6/26/07 ABC News Law & Justice Unit: "Supreme Court: Decision Stands for Anna Mae He; High Court Won't Intervene in Bitter Custody Battle Over 8-Year-Old Girl,"
by Teri Whitcraft
    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a bitter custody battle over 8-year-old Anna Mae He, whose biological parents have been fighting for years to get her back from the family that has raised her since she was an infant. 
    The high court denied an application by Jerry and Louise Baker to stop a Tennessee Supreme Court mandate ordering that Anna Mae He be reunited with her natural parents, Jack and Casey He. 
    The court also denied the Bakers' petition to review the case and reverse the Tennessee court's decision. 
    The Hes put Anna Mae in what they said was temporary foster care with the Bakers when she was nearly a month old. They have been fighting to reunify with their daughter for seven years. 
    The Bakers have argued that the Hes agreed to let Anna Mae live with them until she was 18 years old. The Bakers had an early victory when, in 2004, a state court granted them parental rights over Anna Mae, a decision that was upheld in the lower courts. Then, in January, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed that decision, ordering that Anna Mae be returned to Jack and Casey He. 
    Joy and Devastation 
    The two families, expectedly, had sharply differing reactions to the Court's decision in the controversial custody battle Monday. 
    "This is the most wonderful and amazing news for my whole family," said Jack He. " I want to sing the song 'Amazing Grace' to everybody!" 
    On the other side of the story, Jerry and Louise Baker, who have waged a desperate fight to keep the 8-year-old, were reportedly devastated by the news. 
    According to their attorney, Larry Parrish, Jerry Baker said, "We can get through this." 
    'A Bomb Dropped' 
    "Once again, the U.S. Supreme Court has slammed the door of justice in the face of an innocent child who has nowhere else to turn," said Debbie Grabarkiewicz of the child advocacy organization Hear My Voice, which has supported the Bakers in their fight to keep Anna Mae. "We had hoped, that after eight years, this court would finally take a look at the injustice that has been done to this child." 
    The Bakers' attorney said that even though the Bakers were prepared for the decision and knew that the Supreme Court would most likely deny their petition, they were still disappointed. 
    "This is such a major thing, that even if you expect it, it's like expecting to have a bomb dropped on your head," Parrish told ABC News' Law & Justice Unit. "You look up, see it coming, and hope it won't go off. But it did." 
    "The recent decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court speak for themselves," said Jack He. "While the recent actions taken by the Bakers also speak for themselves. Out of respect for the juvenile court gag order, I will not at this time be making any further comment." 
    Pastor LaSimba Gray of New Sardis Baptist Church, who is president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Memphis and has been supporting Jack and Casey He in their fight to get Anna Mae back, said he hoped today's ruling would mark the end of Anna Mae's legal saga. 
    "I'm delighted. I'm hopeful this will expedite the process of returning Anna Mae to her rightful parents. Hopefully, this will be the last judicial appeal that the Bakers will have in this process to delay the return of Anna Mae to her parents," he said. 
    "The court ruled that Anna Mae should be returned to them in an expeditious manner, but it's been six months and we're going into the seventh month. While we did not expect them to return Anna Mae to her parents overnight, we certainly didn't expect it to take seven months." 
    Bakers Refuse to Give Up 
    Despite the Supreme Court decision, the Bakers continue to fight. 
    In federal court papers filed June 12, 2007, the Bakers made another plea to overturn the Tennessee Supreme Court ruling that orders Anna Mae He returned to her biological parents. The Bakers argue for a "writ of habeas corpus," that is, an order challenging the state's custody of Anna Mae. 
    The Bakers said the Tennessee Supreme Court and others involved were "amputating [Anna Mae's] legs" and that the court's rulings "are indefensible violations of rights secured to [Anna Mae] by the United States Constitution." 
    They called the Hes "strangers" who "have become monsters in her world," while they say they are her parents in "every single respect." Denouncing the court's rulings, the Bakers said, "No civilized person ever would have conceived the child custody exception as an instrument to leave this nation's children exposed to unbridled & violation of the most fundamental and most basic and most elementary rights conferred by the United States Constitution. If we have stooped to such a level, we should re-examine if we remain a civilized society." 
    Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper Jr. argued in papers filed June 18 that the Tennessee Supreme Court properly found that the Hes never abandoned their daughter Anna Mae and that the district court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. 
    He also criticized Parrish for including "a number of extreme and horrifying hypotheticals" in his filing. "The Hes have full and intact parental rights. The Bakers should not be permitted to usurp those rights," Cooper wrote. 
    Parrish filed a motion Monday, replying to the attorney general's response to his petition for habeas corpus in U.S. District Court. In it, Parrish argued that Anna Mae will suffer "substantial harm" if the motion is denied, the federal court has jurisdiction to hear the case, and "habeas corpus" applies here. (Habeas corpus is typically used to challenge criminal detention and is not typically used in custody situations.) 
    By taking Anna Mae from the Bakers, the state is treating the child as "nothing more than a sack of potatoes to be moved about as gently or roughly as the state, without concern for [Anna Mae's] personhood, chooses," the filing said. 
    The fact that Anna Mae suffers harm and trauma because of old mistakes by Tennessee courts "is no solace" to the girl, Parrish wrote in his response. "Harm is harm is harm and trauma is trauma is trauma," he wrote. This final plea may be the Bakers' last hope. 
    "If the Federal District Court chooses to address the merits to decide whether Anna's constitutional rights were violated, I am extremely optimistic," said Parrish. "My concern is that the Federal District Court will find a technicality to avoid deciding whether [Anna Mae's] constitutional rights were violated." 
    If the federal court doesn't intervene, Anna Mae is expected to be permanently reunited with her biological family and two younger siblings sometime in late July. 
    With reporting contributed by Lauren Pearle.

