John Liu gets a hug from a longtime supporter at a recent fundraiser. (Photo: Stella Chan)

An F.B.I. investigation into New York City Comptroller John Liu’s fundraising practices has had a chilling effect on Liu’s ability to raise money for a potential 2013 mayoral run. As revealed this week in his campaign filing report, he’s also been forced to spend thousands on legal fees related to the investigation. But John Liu remains a role model for New York’s Asian American community and still embodies the political aspirations of this growing segment of the city’s population. 

In this podcast, Fi2W executive producer John Rudolph interviews Sing Tao Daily reporter Stella Chan about her recent article for Fi2W concerning the conversations taking place about Comptroller Liu among Asian Americans. We also hear from Korea Daily Senior Reporter Danny Shin. Listen:

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Reporter’s Notebook: “Scandal” vs. “Issue”

Chinese vs. English Language Media and the Subtlety of Words. By Stella Chan.

When the F.B.I. investigation unleashed a flood of news about City Comptroller John Liu, I saw that the stories in New York’s English-language and Asian-language media were as different as day and night. In contrast to the mainstream English-language press which uses the word “scandal” to refer to Liu’s situation, Chinese newspapers were terming it a “fundraising issue,” while the Korean press used the word “allegation.”

On October 11, 2011, the New York Times ran a front page article titled “Doubts Raised on Donations to Comptroller.” The investigative article uncovered irregularities in Liu’s donor lists, and subsequently, the F.B.I. began a probe into whether Liu’s campaign was illegally bundling donations. Immediately, the Chinese media began to run articles concerning the negative impact of the investigation on Asian American political participation. Several community leaders expressed their concerns about the investigation and some of them wondered if Liu was singled out because of his race. These angles were muted in the English-language press until the recent NY1 report, “Asian-American Community Struggles with Liu Controversy,” on Jan 5, 2012.

Meanwhile, the English media was reporting that Liu may be involved in several irregularities apart from his fundraising scandal, including his appointment of John Dorsa, his decision on a pension fund contract and his own office renovation. The New York Post even called upon Liu to resign, writing that “John Liu was never suited for public office,” in a November 21, 2011 editorial.  An Asian reporter, off the record, told me that some English press were running negative stories in order to damage Liu’s reputation.

The different approaches of English and Chinese media were clearly shown in the reporting on a press conference hosted by Liu’s Chinese supporters on December 22, 2011. The New York Post, Daily News and New York Times joined a number of Chinese media outlets at the Chinatown meeting. The following day, The Post and The Daily News came up with the headlines “Liu in FBI cross hairs” and “Liu insists he’s still running for mayor despite probe,” while the Chinese media wrote articles about supporters calling for a united community to back up Liu.

After the press conference, Lotus Chau, Chief reporter of Sing Tao Daily, (where this reporter is on staff) wrote in a side bar that because Liu is the first Chinese American who holds a city-wide office in New York City, when the New York Post refers to Liu as a “Liu-ser,” it is seen as a personal attack and makes many Chinese supporters uncomfortable.

“Innocent until proven guilty,” said Danny Shin, senior reporter for The Korea Daily who wrote an exclusive report about the FBI investigation of Korean donors. According to Shin, Korean supporters had donated $100,000 to Liu as of July 2011 and Korean supporters hosted a big fundraising event this month.  Shin says while the mainstream English-language media has their own take on the scandal, “We are neither reporting it negative nor positive.”

Listen to Stella Chan speaking about John Liu on our partner WNYC Radio.

Stella Chan is a reporter for Sing Tao Daily and a Feet in Two Worlds reporting fellow. Her work, and that of the other Feet in Two Worlds fellows, is supported by the New York Community Trust and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with additional support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation. Fi2W podcasts are also supported in part by WNYC Radio and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

John Liu with South Asian immigrants at an anti-crime event. (Photo: Stella Chan)

Is John Liu politically dead?

Ever since an ongoing FBI investigation into the embattled New York City Comptroller’s campaign finances began last year, bird-like murmurs have fluttered through the air in New York’s Asian American community .

A group of young Korean, Chinese and South Asian professionals gathered at a cozy Manhattan restaurant recently, gossiping about the scandal.

