Call to Action -- Stop The APA Bashing

Conflict between the US and China, unfortunately, leads to bashing of Chinese Americans and the Chinese people.  Its consequence, however, spills to all Asian Pacific Americans since we are not, in general, physically distinguishable. Recall that Vincent Chin was killed by two unemployed Detroit autoworkers who mistook him for a Japanese American.

If such bashing is left unchecked, damage to our lives creeps in and exacerbates, including psychological pressure and career obstacles. It seems impossible now, but the internment of Japanese Americans began in this same manner.  What could happen if, God forbid, the conflict escalates?

80-20 is determined to nip the bashing in the bud.  This e-mail is a call to action!

Yesterday, 80-20's Steering Comm. resolved to take on the anti-bashing fight.  We'll help organize a grand coalition of APA organizations.  Separately, 80-20 is setting up its own Anti-Bashing Fund (ABF). 
If you want to see bashing stopped, send a check to

       Professor Chun Wa Wong

       3780 Keystone Ave.

       Suite 106

       Los Angeles, CA 90034-6363

Make it payable to 80-20 but specify for ABF .  Citizens and permanent citizens may contribute, personal checks only.  Your giving is not tax deductible. Please state your occupation and employer if your donation exceeds $200.00.  Please e-mail S.B.

to let him know that you are helping.  If you total contribution to 80-20 since its foundation exceeds $500, your name will be on permanent display on our web site: http://

www.80-20initiave.net.

The rest of this e-mail contains (A) What is bashing, (2) How to stop
bashing, and (3) How you can help?

(A) What is bashing?

Criticizing policies of a foreign nation or specific acts of the Asian Pacific American (APA) community or its subsets is not bashing.  

Stereotyping the supposed comical physical features of Asians, e.g. slant eyes, buck- teeth, and thick glasses is bashing.  A recent example is a cartoon by Patrick Oliphant published in a national circulation.  A cartoon is to ridicule the politics, not the people.

Demonizing is bashing.  You may recall that 80-20 mobilized the APA community and the mainstream media on 10/27 of last years to compel the pulling of a Republican TV ad imitating the infamous "Daisy" TV ad fanning the fear of "yellow peril."  The ad was pulled within 24 hours.

Castigating all persons of Asian descent on account of our nation's conflict with any Asian country is bashing.  Recent examples in various radio and TV broadcasts include: the boycott of Chinese restaurants, the barring of "Chinese" from the Erron baseball field in Houston, putting "Chinese" in concentration camps, and sending "Chinese" back where they came from. 

Such advocacy makes no difference between Asian nationals and American citizens of Asian descent.  Even supposing a distinction is made and the attack is centered on specific Asian nationals only, it is still too indiscriminate and hateful.  First amendment 
right has limits.  The first amendment does not give a person the right to shout "Fire" in a crowded theater; joke "I am carrying a bomb" in an airplane; or express hate towards a race or ethnic group.  

Even in less obvious cases, we must speak out.  The first amendment may protect the right of a skit actor to utter "Ching, ching, chong, chong." imitating how an Asian talks in order to draw a cheap laugh.  However, the same first amendment protects our right to protest against the insensitivity of that skit.

(B) How to stop it?

When there is concrete evidence involving a significant media personality and/or a major media outlet that has clearly crossed the line, the proposed Coalition will pounce.  National attention will focused on our protest giving landmark significance to the subsequent corrective measures taken by the offending personalities
/media outlet.

Thereafter, the news will spread among media workers that bashing APAs is no longer a free shot.  

(3) How you can help?

Help tape the offending broadcasts and report them to 80-20.  Get you recorders ready. Give financially to ABF.  We are only as strong as you are.  Tell us that you are strong.

*** This mailing is paid for by The 80-20 PAC ***

The "ABCs" of Lobbying

80-20 is ready to mount a frontal assault on the glass ceiling above you & your children.  80-20 has worked long and hard, gathering political capital bit by bit, just for this moment!

80-20'll begin with a lobbying effort to secure Congressional hearings on the huge amount of statistical evidence documenting the existence of glass ceiling above APAs.  To help this lobbying effort succeed, most of us may want to acquire some basic knowledge about lobbying.  

