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Korean-American Victory '92 9/21/92 [OA 7580] [2]
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Korean-American Victory '92 9/21/92 [OA 7580] [2]
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OA/ID Number:
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13833-009
Folder Title:
Korean-American Victory '92 9/21/92 [OA 7580] [2]
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26
23
1
2
Bush,
1992
Administration of George Bush, 1992 / May 7
799
payments,
you
and
us in mind and keep us involved so that we
payment
particularly, but I understand also that it
ments.
I
have
will do our part in this country.
comes from people wanting to get something
The President. Good counsel. Thank you.
done. And that you were mistreated there,
President,
Ms. Helen Lim. Mr. President, my name
my
I feel very, very badly about that because you
is not important. I'm one of the victims. I
am
a
lawyer,
shouldn't have been. You were expressing
don't feel we are represented equally. You
unding
presi-
your rights as an American.
do not know how serious this problem is. A
alition.
I
also
I don't know. You say the media mis-
lot of people lost how much they earned. Ten
are
alumnus,
treated you. I will certainly apologize for that.
years, twenty years of hard work went down
later
than
I have no control over it. And you know our
the drain overnight. There are a lot of people
system, to know that we have no control over
who lost and do not have any will to go on.
[Laughter]
it. But I guess what I'm trying to say is we
They don't have any money to pay their next
do care, and we will try very, very hard to
rent, car payment, mortgage. We cannot wait
help.
very
happy
for 2 weeks, 3 weeks of the waiting period
And when you get to be President, you
our
concerns.
of this so-called Government aid. Please, you
that
do identify with people's suffering. Today it's
occasion
have to look at what each human being, vic-
that
here. And yesterday it was another place
one,
tim like me, is going through. Talk doesn't
somewhere in the country, unrelated to riots.
to
visit
us.
do anything. We need action.
Tomorrow it will be something else. That's
rograms
that
Here we are talking about how Govern-
just the way our country is. But I will try
needed.
And
ment agent will do this. We don't need a
to be as responsive as I possibly can. And
need
extra
promise. We need action now. Look at our
I know it must feel a thousand miles away,
the
disaster
side, how many people standing out to reach
Washington and all the forms to fill out. But
a
manmade
you, to tell you what we are going through.
these comments you have made I think sen-
So
to
the
We were at the Bonaventure yesterday. The
sitize all of us to the need to do our level-
grant
portion
treatment we received from the press, from
best and to move as fast as possible. So it's
the
kind
the law enforcement-if you had seen that.
not in vain. We'll keep trying.
rograms, the
I've never seen anything on TV or in the
Mr. Paul Yang. My name is Paul Yang.
and
other
press, nothing of what we are going through.
I'm an associate pastor at Christian Church
ssistance
that
They're focusing on it's between Korean-
in L.A. I'd like to respond to what you said
American, black American; you guys deal
about two immediate concerns. You said,
I
would
like
with it. This cop-out.
first, a speedy economic recovery. And fol-
to stay, and
So please, consider this: There's a people,
lowed by that was racial tension. I think the
that means
and their life is on the line. It's not a matter
priority was exactly the way you stated, that
government,
of loan we receive. It's a life. A human being
we should not neglect the racial tension. I
appointments
is suffering.
think these two must go simultaneously, even
understand
Thank you very much, sir.
though resolving the racial tension will take
ments Ko-
The President. Let me comment on that,
much longer.
if I might. I don't know how anybody who
My concern is that, knowing that the Watts
ecutive he ndustry Americans other last with of of posi- pre-
has not been through what you've been
riot happened 27 years ago, that probably
more that.
through can say they understand. I don't
most of young rioters involved with this riot
ling the
know that. I believe that the Federal Govern-
was little children at the time. Now I'm great-
in
ment response is fast. I'm told by Mayor
ly concerned about the children we have,
part, so that
Bradley, I'm told by the Governor that it's
those who saw the things that they're not sup-
lead-
fast. It may not seem fast to somebody that
posed to see yet. And I believe that this is
is hurting-
he week
Q. No, sir.
the time we have to show them what they
ether on pay-
The President. it is fast. Pat Saiki
have to see, after seeing what they're not sup-
posed to see.
te banks and
was out here the very day it happened and
has already started. So we will keep trying,
I would like to bring it up to you. I think
ans, and that
and I just wanted you to know.
it's about time, even though it takes much
this disaster
I don't know about the demonstration last
longer than economic recovery. Through the
Government
educational system, through the leaders of
get us. Keep
night. I know there were some nice political
shots fired at me which I didn't appreciate
the churches, and through the leaders of all
other ethnic groups, we must work together
Administration of C
800
May 7 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Santa Monica, or V
to reeducate our people and to give tough
it is longer range. But we can't give up on
tion.
answer for what they saw through this riot.
it.
The President.
And also, we can be united beyond the cul-
And it is not just the Korean community
question, because
tures and languages. Somehow we can work
or the black community; there are others who
local and I hadn't
together.
feel the same sense of anguish and hurt. We
clearly is local law
I believe that things like that cannot simply
haven't talked about Hispanics here. But I
other answer. The
start from each local community. We must
think your point it very valid.
in this country, an
get strong support from the Government,
Ms. Choi. Sir, I have some questions. I'm
as I am President
through the board of education or the reli-
the wife of the Radio Korea, Richard Choi.
we do need to gua
gious groups. We need a lot of support from
He's a-in his company. And I'm just a
to be protected L
the Government to provide proper education
housewife from Los Angeles city here, and
police. The State
at this point so we don't see a thing like this
crim
I'm living at actually what the people call
happening again in the next generation.
"Caucasian Place." But we have a business
The President. That's a very important
down here, and when we walk around, we
statement, Dr. Yang. Let me say this, that
still got attacked from the bad people, which
we had a very interesting meeting with some
we call black or Hispanic people, after us.
mayors here. One of them was the Mayor
Even yesterday, one of the old gentlemen
of Ingleside. The Mayor of Ingleside told us
was pumping the gas. Three of the Hispanic
that he had led that community, church lead-
people were beating him up, and a lot of
ers, ethnic group leaders, whatever, long be-
blood.
fore the riots started. He'd had meetings with
And now we're talking about, of course,
Korean business people or civic leaders or
we have to talk about the money and stuff.
church leaders, meeting with black leaders,
But how are you going to protect us from
Afro-America leaders, and then the elected
those people who is attacking innocent citi-
officials in the community.
You see, I am convinced that when you
zens? That is my question. Because after Na-
live close in-your second point is right on
tional Guard is going away from Los Angeles,
target-that it is going to have to be the local
we don't know how we're going to protect
communities. The Federal Government can
in our community or wherever. You will be
Mexico City. Mr. Pryce joined the Foreign
for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in
the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia and Counselor
to that, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at
bassy in Panama from 1982 to 1986. Prior
set a tone: no discrimination, rule out bigotry,
concerned about Beverly Hills and Holly-
exputy 51 at the U.S. Lin-
hatred, and all of that. But to practice it, it's
wood, wherever-but do you have any plan
that after they move out? I'm sorry I just
going to have to be done by getting across
these lines and by leaders-and you and I
speak to you like this. I'm not a member of
are saying the same thing-with the churches
it, but my husband is sitting down-[laugh-
in the lead, city governments being respon-
ter]. I have to talk. Sorry about this.
sive, to get across these cultural boundaries.
The President. May I ask you one? I don't
And I salute you for what you've done. I
want to sound defensive, but why do you as-
was in E.V. Hill's church this morning. There
sume that I'm only concerned about Beverly
were some Korean pastors there. And my
Hills?
College (B.A., 1966). She was born Septem-
Ms. Schaffer graduated from Bryn Maw
Trade, 1980-82.
emphasis was one on the essentiality of
Ms. Choi. Well, that's the media.
strengthening the American family. In your
The President. Let me tell you this—
community, it is my perception that you have
Ms. Choi. We keep watching all the chan-
strong family values. I think you are blessed
nels, major TV stations. We have about five
with the strength in family values. You've got
stations in Los Angeles. They only keep talk-
Commercial Policy, Office of Inter
84; and as Chief of the Division 359, of
of the Office of International OF
to share with whoever is open-minded
ing about blacks and Korean-Americans, and
enough to listen. And religious leaders, I
it usually shows the people who can't speak
think, can do a lot. I'm not trying to avoid
English very good, like me, you know? Not
responsibility from the Federal Government,
second generation, the first generation who
th
but I really think it's something that can't
came here just one year ago. And that is not
n, DC. II
be legislated. This is something that really
fair for us because we have a mind ourselves.
hairman of th
has to happen, come from the heart, and has
We know what is going on. And they just
dation; and as
to happen through what I think you're obvi-
focus on one little thing, and they never talk
cil of the Unite
ously trying to do in your church. And yes,
about how they protect-Beverly Hills or
eorge Bush, 1992
Administration of George Bush, 1992 / May 7
801
can't give up on
Santa Monica, or wherever. That's my ques-
resentatives who can work with us so we can
tion.
share our problems and difficulty in commu-
rean community
The President. No, that's why I asked the
"e are others who
nication. We realize we don't have any access
question, because that obviously is something
'sh and hurt. We
to higher level. Mr. Fong was very helpful.
local and I hadn't seen it. But the answer
nics here. But I
He's the Asian-your staff member here in
clearly is local law enforcement. There's no
the city-English problems and we need to
other answer. There's no Federal police force
communicate because it's a very special occa-
e questions. I'm
in this country, and there will not be as long
sion we're having, dealing with the mer-
1, Richard Choi.
as I am President. We don't need that. But
chants who have very limited English ability.
And I'm just a
we do need to guarantee the rights of citizens
So first, I'd like to ask if you can hire as many
S city here, and
to be protected under the law by the local
bilingual Korean staff in a higher level
the people call
police. The State police have some role in
position-
have a business
this. Federal crime is violated, the Feds have
valk around, we
some role in it.
The President. That helps.
What's happening now is we're just trying
Dr. Kay Song. -before you do that,
d people, which
eople, after us.
to guarantee everybody's civil rights under
if you could even today let us know who we
the civil rights statute. But in terms of the
should-communicate in a higher level posi-
old gentlemen
guy that gets beat up at a gas station, that
tion be able to expedite the process.
of the Hispanic
, and a lot of
clearly has to be a renewed effort by the local
The President. We're having a meeting
authorities to guarantee the safety of the life
tonight with people like David Kearns who
out, of course,
and limb of American citizens. The law has
is out here, who came here to set up the-
got to be totally colorblind in that regard,
you're talking about Federal response.
oney and stuff.
protect us from
and people have to, local police have to do
Dr. Kay Song. Right, the Federal re-
g innocent citi-
their level-best.
sponse.
:cause after Na-
Ms. Choi. But they never did ask for
The President. And out of that, we will
m Los Angeles,
us
have the names of the people who are going
to be staffing these regional centers. That's
oing to protect
The President. They must do it. They
er. You will be
must do it.
the level at which the action will be taking
ills and Holly-
Ms. Choi. So that's our worry, is after the
place. So I hope we'll get this to the commu-
have any plan
National Guard is moving out, what we're
nity and get that response to you as quickly
going to do, our business. We still open up
as possible.
m sorry I just
it a member of
our own business.
Reverend John Young Hwan Kim. Mr.
down-[laugh-
The President. Yes.
President, I am pastor of the Korean Com-
this.
Ms. Choi. Yes. But after that, what is the
munity Church and board of trustees of the
ou one? I don't
plan for the city?
bilingual university in the local area. Just a
why do you as-
Dr. Kay Song. Mr. President, my name
part of what she said, I'd like to make just
about Beverly
is Kay Song, and I worked with Mr. Chang
one point here. In the past, we've had so
to develop this relief system. My regional af-
many promises given from the Governors
edia.
filiation is I'm working for you as assistant
and local authorities-sorry about that-
vice president for city interrelations. After we
promises never fulfilled in reality in the com-
il you this—
saw what was going on, we were all shocked.
munity at all. We are so disappointed and
g all the chan-
We were damaged. We said we would work
frustrated, and even horrified by Chief Daryl
.ave about five
together. The point I was trying to make in
Gates because Korean community asked for
only keep talk-
here today is, because we're a relatively
help so desperately, and he was out of touch.
mericans, and
young community, we do not have any politi-
He was out of his office. To us, that is a kind
no can't speak
cal representation in the government, in any
of duty evasion or abandonment of his duties.
ou know? Not
level of government.
Because more than 200 million here in the
eneration who
We'll probably take for a while elected of-
city depend on his security and protection
.nd that is not
ficials-representative. Meanwhile, in the
but he was out of touch.
ind ourselves.
area you can, hire a Korean staff on a higher
The President. May I interrupt to ask?
And they just
level, have some decision-making level. That
What level-this is a delegate in the city
hey never talk
will be very helpful. Before you leave, if you
council, or
verly Hills or
can give us some of the high-level rep-
Reverend Kim. Daryl Gates.
