Indian vs Chinese, Migration Destination Similarities and Differences

Among Asian immigrants, Chinese and Indian migrants are the most populous, ranking as the third and second countries of origin for US immigrants, only behind Mexico. Despite coming from the same continent, the migration trends of both demographics related to which cities and states they settle in the US have both similarities and differences. Many Chinese and Indian immigrants come to study at universities and tend to land high-paying jobs in the high-technology sector, which leads to overlap in migration destinations. In our analysis, we seek to answer the question: do Chinese and Indian immigrants tend to settle in the same places in the US?

Taking data from the US Census, we can investigate population centers for both demographics; combined statistical areas (CSA) in the US with the largest Indian population include San Jose (5.56% of total CSA population), New York (3.53%), Dallas-Fort Worth (2.93%), Sacramento (2.85%), and Seattle-Tacoma (2.79%). In terms of raw population numbers, New York (800,000), San Jose (500,000), and Chicago (250,000), had the largest Indian populations. Given that the Indian population barely constitutes 1.4% of the national population, Indians are vastly overrepresented in these cities. Taking a look at the economic sectors of these cities, it isn’t hard to see why; all of these cities are hubs for high-tech corporations, with San Jose’s Silicon Valley being the best example of how jobs in the technology industry attract highly educated Indian immigrants. On the state level, New Jersey has the highest percentage of Indians at 4.47% of the total population, which is a huge leap from California in second place at 2.1% and Illinois in third place at 2.03%. However, in terms of raw numbers, California is by far the most popular state for Indian immigrants with over 830,000 Indians, almost double that of Texas in second place with 480,000 and New Jersey in third place with 415,000. 

In comparison, CSAs with the largest Chinese population were New York (865,000), Los Angeles (664,000), San Francisco, (587,000), and San Jose (243,000). Here, we start to see some differences; although New York, San Francisco, and San Jose are all shared cities, Los Angeles has a uniquely large Chinese population, while Chicago has a uniquely large Indian population. What makes this more interesting is that the number of Chinese and Indians living in the US is roughly the same, both at around 4.4 million, meaning that there are different factors that determine whether or not a city has a larger Chinese or Indian population. In Los Angeles, this could be explained by the San Gabriel Valley, a wealthy suburb that is home to one of the largest ethnic enclaves of Chinese and Taiwanese Americans in the US. Due to its established presence as a hotbed for Chinese culture, the region has attracted further Chinese immigrants, culminating in several Chinese-majority cities such as Monetery Park, Cerritos, and Walnut.

On the state level, the distributions of Chinese Americans were even more extreme, with California (1.8 million) having more than double New York in second place (740,000), which has almost triple Texas in third place (240,000). Out of the 4.4 million Chinese in the US, over half reside in just California and New York, and almost 3/4th live in the top 4 states. Though both Indians and Chinese pick California as their top migration destination, they differ greatly in which other states to reside in. In conclusion, we can see broad migration patterns that attract Chinese and Indian immigrants to places with high paying jobs in the technology industry and top-tier universities, most notably California. However, outside of the Golden State, there are clear differences in the other cities and states that these demographics move to; whereas Los Angeles has a significant Chinese population but a small Indian population, Chicago has the opposite. These differences speak to the incredible diversity of immigrant culture and demographics in America, reflecting the foundation of what makes America so unique.

(Photo Credit: International Journal of Research licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

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A Data-driven Analysis of the Perpetual Foreigner Stereotype

We have talked about the perpetual foreigner stereotype, but exactly how prevalent is it?  Is it getting stronger or weaker?  With whom is this stereotype more deeply root? A recently published paper took a data-driven approach to answer these questions. Who is American? A comprehensive analysis of the American = White/Foreign = Asian stereotype (2007–2023) analyzes the perpetual foreigner stereotype and makes a number of interesting conclusions.

As the paper may be hard to parse for people not accustomed to reading academic published work, I will summarize what I think are the most interesting points.  As you might expect, the American = White association, was strongest among White Americans. It was particularly strong with Americans who lived in places where there weren’t many Asian Americans or who were older or more conservative. I found it interesting that these factors were much stronger than other factors like gender and education levels (e.g. college-education or not). In a bit of good news, the American = White association has been weakening over the period of 2007 through 2023, although the progress was disrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Let’s hope that this is only temporary.

