Chinese American Forum

Editor's note:  St. Louis Chinese American is proud to announce a new
affiliation with the Chinese American Forum (CAF).  CAF was established in
1982 by a group of Chinese American professionals in Washington D.C.   CAF
is a non-profit, non-partisan and non-sectarian organization.  Its goal is
to provide an open and public forum to cultivate and promote mutual
understanding between Chinese Americans and the general public.  To
achieve that goal,  a quarterly magazine is published to address issues
and concerns on culture, history, education, heritage and community
affairs.  The first CAF issue was published in May, 1985.  CAF readers
includes members of the White House, the U.S. Congress, university and
public libraries, and communities at large.  In 1997, the publishing of
CAF Quarterly was moved to the Greater St. Louis Area.  According to
Census data from 2000, the Chinese American population has increased by 48
percent to over 2.4 million since 1990.  The Chinese American is now the
largest group of all Asian ethnicity in the nation.  We feel that there is
a need to avoid the misunderstanding about Asian faces.  Let's start with
a true occurrence with an excerpt from the Washington Post, Saturday, June
19, 1999.

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

"Are you in the Chinese Air Force?"
By Ted W. Lieu, 
a U.S. Air Force Captain

"Are you in the Chinese Air Force?" the elegantly dressed lady sitting
next to me asked.  For a moment I was left speechless.  We were at an
award dinner, and I was wearing my blue U.S. Air Force uniform, complete
with captain's bars, military insignia, and medals.  Her question jarred
me and made me realize that even Air Force blue was not enough to reverse
her initial presumption that people with yellow skin and Asian features
are somehow not Americans.

I have had strangers come up to me and attempt to mimic the Chinese
language in a derogatory manner.  I have been told countless times that I
speak "good" English.  I have been asked why someone like me would be
interested in watching NFL football.  On any given day, if I walk around
with a camera, I will be mistaken for a tourist from Asia.  Most of the
discrimination I have encountered centered on the view that I am not a
part of this great nation, even though I grew up in Ohio, graduated from
law school in Washington D.C., and received my commission in the U.S. air
Force in 1991.

It is time to reverse the irrational and insidious presumption that Asian
Americans are foreigners, have dual loyalties or are somehow linked to the
government of a foreign country.  As an officer in the U.S. Air Force, one
day I may be called upon to give my life for my country.  It would be a
shame if some people still question what I mean when I say "my country."

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