l*i
发帖数: 50 | 1 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.
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.
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. | t*****9
发帖数: 10416 | 2 不准分男女，mankind要换成 peoplekind
但是亚裔一定要细分再细分 ～～ | a******5
发帖数: 2062 | 3 “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.”
這不是一個 legit 的反對細分理由。美國像你這種人太多了，他們可以自由選擇一個
族裔，也可以選擇多族裔。
I mean, 你要反對就反對，但請不要拿這種拍腦袋想出來的無厘頭理由。你的這種理由
只是讓對方更容易擊倒你、嘲笑你、漠視你。 | a******5
发帖数: 2062 | 4 “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.”
不同意這位保羅先生的看法。是，許多反對者來自中國，相對而言，台港人士反對細分
的就沒那麼激烈。但中國人反對的理由我不覺得是出於恐懼文革。中國人恐懼的是非集
體化。
中國人，尤其 “新中國” 出來的中國人，長久受了集體主義教育，你們害
怕單獨出來
，你們害怕 being alone。
一個很大的中國人特色是：遇到出遠門，第一個念頭就是那地方有沒有親戚朋友可以投
靠？這些需要 “找個組織” 的思維方式，深植於每個中國人的鬧到裡。相
較而言，台
港人就比較少這種不離奶嘴的依賴性，走哪是哪，不需要問有沒有親戚朋友的幫忙，獨
立堅強自由。
台灣六零七零年代經濟起飛時，一個小老闆英文講不溜，照樣一個公事包跑遍全世界，
為的就是賣點雨傘鞋子玩具耶誕燈泡之類的小東西。這種情形就從來沒有出現在中國人
的身上！你們出差，一來就是一群人，還要特別請個翻譯、僱個司機導遊什麼的。台灣
人當年那種隻身闖天下的勇氣，就沒看過中國人有。
所以一提到細分，要把你們從一個大群體裡分離出來，你們就怕了。孩子們，長大吧！ | c*******o
发帖数: 8869 | 5 其实闽南人300年前到台湾成了本省人，和台湾人到海外一样，投亲靠友，扎堆。都是
中国人的特点。
华川粉的思维方式，其实和他们鄙夷不懈的台独，绿营人士很像，只不过他们自己认识
不到，或者不愿承认罢了。
relatives
government
【在 a******5 的大作中提到】
: “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.”
: 不同意這位保羅先生的看法。是，許多反對者來自中國，相對而言，台港人士反對細分
| r**********f
发帖数: 2808 | 6 左逼天天就搞这些阶级斗争的东西，目的就是你多干活，他多吃饭。 左逼当道，社会
没法发展，科技没法进步。 | a******5
发帖数: 2062 | 7 所以類似 “我終於找到組織了” 這種集體主義思維下的 expression, 從
來不存在於
台港人士的語彙中。台灣語彙中，根本沒有類似大陸的 “組織” 這意思的
詞。 |
|