“Did Liu come under increased scrutiny because of perceptions of foreign money? Will there be heightened suspicion of untoward behavior by other Asian American candidates or of Asian money in American politics? These topics are on the mind of every Asian American,” said Bright Limm, President of Korean Americans for Political Advancement.  “A lot of questions need to be answered but they have not appeared in the media yet.”

Limm’s group aims to maximize the political influence of the Korean American community. Last year, they mobilized a large turnout of Korean voters in State Senate District 11, contributing to the victory of State Senator Tony Avella.

John Liu is in hot water. The scandal began in October with a New York Times investigation which found a number of people Liu listed as donors denying they gave him money. Shortly thereafter, Liu’s fundraiser Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan was arrested and charged with conspiring to arrange a $16,000 political contribution to Liu under the cover of straw donors. Now the FBI and Manhattan federal prosecutors are investigating whether foreign money flowed into Mr. Liu’s 2009 campaign. The Foreign Agents Registration Act prohibits campaign contributions by foreign nationals.

Behind the curtain, Liu’s damaged reputation has led to lengthy discussions in New York’s Chinese and Korean communities. Progressive groups, journalists and people in political circles are constantly exchanging emails and opinions. The most pressing question is, “Can John Liu still run for mayor?”

Some believe the scandal has damaged Liu’s ability to raise campaign funds, others think his supporters will remain steadfast, even if they become less vocal in their support.

Liu, the first Asian American to be elected to city-wide office was widely seen as poised to make history again by being elected the city’s first Asian mayor.  Liu has not formally announced his candidacy, just calling it “2013 fundraising.”  But one person close to Liu who preferred to remain anonymous, said if Liu stops right now, there is no other plausible Asian American candidate for mayor, at least in 2013.

John Liu gets a hug from a longtime supporter and friend at a recent fundraiser. (Photo: Stella Chan)

The past decade saw a dramatic increase New York’s Asian population. Asians now make up about 13 percent of the city’s population, with over one million Asians counted in the 2010 Census.  The community’s fundraising ability has also grown. Chinese Americans and Koreans account for a large part of John Liu’s Asian donors.

A new group, the Asian American Civic Alliance was announced last Friday to promote Asian American political participation and empowerment during the election season. The group will focus on voter registration and voter education. While the coalition will not directly express its opinion on the investigation, it is planning to set up a legal referral hotline for Asian Americans who have been contacted by the F.B.I. regarding their donations to Liu.

A person familiar with Liu and his relationship with the Chinese community, who also preferred to remain anonymous, told this reporter that John Liu’s campaign team is still confident it can attract donations from the Chinese community, and is eager to continue fundraising after the FBI completes its investigation. “Their strategy is get money from Chinese, votes from African Americans, votes from Latinos.”

Holding onto the hope of sending an Asian American candidate into higher office, supporters of John Liu are trying to fight the scandal and continue to solicit funds.  A press conference in Liu’s support was hosted by several Chinese American leaders last month, and a Korean group, “Supporters for John Liu” recently held a fundraising event in Flushing. It was the first Korean fundraising event since the FBI started going after Korean donors to the comptroller, according to Danny Shin, senior reporter of The Korea Daily.

Liu’s recent birthday celebration was well attended by the mainstream political establishment.  It was the first fundraiser since he decided to accept donations of the maximum amount allowed, $4,950, in the wake of his fundraising scandal. Previously, Liu had refused to accept more than $800 from donors, which he said reflected the lucky number 8 in Chinese culture, and also gave him bragging rights about his vast number of supporters.

But a Liu campaign event on December 19 was called off.  The event’s sponsor was the Lin Sing Association, a 111-year-old Chinatown advocacy group. The group’s senior adviser Eddie Chiu said, “The FBI investigation shocked the Chinese community, the Chinese are very sensitive to it.”

Chiu maintains the scandal has had a chilling effect on donations—which may be reflected in Liu’s decision to raise his money cap. After the FBI visited the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, which was the first fraternal group in Chinatown, Chiu received calls from many of Liu’s supporters. They were nervous about dealing with the FBI and said they wouldn’t attend the fundraiser.

