Author: Nora

Happy Thanksgiving To You and Yours!

Dear UCA Family and Friends,

Thanksgiving holiday always has a special place in the hearts of UCA family, because we have so much to be thankful for.

Whether it is the record-breaking 2022 Chinese American Convention, or our first Chinese American Youth Convention, or the downfall of the China Initiative, or our continued fight for fair treatment of Anming Hu, Feng Tao and many other Chinese American scientists; or the latest exciting news that Sherry Chen finally won a historic settlement with the Federal government, a rare milestone, or the welcoming of new UCA-Arizona chapter and UCA Southwest Florida chapter, or the fast expanding of our WAVES program across the country, or the successful launching of UCA Community Fund, or the establishment of UCA Action and UCA PAC, two powerful tools allowing our community to engage deeper in the political process, your abundant support for and belief in UCA and its vision have sustained and lifted us all.

We achieved so much together in 2022 by following our motto of serve, lead, inspire. We are working hard for another bumper year of harvest, so to speak, in 2023. At UCA, we are a close knit family of great friends thankful for the lasting friendship. Let us make history together, again! Join UCA by becoming a member or renewing your membership https://ucausa.org/join-uca/, or by planning a year-end gift of donation to UCA https://ucausa.org/uca-2022-holiday-fundraising/.

Although we cannot gather in person for this holiday, we are connecting and embracing each other in spirit and prayers!

Thank you, the amazing UCA family and friends!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Warmly yours,
The UCA Team

亲爱的UCA家人和朋友:

感恩节在UCA大家庭的心中总是有着特殊的地位，因为我们有太多的事情要感恩！

无论是创纪录的2022年UCA美国华人大会，还是我们的首届全美华人青年大会；无论是挫败美国司法部的“中国倡议”，还是UCA WAVES项目在全国范围内的快速扩张; 无论是陈霞芬最终与联邦政府达成历史性和解的里程碑，还是UCA为华裔科学家诸如为胡安明和陶丰教授等争取公平对待的不懈努力；无论是欢迎亚利桑那分会和西南佛罗里达分会的成立，还是UCA社区基金会的成功启动；或者是UCA Action和UCA PAC这两个让华人社区更深入参与美国政治进程的有力工具的创立；你们对UCA及其愿景的帮助和信任，都支持和鼓舞了我们所有人。

在2022年，我们遵循“服务、领导和激励”的UCA座右铭，一起取得了如此多的成就。我们正在准备迎接另一个丰收年，2023年的到来。在UCA，我们是一个亲密的大家庭，感谢你们长久以来的友谊，让我们再次一起创造历史！

加入UCA成为会员：https://ucausa.org/join-uca/

续签您的会员资格或计划为UCA捐赠年终礼物：https://ucausa.org/uca-2022-holiday-fundraising/

虽然不能在这个节日聚集在一起，但我们在精神上和祈祷中彼此连接和拥抱！

谢谢你们，UCA的家人和朋友们！

感恩节快乐！

 UCA团队

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十年冤屈，十年抗争，陈霞芬终获历史性胜利

前美国国家气象局华裔科学家陈霞芬（Sherry Chen）的律师今天宣布了一项历史性的和解协议，分别涉及陈霞芬被联邦政府错误起诉和被不当解雇的两起民事诉讼。

2012年，美国商务部下属的威胁和调查管理局（Investigations and Threat Management Service，简称ITMS）开始对陈霞芬进行非法调查，这是针对华裔美国人的一个典型歧视的例证。

后来，陈霞芬被FBI和司法部毫无根据地逮捕和起诉。从此开始了十年冤屈，十年抗争之路。在包括UCA在内的亚裔民权组织的强烈抗议之下，ITMS于去年正式解散。此前，参议院的一份报告曾详细描述了该部门如何在法律之外运作，变成了一支“无法无天“的执法部队，并在没有证据的情况下，对商务部工作人员（尤其是亚裔员工）展开轻率的调查。