I am happy that someone has taken a data-driven look at this stereotype.  I have talked about the paper’s findings at a very high level – there are more subtleties to the data and the author’s conclusions. I suggest you look at the paper if you are more interested.

Posted in Current Events, Discrimination | Tagged | 1 Comment

Asian American Clubs among West Point Affinity Groups Shut Down

As part of the efforts to eliminate DEI in the US Federal Government, a number of Asian American Clubs at West Point (the US Army Military) academy, were disbanded.  The Asian-Pacific Forum Club, the Korean-American Relations Seminar, the Vietnamese-American Cadet Association were closed down, along with other organizations such the National Society of Black Engineers chapter and the Latin Cultural Club. Some media outlets reported that some other organizations such the West Point Humanist Society and the West Point Polish Club were not included, but that is hard to verify since all club webpages were also taken down. You can see the memo regarding the clubs here in a reddit on the topic.

The Army said that the disbanded clubs were part of its DEI office, and are quoted here  saying that “more than one hundred clubs remain at the U.S. Military Academy, and our leadership will continue to provide opportunities for cadets to pursue their academic, military, and physical fitness interests while following Army policy, directives, and guidance.” You can see that this is true from this archived version of the now gone club web page. The disbanded organizations were listed under Affinity clubs  while other seemingly ethnic organizations, like the West Point Polish Club, were not. There are many clubs at West Point, which amazes me because I didn’t think that the cadets would have much time to participate in them.

The coming months will see if this trend continues to other publicly funded colleges and universities, as many affinity organizations on campuses have some funding from their institutions. Some US corporations have begun rolling back DEI initiatives, although I have not heard about this affecting their internal affinity groups and employee resource groups.

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Could the Next California Governor be an Asian?

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been a polarizing figure in American politics, largely due to him being the head of the most hated state by Republicans, but also for his moderate policies that have drawn him criticism from both the left and the right. It is undeniable that he has ambitions to become the next president of the United States, and after his second term is finished in 2026, he will get that chance in 2028. Governor Newsom has some big shoes to fill–being the governor of the world’s 5th largest economy is no easy task, especially given the chronic struggles California faces with climate change, inequality, and the everlasting “exodus” conservatives bash the state for. That being said, there have already been some eager individuals who have announced their candidacy for the governor’s office, among which is the vice chair of the California Democratic Party–Betty Yee.

California is one of the most diverse states in the union, yet out of 174 years of existence, there has yet to be a minority in the office of the governor. In the 2026 election, there is a chance for this to change. Candidates who have declared their interest include former President pro tempore of the state senate Toni Atkins, lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis, former Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, Stephen Cloobeck, Tony Thurmond, Michael Younger, and Betty Yee. Up against notable high-ranking Democrats, Betty Yee has a tough challenge in front of her, but she’s not without her own set of accomplishments that make her a formidable candidate. 

A child of Chinese immigrants, Yee grew up in San Francisco learning Mandarin as her first language. After completing a bachelor’s degree in sociology at UC Berkeley, she then completed her MPA at Golden Gate University, before working for the California State Legislature as the chief deputy director for budget under Governor Gray Davis, and later the chief deputy under Carole Migden, a Board of Equalization member. In 2006, Yee was elected to the California Board of Equalization District 1 by herself, winning with 65% of the votes, and was re-elected to the same district in 2010 with 63%. In 2014, she won the election to become the California State controller, where she beat the Republican opposition 54% to 46%–after serving two terms, she has since left the office in 2023. Yee also temporarily served as vice president for California Women Lead, which is an NPO organization for women running for political offices in California. Additionally, she currently sits on the board of trustees for CalPERS and CalSTRS, the state’s public employees’ retirement system and the state’s teachers’ retirement system respectively.

With a political career spanning two decades, Yee has no shortage of impressive achievements, leading the fight on the 2011 “Amazon Tax” that collected sales taxes on online purchases, reformed the tax code to ensure equity on property taxes for same-sex couples, and discovered and redirected $7.3 billion in mismanaged funds on the state and local level. Coupled with her solid previous election results, Yee has a fighting chance of going up against some big name Democrats to become the next governor of California. Whether or not she sets new records and becomes the first minority woman to hold the office will depend on her ability to tackle California’s most pressing problems: climate change, high cost of living, and homelessness. 

Regarding climate change, Yee has made it clear that this issue is one of her top priorities as governor of California; being a member of Climate Resolve and an advocate for SB350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act, she is posed to continue the fight against major polluters and protect our environment. However, every Democratic candidate says the same thing regarding climate change, and outside of her memberships and endorsements, Yee does not particularly stand out on this front in comparison to her opponents. 