Hopefully, you may agree that, ultimately, our community's political clout depends on our collective political maturity. 

At the risk of boring some of you, here are the "ABCs" of lobbying for an issue, as opposed to, say, lobbying to get someone confirmed or get a treaty passed.

There are 3 basic ways that Congress may be asked to support an issue:

• to pass a bill favoring the issue, 


• to pass a resolution favoring the issue, and 


• to open congressional hearings by relevant committees that end the hearings with favorable reports.  

(1) Of the three, passing a bill is the hardest.  Once a bill passes both Houses and is signed by the president, it becomes a law.  The violation of a law requires a penalty.  Hence, 99% of the bills are required to contain languages specifying appropriate punishment, should the law be violated.

(2) Passing a resolution is the easiest.  There are many forms of resolutions - House Resolution, Senate Resolution, Concurrent Resolution, and Joint Resolution.  Although a resolution needs to pass the House or the Senate or both, resolutions are nothing but lip service.  A resolution, even after passage, could be violated by any person at will, without penalty.  Resolutions are mostly used by politicians to please constituents "on the cheap." 

A Joint Resolution passed by unanimous consent and signed by the President will have the temporary effect of law for the duration of the Congressional session.  It's used for passing budgets.

(3) To schedule Congressional hearings by relevant committees is the middle choice.  A committee chair may call a public hearing on a relevant matter.  The committee may then issue a report on that subject.  The matter could end there, without being turned into a bill.  If ample publicity is achieved during the hearings and if the report is very favorable to a given issue, it could be very effective.  For example, if a committee report suggests to a federal agency that certain results seem desirable, and if no progress is made by next year's budget hearing for that agency before the same committee, there could be budgetary repercussions for that agency.  

During hearings, at least one congressional member on the committee must be present.  A hearing lasting several days will cost members much time and is therefore a serious investment by the committee.  In contrast, a resolution may be passed by both the House and the Senate in a few seconds without any congressional member paying any attention.  

Keep tuned to 80-20's effort on your behalf and please, if you are good in writing Chinese articles, volunteer to join 80-20's letters-to-the-editors team by e-mailing S.B. Woo and saying "Count Me In."

Thank you.

* * * * * * * * * * *


80-20 is a national nonpartisan Political Action Committee dedicated to work for equality and justice for all Asian Americans.  For more details, visit http://www.80-20initiative.net
 

Forming A Mighty Army for Eq. Opportunity

A mighty lobbying force is getting in shape to win equal opportunity in workplaces for all APAs.

What does equal opportunity mean?

It means "for every man, woman and child to go as far and rise as high, as their ambition and ability will take them." You, your loved ones, and your future offspring deserve equal opportunity not just in entry-level jobs, not just in all levels of technical jobs but also in rising to the top in any field, any institution.

Thus far, a glass ceiling has severely hindered our ability to rise to the top. In theory, there should be equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, gender, etc. Our mighty lobbying force, once organized, aims to get that for you in practice.

In less than one week, 80-20 has organized a lobbying army of 325 volunteers, covering 34 states. While that is extremely encouraging, our army still has weaknesses. We don't have people covering the following states for the APA community:

Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Will you or your friends and relatives who reside in the above states please step forth and be counted? If you know people in those states, help 80-20 recruit them. Volunteers need to fill out the following form. Do it today. Thank you.
Survey

1. I want to be involved in this lobbying effort which centers on holding public congressional hearings by relevant congressional committees on the glass-ceiling over APAs (visit congressional delegates, write letters, make phone calls, give financially, ..., etc.)

Ans: Yes, I want to help. My name is ___________, and I reside in
_________ (name of state or Washington D.C.)

2. I have lobbied either the state legislature or the Congress before?
Ans: Yes/No (If yes, please specify whether state legislature or Congress or both.)
3. Please list the names of members of Congress, whom you are willing to approach for supporting a Committee hearing in glass-ceiling over Asian Pacific Americans:

Ans: Senator(s) : ____________________________.
Representative(s) : ______________________________

Please place an asterisk behind the names of those who know you by your first name.