Supporters in the Korean American community threw Liu a fundraiser on Tuesday. (Photo: Stella Chan)

Some young Asian American professionals suspect that the new immigrant political force is sparking a conflict with the political establishment, and this is why Liu was targeted. A few have asked if  Liu was singled out due to racism.

John Park, a member of KAPA’s Steering Committee, suggested that if John Liu was not a person of color, his legal difficultires might not have aroused the same attention. “Obama is still being questioned on his identity–if he is foreign born or is a Muslim. However, not one question about Mitt Romney. Does a foreign face equal foreign money?” he asked rhetorically.

There’s also concern that if Asian Americans become nervous about making political contributions, it could affect other Asians who want to run for higher office such as Assemblywoman Grace Meng, and City Councilors Peter Koo and Margaret Chin. Corky Lee, a well-known Chinese American photographer, said the investigation will slow down the money flow in general, and without money, candidates cannot move ahead.

Asian Americans have traditionally lagged in voter registration. But many more voted in 2009, and they were expected to turn out for John Liu. Whatever the future of Liu’s political career, there’s no question that his presence on the New York scene invigorated a new generation of Asian American political activists and civic leaders. Back at that Manhattan restaurant, in spite of worries about Liu, there was a note of optimism at the table. “We should conserve our energy for political advancement,” said Limm.

John Liu himself emphasized the importance of the Asian American community’s support at his recent fundraising dinner, where he said there will be tremendous opportunities for the community and for him as a candidate in 2013. When asked if the FBI investigation has changed his relationship with Asian voters and campaign contributors, he simply replied, “at the end of the day, nothing is going to stop or slow us down.”

Stella Chan is a reporter for Sing Tao Daily and a Feet in Two Worlds reporting fellow.

Feet in Two Worlds, a project of the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, is supported by the New York Community Trust and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Mama O's Super Spicy Kimchi at the food manufacturing business expo. (Photo: Aurora Almendral)

NEW YORK—Since June, Hiyaw Gebreyohannes has hired four new part-time workers for his company that makes packaged Ethiopian foods. Interest from two large grocery stores and a corporate office cafeteria meant chopping a lot more cabbage and stewing many more lentils to meet the spike in demand.

Food manufacturing businesses in New York City are one of the few glowing beacons in the shaky economy, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  They have grown 14 percent in the last three years, Bloomberg said at Monday’s food business expo at Baruch College.

Gebreyohannes makes traditional Ethiopian foods like kik and tekele gomen — yellow split peas and a cabbage and carrot dish — for Taste of Ethiopia, the New York-based arm of the restaurant his mother started in Detroit.

By expanding his business and hiring new workers, Gebreyohannes is an example of what the first City-sponsored food manufacturing business expo is trying to achieve. And, as Mayor Bloomberg pointed out, “70 percent of New Yorkers who hold jobs in food manufacturing are immigrants.”

The expo dovetailed with the Mayor’s immigrant entrepreneurship programs and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s FoodWorks initiative, which highlights the importance of food manufacturing in creating jobs and economic growth.

Quinn said a disproportionately large number of new New York City businesses are immigrant-owned, but immigrant businesses also fail at a higher rate. A recent study from the Fiscal Policy Institute showed that immigrants own 48 percent of small businesses in the five boroughs, though the foreign born are only about 36 percent of the total population.

The expo’s goal was to harness this entrepreneurial energy and help immigrant businesses thrive beyond the local level by providing networking opportunities for food producers, buyers, distributors, suppliers and industry experts. It also marked the beginning of a competition for immigrant entrepreneurs to participate in a big international trade show in 2012.

Hiyaw Gebreyohannes at the food manufacturing business expo. (Photo: Aurora Almendral)

By connecting small immigrant entrepreneurs with sources of capital, technical assistance, or marketing advice, the initiative aims to project New York City’s food manufacturing industry into the national market, envisioning a future where New York is exporting more prepared foods to the rest of the country, while creating jobs locally.