On the high cost of living, Yee claims that her experiences managing her parents’ finances at a young age coupled with her professional experience as deputy budget director and state controller make her fit for the position. Facing a $73 billion deficit, Yee believes her expertise will help California bounce back from this slump. Indeed, this seems to be an advantage she has over her counterparts, as none of the other candidates have the same level of in-depth experience managing the state’s finances as she does. 

Finally, concerning homelessness, Yee has been mostly lukewarm on the issue, with no documented instances of advocating for homeless measures in the state, and not a single mention of the word on her official candidate page. 

Betty Yee has some daunting opponents in her way of running for the office of the governor. If she wants a bigger shot at winning, she will have to prove to the Californian electorate that she has what it takes to combat California’s biggest issues, but beyond that, she needs to show Californians that she is more than just a lukewarm moderate Democrat compared to Newsom. California is undergoing some of the worst years in its history, with record high costs of living, homelessness, and emigration; in order for Betty Yee to win, she must prove that she is willing to change California drastically to meet the needs of its 39 million residents. 

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

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Remake of ‘The Wedding Banquet’ in Theaters on April 18th

Back in December, I saw actress Joan Chen in San Francisco speaking at a special community screening of Didiwhere she mentioned that she was in an upcoming remake of Ang Lee’s classic, The Wedding Banquet, that was going to be released in 2025. Well, the remake just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, to rave reviews, scoring 95% “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes (when this was written). According to the trailer description, the remake is as follows:

“From Director Andrew Ahn comes a joyful comedy of errors about a chosen family navigating the disasters and delights of family expectations, queerness, and cultural identity. Angela and her partner Lee have been unlucky with their IVF treatments, but can’t afford to pay for another round. Meanwhile their friend Min, the closeted scion of a multinational corporate empire, has plenty of family money but a soon-to-expire student visa. When his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris rejects his proposal, Min makes the offer to Angela instead: a green card marriage in exchange for funding Lee’s IVF. But their plans to quietly elope are upended when Min’s skeptical grandmother flies in from Korea unannounced, insisting on an all-out wedding extravaganza. With a pitch-perfect cast of multigenerational talent that includes Bowen Yang, Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, and Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung, this fresh reimagining of Ang Lee’s beloved, Award-winning rom-com teems with humour and heart in a poignant reminder that being part of a family means learning to both accept and forgive.””

I wondered why a remake was being done, and here is part of the backstory from this Washington Post article, ‘Remake of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet is a buzzy Sundance hit’:

“That opportunity began with a call from Anita Gou, a producer working for the Taiwanese Central Motion Picture Corporation, the government-run agency that had produced Lee’s original. As part of a new initiative to revisit some of its back catalogue, the company had the blessing of [Ang] Lee and his longtime collaborator, writer and film producer James Schamus, to reimagine “The Wedding Banquet.” Schamus had hired Ahn to direct 2019’s “Driveways,” in which a young Asian American boy forms an unexpected friendship with the retired Korean War veteran next door, after watching Ahn’s first film, “Spa Night,” a gay coming-of-age story set in a Korean spa. In the intervening years, Ahn had also directed the hit Hulu comedy “Fire Island,” starring Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster.”

“Andrew was our first and only recommendation and immediately embraced!” Schamus, who later joined Ahn to co-write the “Wedding Banquet” script, told The Washington Post by email.”

The film is scheduled to open on Friday, April 18th, and I can’t wait. I’ve seen the original The Wedding Banquet, which was a film ahead of its time when released back in 1993. I look forward to possibly doing another “Gold Open” buyout for the film, like I have for Crazy Rich Asians, Joy Ride and Didi.

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Great-grandson of Wong Kim Ark, who established Birthright Citizenship, Talks about Trump Executive Order

The United States vs Kim Wong Ark is the case that helped guaranteed birthright citizenship – that people born in the United States would automatically be US citizens.  Almost two years after the 125th Anniversary of that decision, President Donald Trump moved to rescind that right through executive order. Wong’s great-grandson, Norman Wong, had something to say about that:

He’s feeding off the American mindset, and it’s not a healthy one. We can’t build the country together and be against everybody. I think the best thing to do is for Americans to actually be embracing Americans.