Immigration Bill

    The U.S. Senate is in the midst of an unprecedented attack on the
basic rights of American citizens with close family members overseas. 
If passed, this bill will strip American citizens of their ability to sponsor 
any child who has reached age 21, bar citizens from ever sponsoring 
their siblings, and cut the quota for parents by half. This bill would also 
cancel sponsorship applications that American citizens have already 
filed and paid for over the past two years.
   Go to: http://www.80-20initiative.net/petition.html to sign 80-20's 
Petition, strongly urging legislators to abandon this effort to eliminate 
family immigration categories, and we will not forget those in Congress
of either party who vote to deny Americans our cherished right to reunite
with our families.
   If America 's enduring focus on family is abandoned, fewer talented and
skilled people will want to come to a country that forces them to be 
separated from their families permanently. It has been the family unification
feature in our immigration law that has built the foundation of our Asian
American community today. Immigrant families thrive and prosper by
members pooling their resources and caring for each other. 
   As Americans who remember and respect our immigrant roots, we 
strenuously protest this ill-conceived proposal that utterly disregards the 
contributions that immigrant families have made to this country throughout
its history. It makes a mockery of the family values that we cherish and uphold. 
   Pass this to your friends and relatives and urge all Americans to voice 
your strong objections to this inhumane, unjust and anti-family proposal and
its devastating consequences.

Kathleen To
President
80-20 PAC, Inc.

5/07: Idiot Lawyer Sues Korean-American Owners of Dry 
Cleaner for $65 Million Over Lost Pants

Contribute to the Custom Cleaners Defense Fund.  
I have done so. http://www.CustomCleanersDefenseFund.com

Write the District of Columbia government to remove plaintiff as 
an administrative law judge.

5/4/07 Washington Post: Customer Sues for $65 Million Over Pants,
by Lubna Takruri, The Associated Press
    Washington -- A missing pair of pants has led to one big suit. A customer 
got so steamed when a dry cleaner lost his trousers that he sued for $65 million. 
Two years later, he is still pressing his suit.

Press Release: Commission Urged To Reconsider Tenure of Law Judge Who's Suing
Dry Cleaner for $65 Million Reappointment to New 10-Year Term, at Taxpayers Expense,
Could Start Tomorrow 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , CONTACT: Darren McKinney, dmckinney@atra.org, 
202-682-0084
    Washington, DC, May 01, 2007 -- The American Tort Reform Association yesterday 
delivered a letter to four District of Columbia officials, urging them to consider carefully 
the "judicial temperament" of an administrative law judge who is seeking reappointment 
while suing a local dry cleaner - over a lost pair of pants - for more than $65 million. 
    His pants were found long ago and are readily available to him, explained ATRA 
president Sherman Joyce. What may no longer be available to him, unless he withdraws
his lawsuit, is a reputation as a jurist with appropriate judicial temperament. 
    As recently reported by The Washington Post, FOX News Channel and other local 
and national media outlets, D.C. administrative law judge Roy Pearson Jr. has sued 
Custom Cleaners in Northeast D.C. under the Districts Consumer Protection and 
Procedures Act, alleging among other things that window signs advertising Satisfaction
Guaranteed and Same Day Service fraudulently deceived customers. 
    The Districts consumer protection act and many others in states across the country
 are well-intentioned but loosely worded, Joyce continued. They were crafted largely 
in the late-1960s and into the 1970s, before personal injury litigation was industrialized 
by the trial bar in the 1980s, and Judge Pearsons lawsuit appears to be a somewhat 
typical, if wholly outrageous example of the exploitation such laws are increasingly 
subject to these days. 
    ATRA pledges to raise sufficient funds to buy Judge Pearson a high-quality suit of 
his choosing if hell do the right thing and let this hardworking family business get back 
to serving its community and paying taxes to the District government, added Joyce. 
But since that may not do the trick, weve reached out to the commission considering 
his reappointment to the well-paid, taxpayer-supported position hes held since May 2, 2005. 
    He noted that D.C. administrative law judges first serve a two-year term upon initial 
appointment and can then apply for reappointment to a 10-year term. Judge Pearsons
initial term expires today, and a source at the Commission of Selections and Appointments
of Administrative Law Judges of the Office of Administrative Hearings confirmed to ATRA
that he has applied for reappointment. The OAH telephone number is (202) 478-1421. 
    Joyces letter to Chief Administrative Law Judge Tyrone Butler and Commissioners
Robert Rigsby, Henry Levine and Peter Wilner also was copied to D.C. Mayor Adrian
Fenty, all members of the D.C. Council and D.C. Superior Court Judge Rufus King,
all of whom have a role in deciding who will serve on the commission in the future.
Judge Pearson also was copied. Full text of the ATRA letter follows below:

April 30, 2007 
Chief Administrative Law Judge Tyrone Butler 
D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings
825 N. Capitol Street, NE
Washington , D.C. , 20002  

Commissioner Robert Rigsby
Commissioner Henry Levine
Commissioner Peter Wilner
Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges
441 Fourth Street NW, Suite 540 S
Washington , D.C. 20001

RE: Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearsons Pending Reappointment to a 10-Year Term

Dear Judge Butler and Commissioners Rigsby, Levine and Wilner:

