[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 69 (Friday, May 24, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    COMMMEMORATING ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH ``UNITY IN 
                               FREEDOM''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PATSY T. MINK

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 23, 2002

  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today to 
commemorate May as APA Heritage Month. It is a time not only to honor 
the many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that have made 
contributions to our great society. It is also a time to remember that 
this greatness is based upon the richness and vitality of a culture 
that embraces diversity.
  The month of May was chosen as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 
to mark the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States in 
1843. The freedoms that were sought and acquired then are the same 
freedoms that draw the many immigrants to our country today. And it is 
our welcome that defines the ``unity in freedom'' we so desire.
  If not for our hospitality we would not have Yo-Yo Ma, who, in 1963, 
attended Julliard School of Music at the age of nine and has since 
enchanted the world with his brilliance as a cellist. Or we may not 
have the Viet Nam Memorial designed by architect Maya Ying Lin, whose 
parents emigrated to our country from China in the 1940s. When, as a 
student at Yale, she created the memorial's design.
  We look at the accomplishments of Asian Americans and Pacific Island 
athletes who have changed the face of sports with their extraordinary 
abilities. Duke Kahanamoku, a native Hawaiian, won three gold and two 
silver medals in swimming over the course of three Olympics in the 
early 20th century. Tiger Woods, golfer extraordinaire, had the 
opportunities at a very young age to excel at a sport that was once 
thought of as elitist. Figure skaters Kristi Yamaguchi, gold medalist 
in the 1992 Olympics, and Michelle Kwan, the most decorated women 
skater in history, have turned the Olympian dream into reality. Just 
recently the world witnessed Apollo Ohno, a Seattle native, take the 
Winter Olympics by storm as he rose to the top of his sport, short 
track speed skating, by being the first American to win the gold and 
silver medal.
  Perhaps a name less known to the world is Dr. David Ho, a molecular 
biologist, who, at the age of three emigrated with his family to our 
country in search of a better life. Dr. Ho's dedication as an AIDS 
researcher led to the development the anti-viral drug ``cocktails,'' 
that has earned him Time Magazine's 1996 Man of the Year.
  The grandeur of our universe is not big enough to hold the heroic 
deeds of our NASA astronauts. Two Asians have the distinction of being 
firsts. In 1996, Kalpana Chawla, a mission specialist on the space 
shuttle STS-87, was the first Indian American woman in space. Lt 
Colonel Ellison Onizuka, a Japanese American from the Big Island of 
Hawaii, loomed high as the first Asian American in space. Colonel 
Onizuka tragically lost his life in the 1986 Challenger explosion.
  Lest we not forget the Asian American and Pacific Island veterans who 
lost their lives in the service of our country. Their courage and 
gallantry has preserved the freedom and democracy that all Americans 
enjoy.

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