t*******m
发帖数: 1893 | 1 https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/02/06/proposed-bill-categorizing-
asian-americans-stirs-debate/PVBK59Sw9crFFPbkVlwgfO/story.html
A State House effort to categorize Asian-Americans into specific ethnic
groups is clashing with a vocal and well-organized opposition that has
likened the effort to racial profiling.
A bill by state Representative Tackey Chan urges “all state agencies, quasi
-state agencies, entities created by state statute, and sub-divisions of
state agencies” to identify Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, as
defined in the US census, in all data they collect and report.
But critics say Chan’s efforts would “subdivide Asian-American ethnic
groups” and likened it to a registry to track Asian-Americans.
Emotions were high during a packed State House hearing on the issue last
week, when at least one opponent carried posters with an image of Chan
wearing a Hitler moustache.
“It’s gotten out of hand,’’ said Karen Chen, executive director of the
Chinese Progressive Association, which supports Chan’s bill.
The opposition’s language and tactics have confounded Chan, who is of
Chinese descent, and befuddled Asian-American advocates who have been asking
for such data for years to better serve their community.
“There are a lot of inaccuracies’’ out there, said Chan in an interview
in his office. “They are using inaccurate facts. And they don’t speak for
all of us.”
Tricia Liu, a critic of the bill, said the disadvantages outweigh the
benefits, adding that even a bill with good intentions can be misused.
The thing that bothers us the most is: Why is this [only] targeting Asian-
Americans?,’’ asked Liu, who said she is a strategic adviser to a group
called Asian Americans for Equal Rights, which has been fighting the data
collection issue. “We feel that Americans should not be asked again and
again ... where they are exactly from.”
She argued that such questions from the government insinuate that there are
two sets of Americans: The “more real Americans” and the “less real
Americans.”
“We are proud of our heritage ... [but] where does it end?” for second and
third generation Asian-Americans, she said.
Chen, the advocate, said the bill only targets Asian-Americans because Asian
-American advocates, particularly in health care, asked for the data.
A House committee is still examining the more than 1,500 pages of testimony
on the bill and will issue a report Wednesday. | t*******m
发帖数: 1893 | 2 The controversy playing out at the State House is putting a special focus on
Asian-Americans, a fast-growing and diverse group in the state. Their
ancestry has roots in a vast continent that has various ethnic groups who
speak different languages and have different cultural norms.
The hubbub comes as the US Census Bureau is proposing to begin asking white
respondents to write down their ethnic origins. In addition to checking the
box that says “white,’’ respondents on the proposed 2020 Census would be
asked to write down whether they are of German, Irish, English, Italian,
Lebanese, or Egyptian origin, the census said.
Similarly, blacks would be prodded to note if they are African-American,
Jamaican, Haitian, Nigerian, Ethiopian, or Somali, the Census said.
Chan, a 44-year-old Quincy native and Democratic lawmaker, said he is simply
following the census’ lead on a local level. The census has long asked
Asian-Americans or Pacific Islanders to check off if they are Chinese,
Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, or Asian Indian.
Over the past 30 years, he said, Asian-American advocates and lawmakers in
states like California, Michigan, and Rhode Island have been seeking such
disaggregated data to advocate for better health care, educational
opportunities, and cultural programming. | t*******m
发帖数: 1893 | 3 Now that effort is catching on in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts,
he said.
Under Chan’s bill, the five largest “Asian-American and Pacific Islander
ethnic groups living in the Commonwealth shall have individually reported
data as part of the total Asian American Pacific Islander reporting.’’
The ethnic information is voluntary. And any other racial group can also
seek out similar information, Chan said.
The data would help organizations like Dorchester’s Asian American Resource
Workshop advocate for appropriate funding, language access, and appropriate
programing for Vietnamese youth, said Carolyn Chou, the executive director.
Chan added that the needs of the Cambodian population in Lowell are far
different from those of the Chinese immigrants in Quincy. Some Asian-
American immigrants are refugees, with deep emotional wounds from which to
heal.
“Every group has different issues, and [we need to have] different
conversations about what the government can do for them,’’ he said.
“Asia is not a language,” Chan stressed. “Asia is not a culture. And Asia
is not a food. It’s a continent. ... Why shouldn’t we all take pride in
where we are from in our culture, our heritages and our languages?”
Paul Watanabe, director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at the
University of Massachusetts Boston, described the opposition as primarily
composed of a new Chinese immigrants who are largely conservative. They
mostly voted for President Trump, he said, are distrustful of government,
and are skeptical of the Census.
He noted that there is real fear among the opponents who may have relatives
who can still recall the Cultural Revolution and data the Chinese government
kept and used against its own people.
“But I think those particular fears are being preyed upon [by the opponents
],’’ said Watanabe, a political science professor who has followed this
issue closely.
Liu countered that she is of Chinese origin and is a US citizen. Her mother,
who Liu said lives in Wellesley, is from Hong Kong and her father is from
mainland China.
“According to this bill, I don’t even know which box I should fill out,’
’ she said.
Meghan E. Irons can be reached at [email protected] Follow her on
Twitter @meghanirons. | J****i
发帖数: 470 | 4 双方根本没有信任。各说各话，说再多对方也是认为放屁。
[在 taprogram (我不烦,我不怕麻烦) 的大作中提到：]
:https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/02/06/proposed-bill-categorizing-
:asian-americans-stirs-debate/PVBK59Sw9crFFPbkVlwgfO/story.html
:A State House effort to categorize Asian-Americans into specific ethnic
:groups is clashing with a vocal and well-organized opposition that has
:likened the effort to racial profiling.
:A bill by state Representative Tackey Chan urges “all state agencies,
quasi-state agencies, entities created by state statute, and sub-divisions
of
:state agencies” to identify Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, as
:defined in the US census, in all data they collect and report.
:But critics say Chan’s efforts would “subdivide Asian-American ethnic
:groups” and likened it to a registry to track Asian-Americans.
:.......... |
|