在陈霞芬寻求正义的道路上，UCA是第一个站出来支持她的民权组织。UCA曾在纽约时报头版报道了陈霞芬冤案的当天，首先联系国会亚太裔党团的华裔和亚裔议员，并在四天后在国会山上发起了有近十位国会议员参加的陈霞芬事件第一次新闻发布会。UCA并帮助陈霞芬设立了“陈霞芬法律保护基金”。之后，UCA发起“A Christmas Gift for Sherry”全美义捐，并多次为她募款，薛海培会长更是奔波于许多城市为陈霞芬募捐。UCA同时寻求积极法律帮助，在国会层面为她奔走相告，联络民选官员和其他各界人士，共同支持她。

在陈霞芬寻求正义的道路上，UCA是第一个站出来支持她的民权组织。UCA曾经多次为她募款，寻求法律帮助，并在国会层面为她奔走相告，联络民选官员和其他各界人士，共同支持她。

Sherry Chen Letter to Supporters

My dear friends:

Today is a day for celebration. I’m writing to announce a historic settlement in my two lawsuits seeking accountability for the government’s illegal and discriminatory investigation of me, its wrongful prosecution, and its termination of my employment with the National Weather Service.

The settlement is one of the largest paid to an individual plaintiff in Commerce Department history. As compensation, the Commerce Department is paying me $550,000, and I’ll receive an annuity from the U.S. government valued at $1.25 million over ten years. In addition, the Commerce Department is hosting a private meeting between me and a senior agency official, and it is providing me with a letter that acknowledges my extensive accomplishments during my tenure as a U.S. government hydrologist.

Today’s settlement is not only a victory for me; it is also a victory for our community and for the rule of law. It makes clear that profiling and discrimination are unacceptable, and that rogue investigative units like ITMS have no place in a democratic society. The government cannot escape the consequences for these wrongs. It will be held to account.

Of course, no amount of money can ever fully repair the injustices I’ve experienced. But today’s settlement is a critically important step toward achieving justice for myself and for so many Chinese Americans who have been subjected to unjustified government scrutiny.

Your unwavering support has been essential to this fight every step of the way. Although I’m unfortunately unable to celebrate with each of you in person, please know that I’m thinking of each of you, and I am so grateful for your kindness and generosity over this years-long fight. You’ve given me the strength to go on.

Thank you so much!

Sherry Chen

以下为陈霞芬的公开信：

今天是一个值得庆祝的日子。在这里，我向大家公布一个有关我的历史性和解协议。此前，我起诉政府针对我的歧视性不公调查，以及之后对我的错误起诉。我还起诉国家气象局错误地终止我的就业合同。

该和解协议是商务部历史上支付给个人的最大一笔赔偿金之一。作为赔偿，商务部将付给我55万美元；我将在十年的时间里，从美国政府那里获得总共125万美元的年金。此外，商务部正在组织一个我和一名高级官员之间的私人会议；商务部还会向我提供一封表彰信，承认我在担任美国政府水文学家期间所取得的一系列成就。

今天的和解不仅是我个人的胜利，也是我们社会和法治的胜利。这清楚地表明，针对特定族裔的的歧视是不可接受的，像商务部ITMS这样的不合理调查在民主社会里是没有立足之地的。政府不能逃脱这些错误行为所导致的后果，终将被追究责任。

当然，再多的钱也无法完全弥补我所经历的不公正。但是，今天的和解是为我和众多遭受政府不公正调查的华裔在伸张正义方面所迈出的至关重要的一步。

今天的结果离不开各位对我坚定不移的支持。虽然我不能和你们亲自庆祝这一好消息，但请记住，我一直铭记着你们每一个人的帮助，我非常感谢你们在这场漫长的斗争对我所给予的善意和慷慨支持。您的支持是我坚持走到今天的力量。

非常感谢！

陈霞芬

UCA会长薛海培, 数年来一直对陈霞芬事件费尽幸苦和努力。在听到陈霞芬和联邦政府达成和解协议后，他激动地说, “这是我和UCA同仁们盼望了七年之久的大喜事！是美国华人历史上在历经了多次最高法院的胜诉，二十多年前李文和案件的胜诉之后，华人维权史上又一可歌可泣的重大胜利。”