802
May 7 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Administration of
change on matters we're talking about here
pointed positions
The President. Oh, Daryl Gates, the
chief.
today, I think it calls for participation in the
build L.A. Com
Reverend Kim. However, just a part of
political process, not to give up on it, not
going to hel
to think Washington can dictate to the local.
represented-
my recommendation, I was former general
secretary of the Council of Korean Churches
So maybe there's some good activity in that
The President
here in southern California, because we have
regard; but if there's not, I strongly would
Mr. In Don
urge that kind of participation.
resented, we hav
over 700 Korean churches scattered all dif-
Reverend Kim. I'm primarily concerned
sion-making bod
ferent areas. And we need to have one-a
about the appointing positions in both local
The Presiden
committee of Korean-American rep-
resentation in the high decision-making pol-
and in Federal Government.
good point, and
icy or planning because most of the time you
The President. That's not where the
the action is. И
make executive decision, high-level strictly
power is. The power with the people, with
pointed, I think
people that are elected, whether they're
sion-making leve
among Caucasians and you call us some kind
of action group to carry out what they have
low-that's the only point I'm making.
juncture. I'm not
Dr. Kay Song. We were simply saying
pointments, but
decided in the higher level. That really made
us very much embarrassed, because we like
we've been trying and we'll work with you,
where
and we need your support.
Q. Mr. Presid
to participate in that planning and high strat-
egy, whatever government-the plans to
The President. Yes. That I agree with. No,
the leadership b
carry out particularly this disaster
there's no problem with that.
because only P
coordinance in southern California from this
Mr. In Dong Oh. I'm the chairman of the
Korean populati
Korean American Coalition. This is an orga-
tion area, how CC
L.A. riot.
nization that's devoting our entire energy to
someone to be
So not only you but even to Governor Pete
make this new immigrants into this country
white Caucasiar
Wilson, we anticipate and we expect some
kind of action from them, but they were out
into a fine American citizens. We're trying
the one that we
of touch. And actually you are the one that
to educate them we're trying to organize and
as a part of our
nel to work wit
we voted for, and now, with this kind of situa-
empower. So we've been active in voter reg-
and local govern
tion and this is a real opportunity-that we
istration and trying to push anybody into the
The Preside
like to participate in the high-level decision
Congress.
process of the whole government-level
But Mr. President, remember, this sys-
but please do n
project, not only in this L.A. riot project but
tem-you hear some of the people say we
whether it's
have the feeling that we are betrayed. We're
Ueberroth is
in many of the general areas, because we
have so many qualified lawyers, attorneys,
never heard. We were ignored. Because
resentational CC
and professional people in the community
when we need something; if it is someone,
of how the Fed
who are available whenever you have those
not necessarily the elected person but some
the Governor
appointed position, we will be informed so
I really think-
programs in whole segment of levels; not
we'll know what your government is trying
that if you onl
only for local but Federal level.
The President. I appreciated what my An-
to do. If this kind of resentment builds up-
that means nob
dover colleague said. We have at least tried
what would happen not only in the black
I mean, I W
to have a better record in terms of numbers
community but also Korean Asian commu-
can we stay he
of Asian-American appointees, and we'll
nity. This problem, racial problem, is not just
Everybody in t.
keep working on that. Do not make the mis-
this time.
to say: Look, th
The President. Oh, no.
setback. And I
take of thinking that the Federal Govern-
ment is going to wave a wand and solve these
Mr. In Dong Oh. As you know painfully,
a responsibility
with this kind of riot, if you or the leadership
to the America
problems. You say you don't have any elected
does not take the steps, forward steps, we
and that this i
representative. I've heard some real talent
here today. I've heard some very able and
will lose our-how can we live here in this
American drea
articulate voices. And I don't know how
country any longer? You know, our efforts
as best I can. I
at trying to push this election process will
to the-the h
much participation these voices have tried to
all vanish. So please let us have-that we can
some messages
have in the local political process.
be heard.
Ms. Stacy
But you don't need a civics lecture from
me when we're talking about how you help
The President. Good point.
Pastor Kim an
in a community that's been ravaged, but to
Mr. In Dong Oh. And that one is the very
one of the m
really have the clout and to really effect the
one some of these people talk about ap-
slightly borrov
,eorge Bush, 1992
Administration of George Bush, 1992 / May 7
803
lking about here
pointed positions-specifically even to Re-
saying, it's not what the Federal Government
rticipation in the
build L.A. Committee. Peter Ueberroth is
can do for the community, but what can the
ve up on it, not
going to help. We have to be
Federal Government do to aid the commu-
tate to the local.
represented
nity in aiding ourselves, in rebuilding in a
d activity in that
The President. Yes.
productive and contributing manner as tax-
T strongly would
Mr. In Dong Oh. only rep-
payers?
n.
resented, we have to participate in the deci-
So following that statement, I just would
arily concerned
sion-making body.
like to ask one simple question: What role
ns in both local
The President. No, I think that's a very
can the Korean-American community organi-
good point, and I think that's where I think
zations play in assisting in the rebuilding of
not where the
the action is. Whether it's elected or ap-
L.A., and what do we need to do to support
ne people, with
pointed, I think that kind of community deci-
your plan for the relief of our community?
hether they're
sion-making level is what's required at this
The President. What you're doing. What
making.
juncture. I'm not arguing against Federal ap-
I saw when I walked in here is profound.
simply saying
pointments, but I'm saying that this is
I mean, this isn't some passing fantasy when
work with you,
where
you see all those volunteers out there doing
Q. Mr. President, I want you to know that
something that in some ways people might
agree with. No,
the leadership by election is very unfeasible
just hang back and say, where are the Gov-
because only people who-persons of the
ernment people to do this? These people are
hairman of the
Korean population, the whole general elec-
reaching out into the community, trying to
'his is an orga-
tion area, how could you think that we expect
find what the problem is, what the location
ntire energy to
someone to be elected by the Caucasian,
of the disaster is, and then trying to reach
0 this country
white Caucasian. So appointing a position is
out to the agencies to take care of those spe-
We're trying
the one that we can work with very closely
cific cases.
) organize and
as a part of our education, as a part of chan-
I would certainly continue that kind of ef-
e in voter reg-
nel to work with the Federal Government
fort. What these gentlemen were talking
vbody into the
and local government.
about is participating in the committees that
The President. I think that's important,
inevitably are formed from the distribution
ber, this sys-
but please do not give up on the local level,
of Federal or State assistance. I think that
eople say we
whether it's appointment to the-what
is very important. And I think what you
trayed. We're
Ueberroth is doing, whether it's rep-
project, how you project the problems-here
red. Because
resentational committees that will come out
are people that have come here very recently,
t is someone,
of how the Federal aid is coordinated or what
settled in with the work ethic, the family
son but some
the Governor does. That's all I'm saying, is
ethic, clearly not just because the pastors are
informed so
I really think-and don't give up on the idea
here but a sense of faith, and convey to the
ent is trying
that if you only have got a certain percent,
community that that is not dead in spite of
t builds up-
that means nobody else will vote for you.
the setback.
in the black
I mean, I was listening. The concept of
Now, that's asking a lot until there are
sian commu-
can we stay here, I have got to help on that.
some remedial action taken, but I sense,
m, is not just
Everybody in the community has got to help
when I've come here, a certain determina-
to say: Look, this is a setback, this is a serious
tion. And I think you've got to project that.
setback. And I think I maybe have more of
If you project the defeatism, that we've been
DW painfully,
a responsibility on this point to make clear
defeated, we've been beaten, then I think
e leadership
to the American people that you're welcome
that is real bad. That's what you asked, what
-d steps, we
and that this is an aberration. This isn't the
you can do for the community. Again, I've
here in this
American dream. So I'll try to assist in that
tried to outline here what the Federal Gov-
our efforts
as best I can. I did mention this in my speech
ernment and other government entities can
process will
to the-the heartbreak of the-and I got
do for the community. I think they go hand
that we can
some messages back on that.
in hand.
Ms. Stacy Kang. As a followup of what
Mr. Hyung Jin. Mr. President, my name
Pastor Kim and Ms. Song has said, I think
is Hyung Jin. I'm professor at the California
e is the very
one of the most important issues now-to
State Polytech University in corporate fi-
about ap-
slightly borrow President Kennedy's famous
nance and economics. I'd like to ask one sim-
804
May 7 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Administration of (
ple and very informal question that out there
Service in 1958 after serving in the U.S. Navy
ber 28, 1945, in W
several thousand businesses, the people who
from 1954 to 1958. During most of his ca-
fer is married, has
lost their business, are waiting for this an-
reer, he has specialized in Latin American
in Washington, D(
swer: You mentioned that the Government
and Eastern European affairs. His early as-
would provide disaster loans, but at the cur-
signments included Mexico City, Moscow,
rent rate of disaster loans and SBA guaran-
and Panama, as well as service in the Depart-
teed loans, the rates are way, way too high.
ment as Assistant to the Under Secretary of
Nomination of
Many of them won't be able to afford it. So
State for Economic Affairs. After serving as
United States A
I'd like to know the favorable terms for this
Chief of the political section in the U.S. Em-
Marshall Islano
specific case, and what are the interest rates
bassy in Guatemala City, Mr. Pryce was as-
May 7, 1992
of the terms, and then how long should the
signed in 1974 as Chief of Soviet Programs
long-term-30 years? And this one-year mor-
for the State Department's Bureau of Edu-
The President t
atorium, we'd like to know the time frame
cational and Cultural Affairs. He attended
tion to nominate I
a little more specifically.
the National War College in 1976 prior to
nia, a career mem
serving as executive assistant to Ambassador
Service, class of
The President. Let me turn to my able
at Large Ellsworth Bunker.
Ambassador to the
assistant, Pat Saiki, who can answer the spe-
Mr. Pryce was born in San Diego, CA, and
Islands. He would
cifics on that because I can't.
grew up in Ebensburg, PA. He graduated
Jr.
from Wesleyan University and the Fletcher
Since 1990, Am
Note: The President spoke at 2:05 p.m. at
School of Law and Diplomacy. He is married
as Director of the
the Radio Korea broadcast studio. In his re-
to Joan MacClurg Pryce and has three chil-
at the U.S. Depart
marks, he referred to Peter Ueberroth, chair-
dren.
ton, DC. Prior to
man of the Rebuild L.A. Committee, and
bassador to the
Daryl F. Gates, chief of police for the city
1986-89; Deputy
of Los Angeles. A tape was not available for
curity at the Dep:
verification of the content of these remarks.
Nomination of Teresita Currie
and as Administ
Schaffer To Be United States
American Embas
Ambassador to Sri Lanka and
1980-84.
Maldives
Ambassador Fi
Nomination of William T. Pryce To
May 7, 1992
strong College (1
Be United States Ambassador to
January 13, 1937,
Honduras
The President today announced his inten-
sador Fields serve
May 7, 1992
tion to nominate Teresita Currie Schaffer, of
57. He is married
New York, a career member of the Senior
sides in Vienna, V
The President today announced his inten-
Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor,
tion to nominate William T. Pryce of Penn-
to be Ambassador to the Democratic Social-
sylvania to be Ambassador to the Republic
ist Republic of Sri Lanka and to serve con-
of Honduras. He would succeed Cresencio
currently and without additional com-
Nomination of
S. Arcos.
pensation as Ambassador to the Republic of
FitzGerald To
Since 1989 Mr. Pryce has served as Special
Maldives. She would succeed Marion V.
Ambassador to
Assistant to the President for National Secu-
Creekmore, Jr.
May 7, 1992
rity Affairs and Senior Director for Latin
Since 1989, Ms. Schaffer has served as
America and the Caribbean at the National
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern
The President
Security Council. Before coming to the NSC,
and South Asian Affairs at the U.S. Depart-
tion to nominate
Mr. Pryce served as Deputy U.S. Permanent
ment of State. Prior to this, she served at
Gerald, of the I
Representative to the Organization of Amer-
the Department of State as Director of the
Ambassador to I
ican States in Washington, DC. He served
Office of Egyptian Affairs, 1987-89; Director
Richard Anthony
as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Em-
of the Office of International Trade, 1982-
Since 1959, M
bassy in Panama from 1982 to 1986. Prior
84; and as Chief of the Division of General
president of the
to that, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at
Commercial Policy, Office of International
ington, DC. In
the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia and Counselor
Trade, 1980-82.
chairman of the A
for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in
Ms. Schaffer graduated from Bryn Mawr
dation; and as cha
Mexico City. Mr. Pryce joined the Foreign
College (B.A., 1966). She was born Septem-
cil of the United
111/1/2
Jeanue
REMARKS HIGHLIGHTING ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
I would like to extend his greetings and best wishes for a sucess
Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the President, thank you
for the opportunity to talk with you today. I am honored to
share with you my insights during this historic month, because,
as you know, this marks for the 14th consecutive year we have
classion
recognized our Asian Pacific American Heritage. Extended to a
Through coordinated observances throughout
month-long celebration by President Bush, this is a time for all
the
nation
Asian Americans to reflect on our accomplishments and
contributions to this great country. So I am truly delighted to
be with you today.