* * * * * * * * * * *

80-20 is a national nonpartisan Political Action Committee dedicated to work for equality and justice for all Asian Americans. For more details, visit http://www.80-20initiative.net

Our Ultimate Goal & You. Please read!

---

Getting our elite appointed to the top positions in the federal government, though helpful, is not equivalent to winning equal opportunity in work places for all APAs.

80-20 is getting ready to help reach our ultimate goal – equal opportunity
in workplaces for all.

A successful outcome will benefit you, your loved ones and most certainly your grandchildren and beyond.  However, the road ahead will be long and hard, perhaps too long and too hard, unless you help.

A survey is being done to assess 80-20's ability to mount a successful
lobbying effort with the Congress.  We are looking for public hearings
by relevant Congressional committees on the glass-ceiling over APAs in the corporate world, academia, the media, state governments, ..., etc. 
We need you.  If at all possible, please participate in this survey.

The first part of the following provides background information, and the second part is the survey asking for "What You Can Do To Help."

Background

In 80-20's Declaration to Presidential Candidates of 2000, it has four
requests.  The fourth dealt with appointment to top federal positions, a goal we have achieved.  The first three requests are:

1. To request the "Congress (to hold) public hearings regarding the
validity of the huge amount of statistical data strongly suggesting discriminatory
practices against Asian Americans in workplaces,"

2. To urge our President "to vigorously prosecute all cases of racial
discrimination against Asian Americans in the workplace," if Congressional
hearings confirm the prevalent existence of discrimination against APAs in workplaces.

3. To ask our President to use the power of his office "to induce the lifting of glass-ceilings so that Asian Americans will ... (substantially enjoy) equal opportunity to "rise to the top," within the president's first term."

Survey

80-20 has a number of strategic options in mind regarding a successful
lobbying effort.  However, 80-20 needs to know our strengths and weakness
before selecting an option.  That's why this survey is extremely important.

1.  I want to be involved in this lobbying effort which centers
on holding public congressional hearings by relevant congressional committees
on the glass-ceiling over APAs (visit congressional delegates, write letters,
make phone calls, give financially, ..., etc.)

Ans: Yes, I want to help.  My name is ___________, and I
reside in (name of state or Washington D.C.)

2. I have lobbied either the state legislature or the Congress before?

Ans: Yes/No (If yes, please specify whether state legislature or Congress or both.)

3. Please list the name of U.S. senators and Congress-person, whom you are willing to approach for supporting a Committee hearing in which he/she is a member:

Ans: Senator(s) : ____________________________.  

House of Representative(s) : ________________________________

Please specify the ones who know you by first name.

 

Return this survey today.  Together we shall overcome. 
Our children and grandchildren will thank you.

* * * * * * * * * * * * 


80-20 is a national nonpartisan Political Action Committee dedicated
to work for equality and justice for all Asian Americans.  For more
details, visit http://www.80-20initiative.net

Two APAs nominated for cabinet positions

Thanks to all of you, history was made again.

Last year, your faxes to President Clinton helped make Norman Mineta the historic first Asian American Cabinet Secretary. This year, your e-mails helped us reach another milestone -- two Asian American cabinet appointments in a single Administration.

As individuals, our voices were not heard. As an organization with 430,000 supporters pouring e-mails and faxes into the Transition Team within a few days, our unified voice was hard to ignore.

Nevertheless, President-elect Bush and Vice President-elect Cheney must be given ample credit. Even a loud and heartfelt voice takes good political listeners to acknowledge and respond positively.

Finally, let's not forget that 80-20's political capital played a role in these appointments. Said capital includes an exponentially expanding e-mail list and war chest, our increasing chapters and affiliates, and our ability to deliver, as a 2-year-old organization, 63% to 35% in California and 54% to 41% nationally to our endorsed presidential candidate (Gore) in election 2000. Decisions by political leaders are at least partially motivated by political consideration -- how to win his/ her next election. By the presidential election of 2004, there is little doubt that 80-20 will deliver votes at an 8 to 2 ratio to our chosen presidential candidate in key states above and beyond California.

