With a five-to-one ratio of Democrats to Republicans in Flushing's District 20, Republican Koo's victory in securing a City Council seat points to the success of a coalition-building strategy straddling ethnic and generational lines.  more>

With voter participation in primaries at an all-time-low, political analysts were shocked to see more than 22,000 voters turn out for the Democratic runoff for comptroller, roughly 30 percent more than forecast. more>

Chinese restaurant workers in New York are protesting against employers paying wages way under the legal minimum and keeping their tips. For those who try to fight back, many have been fired or are facing harassment at work. more>

The reactions from Chinese Americans to Obama's plan were many and varied. Compared with the extremely positive attitude from those directors or CEOs of companies, unemployed workers might think it is still hard to make the plan work because of the high costs. more>

Immigration reform is not such a happy topic for the sizable group of Chinese immigrants with H1B visas, who could expect to line up shoulder-to-shoulder with the nation's 12 million illegal immigrants to get green cards should Obama's plan go through. more>

Jiang Tianduo, president of the Reporters Association of Southern California, is not surprised by these developments. He believes that American newspapers are too thick, increasing costs but not returns. more>

A recent report found Asian Americans distinguish themselves in the area of naturalization, a crucial prerequisite for participation in the political process: 57 percent of all Asian-American immigrants attain citizenship. more>

The decline of U.S. real estate market is further deteriorated by the recent financial crisis on Wall Street; at the same time, homebuyers from China gradually become an important force to bolster the U.S. housing market, and they start to gain much more attention from developers and brokers than in the past. more>

The defeat of Ellen Young – the first Chinese-American assemblywoman in New York State two years ago – and the win of Grace Meng could signal a change in Councilman John Liu’s domination of Flushing politics. more>

Chinatown residents, concerned that the veterans were found days after they died, are pushing for seniors to plan ahead, particularly when they no longer have family and friends to deal with their passing. more>

On February 13, Rev. Franklin Richardson, chair of Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, an African-American civil rights organization, met with City Councilman John Liu (D-Queens) to discuss what Richardson termed “a miscommunication” regarding his speech at the funeral of Christopher Ridely, an African-American officer killed by police fire. more>

WFNY (93.3 Free FM), a radio station under CBS, had a show called Dog House Pranks with a segment called Chinese Food. It harassed the female and male hosts in a Chinese restaurant with insults, sexual slurs, and other provocations. Yesterday, the Fujianese community held a meeting to urge the victimized Chinese restaurant to come forward and use legal actions against the radio show. more>

Law enforcement in Brooklyn is astounded by the discovery that some African-American and Hispanic gangs in East New York require new members to rob Chinese deliverymen before they can be officially inducted. more>

Lin-Qua Qu, director of a regional Chinese organization, expressed to Chief of Police Matthew Whelan at Flushing Precinct 109 that although the victim was Chinese, the crime should serve as a “red flag” for the safety of Flushing as a whole. more>

The presiding judge, Pauline Mullings, who is African American, opined that a harsh punishment would serve as a deterrent and sentenced one of two Caucasian assailants, who beat up a couple of Chinese-American youths, to three-and-half years in prison with two years of probation. more>

Major Chinatown landlord is focus of new counterfeit crackdown strategy. more>

Community leaders are jubilant about the strong showing of Chinese candidates, who will emphasize the importance of issues facing Asian communities. more>

The Chinatown Sanitation Association – with a cleaning staff of only six and money woes – is bracing itself for worsening conditions during the upcoming tourist season. more>

Officials from the mayor’s office, Immigration Affairs, and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation have assured immigrant groups that any person, regardless of his or her immigrant status, has a right to medical help. more>

Doreen Chan, a Chinatown resident said that illegal parking in front of hydrants threatened residents’ safety and property. more>

Many Chinese immigrants who recently moved into the area also showed up to voice their opposition. more>

The New York City Economic Development Corporation is scheduled to break ground this summer for the redevelopment of the Willits Point Iron Triangle and Shea Stadium. The project, estimated at $909 million, will dislodge businesses in the area since the 1930s. more>

Instead of using legitimate banks, undocumented Fujianese immigrants simply entrust their money to friends or people from the same village who are going back. When large amounts of money are concerned, it is sent this way in order to avoid being monitored by the authorities. more>

According to an NYU study, students of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lao descent actually do not do well in school compared to African Americans students, and do not receive enough government assistance. Peter Cheng, executive director of Indochina Sino-American Community Center in Chinatown, said that the myth of a “model minority” has often obscured the need within the different Asian communities. more>

