Teens find a connection in returning to Chinatown
By Juliana Barbassa, The Associated Press
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:10/29/2006 01:00:00 AM PDT
SAN FRANCISCO - Passengers pour from a crowded bus onto a Chinatown sidewalk. The thin frame of a teenage boy is jostled like a rag doll by women with babies, school kids with backpacks, elderly shoppers picking through bins of flopping fish, and tourists looking for bargains among the plastic Buddhas.
A crowd of teens gathered in the dark basement of the Chinese Historical Society on a Friday night bursts into laughter as the familiar scene from their daily lives plays out on video. They made the short movie to reflect their impressions of a neighborhood that is much more to them than dim sum and souvenir shops.
Chinese-American teens in San Francisco have a complicated relationship with the biggest of the nation's many Chinatowns.
On the one hand, it's a place of comfort and familiarity. But the noise, crowds and smells wafting from open-air produce stands selling dried mushrooms or fresh herbs can seem old-fashioned to a generation hooked on iPods and YouTube, and chaotic compared to the suburbs where some now live.
Yet whether they live in the densely packed blocks or visit regularly to find a physical connection to their culture, history and friends with similar backgrounds, Chinatown still is home to the teens who cherish what it represents even as they make fun of it on film.
"Universally, kids will seek a place of comfort," says Ben Wong, director of the Chinatown Beacon Center, a community organization that offers education and leadership programs for youth. "They naturally connect based on ethnicity, language, socio-economic status. If they leave, they come back. It's a place of connection."
For more than 150 years, the neighborhood has sheltered immigrants. It's one of San Francisco's biggest tourist draws, but still offers a first toehold, a network of support and the reassurance of familiar languages and customs to new arrivals.
This is what sets it apart from other ethnic neighborhoods that within decades can go from a dynamic community to little more than a collection of restaurants and quaint signs. The Chinese have been a part of San Francisco from the city's inception, and the neighborhood is a physical reminder of those roots. It has become a tourist attraction, but visitors have to compete for sidewalk space with recent immigrants looking for spices or foods they can't find anywhere else.
The young people who live and congregate here confront the same challenges faced by inner-city youth of all backgrounds: difficulty accessing good health care, a quality education, tight quarters. In hotels where one room can house a whole family, there's a lack of recreational opportunities and spaces kids can consider their own, said Jan Lin, a professor at Occidental College and author of "Reconstructing Chinatown: Ethnic Enclave, Global Change."
There are drawbacks, but there is also a sense of community that draws teenagers like Vinson Chen, 17, who helps his parents run a general store in Chinatown although he lives across town in the comparatively tidy and spacious Sunset district.
The Chinese were an integral part of San Francisco's wild Gold-Rush days, but for decades segregationist practices forced them to pack their lives into a dozen or so square blocks. They provided for themselves what the outside world would not: schools, markets, medical care and entertainment, building a home in a country that was intent on making them feel unwelcome.
The 1906 earthquake destroyed the old Chinatown, along with most of downtown San Francisco. Some local leaders saw it as an opportunity to sweep the enclave away altogether.
"The cities in the immediate vicinity of the San Francisco Bay never in the past had such opportunity as now to forever do away with the huddling together of Chinese in districts," the Oakland Enquirer wrote days after the destruction.
Instead, the neighborhood was rebuilt, this time in an elaborate Oriental style whose curved eaves and colorful lanterns were designed to attract tourists even as it continued to house traditional family associations, herb shops and restaurants.
Even as immigrants established themselves and moved to outlying neighborhoods, San Francisco and especially Chinatown grew to become "a center of Chinese and Chinese-American culture," says historian Judy Yung, who grew up in the neighborhood during the 1950s and recently published "San Francisco's Chinatown - Images of America."
Today, the largest number of ethnic Chinese in the city live in the Sunset district. But when a leading Board of Supervisors candidate seeking to represent the Sunset held his first fundraiser, it was not in that part of San Francisco but in Chinatown.
"Whether you're living in the Sunset or other parts of the city, you'll return to Chinatown because that remains the cultural and political center of the Chinese-American community," says David Lee, executive director of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee and a professor of political science at San Francisco State University.
http://dailybulletin.com/search/ci_4568176
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The border is everywhere
The border is everywhere
Illegal immigrants come by land, sea and air
Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer SAN PEDRO When 29 undocumented Chinese nationals were found trying to enter the United States through the Port of Los Angeles in April, it wasn't the Border Patrol that caught them.
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:12/19/2005 12:00:00 AM PST
SAN PEDRO -- When 29 undocumented Chinese nationals were found trying to enter the United States through the Port of Los Angeles in April, it wasn't the Border Patrol that caught them.
The men had arrived in a cargo container carried on a Panamanian vessel that had last stopped in China and Hong Kong. Port security personnel spotted them wandering around a cargo area.
The security officers called the U.S. Coast Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which later described the scene as familiar: a 40-foot shipping container filled with empty food packages, water bottles and receptacles overflowing with human waste.
Smuggling fees for immigrants from China can run as much as $60,000 per person. Although tougher security in the post-9/11 world has decreased the smuggling of immigrants by sea, the practice continues.
"It isn't all that uncommon," said Tony Migliorini, a spokesman with the Coast Guard. "We have caught them several times."
The phenomenon of would-be immigrants shipped in sealed containers drives home a fact faced daily by officials around California and the rest of the nation: The battle over illegal immigration is no longer fought only at the line separating the United States from Mexico.
As the tide of undocumented aliens swells, the border is everywhere.
It's a stiff challenge for personnel at ports of entry along U.S. coastlines and at international airports throughout the country. With so much commerce and so many people entering and leaving the country each day, inspecting every man, woman and package that enters the United States would be a daunting task.
Instead, officials use intelligence and improved communication to identify potential threats, focusing limited resources where they're likely to accomplish the most.
But sometimes, someone or something slips through the cracks.
By air and by sea
At the nation's airports, Customs and Border Protection the agency that includes the Border Patrol is charged with maintaining security and making sure no one enters the country who isn't supposed to.
The agency was created in 2003, after the Department of Homeland Security reorganized immigration, border enforcement and customs services. Since then, security at airport checkpoints has improved, said Ana Hinojosa, area port director for CBP in Los Angeles.