Much remains to be done, however. Getting our elite appointed to significant positions is not equivalent to winning equal opportunity in workplaces for all of us. Our next e-mail will address winning equal opportunity for all APAs.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Congratulations to Norman Mineta (to be confirmed as The Secretary of Transportation) and Elaine Chao (to be confirmed as The Secretary of Labor). Best wishes to both of you for smooth confirmation hearings.

* * * * * * * * * * *

A great big "thank you" to reporters in ethnic and non-ethnic media who made numerous inquiries at the Transition Office regarding the possibility of cabinet-level appointments for Asian Americans. Without doubt, those reporters helped add "diversity" to Bush's appointments.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Many APAs thought 80-20 "lost" because Gore didn't win. However, 80-20's leadership has always stated: "So long as we showed unity and strength at the ballot box, APAs would win regardless of which candidate became the president." The 2 appointments, one Democrat and one Republican, proved the correctness of 80-20's central strategy.

Indeed, 80-20 conjectured that APAs would get more "goodies" from the Republican Party should Bush won, because the GOP had wrestled with 80-20 in California and knew how tough 80-20 was, while the Democratic Party, confident of victory in CA, paid little attention to the APA community in CA during the past election. It is hoped that all APAs will now realize that the more we are ready to deliver a swing bloc-vote, the sooner we will win equal justice and opportunity.

**************

80-20 is a national nonpartisan Political Action Committee dedicated to work for equality and justice for all Asian Americans. For more details, visit http://www.80-20initiative.net

YOUR VOTE: Do you see value in The 80-20 Initiative?

###############################################
OUR PRIVILEGE to communicate with you (7
e-mails) is used up. If you see value in our
effort, please send this e-mail back and add
the word ENLIST.
###############################################

If you are sick of us, just send this e-mail back to us and
add the word REMOVE. :-)

If you take NO ACTION, we'll send you another 7 e-mails
for the remainder of the year.

WE HOPE YOU WOULD ENLIST.

Sincerely (titles for ID purposes only)
Alex Esclamado, Nat'l President, Filipino-Am. Political Assoc.
Kenneth Fong, C.E.O., Clontech Laboratories,
Yu-Chi Ho, Harvard Univ., member of Nat'l Acad. of Engineering,
Stephen S. Ko, MD, Founder of Asian Am. Political Coalition N.J.
Michael Lin, former Nat'l President, Org. of Ch-Ams (1994-98),
Henry Tang, Chair , Committee of 100,
Chang-Lin Tien, Chancellor, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley (1991-97),
Dennis Wong, former Chair, San Francisco-Taipei Sister City Comm.,
Charles Woo, President, Magatoy, and
S. B. Woo, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (1985-89)

Reactions to 80-20

REACTIONS TO 80-20 (titles for ID purposes only):

• "Your proposal is excellent. I support it 100%." -- C. N. Yang,
  Nobel Laureate in Physics
  
• "The 80-20 movement is one of the most sensible strategies
  that I've seen in As-Am. community. .. You can count on my
  support at Philip-Am. Chamber & the Nat'l Federation of Fil-
  Ams" -- Gus Mercado, Regional Chair, PACC & NaFFAA
  
  
• "Please count on me regarding the mobilization of the Vietnamese
  community in this issue." -- Quan Cao
  
  
• "I have been passing your e-mails to the key people in
  various Pakistani organizations and recevd positive resposes.
  I favor Model 1." -- Adeel Shah, Director, Human Rights Asia.
  
  
• "Thanks for the leadership. Count me in." -- Mei Wei Cheng,
  President and CEO, Ford Motor (China) Ltd.
  
  
• "I think your team is doing a model work, and it ought to be
  emulated by other groups. Please keep up your good work."
  -- Sang Joo Kim, Executive Vice President,
  Institute of Corean American Studies (ICAS)
  
  
• "Thank you for the update. Its interesting that we have to
  work so hard to get the attention of the public. ... Glad you
  are keeping us informed." -- Roy H. Saigo, Chancellor,
  Aubrun University at Montgomery
  
  
• "Yes, I am interested in being a coordinator in my area .... I
  have served as an Assistant District Attorney, and now as an
  Assistant Attorney General." -- from a SECOND GENERATION
  Asian American. His identity is withheld, owing to possible
  sensitivity of his political office.
  
