Rocking the Vote Amid the Shrimp Dumplings

I’ve often blogged about how apathetic Asian Americans have been when it comes to political involvement and voting, so I was pleasantly surprised to read in Sunday’s New York Times about New York City’s Chinatown community organizer Eddie Chiu making a difference:

“Mr. Chiu, 60, is a very small man who speaks in a very loud voice. A retired Chinatown banker and restaurateur, he is quick to point out that he receives no financial compensation for what he calls his second career as a sort of 21st-century ward healer for Chinatown’s estimated 100,000 residents… When Mr. Chiu took the association’s reins in 2002, mainstream politicians had frequently dismissed Chinatown as a place where residents far outnumbered registered voters. But in the past few years, partly because of Mr. Chiu’s success in encouraging political participation, a growing number of mainstream candidates have visited Mr. Chiu in the hope of gaining his support and, by extension, Chinatown’s… his political awakening occurred in 2005, when he helped deliver Chinese votes to Mayor Bloomberg, who, he said, agreed to appoint a number of Chinese-Americans to his staff.”

Mr. Chiu apparently has turned himself into quite the “kingmaker” – all three candidates he endorsed this year for their primaries won. In a democracy, one man can make a difference. In America, one Asian American can make a difference.

In this presidential election, Asian Americans are getting involved on both sides – Asian Americans for Obama and Asian Americans for McCain. In certain swing states like Nevada and Virginia, there are sizable Asian American populations that can really help make the difference.

Maybe because I’ve been blogging for only the past 1.75 years, I have noticed more activity and interest in political involvement in this election cycle than in 2004. Or maybe, which I think is more the case – overall involvement – especially in the Democratic side, has increased dramatically, especially with the epic primary race between Clinton and Obama. In either case, I hope to read many more stories about Asian Americans in the future getting involved.