On behalf of the American Tort Reform Association, which works to combat lawsuit abuse, 
I urge you to carefully reconsider the reappointment of Administrative Law Judge Roy 
Pearson Jr. to a 10-year term scheduled to commence in three days on May 2. 
    As you are almost surely aware by now, thanks to extensive local and national media 
coverage, Judge Pearson has chosen to exploit the Districts well-intentioned but loosely-
worded Consumer Protection and Procedures Act in suing a family-owned D.C. dry 
cleaner for more than $65 million over a lost pair of suit pants. 
    Though the pants have long since been found and made available to him, Judge Pearson
has stubbornly continued to waste precious Superior Court resources in a clearly misguided
effort to extort a hardworking family that provides a service to its community and tax revenue
to the District government. 
    In a letter to the editor in todays Washington Post, former National Labors Relations Board
chief administrative law judge Melvin Welles urged any bar to which Mr. Pearson belongs to
immediately disbar him and the District to remove him from his position as an administrative
law judge.
    To those of us who carefully study the litigation industrys growing abuse of consumer protection
laws around the country (see ATRA general counsel Victor Schwartzs recent article from 
Executive Counsel magazine, Consumer Protection Acts Are a Springboard for Lawsuit Abuse,
enclosed) and to everyday D.C. taxpayers who collectively provide Judge Pearson with a 
considerable salary, his persistence in this lawsuit raises serious doubts about his capacity to
serve the city as a fair, impartial, effective, and efficient judge, as required by the Office of 
Administrative Hearings Establishment Act. 
    If Judge Pearson goes ahead with his lawsuit, any party who comes before him in future 
administrative hearings could understandably lack confidence in his judgment and judicial 
temperament. Furthermore, this case will become fodder for late night comics, various members 
of Congress and other assorted critics of D.C. government if this case, scheduled for trial 
June 11, remains in the headlines.
    Judicial temperament is a critical characteristic of an outstanding jurist. Any individual who 
chooses to pursue a case such as Judge Pearsons, at a minimum, calls into question his or 
hers. As you consider his reappointment, we strongly urge you to examine closely his judicial 
temperament and decide whether it is sufficient to serve the people of the District of 
Columbia properly as an administrative law judge.

Sincerely, 
Sherman Joyce
President
American Tort Reform Association 
Enclosure: Consumer Protection Acts Are a Springboard for Lawsuit Abuse, 
Executive Counsel, March/April 2007, Vol. 4 No. 2

Cc: Mayor Adrian Fenty, Council Chair Vincent Gray, Superior Court Chief Judge Rufus King,
all D.C. Council Members and Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson

The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is the only national organization dedicated 
exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. 
ATRA's membership includes non profits, small and large companies, as well as state and 
national trade, business, and professional associations.

3/07: Condemn anti-Asian hate crimes and hold MTA accountable!
Click on the link to sign the petition!
http://www.petitiononline.com/mtahate1/petition.html

To:  Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force Commanding 
Officer Inspector Michael Osgood, MTA Bus President Tom Savage

On March 16, 2007 the New York Post reported that 17 year old Asian high school 
student, Marie Stefanie Martinez was assaulted in New York by a group of teenagers 
on a MTA B82 bus due to their perception that she looked Chinese even though 
she is of Filipino descent. Ms. Martinez was punched, kicked, and subjected to 
slurs in what can be categorized as a hate crime based on her attackers animus 
towards her perceived ethnicity.

Reportedly, the MTA bus operator who witnessed the assault did nothing to intervene 
during the course of the assault on Ms. Martinez and neglected his moral and ethical 
duty to ensure the safety of MTA riders and punctuated his negligent conduct by 
allegedly advising Ms. Martinez, who was still wearing her Catholic school uniform, 
to "go talk to a priest" after the assault.

This petition seeks the following:

1) The MTA and NYPD conduct a vigorous full and complete investigation into the 
incident ensuring that any violations found of any applicable hate crimes statutes are 
fully applied.

2) The bus operator be subjected to discipline commensurate to the action of 
permitting riders to commit a hate crime on a MTA rider. If the bus operator is found 
to have permitted the assault to have taken place and informed Ms. Martinez to 
go talk to a priest, MTA should subject the bus operator to termination from his position.

By signing this petition, you state that you agree with the aforementioned two points.

Let this serve as notice that the Asian American community remembers the hate crimes 
perpetrated on Fermin Tobera, Vincent Chin, Thong H. Huynh, An Pech, Ly Yung Cheung, 
Navroze Mody, Raphanor Or, Ram Chun, Sokhim An, Thuy Tran, Oeun Lim, Ming Hai 
"Jim" Loo, Heng Lim, Hung Truong, the Nakashima Family, Luyen Phan Nguyen, 
Sam Nhang Nhem, Thanh Mai, Eddy Wu, Thien Minh Ly, Kanu Patel, Mukesh Patek, 
Naoki Kamijima, Won-Joon Yoon, Joseph Ileto, Sandip Patel, Theo Pham, Ji-ye Sun, 
Anil Thakur, Thung Phetakoune, Kenny Chiu, Balbir Singh Sodhi, Waqar Hasan, 
Mijanaur Rahman, Mohammed Sakawat, Vasudev Patel, Lili Wang, Bang Mai, 
Charlotte Colton, Ze Fairchild, Maleka Higgins, Nicola Grant, Guadalupe Swartz, 
Dexter Shannon, Beverly Graham, Song Sun Lee, Stephen Kam Yan Li, and the 
countless other Asians and Asian Americans who have suffered the ultimate price 
due to racial hatred aimed at the Asian/Asian American community.

We will not tolerate hate crimes and will vigorously act to ensure justice in our communities.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03182007/news/regionalnews/girls_bloody_beating_regionalnews_dan_mangan________and_leela_de_kretser.htm

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03212007/news/regionalnews/girl__14__nabbed_in_student_bus_beating_regionalnews_erika_martinez_and_leela_de_kretser.htm

Sincerely,

The Undersigned 

3/07: Vote Against John Deutch as a Director of Citigroup
The Clinton Administration attempted to crucify Wen Ho Lee for mishandling classified information.  See Hall of Shame: Wen Ho Lee Debacle.  John Deutch, former CIA director, also mishandled classified information by placing them on an unsecure home computer which could have been accessed via the internet.  Bigot for the Left Bill Clinton pardoned Deutch but did not pardon Lee.  Vote against Deutch as a director of Citigroup.

