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Mr.
Tony Gao, 2002 Vision in American Award winner,
presented
by Berto Guzman, Senior VP, International Channel
Networks
and local Charter Comm. representatives
By Olivia O. Ly-Pieknik
About 80 people from various Asian American community organizations and business leaders attended the VIP reception and screening of "In America", an International Channel original documentary series profiling immigrants in America today. The event took place at Mandarin House Restaurant in Overland last Thursday, November 7th. The documentary series also trace the history of immigrants to the United States. A ten minutes episode focus on Chinese immigration was shown. Four Chinese Americans were featured - current Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao being the first Asian American woman to be appointed to U.S. cabinet; Dr. C. S. Kiang, a professor of earth sciences at Georgia Tech; Dr. Madeline Hsu, a professor of Chinese history at San Francisco State University and Lani Wong, a community activist in Atlanta. Others episodes also focus on Asian Indian, Russian and Vietnamese immigration. The "In America" series were aired throughout September in recognition of National Citizenship Day on September 17th.
Berto
Guzman talked to Ann Rynerson, International
Institute, St. Louis
At registration, participants received a brochure listing the program and information about International Channel Networks, Charter Communications and the campaigned named "We the People". As part of the campaign, two local community leaders were recognized and given the Vision in America (VIA) Awards. We the People campaign includes four elements: an online resources to assist immigrants in the process of becoming U.S. Citizens; a Tell Us Your Story page that allows immigrants to share their own extraordinary stories of coming to the United States and becoming citizens; the documentary series; and Vision in America (VIA) Awards that are presented to ethnic community leaders across the country who provide support to their immigrant communities.
 
"International Channel Networks links viewers to the sights and sounds of their culture and heritage through television programming, in more than 20 Asian, European and Middle Eastern languages, from around the world via cable television" Mr. Berto Guzman, Senior Vice President of International Channel Networks said. He gave a short background on International Channel Networks which started in 1990. The Networks markets and provides 11 premium international television channels including Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Other programs include TV Japan, TV Asia, serving the South Asian (Indians) and the Filipino Channel. Mr. Guzman shared with the audience that he is Filipino American.
Another presenter was Mr. Neal Gilb, Community Affairs Coordinator of Charter Communications. Mr. Gilb commented that Charter Communications appreciates and recognizes the diverse immigrant communities of the St. Louis area, particularly an increasing number of Asian Americans. Dr. Tzy Cheng Peng and Mr. Tony Gao were two local community leaders chosen to receive the VIA Awards. Each recipient also received a $500.00 from Charter Communications to be donated to their choice of charities.
Dr. Tzy
C. Peng (L2)
Dr. Harold Law and Mr. Walter Ko, both are long time friends of Dr. Peng shared with the audience Dr. Peng's background and his contributions to the community. Dr. Peng was born and raised in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. He moved to the United States in 1952 to pursue his graduate studies and became an American citizen in 1962. Dr. Peng is currently the president and publisher of Chinese American Forum (CAF), a nonprofit cultural and educational quarterly magazine in St. Louis. He actively participates in the Chinese community by frequently giving lectures to local high schools and colleges on topics relating to Chinese cultural, religion and is regarded as an authority on Confucianism. Dr. Peng is also a consultant for Family with Children from China (FCC), and organizes the annual China Cultural Day for FCC. In the 2000 Presidential election, he held classes to educate senior immigrants about the American democratic voting process and helped sign them up as informed and active voters. Dr. Peng has also served as president of the St. Louis Chinese Society and the local chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans.
The second recipient of the VIA Awards was Mr. Tony Gao, an immigration lawyer. Mr. Francis Yueh of the St. Louis Chinese American News introduced and gave background information on Mr. Gao. Mr. Gao has served the Midwest community for more than ten years. Mr. Gao assists immigrants, not only the Chinese and Asian American community, but also non-Asian such as Bosnian, Russian and Africans. Mr. Gao specializes in helping clients obtain permanence residence status and naturalization process. Mr. Gao works to secure justice, equal treatment and equal opportunity for Chinese and other Asian Americans. Currently, Mr. Gao is vice president of the St. Louis Chinese Association (SLCA) and a board director for the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) St. Louis Chapter. Mr. Gao is a founding member of the Missouri Asian Pacific Bar Association, which helps build relationships between the community and lawyer services. He is also serving as a Board member for the St. Louis Chinese American News Advisory Board, where he provides guidelines and advice for the Immigration Law section. Mr. Gao also speaks to local Chinese schools and organizations to help immigrants achieve their "American Dream".
Kathy
(R) showed International Channel program to Lyeen from
FCC
We the People campaign has been honored with a 2002 Cable Television Public Affairs Associations (CTPAA) Beacon Award, a 2002 Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) Southern California Chapter Golden Palm Award, and finalist for "In America" documentary series.
International Channel Networks is the trade name of International Cable Channels Partnership, Ltd. (a company 90 percent owned by Liberty Media Corporation and 10% owned by JJS II Communications, LLC.). Additional information can be found on
www.internationalchannel.com.
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