Norman Wong is 74 and lives in Brentwood California. He spent his younger days advocating for Asian American studies at Berkeley, but only found out about his great-grandfather’s history in his 50s. The executive order limits birthright citizenship to children who have at least one parent who is a citizen or permanent resident and is under legal challenges.

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AAPI DJs put their own Spin on Club Culture

Dim room, with pink and white lighting, a crowd surrounds a blonde head, hair cut short.

From raves to underground dance spaces, AAPI DJs are crafting communities while putting their spin on club culture. (Photo by Stephen “phambino” Pham; Courtesy of Peaking Duck Group)

As bedroom DJ Nick Cheong, better known as @nickcheo, lingered outside Los Angeles Koreatown club Catch One, excited fans asked him to take their BeReal and even for one of his American Spirits. He took each request in stride, but after a few more fleeting interruptions to the interview and a sprinkle of pleasantries later, he got to chatting about himself, particularly how his Chinese identity intersected with his identity as a performer. “With music, no. In the way I do my events, yeah,” Cheong mulled. “Like Chinatown — I love doing Chinatown events.” 

The Ohioan highlighted two of his most recent escapades in New York City. This past August, he played in a bus traveling from Flushing, an Asian cultural hotspot, to lower Manhattan, where he exponentially multiplied his audience into a Chinatown block party. Before that, less than a mile away, he performed in the backyard of a barbershop and simultaneously had his hair bleached. If anything, his appearance at the “Asian festival,” as Cheong deemed Peaking Duck’s event, definitely had a sprinkle of this personal flair. 

Bright lights and brighter headaches

Strobe lights painted attendees in colorful halos, swirling into the cohesive mix of sweat and swaying bodies. Bass pounded so intensely that you could feel your teeth chatter and rumble through your fingertips. Although I was incredibly overstimulated — not feeling fly like a G6 — the event did feel quite tight-knit, and there was something poetic about its pan-Asian lineup. Cheong and fellow TikTok darling DJ Mandy headlined, showing off a genuine talent for balancing trendy songs with timeless classics. While Mandy concocted an absurdly good blend of the Pink Panther Theme and the swelling, synthy introduction of I Love It by Icona Pop, @nickcheo transitioned “Drugs” by The Dare into the punchy rock introduction of Chop Suey by System of A Down.

Although the initial intention of their events was not to uplift and support the AAPI community, Wallace Fang, co-founder of Peaking Duck, remarked he was undeniably proud of their accomplishments. “We started off small, a ‘from the ground up type of thing,’” said Fang. “But the main goal is to go mainstream: take over Insomniac.”

It’s a rather ambitious goal: Insomniac is a well-established entertainment group known for promoting popular EDM events like Electronic Daisy Carnival and Countdown.peaking  However, Peaking Duck has already attracted a prominent, overlapping demographic — Asian American ravers. I promise I’m not overgeneralizing. Some of the openers that night were incredibly self-aware of the trend, particularly pair Timmy Lei, also known as Majin, and Alex Fan, who goes by Prophanity. Raving inspired the interest in DJing, but they have only kept it up with the continued encouragement of people around them, especially within Greek life.

(Photo by Stephen “phambino” Pham; Courtesy of Peaking Duck Group)

Lei attends the University of California, San Diego, and Fan is at San Diego State University. He said that his involvement with his AAPI fraternity was a way for him to build deeper connections with his Vietnamese heritage, hoping to find what he considered to be “a home.” “I was looking for that sense of community,” Fan said. “They pushed me to be the person who I am today, and that’s how I got elevated to DJing.”

As stereotypical as this intersection may seem, there’s some historical precedent for it — Asian Greek societies were established to combat systemic and biased exclusion, becoming places for a then-small ethnic minority to bond. They were acts of cultural resilience, circumventing historically discriminatory legislation and opposing stereotypes like the modern “model minority myth.” 

Similarly, for many Asian Americans, raves satisfy a search for cultural belonging, especially through PLUR — Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect — which is core to the EDM festival scene. In Catch One, the supportive atmosphere was potent.  

“A lot of API artists are underrepresented,” said Peaking Duck co-founder Henry Zhang. “It’s become a mission of ours to be able to push these artists that we’ve really connected with and love to perform for the communities that want to see them.”