Is Princeton discriminating against Asian American applicants?
Click on the link to sign the petition!

http://www.petitiononline.com/prince07/petition.html

April 2006: Protest racist articles at Yale Rumpus
Dear AASA Members,
"Asian girls are like New Orleans levees; they only stay tight for so long" -- Rumpus 4.15.2006 titled "Me Love You Long Time: Yale's case of Yellow Fever" in their Bulldog Days Issue 
"If you have Yellow Fever... Where can you find the largest gatherings of Lees, Wangs and Kims on campus this weekend? For once, the answer isn't at the library.'" -- Herald 1.20.2006 Calendar Section 
"[cartoon] I figured I'd vote for Larry Wise 'cause he's got a better platform...and plus, isn't Emery Asian?" -- Herald 4.14.2006 Comics Section
    Many of you may have read the recent articles in the Rumpus' Prefrosh Issue ("Me Love You Long Time: Yale's Case of Yellow Fever" and "Miscegenation Station: Interracial Dating at Yale") and the newest cartoon in this week's edition of the Herald. Unfortunately, this is not the first time such sexual and racial stereotypes have been propagated under the guise of jokes in either newspaper. 
    These comments are made as jokes, but not all jokes are appropriate. Weve been silent when incidents such as these have occurred, but this time we need to be heard. These incidents occur against our community because we have ignored, and therefore implicitly condoned them. The most effective way to voice your disgust is to let the administration know that this will no longer be tolerated. 
    Weve begun an e-mail campaign, and we urge you to voice your opinion to those that can do something about this, the administration. This campaign will only be effective if you send out these emails. If you are offended by these articles, Yale needs to hear your voice and know you care.
    We are not providing you with a stock email to send out, because a personalized email with your own views and opinions will be most effective. Weve attached a few points below that you may want to consider when emailing these administrators. An example letter is also attached to this email; feel free to use parts of it for your email. 
Email the following people to voice your opinion:
        Dean Peter Salovey, Dean of Yale College 
        Dean Betty Trachtenberg, Dean of Student Affairs 
        Dean Jeffrey Brenzel, Dean of Admissions 
        Dean Saveena Dhall, Dean of the Asian American Cultural Center 
CC the Editors of the Herald and Rumpus, so they know youve contacted the Deans about this.
        Herald Editors: Tamara Micner: yh-editor@yaleherald.com
        Rumpus Editors: miriam.gattis@yale.edu <mailto:miriam.gattis@yale.edu>, samuel.heller@yale.edu <mailto:samuel.heller@yale.edu>
 Points to consider in your email (the articles are attached to this email):
     The latest issue of the Rumpus is the prefrosh issue, meaning that it is read by prospective students and parents while deciding which college they will enroll in. Though Yale students understand the nature of the Rumpus, prefrosh and their parents do not have the same context for it that we do. This may counteract many of the diversity initiatives that Yale has been implementing over the last decade.
       How is So just remember, in the words of one yeller feller,Asian girls are like New Orleans levees; they only stay tight for so long at all appropriate?   
     The editor of the Rumpus said that they had been planning on doing an article on self-segregation and the Af/Am house and another on racial supremacy and La Unidad Latina (the Latino fraternity on campus), but the editorial board shot down the idea because they "thought it would kick up a shitstorm."
   Asians and Asian American currently make up 13% of the Yale College population.
    It is extremely troubling that both of the publications involved are institutionally sponsored. Because the Herald and Rumpus receive UOFC funding, we effectively subsidize the mockery that is directed back at us. 

Amit Mahadevia
Asian American Student Association

Monday, April 17, 2006
To Whom It May Concern:
    I am writing to protest the prevalence of racism aimed directly at Asians and Asian Americans in Yale-funded student publications and the refusal of both the administration and editors of the offending papers to address these issues. These incidents have occurred throughout the school year and we feel that they are continually overlooked, ignored, and thus implicitly condoned.
    Examples of these incidents may be found in the January 15^th, 2005; September 9^th, 2005; January 20^th, 2006; January 27^th, 2006; and April 14^th, 2006 editions of the Yale Herald and the April 14^th, 2006 edition of the Rumpus. The calendar section of the 1/20 issue of the Herald highlights the Asian American Film Festival with the headline If You Have Yellow Fever, continuing with, Where can you find the largest gatherings of Lees, Wangs, and Kims on campus this weekend? For once, the answer isnt at the library. The article unfairly discredits the film festival through the perpetuation of negative stereotypes. Unfortunately, this is not atypical of campus publications.
    The 4/14 edition of the Herald included a comic about the YCC runoff elections between Larry Wise and Emery Choi that implied that race is a primary factor in voting for a presidential candidate and that being Asian discredits otherwise legitimate candidates. Other articles and comics may be seen in the attached packet. 
    The 4/14 edition of the Rumpus both treated Asian women as sexual objects (So just remember, in the words of one yeller feller, Asian girls are like New Orleans levees; they only stay tight for so long.) and attempted to emasculate Asian men (Asian guys have no game.). We understand that the Rumpus is a satirical publication, but it has shown itself to be capable of satire without stooping to the marginalization of an entire community. The fact that these comments are made as jokes does not mean they are appropriate. These stereotypes are not jokes to those who have to face them on a day-to-day basis. 
    Asian-American students make up 13% of Yale College . It is appalling that their peers continue to use outdated stereotypes as a source of humor, and to belittle them when they object to being categorized as such. We are also extremely troubled that the examples of racism mentioned above are institutionally sponsored. Because the Herald and Rumpus received UOFC funding, Asian American students are effectively subsidizing their own subjugation. 
    Yale College is a liberal place, and not necessarily the most politically correct, and we accept that. But this is also a community of equals, and we cannot stand idly by while our equals are treated with disrespect based solely on their race. I join the Asian American Students Alliance, Alianza, Black Students Alliance at Yale, Chinese American Students Association, Dominican Student Association, East Coast Asian American Students Union at Yale, InSight, Japanese American Students Union, KASAMA: Filipino Students at Yale, Korean American Students at Yale, Manifesta, MEChA, Muslim Students Association, Political Action and Education Committee of the Asian American Students Alliance, Realizing Race, Social Justice Network, South Asian Society, Students of Mixed Heritage and Culture, Taiwanese American Society, the Vietnamese Students Association, and the Womens Center in petitioning for action from the editors of these papers and the Yale College administration.
    Sincerely,

