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☆ A Lesson in Tender, Tangy Lemon Bars
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Genevieve Ko | More About Genevieve Ko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I had no idea what lemon bars were. My classmates said that my new school would turn my Chinese American self into a banana or a Twinkie — yellow on the outside, white within. Because the lemon bars didn’t taste like a loss of identity, but an expansion of it. But from-scratch treats from midcentury Americana were foreign to me — and lemon bars tasted especially mysterious, at once sour and sweet, rich and sharp. The next year, Betty Crocker’s “Cooky Book” included a recipe for Lemon Squares, which extended its popularity beyond local community cookbooks.

Persons: Eleanore Mickelson, Betty Crocker’s “ Organizations: Chicago Tribune Locations: East Asia, Mexico, Eden, Los Angeles

☆ The Contentious U.S.-China Relationship, by the Numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Ana Swanson | More About Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The U.S.-China Business Council estimated that U.S. exports to China supported nearly 1.1 million jobs in the United States in 2021. Also in the survey, 46 percent of American companies thought that U.S.-China relations would deteriorate in 2023, while only 13 percent thought they would improve. Personal and cultural connectionsThe United States is home to nearly 2.4 million Chinese immigrants, making it the top destination for Chinese immigrants worldwide. China had more than 80,000 movie screens by late 2021, compared with roughly 39,000 in the United States. Air carriers are running only 24 flights a week between the United States and China, compared with about 350 before the pandemic.

Persons: Janet L, Yellen, Germany —, China’s, Long, ByteDance, Maheshwari, Nicole Sperling Organizations: Economic, International Monetary Fund, Initiative, China . Trade, China Business Council, United, Commerce Department, Financial, American Chamber of Commerce, Columbia University Locations: China, United States, Beijing, U.S, Canada, Mexico . U.S, The U.S, Japan, Britain, Germany, China’s, American, Comscore

☆ Coco Lee, ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and ‘Mulan’ Singer, Dies at 48
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Lauren Mccarthy | More About Lauren Mccarthy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Coco Lee, a Chinese American singer and songwriter best known for performing an Oscar-nominated song in the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” died on Wednesday. She was 48. The cause was suicide, according to a statement from her sisters, Carol and Nancy Lee, who did not say where she died. Ms. Lee was taken to a hospital on Sunday after she attempted suicide at her home, they said. “Coco had been suffering from depression for a few years but her condition deteriorated drastically over the last few months,” her sisters wrote.

Persons: Coco Lee, Oscar, ”, Carol, Nancy Lee, Ms, Lee, “ Coco, “, Coco Organizations: Academy Locations: American, Asia

Mindy Yu was raised in Queens, New York, in a working-class family who lived paycheck to paycheck. Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Accounts pay high interest rates Check mark icon A check mark. No fees Check mark icon A check mark. Open accounts you might not be able access outside of Raisin Check mark icon A check mark.

Persons: Mindy Yu, Yu, —, didn't, Roth, It's Organizations: Service, Social Security, Roth IRA, Mint, FDIC, Chevron Locations: Queens , New York, Manhattan's Chinatown

☆ What Does It Mean to Be an Asian American Brewer?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( T.M. Brown | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 1994, Leah Wong Ashburn’s father, Oscar, did something very few, if any, Chinese Americans had tried before: He opened a craft brewery. Mr. Wong, who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica in the 1960s, had retired to Asheville, N.C., after a long and successful career running an engineering firm. Beer wasn’t on his mind until a friend and local brewer proposed starting their own operation — the city’s first since Prohibition. “There weren’t very many of us around back then.”Though demographics in the craft beer industry have slowly shifted since Highland opened its doors nearly 30 years ago, it is still a world dominated by white owners. According to data from the Brewers Association, only 2 percent of breweries in the United States are owned by Asian Americans like the Wongs.