Judging from the spread at the food expo, New York would be exporting an eclectic mix. Besides Gebreyohannes’ spicy vegan stews (“Ethiopian food was vegan before the word vegan was invented,” he noted), Jamaican patties were displayed side-by-side with kombucha tea, almond cakes and kimchi, a spicy Korean condiment.

According to the city, over 100 New York City-based food manufacturers attended the expo, but on the floor there were few immigrant entrepreneurs. While the streets of New York are teeming with shops and food trucks selling Moroccan tagines, Ecuadorian huaraches and Indian sweets, they were not well represented at the expo—perhaps because they were too busy working.

Kheedim Oh, who makes Mama O’s Premium Kimchi, took the time to participate in the expo and hawk his wares. He stood behind a pyramid of jars with sleek labels. Born and raised in the U.S., he started making his mother’s Korean kimchi recipe when he got tired of the commercially available varieties, describing the choices as “sweet, gross, or full of MSG.”

Within three years he went from being a DJ moonlighting as a kimchi-maker to a kimchi-maker moonlighting as a DJ. Oh’s business is still small; he describes himself as the company’s CEO and intern. Like a true entrepreneur, his goals are practical, but he dreams big. He attended the expo to learn how to grow Mama O’s. His ultimate goal? “To be the Chef Boyardee of kimchi!” he said with at laugh.

Aurora Almendral is a Feet in Two Worlds food journalism fellow. Her work, and the work of other Fi2W fellows is supported by the New York Community Trust and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with additional support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and the Sirus Fund.

Remé Grefalda, founder and curator of the Asian-American Pacific Islander Collection in the Library of Congress. (Photo: Erwin de Leon)

Walking through the Library of Congress’ Asian Reading Room, librarian Remé Grefalda briskly pointed out the major collections. “These stacks contain books from our Chinese collection,” she dispassionately declared as she breezed to the next shelves. “Over there are volumes from our Japanese collection.” As we approached some displays in the middle of the room, her pace and tone shifted. “And these are some of our books and documents from the Asian-American Pacific Islander Collection,” she said, beaming with the pride of a parent.

The library’s Asian division recently introduced the Asian-American Pacific Islander Collection, its latest collection, and one which differs greatly from the other holdings. It’s a repository of the stories and histories of Asian immigrants and their descendants who have made America their home. It was born in large part through the passion and dedication of Grefalda, an immigrant herself.

Grefalda was born in Hong Kong to Filipino expatriates and spent part of her childhood in the United States. She settled permanently in this country in the 1970s, living first in New York and now in Washington, D.C. She is a published poet, playwright and author, founding editor of Our Own Voice: For Filipinos in the Diaspora, and the founder and sole curator of the Asian-American Pacific Islander Collection.

In 2006, Grefalda, then a volunteer at the library, put together a symposium on Carlos Bulosan, a twentieth century Filipino-American novelist and poet. The event was such a success, she says, that it spurred the formation of the Asian-American Pacific Islander Collection. It also led to Grefalda being hired as a librarian and curator.

The first sub-collection was named after Bulosan, the author of America Is in the Heart. Since then, Grefalda has established over two dozen Asian-American Pacific Islander collections including the archives of the leading authority on Chinese American History, Betty Lee Sung ; noted author and ceramicist Jade Snow Wong; the conceptual diaries of art director James Miho; and the files of U.S.-bound refugees from the Vietnamese Overseas Initiative for Conscience Empowerment.

“Remé is a hunter. She loves finding, taking care of, and promoting the materials,” said Gem Daus, adjunct faculty in the University of Maryland’s Asian American Studies Department. Indeed, Grefalda is constantly on the lookout for books, publications, documents and other ephemera that preserve the Asian immigrant experience. She expressed her concern that “if we don’t record Asian immigration and assimilation history, then we will lose it – the second and third generations will lose it.”

Grefalda understands how second generation immigrants – those born in the United States to foreign-born parents – might resist their own cultural heritage “because they feel they are more American.” But she believes this is not often the case with subsequent generations. Grefalda points to the hankering many Americans eventually feel for a sense of where they came from and who they are. “People are not interested in generic American,” she mused, saying people ask themselves, “What made you … you?” She warns that if children and grandchildren of immigrants do not educate themselves about their heritage and begin recording their own unique experiences as ethnic Americans, “then you are lost.”