Information on travelers is now more readily available to customs officers, Hinojosa said sometimes before flights to the United States ever leave the ground. CBP also has officers stationed at overseas airports, working with foreign governments to screen passengers and keep those deemed "high risk" from boarding U.S.-bound flights.
Before the 2001 terrorist attacks, illegally entering the country through an airport was attempted far more frequently. More than 1.8 million people were apprehended between October 1999 and September 2000 at U.S. airports.
Now, new programs such as US-VISIT which links travelers' visas with fingerprints and digital photographs make it harder for anyone to enter the country without valid documents. But many still try. Customs officers catch impostors "all the time," Hinojosa said.
"In the past, it was easier for brothers or cousins to swap each other's paperwork and come in," she said. "That's no longer an option for them, because we verify their fingerprints."
The government also has implemented a program requiring travelers connected to certain "special interest" countries to undergo stricter screening and questioning upon arrival.
Similarly, information on cargo shipped to the United States is closely monitored by CBP, but only a small fraction of it is ever physically inspected.
Containment problem
Considering the amount of cargo arriving each day, incidents in which immigrants are found inside a container are rare. But many say the fact they happen at all shows the nation's seaports need much tighter security.
Of the thousands of containers coming into U.S. seaports every day, few are opened or scanned to see what's inside. In 2004, the total was 6 percent of all seafaring cargo.
CBP requires information on all cargo coming into the country more than 24 hours before it's loaded onto vessels at foreign ports. That information what's being shipped, where it's coming from and which company is shipping it is used to determine the ships and containers that will be searched with X-ray scans and radiation-detection equipment.
"It gives us 24 hours before that container's actually going to be boarded to screen it and determine whether or not there's any high-risk factor," Hinojosa said.
Additionally, about 40 percent of incoming cargo is transported by companies that participate in a government-certified security program. CBP officers go overseas to be sure the firms involved in the program have instituted higher levels of security.
Customs officials say those programs, taken together, mean 100 percent of cargo entering the country is screened in one way or another.
But that still leaves the port infrastructure in the United States. In 2002, Congress passed the Maritime Transportation Security Act, which was intended to improve security at and around ports. Among the changes it mandated were the use of biometric identification cards, vessel tracking and secure port perimeters.
Although all of the nation's seaports meet the minimum level of security required by the act, many port operators say funding from the federal government to cover those improvements has been slow in coming.
"The government has done a lot with security, especially on the air side, but it's now time to more effectively fund the maritime side," said Aaron Ellis of the Association of American Port Authorities. "We need to make sure our seaports are treated as fairly as our airports."
Many seaports have paid for security improvements out of their operating budgets, then found themselves shut out of federal grants available for reimbursement, Ellis said.
Port security is important to ensure no one can enter a seaport and slip explosives or something else aboard a container scheduled for departure, Ellis said. Also, port security personnel are on the front lines in the immigration battle, like the ones who found the 29 Chinese nationals at the Port of Los Angeles this year.
Watching the waters
That those 29 got ashore before being discovered shows how difficult it can be to stop illegal immigrants and contraband from entering the country, said the Coast Guard's Migliorini.
With more than 12,000 miles of coastline, 300-plus ports, daily arrivals of dozens of foreign ships and 76 million recreational boaters to monitor, the Coast Guard is a busy agency.
The emphasis on anti-terror operations that followed the terrorist attacks of 2001 changed the way the force works. The Coast Guard has increased security patrols around seaports, begun sending armed officers to board incoming and outgoing vessels, and started flying helicopters armed with machine guns in some areas off the East Coast.
Enforcing U.S. immigration laws at sea remains one of the Coast Guard's missions. Each year, thousands of immigrants usually from island nations such as Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic are halted before they reach U.S. soil. Many, however, succeed in landing at U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico.
"If we come across some illegal-immigrant or smuggling operations, we're going to attempt to find those and stop them," Migliorini said.
Depending on whether potential migrants make it to U.S. soil or are intercepted while still in the water, they can be immediately deported or turned over to Citizenship and Immigration Services for processing. At that point, refugees can claim asylum and remain in the country if they meet certain requirements.
In recent years, human smuggling from China has become a larger problem for the Coast Guard. Migliorini said it's not unusual to find a ship nearing U.S. waters with dozens of Chinese nationals crammed together in the cargo hold.
That's where the cargo containers come into play. Although many migrants have been apprehended in the United States and at ports in other nations, it's possible that more made it successfully through the various security measures in place.
"It's hard to tell how often it's happening and if we're catching them every time," Migliorini said. "If they remain in the container and then drive off without anybody knowing, it's hard to know if we missed them."
http://dailybulletin.com/search/ci_3322145
Illegal immigrants come by land, sea and air
Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer SAN PEDRO When 29 undocumented Chinese nationals were found trying to enter the United States through the Port of Los Angeles in April, it wasn't the Border Patrol that caught them.
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:12/19/2005 12:00:00 AM PST
SAN PEDRO -- When 29 undocumented Chinese nationals were found trying to enter the United States through the Port of Los Angeles in April, it wasn't the Border Patrol that caught them.
The men had arrived in a cargo container carried on a Panamanian vessel that had last stopped in China and Hong Kong. Port security personnel spotted them wandering around a cargo area.
The security officers called the U.S. Coast Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which later described the scene as familiar: a 40-foot shipping container filled with empty food packages, water bottles and receptacles overflowing with human waste.
Smuggling fees for immigrants from China can run as much as $60,000 per person. Although tougher security in the post-9/11 world has decreased the smuggling of immigrants by sea, the practice continues.
"It isn't all that uncommon," said Tony Migliorini, a spokesman with the Coast Guard. "We have caught them several times."
The phenomenon of would-be immigrants shipped in sealed containers drives home a fact faced daily by officials around California and the rest of the nation: The battle over illegal immigration is no longer fought only at the line separating the United States from Mexico.
As the tide of undocumented aliens swells, the border is everywhere.
It's a stiff challenge for personnel at ports of entry along U.S. coastlines and at international airports throughout the country. With so much commerce and so many people entering and leaving the country each day, inspecting every man, woman and package that enters the United States would be a daunting task.
Instead, officials use intelligence and improved communication to identify potential threats, focusing limited resources where they're likely to accomplish the most.
But sometimes, someone or something slips through the cracks.
By air and by sea
At the nation's airports, Customs and Border Protection the agency that includes the Border Patrol is charged with maintaining security and making sure no one enters the country who isn't supposed to.