3/06: Vote Against John Deutch as a Director of Citigroup
The Clinton Administration attempted to crucify Wen Ho Lee for mishandling classified information.  See Hall of Shame: Wen Ho Lee Debacle.  John Deutch, former CIA director, also mishandled classified information by placing them on an unsecure home computer which could have been accessed via the internet.  Bigot for the Left Bill Clinton pardoned Deutch but did not pardon Lee.  Vote against Deutch as a director of Citigroup.


Help North Koreans escape 
http://www.familycare.org/network/p01.htm

12/9/05 Wall Street Journal: Desperate Journey,
By Nancy Dewolfe Smith
    Despite its whimsical title, "Seoul Train" is deadly serious -- and yet so compelling that you can't stop watching even though you know it will haunt your dreams. Its subject is the "underground railroad" of North Korean refugees who are running for their lives in a desperate attempt to reach freedom. (On PBS's Independent Lens series, Tuesday, 10-11 p.m. ET. Check local listings.)
    Getting out of North Korea , which this documentary accurately describes as the "world's largest prison camp," may be the easy part. Once they make it over the border into China , the refugees are hunted like rabbits by zealous Chinese cops and soldiers. Forcibly repatriated to North Korea , the refugees face torture and imprisonment for the treasonous act of leaving the country. It's a crime punishable by death. Some of the North Koreans interviewed for this film probably are dead already.
    Apart from a few sickening scenes shot secretly in North Korea, most of the program takes place in China, where we meet groups of refugees awaiting rides on an underground route to safety. One of the most welcoming destinations is Mongolia , which has a reputation for treating North Koreans humanely before helping them reach their ultimate destination in democratic South Korea .
    Schindler of Asia
    We meet the first group of refugees as they plan a trip by train, taxi and foot across China to the Mongolian border. They include Han Sul-hee, who is 17. She and the rest of the group, mainly young adults who have left parents and siblings behind, are sitting in a safe house with a Christmas tree and Santa decorations. They have been waiting several months -- eating proper food and trying to gain enough weight so they'll look healthy enough to pass for South Korean tourists. So severe is North Korea 's government-induced famine that the average 7-year-old child in North Korea is about half a foot shorter than his counterpart in South Korea , and it's estimated that up to three million souls have perished from hunger in recent years.
    The camera follows Sul-hee and the others as they head for the train station in Yanji , China , for a journey that will be full of peril at every stage, especially in towns where the locals like to report foreigners to the police. The refugees' escort is Chun Ki-won, a South Korean pastor who has been called the "Schindler of Asia" for his rescue efforts. We last see him and his little tour group as they head into the Gobi, just a few miles from the crossing into Mongolia . The hidden camera could go no farther, so a message on our TV screen fills in the rest: Chun and all his charges were arrested at the border by Chinese police.
    We know how awful that must have been from the scenes we do see, of another group of North Koreans who tried a different method of escape. With the help of activist-guide Moon Kook-han, this group moved into a motel near the Japanese consulate in Shenyang, China, where they spent days preparing to dash through the gates onto sovereign Japanese soil and demand asylum. According to the plan, two men in the group would go first, pushing Chinese guards aside so the women, including 2-year-old Han-mi and her mother, could rush into the consulate yard.
    A camera across the street recorded what happened next: Reaching the gate, the men barged through but the guards grabbed Han-mi and her mother. As a crowd gathered, and the camera rolled, the mother clung to the iron gate, screaming and struggling with all her might to break free and get to safety, just a few precious feet away. But the guards wrestled her to the ground. The last shot we see is little Han-mi's terrified face as the guards overpower her mother.
    Like a Human Being
    Mr. Moon also worked with the seven North Koreans who tried yet another approach and formally applied for refugee status at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The MoFA-7, as the group became known, were arrested by Chinese authorities and presumably repatriated. None has been heard of again. Mr. Moon weeps when he thinks that he may have, in effect, led them to their deaths.
    Watching film of the MoFA-7 in the moments before their arrest -- one woman tells the camera that she's willing to risk death for the chance "to live like a human being with dignity" -- it's tempting to heap all the blame on China and North Korea . But the behavior of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is in a way more shocking. A UNHCR official interviewed here says that while some of the North Koreans may be refugees, there's not much his agency can do to help them. After all, he explains, "a couple" of UNHCR representatives went to the border "four or five years ago" to look into the situation of refugees there and were prevented from doing that by Chinese authorities, "so it's not like we haven't tried."
    A few of the North Koreans seen in this program have since been released from captivity in China and made their way to South Korea, some with the help of concerned members of Congress. But most of the stories do not have happy endings. Since Mr. Chun was arrested at the Mongolian border in 2001, many thousands of refugees have tried and failed to reach freedom. All the program can do is end our ignorance. Someday, when the full extent of North Koreans' suffering is revealed, no one who has seen "Seoul Train" will be able to say, "I didn't know."