Grefalda is also passionate about what she perceives as the need for immigrants and their descendants to begin telling, writing and documenting their stories through all media – books, articles, plays, videos, blogs, even tweets. “Absence of narratives about our reflections on our immediate and remote past have offered up zero history for our younger brothers and sisters,” she asserted, adding that immigrants need to “document our lives here if we are to pass on a legacy to our sons and daughters.”

She is very supportive of students sent by Daus, mostly second and third generation immigrants who research American History as experienced by Filipinos. This is the very generation Grefalda exhorts to write and record the immigrant American story. Grefalda promotes publishing and has even published some of the students’ papers.

The intrepid purveyor of immigrant history and legacy hopes that the Library of Congress’ Asian-American Pacific Collection will eventually have a specialist on the Asian immigrant experience. In spite of her role in birthing this new collection, she humbly protests that she is not that specialist – just someone who strongly believes that the stories of Asian immigrants and their children should be woven into the larger American narrative. In the meantime, she invites individuals and groups to consider donating their own archives and collections to the portfolio she nourishes. Knowing that the author of this profile is well connected in the LGBT community, she asked, “Know how I can get the papers of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender APA organizations?”

You can follow Erwin de Leon on Twitter at @ErwindeLeon.

A bilingual sign promoting voting in the Chinese American community. (Photo: Larry Tung)

NEW YORK—With help from voter associations, Asian Americans are becoming one of the rising forces in New York City politics.  Each election year, more Asian Americans are voting, and more are getting elected.

Currently there are two Asian Americans in the City Council, Margaret Chin representing Chinatown and Lower Manhattan and Peter Koo representing Flushing, Queens.  On the state level, Grace Meng followed in her father’s footsteps in 2008 in representing Flushing in the New York State Assembly.  John Liu ascended to the City’s Comptroller seat last year, becoming the first Asian American to be elected to a citywide office.

But despite being one of the city’s fastest growing ethnic groups, Asian Americans seem to be a step behind in political participation, compared to other ethnic groups.  Both naturalized and U.S.-born Asian Americans have lower rates of voter registration than non-Asians.  It wasn’t until 2001 that John Liu was elected to the City Council, becoming the first Asian American member of the municipal legislature.

The reasons why many new immigrants are removed from the U.S. political process are complicated — some face language barriers or come from a very different political environment in their home countries.  Immigrants have to navigate a new and unfamiliar system to register to vote in the U.S.  According to a report by researchers at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center in 2006, qualified Asian Americans are 19 percent less likely to be registered to vote than non-Asians nationwide. In the New York/New Jersey area, Asian Americans are 11 percent less likely to vote than non-Asians.

Watch this video on the work of grassroots organizations to get out the vote in New York’s Asian American communities:

Feet in Two Worlds coverage of the New York election season is supported by the New York Community Trust and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Moya won over voters in the 39th NY Assembly district. (Photo: Catalina Jaramillo)

Results are in after New York’s primary night, and the message from voters is clear: they want a change.

Catalina Jaramillo reports on the Moya/Monserrate battle:

At 11:20 on Tuesday night, Moya, an Ecuadorian-American, gave a victory speech in the race to represent the 39th Assembly district in Queens.

“He hasn’t called me yet,” he said referring to Hiram Monserrate. “But the battle is won. We will bring dignity and integrity back.”

Monserrate didn’t answer his phone, but Ramón Ramírez from his campaign conceded on his behalf. “Hiram lost,” he said.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Moya had 66.66% of the votes and Monserrate 33.34%.

Monika Fabian reports on the Espada/Rivera race:

Melinda Hennerberger of Politics Daily said it best during WNYC’s primary coverage last night: “Enthusiasm matters; the ‘no’ vote always turns out.”

