[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10564-10572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 6, 1999, the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) is 
recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to share 
with the American people and the Members of the House a special order 
on Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
  As many people know, and it is being widely celebrated in various 
communities throughout the Nation, May of every year is Asian Pacific 
American Heritage Month. I want to thank the previous speaker for 
making a clear distinction between some of the problems and some of the 
issues concerning espionage and some of the security issues that we are 
currently experiencing. Mr. Weldon certainly is one of the body's 
leading experts on national security, and I serve with him on the 
Committee on Armed Services, and while we may not fully agree on some 
of the interpretations given to some of the challenges we face, we are 
certainly unanimous in the sense that all of this discussion should 
stay clear of any kind of aspersions cast upon the Asian-American 
community.
  As chairman of the Asian Pacific American Caucus for the 106th 
Congress, it is my privilege and honor to try to bring to the attention 
of the body and the attention of the American people the multifaceted 
contributions of the Asian Pacific American community to American life 
and society.
  As members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus 
tonight, my colleagues that will participate and I will use this 
opportunity to honor, remember and celebrate the Asian and Pacific 
Islander Americans in our country.
  In fact, it is important to note that over 65 Congressional districts 
have a population of at least 5 percent Asian Pacific Americans, and 
some 28 Congressional districts have over 10 percent Asian Pacific 
Americans in their home areas.
  The history of APA month dates back to some legislation introduced by 
former representative Frank Horton from New York in 1978 establishing 
Asian Pacific American Heritage Week to draw attention to the 
contributions and to the conditions of this growing part of the 
American population. In 1990 the week was extended to a month, and it 
was not until 1992 that legislation was actually passed to make APA 
month a permanent occasion during the month of May.
  This is supposed to be the time that America recognizes the heritage 
that the many communities which actually make up the rubric of Asian 
Pacific America bring to the cultural complex of America, and it is a 
very complex contribution, and a series of actually many heritages.
  I am a Pacific islander, and with us today are the gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) a Pacific islander, and Mr. Wu, a 
freshman member from Oregon, who is of Chinese ancestry. We represent a 
wide variety of cultures and civilizations. Actually the area that we 
draw off account for over half of the world's population. These 
multiple heritages range from

[[Page 10565]]

the ancient civilizations of the Indian subcontinent and China, to the 
island Pacific, from Japan, Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines. We add 
our customs and traditions to the beautiful tapestry which makes up 
American life.

                              {time}  2030

  This diversity is good for America. Sometimes we think of minority 
groups, minority communities as somehow areas of problems to resolve, 
that there is always some dimension of them that invites solutions to 
some preceding problem.
  I want to happily acknowledge that, as Pacific Americans, indeed all 
Americans of all races and all ethnic backgrounds should be proud of 
who they are and the multifaceted contributions that they have made to 
America's social fabric.
  Despite the diversity of the backgrounds that make up the Asian 
Pacific American community, we are united by a characteristic concern 
for family, for making sure that we protect and nurture each other, 
those in our immediate once commonly referred to as nuclear family, as 
well as in our extended family, whether in education, in business, and 
just about everything in life, we are working hard not only for 
ourselves, but for our families, and making sure they get better 
opportunities and encouraging our young people while we pay attention 
to our elders.
  This concern for family across generations I think is characteristic, 
good strong characteristic of all of the communities which make up 
Asian Pacific America, and it is something that we proudly wish to 
share with the rest of America.
  This is the month where we can call attention to the best of our 
community and to demonstrate to Washington and to the Nation that Asian 
Pacific Americans are making their mark and making their contributions 
in all segments of society.
  There are people like Vera Wang and Josie Natori, both fashion 
designers who are internationally renowned for their creations. There 
are entrepreneurs like Jerry Yang, founder of Yahoo, Incorporated, and 
Robert Nakasone, president and chief executive officer of Toys ``R'' 
Us.
  We also shine in the education field. Dr. Chang-Lin Tien is the 
former chancellor of U.C. Berkeley and has made many outstanding 
contributions to the field of scientific research and journal 
publications and government consultation.
  In the field of the arts, we have performers like Yo-Yo Ma, a cellist 
with the Boston Symphony Orchestra who dazzles us with his artistry and 
has some 12 Grammy awards to his name.
  We also have actresses like Ming Na-Wen, who not only starred in 
critically acclaimed movies such as the ``Joy Luck Club,'' but also 
lent her voice to the famous animated musical ``Mulan.''
  In the area of government, we have outstanding civil leaders such as 
Bill Lann Lee, acting attorney general for civil rights, who has led 
our Nation's fight for equal opportunity for the past year and a half 
and has done an outstanding job.
  In our armed forces, we have General Eric Shinseki, current Vice 
Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army, who has had 33 years of military 
service, won numerous awards, and has recently been nominated to the 
post of Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army, which would make him the 
highest ranking officer in the U.S. Army, certainly the highest ranking 
officer of Asian Pacific American ancestry to rise to that position in 
our country's history.
  In the scientific field, we have innovative doctors such as Dr. David 
Ho, Times Magazine's 1996 Man of the Year. Dr. Ho is renowned for his 
ground-breaking research on HIV and AIDS, and he is currently the 
scientific director of the world's largest independent AIDS research 
laboratory.
  Kalpana Chawla, on the other hand, is renowned in her work on the 
1997 Columbia Space Shuttle mission. She is the first East Indian 
American who has traveled to space.
  In the media, we are graced with such talented television journalists 
as Ann Curry, a two-time Emmy award winning anchor, and she has joined 
the cast of ``NBC Dateline'' and the highly popular national morning 
news show, ``The Today Show.''
  Michelle Kwan's artistry and elegance on the ice have demonstrated to 
us just how far determination and dedication can take us. On the other 
hand, the grace of Michelle Kwan is balanced with the agility and force 
of Junior Seau. American Samoan by ancestry, Junior is a football 
player with the San Diego Chargers, has been voted for six consecutive 
Pro-Bowls and was named 1994 NFL linebacker of the year.
  We have, of course, the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega), who, despite the size of his congressional district, has 
more players in the NFL than probably any six other congressional 
districts combined. So I am sure he will tell us a little bit more 
about that.
  Of course we have in politics, we have not as many as we would like, 
but we certainly have a number of them.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to Vice Chair of the Asian Pacific American 
Caucus, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu), who has recently been 
featured in a very complimentary article in A Magazine, which is a 
national Asian magazine. I want to congratulate him for that. He has a 
number of issues to share. I was certainly glad that he has come to 
this House to grace us with his presence.
  Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) 
for yielding to me.
  It is a special pleasure for me to stand here in honor of Asian 
Pacific American Heritage Month. I am proud to serve as the Vice Chair 
of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and it is my great 
privilege to stand on the floor of this House as the first Chinese 
American to serve in this body in the 220-year history of this country.
  We all may have our small footnotes in history, but I try to keep a 
touch of humor, and in this town maybe even tougher, a touch of 
humility about what happens around here.
  I would like to share a little story that happened right here in this 
Chamber. The story is only slightly humorous, but perhaps more 
importantly, it helps illustrate the point which I would like to make 
tonight.
  When I was younger, I attended one year of medical school, and 
sometime during the fall of that year decided that I wanted to leave 
medical school to make a broader difference. When I called home to 
share that with my father, let us just say that he was not pleased. He 
was not pleased at all.
  During the next year, when I took a leave of absence and worked for a 
while, I received a stream of articles, newspaper articles from my 
parents, from my dad in particular, and it was all about doctors, 
doctors who were doing wonderful things in impoverished neighborhoods, 
really working in communities where they were needed. It was also about 
lawyers and those articles about ambulance-chasing lawyers who were up 
to no good. My father was really, really hoping, I think, that I would 
go back to medical school.
  Now fast forward 20 years, and I was sitting just about there on this 
floor. It was January 6 of this year. I was about to be sworn in as a 
Member of Congress, probably the proudest day of my live. My parents 
were sitting right up there. My wife was somewhere over here. My in-
laws were somewhere over here, and I could not see them.
  But I could see my father. I could see my father. As I looked up at 
him, I could not help but think, I wonder if he still wishes that I 
graduated from medical school?
  I am telling that story because I think that it is something very 
positive in our community, that we have a lot of people who have become 
prosperous, who are engineers, who are scientists, who are business 
owners, but very few people who have gone on to fields like law and 
politics.
  But I am proud to say that there is a movement afoot across America, 
and I am proud to report to the House tonight that there is a very 
positive trend occurring in Asian American communities. Gordon Quan in 
Houston, Max Inge in New York City, Barry Chang, whom I just visited in 
California, Silicon Valley, Charlie Woo, who is visiting in Washington 
today