2/9/06 asianweek.com: Racist Radio Creates Widespread Backlash,
by Wendy Leung
    With anger coming from both coasts, APA groups have joined ranks in speaking out against Adam Carolla and CBS Radio for a segment that was a rant of ching chong, ching chong repeated 42 consecutive times in a 2 minute 20 second clip.
    The Jan. 24 skit was a mockery of the Asian Excellence Awards show which honors members of the entertainment industry. The show is hosted in English.
    Groups have started a mass mail, phone, fax and e-mail campaign targeting CBS executives and the radios sponsors, demanding an apology, a retraction and disciplinary action.
    Im incredibly disappointed and angry that Adam Carolla, in such an ethnically diverse city, would say something like this, said Stacey Ann Fong Toda, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans. And its not only Adam Carolla, its also CBS for being so ignorant, thinking it would not offend anyone.
    A written statement from CBS Radio read: We have the utmost respect for the role we play in the communities we serve, and by no means was it our intention to offend any member of our audience.
    Karen L. Mateo, CBS Radio communications vice president, said she would not comment on an apology.
    The attitude [of CBS] is, oh well, too bad, it was meant to be funny, said Grace Yoo, executive director of the Korean American Coalition in Los Angeles . Their inability to see it was wrong is extremely frustrating.
    New York City Councilman John Liu felt a similar sense of outrage.
    Its repulsive, said Liu. It makes you want to throw up.
    Last year, Liu led the opposition against radio station HOT 97 for airing a song that ridiculed Asian tsunami victims. Two members behind that show were fired and the station ended up donating $1 million to tsunami relief.
    But Liu said firings mean little unless it is done to the CEO. The councilman said the APA community should target the radio stations advertisers to make sure it loses revenue.
    Now CBS Radio is syndicating his drive-time morning radio show out of KLSX-97.1 FM in Los Angeles thats also heard in San Francisco (106.9 Free FM), Sacramento (106.5 KWOD FM), Phoenix (101.5 Free FM), Portland (101.1 KUFO-FM), San Diego (103.7 Free FM), Las Vegas (KXTE FM), Seattle (107.7 KNDD) and Reno (100.9 KRZQ). CBS Radio, whose parent company is media giant Viacom, has backers that include Verizon and AOL.
    Guy Aoki, president of Media Action Network for Asian Americans, said Carolla has a long history of using racist remarks against Asians, citing his regular use of racial slurs in his appearances on Loveline and The Kevin and Bean Show, two programs on the Los Angeles station KROQ.
    People are fed up with this guy, said Aoki. Its about time that we make a very clear message that the Asian American community is not one to mess with.
    They dont seem to think that APAs will speak out, said Yoo. They think were one of the groups permissible to make fun of.

9/12/05: ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUEES NEED YOUR SUPPORT
   OCA National is actively soliciting donations for Asian Pacific American (APA) Hurricane Katrina evacuees through our local chapter, OCA-Houston. Thousands of the 30,000-50,000 Vietnamese and other APAs living in Louisiana have lost their homes and their livelihoods. For many, this is the second time in their lives that they have had to flee their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs. OCA is also reaching out to OCA members who live in or may have lived in the Gulf region as well as our Gates Millennium Scholars in the affected areas.
    APAs have also played an integral role in the hurricane relief efforts.  For example, Sheriff Harry Lee of Jefferson Parish, a Chinese American elected as sheriff off and on since 1979, has been involved with on the ground relief efforts.  He was quoted in the press as saying, "My daughter rang me, crying. She said, 'Daddy, can't you leave?' I said 'Yes, I can point my car west and step on the gas, but can I go and leave these people here? No, I cannot.'"
    Congressman Bobby Jindal (R-LA-01), an Indian American who was elected in 2004 and who was left homeless by the hurricane, introduced the Student Grant Hurricane and Disaster Relief Act (H.R. 3368) in the House of Representatives. The legislation will provide waiver authority to the Secretary of Education that would permit her to prevent low-income students from being forced to begin repaying their grants and scholarships, in full, if Hurricane Katrina forces them to interrupt their studies. Without the waiver, students whose studies have been interrupted by the effects of the hurricane would have been forced to begin repaying their grants and scholarships with no grace period.  The bill passed last week.
    The city of Houston was one of the first cities to accept the displaced residents. The OCA-Houston Chapter has been active in working and supporting the APA social service agencies that are providing direct service support.  This includes supporting BPSOS, HOPE Clinic, CCC, and many other APIA other organizations who are on the ground helping people with FEMA applications, Food Stamps, immediate vouchers for prescription medicine to the non-insured, food, and other assistance. 
    The City of Houston currently has thousands of people coming and the local APIA community is working together to provide assistance to people in immediate need. 
   OCA-Greater Houston has set-up an online donation system to assist in collecting online donations to be distributed to the 2 APIA community relief funds that do not have online donation capacity.  Please give what you can.  Go to www.ocahouston.org and click to make an online donation by credit card or Paypal.
    The Katrina disaster is not something that is short-term.  They are looking at a 4 month minimum time period where people will need shelter and assistance.  As the donation funds come in, assistance will be provided in the order of medical, food, shelter, and other basic needs.  If you are not making an online donation, please send checks to:
    Chinese Community Center-Katrina CARE              
    9800 Town Park
    Houston, TX 77036 . 
        or
    Houston Asian Relief from Katrina (or HARK)
    c/o City Council Member Gordon Quan
    P.O. Box 1562
    Houston, Texas 77251
    501(c)3 Tax deduction information will be sent to all donors from these two     funds.
   Contact: Anh Phan - Director of Communications, aphan@ocanatl.org
202-223-5500  