Although she was talking about the Tea Party-backed candidate wins in Delaware and New York, she might as well have been referring to State Senator Pedro Espada Jr.’s defeat in the 33^rd district

While the lion’s share of the district’s 100,000 plus Democratic electorate stayed home, it’s still worth noting (and celebrating) the 23% increase in voter turnout yesterday. According to published reports, 11,044 total ballots were cast, as compared to 8,352 total votes in 2008. Rivera, and former candidate Dan Padernacht–who dropped out too late to be removed from the ballot–received 62% and 5% percents, respectively, or, 7,437 votes. Espada garnered the remaining 33 percent, or 3,607 votes. Clearly residents who turned out yesterday were intent on saying ‘no’ to their scandal-ridden incumbent.

***

Larry Tung reports on the local races in which Asian-American candidates were running in Queens:

S.J. Jung won his quest to become Part B Male Democratic District leader in Flushing, Queens, obtaining 889 votes, while his opponent Terence Park, received only 545. However, Mabel Law, a Chinese-American who was formerly the executive director of the Flushing Business Improvement District, lost her battle to become Part B Female Democratic District Leader to incumbent Julia Harrison, who won with 742 votes over Law’s 568.

Mohsin Zaheer reports on the atmosphere on primary day in Midwood, Brooklyn, home to a Pakistani-American community:

For Pakistani-Americans in Midwood, there was little interest in the local political races, and that was visibly reflected in low-turnout at the polls. Among residents, there seemed to be a lot of confusion about who was running, coupled with little to no outreach by candidates.

However, for the first time in the election season, Fi2W saw a campaign flier in the neighborhood. It was from incumbent State Senator Kevin Parker, and was tucked under the windshield wiper of a car parked close to a polling station at PS 217. Parker won his battle against opponent Wellington Sharpe.

Feet in Two Worlds coverage of the New York Primary is supported, in part, by the New York Community Trust. Read more coverage here.

Terence Park wants to be elected Democratic District Leader in Queens. (Photo: Larry Tung)

Flushing is the center of Asian-American political life in New York City. As more Asian-Americans take interest in public office, the Queens neighborhood is becoming an increasingly competitive arena where any position is hotly contested. Koreans are the latest group to try to use Flushing as a springboard to political power.

A diverse community where more than half of the residents are Asian, Flushing has been the site of many milestones in the history of Asian-American politics in New York. In 2001, Flushing elected the first Asian-American city councilmember, John C. Liu, who went on to become the city’s comptroller, making him the first Asian-American to hold citywide office. The district also elected the first Asian-American to the State Assembly, Jimmy Meng, in 2003. He was succeeded in 2005 by the first elected Asian-American woman, Ellen Young.

Although Chinese-Americans like Liu, Young and Meng dominate Flushing politics, Korean-Americans are now trying to enter the field.

Terence Park, 50, a Korean-American community organizer who had unsuccessful runs for the City Council and State Assembly, has entered the race to become the male Democratic District Leader in Part B of Assembly District 22, which covers Flushing. The position is a liaison between political parties and the communities, and is often considered a step before running for higher political office such as the City Council.

Park’s sole opponent is S.J. Jung. Jung, 46, a small-business owner and president of Min Kwon Center, a community organization for Korean-American youth, ran for the City Council in the Democratic primary last year but lost in a tight race to Yen Chou, a Taiwan-born education advocate who eventually lost to the current City Councilman, Republican Peter Koo, in the general election.

“Any competition is healthy competition,” said Park.

Park and Jung are two out of the three Korean-American candidates competing in September 14th’s Democratic primary, according to the candidates list released by the New York City Board of Elections.  The third is Gov. David A. Paterson’s regional representative in Queens, Ronald T. Kim, 31, who is hoping to be elected as the delegate to the judicial convention, which ratifies party nominations for judges.

S.J. Jung speaks in front of a group of small business owners and residents who opposed the construction of Flushing Commons, a mega development project. (Photo: Larry Tung)

Jung, who has been endorsed by Liu and Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, said he would like to create a multi-ethnic coalition in Flushing.

“We have incredible diversity in our community but there are tensions that divide and strain inter-group relations.  But I know from experience, that when we bring people together around concrete solutions that benefit everyone, the walls of division break down and we begin to build stronger community,” said Jung in a recent statement.

Some say that connecting with other ethnic groups is key to winning.

“Koreans are homogeneous,” said Pyong Gap Min, a sociology professor at Queens College. “Chinese come from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China…In terms of connecting with other groups, Chinese do better.”