Persons: Leah Wong Ashburn’s, Oscar, Wong, Beer wasn’t, ”, Wong Ashburn Organizations: Asheville, Prohibition, Brewing, Highland, Brewers Association Locations: United States, Jamaica, N.C, Asian

☆ A Stir-Fry to Convert Green Bell Pepper Skeptics
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Eric Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Next to its older siblings in blazing red, orange and yellow, the green bell pepper has never had the best reputation. But, if you’re trying to capture the edge of bitterness, where savory and sweet intermingle, then the green pepper might be your ideal implement. Perhaps the one dish where the diner must confront the unripe pepper head-on is pepper steak. For many Americans, what comes to mind is the saucy beef stir-fry seen on takeout menus and strewn with crunchy panels of Christmassy red and green bell peppers. The Chinese American pepper steak, she said, “feels like a culmination of all of those influences.” The Leungs — Sarah, Kaitlin, Bill and Judy — published their first proper pepper steak recipe only recently, in April, using oyster sauce, chicken stock and red bell peppers in addition to the green.

Persons: Sarah Leung, “, Sarah, Kaitlin, Judy — Locations: Louisiana, Sichuan, Fujian

☆ As China's intelligence capabilities grow, spying becomes an increasing flashpoint in ties with US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

They underscore how intelligence gathering – an activity meant to go on without detection, out of the public eye – is becoming an increasingly prominent flashpoint in the US-China relationship. That pushes intelligence gathering itself to become “another factor that is complicating US-China relations,” he said. That’s especially the case, experts say, as China continues to expand its own intelligence gathering capabilities – catching up in an area where the US has traditionally had an edge. Other arms of the Communist Party apparatus also play a role in activities beyond conventional intelligence gathering, experts say. Heightened concern and awareness about Chinese intelligence gathering – or the potential for it – has exploded in the US in recent years.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Bill Burns, ”, Lyle Morris, Christopher Johnson, “, there’s, they’ve, Johnson, Xi Jinping, That’s, Xuezhi Guo, Guo, Xi, Hector Retamal, –, TikTok –, Edward Snowden, ’, Shou Zi Chew, Jabin, John Delury, John T, Downey, Delury Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, US, White House, CIA, CNN, Asia Society, Center for, Central Intelligence Agency, China, Group, U.S . Navy, AP, Guilford College, People’s Liberation Army, Ministry of State Security, Communist Party, Federal Bureau of Intelligence, The New York Times, Huawei, TikTok, Tiktok, US Justice Department, China Initiative, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security Agency, US Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, China ”, Energy, Commerce, Capitol, Washington Post, Subversion Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China, Beijing, American, Cuba, US, Center for China, South, Russia, AFP, Washington, USA, South China, Washington , DC

☆ New survey finds the lives of Chinese Americans are heavily impacted by racism and puts renewed focus on Asian hate crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A study by Columbia University spoke to 6,500 Chinese Americans. According to data from the Department of Commerce, 5.4 million Chinese Americans live in the US. The COVID-19 pandemic fuelled this surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans, with a study from the Anti-Defamation League finding that the pandemic corresponded with a rise in hate speech and harassment on social networks aimed at Asian Americans. The suspects in both shootings were later revealed to be Asian men, diminishing fears that the attacks were hate crimes, but advocates say the violence adds to the dread that Asian Americans have experienced the past several years. On May 2022, the Department of Justice released a new report to raise awareness of hate crimes during the pandemic, citing a "surge of hate crimes and hate incidents against Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities."

☆ How the costumes of ‘American Born Chinese’ straddle fantasy and reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —“American Born Chinese,” the new Disney+ show based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel of the same name, transports viewers to two distinct realms: Heaven, via iconic Chinese mythology, and Earth, via an American high school. The first centers on Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a Chinese American teenager at a mostly White high school. One of the storylines of "American Born Chinese" is rooted in classic Chinese mythology. But having so much Chinese and Chinese American representation on screen and behind the scenes proved immensely helpful. Sally Woo, a Chinese American costumer on the show, told Cretton stories about the Monkey King she heard from her mother and grandmother, and shared other media adaptations of “Journey to the West” for inspiration.