  
• "Count me in. Thank you for your great leadership. ..... 80-
  20 will ignite Asian community." -- Steve Choi, Founder,
  Asian American Coalition of Georgia
  
  
• "I was moved by your blueprint for empowering Asian
  Americans, sent to me by Larry Ho, a fellow NAE member. I
  will support whatever plan our AA leaders collectively choose
  to enact in connection with the 2000 election." -- Chenming
  Hu, member of Nat'l Acad. of Engineering
  
  
• "Although I am not yet an American citizen, I would like to
  thank you on behalf of my daughter." -- Shiping (steve)
  Chen, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland
  
  
• " ... this project deserves our attention & support." -- John
  Kim, President, Nat'l Asso. of Korean Americans - NY Chapter
  
  
• "I am currently a senior at Whittier College in Whittier, CA,
  ........ I would like to help in any way I can." -- Jeremy Wang
  
  
• " We'll be very happy at Asian American Village to help
  spread the word of your initiative to our readers."
  -- Stewart David Ikeda, Editor, Asian American Village -- an
  on-line magazine
  
  
• "Thanks for your efforts in fighting on our behalf. We are
  still in the early teens but we are the future you are fighting
  for. .... Much thanks in advance." -- Kevin (Choong) --
  A 12 Year Old
  
  

HERE'S HOW YOU MAY HELP.

Help spread our message. A single vote from an Asian Am. in
CA in year 2000 may just decide who will be the next president of
the US.

When we can deliver 80-20, the two major political parties
will compete to help us achieve equal opportunity in order to win
our favor ! We and our children benefit. American becomes a
"more perfect Union."

A Main Objective of 80-20

The following Declaration was send to each presidential candidate requesting his/her written commitment should he/she be elected. Senator Bill Bradley was the first to commit. We have heard from two others but are not satisfied with the degree of their commitment. Our guess is that by January 2000, when candidates begin to seriously focus on the Calif. primary to be held in March, 2000, most will write to commit.

Declaration Concerning The 2000 Presidential Election
by The 80-20 Initiative

"With liberty and justice for all." Thus ends our pledge of allegiance to the flag with a ringing commitment to all citizens.

Unfortunately, liberty and justice remain an unrealized dream for Asian Americans. A low glass-ceiling hangs instead over our heads, denying us the opportunity to rise to the top of our professions, just as it hung over women and blacks until recently.

Statistical evidence, mostly gathered by government sponsored studies, shows a dismal picture: Asian Americans have only one- third the opportunity of all other Americans to "rise to the top," in the academic world, in corporations, or even in federal government.

To illustrate, Asian Americans represent 3.5% of the population of this nation. However, of the 875 active federal judges, only 7 are Asian Americans; of the 250 plus cabinet and sub-cabinet positions in President Clinton's Administration in 1998, only two were held by Asian Americans.
The situation is no better in universities, the so-called bastion of idealism in our society. University administrators are recruited almost exclusively from the ranks of faculty and professionals already employed in universities. Hence the ratio of [administrators / (faculty + professionals)], broken down to races, is a measure of the opportunity enjoyed by American citizens of different races. Nationwide, that ratio for blacks (non-Hispanic) is 0.21. That is, for every 100 black faculty and professionals there are 21 black administrators. The ratio for Native American is 0.20; for white (non-Hispanic) is 0.16; and for Hispanic is 0.15. However, it is only 0.06 for Asian American.

The picture that emerges from the supposedly "enlightened" academic world and federal government is one of inequality and injustice for Asian Americans. The situation in the corporate world is worse, much worse. All Asian American CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, with one recent exception, started the companies themselves.