[[Page 10566]]

but who is starting a movement in Los Angeles, and other places like my 
home in Portland, Oregon, from Chicago to St. Louis to Washington, 
D.C., where Asian Americans are recognizing the importance of 
encouraging the next generation to branch out, to branch out from the 
traditional professions like science, like engineering, as good as 
those professions are, from dentistry, from medicine, into new fields 
like art or journalism or law or even politics.
  I believe that it is vitally important for Asian Americans to 
participate in the political process. We often hear complaints about 
not being fairly treated in the media or in other public bodies. But I 
submit to my colleagues that the only way to make a truly lasting and 
positive and constructive difference is to get involved and to stay 
involved, to become part of shaping the dialogue and influencing the 
process ourselves.
  That is what is happening across the Nation today, to do what groups 
across America are doing to continue to instill in our generation and 
the next the importance of taking school seriously, and not just taking 
school seriously but taking participation in the political process 
seriously, to pass on to our young folks what we have learned from our 
lives and the lives of our parents: that the opportunity to participate 
in the American dream is a gift of the American spirit, and that we 
should not let any part of this gift slip away. We must fully 
participate in the process.
  I am grateful every day to share in that process. I do my job each 
and every day with the faith that we are serving a larger process. We 
all need to participate as Americans. This is the message being brought 
to other Asian Americans, to urge them to get involved and to stay 
involved.
  Each new immigrant group that comes to America has learned, sometimes 
the hard way, that to be a voice at the table, we must make sacrifices. 
We as Asian Americans are clearly in the early formative stages of 
political participation.
  Like every other group that has come to America before us, so many 
sacrifices have been made already. But one more sacrifice is left to be 
made. I add this to Asian Americans of the older generation, to those 
of my parents' generation, perhaps to anyone who is older than I: You 
who have made so many sacrifices already, you have come to a foreign 
country, learned a foreign language, you have worked hard to make your 
families prosperous. You have really helped your children get an 
education and helped them become Americans.
  That is perhaps one of the largest sacrifices that you have made, to 
encourage your children to grow up in this country, to be a part of 
this culture and, in so doing, to become different from you. It is a 
great sacrifice for any parent to make, and countless generations of 
immigrants before you have made that sacrifice.
  But I am here to ask you to make one more sacrifice, and that is to 
encourage your children to pursue their passions, no matter what that 
passion is, whether that is to become a doctor or become a dentist or 
teacher. But if they choose to become an artist, a journalist, a 
lawyer, or even to enter into public life, to encourage them in the 
pursuit of that passion, to make one more sacrifice for your children.
  I will say to your children that it is a two-way street. When I was 
young, my parents encouraged me to keep up my Chinese and to study 
hard. There was always something better to do, whether it was to go out 
and play with my friends or because the ice cream truck was coming by.
  I say to the younger generation, listen to what your parents have to 
say. Keep in touch with the culture and the language. It is good for 
you, and your parents are asking something that will be ultimately good 
for you, and you will appreciate it in the years to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand on the floor of the House tonight on 
the occasion of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and report to my 
colleagues that, while much still remains to be accomplished, we have 
made great progress, and we will continue to make that progress year by 
year, generation by generation.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. 
Wu) for his remarks, and he certainly tried to encourage generations, 
the younger generation, to increase their level of participation in the 
public and political life in this country.
  During this past week, as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage 
Month, there were efforts here to help train some locally elected 
officials from various parts of the country who are of Asian Pacific 
American heritage, and that is a very important contribution. I think 
it is good not only for those communities, I think it is good for 
America and certainly will help to strengthen America.

                              {time}  2045


                             General Leave

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to be permitted to include therein extraneous material on 
the subject of this special order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from American 
Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), my fellow Pacific Island brother, for any 
remarks he might add. I am proud to say that he went to school on Guam 
in middle school.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the 
opportunity to hold this celebration to commemorate the rich and 
diverse heritage of Asian-Pacific Americans who call our great Nation, 
the greatest democracy in the world, home.
  I want to further commend our host, the gentleman from Guam (Mr. 
Underwood), chairman of the congressional Asia-Pacific Caucus and my 
fellow Pacific Islander, for his tremendous leadership of the Asia-
Pacific Caucus and his magnificent job in coordinating this event 
today.
  And I certainly would like to commend my colleague, the gentleman 
from Oregon (Mr. Wu) and also the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink), 
who will also be participants, as they will be participating in this 
dialogue.
  A few years ago, I was privileged, along with my Asian-Pacific 
colleagues on Capitol Hill, to attend a special White House ceremony 
where President Clinton signed an official proclamation declaring the 
month of May as ``National Asian-Pacific Heritage Month.''
  Today I am privileged again to be here before my colleagues to speak 
to the Nation and to our colleagues and to share this occasion honoring 
the enduring legacy of those Americans whose roots extend from the 
soils of nations in the Asian-Pacific region.
  Mr. Speaker, in honoring this month as our national Asian-Pacific 
Heritage Month, it was my privilege to have been invited recently to 
speak before our men and women in uniform stationed at Fort Campbell, 
Kentucky, Fort Knox, Kentucky, and also at Edwards Air Force Base in 
California to share with them an historical perspective on the 
contributions of the Asian-Pacific community as part of our Nation's 
heritage.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to personally thank Major General Robert Clark, 
the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division; Colonel Virgil 
Packett, II, the Assistant Division Commander; and Command Sergeant 
Major Iuni Savusa, both members of the 101st Airborne Division. I want 
to thank these gentlemen for the courtesies, the briefings, and the 
hospitality that were extended to me during my visit.
  And my commendations also go to Colonel Scott Feil, Commander of the 
First Armored Training Brigade; Colonel George Edwards, the Garrison 
Commander; Mr. Jack Eubanks, the Chief Protocol Officer; and Sergeant 
First Class Emani Masaniai of Fort Knox, Kentucky.
  These gentlemen received me during my visit at Fort Knox, and they 
did a splendid job in making the proper preparations for the special 
event and the opportunity to meet with the active

