Asian American families and adoption, and the Los Alamos spy case

Vol. 129, No. 14, October 1, 1999. 8 pages. View this issue

Adoption in Asian American families led this eight-page issue. Tracy Uba wrote the third part of a four-part series that followed a family welcoming a daughter named HaiYi, and the series continued on page 8 with parents, including a Nisei minister and a mother named Jeri, describing how adopted children come to terms with their ethnic identity. The other main story was the Chinese espionage case: on Sept. 22, FBI officials briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee, and senators asked why the investigation had stayed so narrowly on Los Alamos.

Also in this issue: Martha Nakagawa reported on a conference of the Asian Pacific American Political Education Institute, where consultants shared campaign tips. Takasumi Kojima reviewed a documentary about Issei and Kibei experiences, and a review looked at Cynthia Gates Fujikawa’s one-woman play about her father, actor Jerry Fujikawa. Letters on page 7 took up the JACL’s U.S.-Japan Relations Committee and the draft resisters, and the Sacramento JACL chapter voted to give $5,000 to the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Trade Secrets of Love: Asian American Families and Adoption, by Tracy Uba, page 1. This third installment in a four-part series explores Asian American families and adoption, focusing on a family’s experience adopting a daughter named HaiYi. The article follows Herb and other family members as they recount the natural process of welcoming adopted grandchildren into their lives.
• U.S. Justice Department Honors L.A. County Commission, page 3. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Services honored the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations with the State and Local Partnership Award. The award recognized the commission’s role in the LA County Hate Crime Response Team and its efforts toward combating hate crimes and discrimination.
• Sac’to JACL Donates $5,000 to NJAMF, page 4. The Sacramento JACL chapter voted to donate $5,000 to the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C. to help meet its fundraising goal of $8.6 million, joining several other Sacramento Valley organizations in the fundraising effort.
• Adoption Series: Navigating Ethnic Identity in Transracial Families, page 8. This continuation of the adoption series examines how transracially adopted children, particularly those of Asian descent, negotiate ethnic identity within families of different backgrounds. It features perspectives from adoptive parents including Mark, a Nisei minister married to a Caucasian woman, and Jeri, who discusses connecting her daughter Rachel with Chinese culture and eventual questions about her birth family.

National

• FBI Briefs Senate Committee on Latest Developments of Possible China Spying, page 1. After nearly four years focusing on a scientist at Los Alamos nuclear laboratory, FBI officials briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee on Sept. 22 about new developments in the Chinese espionage case. The investigation is now expanding beyond Los Alamos after criticism that the original probe was too narrowly focused, while China continues to reject allegations of espionage.
• APA Political Education Institute Holds Conference, by Martha Nakagawa, Assistant Editor, page 1. The Asian Pacific American Political Education Institute held a conference to discuss political engagement and representation. The event featured various speakers discussing strategies for increasing APA political influence and participation.
• FBI Questioned on Narrow Focus of Los Alamos Investigation, page 3. Senate committee members questioned why the FBI did not cast a broader net when initially investigating who might have given W-88 nuclear secrets to China, with the agency having focused primarily on Los Alamos from the start. Investigators acknowledged that scientist Wen Ho Lee became a prime target partly due to his and his wife’s contacts with Chinese scientific delegations and trips to China in the 1980s, which lab officials had approved.
• John Amores Emerges as Frontrunner in West Virginia Congressional Race, page 8. John Amores, a candidate running for an open U.S. House seat in West Virginia, was discussed at a political conference as a potential candidate to become the first Asian American to serve in the United States House from that state. Speakers at the conference included Alice Borden, John Chiang, Judy Chu, Harvey Englander, Matthew Fong, Warren Furutani, and other political figures discussing Amores’ campaign and broader APA political representation.

Commentary

• Lessons Learned From the Campaign Trail: Tips From the Consultants, page 4. Political consultants including Matthew Fong, Mike Honda, and Harvey Englander shared advice for candidates on running successful campaigns, covering topics like hiring staff, managing family strain, developing research strategies, and building confidence. Englander emphasized the critical importance of opposition research, citing his work on Michael Woo’s successful 1985 LA City Council campaign as an example of effective use of biographical storytelling in campaign materials.
• Film Liberates Dissenters From JACL Vise Grip, by Takasumi Kojima, page 5. This review praises a documentary exploring Issei and Kibei experiences during and after internment, highlighting producer Emiko Omori’s insight into the humor and hypocrisy of Nikkei society. The film is credited with liberating dissenting voices from what the author calls JACL’s historical dominance over the narrative of the internment experience.
• Are You in the Market for a New Bank?, page 5. This piece discusses historical perspectives on Japanese American internment, addressing claims about the impetus for removal and referencing figures like Earl Warren who advocated for removal. It also examines the perspective of Issei narrator Shosuke Sasaki and the complexities of alien status during wartime.
• Onomatopoetically Speaking: Nobi Nobi, page 6. This column explores Japanese onomatopoeic words and expressions with repeated sounds, drawing from the Japan Times feature ‘Feelingual’ and the author’s memories of expressions used by their mother. Words like kechi kechi (stingy), niko niko (smiling happily), and bura bura (dangling/strolling) are defined and explained with their root meanings.
• Re: U.S.-Japan Relations Committee, page 7. A letter responding to Bill Hosokawa’s article on JACL’s U.S.-Japan Relations Committee, raising further questions about the committee’s purpose and history. The writer discusses perspectives of draft resisters during the WWII era and other viewpoints not fully addressed in the original article.
• Draft Resisters Need Better Spokesman than Frank Chin, by Tilas Odoi, page 7. A letter to the editor argues that JACLers should rededicate themselves to the motto ‘Better Americans in a Greater America’ and criticizes Frank Chin as an inadequate spokesperson for draft resisters. The writer references the Jerome, Arkansas camp experience amid negative circumstances of the era.
• Tagawa Hypocritical in ‘Whitewashing’ Article, page 7. A letter criticizes actor Tagawa for perceived hypocrisy in an article discussing the portrayal of Asians in the film ‘Rising Sun.’ The writer raises questions about the legitimacy and consistency of the criticism made.

Arts & Entertainment

• One-Woman Play Explores Family Secrets Through Father’s Hollywood Career, page 6. A review of an autobiographical one-woman play written and performed by Cynthia Gates Fujikawa, exploring her search for family secrets related to her father, character actor Jerry Fujikawa, who made a career playing stereotypical ‘Oriental’ roles. The story touches on camp experience, mental illness, broken marriages, and untimely death, defying expectations despite initial reluctance from the reviewer.

Obituaries

• Kay Horike, 83, Outlasted the Pearl Harbor League, page 7. Kay Horike, who served as board chair from 1973-79 and was involved with the Kawabe House Memorial Foundation, passed away. He was decorated by the Emperor of Japan in 1991 for his contributions to U.S.-Japan relations and was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Ayako Sakamoto, survived by three children Neil, Cheryl, and Janis.

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