For the past three years, I have had the distinct privilege
of working for President Bush. As an Asian American, I an say this especially
prod
is a privilege because I know first hand that President Bush
knows much about and is deeply committed to the Asian American
community.
dring the part three years I have come to reatize the
In fact, I can proudly say that no past president has known
dept of knowledge ad sensitivity the president 1 possesses regarding asians ad profil
Asia and the Pacific better than George Bush. For nearly fifty
Esladers
years -- beginning with the Second World War when he served in
the Pacific as the Navy's youngest pilot -- President Bush has
been involved and interacting with the peoples and cultures of
this region. His experience as a Congressman, Ambassador to the
United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee,
Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in China, C.I.A. Director, and
Vice President of the United States has given him more knowledge
of this region that any President or national leader in our
history.
For you and me, this knowledge has translated into important
recognition. He has, for example, appointed more Asians to top
Administration positions than any other president. And Asians
hold higher ranking positions than ever before. President Bush
has appointed the first Asian Ambassador and the first Deputy
Secretary of a Cabinet department. And three independent
agencies have Asian women in charge [SBA, Peace Corps, CFTC],
with dozens of other superbly qualified Asian Americans serving
the Bush Administration in other important roles.
We can also recognize that, more importantly, George Bush
stands for the same values and principles that we as a community
do: family, faith, hard work, merit, education,
entrepreneurialism, and community service. We see this
exemplified in the man, in his family and his wonderful wife
Barbara, and in his policies and programs. These pillars have
made the Asian American community prosperous and successful by
any measure.
This leads me to my topic for today: the Asian American
community looks to the future. This is important, because while
economically we Asians have been successful, politically we are
at a crossroads. Quiet and hard-working, we have often shunned
the public limelight in the past. Now, however, the Asian
community is coming of age. We are becoming full participants in
the decision-making process, and I believe we are poised to have
an even greater impact on decisions that affect our everyday
lives. Our impact can be seen, again, in the record number of
Asian appointments this President has made.
Beyond appointments, however, lies the realization that in
order to impact the issues we care about -- education, honest
government, free trade, free enterprise and so on -- we must be
more involved in mainstream politics.
As a community, more of us must register to vote and
participate in the election process. Individually, we must take
a stand for a candidate or an issue. Collectively, the community
must find common ground and stay united.
You are probably thinking that the Asian community is so
diverse, how can we possibly all agree on any one set of issues.
Well, at least let me start the dialogue with five issues I
believe we should all agree upon
25
--FREE TRADE, ANTI-ASIAN SENTIMENT, THE ASIAN
CONSUMER, EDUCATION AND QUOTAS.
REGARDING FREE TRADE, WE NOW LIVE IN A WORLD
WHERE THE DISTANCE ACROSS OCEANS IS SHORTENED
AND THE WALLS BETWEEN EAST AND WEST ARE
CRUMBLING.
26
MARKET ECONOMIES ARE RISING FROM THE RUBBLE OF
COMMUNIST COMMAND ECONOMIES. INCREASINGLY WE
ARE BECOMING A GLOBAL MARKETPLACE WHERE FREE
TRADE IS NOT ONLY DESIRABLE, BUT VITAL. LAST YEAR
UNITED STATES EXPORTS ACCOUNTED FOR 80% OF OUR
ECONOMIC GROWTH.
27
ASIAN AMERICANS ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO PLAY
AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PROMOTING GOODWILL AND
DEVELOPING BETTER RELATIONSHIPS AND
UNDERSTANDING WITH OUR ASIAN COUNTERPARTS
ACROSS THE PACIFIC.
28
ADDITIONALLY, FREE TRADE MEANS MORE COMPETITION,
LOWER PRICES AND GREATER VARIETY AND QUALITY FOR
THE CONSUMER. CONSEQUENTLY, WE MUST SAY NO TO
THE SHORT-SIGHTED TEMPTATIONS OF ISOLATIONISM.
WE MUST ALSO SAY NO TO AN UGLY BY PRODUCT OF
PROTECTIONIST RHETORIC.
29
TOO OFTEN, THE PROTECTIONIST DRUM BEAT TAKES THE
FORM OF JAPAN BASHING WHICH UNFORTUNATELY, ADDS
FUEL TO THE FIRE OF ANTI-ASIAN SENTIMENT IN NARROW
BUT VOCAL SEGMENTS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY. MOVING
FROM THE GLOBAL ISSUE OF FREE TRADE, LET'S ADDRESS
SOMETHING CLOSER TO HOME.
30
THE ASIAN AMERICAN AS A CONSUMER. THE 1990 CENSUS
INDICATES THAT THE ASIAN POPULATION IN THE U.S.
GREW FASTER THAN ANY OTHER GROUP, AND WE HAVE
THE HIGHEST MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME AND THE HIGHEST
PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGE GRADUATES. WE ARE
THEREFORE A VERY ATTRACTIVE CONSUMER MARKET.
31
TO QUOTE FROM A WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE (MAY 6,
1991) "SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERS WHO DON'T TRY TO
REACH ASIAN AMERICANS ARE MISSING OUT ON A CHANCE
TO DEAL WITH THE FASTEST-GROWING, MOST EDUCATED
AND MOST AFFLUENT ETHNIC GROUP IN THE UNITED
STATES..."
32
YET RECENT SURVEYS INDICATE item THAT MINORITY GROUPS,
INCLUDING ASIAN AMERICANS, LACK EVEN BASIC
CONSUMER EDUCATION INFORMATION. CONSEQUENTLY
WE ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO CON ARTISTS AND FRAUDS
AND WE ARE LESS LIKELY TO MAXIMIZE OUR SPENDING
DOLLAR.
33
I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOUR ORGANIZATION TO WORK
WITH MY OFFICE. THE U.S. OFFICE OF CONSUMER
AFFAIRS, IN EFFORTS TO INCREASE CONSUMER
EDUCATION IN THE ASIAN COMMUNITY.
34
AT THE SAME TIME WE MUST HELP AMERICA'S BUSINESS
UNDERSTAND, APPRECIATE AND ADDRESS THE FAST
GROWING AND AFFLUENT ASIAN-AMERICAN CONSUMER
MARKET. ANOTHER ARTICLE, THIS ONE FROM THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL MAKES THIS POINT.
A
August st 23, 1991
35
"ASIAN-AMERICANS CONSTITUTE THE MOST AFFLUENT
MINORITY IN THE U.S., AND THEY ARE SEEN AS
EXTREMELY BRAND-LOYAL. BUT NATIONAL MARKETERS
HAVE LARGELY IGNORED THIS SEGMENT, SQUANDERING
THE OPPORTUNITY TO COURT ASIAN-AMERICANS IN THE
WAY THEY HAVE TARGETED BLACKS AND HISPANICS."
36
INCREASINGLY, THE ASIAN AMERICAN POPULATION IS A
GROUP TO BE RECKONED WITH AND I LOOK FORWARD TO
INCREASING CONSUMER EDUCATION AND CULTIVATING
CORPORATE AWARENESS EFFECTIVELY.
Education at the the value be 37 srock It education of sacies the Community Asia
THE PRESIDENT AND THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
BOTH RECOGNIZE THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF
EDUCATION TO SUCCESSFUL CITIZENSHIP. THE
PRESIDENT'S AMERICA 2000 INITIATIVE EMPHASIZES THE
ABILITY OF PARENTS TO CHOOSE THE EDUCATION BEST
SUITED TO THEIR CHILDREN'S NEEDS,
It calls for
38
THAT GOALS AND STANDARDS BE ESTABLISHED TO
ENCOURAGE HIGH ACHIEVEMENT, AND THAT SCHOOLS
AND TEACHERS BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE
ATTAINMENT LEVELS OF THEIR STUDENTS.
39
I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT THESE GOALS
COMPLEMENT THE ASIAN PHILOSOPHY THAT EDUCATION
IS PARAMOUNT TO A SUCCESSFUL LIFE.
40
THROUGH AMERICA 2000, PRESIDENT BUSH WILL IMPROVE
THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND
SUPPORT FOR THIS INITIATIVE IS SOMETHING ON WHICH I
BELIEVE THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMUNITY CAN
ENTHUSIASTICALLY AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE.
41
THE LAST ISSUE I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS IS ONE OF
FUNDAMENTAL FAIRNESS - QUOTAS. THIS IS AN ISSUE
WHERE WE AS A COMMUNITY FIND OURSELVES IN A
DILEMMA. THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY,
HAS BEEN A LONG AND ARDUOUS FIGHT.
42
WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY FROM THE TIME WHEN
CHINESE IN AMERICA WERE DENIED FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WE COULD NOT VOTE AND COULD
NOT EVEN OWN LAND. / CONSEQUENTLY IT IS TEMPTING
TO AGREE WITH QUOTAS AS A WAY TO REDRESS PAST
DISCRIMINATION.
43
HOWEVER, I WOULD DIFFER BASED ON TWO POINTS.
THE FIRST, OUR CULTURE HAS INSTILLED IN US THE
FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF THAT HARD WORK, EDUCATION
AND MERIT ARE THE BASIS OF FUTURE SUCCESS. QUOTAS,
VERY SIMPLY, MAKE A MOCKERY OF THESE CORE
BELIEFS.
44
EVEN FROM A SELF INTERESTED PERSPECTIVE, THE ASIAN
COMMUNITY DOES NOT BENEFIT FROM QUOTAS. WE ARE
KNOWN AS OVER ACHIEVERS WHO TEND TO BE OVER-
REPRESENTED AND NOT UNDER-REPRESENTED. COLLEGE
ADMISSIONS ARE A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE.
45
THE CIVIL RIGHT3BILL AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN
THE WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP Thursding N.
SHOWS THAT WE CAN FIGHT DISCRIMINATION WITH
UNWAVERING DILIGENCE, WHILE STOPPING SHORT OF
IMPOSING QUOTAS
WHICH ARE, IN EFFECT, REVERSE
DISCRIMINATION.
46
ALLOW ME TO CLOSE BY QUOTING A FRIEND AND A MAN
FOR WHOM I WORKED FOR FIVE YEARS. GOVERNOR
GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN OF CALIFORNIA. "THANK GOD WE
LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE WE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO
NURTURE OUR SPECIAL HERITAGE AND PASS IT ON TO OUR
CHILDREN
n
47
AND AT THE SAME TIME, BECOME FULL PARTICIPANTS IN
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
I'M NOT SUGGESTING OUR COUNTRY IS PERFECT.
VESTIGES OF DISCRIMINATION REMAIN. TOO MANY
CHILDREN ARE STILL DENIED A FULL AND EQUAL CHANCE
TO SUCCEED AND EXCEL.
48
BUT LET'S BE THANKFUL FOR AMERICA'S BLESSINGS OF
FREEDOM, FAMILY, FAITH, AND OPPORTUNITY. AND LET'S
DRAW UPON THESE STRENGTHS TO MARCH BOLDLY
AHEAD AND SCALE NEW PEAKS OF EXCELLENCE.
49
WITH FREEDOM AS OUR GIFT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
AS OUR GOAL, LET'S JOIN TOGETHER IN A SPIRIT OF
UNITY AND RESPECT. LET'S GO FOR THE GOLD AGAIN, AND
THIS TIME LET'S NOT LEAVE ANYONE BEHIND."
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Ping her Niu
10th Anniversary
1
Class
Michael your
Civil Rights B.71
Helan chang
MFN
/
GOOD Eveny MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ON BEHALF OF
PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH, I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND HIS
BEST WISHES AND WARMEST REGARDS. I THANK YOU ALL
FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP AND HOSPITALITY. IT IS A SPECIAL
HONOR FOR ME TO ADDRESS YOU THIS EVENING AND TO
PARTICIPATE IN YOUR ANNUAL CONVENTION.
2
I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO SPEAKING WITH YOU
AS LEADERS IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY AND IN THE ASIAN
COMMUNITY. YOU ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF AN
EVOLVING NEW GENERATION OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP.
3
IT IS A NEW LEADERSHIP IN WHICH ASIANS WILL PLAY A
PIVOTAL ROLE AS WE EMBRACE OUR TRADITIONAL
CULTURAL VALUES AND BLEND THEM WITH THE
AMERICAN FOUNDATION OF LIFE LIBERTY AND THE
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
4
WHILE SOME PEOPLE SEE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH
AMERICA'S CULTURAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY, I VIEW
THIS DIVERSITY AS ONE OF OUR GREATEST ASSETS.
AMERICA IS STRONG AND PROSPEROUS TODAY BECAUSE
WE WELCOME THE PARTICIPATION OF PEOPLE FROM ALL
WALKS OF LIFE AND ALL REGIONS OF THE WORLD.
5
THIS COUNTRY HAS BENEFITTED PARTICULARLY FROM
THE DEEPLY HELD VALUES OF ASIAN-AMERICANS-THE
COMMITMENT TO FAMILY, HARD WORK, EDUCATION AND
COMMUNITY SERVICE.
6
WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO IS
COMMITTED TO THESE VALUES AS WELL, AND ALSO TO AN
ADMINISTRATION THAT TRULY REFLECTS THE BROAD
DIVERSITY OF OUR NATION.
7
A GOVERNMENT OPEN TO THE UNIQUE TALENTS AND
SPECIAL CONCERNS OF EVERY GROUP, AND YET ONE THAT
ACTS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL THE PEOPLE. THIS
LEADS ME TO MY TOPIC FOR TODAY, ASIAN AMERICANS-A
LOOK TO THE FUTURE.