The agency was created in 2003, after the Department of Homeland Security reorganized immigration, border enforcement and customs services. Since then, security at airport checkpoints has improved, said Ana Hinojosa, area port director for CBP in Los Angeles.
Information on travelers is now more readily available to customs officers, Hinojosa said sometimes before flights to the United States ever leave the ground. CBP also has officers stationed at overseas airports, working with foreign governments to screen passengers and keep those deemed "high risk" from boarding U.S.-bound flights.
Before the 2001 terrorist attacks, illegally entering the country through an airport was attempted far more frequently. More than 1.8 million people were apprehended between October 1999 and September 2000 at U.S. airports.
Now, new programs such as US-VISIT which links travelers' visas with fingerprints and digital photographs make it harder for anyone to enter the country without valid documents. But many still try. Customs officers catch impostors "all the time," Hinojosa said.
"In the past, it was easier for brothers or cousins to swap each other's paperwork and come in," she said. "That's no longer an option for them, because we verify their fingerprints."
The government also has implemented a program requiring travelers connected to certain "special interest" countries to undergo stricter screening and questioning upon arrival.
Similarly, information on cargo shipped to the United States is closely monitored by CBP, but only a small fraction of it is ever physically inspected.
Containment problem
Considering the amount of cargo arriving each day, incidents in which immigrants are found inside a container are rare. But many say the fact they happen at all shows the nation's seaports need much tighter security.
Of the thousands of containers coming into U.S. seaports every day, few are opened or scanned to see what's inside. In 2004, the total was 6 percent of all seafaring cargo.
CBP requires information on all cargo coming into the country more than 24 hours before it's loaded onto vessels at foreign ports. That information what's being shipped, where it's coming from and which company is shipping it is used to determine the ships and containers that will be searched with X-ray scans and radiation-detection equipment.
"It gives us 24 hours before that container's actually going to be boarded to screen it and determine whether or not there's any high-risk factor," Hinojosa said.
Additionally, about 40 percent of incoming cargo is transported by companies that participate in a government-certified security program. CBP officers go overseas to be sure the firms involved in the program have instituted higher levels of security.
Customs officials say those programs, taken together, mean 100 percent of cargo entering the country is screened in one way or another.
But that still leaves the port infrastructure in the United States. In 2002, Congress passed the Maritime Transportation Security Act, which was intended to improve security at and around ports. Among the changes it mandated were the use of biometric identification cards, vessel tracking and secure port perimeters.
Although all of the nation's seaports meet the minimum level of security required by the act, many port operators say funding from the federal government to cover those improvements has been slow in coming.
"The government has done a lot with security, especially on the air side, but it's now time to more effectively fund the maritime side," said Aaron Ellis of the Association of American Port Authorities. "We need to make sure our seaports are treated as fairly as our airports."
Many seaports have paid for security improvements out of their operating budgets, then found themselves shut out of federal grants available for reimbursement, Ellis said.
Port security is important to ensure no one can enter a seaport and slip explosives or something else aboard a container scheduled for departure, Ellis said. Also, port security personnel are on the front lines in the immigration battle, like the ones who found the 29 Chinese nationals at the Port of Los Angeles this year.
Watching the waters
That those 29 got ashore before being discovered shows how difficult it can be to stop illegal immigrants and contraband from entering the country, said the Coast Guard's Migliorini.
With more than 12,000 miles of coastline, 300-plus ports, daily arrivals of dozens of foreign ships and 76 million recreational boaters to monitor, the Coast Guard is a busy agency.
The emphasis on anti-terror operations that followed the terrorist attacks of 2001 changed the way the force works. The Coast Guard has increased security patrols around seaports, begun sending armed officers to board incoming and outgoing vessels, and started flying helicopters armed with machine guns in some areas off the East Coast.
Enforcing U.S. immigration laws at sea remains one of the Coast Guard's missions. Each year, thousands of immigrants usually from island nations such as Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic are halted before they reach U.S. soil. Many, however, succeed in landing at U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico.
"If we come across some illegal-immigrant or smuggling operations, we're going to attempt to find those and stop them," Migliorini said.
Depending on whether potential migrants make it to U.S. soil or are intercepted while still in the water, they can be immediately deported or turned over to Citizenship and Immigration Services for processing. At that point, refugees can claim asylum and remain in the country if they meet certain requirements.
In recent years, human smuggling from China has become a larger problem for the Coast Guard. Migliorini said it's not unusual to find a ship nearing U.S. waters with dozens of Chinese nationals crammed together in the cargo hold.
That's where the cargo containers come into play. Although many migrants have been apprehended in the United States and at ports in other nations, it's possible that more made it successfully through the various security measures in place.
"It's hard to tell how often it's happening and if we're catching them every time," Migliorini said. "If they remain in the container and then drive off without anybody knowing, it's hard to know if we missed them."
http://dailybulletin.com/search/ci_3322145
Walls of broken dreams
Walls of broken dreams
1930s Chinese poetry reflects disillusion in American dream
Phillip Zonkel, Staff Writer
U-Entertainment
Article Launched:05/31/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT
IN 1985, RICHARD Turner, an Orange resident and professor of fine art at Chapman University, visited San Francisco's Angel Island Immigration Station, a California state park, and saw intricate poems carved and painted on the walls of the men's barracks. They were created by Chinese immigrants who were detained on the 470-acre island in the middle of San Francisco Bay under Chinese exclusionary laws in the early 20th century.
The poems — long forgotten until they were rediscovered accidentally in 1970 by a park ranger — express grief, frustration, nostalgia and the broken dreams of the languishing victims.
The works inspired Turner's sculpture, "Bridge to Angel Island," which flanks the entrance to the art gallery of the University Art Museum on the Cal State Long Beach campus. It consists of four panels comprised of glass, steel and wood — materials similar to those of the barracks. The panels, which have been at the site since 1994, contain etchings, carvings and sandblasted calligraphy replicas of four Angel Island poems written in Chinese characters.
One reads:
The insects chirp outside the four walls. The inmates often sigh. Thinking of affairs back home, unconscious tears wet my lapel.
Another reads:
America has power, but not justice. In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty. Given no opportunity to explain, it was really brutal. I bow my head in reflection but there is nothing I can do.
The panels, although mounted on a conjoined grid, are monolithic and tombstone-like memorials.