[[Page 10567]]

duty and retired military personnel and their families. I thank them 
for my visit to Fort Knox.
  Last but not least, Mr. Speaker, I want to also extend my sincere 
thanks and appreciation to Major General Richard Reynolds, the 
Commanding General of the Edwards Air Force Base Flight Test Center; 
Mr. Jim Papa, the Executive Director of the Air Force Flight Test 
Center; Ms. Mary Jane Gugliotte, the Protocol Officer; Ms. Leonila 
Marcelino of the Asian-Pacific Employment Office; Mr. Nuu Moa of the 
Samoan community; and Air Force Major Kevin Toy from the Air Force 
Congressional Liaison Office. I want to thank them all for making my 
stay at Edwards Air Force Base a positive experience that I will not 
forget.
  In particular, I want to thank General Clark of the 101st Airborne 
Division and General Reynolds of the Edwards Air Force Base Test Center 
for the depth of their knowledge of our Nation's security needs. And I 
thank both of these gentlemen for the outstanding leadership roles that 
they demonstrate not only to the airmen and soldiers under their 
commands, but more importantly their commitment to provide as best as 
possible for the needs of our men and women in uniform and especially 
their families.
  Mr. Speaker, I am privileged today to be here before my colleagues to 
speak to the Nation and to share this occasion in celebrating the 
contributions of the Asian-Pacific American community, well over 10 
million strong and among the fastest growing demographic group in the 
United States today.
  During this time for celebration, it is only fitting that we honor 
our fellow citizens of Asia-Pacific descent, both from the past and 
from the present, that have blessed and enriched our Nation. I submit 
that the Asian-Pacific Americans have certainly been an asset to our 
country's development, and it is appropriate that we make this 
recognition accordingly.
  As many of you are aware, immigrants from the Asia-Pacific countries 
are amongst the newest wave to arrive in the United States in recent 
years. However, they are merely the latest chapter in the long history 
of Asian-Pacific Americans in our nation.
  The people of Asia-Pacific have contributed much to America's 
development in the field of sciences and medicine. For example, nothing 
exemplifies this more than Time Magazine's selection of a Chinese 
American in 1996 as its Man of the Year, Dr. David Ho, head of the 
prestigious Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at New York City's New 
York University Medical School.
  Dr. Ho's journey started as a 12-year-old immigrant from Taiwan. 
Gracing the cover of Time Magazine has given hope to millions of people 
around the world afflicted by the HIV virus. His story is a stirring 
testimony to the significant concrete contributions that Asian-Pacific 
American immigrants have made to our Nation. Dr. Ho's scientific 
advances continue a long record of service by Asian-Pacific Americans.
  In 1899, a Japanese immigrant arrived on the shores of this Nation. 
After years of study and work, this man, Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, isolated 
the syphilis germ, leading to a cure for the deadly, widespread 
disease.
  For decades, Dr. Makio Murayama, a Japanese-American, conducted vital 
research in the United States that laid the groundwork for combating 
sickle cell anemia.
  In 1973, Dr. Leo Esaki, another Japanese-American, an immigrant also 
to our country, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in physics for his 
electron tunneling theories.
  And in engineering, Mr. Speaker, few have matched the architectural 
masterpieces created by the genius of Chinese-American, I.M. Pei.
  In the field of business and commerce, the names of prominent Asian-
Pacific American corporate leaders and legal scholars are too numerous 
to mention. One only need read our Nation's top periodicals and 
newspapers to document that Asian-Pacific American students, both in 
high school and at secondary and post-secondary levels are among the 
brightest minds that our Nation has produced.
  In the entertainment field and sports, American martial arts expert 
Bruce Lee, the late Bruce Lee, captivated the movie audiences of this 
Nation while destroying the stereotype of that passive, quiet Asian-
American male.
  World class conductor Seiji Ozawa has led the San Francisco Symphony 
Orchestra through some brilliant performances over the years.
  About 70 years ago, Mr. Speaker, a native Hawaiian named Duke 
Kahanamoku shocked the world by winning the Olympic Gold Medal in 
swimming, followed by Dr. Sammy Lee, a Korean-American who also won an 
Olympic Gold Medal in high diving.
  And the strange thing about Dr. Sammy Lee, Mr. Speaker, at the time 
when the Olympic members of our team were practicing for the Olympics 
at that time, Dr. Lee was not even permitted to practice along with his 
fellow divers, American divers, simply because he was not white.
  Then there was Tommy Kono of Hawaii, also an Olympic Gold Medalist in 
weightlifting. And, yes, perhaps the greatest Olympic diver ever known 
to the world, a Samoan-American by the name of Greg Louganis, who 
recorded a record in gold medals and national championships that will 
be in the books for a long, long time.
  And, yes, the enthralling Olympic ice-skating performances of 
Japanese-American Kristi Yamaguchi and Chinese-American Michelle Kwan 
continue the legacy of milestone achievements by our Asian-Pacific 
community.
  In professional sports, of course, we have Michael Chang blazing new 
paths in the sport of tennis. Pacific Islanders, and I know some of our 
fellow Americans are not well up on the sport of rugby, but by 
mentioning names of Pacific Islanders like Brian Williams and Jonah 
Lomu and Michael Jones and others of Polynesian descent.
  And, yes, in the field of professional American football, as has been 
alluded to earlier by my colleague from Guam (Mr. Underwood), we 
currently have approximately 21 American-Samoans who play in the NFL. 
And I am humble enough to say that we probably produce more NFL 
players, Mr. Speaker, than anybody here in this country.
  Yes, Junior Seau, the perennial all-pro linebacker from the San Diego 
Chargers. I am sorry to say that Jesse Sapolu of the San Francisco 
Forty-Niners just recently retired.
  I can go on, Mr. Speaker, but my colleagues might be bored by their 
hearing these remarks.
  In the field of professional boxing, I would suggest to my colleagues 
and to my fellow Americans to keep an eye on this young Samoan 
heavyweight boxer by the name of David Tua. Yes, David Tua. He now 
ranks among the top 10 in the world in the heavyweight division in 
boxing.
  And one of the brightest stars to emerge recently from our community, 
Mr. Speaker, is none other than Tiger Woods. Yes, Tiger Woods, the 
professional golfer. I think Tiger Woods could not have said it better. 
He is part American Indian, he is part black American, he is part 
white; but his mother is from Thailand. And he said this is what makes 
him the best golfer there is in the world.
  Tiger made history, of course, in one of the world's most important 
golf tournaments. And before his career is finished, I submit, Mr. 
Speaker, he will reinvent the game of golf.
  We also have Asian-Pacific Americans who are making their mark in 
history not in our country, but in the Far East. Yes, a Samoan-American 
by the name of Salevaa Atisanoe weighs over 578 pounds, participates in 
the ancient sport in Japan called sumo wrestling and wrestles by the 
name of Konishiki. Yes, he weighs only 578 pounds, Mr. Speaker, but he 
can bench press 600 pounds. Figure that out. Konishiki was the first 
foreigner in Japan's centuries-old sport to break through to the 
rarified air of sumo's second highest rank.
  And another of Tongan-Samoan descent, Mr. Leitani Peitani, who now is 
known basically as Musashimaru, has also gained prominence in the sport 
of sumo wrestling.
  And, yes, we also have native Hawaiian Chad Rowen, who wrestles by 
the name of Akebono, the first foreigner to