8
AS YOU CAN WELL IMAGINE, MY PRESENTATION COULD
HAVE GONE IN ANY NUMBER OF DIRECTIONS BUT I
DECIDED TO SINGLE OUT ONE AREA WHERE CHANGE FOR
THE BETTER IS ABSOLUTELY INEVITABLE AND THAT IS
IN THE POLITICAL ARENA.
9
JOHN F. KENNEDY ONCE OBSERVED, "CHANGE IS THE LAW
OF LIFE.. AND THOSE WHO LOOK ONLY TO THE PAST OR
PRESENT ARE CERTAIN TO MISS THE FUTURE." LADIES
AND GENTLEMEN, I, FOR ONE, AM CONVINCED THAT THE
FUTURE HOLDS A MULTITUDE OF EXCITING AND POSITIVE
CHANGES FOR THE ASIAN COMMUNITY.
10
BUT KENNEDY DID NOT SAY TO IGNORE THE PAST, AND I
COULD NOT AGREE MORE. WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHERE
WE'VE BEEN, AND WHERE WE ARE, IN ORDER TO
APPRECIATE WHERE WE ARE GOING. THE FACT IS, THE
SIGNS OF CHANGE ARE EVERYWHERE
11
AND WHEN YOU PUT IT ALL IN PERSPECTIVE- I THINK YOU
WILL AGREE THAT THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE AS A
COMMUNITY IS ASTOUNDING! TWO CRITICAL
BAROMETERS THAT MEASURE CHANGE AND PROGRESS
ARE IN THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ARENAS!
12
ECONOMICALLY, WE ASIANS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL;
POLITICALLY, WE ARE AT A CROSSROAD.
HARDWORKING AND FAMILY ORIENTED, WE ASIANS HAVE
BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT IN A
QUIET WAY OUTSIDE THE PUBLIC LIMELIGHT. NOW,
HOWEVER, THE ASIAN COMMUNITY IS COMING OF AGE.
13
WE ARE BECOMING FULL PARTICIPANTS IN THE DECISION
MAKING PROCESS- AND I BELIEVE WE ARE POISED TO
BECOME EVEN MORE INVOLVED TO HAVE A GREATER
IMPACT IN DECISIONS THAT PROFOUNDLY AFFECT OUR
EVERYDAY LIVES.
14
MANY OF US COME FROM ETHNIC COMMUNITIES WHICH
ARE OFTEN OVEREXTENDED IN MEETING THE SOCIAL
SERVICE NEEDS OF OUR BROTHERS NEW TO THIS LAND
SOME OF US FACE LANGUAGE AND OTHER BARRIERS THAT
INHIBIT OUR ABILITY TO REALIZE OUR FULL POTENTIAL.
15
BUT WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE THE AMERICAN DREAM, OR
THE GOLD MOUNTAIN, AND WE ARE SUCCEEDING DAILY
AS MORE AND MORE OF US BREAK TRADITIONAL
BARRIERS AND STEREOTYPES AND EXCEL IN ALL FACETS
OF OUR SOCIETY.
16
NOWHERE IS THE UNPRECEDENTED CRUMBLING OF
BARRIERS MORE EVIDENT THAT IN THE POLITICAL ARENA.
I AM PROUD TO WORK FOR A MAN WHO WELCOMES AND
ENCOURAGES THE INVOLVEMENT OF ASIANS IN
IMPORTANT POSITIONS IN HIS ADMINISTRATION.
17
AND MORE AND MORE, I AM SEEING OTHER PUBLIC
OFFICIALS DO THE SAME. PRESIDENT BUSH HAS
APPOINTED MORE ASIANS TO TOP MANAGEMENT AND
ADVISORY ROLES THAN ANY PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY
OF THIS NATION
18
AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE NUMBERS, ASIANS
HOLD HIGHER RANKING POSITIONS THAN EVER.
PRESIDENT BUSH HAS APPOINTED THE FIRST ASIAN
WOMAN AMBASSADOR AND THE FIRST DEPUTY
SECRETARY.
19
NINE ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN APPOINTED TO
Three
POSITIONS IN THE WHITE HOUSE-TWO INDEPENDENT
AGENCIES HAVE ASIAN WOMEN IN CHARGE AND DOZENS
OF OTHER SUPERBLY QUALIFIED ASIAN AMERICANS SERVE
THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IN OTHER IMPORTANT ROLES.
SBA
- proce Corp
-
- CFTC
20
IF YOU ARE LIKE MY OWN PARENTS AND HAVE
ENCOURAGED YOUR CHILDREN TO BECOME A DOCTOR OR
AN ENGINEER, YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT LIKE WHAT I AM
ABOUT TO SAY. MY PARENTS STILL HOPE THAT SOMEDAY
I WILL GET A REAL JOB. - BUT SERIOUSLY, ENCOURAGE
YOUR CHILDREN TO CONSIDER PUBLIC SERVICE.
21
IF YOU REMEMBER BUT ONE THING I HAVE SAID TODAY,
REMEMBER THIS-PUBLIC SERVICE IS A HIGH HONOR AND
A SACRED TRUST. IT IS A NOBLE PROFESSION WHERE
EVERY MAN AND WOMAN HAS THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE
OBLIGATION TO WORK FOR THE BETTERMENT OF HIS
COUNTRY AND HIS FELLOW MAN.
22
BUT PUBLIC SERVICE IS NOT LIMITED TO FULL TIME
CAREERS. YOU CAN SERVE YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR STATE
OR YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ON A ADVISORY BOARD
THAT MAY MEET TWO OR THREE TIMES PER YEAR.
HOWEVER, WE MUST LEARN TO WALK BEFORE WE CAN
RUN.
23
AS A COMMUNITY, MORE OF US MUST REGISTER TO VOTE
AND PARTICIPATE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS.
INDIVIDUALLY, TAKE A STAND FOR A CANDIDATE OR AN
ISSUE. TOGETHER WE MUST FIND COMMON GROUND,
WORKING WITH EACH OTHER, AND WE MUST STAY
UNITED.
24
YOU ARE PROBABLY THINKING THAT THE ASIAN
COMMUNITY, AND IN PARTICULAR THE CHINESE
COMMUNITY, IS so DIVERSE. HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY ALL
AGREE ON ANY ONE SET OF ISSUES. WELL, AT LEAST LET
ME START THE DIALOGUE WITH FIVE ISSUES I BELIEVE WE
SHOULD ALL AGREE UPON.
25
--FREE TRADE, ANTI-ASIAN SENTIMENT, THE ASIAN
CONSUMER, EDUCATION AND QUOTAS.
REGARDING FREE TRADE, WE NOW LIVE IN A WORLD
WHERE THE DISTANCE ACROSS OCEANS IS SHORTENED
AND THE WALLS BETWEEN EAST AND WEST ARE
CRUMBLING.
26
MARKET ECONOMIES ARE RISING FROM THE RUBBLE OF
COMMUNIST COMMAND ECONOMIES. INCREASINGLY WE
ARE BECOMING A GLOBAL MARKETPLACE WHERE FREE
TRADE IS NOT ONLY DESIRABLE, BUT VITAL. LAST YEAR
UNITED STATES EXPORTS ACCOUNTED FOR 80% OF OUR
ECONOMIC GROWTH.
27
ASIAN AMERICANS ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO PLAY
AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PROMOTING GOODWILL AND
DEVELOPING BETTER RELATIONSHIPS AND
UNDERSTANDING WITH OUR ASIAN COUNTERPARTS
ACROSS THE PACIFIC.
28
ADDITIONALLY, FREE TRADE MEANS MORE COMPETITION,
LOWER PRICES AND GREATER VARIETY AND QUALITY FOR
THE CONSUMER. CONSEQUENTLY, WE MUST SAY NO TO
THE SHORT-SIGHTED TEMPTATIONS OF ISOLATIONISM.
WE MUST ALSO SAY NO TO AN UGLY BY PRODUCT OF
PROTECTIONIST RHETORIC.
29
TOO OFTEN, THE PROTECTIONIST DRUM BEAT TAKES THE
FORM OF JAPAN BASHING WHICH UNFORTUNATELY, ADDS
FUEL TO THE FIRE OF ANTI-ASIAN SENTIMENT IN NARROW
BUT VOCAL SEGMENTS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY. MOVING
FROM THE GLOBAL ISSUE OF FREE TRADE, LET'S ADDRESS
SOMETHING CLOSER TO HOME.
30
THE ASIAN AMERICAN AS A CONSUMER. THE 1990 CENSUS
INDICATES THAT THE ASIAN POPULATION IN THE U.S.
GREW FASTER THAN ANY OTHER GROUP, AND WE HAVE
THE HIGHEST MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME AND THE HIGHEST
PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGE GRADUATES. WE ARE
THEREFORE A VERY ATTRACTIVE CONSUMER MARKET.
31
TO QUOTE FROM A WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE (MAY 6,
1991) "SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERS WHO DON'T TRY TO
REACH ASIAN AMERICANS ARE MISSING OUT ON A CHANCE
TO DEAL WITH THE FASTEST-GROWING, MOST EDUCATED
AND MOST AFFLUENT ETHNIC GROUP IN THE UNITED
STATES "
32
YET RECENT SURVEYS INDICATE THAT MINORITY GROUPS,
often
INCLUDING ASIAN AMERICANS, LACK EVEN BASIC
CONSUMER EDUCATION INFORMATION. CONSEQUENTLY
WE ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO CON ARTISTS AND FRAUDS
AND WE ARE LESS LIKELY TO MAXIMIZE OUR SPENDING
DOLLAR.
33
I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOUR ORGANIZATION TO WORK
WITH MY OFFICE, THE U.S. OFFICE OF CONSUMER
AFFAIRS, IN EFFORTS TO INCREASE CONSUMER
EDUCATION IN THE ASIAN COMMUNITY.
34
AT THE SAME TIME WE MUST HELP AMERICA'S BUSINESS
UNDERSTAND, APPRECIATE AND ADDRESS THE FAST
GROWING AND AFFLUENT ASIAN-AMERICAN CONSUMER
MARKET. ANOTHER ARTICLE, THIS ONE FROM THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL MAKES THIS POINT.
1
August 23, 1991
35
"ASIAN-AMERICANS CONSTITUTE THE MOST AFFLUENT
MINORITY IN THE U.S., AND THEY ARE SEEN AS
EXTREMELY BRAND-LOYAL. BUT NATIONAL MARKETERS
HAVE LARGELY IGNORED THIS SEGMENT, SQUANDERING
THE OPPORTUNITY TO COURT ASIAN-AMERICANS IN THE
WAY THEY HAVE TARGETED BLACKS AND HISPANICS."
36
INCREASINGLY, THE ASIAN AMERICAN POPULATION IS A
GROUP TO BE RECKONED WITH AND I LOOK FORWARD TO
INCREASING CONSUMER EDUCATION AND CULTIVATING
CORPORATE AWARENESS EFFECTIVELY.
at the the value be 37 srock at education of sucess ? the Community Asic
THE PRESIDENT AND THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
BOTH RECOGNIZE THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF
EDUCATION TO SUCCESSFUL CITIZENSHIP. THE
PRESIDENT'S AMERICA 2000 INITIATIVE EMPHASIZES THE
ABILITY OF PARENTS TO CHOOSE THE EDUCATION BEST
SUITED TO THEIR CHILDREN'S NEEDS,
It calls for
38
THAT GOALS AND STANDARDS BE ESTABLISHED TO
ENCOURAGE HIGH ACHIEVEMENT, AND THAT SCHOOLS
AND TEACHERS BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE
ATTAINMENT LEVELS OF THEIR STUDENTS.
39
I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT THESE GOALS
COMPLEMENT THE ASIAN PHILOSOPHY THAT EDUCATION
IS PARAMOUNT TO A SUCCESSFUL LIFE.
40
THROUGH AMERICA 2000, PRESIDENT BUSH WILL IMPROVE
THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND
SUPPORT FOR THIS INITIATIVE IS SOMETHING ON WHICH I
BELIEVE THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMUNITY CAN
ENTHUSIASTICALLY AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE.
41
THE LAST ISSUE I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS IS ONE OF
FUNDAMENTAL FAIRNESS - QUOTAS. THIS IS AN ISSUE
WHERE WE AS A COMMUNITY FIND OURSELVES IN A
DILEMMA. THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY,
HAS BEEN A LONG AND ARDUOUS FIGHT.
42
WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY FROM THE TIME WHEN
CHINESE IN AMERICA WERE DENIED FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WE COULD NOT VOTE AND COULD
NOT EVEN OWN LAND.
/
CONSEQUENTLY IT IS TEMPTING
TO AGREE WITH QUOTAS AS A WAY TO REDRESS PAST
DISCRIMINATION.
43
HOWEVER, I WOULD DIFFER BASED ON TWO POINTS.
THE FIRST, OUR CULTURE HAS INSTILLED IN US THE
FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF THAT HARD WORK, EDUCATION
AND MERIT ARE THE BASIS OF FUTURE SUCCESS. QUOTAS,
VERY SIMPLY, MAKE A MOCKERY OF THESE CORE
BELIEFS.