9/8/05 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Fleeing the Storm: Family ties bring Vietnamese evacuees to area,
By Neil Strassman
    Arlington - Thomas Nguyen escaped by boat from Vietnam in 1981.
Ten days ago, he fled again, this time from his adopted home of New Orleans just ahead of Hurricane Katrina, and made a beeline for Arlington .
   After a 20-hour drive, Nguyen arrived at his sister's home with three vehicles and 16 relatives.
    "People walked the road faster than the car could drive," said Nguyen, 41, whose sister's home was so crowded with arriving kin that he moved his family last week to the Salvation Army shelter in Arlington . "We would have left sooner, but my parents wouldn't go until the last."
    Nguyen and hundreds of other Vietnamese families have sought refuge in Arlington and other Texas cities, relying on an extensive network of family, friends and well-established Southeast Asian communities in Tarrant County , across North Texas and in Houston .
    "Vietnamese families, churches and Buddhist temples have been feeding and housing people," said state Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston. Vo is the only Vietnamese-American representative in Texas and one of the few Vietnamese lawmakers in the nation.
    Vo said about 10,000 Vietnamese evacuees have gone to Houston since the hurricane.
    The Tarrant County community is centered in Arlington , where 10,000 or more Vietnamese live; 5,000 live in Haltom City . As many as 24,000 Vietnamese may live in the county, according to 2003 Census data. Community leaders, however, say the population is closer to 50,000 in North Texas .
    "They are here because they have some family in the Arlington area," said Tom Ha, a Haltom City businessman and a Vietnamese-American community leader in Tarrant County .
    Because evacuees are staying with relatives or friends, there is no easy way to estimate how many have come to North Texas , Ha said.
    Eastern New Orleans had been home to about 15,000 Vietnamese, census reports show. At least 4,000 lived in Biloxi , Miss. , although Vietnamese community leaders say far more lived there and in other areas along the Gulf Coast , where many are involved in the fishing industry.
    The exodus from New Orleans dispersed family members across the country, said Than Nguyen, 33, who is not related to Thomas Nguyen. Than's brother, for example, fled to Chicago , while Than took his parents and sister to Arlington .
    "Most of my relatives are here, and we need to support each other," said Nguyen, an air-conditioning repairman who has lived in New Orleans for 12 years.
    "My company called me yesterday and told me to return. They set up an apartment for my family between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and will put me to work," he said. "I am going back next week."
    His nephew, Khanh Nguyen , said he will never forget the early Mass at Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in New Orleans the Sunday he drove family members out of town.
    "The church holds about 1,500 people, and it was really, really empty," the 22-year-old said. "We knew it was time to go."
    Vietnamese leaders in North Texas met in Arlington last weekend to organize relief assistance. They established the Katrina Relief Committee of the Dallas and Fort Worth Vietnamese American Community.
    The Dallas community is responsible for searching for Vietnamese evacuees who have come to the Metroplex and helping with temporary housing, clothing and food, said To Thai, president of the Vietnamese American Community of Greater Dallas.
    The Tarrant community is responsible for fund raising, Thai said.
    Two local Vietnamese-language radio stations are helping to raise money. Benefit concerts are planned in Garland on Sept. 24 and in Arlington on Sept. 25, said Andy Nguyen, chairman of the Vietnamese-American Community of Tarrant County. Details for the events will be announced later.
    As the Vietnamese community prepares to help evacuees, Thomas Nguyen is trying to start over again.
    When he started his life in New Orleans , Nguyen washed dishes and bused tables. He saved enough money to open a small convenience store and then another. He bought a house, and then another house, and always paid cash.
    "Now, I am just looking for a job. Any kind of work," he said.
   How to help
To assist Vietnamese evacuees in North Texas, write to Vietnamese National Community of Greater Fort Worth, in care of Katrina victims, P.O. Box 183821, Arlington, TX 76096-3821
The U.S. Agency for International Development has put out a call for Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese speakers to assist Katrina victims. For information about providing assistance, contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.fema.gov.

12/24/04 Dallas Morning News: Coppell family keeps faith while pastor clings to life.  After stroke, generosity for immigrant couple transcends boundaries,
by Esther Wu
    As the wife of a preacher, Sook Jeon knows that Christmas is more than holiday cookies and presents under the tree. She believes it is about teaching people about the birth of Jesus Christ, peace on earth and good will toward others.

MARK M. HANCOCK/Special Contributor

    Sook Jeon cares for her husband at their Coppell apartment. The Rev. Jong Jeon was left paralyzed by a stroke in 2002.
    But even knowing the true meaning of the holiday, Mrs. Jeon said, she couldn't help hoping for one Christmas wish.
    "I want my husband to wake up. I still have hope that he will come through this," she says as she massages the arm of her husband, the Rev. Jong Jeon, who lies semiconscious in a borrowed hospital bed in the living room of their sparse Coppell apartment.
    The preacher's eyes dart back and forth as his wife speaks. She says he knows when people are in the room and understands what is said. Standing next to the bed, Mrs. Jeon reaches  down, puts her hands to her husband's face and speaks directly at him, but he is unresponsive. It has been this way for almost three years.
    Theirs is a situation that would make even the most stalwart Christian question his or her faith. 
But not Mrs. Jeon.
    