(Photo by Stephen “phambino” Pham; Courtesy of Peaking Duck Group)

Although small, the crowd for opener DJ andrwfrnk was passionate, with audience members shaking their heads and jumping to his bass house and dubstep set.  “These people don’t even know me and I had 50-60 people up front rocking out like they’ve known me all my life,” he recalled. “I wish I could hug everybody in there.”

The openers gushed with gratitude not only for their crowds but also for the headliners. “I really appreciate the big-name Asian artists,” Lei said, referencing @nickcheo and DJ Mandy. “It’s like making the niche, expanding the crowds. Because of them, there’s more people.”

However, as much as he acknowledges the importance of his heritage, and appreciates the support from the AAPI community, Cheong does not want to be limited by his identity. 

I think me being Asian is super cool, but I don’t want to be put into that box. Then a lot of people cringe at it.

When DJs produce their own culture, they interpret and create based on their perceptions and experiences. The unexpected harmony that @nickcheo achieves when mixing two incongruent genres, like hip-hop and hyperpop, is what sets him apart. His diverse performances appeal to a larger audience and reinforce his widespread popularity and influence — he doesn’t need to worry about being put into that box because he’s already stepped outside of it. 

Currently, he has his eyes set on visiting and possibly even a tour of all fifty states. Besides his home state, he’s already traveled to New York, California, and Illinois, putting him well on his way. When asked about his future goals, Cheong further discussed breaking away from expectations and establishing a new norm. “I want to change the way that parties are done,” he said. “I want to do it in a very unique way; my own way.”

Although @nickcheo’s talent should not be limited to how he looks or his heritage, it’s quite breathtaking to watch a person with features like his push the beginnings of a cultural shift and curate this community — as cringe as the sentiment might be, it’s just as true. “Shout out Ohio,” he signed off, ever loyal to his roots. “Shout out Asians.”

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The NBA’s Golden State Warriors Celebrate Japanese Heritage Night

I’ve attended my share of various Asian themed heritage nights Golden State Warriors Games ever since I attended my first NBA game with Jeremy Lin‘s debut in the NBA October 29, 2010 against the Los Angeles Clippers, but I don’t recall the Golden State Warriors ever having a Japanese Heritage Night before since then (or maybe I couldn’t attend one due to my schedule), so I was very interested inattending.

The pre-game event started off with Japanese American and local NBC Bay Area’s Mike Inouye ringing an honorary bell (video above) which to be honest, was not that big of a deal. I don’t think even most of the crowd knew what was going on. What happened next was pretty interesting.

I don’t think I’ve ever recalled the national anthem being just performed with an instrument and not sung. Soloist Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto performed the national anthem with the koto:

which was really interesting to see. I think the crowd enjoyed the unique performance.

After the game started, in the 2nd quarter, I knew that there would be a video interlude to highlight Warriors Dance Team members from Japan, Mari & Nahoko, but wasn’t prepared to cover the video entirely since I didn’t exactly know what was going to happen. I only caught a part of the video:

From what I recall, apparently two of the performers are from Japan, not Japanese Americans.  I wondered how they wound up getting on the Warriors Dance Team, but unfortunately I didn’t have time to schedule an interview with them.

Shortly afterwards, the entire Warriors Dance Team Gold Squad performed:

which I’ve seen many times at every Warriors game that I’ve attending.

The big performance for Japanese Heritage time was at halftime, with the Okinawan Kenjin Kai Eisa Shima Daiko performing:

Now this was a real treat as I’ve seen Japanese Taiko drumming before, but this was sort of like a combination of Taiko drumming and dancing I had never seen before.

Overall, I had a great night at the Golden State Warriors Japanese Heritage Night, and even better as a Warriors fan that the Warriors won that evening.

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Anything but Blind

Blind box figurines are the perfect addition to your space, says I, a very biased source.

“There really isn’t any other products out there like the concept of blind boxes,” toy influencer KiraKabuki says. “It’s something like you can hold and something that you can bring around you. It’s something that you can display in your office, in your home — it’s the perfect size.”

Although blind boxes are nowhere near as popular in the US as they are in East and Southeast Asia, the current boom of Smiskis and Sonny Angels reveals a growing interest in these pleasant surprises. For many Generation-Z maximalists (i.e. me), their personal spaces have become chaotic ecosystems of countless trinkets, especially blind box figurines. These designer toys range from impulsively bought Sonny Angels and Lucky Emmas from TESO LIFE to meticulously pondered purchases from a PopMart store. Some grocery stores, like 168 Market and 99 Ranch, have even dipped their toes into this endeavor, going back to old roots — gashapon machines.