44
EVEN FROM A SELF INTERESTED PERSPECTIVE, THE ASIAN
COMMUNITY DOES NOT BENEFIT FROM QUOTAS. WE ARE
KNOWN AS OVER ACHIEVERS WHO TEND TO BE OVER-
REPRESENTED AND NOT UNDER-REPRESENTED. COLLEGE
ADMISSIONS ARE A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE.
45
THE CIVIL RIGHT3BILL AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN
THE WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP Thursday N
SHOWS THAT WE CAN FIGHT DISCRIMINATION WITH
UNWAVERING DILIGENCE, WHILE STOPPING SHORT OF
IMPOSING QUOTAS
WHICH ARE, IN EFFECT, REVERSE
DISCRIMINATION.
46
ALLOW ME TO CLOSE BY QUOTING A FRIEND AND A MAN
FOR WHOM I WORKED FOR FIVE YEARS. GOVERNOR
GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN OF CALIFORNIA. "THANK GOD WE
LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE WE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO
NURTURE OUR SPECIAL HERITAGE AND PASS IT ON TO OUR
CHILDREN n
47
AND AT THE SAME TIME, BECOME FULL PARTICIPANTS IN
THE AMERICAN DREAM.
I'M NOT SUGGESTING OUR COUNTRY IS PERFECT.
VESTIGES OF DISCRIMINATION REMAIN. TOO MANY
CHILDREN ARE STILL DENIED A FULL AND EQUAL CHANCE
TO SUCCEED AND EXCEL.
48
BUT LET'S BE THANKFUL FOR AMERICA'S BLESSINGS OF
FREEDOM, FAMILY, FAITH, AND OPPORTUNITY. AND LET'S
DRAW UPON THESE STRENGTHS TO MARCH BOLDLY
AHEAD AND SCALE NEW PEAKS OF EXCELLENCE.
49
WITH FREEDOM AS OUR GIFT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
AS OUR GOAL, LET'S JOIN TOGETHER IN A SPIRIT OF
UNITY AND RESPECT. LET'S GO FOR THE GOLD AGAIN, AND
THIS TIME LET'S NOT LEAVE ANYONE BEHIND."
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
4 RGA
Maeng, Christopher
South Korea's growing clout
Nation's Business v74 p52-3 December '86
Contains: illustration(s)
SUBJECTS COVERED:
Korea (South)/Commerce
United States/Commerce/Korea (South)
ABSTRACT: The Republic of Korea is facing both the rewards and problems
associated with a newly successful economy. As South Korean products have
become more visible in the American marketplace, they have elicited praise
for the hard work and determination of the South Korean people. The
economic growth has also stirred controversy with some of South Korea's
trading partners. Korean officials would like further links 1. with American
and European companies as suppliers and partners. The United States,
however, has a trade deficit with South Korea and is pushing the Koreans
to strengthen the Korean won against the U.S. dollar, an action that would
make Korean products more expensive in the United States and U.S. products
less expensive in South Korea. South Korea believes that the demand is
unreasonable but nevertheless sees the controversy as a sign of
progress a price to be paid for increased trade.
2 RGA
Kraar, Louis
Korea's big push has just begun
Fortune v115 p72-6 March 16 '87
Contains: illustration(s)
SUBJECTS COVERED:
Korea (South)/Industries (
Korea (South)/Commerce
ABSTRACT: South Korea is fast becoming an industrial power, with strong
exports in autos, steel, computers, and consumer electronics. Low wages
and an ethic characterized by ambition, motivation, and a respect for
authority enable it to compete effectively in U.S. markets with Japan and
other industrial players. Exports rose to a record $36 billion in 1986,
giving the tiny country a $3.5 billion trade surplus. When the 1988
Olympics are held in Seoul, South Koreans hope to showcase their rapid
progress. They face many problems, however: a growing protectionist mood
in the United States, the authoritarian regime of President Chun Doo Hwan,
the $45 billion foreign debt invested in its economic surge, and
continuous tensions with the Communist North Koreans. Chun plans to step
down by next February, but an orderly transition is unlikely. In order to
succeed, South Korea needs to make both social and political progress.
PAGE
2
6TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1988 McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Business Week
May 16, 1988
SECTION: FINANCE; Regulators; Pg. 98
LENGTH: 984 words
HEADLINE: WHY WENDY GRAMM IS MS. POPULARITY IN THE PITS
BYLINE: By Catherine Yang in Washington
HIGHLIGHT:
The CFTC head thinks Washington should let stock-index futures alone
BODY:
To Wendy Lee Gramm, Washington must seem like Beirut. During her five
years in the Reagan Administration, the 43-year-old economist has been under
constant attack. Her laissez-faire philosophy drew fire when she served as
chief economist for the Federal Trade Commission. Later, as head of the Office
of Management & Budget's regulatory-review operation, Congress cut off her funds
because lawmakers believed that her office helped dismantle federal health and
safety regulations.
Those incidents pale beside the bombs being lobbed at Gramm now. As the new
chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, she faces broadsides from
lawmakers who consider the CFTC's attitude that the futures market performed
efficiently during the crash too blase. She also is under attack from the
Securities & Exchange Commission, which wants to yank the CFTC's authority over
stock-index futures. "It's a tough situation to come into," says Andrea M.
Corcoran, the CFTC's Trading and Markets Div. chief.
But Wendy Gramm is one tough lady. A former Texas A&M University economics
professor and the wife of Senator Phil Gramm (R-Tex.), she knew little of
futures before joining the CFTC in February. Yet when the Administration's
working group on market reform makes its recommendations on May 18, it will
reflect Gramm's hands-off-the-markets attitudes rather than SEC Chairman David
S. Ruder's reform leanings. The group's other members are Federal Reserve Board
Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Under Secretary George D. Gould, who serves
as chairman.
Sources say the Gould group may be nearing a consensus on coordinated
"circuit breakers" to stop trading on the futures and equities exchanges in
volatile markets. Currently, futures trading effectively stops for the day when
price limits are hit, but there are no such restrictions in the equities
markets. Gramm has endorsed a middle ground - temporary trading halts for all
markets, which she argues are less disruptive. "Full-day halts make me
nervous," says Gramm, who wants as little interference in trading as possible.
HIGH VOLUME. Gramm also may block far-reaching changes that would coordinate
margin requirements across markets - something the SEC has been pushing. But
bringing margins on stock-index futures, now at 15%, up to the 25% recommended
by Ruder may cripple an already sagging market. Gramm's view of Oct. 19 is that
the stock market, not the futures market, failed.
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1988 McGraw-Hill, Inc., Business Week, May 16, 1988
Likewise, she is loath to curb program trading. That's when big players
trade in stock and futures markets simultaneously to lock in profits, often
sending prices zooming or plummeting in minutes. "Institutions should have the
right to use program trading," she says. "The challenge is for exchanges to
accommodate the higher volume."
Most of the eight reports from which the working group will draw its
conclusions don't let futures off that lightly. Still, Ruder's proposal that
the SEC exercise ultimate authority over stock-index futures is dead. Lawmakers
who championed an expanded role for the SEC at the expense of Gramm's CFTC -
among them Senate Banking Committee Chairman William Proxmire (D-Wis.) - have
all but given up the fight.
DEREGULATION DIEHARD. Gramm is a fast learner, but she has made a few
gaffes, too. Although she holds a PhD in labor economics from Northwestern
University, her unfamiliarity with the intricacies of the futures industry has
caused some embarrassment. At her first CFTC public meeting, she asked her
staff to explain some commonly used acronyms. And at a congressional hearing,
critical lawmakers asked her which agency should take over the CFTC's duties if
the agency were abolished. Instead of defending the CFTC, she said that the
Treasury Dept. could do the job, then switched gears and suggested the
Agriculture Dept. Futures lobbyists were aghast, and the commission rushed out
a press release stressing Gramm's determination to hold on to the index-futures
regulation.
Gramm is trying to rebound from those faux pas. since her testimony on
Capitol Hill, she has studied not only the issues facing the CFTC but videotapes
of her congressional appearances, as well. "She has an instinct for survival,"
says Philip D. Nicoll, a Washington consultant who knows Gramm from her days at
the OMB.
Her most important asset, however, may be her credentials as a diehard
deregulator. "I want to make sure the commission deals with the issues of a
changing marketplace without stifling the markets,' she says. She has won the
support of like-minded officials at the Fed and Treasury, even though the CFTC
differs with bank regulators over proposed regulation of "hybrid" financial
instruments.
The futures industry also likes what it sees and hears of Gramm. Chicago
Board of Trade President Thomas R. Donovan says she is doing "a good job of
representing the industry."
While Gramm may be winning the bureaucratic struggles, she still may face
flak on Capitol Hill - even from the usually friendly Agriculture committees,
which oversee the CFTC. "It's my job to make sure [the agency] doesn't take a
hand-off approach," declares Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Patrick J.
Leahy (D-Vt.). Gramm "will have to do more than a juggling act. She's going to
have to lead in there."
Gramm may not have much time to lead. Even if the GOP wins the White House,
her chairmanship is not assured. But regardless of who wins the election, she
can stay on as a commissioner until her term ends in April, 1990 - and she
plans to. In 1989, besides the regulatory issues, the CFTC's biggest fight will
be to persuade Congress to renew its charter, which the legislature must do
every five years. How well Gramm and her CFTC fare in Congress may have less
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PAGE 4
1988 McGraw-Hill, Inc., Business Week, May 16, 1988
to do with her political smarts and economic ideology than with how the markets
behave in coming months.
GRAPHIC: Picture, GRAMM, WHO SAYS "FULL-DAY HALTS MAKE ME NERVOUS," WANTS AS
LITTLE INTERFERENCE IN TRADING AS POSSIBLE, STEINKAMP/PICTURE GROUP
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5
8TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright (c) 1987 The New York Times Company;
The New York Times
December 4, 1987, Friday, Late City Final Edition
NAME: Wendy Lee Gramm
CATEGORY: Business and Finance; Politics and Government (US)
SECTION: Section D; Page 2, Column 5; Financial Desk
LENGTH: 522 words
HEADLINE: BUSINESS PEOPLE;
Deregulator Chosen For Commodity Post
BYLINE: By Robert D. Hershey Jr.
BODY:
Wendy Lee Gramm, one of the Reagan Administration's most vigorous
deregulators, has been selected to head the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, the White House announced yesterday.
Assuming confirmation by the Senate, a process that may prove contentious,
Mrs. Gramm will be thrust into the middle of a debate over whether the
commission should continue as the regulator of futures contracts on stock index
prices.
In the wake of October's stock market dive, many people believe this
authority should be transferred to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In
addition, some have criticized the agency for being too close to the industry it
regulates.
Mrs. Gramm, 42 years old, said yesterday that she could not respond to
questions about her views on this or other issues until her confirmation
hearing. Instead, she issued a brief statement stating that she was pleased to
be chosen to head ' 'an important agency at a challenging time.
Her nomination to the commission has been expected ever since she failed to
be chosen to succeed Elizabeth Hanford Dole as Secretary of Transportation. Some
observers said the Administration sought to find another post for Mrs. Gramm
because she has antagonized many Republicans as well as Democrats in her current
post as administrator of information and regulatory affairs in the Office of
Management and Budget. In her post as one of the top half-dozen O.M.B.
officials, her approval was needed for all proposed changes in Federal
regulations and data-collection forms.
Recently she provoked an outcry by proposing to eliminate certain questions
about housing and utility costs from the 1990 census.
Mrs. Gramm may be questioned by the Senate about whether she may have
encouraged a former colleague at the Federal Trade Commission in an advisory
report to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to advocate a relaxed
definition of hedging that, when adopted, facilitated the use of stock-index
futures contracts as ''portfolio insurance.'
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(c) 1987 The New York Times, December 4, 1987
Some may also question both Mrs. Gramm's lack of practical experience in
commodities and the fact that her husband, Senator Phil Gramm, Republican of
Texas, sits on the Banking Committee and receives campaign contributions from
various agricultural and financial interests.
Patrick J. Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who heads the Senate Agriculture
Committee, said in a statement yesterday that he had 'questions regarding the
experience of Mrs. Gramm in this extremely complicated'' field at such a
critical point. He promised a fair hearing and a quick vote, but it was not
clear, according to an aide, that this could be accomplished before the end of
the Congressional session this month.
Mrs. Gramm was recruited by James C. Miller 3d, now her boss at O.M.B., to
serve as assistant director of the F.T.C.'s Division of Consumer Protection. She
later headed the commission's Bureau of Economics, supervising some 90 Ph.D.
economists.
Since Susan M. Phillips left as chairman in July, the commodities commission
has been run by Kalo A. Hineman, a Kansas wheat farmer and cattleman who is the
senior Republican commissioner.