Koreans are also significantly outnumbered by Chinese in Flushing, according to census data, which might explain why the Chinese-American community has more elected officials locally.

Min also noted that many Koreans may have trouble building an electoral base in Queens because many Korean-Americans leave Flushing for Long Island and New Jersey as they became more settled into American life, while the new arrivals usually cannot vote because they lack citizenship.

In addition, some media outlets have portrayed the relationship between the Chinese and Koreans in Flushing as one of tension or rivalry, as indicated by a recent report in the New York Times on Flushing Commons, a mega development project that will replace Municipal Parking Lot 1.

State Assemblywoman Grace Meng, D-Flushing, dismissed such depictions, saying that there is not as much conflict as some people portray.

“Anytime there is a growing community, there will always be growing pain,” said Meng, whose father is Jimmy Meng. She is married to a Korean-American dentist. “That fact that you have more than one [ethnic group in the community], it’s somehow a sign of us becoming more mainstream.”

Dongchan Kim, president of the Korean American Voters’ Council, which promotes voter registration and education, said he would like to see a Korean-American elected but said ethnicity should not be the most important factor.

“It’s about the qualification,” said Kim.

Larry Tung is a frequent contributor to Gotham Gazette. Feet in Two Worlds coverage of the New York Primary is supported, in part, by the New York Community Trust.

A Protest Against Sex Trafficking. (Photo: Ari Bronstein)

It’s not enough that Jin Hua Cui took all of their earnings. The eight Korean women, who said they were promised jobs in nail salons but forced to work as prostitutes, would constantly be threatened with harm and blackmail, according to the Suffolk County DA’s office.

The eight said Cui – whom they called ‘Big Mama’ — would have them picked up from Queens and delivered to massage parlors across Long Island. Their fees for turning tricks – anywhere from $60 to $80 — all went to Cui, who owns a brick mansion in Flushing. The women were left to share the tips.

Under New York State’s anti-trafficking law, Cui could face up to 25 years if convicted of sex trafficking. But the women might also have been charged with the crime of prostitution and sent to jail, making it difficult for them to get a visa, or worse, making them likely candidates for deportation.

Now a new bill, recently passed by the New York State legislature and awaiting the signature of Gov. David Paterson, could nullify the prostitution charges, and give the victims a chance to start over. A07670, authored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, proposes to “vacate” prostitution convictions for victims of sex trafficking. It passed the State Assembly March 8 on a unanimous vote of 139-0, and the State Senate June 15 on a vote of 41-20.  The bill applies also to immigrant women who are sold into prostitution or forced to work in massage parlors or escort services to pay back their debts.

Sienna Baskin of the Urban Justice Coalition’s Sex Workers Project campaign said the bill would allow sex trafficking victims to “rewind the clock” and start anew. “Trafficked women have no control over their environment or who they choose to work with,” she said.

“It will provide them with a better opportunity to recover and move forward with their lives by removing potential obstacles, such as adjusting their immigration status, gaining legal employment, and obtaining housing,” explained lawyer Ivy Suriyopas of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).

Sex trafficking, according to the recently released Trafficking in Persons 2010 report, is a “smaller but still significant portion” of the overall scourge of human trafficking, which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called the modern “slave trade.” Perpetrators are typically people with means, power and influence; their victims people who, out of sheer poverty, become vulnerable to coercion or the beguiling ways of recruiters.

“Too often the victims of this crime are perceived to be society’s throwaways – prostitutes, runaways, the poor, racial or ethnic minorities, members of a low caste, or recent immigrants,” according to the report issued by the State Department.

Cui’s Korean victims, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, “did not speak a word of English, and most importantly didn’t even know where they were.”

POWER GAME

Trafficking is the classic power game. The use of physical violence or threats make the victims compliant. For recent immigrants, the threats may involve surrendering travel documents to their recruiters, or exposing their families to harassment in their countries of origin where the traffickers are well connected.

“It’s a lot easier to have that kind of power and control by using threats,” said Suriyopas.

