CBS News reports that Jackie Chan, the Hong Kong action/comedy star of movies such as Rush Hour 1 and 2, has been publicly urging Asians to avoid American movies for fear that it will dilute or otherwise damage traditional Asian culture:

Even though he plans to soon start shooting “Rush Hour 3,” the Hong Kong native told The Times of India newspaper “Asians should unite against American cinema.” Hollywood movies are eroding the culture of Asian countries, he said. “Why do we need to ape their culture,” Chan reportedly said. “I see an Indian saying, ‘Yo Man!,’ but that’s not what Asians are about.”

That’s a pretty interesting set of statements from someone who has benefited greatly from American movies himself, not to mention someone who has received mixed reactions from Asians and Asian Americans about the quality of the roles in his Hollywood movies and to what extent they are a positive step forward for non-stereotypical portrayals of Asians in American culture.

It seems to me that if he really wants to put his money where his mouth is, he should use the millions of dollars that he’s earned through his American movies and start producing his own films that include more positive portrayals and images for Asian and Asian Americans to see. Otherwise, his position strikes me as a little hypocritical.

In an earlier post, I wrote about a persistent pattern of discrimination and physical violence perpetrated against Asian American students at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn -- so bad that the Justice Department had to step in to force the school to take corrective action to protect the Asian students. Following up on this trend, the Associated Press reports that despite recent efforts to highlight this growing problem around the country, physical attacks still continue to occur:

Nationwide, Asian students say they’re often beaten, threatened and called ethnic slurs by other young people, and school safety data suggest that the problem may be worsening. Youth advocates say these Asian teens, stereotyped as high-achieving students who rarely fight back, have for years borne the brunt of ethnic tension as Asian communities expand and neighborhoods become more racially diverse. . . .

Stories of Asian youth being bullied and worse are common. In recent years: a Chinese middle schooler in San Francisco was mercilessly taunted until his teacher hid him in her classroom at lunchtime; three Korean-American students were beaten so badly near their Queens high school that they skipped school for weeks and begged to be transferred; a 16-year-old from Vietnam was killed last year in a massive brawl in Boston. . . .

Increasingly, some victims are fighting back. A 2003 California survey . . . found that 14 percent of Asian youth said they join gangs for protection. Department of Justice school crime data found the number of Asian youth carrying weapons nearly tripled from 1999 to 2001. “There are more Asian kids being brought to juvenile court for assault and battery,” Arifuku said.

“The thing we’re finding in their history is that they had been picked on -- called names and teased -- and in some cases they lashed out and retaliated.” Advocates and students say that, typically, large fights erupt after weeks or months of verbal taunting.

It is truly sad and infuriating to see Asian American students -- or any students for that matter -- first, being targeted for physical violence on an everyday basis, and second, being subjected to utter indifference and even contempt by school officials who deny that there are any problems. It should tell you something that even the Bush administration’s Justice Department felt that things were getting out of hand at Lafayette High and had to finally step in.

For every article or news story that describes how Asian culture is increasingly being accepted, embraced, and integrated into the American mainstream, there are stories like this one that remind us that in many ways, Asian Americans still have to fight an uphill battle not just to be considered “real Americans,” but for many, just to stay alive.

As the Associated Press reports, actor pat Morita has died at the age of 73. of course, he was best-known for his role as Mr. Myagi in the Karate Kid series of movies, but as the article notes, his career and life in general span a much broader set of experiences:

Born in northern California on June 28, 1932, the son of migrant fruit pickers, Morita spent most of his early years in the hospital with spinal tuberculosis. He later recovered only to be sent to a Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during World War II.

“One day I was an invalid,” he recalled in a 1989 AP interview. “The next day I was public enemy No. 1 being escorted to an internment camp by an FBI agent wearing a piece.” After the war, Morita’s family tried to repair their finances by operating a Sacramento restaurant. It was there that Morita first tried his comedy on patrons.

Because prospects for a Japanese-American standup comic seemed poor, Morita found steady work in computers at Aerojet General. But at age 30 he entered show business full time. “Only in America could you get away with the kind of comedy I did,” he commented. “If I tried it in Japan before the war, it would have been considered blasphemy, and I would have ended in leg irons.”