GRAPHIC: Photo of Wendy Lee Gramm (Jose R. Lopez)
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eftc
FAX
To:
John Stintson
Fax Number: 4566218
From:
DAVID GARY
Office of Communication and Education Services
Phone: 202-254-8630
Fax: 202-254-3678
Number of Pages to follow
1
Message:
If fax is incomplete, please call 202-254-8630.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission
2033 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20581
The CFTC is the Federal Regulatory Agency for Futures Trading
cftc
Office of Communication and Education Services
Contact: R. David Gary, (202) 254-8630
Fax: (202) 254-3678
Biography
Chairman Wendy Lee Gramm
Wendy Lee Gramm was sworn in as the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission's fifth chairman on February 22, 1988. She was reappointed to
a second term and sworn in again in a White House ceremony on October 11,
1990, attended by President George Bush.
Before her appointment to the CFTC, Dr. Gramm was Administrator
for Information and Regulatory Affairs at the White House Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), a position she assumed in late 1985.
Beginning in December 1986, she also served as executive director of the
Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief. Prior to joining OMB, Dr.
Gramm directed the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Economics.
Dr. Gramm began her career in 1970 as an assistant professor of
economics at Texas A&M University. Later, she was promoted to associate
professor, and, in 1974, named director of undergraduate programs for the
Texas A&M Economics Department.
After leaving Texas A&M in 1978, Dr. Gramm joined the research
staff of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a defense research institute.
She is the author of numerous scholarly articles published in
professional journals such as the American Economics Review, the Review of
Economic Statistics, and the Journal of Law and Economics.
Dr. Gramm, from College Station, Texas, was born in Hawaii in 1945.
She holds a B.A. degree from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. degree from
Northwestern University, both in economics.
Washington, D.C. 20581
Federal Regulatory Agency for Futures Trading
2033 K Street, N.W.
PAGE
6
1ST STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1992 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday
September 13, 1992, Sunday, QUEENS EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1
Other Edition: BrooklynReplate0OKLYNassau Pg. 2
LENGTH: 1139 words
HEADLINE: Polling Power;
Young Korean-Americans launch bold voting drive
BYLINE: By Rose Kim. STAFF WRITER
KEYWORD: COVER; KOREAN-AMERICAN; VOTING; YOUTH; ELECTION; CULTURE; POLITICS;
QUOTE; JAE TAIK KIM
BODY:
In a boardroom on the 29th floor of the Empire State Building, about 30 young
men and women, dressed in professional attire, gathered after work one recent
evening to chart the progress of their voter registration drive.
Unlike many boardroom meetings, all the men and women in the room were the
children of Korean immigrants, and members of the nonpartisan Coalition for
Korean American Voters, which seeks to empower the Korean-American community
through voter registration and education.
As these young men and women, whose parents immigrated to New York during the
1970s and early 1980s, have come of age, the older generation of Koreans has
begun relying on them to guide them politically since the younger generation is
able to communicate effectively in English and is more familiar with the
political process.
In the last year, the coalition has registered more than 1,000 voters. The
number is small, but members note that the Korean American Coalition in Los
Angeles has registered 10,000 voters during its 10 years. They plan to be around
for just as long, and will be registering voters until October at Korean
supermarkets in Flushing, where the largest number of Koreans reside.
In addition to registering voters, the group publishes candidates' profiles
and presents forums. Members appear regularly on a Korean talk show to discuss
their latest activities, and have produced a public service message that will
air on Korean television channels.
Yet, passing the torch is awkward because of cultural traditions. "Korean
culture is traditionally very patriarchal and hierarchical because it's based on
Confucius' philosophy and social systems," said Grace Yoon, a sociology
professor at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. "Patterns of male dominance and
observations of filial piety predominate."
In fact, problems arose almost immediately after the group was formed. The
Korean Association of New York, one of the oldest community organizations,
sought to absorb the fledgling group into its own voter registration drive. But
CKAV members resisted.
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Newsday, September 13, 1992
"We wanted to remain a separate entity. That was the way the organization was
conceived when it was created," said a founding member, who asked to remain
unidentified.
Even now, members hesitate to discuss the conflict and are nervous about
offending their elders. Some members did not wish to speak publicly because they
said they have just begun rebuilding alliances. And some said any new
organization would have faced similar problems.
But other members disagreed. One member said that the group was not taken
seriously when it started because its members were so young. Only when the
organization gained credibility through the Korean media did the Korean
Association of New York attempt to usurp the group.
"The first generation was into controlling the situation. We wanted our
freedom and flexibility, and we got severely criticized as being independent,
stubborn and unwilling to listen," one member said.
Jonathan Kim, 27, a program associate with the Asian American Federation of
New York, said that it was a delicate but essential task for young and old
Korean-Americans to maintain positive relations. "Some young Koreans are
thinking of running for office, and they need support from the old and the
young, not just votes, but money."
Yoon said it can be an enormous, stressful task for young Korean-Americans to
reconcile the cultural differences outside and within the home. "Within
Korean-American culture, the focus is on the family, not the individual;
therefore, there's an immediate clash in orientation."
Many voters' coalition members are more than happy to forget the conflict,
especially since Jae Taik Kim, a public management professor at the John Jay
College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, was elected president of the Korean
Association of New York last April.
Jae Taik Kim, who has lived in the United States for over 25 years, has
embraced the younger generation. "The second generation is the bridge. They
understand Korean traditions and, at the same time, American politics. They are
vital to us, and they are the future."
The coalition was created more than a year ago by Charles Chung, 25, who was
serving a public service fellowship sponsored by the Coro Foundation.
"I wanted to do something for the Asian community, but after meeting with
several organizations, many Asian leaders kept telling me that the Korean
community needed desperately to organize, especially because of the anger that
many Korean-Americans felt about the boycott of Korean-owned stores in
Brooklyn," Chung said.
Treasurer Ginny Kim, an analyst with the city Office of Management and
Budget, agreed. "There was a shocking realization among different segments of the
community about our lack of power after the boycotts. There was a feeling we had
to do something."
Chung said many Koreans lacked cultural and linguistic skills to interact
politically because they immigrated recently, during the late 1970s and 1980s.
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Newsday, September 13, 1992
"They do not understand that politicians represent the community, and that
there are means to hold politicians accountable when their rights aren't
respected,' Chung said. "At the core of understanding one's rights is the right
to vote."
Young Kun Kim, a political science professor at the Graduate School of the
City University of New York, said many immigrants have been too busy trying to
establish themselves economically in order to educate themselves politically.
When Korean-Americans held a rally at City Hall in September, 1990, to
protest the boycott of Korean-owned stores, many considered it as a turning
point for the community's political awareness, especially when Mayor David N.
Dinkins visited the Red Apple grocery store in Flatbush, the focus of a yearlong
boycott by blacks, shortly afterward.
"It was the first time Koreans got together as a group," said Grace
Lyu-Volckhausen of the Governor's Asian American Advisory Council. "The message
was sent that you will hear our response when you step on our toes. It created a
momentum, especially among the young."
According to organizers, New York City possesses the second largest
community of Koreans - about 150,000 legal and illegal residents - in the
country, yet only about 2,000 are registered to vote. And many who are
registered do not even know why they should vote or who their elected officials
are.
"We will be the voice, whether the older generation accepts it or not," said
Unsil 0, 24, co-chair of the public relations committee. "They want to be a part
of the process, but they don't have the means."
QUOTE: The second generation is the bridge. They understand Korean traditions
and American politics. They are vital to us, and they are the future. - Jae
Taik Kim, president, Korean Association of New York
GRAPHIC: 1) Newsday Color Cover Photo by Stan Honda-Jeanney Kim, left, and Helen
Kim, right, of the Coalition for Korean American Voters, help Kristy Lee,
between them, fill out voter registration forms in front of a Flushing
supermarket. 2) Newsday Photo by Stan Honda-The nonpartisan Coalition for Korean
American Voters seeks to empower the Korean-American community through voter
registration.
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PAGE 10
1ST STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1992 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
June 16, 1992, Tuesday, Final Edition
SECTION: FIRST SECTION; PAGE A1
LENGTH: 1178 words
HEADLINE: Bulls' NBA Victory Sparks Chicago Riots;
1,000 Arrested, Scores Injured in Scattered Violence, Police Report
SERIES: Occasional
BYLINE: Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post Staff Writer
DATELINE: CHICAGO, June 15, 1992
BODY:
As Michael Jordan and the newly crowned professional basketball champion
Bulls partied with 18,000 delirious fans inside Chicago Stadium Sunday evening,
an ugly orgy of violence and looting unfolded in neighborhoods scattered around
this city, authorities said today.
Police reported more than 1,000 arrests on charges of burglary, theft, mob
action, disorderly conduct and damage to property, all in the hours following
the Bulls' dramatic come-from-behind victory against the Portland Trail Blazers
in Game 6 of the National Basketball Association Finals for their second
consecutive championship.
There were scores of injuries, nearly all of them minor. No one was killed.
Among those injured were 95 police officers, two of whom received minor gunshot
wounds. Three civilians were shot, two by storekeepers and one by the police,
according to a police spokesman. The owner of a South Side liquor store and an
employee received second-degree burns when looters attacked their establishment.
Although drunken revelry is still the most common mass response to sports
championships, violence of the type that occurred here late Sunday and early
today is becoming more common. Last year, after the Bulls' first NBA
championship, the looting was less widespread, there were 100 arrests and no
serious injuries or deaths.
But in Detroit in 1990, seven were killed after the Pistons won the NBA title
and one died in 1984 after the Tigers won the World Series.
Sunday night, thousands of people poured out of the Rush and Division Street
bars after the game, destroying two taxicabs and dancing in the streets.
But looters also burned 14 buildings in poor neighborhoods on Chicago's South
and West sides and looted an uncounted number of stores, carrying away armloads
of shoes, clothes, carpeting and other merchandise, the authorities said.
Looters even ignored a plea from Bulls superstar Jordan, who went on local
television shortly before 11 p.m. and urged, "Let's not tear our city apart."
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The Washington Post, June 16, 1992
"This had nothing to do with the Bulls - it was much too violent to be
celebrating something," said Ron Wells, owner of the Heavenly Hair Beauty Salon
in West Garfield Park, the site of some of the worst looting. "It was terribly
scary. People were running on top of cars and everything."
Wells was lucky; his establishment escaped serious damage. But only a few
blocks away, Kenneth Kim watched with red eyes as firefighters finished hosing
down his smoldering Diana Department Store, a four-story clothing and shoe store
that was almost completely destroyed by looters.
Kim said about 100 youths charged in the back door and set fire to the
merchandise with lit newspapers. He estimated the damage at more than $ 5
million.
"I don't deserve what happened," said Kim, 38, a Korean American who opened
Diana in the late 1970s and is the president of the neighborhood Chamber of
Commerce. "I I gave 12 years community service in the area. I spent a half million
dollars to fix up the place, remodel the store. They blew it. I know they're
hurting me. But they' hurting themselves more."
Although a number of the establishments torched Sunday night were owned by
Korean Americans, anti- Korean sentiment appeared to be only one ingredient
in the violence, according to area residents and the authorities. Kim and other
Korean businessmen interviewed said they did not appear to be a major target
of the looters, as Korean businesses were in Los Angeles during the deadly
riots there a few weeks ago.
"People were just crazy," Kim said. Much of the mayhem appeared to be
indiscriminate, with looters breaking windows in targets as diverse as the Post
Office and telephone payment center in West Garfield Park and swanky boutiques
along North Michigan Avenue.
Chicago Police Superintendent Matt Rodriguez told reporters this morning that
there was so much criminal activity Sunday night that more than ,300 extra
officers deployed on the streets could not stop every act of lawlessness,
especially at the outset of the looting. He cited several reasons for the
explosion, including the hot weather, the excitement of the final game and the
"post-Rodney King" environment.
"What happened was very sporadic. It happened all over the city," he said.
"We got a handle on it in a couple of hours."
Rodriguez appeared at a news conference with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley,
who sought to play down the night's violence by noting that "ninety-nine point
nine percent of the people aren't out there looting and shooting and doing
things."
What can you do?" Daley asked. "When people have an excuse to loot, they
loot. When people have an excuse to shoot, they shoot."
The night's mayhem represented a setback to city officials and community
leaders, who have worked assiduously in the weeks after the Los Angeles riots to
keep the city cool.
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The Washington Post, June 16, 1992
"There was a recognition that things could blow," said Robert Sampson, a
sociology professor at the University of Chicago and an expert on crime.
To a great extent, these efforts seemed to have been working. There was only
scattered violence in the aftermath of the verdict in the Rodney G. King beating
case, despite high unemployment, urban blight, crime and the same hopelessness
in some Chicago neighborhoods that characterized south-central Los Angeles.
Garfield Park, for instance, was torched during the last great urban riots,
during the late 1960s and remains a neighborhood marked by vacant property,
abandoned storefronts and a thriving drug trade. Mary Nelson, who has lived in
the neighborhood since the last riots, said many of the looters were motivated
by a "now mentality" that says, "Here's my chance to get something without
thinking of the consequences."
I have no excuses for it; it was honest to goodness hooliganism, said
Nelson, who heads a local community group. But, she said, 'Underlying it is the
economic need."
A disconsolate Jong Park, 32, sat on a chair amid the broken glass and rubble
that had been his Madison's Men's Wear store. Looters used a crow bar to smash
through the protective metal wall covering his store and took or burned
everything
He said he pleaded for protection from police who told him they were too busy
then to come to his aid.