When news that three-year-old New Tang Dynasty TV was selected by NY1 to carry the election debates dubbed in Chinese was made public, the Chinese community questioned the criteria and selection process, since the station reaches only from 79th Street to Downtown Manhattan. more>

While the proposed national ID has just stepped out of the Congress doors, fake ones are already knocking about in immigrant communities. more>

Minkuan Chen, the Bronx take-out deliveryman who was trapped in an elevator for three days, now faces deportation after the police disclosed his immigration status to the media. Pressure is now on the mayor to discipline the police officers responsible for the leak. more>

As the FDNY undergoes civil rights investigations for not hiring enough minorities, politicians and immigrant rights activists are fighting for change. more>

Hundreds of immigrants from diverse ethnic communities demanded the right to have a driver’s license as they rallied through the streets of Queens on March 5th. Several advocacy groups for immigrant rights and elected officials joined the march to make their voices heard in Albany. more>

Kelly violated a court order and took her son from the United States to China. She cited her former husband’s abusive behavior as the reason, saying that she feared for her and her son’s safety. Nevertheless, she was charged by the court after she returned to United States and was arrested. more>

Although Mayor Bloomberg reports tourism to the city is recovering, the record number of visitors to the city in 2003 and the $16 billion spent did little for Chinatown. Chinatown leaders attribute its troubles to the area’s unsolved infrastructure problems. more>

Several Asian American gay groups participated in the annual Gay Pride parade in Manhattan, hoping to gain mainstream society’s acceptance as well as their own community’s. more>

The Lower East Side and Chinatown Coalition unveiled its own rebuilding proposal demanding that more money should be invested in health care, the environment, affordable housing, sustainable land use, and the creation of jobs. more>

The once frequent reports of violence at I.S. 49 in Staten Island prompted many Chinese parents to remove their children from the school. But new academic initiatives—and beefed up security—have worked well to bring the community back. more>

Brooklyn’s Lafayette High School is considered the most violent public school among the top ten most violent schools in New York City. After being victimized in school, Jin Ho used different channels to fight for his rights. more>

While his third grade promotion policy is stirring controversy, Chancellor Klein’s plan to restructure middle schools has gotten little notice. Within five years, two-thirds of the city’s 228 middle schools will be closed. more>

Jin’s popular first single “Learn Chinese” describes him as a food deliveryman and a gang member in Chinatown. With his debut disc coming soon, the community worries that it will bring violence to their streets. more>

The taste and the comfort that a Chinese herbal drink brought to his throat were enough to lure U.S. publishing scion Robert McGraw away from the family business to set up Longjiang River Health Products in China. He aims to introduce the magic LHK, as well as other Chinese herbs, to the world. more>

By scheduling mid-year exams on Lunar New Year’s Day, some New York public high schools have incensed the Chinese community. On Jan. 13, under pressure from the community, Joel Klein, chancellor of the NYC Department of Education (DOE), sent letters to school principals asking them to rearrange exam dates. more>

On Dec. 13, a female Fujian immigrant hung herself in front of her ex-husband’s apartment. The incident has drawn much sympathy in the Chinese community. The community worries this tragedy may be part of a larger problem: the family structure of Fujian immigrants and the potential trouble it brings. more>

Community organizations and influential figures are using all avenues to persuade voters to vote for—or against—the mayor’s charter revision to eliminate party primaries. Both sides cite political benefits to immigrants as the basis of their opposing points of view. more>

Guiyu Feng, 76, and Yuexin Huang, 80, were dancing on the grass in the Flushing Meadow Park. Their audience were immigrants of different races. At the other end of the grass Oliver and Oscar Ni, three-year-old twins, were sitting in a stroller with a slogan board larger than their bodies. It said: “Justice for all.” more>

Bank obliged to close down its lifeline. Its clients are undocumented immigrants. more>

More than 300,000 New Yorkers are out of work, and half of the job loss is due to the effects of September 11th. In Chinatown, 60 percent of garment workers are unemployed. Liberty Jobs program would help, though its fate hangs in the balance. more>

Zhang Qua, undocumented but not a suspect in any crime, was handed over to Homeland Security by the police. Fingerpointing at Bloomberg Executive Order by Chinatown community. more>

These days, the normally bustling Canal Street is deserted. After a recent police raid, unlicensed vendors and store owners have packed up their merchandise. But they haven’t gone too far. more>

Each worker attending the week-long strike, which started on May 6, has a tragic story. Though they were injured in different ways, all were abandoned by the New York State injured worker’s compensation policy. more>