Therefore, we, the Asian American citizens, declare that the time has come for all presidential candidates to commit themselves to the following to realize the ideal of equal opportunity for all Americans:

1. If elected, will direct his/her cabinet officers to work with Congress in holding public hearings regarding the validity of the huge amount of statistical data strongly suggesting discriminatory practices against Asian Americans in workplaces today,

2. If the data were shown valid, will issue a public statement to reaffirm your Administration's intention to vigorously prosecute all cases of racial discrimination against Asian Americans in the workplace,

3. If the data were shown valid, will work to induce the lifting of the glass-ceilings so that Asian Americans will be well on our way to equal opportunity to "rise to the top" within the first term, and

4. If elected, will give due recognition to the services and talents of Asian Americans by appointing qualified persons to policy-making positions in the Judicial and Executive branches of the federal government, possibly including a historic first cabinet position. The number of appointments will represent a significant improvement upon the current drastic under-utilization of Asian Americans.

Asian Americans have contributed with distinction to the well being of the nation. We work hard at our jobs, we help to run business, we serve in governments, and we are well educated, with bachelor degrees per thousand persons twice that of the nation. It is time we are finally given equal opportunity for professional advancement, and to serve in the federal government in positions we deserve.

We ask fellow Asian Americans to join us in our declaration to WITHHOLD financial and other forms of support to any presidential PRIMARY candidates who fail to pledge his/her commitment to our request for equal justice in the workplace.

During the GENERAL presidential election, a different approach is taken. To be effective, we shall form a block-vote in favor of the presidential candidate of that political party that will have helped Asian Americans the most in achieving equal opportunity, between now and August 2000.

Our cause is just. Our requests are fair. As individuals our voices may be weak; TOGETHER WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Sincerely (members of Steering Comm., titles for ID purposes only)
Alex Esclamado, Nat'l President, Filipino-Am. Political Assoc.Kenneth Fong, C.E.O., Clontech Laboratories,Yu-Chi Ho, Harvard Univ., member of Nat'l Acad. of Engineering, Stephen S. Ko, MD, Founder of Asian Am. Political Coalition N.J. Michael Lin, former Nat'l President, Org. of Ch-Ams (1994-98), Henry Tang, Chair , Committee of 100, Chang-Lin Tien, Chancellor, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley (1991-97), Dennis Wong, former Chair, San Francisco-Taipei Sister City Comm., Charles Woo, President, Magatoy, and S. B. Woo, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (1985-89)

A Blueprint for Equal Opportunity for AsAms

Here we show how we can win equal opportunity.

AAs voted slightly in favor of Bush in 1992 and slightly in favor of Clinton in 1996. So long as an immigrant "underclass" votes roughly 50-50, no politician will bother to help the group win equal opportunity. To politicians, paying attention to a small constituent group that votes roughly 50-50 is like entering a small business deal with a puny margin of profit. On the other hand, courting a small immigrant group capable of delivering 80-20 is like chasing a small business deal with a huge profit margin of 60%. (The 80% vote obtained by the courting politician minus the 20% vote taken by the opponent yields a net gain of 60% of votes of that constituent group.)

Hence, if we unite to vote 80-20, a very different picture emerges.

AAs are strategically located. AAs represent 6.5% of the voters in CA -- the state with the largest electoral college votes and early primary in the presidential election of 2000. CA is a must for any presidential candidate in year 2000. Winning the March, 2000 CA primary creates so much momentum that it may be tantamount to winning the party nomination. Furthermore, CA has 54 electoral votes -- 20% of what's needed to be the next president.

If we'll unite to SWING to either political party at an 8 to 2 ratio in year 2000, we will be the equivalent of not only a business deal with a huge profit margin but also the make-or-break deal that tips the scale in the fight for market shares. We shall be courted by politicians of both parties IMMEDIATELY, and with that we can win EQUAL OPPORTUNITY for us and our children!

We envisioned a two-stage process in forging unity with the AA community. Uniting the Chinese American community first and then approach the other AA communities to form, as EQUAL partners, a Pan Asian American Committee (PAAC).

More than 90% of the 45,000 As-Ams. we approached become strong or moderate supporters. The Filipino-Am. community has formed a coalition with us. The Korean-Am. and the Pakistani-Am. community are considering doing the same.

November 2000 is around the corner. Will we succeed? THAT DEPENDS ON YOU! If you'll step up and say "COUNT ME IN", your children and grandchildren will thank you.