For those unaware, gashapon machines are similar to vending machines, except they dispense capsules filled with a toy or a keychain that often features licensed Japanese anime, manga, or video game franchises. In fact, for many new collectors, the marketing, the association with a familiar IP, initially draws them into the hobby. Kira’s own collection is quite broad, but her favorites also come from beloved shows and media. As a big fan of anime, she particularly enjoyed Sanrio’s collaborations with “Demon Slayer” and “Jujutsu Kaisen.”

“I saw the Tokidoki Hello Kitty blind box at Hot Topic and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, these are so cute,’” she recalls. “I’d never opened blind boxes myself before, so I just recorded a video of it, and the rest was history.”

KiraKabuki makes a peace sign with her fingers and stands behind a chest-height stack of blind box cases with a smile.

That video was filmed spring 2023 and kickstarted her journey to become a bonafide blind-box-opening connoisseur. Most of her videos are tantalizing sensory experiences, opening full sets of blind boxes. The tab is ripped off, plastic wrap crinkling lightly between her fingertips, and then she zooms in on the details of each figure, her calming voice appreciating its texture, style, and whatever catches her eye. Her opinions have deeply resonated with the toy community, as shown by her well over a million followers on TikTok.

Kabuki has worked with a wide range of companies such as smaller growing brands like 52Toys, which just opened its first U.S. location in 2024, and Bandai Namco, the second-largest toy company in the world by revenue. Even though Kira must keep two fingers on the pulse of the toy industry for the sake of her channel, she enjoys learning the ins and outs of these marketing strategies, especially considering the direct role she plays in sharing and popularizing these sets. But, above all, she loves the positive, emotional impact blind boxes have had on her and her fans.

Continue reading

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Sheng Thao, Former Oakland Mayor, Indicted on Corruption Charges Along with Other Asian Americans

Some eight months after having her house raided by federal agents and two months after being ousted from her office in Oakland in a recall election, Sheng Thao has been officially indicted on federal charges, along with her partner Andre Jones and two local businessmen, David Trung Duong and Andy Hung Duong. She and the other defendants are officially charged with two counts of bribery and four counts of charges associated with mail and wire fraud. Andy Duong is also charged with an additional count of making false statements to government agents. Andy and David Duong own the waste company California Waste Systems.  Thao is accused of extending favors to them in exchange for campaign help.

All four defendants have pleaded not guilty and were released after posting bond. Travel restrictions were included although David Duong was allowed to fly to Washington DC for President Trump’s inauguration. Thao is not allowed to contact the Duong family.

It’s sad to see what was a Cinderella story of a former homeless single mother moving up in life end up as a crime story. You can see the official indictment here.

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Apple’s 2025 Chinese New Year Short: I Made a Mixtape for You

Every year, Apple releases a short film for Chinese New Year that is shot on their latest iPhone, and every year I look forward to the story that is created. This short for 2025 is called I Made a Mixtape for You. Apple’s description:

Meet Wei. While traveling home for Chinese New Year, he discovers his parents’ ‘90s mixtape. He’s transported to a ‘90s dream world where he falls in love with a complete stranger, rekindling his faith in love when he wakes up. The first Shot on iPhone CNY musical featuring classic hits from the ‘90s. In celebration of the Year of the Snake.

The video is directed by Michael Gracey, who directed The Greatest Showman.

In addition to it being released just before Chinese New Year, I thought the themes and execution of this short was very timely.  Musicals are highlighted this past year, with movies like Wicked and Emilia Perez being some notable highlights.  Also, the topic of not having significant others and not having children in Asia (and other places) has been a widely discussed recently (even at home with my now grown up kids).

As usual, a “making of” video has been released (you can see it below). Also, while this was shot on an iPhone, additional hardware and software were used and it was professionally edited.

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Childhood Allergies



A recent study of Asian American children in Northern California has revealed that Asian American children are more likely to develop certain allergies than white children.  When broken down by Asian American subgroup, Filipino children were almost twice as likely as white children to get allergic rhinitis and asthma. I had both as a child and still have allergic rhinitis (“hay fever”). Korean, Japanese, and Chinese children were more likely to have eczema and food allergies, but less likely to have asthma.  The authors of the article cite these kind of results as showing the need for disaggregated Asian health data and more research.

The article we cited from Stat News is an editorial and a summary of a paper that was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology:  In Practice.

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