Since he opened his office, Dr. Zhang has done about 30 workshops at Flushing Library to raise awareness about mental health and the need for psychological counseling among Chinese people. The workshops were very popular, but they didn’t transfer into turnout in his office. Are cultural stigmas to blame? more>

Chinatown is worried about the fate of Seward Park High School’s bilingual program, the largest in the city. The city is replacing the large high school with two smaller ones and promises to keep a bilingual program in one. But with the trend away from bilingual education, Chinatown’s residents are not reassured. more>

Owners charge that the September 11th fund—which funds ESL classes for displaced garment workers—is harming the garment industry. Because of an increase in orders for army uniforms, factories have more work than their reduced staffs can handle, owners say. more>

Members of the Rescue Wang Bingzhang Committee, (RWBC) a Chinese political dissidents organization, and members of the New York Association for the Peaceful Unification of China (NYAPUC), a pro-Chinese-government organization, clashed about politics in front of the Flushing Library. The excitement led to the death of an elderly professor. more>

Although most in the Chinese community praised the Lins’ generosity and contributions to the community, some are saying that Mrs. Lin—a contributor to the Republican party—demanded bribes from apartment-seekers interested in renting in her Brooklyn subsidized housing complex. more>

Brooklyn authorities charged a Lafayette High School student with a hate crime. He allegedly assaulted a fellow student while cursing Chinese people. The incident is one of several similar attacks at Lafayette recently. more>

Teddy Lai, the Executive Director of the Greater Blouse, Skirt & Undergarment Association, will lead a delegation of Manhattan’s Chinatown garment industry executives to try to convince China’s wholesalers to promote clothes labeled “made in Chinatown” in the big market in China. The delegation will visit Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou this month. more>

As redistricting only occurs every 10 years, Chinatown’s residents want to ensure that new lines are drawn in their best interests. In District 1, with wealthy areas like Soho, many feel that their issues are ignored and would be better served in a new district that included the growing Hispanic population on the Lower East Side. Others feel that Chinatown’s lines should stay put. more>

“In New York, the Republican Party is the minority party. However, its policies match the visions of many Chinese Americans,” said Republican Hsieh Mei-Lin. Others disagree, saying that although Pataki has a good record of achievement, the governor’s failure to address workers’ problems after September 11th exposes his weakness. more>

Asian organizations accused San Diego-based costume maker Disguise, Inc., of discrimination because of their Kung Fu-style mask, which the company put on the market this September in time for Halloween. After protests, Disguise apologized and recalled the masks. more>

Councilman Alan Gerson said that Chinatown must play a significant role in rebuilding lower Manhattan; to that end, he is petitioning the state government for research funds to investigate building an arts center in Chinatown. Local arts organizations, many of which are part of the planning, say such a center is badly needed. more>

Managers of both the international banks and Chinese-run banks agree that as more and more new Chinese immigrants and Chinese-run banks rush in, there is no limit to the potential demand for banking services in Flushing. more>

Amy Tan’s appearance at FAO Schwartz to sign her children’s book “Sagwa,” crated some controversy and reflection within the Chinese-American community here. Tan, who speaks only a little Chinese, claims that she does not mean to be a representative of the culture, only of her own experiences. more>

“Discount” and “sale” signs are everywhere in the windows of the hundreds of jewelry stores along crowded Canal Street. As one of the major traditional businesses in Chinatown, the jewelry stores are still struggling even one year after September 11th. more>

“It is crazy!” said Enrique Calzada when he learned of a Health Department inspectors’ comment in The New Yorker magazine while eating in Chinatown. The comment offended Chinatown’s regulars, irked restaurant owners, and provoked a response from Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields. The Health Department has since apologized. more>

Read through any Chinatown tour guide and you will always find the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on Bayard Street gets high marks. Founded 25 years ago by five second-generation Chinese brothers, CICF has attracted a large group of loyal customers, both Chinese and Western, with its special flavors. more>

Most members of the Bao An Group had to live from subway station performances when they first came to the United States—and some continue to do so, even now. So, the road to Carnegie Hall was not an easy one. more>

Members of the Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York and the Coalition Against Hunger gathered at the City Hall Senior Center to discuss the effects of city budget cuts on senior citizens. They urged everyone to respect and to take care of the elderly. more>

The Choice is Yours: At the McDonald’s on Canal Street, you can use the bathroom only if you buy a $1 certificate or unless you’ve already spent at least that on food or drink. more>