Sincerely (members of Steering Comm., titles for ID purposes only)

Alex Esclamado, Nat'l President, Filipino-Am. Political Assoc.Kenneth Fong, C.E.O., Clontech Laboratories,Yu-Chi Ho, Harvard Univ., member of Nat'l Acad. of Engineering, Stephen S. Ko, MD, Founder of Asian Am. Political Coalition N.J. Michael Lin, former Nat'l President, Org. of Ch-Ams (1994-98), Henry Tang, Chair , Committee of 100, Chang-Lin Tien, Chancellor, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley (1991-97), Dennis Wong, former Chair, San Francisco-Taipei Sister City Comm., Charles Woo, President, Magatoy, and S. B. Woo, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (1985-89)

The American Way to Win Equal Opportunity

You may ask, after reading the last e-mail, why haven't the undersigned who knew of such statistics, tried removing the glass ceiling? We have. However, we found that as individuals our voices were not heard. That's why we searched YOU out, because TOGETHER WE SHALL OVERCOME.

There is a tried-and-true American way through which immigrant groups have gained equal opportunity. THE POLITICAL PROCESS!

A long time ago, when the Irish, Polish and Italian immigrants first arrived in America, discrimination against them was also rampant. The Irish first tried using the ballet box to get politicians to help the Irish get good jobs and succeeded. After that, the Polish and Italians used the same method to win their equal status. In the mid twentieth century, the Jews and blacks followed that recipe to win equal opportunity. More recently, women and Hispanics flexed their political muscles to dislodge their respective glass ceilings. Time is now for Asian Americans to do the same.

First, we must develop a community consensus to vote as a block. That way, we can reward politicians who worked for our equal opportunity and punish those who didn't. Shortly thereafter , most politicians will be working for our equal opportunity.

The African Americans who reside in cities of industrial states vote 9 to 1 in favor of the Democratic presidential candidate. That's one BIG reason why the Democratic party always speaks up for interests of the black community. The Jews have even greater political cohesion. While they voted mostly for Democrats, they could swing, voting in a 8 to 2 ratio, for a candidate of EITHER major political party.

Is our population large enough to have political clout? Mind you, there are only six million Jewish Americans, while there are 10 million AAs.

In e-mail 4, we'll present you with a specific strategy to induce both major political parties to fight for our equal opportunity and form a "more perfect Union."

Sincerely (members of Steering Comm., titles for ID purposes only)
Alex Esclamado, Nat'l President, Filipino-Am. Political Assoc.Kenneth Fong, C.E.O., Clontech Laboratories,Yu-Chi Ho, Harvard Univ., member of Nat'l Acad. of Engineering, Stephen S. Ko, MD, Founder of Asian Am. Political Coalition N.J. Michael Lin, former Nat'l President, Org. of Ch-Ams (1994-98), Henry Tang, Chair , Committee of 100, Chang-Lin Tien, Chancellor, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley (1991-97), Dennis Wong, former Chair, San Francisco-Taipei Sister City Comm., Charles Woo, President, Magatoy, and S. B. Woo, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (1985-89)

Aren't we accorded equal opportunity already?

Unfortunately, no. Asian Americans (AAs) are not accorded equal opportunity presently.

Equal opportunity means: "For every man, woman and child to go as far and rise as high as their ambition and ability will take them." Statistics, mostly gathered by government studies, show that AAs have only 1/3 the opportunity of all other Americans to rise to the top in the academic world, corporate world, the federal government. There seems to exist an invisible resistance to AAs' developing to the maximal of their potentials -- A Glass Ceiling.

Let's look at a concrete case. A lot of our best people are employed in universities. Their average performance has been outstanding. What's their chance of rising to the top?

University administrators are recruited almost exclusively from the ranks of faculty and professionals already employed in universities. Hence the ratio of [administrators / (faculty + professionals)], broken down to races, is a measure of the opportunity enjoyed by American citizens of different races. Nationwide, that ratio for blacks (non-Hispanic) is 0.21. That is, for every 100 black faculty and professionals there are 21 black administrators. The ratio for Native American is 0.20; for white (non-Hispanic) is 0.16; and for Hispanic is 0.15. However, it is only 0.06 for Asian American. Get on the Web and check it out for yourself! Source: Dept. of Education - , Table B-1f.