[[Page 10568]]

achieve the highest ranking in this ancient sport and the rank of 
Yokozuna.
  Mr. Speaker, in honoring the Asian-Pacific Americans that have served 
to enrich our country, I would be remiss not only as a Vietnam veteran, 
but as a former member of the 100th Battalion 442nd Infantry Reserve 
Unit in Hawaii if I did not honor the contributions of the Japanese-
Americans who served in the U.S. Army's 100th Army Battalion and 442nd 
Infantry Combat Group.
  Mr. Speaker, history speaks for itself in documenting that none have 
shed their blood more valiantly for America than the Japanese-Americans 
who served in these units while fighting enemy forces in Europe during 
World War II.
  Mr. Speaker, the records of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry 
are without equal. These Japanese-American units suffered an 
unprecedented casualty rate of 314 percent and received over 18,000 
individual declarations, many awarded posthumously, for bravery and 
courage in the field of battle.
  Given the tremendous sacrifices of lives, a high number of medals 
were awarded to these units: 52 Distinguished Service Crosses; 560 
Silver Stars; 9,480 Purple Hearts. I find it unusual, Mr. Speaker, that 
only one Medal of Honor was awarded.
  Nonetheless, 442nd Combat Group emerged as the most decorated combat 
unit of its size in the history of the United States Army. President 
Truman was so moved by their bravery on the field of battle, as well as 
that of black American soldiers who served in World War I and World War 
II, that he issued an executive order to desegregate the armed 
services.
  I am proud to say we can count on the Honorable Daniel Inouye and the 
late Senator Spark Matsunaga, both from the State of Hawaii, as not 
only Members of Congress that distinguished themselves in battle as 
soldiers with the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry. It was while 
fighting in Europe that Senator Inouye lost his arm and was awarded the 
Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest medal for bravery, as 
it is noted today.
  These Japanese-Americans, Mr. Speaker, paid their dues in blood to 
protect our Nation from its enemies. And it is a shameful mark, Mr. 
Speaker, on the history of our country that when the patriotic 
survivors of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Infantry returned to the 
United States, many of these soldiers were reunited with their parents, 
their brothers and sisters, who were locked up behind barbed wire 
fences living in concentration camps.

                              {time}  2100

  My colleagues on the hill might be interested to know that the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui) and former Representative Norman 
Mineta were children of the concentration camps. Mr. Speaker, I do not 
know if I am ever able to perform what these Japanese American soldiers 
could do. If you could well imagine coming home from war, facing the 
reality that you might never return and then when you come home, you 
have to find your parents and your brothers and sisters in these 
concentration camps, I say, Mr. Speaker, something was awfully wrong at 
that time in our country.
  The wholesale and arbitrary abolishment of the constitutional rights 
of these loyal Japanese Americans will forever serve as a reminder and 
testament that this must never be allowed to occur again. When this 
miscarriage of justice unfolded in World War II, while some Americans 
of German and Italian ancestry were discriminated against, these 
Americans were not similarly jailed en masse like Japanese Americans. 
Some declared the incident as an example of outright racism and bigotry 
in its ugliest form. After viewing the Holocaust Museum recently, Mr. 
Speaker, in Washington, D.C., I understand better why the genocide of 
some 6 million Jews has prompted the cry, ``Never again. Never again.'' 
Likewise, I sincerely hope that mass internments on the basis of race 
will never again darken the history of our great Nation. I am also told 
that probably one of the reasons why the Italian Americans were not 
also placed in concentration camps, can you imagine if Joe DiMaggio's 
father was given the same treatment at the time when Joe DiMaggio was 
the great American baseball player and hero of all the people? That is 
exactly what happened.
  To those that say, ``Well, that occurred decades ago,'' I say, we 
must continue to be vigilant in guarding against such evils today.
  I am pleased to announce for the first time, as has been mentioned 
earlier by my colleague from Guam, that President Clinton has nominated 
General Eric Shinseki, an American of Japanese descent from the State 
of Hawaii, to become the new Chief of Staff for the Army. General 
Shinseki is currently the Vice Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army. 
Previous to his current position, General Shinseki was formerly 
Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, Commander of Allied Land Forces 
in Central Europe and was Commander of the NATO Stabilization Force in 
Bosnia.
  I am pleased by General Shinseki's appointment. It was not long ago 
we had the case of Bruce Yamashita, a Japanese American from Hawaii who 
was discharged from the Marine Corps officer training program in an 
ugly display of racial discrimination. Marine Corps superiors taunted 
Yamashita with ethnic slurs and told him, ``We don't want your kind 
around here. Go back to your own country.'' The situation was made 
worse when the Commandant of the Marine Corps at the time who appeared 
on television's ``60 Minutes'' stated, ``Marine officers who are 
minorities do not shoot, swim or use compasses as well as white 
officers.''
  After years of perseverance and appeals, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Yamashita 
was vindicated after proving he was the target of vicious racial 
harassment during his officer training program. The Secretary of the 
Navy's investigation into whether minorities were deliberately being 
discouraged from becoming officers in the Marine Corps resulted in 
Yamashita receiving finally his commission as a captain in the United 
States Marine Corps.
  I am also disturbed, Mr. Speaker, by events of recent years involving 
campaign funding where the integrity of the Asian Pacific American 
community has been unfairly tarnished in the media for the alleged 
transgressions of a few.
  I find this racial scapegoating to be repugnant and morally 
objectionable. Playing up fears of the ``Asian connection'' serves to 
alienate Asian Pacific Americans from participating in our political 
process. Moreover, this negative reporting acts to marginalize Asian 
Pacific American political empowerment at a time when we are coming of 
age in American politics.
  When whites raise money for whites, it is called gaining political 
power. But when Asian Pacific Americans begin to participate, we are 
accused of being foreigners trying to infiltrate the mainstream of our 
Nation's political system. On this note, Mr. Speaker, remember the 
Oklahoma City bombing incident? Americans of Arab descent were 
immediately targeted and investigated by local Federal law enforcement 
agencies. Mr. Speaker, I submit it is simply wrong and unAmerican to 
react this way.
  To protect America's greatness, we should all be sensitive to the 
fact that democratic participation by people of all races and 
backgrounds, including Asian Pacific Americans, is crucial to our 
Nation's health and vitality.
  I believe Yamashita's case and the hysteria surrounding the Asian 
Pacific American contributions bear implications not just for the 
military and the media but for our society as a whole. It asks the 
question, how long do we have to endure the attitude of those who 
consider Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities as lesser 
Americans?
  I applaud Captain Yamashita and others like him who have spoken out 
to ensure that racial discrimination is not tolerated. During this 
month as we recognize the diverse experiences and contributions of the 
Asian Pacific American community to our Nation, I would hope that we 
will all take inspiration from this example.
  When I envision America, I do not see a melting pot, Mr. Speaker, 
designed to reduce and remove racial differences.

