in Congress.
We have a long way to go...
BeTheReds
10-23-2002, 04:53 PM
I don't see that as a problem.
My mom doesn't vote for candidates who are White over candidates who are Black or Asian or whatever. She reads the paper to find out people's political viewpoints and decides upon an educated guess which candidate would most closely support her and her needs.
People all around the country, regardless of color should do the same.
If there is an AA candidate and his views match yours, then go for it.
Don't simply vote someone into office because of his race. How is that any different than Klansmen who support a liberal white candidate because somehow a black conservative won in their district?
Yea there is only one Chinese American candidate, but he had to get a lot of non-chinese american votes to be there.
The problem is that there are not enough candidates. I have never had the opportunity to vote for an AA for as long as I have been able to vote, so really it doesn't matter too much.
If you feel so strongly about it, then run for office.
You will find, that to win, your platform will need to focus on a lot more than Asian-Americans' civil rights.
ChinaLama
10-23-2002, 09:58 PM
Originally posted by loserbutt@Oct 19 2002, 09:25 PM
heres the question. should we view ourselves as blacks and hispanics do and vote in solid blocks, or be more like say italians or irish who have basically completely assimilated into white american society. that has always sorta vexed me.
well its sorta hard to put in terms... are we more like white immigrant groups such as italians and irish who suffered some discrimination on arrival but since then have more or less fully integrated into white society, or are we more like blacks with a long history of oppression, or what?
I'm thinking with increased immigration of non-professional asians perceptions will change within my lifetime
irish voted in blocs, too. proly italians did but i'm not sure. bloc voting definitely helps.
digiaks
10-24-2002, 03:07 PM
i'd rather for arguements sake support the most qualified politician race be dammed. someone whose beliefs line up w/ mine like...
What a novel idea. Vote for someone based on character and beliefs versus color of skin.....
Craig
10-24-2002, 03:12 PM
Nah, this is the USA, land of gerrymandering.
SunWuKong
10-24-2002, 03:21 PM
Originally posted by digiaks@Oct 24 2002, 06:07 PM
i'd rather for arguements sake support the most qualified politician race be dammed. someone whose beliefs line up w/ mine like...
What a novel idea. Vote for someone based on character and beliefs versus color of skin.....
alot of time, same skin color correlates with same political view. not all the time of course. but chances are i would trust an asian american politician more with handling minority issues, especially asian american issues, than i would trust a white american. a white american has never experienced life as an asian american.
ChinaLama
10-24-2002, 08:42 PM
quality has NEVER counted in politics...at least that much. How else do you explain why we had Bill Clinton (newbie governor of Arkansas who managed to bring his state to 49th median income rather than stay last) over George Bush (congressman, liason to China, 2-term VP, war-winning prez). Or how else did we get Dubya (newbie texas governor) over Gore (senator + 2-term VP).
And anyone who says Clinton won cuz "it's the economy, stupid." well...to quote Rudy Giuliani, "they need to get their head examined." the MILDEST recession since what the 1950s? that may have been technically over by election time (but wasn't declared over cuz of reporting delays) toppled someone w/ George Bush's record? WOW...that just goes to show how dumb Americans are.
And because the average American is a complete idiot who thinks JFK is a sister chain to KFC, it stands to reason politicians we elect will be idiots versus "qualified" people anyway. So in this case, voting based on "quality" is just a delusion white ppl want us to keep whenever they want to come up w/ reasons not to vote for a minority.
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