The above dismal picture emerges from the supposedly "enlightened" academic world. The situation in the corporate world, state and federal governments is worse.

In E-Mail 3 & 4, we present a strategy to induce the two major political parties to help us fight for equal opportunity and help make our beloved nation "a more perfect Union." If you can't wait, visit our Web site: <>.

Sincerely (members of Steering Comm., titles for ID purposes only)
Alex Esclamado, Nat'l President, Filipino-Am. Political Assoc.Kenneth Fong, C.E.O., Clontech Laboratories,Yu-Chi Ho, Harvard Univ., member of Nat'l Acad. of Engineering, Stephen S. Ko, MD, Founder of Asian Am. Political Coalition N.J. Michael Lin, former Nat'l President, Org. of Ch-Ams (1994-98), Henry Tang, Chair , Committee of 100, Chang-Lin Tien, Chancellor, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley (1991-97), Dennis Wong, former Chair, San Francisco-Taipei Sister City Comm., Charles Woo, President, Magatoy, and S. B. Woo, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (1985-89)

Please give us a fair hearing -- an appeal from 80-20

Greetings. Whether or not you have heard of "80-20," we hopeyou'd reserve your judgment on this project, until we've directlycorresponded. We want to inform you regarding: what 80-20 isall about, how it has fared in the Asian American (AA)community, and why we seek you out. We seek you out to ask you to lend your leadership. The 80/20 Initiative is a national, non-partisan appeal initiated by a group of Chinese Americans but has expanded to include all Asian Americans. The basic idea is to take advantage of the heavy AA concentration in Calif. -- 7% of the registered voters in a state with 54 electoral votes and an early March, 2000 presidential primary -- to make Asian American voters a swing factor in the next presidential election, thereby inducing both major political parties to work hard to accord AAs with equal opportunity. 80/20 means if 80% of Asian American voters support this idea, we will become a powerful swing vote and through which we shall win our first-class-citizenship. (2) How has the project fared in the AA community? Better than 90% of AAs, whose e-mail addresses we had access to, became supporters. Our rate of expansion was exponential. The 80-20 was formed on 9/27/98 in Foster City in CA. At the time, it had a mailing list of about 500. Today, 11 months later, we have 45,000 supporters. By end of this year, we expect to grow to 100,000. The advantage of relying on e-mail is that it is costless, speedy and reliable. The work and resources that are required for e-mailing a million supporters is not appreciably different from e-mailing one person. In addition, a strong correlation exists between AA registered voters and AAs with e-mail capability and are comfortable to communicate in English. Our statistics are as follows. Less than 5% of AAs requested to be REMOVED from our mailing list upon receiving our first e-mail. About 1% of AAs probably oppose 80-20 even after having received a package of 7 recruiting e-mails from 80-20. All remaining individuals, BETTER THAN 90%, became strong or moderate supporters. We hope to form a Pan Asian American Coalition of equal partners. (3) Why do we seek you out? We seek your leadership to a common effort to fulfill America's noble vision: "with liberty and justice for ALL." (Capitalization added) In the next several days, we'll send you seven e-mails to provide you with more details. You are welcome to forward our e-mail to other leaders of your community. If you don't want to hear from us, send this letter back plus the word : REMOVE. Or, you could send this letter back plus the word: ENLIST. As individual communities, our voices were not heard. However, TOGETHER WE SHALL OVERCOME. We and our children will benefit. America becomes "a more perfect Union." Sincerely (members of Steering Comm., titles for ID purposes only) Alex Esclamado, Nat'l President, Filipino-Am. Political Assoc. Kenneth Fong, C.E.O., Clontech Laboratories, Yu-Chi Ho, Harvard Univ., member of Nat'l Acad. of Engineering, Stephen S. Ko, MD, Founder of Asian Am. Political Coalition N.J. Michael Lin, former Nat'l President, Org. of Ch-Ams (1994-98), Henry Tang, Chair , Committee of 100, Chang-Lin Tien, Chancellor, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley (1991-97), Dennis Wong, former Chair, San Francisco-Taipei Sister City Comm., Charles Woo, President, Magatoy, and S. B. Woo, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (1985-89)