[[Page 10569]]

The America I see is a brilliant rainbow, a rainbow of ethnicities and 
cultures, with each people proudly contributing in their own 
distinctive and unique way. That is what America is all about. And 
Asian Pacific Americans wish to find a just and equitable place in our 
society that will allow them, like all Americans to grow, to succeed, 
to achieve and contribute to the advancement of this great Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish there were no labels. I wish I was not considered 
a Pacific American or an Asian American or a Black American or a Native 
American. I never hear of people classifying themselves as French 
Americans, or British Americans. But why these labels?
  With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, I would like to close my remarks by 
asking, what is America all about? I think it could not have been said 
better than on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 in that hot 
summer when a Black American, an American, by the name of Martin Luther 
King Jr. echoed this saying, ``I have a dream. My dream is that one day 
my children will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the 
content of their character.''
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from American Samoa 
for those very inspirational remarks and the cataloging of a number of 
successes that members of various Asian Pacific American communities 
have had and their contributions that have been made to this country. 
Nevertheless we continue to face many serious issues. Sometimes we must 
address those issues in a way that communities must in order to find 
ways to resolve problems that continue to exist. Some of these problems 
are long-standing. Some of them have to do with new immigrant status. 
Some of them have to do with current practices and current laws and 
current perceptions.
  I know that in that regard and in working on those issues, the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii has been on the forefront of many of these 
issues. She has had a very distinguished career here in the House of 
Representatives and has served as previous chair of the Congressional 
Asian Pacific American Caucus, Mr. Speaker, and in that capacity not 
only continued the struggle for fairness and justice and equality in 
this country but continued to serve as a mentor for those of us who are 
following in her footsteps.
  I yield to the gentlewoman from Hawaii.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Guam 
(Mr. Underwood), and I want to express the appreciation of all of the 
members of the Asian Pacific Congressional Caucus for his leadership 
and for his effort in making sure that we have this time this evening 
in which to express our thoughts about Asian Pacific issues. The 
gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) has certainly 
demonstrated in the short time that he took this evening the extensive 
record that has been accomplished by so many Asian Pacific individuals 
throughout this country. I know that he just elaborated on a few. If we 
had time, we could document many, many more individuals who certainly 
have brought great credit and recognition to the Asian Pacific 
community throughout this country. I do not think that there is a 
single individual in the Congress of the United States that does not 
recognize the contributions that have been made by Asian Pacific 
individuals, even in their constituencies. But notwithstanding the 
tremendous accomplishments of so many of our distinguished Asian 
Pacific brothers and sisters throughout this country, there are still 
some very nagging problems that confront us, problems that have to do 
with the way we look and the assumptions that people make because of 
the way we look, the way we are treated when we enter certain places, 
how we are looked down upon because of the mere fact of our Asian 
appearance. The conclusions that are leaped to, that we neither speak 
English nor have been educated in this country, and that we are 
undoubtedly immigrants, recent immigrants, or some characterization 
like that. This is very hurtful for many Asians. And so compounding on 
this day-to-day experience that we have to endure and suffer throughout 
our lives, the crescendo of criticism that has been levied upon all of 
us because of the misconduct of a few or the apparent misconduct of a 
few among us is an extremely painful experience. As the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Wu) suggested, we have a huge task, therefore, as Asian 
Pacific elected individuals in the Congress of the United States to 
serve as role models, to make sure that the young people who are 
thinking in terms of government service, of elective office, or seeking 
high positions in their local communities, that they are not 
discouraged by this dramatic news coverage that hits us every now and 
then.
  Following the 1996 campaign, there was so much controversy that even 
the Congress got overwhelmed by a lot of that discussion. Out of it I 
believe came some of the very, very discouraging amendments that were 
added to welfare reform legislation and campaign spending reform 
legislation which singled out people in our society who are legally 
present in this country, who are legal residents but notwithstanding 
were somehow characterized by virtue of their status as not worthy 
Americans. They could not participate in programs, even though they had 
worked their 10 years and paid their taxes into Social Security, they 
were somehow unworthy because they had not seen fit to become U.S. 
citizens and therefore were pushed aside and denigrated and certain 
programs were denied them.
  In the campaign spending reform, what was the most egregious 
provision that was added in a floor amendment was to say that a legal 
resident could not make a political contribution to a Federal 
candidate, and that the Federal candidate in receiving a contribution 
from a legal resident could be held accountable and even criminally 
found accountable for having received such a contribution. That was the 
most egregious of all the provisions that have been added over the 
years. I found that so egregious, that notwithstanding the fact that I 
was a strong supporter from the very beginning of campaign spending 
reform, I felt compelled in the end to vote against that legislation 
because I could not tolerate the idea that we were enacting into law 
this kind of disparate treatment of people who are legally within the 
United States.
  So I would hope that when we take up campaign spending reform again 
this year, that that provision is not included or not considered for an 
appropriate amendment.
  My point is that we have achieved a lot as a group, but there are 
continuing problems as we go through our lives. And it is important for 
the Asian Pacific community to stand up as a group, to be proud of 
their contributions to American life, proud of their citizenship, proud 
of their ancestry and of those who have come in recently, and to always 
work to defend their right to live here under the Constitution and to 
be fully protected by all of the provisions of the Constitution of the 
United States.
  I want to take this opportunity this evening to thank the members on 
both sides, the House and the Senate, in their work in the conference 
committee in approving the $4.3 million which is the last funding for 
the payment of the reparations that the gentleman from American Samoa 
mentioned had been enacted in 1988 to pay for the great harm, the 
insult, the travesty that occurred in their being placed in relocation 
camps during World War II.