Turner wanted the represented poems in their original Chinese.
"The viewer is in the shoes of a Chinese immigrant who can't read English," he says. "The viewer becomes for a moment in a small sense an outsider."
These poems mirror the feelings of many Chinese immigrants who were housed at Angel Island. PROCESSING CENTER From 1910 to 1940, Angel Island Immigration Station served as a processing and detainment center. The station processed about 1 million immigrants (Japanese, Russian, Indian, Korean, Australian and Filipino), including 175,000-200,000 Chinese. The station was closed in 1940, but was used by the U.S. Army as a prisoner of war processing camp during World War II. It was permanently shut down after WWII.
Despite its innocent sounding name, Angel Island was more of a devil's island. It was the West Coast's insidious version of Ellis Island. It was established through federal legislation aimed at stemming the tide of immigration — the physical embodiment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prevented Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. The law was enacted in response to complaints about the influx of Chinese laborers, who had come to work on the railroads. In some cases, traveling U.S. citizens of Chinese descent had to endure the same procedures and some were not granted permission to re-enter America.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first U.S. legislation to ban a specific ethnic group. It was repealed in 1943, when China became America's ally in World War II, and replaced with a quota system that allowed only 105 Chinese per year into the U.S.
Chinese were not on equal-immigration footing with other ethnicities until the laws were completely rewritten in the mid 1960s.
Unlike Ellis Island, where most immigrants only stayed several hours, Angel Island held Chinese immigrants for an average of two or three weeks, some for nearly two years, as officials verified their immigration status with grueling interrogation interviews.
Historical accounts of life at the station showed great disparity between treatment of Asian and non-Asian immigrants, who were held in separate quarters. Asian detainees, housed in sections of the two-story barracks building that were meant to accommodate 100 but often held 500, were given substandard food, saltwater showers and limited recreation behind barbed-wire fences.
Views from triple-stacked bunks only hinted at the lush greenery and deep blue ocean just outside their confines. Detainees were kept on the north side of Angel Island, facing away from the bustling city that promised them so much opportunity. EXPRESSIVE POEMS Languishing from indefinite stays, prison-like quarters and humiliating medical examinations, many Chinese turned to poetry to vent.
"These walls are talking," says Erika Gee, education director at the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
The raw, poignant language reveals the poet's intimate feelings and state of mind.
"Poetry with a personal feeling is a bedrock in Chinese literature," says Charles Egan, associate professor of Chinese at San Francisco State University. "It dates back as far as 500 B.C. when the 'Shijing' or 'Book of Poetry' was compiled.
"Poetry was seen as a natural product of emotional experience, so there was always a premium placed on expressing yourself, especially in a time of high emotion.
"This is not gibberish," Egan says. "It's good poetry. "These people received at least some education. They use historical allusion and classic language. There are references to classic literature and mythology."
In traditional China, writing poetry was a social practice, with groups of people getting together to transcribe their feelings. The authors also posted their work on public walls.
The poems at Angel Island suggest the writers were well-educated and well-organized, possibly working in "poetry clubs" that were selective about what became mural-like carvings on the wall, Egan says.
"There's a call and response going on in the poetry," he says.
Homer Lee, who was 16 when he arrived at Angel Island in 1926, remembered seeing groups of older men — many of them schoolteachers — huddled together to discuss and display their poetry on the walls during his six-month detainment.
"They tell the truth of their lives and the future of their lives on the wall," says the 95-year-old, who now lives in Berkeley.
Dismissed as graffiti by guards and officials at the time, the writings frequently were painted over and/or filled with putty, which obscured them for decades until a park ranger rediscovered them in the 1970s.
RESCUED FOR HISTORY
At the time, the dilapidated barracks were scheduled for destruction, but were saved from demolition. In 1997, Angel Island Immigration Station became a National Historic Landmark. It is one of only two sites related to Asian-American history (the other is the Japanese-American Internment Camp Manzanar) that hold national-landmark status.
"There is no other historical presence like this in the United States for Chinese Immigrants," says Daphne Kwok, executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
The poems have been the focus of a $50 million, three-phase state parks restoration project under way at the Angel Island Immigration Station. A mix of federal, state and private money funds the project.
Before work began last August, a team of scholars combed the station's barracks and hospital, locating every visible piece of writing on the walls. It was the first-ever attempt at creating such a record, and scholars are using it to find out more about the life of detainees.
Until now, the most comprehensive account was the 1980 book "Island," which published 135 Angel Island poems. But the collection, based on 1930s-era manuscripts by two detainees who reportedly copied poems off the walls, never was physically corroborated. The project located most of those poems and found about 60 new ones.
In 1979, researchers started the process of conducting oral histories with 30 detainees, who wanted to remain anonymous, and translating the poems.
Historian Judy Yung, a co-author of "Island" who conducted oral histories of former detainees, says researchers have been unable to locate any of the poets. Unlike writings by detainees of other nationalities, most of the Chinese work was unsigned.
"There was a sense of secrecy and shame to what happened at Angel Island," Yung says. "It doesn't matter who wrote them, but that the poems speak certain truths and speak certain feelings that we all understand."
Former detainees did not share their stories of incarceration with their children, wanting to put their unpleasant experience behind them. Chinese immigrants who came under false names lived in fear of government retribution and even possible deportation.
"Some (former detainees) want to forget or minimize what happened," says Georges Van Den Abbeele, professor of humanities at UC Davis, who is directing the third phase of the oral history project. "All these things conspire to make it difficult" to record the stories.
"It's not one of the more pleasing parts of American history; it's pretty negative, and it's a forgotten chapter," he says. "But it's important to get the story told."
Angel Island Immigration Station will reopen to the public in the summer of 2007 after completion of the first phase of restoration, featuring a new exhibit with the scholars' findings.
The exhibit spotlights the Chinese poetry, but it also includes writings from other Asian, Russian, South American and Middle Eastern immigrants who passed through the station, as well as World War II prisoners of war later held there.
While those writings were mainly just short messages and name inscriptions, Egan says the diversity shown hopefully will help visitors understand the Angel Island experience as "a real American story out there that has a large resonance."
http://dailybulletin.com/search/ci_3880042
1930s Chinese poetry reflects disillusion in American dream
Phillip Zonkel, Staff Writer
U-Entertainment
Article Launched:05/31/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT
IN 1985, RICHARD Turner, an Orange resident and professor of fine art at Chapman University, visited San Francisco's Angel Island Immigration Station, a California state park, and saw intricate poems carved and painted on the walls of the men's barracks. They were created by Chinese immigrants who were detained on the 470-acre island in the middle of San Francisco Bay under Chinese exclusionary laws in the early 20th century.