A comprehensive anti-trafficking law is just what New York needs, said Taina Bien-Aime, executive director of Equality Now. “A large percentage of the estimated 14,000 to 17,000 women trafficked into the U.S. every year end up in New York. New York is a huge hub.”

Some of the victims come from the Philippines, said activist and novelist Ninotchka Rosca, a fact also noted in the State Department report.

“The traffic of women, largely Filipinas, into prostitution is an organized and large scale operation,” said Rosca, spokesperson of the Association of Filipinas, Feminists Fighting Imperialism, Re-feudalization and Marginalization (AF3IRM). What makes sex trafficking exceptionally exploitative, she said, is how traffickers treat the human body as “goods” in their highly profitable trade.

“We do not use the phrase ‘sex worker’ as it hides the exploitative essence of prostitution, which we view as capital’s assault upon the human body,” she said.

Rey Koslowski, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Albany’s (SUNY) Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, said the Gottfried bill further strengthens the state’s already tough anti-trafficking law.

“I don’t know of any state, or maybe there are not that many states that have separate laws against trafficking. New York State is definitely ahead,” said Koslowski, who is also a fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. “It makes it easier for the victims to cooperate with law enforcement.”

THE T VISA

One option available to immigrant victims of human trafficking is the T visa. The Department of Homeland Security website states that “the purpose of the T non-immigrant visa is to allow eligible victims of trafficking to legally remain in the U.S. and provide assistance with the investigation and prosecution of traffickers.”  By issuing the T visa, the U.S. government provides the victims and their families protection against possible retaliation after the victims cooperate with law enforcement. The T visa “puts them on a path to obtaining U.S. citizenship,” according to the State Department report.

But getting a T visa comes with a price. The victim has to testify against her trafficker all the way to the point of prosecution. In some cases, the victim may not have the emotional, financial or psychological stamina to go all the way.

“It is not a process that victims engage in lightly,” said Suriyopas. “A lot of the victims have concerns about coming forward against the perpetrators, regardless if they have papers or not.”

Bien-Aime observed that in some cases, the victim who has been “brutalized and traumatized” is not willing to testify against her trafficker.

“Eligibility for T visa requires cooperation from the women, but often it is difficult,” she said. “Many times, she knows her trafficker from her community here or back home.”

Only about 500 T visas were issued to victims and their families in 2009.

While many are hopeful the Gottfried bill and the T visa will offer sex trafficking victims an opportunity to start over, immigrant women like the Korean victims of Jin Hua Cui, with limited job prospects and shaky immigration status, remain vulnerable. The law in New York may soon be on their side, but the reality on the ground could keep them chained to a life where they are constantly at risk for exploitation.

Korean American Census Rally in Queens, NY. (Photo: Sooyeon Kim)

New York has the second largest Korean community in the US, exceeded only by Los Angeles. Nearly 80 percent of Korean New Yorkers are foreign-born immigrants.  The 2000 Census counted nearly 91-thousand Koreans in the city, according to the Asian American Federation of New York.

That’s about 10 percent of New York’s Asian population, but it’s only about half  the number of Koreans in New York, according to estimates by the government of South Korea.

“Some immigrants fear that their private information will be shared by other government agencies and disadvantage them later on,”  said Ryan Kim, a partnership specialist from the US Census Bureau.

In the 2010 Census, Korean is one of 6 official languages that the census questionnaire can be completed in. “There are language issues, especially for those whose mother tongue is not English,” said Jakyong Kim,  another partnership specialist at a recent census rally in Queens.  “I really wanted them to have in-language service.  That’s the most important thing, that they can go for a help.”

But, community organizer Kim Dong Chan, who worked in both the 2000 and the current census campaigns, says that while people have the option to fill out the questionnaire in Korean, this fact is not mentioned on the actual census form that was mailed to people’s homes in English and Spanish. “I doubt people are likely to take advantage of it,” he said.

Watch this audio slideshow about the effort to count the Korean American community in Flushing, NY.

Read other articles in this series on the census and Chinese, Russian and Filipino immigrants.

The Feet in Two Worlds project on the Census is made possible thanks to the generous support of the 2010 Census Outreach Initiative Fund at The New York Community Trust and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.