Similar scenes were playing out along affluent North Michigan Avenue, the
collection of expensive department stores and boutiques known as the
"Magnificent Mile." Although the damage was nowhere near as great as on the
South and West sides, about nine stores had their windows smashed and some
merchandise was taken.
At Stuart Brent Books, a well-known bookstore in the city, looters smashed
the windows and simply threw books all along the sidewalk. The stunned
proprietor could barely conceal his anger and frustration. "I have no
explanation for it," said Brent, who has operated the store for 47 years. Think
of the shame they brought to one of the three or four great streets in America.
The thing that frightens me is how close we are to barbarism."
Special correspondent Lauren Ina contributed to this report.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, IN AFTERMATH OF BULLS' SECOND CONSECUTIVE NBA TITLE, RIOTING AND
LOOTING COMES TO STREETS OF CHICAGO. REUTER; MAP, TWP
TYPE: NATIONAL NEWS
SUBJECT: ILLINOIS; BASKETBALL; PRO SPORTS; RIOTS; DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY AND
VANDALISM; ARRESTS
ORGANIZATION: CHICAGO; CHICAGO BULLS; NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE
NAMED-PERSONS: MICHAEL JORDAN; ROBERT SAMPSON
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2ND STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1992 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday
August 8, 1992, Saturday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 2
Other Edition: City Home Pg. 10
LENGTH: 339 words
HEADLINE: Stranger Helps Heal Looted Store's Scars
BYLINE: By Jessie Mangaliman. STAFF WRITER
KEYWORD: WASHINGTON HEIGHTS; BUSINESS; INDUSTRY; DEMONSTRATIONS; CRIME;
VANDALISM; AID; ROBERT HONG; NEW YORK CITY
BODY:
Robert Hong and his family had just about given up on New York City last
month, after their shoe store was looted and damaged in the July riots in
Washington Heights.
Until yesterday when an anonymous donor restored their faith with a $ 25,000
check to help them rebuild.
"I wish I knew the donor 50 I could thank him myself," said Robert, the
23-year-old son of Hwa Eun Hong, owner of the sporting goods store, KP Original
Corp. at 145th Street and Broadway.
Mayor David N. Dinkins presented the check to the Hongs yesterday in a
ceremony at City Hall.
"We are grateful to the donor and, together with the city, we hope to meet
his [Hong's] financing needs," Dinkins said.
After the store was looted and destroyed, the Hong family felt despair,
Robert Hong said.
But shortly after New York Newsday detailed their troubles last month,
neighbors offered help in the rebuilding, and two donors sent $ 25 checks. Now,
the Hong family is working to reopen soon.
"It's been made clear to them that they're not alone in New York City and
that the city will help them, and that there are individuals who are willing to
step forward," said Commissioner Wallace Ford II of the city Department of
Business Service.
Said Robert Hong, "It's like a calm lake that's been disturbed by ripples
from a stone. Somebody has thrown a stone our way and it has caused ripples.
This chain of ripples will go on."
It's a small ripple: Looters took about $ 700, in merchandise; only a
third was covered by insurance. But Robert Hong said his confidence was
bolstered by the unexpected help from strangers.
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Newsday, August 8, 1992
Friends and neighbors in Washington Heights have pitched in to repair the
broken shelves and the floor that buckled under the weight of the looters. With
the donated funds, Robert Hong said the family hopes to hire carpenters.
The city's Economic Development Corporation is going to lend the Hongs $
20,000. And most of the family's creditors have been understanding: They've
agreed to extend credit, Robert Hong said.
GRAPHIC: 1) Newsday photo by Jim Cummins- After presenting $ 25,000 check, Mayor
Dinkins shows Robert Hong, center, and his parents, Hwa Eun and Hyun Sook,
photos of his grandchildren. 2) Newsday File Photo by Michael E. Ach- Robert
Hong in the wreckage of his family's store, looted last month.
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Doug Gamble 310 - 546 - 6409
KOREAN-AMERICANS IN NYC --
Small- business owners -- some are family run mom and pops, some
are bigger
3,500 fruit and vegetable stores
3,000 grocery stores
2,500 fish stores
2,500 dry cleaners and laundry
12-13,000 Korean owned bis in NY
70% of fruit and veg stores in Manhattan and the 5 boroughs are
owned by Korean Americans
employee about 5 people per bis.
60,000 Korean Americans in Flushing, NY
Korea Town located on Broadway between 34th a to 22nd
LA riot/Chicago Bulls world championship -- looted all the Korean
stores // still upset about LA -- don't think POTUS acted fast
enough or are getting gast enough results
Washington Heights in Manhattan -- in July this year Robert Hong
and his parents store KP Trading was looted of $800,000 worth of
merchandise -- clothes and sneakers -- with the help of SBA and
Al D'Amato the store re-opened in 30 days -- model case
Korean Thanksgiving was last week -- visit hometowns and graves
of ancestors -- pour wine on graves, have a festival 20-30
different foods, bow to pictures, offer food and drink to
pictures, the harvest -- without ancestorrs would not be there -
Rice the main dish
Mr. Yoo says we need to say something forceful about the
reunifiction of Korea
10 million Korean families are separeted -- have not seen each
other in 40 years -- implement family reunions -- Korea only
remainig country divided since WW 2
Korean-American leaders/success stories:
Wendy Lee Gramm [wife of Sen. Phil Gramm] -- Chairman of the
Commodities Future Trading Commission -- served 5 yrs under
Reagan, her father worked in the sugarcane fields of Hawaii
Joon Rhee -- will be at event, is a Point of Light Recipient,
world renown 10th degree black belt -- known as father of US and
CIS Tae Kwon Do. see attached sheet
Radio Korea, owner Jang Lee
see attached sheet
AWARD RECIPIENTS
OWNER MR. JANG LEE
"R" Us,
R
adio Korea, a Korean language radio station in Los Angeles,
"R" Us
played an important role assisting the Korean American community in
mational
the Los Angeles area both during and after the riots. When the riots began
65,000
on April 29, 1992 the owners of small businesses in South Central Los Angeles
ublicized
called Radio Korea to give minute by minute updates on the development
St large
George
LA Radio
of the riots and the movement of looters throughout the area. For eleven
we leh Twen we
days, the station turned to a public service broadcast on updates regarding
sone is
the riots. This provided the community with a vital link between shop-owners
oration,
and the concerned public. On one occasion, a shopowner, trapped in her
r when
store, called the radio station which broadcast a life call for help which resulted
Division
in her rescue form emminent danger. According to Radio Korea, approximately
resident
2,352 Korean-owned businesses were affected with damages approximating
Osco
over $400 million. Following the riots, donations and pledges received for
akasone
5thr
the victims amounted to over $1 million. Radio Korea began a food drive
College,
in
on May 1st, 1992 to distribute goods and merchandise in their efforts to
honors
assist victims to rebuild their lives and businesses. About 200 members from
M.B.A.
the Korean American CPA Association came to the station to serve. A disaster
center has also been opened to assist victims in application for assistance
by the Federal Emergency Management Assistance Center.
ilt an
ich he
J
ohn T. C. Fang, born in China, was the publisher and founder of Asian
Week, the largest English language newspaper for the Asian American
ncisco
community in the nation. Headquartered in San Francisco Asian Week has
broke.
offices and bureaus in New York, Washington D.C,, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
e, and
The late Mr. Fang focused the editorial philosophy of the newspaper towards
sted a
encouraging and publicizing achievements of Asian Americans across the nation
am at
who had entered the public sector Mr. Fang, through his actions proved
S, Mr.
that Asian Americans could handle responsibilities outside of their own community.
e year
When he bought the San Francisco Independent in 1987 it was a small
ses of
neighborhood newspaper of approximately 20,000 circulation. Within one year,
ed his
he transformed the newspaper into the most widely read and perhaps the
ourger
most influential newspaper in San Francisco. In addition to the Asian Week
and S.F. Independent, Mr. Fang also founded the Mission Life, the largest
bi-lingual Hispanic journal for the Hispanic American community in San Francisco,
the Chinese T.V. guide, the largest entertainment magazine in the Bay area,
the Real Estate Express and the Grant Printing firm in San Francisco. Last
year, Grant Printing revenues reached near the $20 million. He was the president
of the People to People International, San Francisco Chapter and was on
the Board of Directors for a wide variety of community and charitable organizations.
PAGE 2
1ST STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1992 News World Communications, Inc.
The Washington Times
August 9, 1992, Sunday, Final Edition
SECTION: Part A; AMERICAN SCENE; Pg. A2
LENGTH: 144 words
HEADLINE: Korean family gets money to rebuild
BYLINE: FROM WIRE DISPATCHES AND STAFF REPORTS
DATELINE: NEW YORK
BODY:
A Korean-American family whose sporting goods store was wrecked during
rioting that followed a fatal police shooting of a Dominican man accepted a
$25, 000 check from an anonymous donor, and vowed to rebuild.
The check was presented to the family Friday by Mayor David Dinkins, who
apologized for the destruction of the store, KP Original Sporting Goods, in the
neighborhood of Washington Heights.
"We never felt uncomfortable being in the neighborhood, said Robert Hong,
23. "And the neighbors want us back so we are going to stay there."
Mr. Hong's mother, Hynn Sook Hong, wept as her son thanked the mayor and
neighbors who have volunteered to help repair the store.
During the rioting last month, the store's new metal security shutters were
broken and its entire inventory of sneakers and sporting clothes was carried
off.
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PAGE 14
4TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1992 The Times Mirror Company
Los Angeles Times
September 13, 1992, Sunday, Ventura County Edition
SECTION: Metro; Part B; Page 1; Column 4
LENGTH: 1927 words
HEADLINE: THE GREAT ESCAPE;
KOREAN MERCHANTS DRAWN TO COUNTY AFTER L.A. RIOTS
BYLINE: By DARYL KELLEY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
BODY:
San Choi, 52, marks the beginning of his new life by the second day of the
Los Angeles riots, which forced him to flee his Compton grocery store, then
stand helplessly as strangers burned it to the ground.
He had built a profitable business over 17 years, but could only watch as his
store and $600,000 in uninsured merchandise disappeared in smoke and flame.
Now I start over. I'm going to try again right here," he said last week in
front of the Oxnard liquor store he is buying. "Safety is the first thing now."
Even before the riots, Korean -American merchants from Los Angeles had begun
to move to Ventura County.
Since then, the trend has accelerated to a point where local business brokers
say they have many more potential buyers than there are small businesses for
sale.
"Since the riots, I get calls from about seven new people every day," said
Ventura broker Sam Lee. "That's three times as many as before. They all say, 'I
want to get out of L.A. now. They feel like it's going to happen again."
The calls are often from Korean -American merchants, about 3,000 of whom
suffered losses from arson or looting during a week of civil unrest in late
April and early May.
But an increasing number of east Indian, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian
merchants - also wary of Los Angeles - are relocating their businesses to
Ventura County from central Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, brokers
said.
Ventura County's draw, brokers and buyers said, is the same for the Asian
merchants as it is for newcomers of all ethnic groups and professions -- low
crime, good schools and mild weather.
And, in the case of the riot's refugees, small businesses are still somewhat
affordable in several blue-collar communities around the county, especially
central and south Oxnard.
That is important since many riot victims were uninsured or underinsured and
bring only modest government disaster loans to their new businesses.
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Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1992
"I have 50 many people calling me to find them something to buy," said Steven
Kang. The Moorpark broker said he has sold four small Oxnard markets to Los
Angeles merchants since July for prices ranging from $65,000 to $105,000.
Kang's client list has ballooned to 300 since the riots, and he has 40
customers searching for dry cleaning businesses alone, he said.
Oxnard city records show that since early June nearly a dozen Koreans have
purchased stores selling groceries, liquor, fast food, shoes, clothing and
furniture. Additionally, 14 Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian merchants have set up
shops in Oxnard this summer, records show.
The 25 new business licenses are nearly triple the rate of new licenses to
merchants of the same ethnic groups for the first five months of 1992.
Broker Lee said he represents Koreans buying seven stores in Oxnard,
Ventura, Santa Paula and Fillmore. Several of the deals are awaiting approval of
federal Small Business Administration emergency loans arranged for riot victims,
he said.
Other buyers are from the San Fernando Valley, where increasing youth gang
problems have bothered merchants for the last several years, Lee said.
"They were saying, 'It's still OK,' = Lee said. "Now they've changed their
attitude completely. They're saying, 'Wait a minute. Who's next?' =
Ken Park, a prominent small-business broker in Los Angeles' Koreatown, said
Ventura County is a primary destination for departing merchants, who within the
last two weeks have begun to receive their insurance settlements and
low-interest disaster loans.
"I always recommend Ventura, Oxnard and Santa Barbara first if they don't
want to stay near Los Angeles," Park said. "I believe in the next five years
most of the grocery stores and liquor stores in Ventura County shall be
purchased by Koreans.
About 750 of the 3,000 Korean merchants with riot losses probably will
relocate once they receive government loans or insurance payments, said Jin Lee,
a leader in the Assn. of Korean -American Victims of the Los Angeles Riots.
"They know what part of the country is good to live in," Jin Lee said. "They
say they're going to San Diego and Orange County, and Ventura County is one of
those places too."