The poems — long forgotten until they were rediscovered accidentally in 1970 by a park ranger — express grief, frustration, nostalgia and the broken dreams of the languishing victims.
The works inspired Turner's sculpture, "Bridge to Angel Island," which flanks the entrance to the art gallery of the University Art Museum on the Cal State Long Beach campus. It consists of four panels comprised of glass, steel and wood — materials similar to those of the barracks. The panels, which have been at the site since 1994, contain etchings, carvings and sandblasted calligraphy replicas of four Angel Island poems written in Chinese characters.
One reads:
The insects chirp outside the four walls. The inmates often sigh. Thinking of affairs back home, unconscious tears wet my lapel.
Another reads:
America has power, but not justice. In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty. Given no opportunity to explain, it was really brutal. I bow my head in reflection but there is nothing I can do.
The panels, although mounted on a conjoined grid, are monolithic and tombstone-like memorials.
Turner wanted the represented poems in their original Chinese.
"The viewer is in the shoes of a Chinese immigrant who can't read English," he says. "The viewer becomes for a moment in a small sense an outsider."
These poems mirror the feelings of many Chinese immigrants who were housed at Angel Island. PROCESSING CENTER From 1910 to 1940, Angel Island Immigration Station served as a processing and detainment center. The station processed about 1 million immigrants (Japanese, Russian, Indian, Korean, Australian and Filipino), including 175,000-200,000 Chinese. The station was closed in 1940, but was used by the U.S. Army as a prisoner of war processing camp during World War II. It was permanently shut down after WWII.
Despite its innocent sounding name, Angel Island was more of a devil's island. It was the West Coast's insidious version of Ellis Island. It was established through federal legislation aimed at stemming the tide of immigration — the physical embodiment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prevented Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. The law was enacted in response to complaints about the influx of Chinese laborers, who had come to work on the railroads. In some cases, traveling U.S. citizens of Chinese descent had to endure the same procedures and some were not granted permission to re-enter America.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first U.S. legislation to ban a specific ethnic group. It was repealed in 1943, when China became America's ally in World War II, and replaced with a quota system that allowed only 105 Chinese per year into the U.S.
Chinese were not on equal-immigration footing with other ethnicities until the laws were completely rewritten in the mid 1960s.
Unlike Ellis Island, where most immigrants only stayed several hours, Angel Island held Chinese immigrants for an average of two or three weeks, some for nearly two years, as officials verified their immigration status with grueling interrogation interviews.
Historical accounts of life at the station showed great disparity between treatment of Asian and non-Asian immigrants, who were held in separate quarters. Asian detainees, housed in sections of the two-story barracks building that were meant to accommodate 100 but often held 500, were given substandard food, saltwater showers and limited recreation behind barbed-wire fences.
Views from triple-stacked bunks only hinted at the lush greenery and deep blue ocean just outside their confines. Detainees were kept on the north side of Angel Island, facing away from the bustling city that promised them so much opportunity. EXPRESSIVE POEMS Languishing from indefinite stays, prison-like quarters and humiliating medical examinations, many Chinese turned to poetry to vent.
"These walls are talking," says Erika Gee, education director at the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
The raw, poignant language reveals the poet's intimate feelings and state of mind.
"Poetry with a personal feeling is a bedrock in Chinese literature," says Charles Egan, associate professor of Chinese at San Francisco State University. "It dates back as far as 500 B.C. when the 'Shijing' or 'Book of Poetry' was compiled.
"Poetry was seen as a natural product of emotional experience, so there was always a premium placed on expressing yourself, especially in a time of high emotion.
"This is not gibberish," Egan says. "It's good poetry. "These people received at least some education. They use historical allusion and classic language. There are references to classic literature and mythology."
In traditional China, writing poetry was a social practice, with groups of people getting together to transcribe their feelings. The authors also posted their work on public walls.
The poems at Angel Island suggest the writers were well-educated and well-organized, possibly working in "poetry clubs" that were selective about what became mural-like carvings on the wall, Egan says.
"There's a call and response going on in the poetry," he says.
Homer Lee, who was 16 when he arrived at Angel Island in 1926, remembered seeing groups of older men — many of them schoolteachers — huddled together to discuss and display their poetry on the walls during his six-month detainment.
"They tell the truth of their lives and the future of their lives on the wall," says the 95-year-old, who now lives in Berkeley.
Dismissed as graffiti by guards and officials at the time, the writings frequently were painted over and/or filled with putty, which obscured them for decades until a park ranger rediscovered them in the 1970s.
RESCUED FOR HISTORY
At the time, the dilapidated barracks were scheduled for destruction, but were saved from demolition. In 1997, Angel Island Immigration Station became a National Historic Landmark. It is one of only two sites related to Asian-American history (the other is the Japanese-American Internment Camp Manzanar) that hold national-landmark status.
"There is no other historical presence like this in the United States for Chinese Immigrants," says Daphne Kwok, executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
The poems have been the focus of a $50 million, three-phase state parks restoration project under way at the Angel Island Immigration Station. A mix of federal, state and private money funds the project.
Before work began last August, a team of scholars combed the station's barracks and hospital, locating every visible piece of writing on the walls. It was the first-ever attempt at creating such a record, and scholars are using it to find out more about the life of detainees.
Until now, the most comprehensive account was the 1980 book "Island," which published 135 Angel Island poems. But the collection, based on 1930s-era manuscripts by two detainees who reportedly copied poems off the walls, never was physically corroborated. The project located most of those poems and found about 60 new ones.
In 1979, researchers started the process of conducting oral histories with 30 detainees, who wanted to remain anonymous, and translating the poems.
Historian Judy Yung, a co-author of "Island" who conducted oral histories of former detainees, says researchers have been unable to locate any of the poets. Unlike writings by detainees of other nationalities, most of the Chinese work was unsigned.
"There was a sense of secrecy and shame to what happened at Angel Island," Yung says. "It doesn't matter who wrote them, but that the poems speak certain truths and speak certain feelings that we all understand."