Even though his Mr. Myagi character may not have been the most enlightening and high-quality depiction of Asian Americans in the history of American cinema, Pat’s quality as an actor and his status as an icon of Asian American culture are unquestioned. Here is a man who overcame two debilitating barriers in his life -- physical and then political -- to pursue his dream and to blaze a trail for other Asian American actors in the industry.

For that, all of us as Asian Americans owe Pat our gratitude and appreciation. Well done, Pat and may you rest in peace.

Last week, media such as CBS News, have been reporting that government officials have been looking to arrest former ’70s rock star Gary Glitter (whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd) on allegations that he had sex with two underaged girls -- a 12 year old and a 15 year old. There are reports that he was finally arrested trying to board a plane out of Viet Nam. One of my favorite sports commentators, Jim Rome, had this comment about this situation:

Gary Glitter is in some very hot water in Vietnam. Remember, Glitter is the guy who came up with the rock anthem, “Rock and Roll Part II”. This is the song that’s played in every sports arena everywhere. Anyway, I don’t think he’s going to be composing any more songs for a while, or ever, for that matter.

Glitter was arrested in Vietnam Saturday on child molestation charges as he was attempting to board a plane. Local authorities had been looking for Glitter for 2 days after he it was announced that he was wanted for questioning after he was accused of having sex with 2 girls, one 15, the other 12. If he’s found guilty of his crimes, he could face up to 12 years in the hole.

Believe it or not, this is the very least of his problems. Glitter could also face the death penalty if convicted of child rape, which would be carried out by a firing squad. Yes, you heard me right, a firing squad.

You know, I don’t have a huge problem with this. If he’s going to be touching 12-year-old girls, then I think a firing squad is an appropriate punishment. In fact, I wish we had that he in the Untied States. I bet a lot fewer 12-year-olds would be getting touched if people knew the punishment was a blindfold, a final cigarette, and a few bullets to the chest. Hopefully Michael Jackson has a trip planned to Vietnam in the near future.

I’m not sure if I completely share Jim Rome’s opinion but his sentiment is well taken. Child prostitution is unfortunately a big problem in several Asian countries. The CBS News article also notes that Gary Glitter was previous convicted of possessing child pornography in England and was permanently expelled from Cambodia a couple of years ago, for “unknown reasons.”

Perhaps Gary Glitter’s situation will make pedophiles think twice the next time they feel the need to travel to Asian countries to satisfy their urges.

The New York Times has an article that discusses the emerging popularity of several comic books published in Japan that contain rather stereotypic, derogatory, and hostile portrayals of Chinese and Koreans. One might initially dismiss these comic books as ultra-nationalists trying to appeal to a small niche, but as the article describes, they have actually become runaway best sellers throughout the country:

The two comic books, portraying Chinese and Koreans as base peoples and advocating confrontation with them, have become runaway best sellers in Japan in the last four months. In their graphic and unflattering drawings of Japan’s fellow Asians and in the unapologetic, often offensive contents of their speech bubbles, the books reveal some of the sentiments underlying Japan’s worsening relations with the rest of Asia.

They also point to Japan’s longstanding unease with the rest of Asia and its own sense of identity. Much of Japan’s history in the last century and a half has been guided by the goal of becoming more like the West and less like Asia. Today, China and South Korea’s rise to challenge Japan’s position as Asia’s economic, diplomatic and cultural leader is inspiring renewed xenophobia against them here. . . .

So far the two books, each running about 300 pages and costing around $10, have drawn little criticism from public officials, intellectuals or the mainstream news media. For example, Japan’s most conservative national daily, Sankei Shimbun, said the Korea book described issues between the countries “extremely rationally, without losing its balance.”

I find this development to be rather disturbing, but not entirely shocking. As many observers and citizens in Asia will tell you, unlike Germany, Japan’s government and its people have never fully come to grips with their acts of hostility and brutality against their Asian neighbors during World War II. Every year, a furor erupts over the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to a war veteran shrine that among others, honors war criminals.

In addition, as the article also notes, for several decades after the end of WWII, Japan has enjoyed the status of Asian’s only economic superpower. But in recent years, the emergence of China, South Korea, and India represent increasingly significant threats to Japan’s economic dominance. Therefore, as sociologists will tell you, when there is economic or political competition, there is inevitably also going to be racial/ethnic hostility as well.