Persons: CNN —, Gene Luen, Joy Cretton, You’re, Jin Wang, Ben Wang, Jin, Wei, Chen, Jimmy Liu, Carlos Lopez, Disney Wei, Cretton, Sun Wukong, Daniel Wu, –, ”, Huy Quan, Freddy Wong, Cretton –, Maui –, Sally Woo, King, “, ” Cretton, Kelvin Yu, Bull, – Cretton, Phillip Lim, Prabal Gurung, Sun, Michelle Yeoh, Mercy, Lim, Yeoh Organizations: CNN, CNN — “, Disney, “, diamante Locations: United States, American, Disney, Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, Maui, Heaven

☆ Two Memoirs of Chinese American Hunger, Three Decades Apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Qian Julie Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A stream of stir-fries, soups and sweets appeared at my door just a few miles away; on my phone, a text: “Have you eaten?”In many Asian American households, love is intermingled with food. Rather than telling us that they love us, our parents feed us, guarding against physical hunger while an emotional one rages. Two memoirs, Fae Myenne Ng’s “Orphan Bachelors” and Jane Wong’s “Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City,” explore the many forms of hunger that come with being Asian in America. Honoring the full depth of both memoirs in a single review is as impossible as celebrating the full richness of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage in a single month. Ng and Wong are both second-generation Americans with ancestral roots in Toishan, in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

Some Chinatown residents benefited from the development boom, selling properties to developers or drawing more customers from increased foot traffic. Some residents have shown tentative support for the luxury buildings, saying they might make the neighborhood safer or bring in wealthier Asian residents who could boost Chinatown's economy. Manhattan Chinatown's housing stock is "really aged," which has led to costly fires, according to Thomas Yu, executive director of Asian Americans for Equality. Chinatowns and the pandemicMany debates surrounding luxury development and affordable housing were accelerated by the pandemic, which shuttered hundreds of businesses across Chinatowns. However, business owners who spoke with CNBC said Chinatown's businesses, though still recovering, are keeping the city's culture alive.

☆ She Wrote a Blistering Satire About Publishing. The Publishing Industry Loves It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When Kuang sent the first 100 pages to Hannah Bowman, her literary agent, Bowman at first tried to dissuade her from pursuing the project, warning that nobody would want to publish it. “We did have a conversation where I said, ‘There are things in here that I am afraid could offend people you work with,’” Bowman recalled. After Kuang insisted, Bowman sent it out, and was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic responses. “For publishing insiders, it’s just catnip, it’s so dishy about the industry,” Bowman said. “We’re like ‘Wow, does she like us?’”For Kuang — who at 26 has built a devoted following for her deeply researched and thought provoking fantasy novels — publishing a scorched-earth satirical takedown of the publishing industry was creatively and professionally risky.

☆ ‘Mott Street’ Chronicles 4 Generations of Chinese American Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Dwight Garner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

MOTT STREET: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming, by Ava ChinOld family stories are hard to revivify, even when they’re good family stories. This is the problem Ava Chin is up against in her sensitive, ambitious, well-reported, heavily peopled yet curiously remote memoir-cum-history, “Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming.” It’s a book that has everything going for it except that intangible spark that crisp and confident storytelling throws off. The air is a bit still in this book, as if one is walking behind the docent on a long museum tour. Chin’s memoir takes its title from the narrow north-south road in Manhattan’s Chinatown that’s generally thought of as its Main Street, to which Chin’s family has a long and intricate and prosperous connection. When she’s on Mott Street, Chin feels she’s at home — except when she feels like an out-and-out alien (she can’t decide) because she and her mother were abandoned by her father and driven from the home place.