Former detainees did not share their stories of incarceration with their children, wanting to put their unpleasant experience behind them. Chinese immigrants who came under false names lived in fear of government retribution and even possible deportation.
"Some (former detainees) want to forget or minimize what happened," says Georges Van Den Abbeele, professor of humanities at UC Davis, who is directing the third phase of the oral history project. "All these things conspire to make it difficult" to record the stories.
"It's not one of the more pleasing parts of American history; it's pretty negative, and it's a forgotten chapter," he says. "But it's important to get the story told."
Angel Island Immigration Station will reopen to the public in the summer of 2007 after completion of the first phase of restoration, featuring a new exhibit with the scholars' findings.
The exhibit spotlights the Chinese poetry, but it also includes writings from other Asian, Russian, South American and Middle Eastern immigrants who passed through the station, as well as World War II prisoners of war later held there.
While those writings were mainly just short messages and name inscriptions, Egan says the diversity shown hopefully will help visitors understand the Angel Island experience as "a real American story out there that has a large resonance."
http://dailybulletin.com/search/ci_3880042
U.S. Asians drawn to life in Irvine
U.S. Asians drawn to life in Irvine
Good schools, low crime rates, well-paying jobs lure many, especially Chinese Americans.
By David Kelly, Times Staff Writer
October 29, 2006
In the world of highly manicured Orange County communities, few are polished to the luster of Irvine. The master-planned, upscale city of cookie-cutter homes and broad boulevards looks every inch the stereotype of suburban living — orderly, safe and homogenous.
Yet just beneath the surface lies another Irvine, one of Buddhist temples and teahouses, a city with bustling Chinese markets and a university where nearly half the students are Asian. Once the epitome of conservative, white suburbia, Irvine is now a place where a person can spend a lifetime never having to speak English.
"I used to think I would retire someday and move to Chinatown," said Yvonne Wang, who moved to Irvine from New Jersey in 1994. "Now Irvine is like Chinatown."
Attracted by good schools, low crime and well-paying jobs, Irvine has become a destination for Asian American professionals, especially Chinese Americans. It's home to one of the country's biggest Chinese language schools, the largest Buddhist temple and monastery in Orange County, a Chinese orchestra and clubs for artists, students and senior citizens. More Chinese Americans live in Irvine than any other city in the county.
"A lot came in the last decade. The education system has clearly been a magnet; people don't end up living here by accident," said Irvine Mayor Beth Krom. "We are a Pacific Rim community, so it's natural to see more Asian people."
According to U.S. census estimates, 36.7% of Irvine's 185,000 residents are Asian American. Of that, 21,757 are Chinese, up from 14,973 in 2000. Koreans, Vietnamese and Japanese constitute most of the remaining Asian Americans. Irvine schools, where classrooms are often heavily Chinese American, have become among the most competitive in the region.
"I have heard parents say they don't want to send their kids here because they aren't high achievers," said Jung Kang, who teaches Chinese at University High School. "The students are very competitive, but that is an incentive for others to do better."
Yet despite the heavy influx of Chinese, there is no Chinatown or strictly Chinese neighborhoods. Such enclaves are more often found in lower-income immigrant areas, places that don't exist in Irvine. New arrivals here tend to be doctors, lawyers, engineers and academics with the language skills and money that many traditional immigrants don't have.
And they are catered to in typical Orange County fashion, with neatly kept shopping centers and strip malls. The largest is Culver Plaza, home to Chinese banks, restaurants, tea shops and the sprawling 99 Ranch Market, which carries pickled lettuce, quail eggs, live catfish and moon cakes.
For culture, Chinese plays and operas are performed at the Irvine Barclay Theater.
Nancy Cheng, 75, a teacher and nurse, came to Irvine from Villa Park because she was constantly attending Chinese functions here.
"I never spoke so much Chinese in my life until I moved to Irvine," she said.
The rapid transformation of the town from a predominantly white enclave to an increasingly Asian one can startle even the Chinese Americans.
"I came from San Bernardino, where I was the only Chinese girl in my school," said Belinda Vong, a member of UC Irvine's Chinese Assn. "I felt special. Not anymore."
Kevin Lee is president of the association. He said UCI, which is 40% Asian, is often referred to as University of Chinese Immigrants.
"When you leave Irvine, it hits you that this is really a bubble," he said. "A lot of Asians here take their culture for granted."
Not those who came first. They remember when there were only a handful of Chinese Americans, when there were no clubs, when buying ingredients for dinner meant driving to Los Angeles and the idea of staging a Chinese opera was simply unthinkable.
"Ten years ago there was not one Chinese store. When I first came there were a few, mostly Taiwanese, residents. China had not opened up yet," said Jimmy Ma, a leader in the Chinese American community. "The big reason people came was because of the schools. Chinese stress education. That's how we compete."
Ma and others rented high school classrooms for a Chinese language school. When the rent was raised, they decided to build their own facility. After years of planning, the $12-million, 44,000-square-foot South Coast Chinese Cultural Center opened in April.
The center's Chinese school now has more than 1,000 students. It also offers Japanese and Korean language classes, along with Chinese dance, art, basketball and badminton courts. Students can also get academic tutoring and SAT preparation.
"We want our children to combine the good part of both cultures — Chinese and American," said Joy Chao, who runs after-school programs at the center.
The school system has had to adapt to Asian immigrants. They have hired Chinese, Korean and Japanese-speaking staff. They hold regular meetings with parents to explain how the schools operate. Often, educators say, parents are keenly interested in what sort of academic performance is required to get their students into Harvard, Yale or Stanford.
"People talk about culture and they focus on the exterior, superficial things like food and festivals, but it's really about a person's worldview," said Melodee Zamudio, who coordinates language programs for the Irvine school district. "Many of these kids come from a culture where education is such a precious gift, and you bring honor to the family by studying hard."
At University High, 41% of the students are Asian American, the vast majority Chinese Americans, said assistant principal Chuck Keith. The Academic Performance Index is 891, putting it among the top 2% in the state.
"I think the Asian family is a factor in that score," Keith said. "I think it is part of the culture of our school and I see kids rise to meet those expectations."
Asian American students admit there is pressure to perform academically, though some say it's easier here than where they came from.
"My parents are very serious about school. They don't push extracurricular activities," said Charles Jawa, 16. "If I want to do it, fine, but studying comes first."