About 50% of the merchants who relocate their businesses, Park said, will
stay near Koreatown, moving only to affluent suburbs nearby.
But he said that perhaps 10% - or 75 merchants -- will move to Ventura
County. Korean merchants are also moving in large numbers to Bakersfield, San
Bernardino, Riverside, Orange County and San Diego County, he said. And some are
scouting out the Pacific Northwest.
The influx of Asian merchants has been the most tangible consequence of a
crush of interest in Ventura County by both homeowners and businessmen in the
wake of the Los Angeles riots.
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Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1992
In the first two weeks after the uprising, people intent on escaping urban
violence crowded local open houses and barraged salespeople with questions about
moving here, real estate agents said.
But few customers could follow through, because a poor housing market has
kept them from selling their homes in Los Angeles County, the agents said.
"The desire was there, but you've got to sell your house first. It's a
vicious circle," Ventura agent Harry Feldman said.
Jane Caldwell, a Korean -American real estate agent in Oxnard, said a wide
spectrum of potential buyers from Los Angeles County are still scouting out
Ventura County.
"Not only Korean -Americans, but a lot of Caucasians," she said. "People
find Ventura County very, very tranquil. They have just discovered this area.
But they have to have businesses or some sort of employment before they can
relocate."
Some workers and businesses who already had a foothold have moved here since
the riots.
The Robert M. Hadley Co., a 63-year-old aerospace parts business, has begun
to move its 120-employee central Los Angeles operation to a branch plant in
Ventura for safety concerns.
"There was a long-range plan to move out of Los Angeles, but the riots were
the catalyst for the action," company Treasurer John R. Hadley said.
Though Hadley's old plant near the Los Angeles Coliseum escaped with only
broken windows, a strip mall and a market just a block away were burned to the
ground, Hadley said.
Alfonso Tristan, a 39-year-old Oxnard maintenance mechanic, had commuted to
his Compton home on weekends until a terrifying incident during the riots forced
him out of the inner city.
Tristan and a friend were using a corner pay phone to set up a youth soccer
match when two armed men demanded their cash.
Tristan's friend resisted, was shot five times and survived only because the
assailant ran out of bullets as he tried to fire into the victim's head, Tristan
said.
"When this happened, we knew it could strike our own house," Tristan said
last week, shortly after settling with his wife and three children into a home
in south Oxnard. "Now we don't have any bars on our windows. We don't hear many
ambulances or police cars. We don't hear anybody shooting at night."
Generally, though, it is in Ventura County's Korean community that the
riots created the most change, speeding up a cycle of immigration that was
already gathering momentum.
Asians made up only about 5% of the county's 669,000 residents in 1990, but
they represented the fastest-growing racial group in the county.
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Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1992
The Korean population has shown extraordinary growth --- nearly tripling
from 1,220 in 1980 to 3,035 in 1990. Many local Korean Americans say that the
pace of growth has quickened, especially in the past two or three years.
That can be seen in Oxnard, which has at least six Korean churches and
several dozen Korean -run businesses. There are also Korean churches in
Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. Those two cities, plus Oxnard, are home to
two-thirds of the county's Koreans.
Korean businesses are concentrated particularly in south Oxnard, along
Saviers and Pleasant Valley roads and Channel Islands Boulevard. And many
Koreans live in the same area, said Rev. Myung Do Chang, pastor at the
Korean Presbyterian Church of Ventura County.
Chang said he thinks the movement of Koreans here has just begun.
"Some people are coming from Los Angeles," he said. "But the Korean church
pastors are expecting more Koreans to come here in the future on account of
that riot."
Kyu Dae Lee, 47, is hoping he will be one of those. Lee lost his Koreatown
home appliance business during the riots.
"It all burned. Totally lost. I'm looking for a new start," he said last week
while examining a Saviers Road appliance store that is for sale.
"My friend talked to me about Oxnard," Kyu Dae Lee said. "He said Oxnard is a
very good location. Near the ocean. Good fresh air. He said this area is safe."
As is the case with several new Korean and east Indian purchasers along
Saviers Road, Kyu Dae Lee said he plans to commute to work from Los Angeles
County because he cannot sell his house there.
Some owners said they were in the process of buying stores in Ventura County
before the riots, but were interrupted by the violence. Young Kim, who closed a
deal for a Saviers Road market in June, was the manager of his sister's south
Los Angeles store until it was burned down.
"He thinks it's better here than in L.A.," said Alex Kim, the merchant's
brother. "And it's still pretty close to L.A."
That proximity to Los Angeles' Koreatown - the business and cultural heart
of the city's large Korean community - is one reason hundreds of Korean
merchants have given Ventura County a serious look, brokers said.
The county is also a manageable commute from merchants' homes, many of whom
live in Glendale, Van Nuys, Panorama City and elsewhere in the San Fernando
Valley.
Despite the county's allure, however, many merchants have found they cannot
afford Ventura County's most affluent cities ---- Ventura, Camarillo, Moorpark,
Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.
"I have a lot of potential buyers, but the terrible fact is that rent is high
in Ventura County, and housing prices are very high in Ventura County and
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Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1992
business prices are very high in Ventura County," said Camarillo real estate
agent Soon Andersson.
"That has disappointed many who want to move here," she said.
Ventura dry cleaners owner Jane Doo, whose extended family lost more than 10
businesses in the riots, said none of her relatives plan to MOVE to Ventura
County because they found the businesses they could afford were not profitable
enough to make the move.
"All of them will try to rebuild, and then to sell as soon as possible, Doo
said. 'Everybody knows it's going to happen again soon.
San Choi, who fled his Compton grocery then watched it burn, said he
reluctantly came to the same conclusion. But he decided his loss was too great
to rebuild in Compton.
Conscious that many black customers thought Korean merchants' prices were
too high and their service rude, Choi said his family spent 17 years trying to
"do my best for my customers."
He lived in Compton for 14 years, until his three children graduated from
Compton High School and went to college, and he was close friends with many of
his neighbors.
But tensions increased in 1991, Choi said, when Korean store owner Soon Ja
Du killed 15-year-old Latasha Harlins, whom Du accused of trying to steal a
bottle of orange juice.
Then in the riots, a group of teen-age strangers swept through Choi's Long
Beach Boulevard store, leaving the merchant standing, stunned, among his friends
and neighbors on the sidewalk across the street.
"I never expect the riots,' Choi said, "because this is America, you know."
GRAPHIC: Photo, Kyu Dae Lee, right, broker Steven Kang look at Oxnard store. "I
have so many people calling me to find them something to buy," Kang says. ;
Photo, Kyu Dae Lee ALAN HAGMAN / Los Angeles Times
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Jay Kim -- if elected will be the first Korean-American in
Congress --
Currently mayor of Diamond Bar, CA
running for open seat in 41st District against some out of work
Dem. Jay says that his opponent is simply looking for a job.
he is a businessman -- Jay Kim Engineers -- very successful small
bis. build ground up --
Jay will be at the event in NYC
Sen. Al D'Amato to intro POTUS
09/10/92
16:53
72026477388
NSC
002/003
Notes:
The Korean-American community is, overall, economically
cohesive and strong. It is intensely Christian. Still largely
a first generation group on the East Coast, its second
generation (and sometimes third) is now in universities or
beginning careers. It remains interested in Korean politics,
but its "loyalties" are split between Roh's ruling party and
the opposition, with the edge going to the latter. The
community's confidence in its future was shaken badly by the LA
riot, but seems to be gradually returning. There is interest
in peninsular unification and security issues, but this is not
as intense as it sometimes appears. We get far more letters on
human rights issues, for instance. The interests of the Korean-
American community can probably be ranked as follows:
its own financial security and well-being, especially
with regard to its ability to provide a top-quality
education to its children;
its safety (crime);
Korean economic development;
Korean democracy and human rights;
Korean security;
peaceful unification.
Suggested points:
-- THANK YOU
THANK YOU. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
-- IT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU ALL HERE, AND I CAN'T TELL YOU
HOW IMPRESSIVE AND ENCOURAGING THIS FINE TURNOUT IS.
-- I WANT TO THANK THE ORGANIZERS OF THIS DINNER FOR GIVING
ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO STOP BY AND TELL YOU HOW IMPORTANT
YOU ARE TO ME AND TO OUR COUNTRY.
-- WE HAVE GREAT PLANS FOR THIS COUNTRY -- BUT WE ALL HAVE
A LOT OF WORK AHEAD TO MAKE OUR CITIES SAFER AND OUR
SCHOOLS JUST AS EXCELLENT AS I KNOW THEY CAN BE.
-- WITH YOUR HELP, I KNOW WE CAN DO IT.
-- JUST A WORD NOW ABOUT ANOTHER COUNTRY THAT IS SPECIAL TO
EACH OF YOU AND TO ME, TOO: KOREA.
NEED TO MENTION SYMPATHY FOR KOREAN- AMERICAN VICTIMS OF
LA RIOTS AND CHICAGO -
NSC
003/003
-- TO SOME EXTENT, OUR MODERN RELATIONS WITH KOREA START
FROM THE BRUTAL, SURPRISE INVASION OF THE SOUTH BY THE
COMMUNISTS IN 1950. I KNOW THAT MANY OF THE PEOPLE IN
THIS ROOM HAVE FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE OF THAT DEFINING
EVENT.
NO ONE KNOWS BETTER THAN YOU THE SUFFERING AND SACRIFICE
ENDURED BY THE KOREAN PEOPLE. AND, OF COURSE, AS WE DID
LAST YEAR IN KUWAIT, IT WAS THE UNITED STATES THAT
SUCCESSFULLY MOBILIZED INTERNATIONAL RESISTANCE TO THE
INVASION.
THEN, WITH THE HELPING HAND THAT IS ALMOST UNIQUE TO
AMERICA, WE HELPED IN THE REBUILDING OF A WAR-TORN KOREA.
THAT EFFORT DIRECTLY LED TO THE VIBRANT PARTNERSHIP OUR
TWO COUNTRIES ENJOY TODAY. AND YES, OUR SECURITY
RELATIONS CONTINUE TO BE A CORNERSTONE OF THAT
PARTNERSHIP.
THE THREAT FROM THE NORTH HAS NOT, UNFORTUNATELY,
DISAPPEARED OVER THE INTERVENING FOUR DECADES. IN FACT,
THE ADDITION OF A POTENTIAL NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR ELEMENT
FORCED THE U.S. AND KOREA INTO AN EVEN CLOSER
PARTNERSHIP.
OUR TWO GOVERNMENTS WORKED CLOSELY TO MEET THAT THREAT.
AND WHILE WE MAY NOT BE COMPLETELY CERTAIN OF THE
OUTCOME FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER, IF EVER, WE APPEAR TO
HAVE SUCCEEDED IN BRINGING PYONGYANG TO DECIDE NOT TO GO
DOWN THAT DANGEROUS PATH.
-- THE ALTERNATIVE PATH, TO A GENUINE REDUCTION OF NORTH-
SOUTH TENSIONS AND AN END TO NORTH KOREA'S ISOLATION,
MAY BE LONG AND DIFFICULT. BUT WE ARE GOING TO KEEP
WORKING, WITH OUR ALLIES IN SEOUL, FOR THAT OUTCOME.
6173
Korean Inventions:
wheelchair -- Marn T. Seol
the Alenax transbar bicycle -- [bikes with a lever propulsion
system // as one foot pushes pedal down the other pedal rises] -
- Marn T. Seol
self-extinguishing cigarette -- Lee Seong Yoo
taekwondo
0
invented moveable type before Gutenberg and introduced armored
warships in the 16th century
DOUG GAMBLE
424-36th Place
Sept. 18/92
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 546-6409
TO: CHRISTINA MARTIN
KOREAN-AMERICANS (Curt Smith)
I'M GLAD TO BE BACK IN NEW YORK CITY. SOMEONE ASKED ME HOW IT FEELS TO
BE FIGHTING FOR A JOB THAT SOMEONE ELSE WANTS. I SAID "IF I RUN INTO RAY
HANDLEY I'LL ASK HIM.' (Embattled coach of the N.Y. Giants.)
WE HAD A DISCUSSION AT THE WHITE HOUSE RECENTLY ABOUT THE POSSIBLE USE OF
PEACEKEEPING FORCES TO QUELL OPEN WARFARE -- BUT FORTUNATELY THE NEW YORK
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FINALLY ENDED.
YOUR COURAGE, CONVICTION AND WORK ETHIC ARE THE QUALITIES THAT MADE AMERICA
WHICH
GREAT. YOU EMBODY THE SPIRIT THANK ASSURES THESE QUALITIES ARE NOT A BENCHMARK
TO BE LEFT SOMEWHERE IN THE PAST, BUT A HALLMARK TO BE CARRIED INTO THE FUTURE.
THE DIVISION OF NORTH & SOUTH KOREA MEANS THAT MEMBERS OF 10-MILLION FAMILIES HAVE
NOT SEEN EACH OTHER FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS. AS LONG AS I AM PRESIDENT, WE WILL
NOT REST IN OUR EFFORTS TOWARD REUNIFICATION, UNTIL MEMBERS OF THESE FAMILIES
CAN AGAIN COME TO REST IN EACH OTHERS' ARMS.