☆ On Malaysia homecoming, Oscar winner Yeoh vows to nurture local film talent
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Yeoh, 60, won the Oscar for her portrayal of Chinese American laundromat owner Evelyn Wang in the science-fiction kung fu comedy "Everything Everywhere All at Once". We have to create platforms that will showcase their talent," Yeoh told a news conference before a fan event. Dressed in loose jeans and a white blouse, Yeoh posed for pictures smiling with her Oscar statuette in front of a sign that said "pride of Malaysia". [1/7] Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh shows her engraved Oscar statuette during a news conference after returning to her home country for the first time since winning her first Oscar for Best Lead Actress, at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia April 18, 2023. "I heard the roar of joy, happiness all across the world to Los Angeles," she told fans, recalling when the winner was revealed.

☆ Asian Americans are anxious about hate crimes. TikTok ban rhetoric isn’t helping
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

And the Chinese government’s authoritarian approach to numerous other issues clashes with important American values, said many Asian Americans interviewed for this article. Concerns about China have gone mainstream as US national security officials and lawmakers have publicly grappled with state-backed ransomware attacks and other hacking attempts. People rallied during a "Stop Asian Hate" march to protest against anti-Asian hate crimes on Foley Square in New York, on April 4, 2021. But to Chu, the incident was an example of the way politics surrounding China, technology and national security have fueled anti-Asian sentiment. “Asian American issues are American issues, and all Americans deserve to be treated with respect.

☆ Jamie Lee Curtis wins best supporting actress Oscar for 'Everything Everywhere'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Jamie Lee Curtis wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" during the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaBy Mary MillikenLOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Jamie Lee Curtis won the Oscar for best supporting actress on Sunday for her role as the imperious IRS auditor bearing down on a Chinese American laundromat owner struggling to finish her taxes in "Everything Everywhere All At Once." It was the first Academy Award for the 64-year-old Curtis, in her first ever Oscar nomination over a 45-year career in film that kicked off with horror movie "Halloween." The daughter of famous Hollywood actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, Curtis has jokingly called herself "nepo baby" but is known in Hollywood for her lack of pretension. (Reporting by Mary Milliken; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)((mary.milliken@thomsonreuters.com))Keywords: AWARDS OSCARS/SUPPORTING ACTRESSOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Oscars 2023: Michelle Yeoh says she 'kung fu'd' glass ceiling with historic best actress win
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Last night, Yeoh, 60, became the first Asian woman to win best actress at the Oscars for her leading performance in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." The Malaysian-born Yeoh is only the second woman of color ever to take home the award. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" won seven Oscars including best picture and best director. "I have to thank the academy for acknowledging, embracing diversity and true representation," Yeoh told reporters after her win. "I'm still here today … Finally, after 40 years, I get this," she told reporters backstage while holding up her award.

☆ Michelle Yeoh wins best actress Oscar for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

By Nichola GroomLOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Malaysia's Michelle Yeoh won the Academy Award on Sunday for best lead actress for her role as a Chinese American laundromat owner dealing with family turmoil in "Everything Everywhere All at Once", becoming the first Asian woman to win in the category. Yeoh, 60, was widely regarded as the front-runner for the award after claiming a Screen Actors Guild honor and a Golden Globe award for the role. In "Everything Everywhere," Yeoh's character, Evelyn Wang, is struggling to finish her taxes when she is swept into alternate universes. The science-fiction film was a critical and commercial success and is vying for the best picture Oscar. (Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)((nichola.groom@thomsonreuters.com))Keywords: AWARDS OSCARS/ACTRESSOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jubilation as 'pride of Malaysia' Yeoh wins first Oscar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Ebrahim Harris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Reuters) - Family and friends of Malaysia's Michelle Yeoh responded with screams, jubilation and pride on Monday at her winning the Academy Award for best lead actress, Asia's first ever winner in the category. There were ecstatic roars and fist-pumps as her triumph was announced at an Oscars viewing party in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, with all eyes on her surprised and delighted mother, Janet Yeoh. Everybody knows it," she told a news conference afterwards, in front of a poster of her daughter that said "Pride of Malaysia". It was Yeoh's first Oscar nomination and she had been widely regarded as the front-runner. Yeoh made her Hollywood breakthrough when she was cast as the first ethnic Chinese Bond girl in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" opposite Pierce Brosnan.