How You Can Help
    The Dallas Korean Cultural Foundation has opened an account for the family of Jong Jeon at the Bank of Texas, 2650 Royal Lane , Dallas , Texas , 75229 . Donations can be made to the foundation, with Jong Jeon designated as the beneficiary. Contact James Posey with the Bank of Texas at 972-443-2800. For more information, contact Helen Kim at 972-484-5758.
    "The Lord watches over all of us. He has led us here, and he is still with us. He will get us through," Mrs. Jeon said through an interpreter. "Miracles can happen."
    Evidence of miracles already surrounds these strangers from a foreign land.
    Mr. Jeon, now 49, suffered a massive stroke on Feb. 10, 2002, that left him completely paralyzed. He gets nourishment through feeding tubes. Trachea tubes help him breath. But infection, bedsores and pneumonia are a constant battle, so trips to Parkland Memorial   Hospital 's emergency room are routine.
    "When he had his stroke, the doctors told me there was no hope. He was going to die. But see ... he is getting better. He can move one finger. He can tell me 'yes' or 'no' now," said Mrs. Jeon, 47. But her husband's hands lay limp on the bed.
    Desperate needs
    The family who came to the United States from Korea in 1997 has no medical insurance, no income and very few friends in the United States . Mrs. Jeon, whose job has been to take care of the couple's two children, does not speak any English. Attempts to obtain local, state or federal assistance have failed.
    So for now, Mr. Jeon, a former preacher for the First Full Gospel Korean Church of Dallas, lies in a borrowed hospital bed. Instead of brightly wrapped Christmas presents, boxes of medical supplies are stacked against the wall. The rhythmic sounds from the machine that keeps his trachea tubes clear as he breathes in and out are a sharp reminder of the fragile line between life and death.
    Some North Texas residents have stepped forward to help the Jeons people of differing races and religions. They have been giving from the heart to help someone in need. And while not all are Christians, they are living in the true spirit of Christmas not just today, but all year long.
    Helena Kim, a member of the St. Andrew Korean Catholic Church, read about the Jeons in the local Korean newspaper two years ago and has been a steady resource for the family since.
    A former nurse and now a business owner, Mrs. Kim and her husband have helped support the family for the last two years by providing groceries, medical supplies and even cash.
    "When I read about this family, I thought someone has to help them. They have nobody," said Mrs. Kim. "And they need so much."
    Mrs. Kim admits that there have been times when it has been difficult to stay on with the family. "I have a business and my own family, too," she said. "But when I see Mrs. Jeon and think about what she is going through, well, how can I stop?"
    The local chapter of the Tzu-Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese Buddhist organization, has been providing financial aid to the family, which has enabled them to pay their rent each month.
    Y.L. Ling, the local Tzu-Chi president, said the purpose of his organization is to provide relief where it is needed.
    "The Jeons are Christian, and we are Buddhist. But there are no boundaries when people need help," explained Mr. Ling. "We do this voluntarily, with no expectation of anything in return."
    Tzu-Chi members have also arranged to have their doctors examine Mr. Jeon from time to time and to provide acupuncture treatments to help the recovery process.
    These volunteers help sustain Mrs. Jeon's faith.
    "You ask how I remain true to my church after all that has happened. I say it is only through our faith that we are where we are," she said.
    Finding faith
    Mr. Jeon was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1955. He once told his wife that while serving in the South Korean military, a bomb went off during a skirmish with the North Koreans. Most everyone was killed and Mr. Jeon thought that God spared him for a reason. He later dedicated his life to serving God, Mrs. Jeon said.
    Mr. Jeon became an ordained minister of the Korean Full Gospel Church , a Christian church with Pentecostal roots established in South Korea in the late 1950s.
    He served as a minister in Seoul for 17 years and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1997 when he was called to pastor a church in Hawaii.
    Two years later he moved to a church in Colorado , and in October 2001, he came to Dallas. Five months later, while visiting a church in Oklahoma , Mr. Jeon had the stroke.
    He was hospitalized for a month in Oklahoma before he was transferred by ambulance to Parkland in Dallas, where he stayed another month. When doctors told Mrs.Jeon there was nothing more they could do for her husband, she brought him home to care for him herself. A hospice organization provided the necessary home-care medical equipment and supplies for a year.
    "But hospice is for the dying," Mrs. Kim said. "And you can see the pastor is still very much alive."
    So the hospice caregivers left, taking with them all their equipment.
    Mrs. Kim managed to borrow a bed from Parkland and found people to donate money for an air mattress and medical equipment. Mrs. Jeon has learned how to care for her husband herself.
    "Just when it seem impossible to go on another day, God provided for us in one way or another," Mrs. Jeon said.
    Mrs. Kim visits regularly to run errands, translate and fill out medical forms and to keep Mrs. Jeon company.
    With no steady income except what comes from Tzu-Chi, Mrs. Kim has been trying to get public assistance for the family.
    "Because Mr. Jeon has worked less than 10 years, he is not eligible for Social Security," Mrs. Kim said. "Now I am trying to help the family get food stamps and welfare, but it is very frustrating. No one seems to know if the family is eligible."
    Officials with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in Austin are trying to determine if the family would benefit from any of their programs.
    "A manager from our local eligibility offices in the Dallas - Fort Worth area will be contacting Mrs. Kim to determine the household's potential eligibility. Our staff is also working on some other avenues outside the HHSC to try to get some immediate resources for the family this holiday season," said Jennifer Harris, an agency spokeswoman.
    When asked how she manages, Mrs. Jeon looked at her husband and said, "How can I not? It is unbearable to think of him not here."
    Thanks to student loans and grants, the couple's two children, Laura and Daniel, are attending college away from home. Mrs. Jeon is hoping they'll be home for Christmas. She has put up an artificial Christmas tree in the living room, by her husband's hospital bed.
    "He knows it is Christmas. It makes him happy to see the tree."