Unfortunately, this cultural rivalry between Japan and its Asian neighbors doesn’t look to be waning in intensity any time soon and in fact, looks to be intensifying. Hopefully these incidents will not affect the development and continuing proliferation of a pan-Asian American identity among us Asian Americans. In this case, it becomes even more important for Asian Americans and non-Asians alike to remember that being Asian is not the same as being Asian American.

According to People Magazine, in their annual list of “Sexiest Men Alive” that always makes the news around this time of year, we learn that they named Daniel Dae Kim, star of ABC’s hit TV show Lost, as one of the sexiest men alive:

Because he plays such a serious character on ABC’s Lost, people are pleasantly surprised to see Kim, 37, grin offscreen. “I’ve actually gotten a lot of compliments on my smile,” says the married father of two. Even sweeter, the actor, who came to the U.S. from Korea when he was a toddler, is a romantic. “I’ve hung onto almost every love letter any girl has ever written me.”

I also heard that People Magazine named Ken Watanabe, the Japanese star of recent movies such as The Last Samurai and Batman Begins as one of the “Sexiest International Men Alive.” Not too bad, I guess. Nice job, Asian guys and keep up the good work of helping to slowly change the image of Asian men in the U.S. Every little bit helps.

The New York Times has an article that describes a very interesting -- and ironic -- trend in the academic and scientific world: China is stepping up efforts to lure American scholars to live and work in China and to help them build up their universities to eventually rival those in the U.S.:

China wants to transform its top universities into the world’s best within a decade, and it is spending billions of dollars to woo big-name scholars and build first-class research laboratories. The effort is China’s latest bid to raise its profile as a great power. China has already pulled off one of the most remarkable expansions of education in modern times, increasing the number of undergraduates and people who hold doctoral degrees fivefold in 10 years. . . .

The model is simple: recruit top foreign-trained Chinese and Chinese-American specialists, set them up in well-equipped labs, surround them with the brightest students and give them tremendous leeway. In a minority of cases, they receive American-style pay; in others, they are lured by the cost of living, generous housing and the laboratories. How many have come is unclear.

China is focusing on science and technology, areas that reflect the country’s development needs but also reflect the preferences of an authoritarian system that restricts speech. The liberal arts often involve critical thinking about politics, economics and history, and China’s government, which strictly limits public debate, has placed relatively little emphasis on achieving international status in those subjects.

The article goes on to describe that China still faces a variety of barriers in their quest for scientific excellence. Perhaps the most interesting obstacle is the emphasis that China’s government has on short-term immediate results. As an up-and coming-superpower still in the process of proving itself, China does not have the luxury of waiting 10 or even five years for results -- it needs them in three years or less.

Along with that, lack of academic freedom may be another potentially significant obstacle. Like the excerpt above describes, China is focusing on developing excellence in its scientific disciplines that would involve less political controversy, rather than those in the social science or humanities. Nonetheless, observers warn that if China continues to stifle academic freedom, the scholars that they bring in today may quickly get frustrated and leave within a year or so.

At any rate, this situation represents an interesting irony -- in the past, Chinese students were doing whatever they could to study and work in the U.S. But now, that may be starting to change, as Chinese universities begin to offer the same kinds and levels of benefits and perks as those in the U.S.

In this context however, one potential drawback for the Asian American population is this -- it will give racist elements in the U.S. another opportunity to question the loyalty and patriotism of Chinese Americans -- and by implication, Asian Americans. That is, if a Chinese American decides to leave the U.S. to live and work in China, that may be seen as an indication of his/her true ethnic/nationalistic loyalty.

Once that happens, a new wave of anti-Chinese suspicion and hostility will be right around the corner -- it is almost inevitable.

Results from last week’s elections show that two Asian Americans have just been elected into local government leadership positions: Sam Yoon as the first Asian American elected to Boston’s City Council and Jun Choi as the first Asian American mayor of a New Jersey city (Edison).

In the case of Jun Choi’s victory, perhaps not surprisingly, his challenger (a White male) is accusing Choi of “playing the Asian card” and relying on Asian votes for his victory. This is rather ironic considering that the stats show that about 80% who voted in the mayoral election were White. But more importantly, once again it goes to show that even if Choi had heavy support from Asian voters, it does not mean that those votes were not as “American” as any other vote.

Congratulations to both Sam Yoon and Jun Choi on their victories. As I always say, progress is almost always measured one step at a time . . .