                              {time}  2115

  Congress finally said this is a terrible wrong, the Constitution was 
totally abrogated in this instance, and so for all those who survived, 
in 1988 they were provided a payment of $20,000 for each survivor. The 
funds simply ran out, and there was not enough money in the fund to pay 
the last several hundred of those that have been found eligible. So the 
Congress in its wisdom provided the extra dollars to make sure that 
every single person found eligible received their sum that the Congress 
had promised.
  One added implication to this whole issue was the fact that late in 
the whole process it became known that

[[Page 10570]]

Japanese individuals who were living in Latin America were picked up in 
the dark of the night and put on board ship, and shipped over to the 
United States and placed in the same types of concentration camps with 
the concurrence of the Latin American governments and under the 
instruction by the United States Government. These individuals have 
been trying to qualify for the same benefits that have been accorded 
our own Japanese American citizens, but despite their efforts they were 
denied under some sort of legal argument that they were not legally 
here.
  Well, how could they be legally here if they were kidnapped in the 
middle of the night? Most of these individuals, now part of our 
communities, many of them have become citizens and are part of our 
community, and they felt very, very much discriminated against when 
they were excluded from the arrangements that the Congress made in 
1988.
  Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, the Justice Department entered into a 
settlement with these individuals, not quite as much as the other AJAs, 
but at least a recognition of the great harm that had been perpetrated 
upon these individuals, several thousand of them who were captured in 
the night and brought here under the assumption that they would be 
traded with our prisoners of war that were captured by Japan, and 
indeed about 800 of them were, in fact, bartered in this way and were 
moved over to Japan and perhaps continued to live there. But 
nonetheless, the Congress has accepted responsibility, the 
administration has accepted responsibility for this terrible act in the 
middle of war and made some measure of compensation.
  I would hope, as the delegate from American Samoa said, that there 
would be continuing lessons to be learned by what happened during World 
War II, and I think it is our job to continue this education process, 
and so in moments like this it is important to remind the country about 
what happened. In another generation it will probably be forgotten. 
That is the tragedy: We have no place in which this story can be 
permanently told so that the people in this country can understand what 
happened, and what a terrible injustice it was and an outright 
violation of the U.S. Constitution.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I hope that there will be efforts to establish a 
fund, an education fund that will be meaningful and will carry this 
story not in a negative sense of condemnation, but in a hopeful sense 
that this kind of history would never be repeated again, ever, to any 
segment of our population.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii 
for her eloquent statement, and as the gentlewoman will know, tomorrow 
is going to be a very important occasion whereby the Cox committee is 
going to submit a report to the Congress and to the Nation. This is in 
reference, of course, to the issue of the Chinese government having 
solicited or gaining access to the secrets and the computers and all of 
that. And I, as a member of the Committee on International Relations, I 
thank the gentleman that talked or made his presentation earlier this 
evening, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon).
  The fear that I have in what is going to happen tomorrow and in the 
coming weeks, and I am just going to simply label it China bashing, and 
I am very concerned about this because this is going to be exactly the 
issue that we have tried to discuss this evening where the stereotyping 
and the labeling becomes so instantaneous, and I must submit that the 
media is not going to do any better, that we can just see what is going 
to happen to the Chinese American community. They are all going to be 
looked upon with suspicion and having some second thoughts about them 
being not American simply because they are Chinese.
  And I sincerely hope that this is not going to be the case, but I am 
fearful, just as has been my experience in the several hearings that we 
have held in the Committee on International Relations when we talk 
about human rights. It seems that we have only focused on human rights 
violations in China, but not on other countries and other regions of 
the world. And I seriously raise the issue if there is fairness and 
equity in the process, just as I would like to submit that in 
tomorrow's presentation that there should be a firm understanding that 
this has nothing to do with the Chinese people.
  And what I am really puzzled about is that even our own allies have 
spied upon this government, and there seems to be no word or indication 
from the media that Chinese are not the only ones that are spying, if 
they, in fact, are doing this. But I understand through the media that 
the report is quite firm, with whatever data that they are going to 
submit, that this did happen. But I am at least grateful to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania saying this should not be taken as an 
attack, not only to our Chinese-American community but even to the 
Chinese government, because it was our own government and officials 
that were responsible.
  So I think that again I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding 
and to allow me to submit this concern that I have in listening to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania, the remarks he had made earlier about this 
report that is going to be submitted tomorrow.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. The temptation is certainly going to be ever 
present that people will scapegoat and bash and make generalizations 
about the entire Asian community. If one looked at my colleague, the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu) and my colleague, the gentleman from 
Guam (Mr. Underwood), perhaps not so much my colleague from American 
Samoa, but his mustache, but myself, they probably could not make a 
distinction. Somebody would probably think we are all Chinese.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I have been to Israel, and they think 
that I am Arab; I have been to Pakistan, they think I am Indian; I have 
been to India, they think I am Polynesian; and, coming from the 
islands, they think I am from the Punjab region of India; and the 
gentlewoman probably remembers, and I remember last year one of my own 
colleagues right here on this floor of the House addressed me as the 
gentleman from Somalia.
  So I fully understand. There is a little problem of understanding 
where I come from.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, however we come out on this whole 
issue of China's connection with what occurred at the labs, I certainly 
think that it is up to us to be completely vigilant on how this debate 
is characterized, that when they are talking about the government of 
China, that they make absolutely clear that they are not disparaging in 
any way the Chinese American people who are living in the United 
States. I mean that has to be the bottom line for all of us, to be 
there, to make sure that the debate, the media frenzy and all of that 
that will follow does not in any way characterize the loyal, hard-
working, diligent, wonderful Chinese Americans who are living within 
the United States.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, the point is well made by the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii.
  A classic example: The gentleman that has been fired from the 
Department of Energy, supposedly giving secrets, in the media, the 
first instance, it is a Chinese American. Never say the name of the 
gentleman, but why does it have to be stated that he is a Chinese 
American? That is my point, and I think it is wrong for the media to 
make these types of stereotypes.
  I do not hear my fellow Americans saying a French American doing this 
or a British American or a Scandinavian American or a Balkanese 
American. Why the labels? And I just think that the media has done a 
real disservice in adding this frenzy or this hype on this race issue 
which I really think is not only inappropriate but is just out of 
place.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, we have our task cut out for us, 
and I do want to thank the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) again 
for making this time available to me. I did want to go into the matter 
of the Filipino veterans and the great inequity

