CAPAC: State Dept.’s Threats ‘Un-American’
WASHINGTON — In response to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s May 28 announcement the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security would “aggressively revoke” the visas issued to Chinese students, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus raised its concerns over “the impacts of this policy on individuals of Chinese descent and how the Trump administration will determine which students have ties to the Chinese Communist Party.” In its statement, CAPAC said, “We agree that anyone who comes to the United States under false pretenses to gather intelligence with the intention of benefitting a foreign adversary like the Chinese Communist Party has no place here. … However, the lack of any details about the process or standards by which you intend to conduct this review raises serious concerns that innocent students will be caught up in this ordeal, simply because they are of Chinese descent. That’s not smart national security policy—it’s just un-American.”
JANM Makes New Additions to Its Boards
Joining the Japanese American National Museum’s board of directors are: Diana Abouali, director of the Arab American National Museum; Anthea M. Hartig, Elizabeth MacMillan director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; Hiroshi Kawano, executive chairman of MUFG Americas Holdings Corp. and the deputy regional executive for the Americas; and Erika Moritsugu, former deputy assistant to the president and Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander senior liaison during the Biden administration. Jay A. Shiba, former supply chain management vp, Northrop Grumman, joined the museum’s board of governors. Joining its honorary board were Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
JACF Reveals 10 Nonprofit Org Grant Winners
The 10 nonprofit organizations that won Japanese American Community Foundation grants in the latest round are Asian Cultural Experience of Salinas (Salinas, Calif.); Central California Nikkei Foundation (Fresno, Calif.); Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (Glenview, Ill.); GenRyu Arts (San Francisco); Marysville JACL Chapter (Marysville, Calif.); Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego (San Diego); Nikkei Heritage Association of Washington (Seattle); Nisei Veterans Memorial Center (Kahului, Hawaii); Poston Community
Alliance (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) and St. Louis JACL Chapter (Creve Coeur, Mo.).
Feds Nab Clinic Suicide Bomber Accessory
The Justice Department announced the arrest of Daniel Jongyon Park at JFK International Airport after he was deported from Poland. The 32-year-old resident of Kent, Wash,. was charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists for allegedly shipping and paying for significant quantities of ammonium nitrate — an explosive precursor — to Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, of Twentynine Palms, Calif., killed as he drove a motor vehicle containing a homemade bomb that detonated in the May 17 attack on a Palm Springs, Calif., fertility clinic that resulted in the destruction of the facility and injuries to several individuals.
CSULA Confers 3 Honorary Degrees to AsiAms
California State University Los Angeles conferred honorary doctorates to three Asian Americans: On May 20, biotech industry leader and philanthropist Kevin Xu received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the 9 a.m. ceremony; and actor, comedian, producer, writer and AAPI community advocate Ken Jeong received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts at the 5 p.m. ceremony. On May 21, stand-up comedian Jo Koy received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts at the 1 p.m. ceremony.
2 Indicted in Scheme to Silence U.S. Dissident
The Justice Department announced May 30 that federal grand juries returned indictments charging Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the U.K. and a U.S. lawful permanent resident, with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking (Los Angeles) and conspiracy, smuggling and violations of the Arms Export Control Act (Milwaukee). “As alleged, the defendants targeted a U.S. resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Fatal Painkillers
After selling dozens of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills to a drug dealer who later sold them to a victim who died soon afterward from a fatal overdose in January 2020, Marcus Michael Takaya Poydras, 36, of Redondo Beach, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
Ex-Teacher/Coach Named in Child Porn Case
A preliminary hearing date was scheduled for June 5 for Justin Akio Yasutake, 39, of Pasadena, Calif. The former teacher and youth soccr coach was charged with possessing child pornography.
Prison for Teacher Who Sexually Abused 2
Jacqueline Ma was sentenced in May to 30 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child, one count of a lewd act on a child and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material after grooming and sexually assaulting two young boys. She taught at Lincoln Acres Elementary in National City, near San Diego.
— P.C. Staff