Jacob Chen, 11, moved from Taiwan three years ago.
"It's much better here than Taiwan," he said. "In Taiwan they give you four times as much homework."
Some Chinese Americans privately complain that other parents ask them what grades their children get or what college they will attend. Others send their children to schools with fewer Chinese students, hoping it will be less competitive. Many struggle for a balance.
"It's an extremely competitive place even at the preschool level," said Isabel Mah, 39, as she waited for her 5-year-old son to finish Chinese class at the Chinese cultural center. "I want my kid to be a kid but I want him to do well in school."
As Chinese influence grows, local political leaders are learning that international disputes can now erupt at home.
That's what happened in June when Mayor Krom went to China to establish a sister city arrangement with Xuhui, a region of Shanghai. She said a city staffer signed the agreement before she saw it. The deal required Irvine to recognize the One China Policy — meaning China and Taiwan were one, not two, countries. It also demanded that Irvine officials not travel to Taiwan where they have a sister-city relationship with Taoyuan.
Shortly after, nearly 200 protesters, originally from Taiwan, showed up at a City Council meeting, angry at what they saw as Irvine's kowtowing to China.
The council quickly rescinded the sister-city deal and said it would renegotiate another only if it was strictly nonpolitical.
"Regardless of what was signed, we don't take our marching orders from other countries," Krom said.
Taiwanese and mainland Chinese residents of Irvine insist there is no tension between them.
"We treat the Taiwan-China debate like religion — you don't talk about it," said Rose Cheung.
Her friend Susie Chu said, "It's a fact, there are differences between the two."
Chu and Cheung belong to the Irvine Evergreen Chinese Senior Assn., a group of about 400 senior citizens engaged in a wide array of cultural activities.
"My mom is 86 and never thought she could live in a place like Irvine and not have to speak English," Chu said.
Despite their growing numbers, the Chinese Americans worry how they are perceived by the community.
"I think we have set a good example," said Yvonne Wang, 70, president of the Evergreen association. "We have been very constructive to society here."
Cheung nodded.
"We still have our individuality," she said. "But collectively we are very conscious about how we present ourselves."
Across town, along a busy street of low-slung warehouses, the sloping red roof of the Pao Fa Temple rises. Guarded by stone dragons at the door, it is calm and quiet inside. Incense burns. Buddhist nuns with shaved heads and brown robes chant sutras in the Great Hall, where 3,000 golden Buddhas stare down on them.
The $5-million temple, one of the biggest in the nation, opened in 2002. Irvine was selected, according to a nun, because the abbot received a sign during meditation to put it here.
After a recent service, a collection of worshipers — men on one side, women on the other — silently ate in the spartan cafeteria.
When she finished, Ying Chow, 62, stepped into the library. She revels in time spent at the temple, remembering when she had to drive to Hacienda Heights to attend services.
"Most of my friends are in Irvine now. It has become a real community for the Chinese. But it's still surprising to see this temple here," she said, folding her hands and smiling. "Orange County has really changed. I feel good about it, I feel very special."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-irvine29oct29,1,339208.story
*
A multitude of Asian groups
Asian Americans account for almost 37% of Irvine's population, and people of Chinese ancestry account for more than a third of the city's Asian Americans. Irvine estimates the city's total population at 185,000, while the 2005 census data estimate is 172,182.
*
In Irvine, the percentage of the population that is Asian American is 36.7%,
in Orange County 16%, and in the state 12.4%
Chinese in Irvine
Irvine's residents of Chinese ancestry make up a higher proportion of the city's Asian population than in either the county or the state.
Chinese as a percentage of all Asians, by region
Of California's Asians - 25.5%
Of Orange County's Asians - 15.8%
Of Irvine's Asians - 34.5%
Sources: U.S. census data; 2005 American Community Survey
Good schools, low crime rates, well-paying jobs lure many, especially Chinese Americans.
By David Kelly, Times Staff Writer
October 29, 2006
In the world of highly manicured Orange County communities, few are polished to the luster of Irvine. The master-planned, upscale city of cookie-cutter homes and broad boulevards looks every inch the stereotype of suburban living — orderly, safe and homogenous.
Yet just beneath the surface lies another Irvine, one of Buddhist temples and teahouses, a city with bustling Chinese markets and a university where nearly half the students are Asian. Once the epitome of conservative, white suburbia, Irvine is now a place where a person can spend a lifetime never having to speak English.
"I used to think I would retire someday and move to Chinatown," said Yvonne Wang, who moved to Irvine from New Jersey in 1994. "Now Irvine is like Chinatown."
Attracted by good schools, low crime and well-paying jobs, Irvine has become a destination for Asian American professionals, especially Chinese Americans. It's home to one of the country's biggest Chinese language schools, the largest Buddhist temple and monastery in Orange County, a Chinese orchestra and clubs for artists, students and senior citizens. More Chinese Americans live in Irvine than any other city in the county.
"A lot came in the last decade. The education system has clearly been a magnet; people don't end up living here by accident," said Irvine Mayor Beth Krom. "We are a Pacific Rim community, so it's natural to see more Asian people."
According to U.S. census estimates, 36.7% of Irvine's 185,000 residents are Asian American. Of that, 21,757 are Chinese, up from 14,973 in 2000. Koreans, Vietnamese and Japanese constitute most of the remaining Asian Americans. Irvine schools, where classrooms are often heavily Chinese American, have become among the most competitive in the region.
"I have heard parents say they don't want to send their kids here because they aren't high achievers," said Jung Kang, who teaches Chinese at University High School. "The students are very competitive, but that is an incentive for others to do better."
Yet despite the heavy influx of Chinese, there is no Chinatown or strictly Chinese neighborhoods. Such enclaves are more often found in lower-income immigrant areas, places that don't exist in Irvine. New arrivals here tend to be doctors, lawyers, engineers and academics with the language skills and money that many traditional immigrants don't have.
And they are catered to in typical Orange County fashion, with neatly kept shopping centers and strip malls. The largest is Culver Plaza, home to Chinese banks, restaurants, tea shops and the sprawling 99 Ranch Market, which carries pickled lettuce, quail eggs, live catfish and moon cakes.
For culture, Chinese plays and operas are performed at the Irvine Barclay Theater.
Nancy Cheng, 75, a teacher and nurse, came to Irvine from Villa Park because she was constantly attending Chinese functions here.