[[Page 10571]]

that they have had to endure, but understanding that we are having a 
special order on that issue alone some time during the week, I will 
refrain from putting these remarks in at this time and await that other 
period.
  So I thank the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood). I appreciate his 
leadership in this effort tonight.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank very much the gentlewoman from 
Hawaii (Mrs. Mink), and as she has indicated, we will have a special 
order on the matter of the Filipino veterans I believe on Wednesday, 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner), who has taken a strong 
leadership position on that issue, and the gentlewoman's own work in 
terms of the work of the Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus has been 
remarkable in this. So this is one of the ongoing issues that is a 
remnant of the war experience, Filipinos who have fought under the U.S. 
flag, but being denied the veterans' benefits that were promised to 
them as a result of them fighting under the American flag against the 
common enemy.
  Just to add a little bit more to the issue of how the espionage 
should be dealt with, it is important, and not just for perceptual 
reasons, because that in itself is important, but it will have an 
impact on the employment and contractual opportunities of individuals, 
and that is where the rubber hits the road on issues like this, in much 
the same way that was experienced during all the discussion of the 
fund-raising scandals. I know that I heard many reports from 
individuals who had difficulties having access to elected officials, 
who had appointments broken, and to the same extent that if we are not 
careful in how we deal with this particular issue, there will be 
additional questions asked of Asian American scientists. And in a way 
it is an ironic contrast to the fact that the technological lead role 
of this country is due in large measure to the presence of Asian 
American scientists, and in fact Asian American scientists continue to 
make this country much more secure, not less secure, and certainly much 
stronger and not weaker.
  The Asian Pacific American Caucus has many serious issues to attend 
to: the issue of Filipino Veterans' Rights v. Cayetano, a native 
Hawaiian case; an effort to try to get President Clinton to meet 
leaders of the South Pacific nations; census issues; immigration rights 
issues; and health issues which we will continue to work on as a 
caucus. But we tend to look at APA month as a time to bring recognition 
to this enormous community which has made significant progress in this 
country and enormous contributions to strengthen this country, and we 
will continue to pursue those issues.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I join my 
colleagues of the Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus in recognizing the 
month of May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
  This year's theme, ``Celebrating Our Legacy,'' commemorates the 
contributions Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have made 
to our country. What better place than our nation's Capitol to 
highlight the historical legacy of Asian and Pacific Islander 
Americans.
  Their contributions, which have enriched our American society and 
strengthened its core values, are vast and varied. This evening I would 
like to focus on their valiant efforts to protect our nation.
  There is no better example of the critical role Asian Pacific 
Islanders played in defense of our country than during World War II. 
Although their families and friends were forcibly being moved out of 
their homes and put into internment camps encircled by barbed wire, 
Japanese American men insisted on being allowed to fight for their 
country. This resulted in the formation of the 442nd Regimental Combat 
Team.
  Among the 442nd,s many heroes is Sadao Munemori from Los Angeles. Mr. 
Munemori received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for 
saving the lives of his fellow soldiers while sacrificing his own.
  In Europe, on April 5, 1945, Mr. Munemori led the attack against the 
last stronghold of Hitler's army in Italy. Thrust into command when his 
squad leader was wounded, Munemori attacked two German machine gun 
nests that had pinned down his squad in a minefield. After withdrawing 
due to heavy enemy fire, Munemori took refuge in a shell crater already 
occupied by two of his men. When an unexploded hand grenade bounced off 
his helmet and rolled toward his companions, Munemori jumped on it, 
absorbing the blast.
  In the South Pacific, Filipino American soldiers fought along side 
American soldiers in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. For 
almost four years, during the most intense and strategically important 
phases of World War II, more than 200,000 Filipinos fought side-by-side 
with Allied forces and willingly sacrificed their lives and well-being 
in defense of freedom. By holding off the enemy at the Battle of 
Corregidor for six months, these Filipino American veterans enabled 
forces to mobilize back home. Moreover, many Filipino American soldiers 
lost their lives as POW's during the Bataan Death March, demonstrating 
their ultimate loyalty to our country. These courageous men won the 
freedom of the Filipino people and made a tremendous impact on our 
ability to prevail in the Pacific Theater.
  There are many more unsung heroes like Mr. Munemori and the Filipino 
veterans. And it is their legacy that we celebrate during the month of 
May. Generations of Asian Americans have given us their culture, 
traditions, and values and greatly enriched American society. I ask all 
my colleagues to join us in expressing our heartfelt appreciation to 
all Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent for their 
contributions to our country.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Asian Pacific American 
Heritage Month this month and to introduce a congressional resolution 
which condemns prejudice against Asian and Pacific Islander Americans 
and supports the political and civic participation by Americans of 
Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry.
  All too often, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans are subject to 
prejudice and acts of violence that often go unnoticed by the public 
eye. These Americans have suffered unfounded and demagogic accusations 
of disloyalty throughout the history of the United States. A 1992 
report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that Asian and 
Pacific islander Americans are still frequent victims of racially 
motivated bigotry and violence. As recently as this past weekend, the 
Los Angeles times published a story reciting recent and increasing 
incidence of ethnic prejudice at our nation's nuclear weapon 
laboratories because of the ongoing investigations at Los Alamos.
  Mr. Speaker, we should recognize the rich cultural heritage of the 
Asian and Pacific Islander American community and all these communities 
have contributed to America and American values. We must distinguish 
between the activities of spies and foreign agents and those in the 
Asian American communities that contribute tremendous energy and 
knowledge to our nation's economy and defense.
  In my Congressional District, which includes Silicon Valley, 
Americans of Asian ancestry are intimately involved in making the 
technology sector vibrant and our economy expand. But mine is not the 
only example we can find. Asian and Pacific Americans are woven into 
our national and local communities and add cultural diversity, 
knowledge attainment, and loyalty to America and the values we hold 
dear.
  I'm proud to reintroduce a congressional resolution tonight which 
condemns all prejudice against Asian and Pacific Islander Americans and 
supports the political and civic participation by these Americans.
  We must not forget the strength our country has gained from the 
inspiration, the hard work and the loyalty of Americans of Asian and 
Pacific Islander ancestry and what their contributions have meant for a 
stronger, more prosperous America.

               [From the Los Angeles Times, May 21, 1999]

          Spy Scare Taints Labs' Climate, Asian Americans Say

                           (By Nick Anderson)

       Washington.--On the surface the incidents cited by 
     employees in the nation's nuclear weapon laboratories were 
     not explosive: a snide remark here, an ambiguous warning 
     there. It was hardly material for a clear-cut case of 
     workplace discrimination.
       But to Asian Americans who work in the labs, the incidents 
     were real and their implications disturbing. Amid 
     congressional espionage inquiries and press reports that a 
     Chinese American lab employee may have helped China purloin 
     vital nuclear weapon secrets, a small, indignant group of 
     scientists and engineers decided that something should be 
     done to defuse the threat of ``ethnic profiling.''
       ``There were enough things happening that we were very 
     concerned about suspicions and [whether Asian Americans] were 
     being treated differently,'' said Raymond Ng, a mechanical 
     engineer for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. 
     ``There was a lot of fear and concern about what was going 
     on.