☆ Filmmaking duo behind 'Everything Everywhere' win directing Oscar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

By Lisa RichwineLOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the filmmakers who brought to life the off-kilter action-adventure movie "Everything Everywhere All at Once," won the Academy Award on Sunday for best director. It was the first Oscar for Kwan and Scheinert, who became friends in college and are known professionally as the Daniels. It starred Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe as a farting corpse, the only companion for a man stranded on a deserted island. Prior to their movie careers, Kwan and Scheinert, both 35, directed music videos for artists including DJ Snake and Jack Johnson. On Sunday, the duo beat celebrated filmmaker Steven Spielberg, "Banshees of Inisherin" director Martin McDonagh and others who were nominated for the directing prize.

☆ How academy president Janet Yang went from 'feeling like an outsider' to becoming one of the most powerful people in Hollywood
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Janet Yang, the President of the Academy at the 95th Oscar Nominations Announcement held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater on January 24, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. Janet Yang is one of the most powerful people in Hollywood — but for a long time, she thought a career in entertainment was impossible. On the Universal Studios lot, Yang met two people that would change the course of her career: Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. Last summer, when the academy announced they were looking for a new president, Yang nominated herself for the job. Outside of the academy, Yang has earned a reputation as a "godmother" to other Asian Americans working in Hollywood and is actively involved in several organizations working to amplify AAPI voices in entertainment.

☆ Meet 6 trailblazers in the NFL, Coast Guard and more: 'Success isn't being the first,' it's having 'many others follow'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Morgan Smith Gili Malinsky Ashton Jackson Jennifer Liu | Morgan Smith | Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"There was something about the Coast Guard, the missions, seeing the small boats that just spoke to me," she says. Fagan ended up attending the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and her first tour of duty in 1985 took her to Antarctica. From there, the Coast Guard would offer a new assignment every couple of years. Of all 32 teams in the NFL, less than 10 have a Black or female president. "To me, the definition of success isn't being the first — it's to have many, many others follow behind you."

☆ Where New York’s Asian Neighborhoods Shifted to the Right
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Jason Kao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

In last year’s governor’s election, voters in Asian neighborhoods across New York City sharply increased their support for Republicans. And predominantly Asian areas — precincts with a majority of eligible Asian voters — have undergone a pivotal shift. Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Note: The precinct in Kensington is mostly Indian and Bangladeshi. Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Flushing, 2022 Murray Hill Bayside Flushing Northern Blvd. Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area Detail area state senate race Bensonhurst Sunset Park McDonald Ave. 65th St. New Utrecht Ave. 8th Ave.

Instead the opposite happened," said Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the select committee, in his opening remarks. McMaster said the United States must put a priority on expediting delivery of billions of dollars of weapons and munitions that Taiwan has already purchased. Although the committee is bipartisan, some Democratic lawmakers have voiced concerns that it could fuel anti-Asian sentiment within the United States. The select committee has 13 Republican and 11 Democratic members. It will not write legislation, but will draw attention to competition between the United States and China on a range of fronts and make policy recommendations.

☆ Covid shrunk the restaurant industry. That’s not changing anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In 2020, Covid restrictions ground the nation’s bustling restaurant industry to a halt. Last year, there were about 631,000 restaurants in the United States, according to data from Technomic, a restaurant research firm. Meanwhile, restaurant operators are seeing their own costs, like rent and ingredients, rise, and say it’s hard to hire staff. With conditions so tough, some restaurant owners are advising newcomers to steer clear of the industry altogether. Daniel Jacobs, a chef and restaurant owner, has seen his own network of restaurants shrink over the past few years.

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