"I never spoke so much Chinese in my life until I moved to Irvine," she said.
The rapid transformation of the town from a predominantly white enclave to an increasingly Asian one can startle even the Chinese Americans.
"I came from San Bernardino, where I was the only Chinese girl in my school," said Belinda Vong, a member of UC Irvine's Chinese Assn. "I felt special. Not anymore."
Kevin Lee is president of the association. He said UCI, which is 40% Asian, is often referred to as University of Chinese Immigrants.
"When you leave Irvine, it hits you that this is really a bubble," he said. "A lot of Asians here take their culture for granted."
Not those who came first. They remember when there were only a handful of Chinese Americans, when there were no clubs, when buying ingredients for dinner meant driving to Los Angeles and the idea of staging a Chinese opera was simply unthinkable.
"Ten years ago there was not one Chinese store. When I first came there were a few, mostly Taiwanese, residents. China had not opened up yet," said Jimmy Ma, a leader in the Chinese American community. "The big reason people came was because of the schools. Chinese stress education. That's how we compete."
Ma and others rented high school classrooms for a Chinese language school. When the rent was raised, they decided to build their own facility. After years of planning, the $12-million, 44,000-square-foot South Coast Chinese Cultural Center opened in April.
The center's Chinese school now has more than 1,000 students. It also offers Japanese and Korean language classes, along with Chinese dance, art, basketball and badminton courts. Students can also get academic tutoring and SAT preparation.
"We want our children to combine the good part of both cultures — Chinese and American," said Joy Chao, who runs after-school programs at the center.
The school system has had to adapt to Asian immigrants. They have hired Chinese, Korean and Japanese-speaking staff. They hold regular meetings with parents to explain how the schools operate. Often, educators say, parents are keenly interested in what sort of academic performance is required to get their students into Harvard, Yale or Stanford.
"People talk about culture and they focus on the exterior, superficial things like food and festivals, but it's really about a person's worldview," said Melodee Zamudio, who coordinates language programs for the Irvine school district. "Many of these kids come from a culture where education is such a precious gift, and you bring honor to the family by studying hard."
At University High, 41% of the students are Asian American, the vast majority Chinese Americans, said assistant principal Chuck Keith. The Academic Performance Index is 891, putting it among the top 2% in the state.
"I think the Asian family is a factor in that score," Keith said. "I think it is part of the culture of our school and I see kids rise to meet those expectations."
Asian American students admit there is pressure to perform academically, though some say it's easier here than where they came from.
"My parents are very serious about school. They don't push extracurricular activities," said Charles Jawa, 16. "If I want to do it, fine, but studying comes first."
Jacob Chen, 11, moved from Taiwan three years ago.
"It's much better here than Taiwan," he said. "In Taiwan they give you four times as much homework."
Some Chinese Americans privately complain that other parents ask them what grades their children get or what college they will attend. Others send their children to schools with fewer Chinese students, hoping it will be less competitive. Many struggle for a balance.
"It's an extremely competitive place even at the preschool level," said Isabel Mah, 39, as she waited for her 5-year-old son to finish Chinese class at the Chinese cultural center. "I want my kid to be a kid but I want him to do well in school."
As Chinese influence grows, local political leaders are learning that international disputes can now erupt at home.
That's what happened in June when Mayor Krom went to China to establish a sister city arrangement with Xuhui, a region of Shanghai. She said a city staffer signed the agreement before she saw it. The deal required Irvine to recognize the One China Policy — meaning China and Taiwan were one, not two, countries. It also demanded that Irvine officials not travel to Taiwan where they have a sister-city relationship with Taoyuan.
Shortly after, nearly 200 protesters, originally from Taiwan, showed up at a City Council meeting, angry at what they saw as Irvine's kowtowing to China.
The council quickly rescinded the sister-city deal and said it would renegotiate another only if it was strictly nonpolitical.
"Regardless of what was signed, we don't take our marching orders from other countries," Krom said.
Taiwanese and mainland Chinese residents of Irvine insist there is no tension between them.
"We treat the Taiwan-China debate like religion — you don't talk about it," said Rose Cheung.
Her friend Susie Chu said, "It's a fact, there are differences between the two."
Chu and Cheung belong to the Irvine Evergreen Chinese Senior Assn., a group of about 400 senior citizens engaged in a wide array of cultural activities.
"My mom is 86 and never thought she could live in a place like Irvine and not have to speak English," Chu said.
Despite their growing numbers, the Chinese Americans worry how they are perceived by the community.
"I think we have set a good example," said Yvonne Wang, 70, president of the Evergreen association. "We have been very constructive to society here."
Cheung nodded.
"We still have our individuality," she said. "But collectively we are very conscious about how we present ourselves."
Across town, along a busy street of low-slung warehouses, the sloping red roof of the Pao Fa Temple rises. Guarded by stone dragons at the door, it is calm and quiet inside. Incense burns. Buddhist nuns with shaved heads and brown robes chant sutras in the Great Hall, where 3,000 golden Buddhas stare down on them.
The $5-million temple, one of the biggest in the nation, opened in 2002. Irvine was selected, according to a nun, because the abbot received a sign during meditation to put it here.
After a recent service, a collection of worshipers — men on one side, women on the other — silently ate in the spartan cafeteria.
When she finished, Ying Chow, 62, stepped into the library. She revels in time spent at the temple, remembering when she had to drive to Hacienda Heights to attend services.
"Most of my friends are in Irvine now. It has become a real community for the Chinese. But it's still surprising to see this temple here," she said, folding her hands and smiling. "Orange County has really changed. I feel good about it, I feel very special."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-irvine29oct29,1,339208.story
*
A multitude of Asian groups
Asian Americans account for almost 37% of Irvine's population, and people of Chinese ancestry account for more than a third of the city's Asian Americans. Irvine estimates the city's total population at 185,000, while the 2005 census data estimate is 172,182.
*
In Irvine, the percentage of the population that is Asian American is 36.7%,
in Orange County 16%, and in the state 12.4%
Chinese in Irvine
Irvine's residents of Chinese ancestry make up a higher proportion of the city's Asian population than in either the county or the state.
Chinese as a percentage of all Asians, by region
Of California's Asians - 25.5%
Of Orange County's Asians - 15.8%
Of Irvine's Asians - 34.5%
Sources: U.S. census data; 2005 American Community Survey
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