[[Page 10572]]

     Management was not aware of these things. We needed to make 
     it known.''
       So Ng joined with Joel Wong, an industrial hygienist at 
     Lawrence Livermore Laboratory near San Francisco, to give 
     Energy Secretary Bill Richardson a short list of recent 
     incidents of ethnic insensitivity reported by coworkers who 
     wished to remain unnamed. Richardson, who oversees the labs, 
     said that he considers the reports to be generally true, even 
     if some particulars remain unverified.
       In one account, snickering and hushed laughter broke out in 
     a roomful of computer users as a person with a Chinese 
     surname was introduced to lead a session on computer 
     security. In another, a lab manager told an Asian American 
     employee that ``personal characteristics'' would determine a 
     person's career opportunities in the wake of recent 
     disclosures of security breaches, implying that ethnicity was 
     one such characteristic.
       Then there was the teasing. Someone wondered aloud whether 
     an Asian American employee got ``rich'' by selling classified 
     information, according to Ng and Wong. Someone else said he 
     was wary of sharing information with a colleague of Asian 
     descent who might be a ``spy.''
       Two Chinese American lab employees who insisted on 
     anonymity recounted similar incidents in separate interviews 
     with a Times reporter. One said he had been asked at work 
     whether he had ``dual loyalties.''


                 Concerns Raised in Labs and Elsewhere

       Whether an ethnic backlash actually is occurring to any 
     significant degree is hard to determine. But concerns about 
     possible ethnic stereotyping are rising and not just among 
     national lab employees. The subject comes up in government 
     circles, in the scientific community, in the ethnic Asian 
     media, in high-tech business groups and among Asian American 
     civic leaders who fear a replay of the uproar directed at 
     Asian American political donors after revelations of attempts 
     by foreign interests to influence the 1996 elections.
       Prominent Asian Americans have met with Richardson four 
     times and once with White House Chief of Staff John Podesta 
     to seek assurances that scientists and engineers in U.S. labs 
     would not be subject to discrimination.
       ``Asian Pacific Americans are concerned that their loyalty 
     and their patriotism are being challenged,'' Richardson 
     acknowledged in a speech April 30. ``And that's because of 
     racism.''
       The Energy secretary vowed to protect the rights of all 
     laboratory workers and to visit the labs in person to drive 
     the point home.
       In Congress, Reps. Tom Campbell (R-San Jose) and David Wu 
     (D-Ore.), who is the first Chinese American member of the 
     House, are drafting a resolution expressing support for 
     Chinese Americans.
       Wu said there is ``widespread concern in the Chinese 
     American community and particularly the Chinese American 
     scientific community. These are folks who work very, very 
     hard. They are Americans. By all accounts that I know of, 
     they work hard and play by the rules.''
       Campbell said that some scientists and engineers in Silicon 
     Valley now worry about traveling to professional conferences 
     in mainland China for fear that they will be suspected of 
     leaking technological secrets to the Communist regime.
       Still, many lawmakers assert that the United States must 
     raise its guard against Chinese espionage and set new limits 
     on scientific exchange with China and other countries seeking 
     to develop nuclear weapons. Their campaign is likely to gain 
     considerable momentum with the release of a House 
     investigative panel's report citing evidence of widespread 
     leakage of sensitive military technology to China. The 
     committee's bipartisan findings are expected to be made 
     public next week by its chairman, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-
     Newport Beach).
       Asian American scientists, engineers and civil leaders 
     hasten to condemn espionage. But they content that some 
     Republican leaders in Congress, aided by unbalanced media 
     reports, have cast a cloud over Chinese Americans--and 
     Chinese nationals--doing legitimate scientific work in the 
     weapons labs and elsewhere.


                Senator Refers to ``Very Crafty People''

       Asked about the extent of Chinese espionage on the NBC 
     program ``Meet the Press,'' Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), 
     chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said 
     in March: ``We've got to remember the Chinese are everywhere 
     as far as our weapons systems, not only in our labs that make 
     our nuclear weapons and development, but also in the 
     technology to deliver them. We've seen some of that. They're 
     real. There here. And probably in some ways, very crafty 
     people.''
        A spokeswoman for the senator, Andrea Andrews, said that 
     Shelby was referring to Chinese spies, not to Chinese 
     Americans in general. But other read more into his statement. 
     Charles Sie, vice chairman of the Committee of 100, an 
     influential Chinese American group whose founders include the 
     architect I.M. Pei and the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, called Shelby's 
     words a ``ridiculous'' example of ethnic stereotyping.
       Also ``ridiculous,'' said Jeff Garberson, spokesman for 
     Lawrence Livermore, was the request he recently received from 
     a national newsmagazine for a generic photo of an Asian 
     American employee at work ``to illustrate a story on 
     espionage.'' The request was refused.
       Leading science periodicals are closely monitoring the 
     espionage issue, especially the possible fallout for foreign-
     born scientists who may be U.S. citizens, permanent U.S. 
     residents or distinguished visitors. A headline in the June 
     issue of Scientific American read: ``Explosive Reactions: A 
     Backlash From a Nuclear Espionage Case Might Hurt Science and 
     Do Little to Bolster National Security.''
       Many of the top scientists in America in this century have 
     been foreign-born, including some from mainland China or 
     Taiwan. Many more, including several Nobel Prize winners, are 
     of Asian heritage.
       Asian American engineers also have been deeply involved in 
     the U.S. defense industry. According to the National Science 
     Foundation, more than 300,000 people of Asian descent were 
     working in the United States as scientists and engineers in 
     1995, the latest year for which figures are available. That's 
     about 10% of all scientists and engineers and far more than 
     any other ethnic minority. Many Chinese American scientists 
     said that they are most concerned about lasting damage the 
     espionage allegations could have on the career prospects of 
     promising graduate students in engineering or the physical 
     sciences, a significant number of whom are foreign-born or 
     Asian American.
       ``What one is afraid of are possible future actions with 
     regard to employment promotion, retention of top Chinese 
     American scientists,'' said Cheuk-Yin Wong, who is chairman 
     of the Overseas Chinese Physics Assn., which has about 400 
     members nationwide. He is no relation to Joel Wong.
       Lab administrators said that they want to prevent such 
     consequences. C. Paul Robinson, head of Sandia National 
     Laboratories, recently told Chinese American employees that 
     they should not be judged responsible for a particular 
     espionage case so long as white Americans, like himself, were 
     not held equally responsible for the disastrous Aldrich Ames 
     spycase.
       ``Can we all please think extra hard about that?'' Robinson 
     implored in an electronic newsletter. ``Our work is 
     important; we need all the good brainpower that we can bring 
     to bear in our work and we certainly must not mistreat loyal 
     Americans.''

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, but certainly all Members are invited to 
submit statements for the Record in terms of the experiences of their 
own individual districts and the participation in these social, 
economic, educational and political life of Asian Pacific Americans in 
their districts.

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