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相爱不必相杀—爱的五种表达 | “解读爱、学会爱”公益讲座

每个人都渴望着爱，如同花草树木渴望阳光；也都想让这份爱去滋养到我们心里在乎的每个人！然而，我们日复一日，年复一年的为爱人，孩子付出，常常却得不到相应的感谢，有时甚至得到的是恨意。这是为什么？

我们常常在亲密关系里受到伤害——久久等待，甚至苦苦哀求，却收不到想要的温暖回应…我们爱的卑微，爱的精疲力尽，甚至伤痕累累，这又是为什么？

……

南北卡华人社区服务中心（简称CCACC）和美国华人联合会精神健康项目组（简称UCA Waves）特别邀请到著名的心理咨询师方琦老师，来为大家“破解爱的密码”。

方老师将用自己从业二十多年的真实案例，使大家看到亲密关系里最真实的对方和自我，看到人性最深切的渴望和需求。通过觉察和感悟，摆脱情感的自动巡航，走出爱的困境——让自己、让爱人、让孩子、让父母，让亲密关系里的每一个人，都感到温暖，得到陪伴。 

欢迎关注UCA WAVES-CCACC 公益心理系列讲座-《相爱不必相杀——爱的五种表达》 ，一起“破译爱的密码”。

时间：10月27 - 12月1日 每周四晚
美东时间 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Zoom: 82517431748

UCA TALKS | Overreach-How China Derailed its Peaceful Rise

Overreach-How China Derailed its Peaceful Rise
Date： November 1st (Tuesday)
EST: 5:30 -- 6:30pm
WST: 2:30 -- 3:30pm
Register for the Webinar
A Talk by Susan Shirk on Her New Book “How China Derailed its Peaceful Rise”
 
At a time of great and worsening confrontation between US and China, a time of grave concern for its future by the Chinese American community, UCA is honored to invite Prof. Susan Shirk, one of the most influential China scholars in America and a highly respected former diplomat, as the guest speaker for our next #UCATalks webinar series.
 
Susan Shirk is chair of the 21st Century China Center and a research professor at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. Shirk’s 2008 book, “China: Fragile Superpower,” helped frame the policy debate on China in the U.S. and other countries. Her other books include: “The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China,” “Competitive Comrades” and “Changing Media, Changing China.” She previously served as deputy assistant secretary of state (1997-2000), responsible for U.S. policy toward China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mongolia. She is director emeritus of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation and founded the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue, an unofficial forum for discussion of security issues.
 
During the webinar, Prof. Shirk will discuss her newly released, highly expected book “Overreach: How China Derailed its Peaceful Rise”, followed by a conversation with the audience.
 
This talk will be moderated by Haipei Shue, president of UCA.
 
UCA members and friends are welcome to subscribe to China 360, a bulletin featuring original insights from the scholars at the 21st Century China Center to inform people about the complex and multidimensional developments in China and U.S.-China relations: https://linktr.ee/21CCC
 
To register for the webinar, please click the link https://tinyurl.com/UCATalk or scan the QR code.
 
Time: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 5:30pm ET, or 2:30pm PT
 
To support UCA, please donate here
 
United Chinese Americans (UCA)
第四场讲座：Overreach-How China Derailed its Peaceful Rise
日期：11月1日 （星期二）
东部时间 : 5:30 --6:30pm
西部时间 : 2:30 --3:30pm
01. 美中关系的现状和未来

近几年美中关系的急剧恶化使两国关系降至到中美建交以来的冰点，在美国的华人朋友都对未来深感担忧。就在本月十二日拜登总统在发布的有48页的2022年”美国国家安全报告“（National Security Strategy）将中国视为美国最重要的地缘政治挑战，沙利文在报告发布后举行的记者招待会上指出：“中华人民共和国怀有重塑国际秩序的意图和逐步增长的能力，让其在国际竞争的环境里向对自己更加有利方向倾斜…“ 。虽然报告本身提出与中国竞争不是搞新冷战，但是把两国之争的性质归纳为民主与专制之争。针对美中关系的现状和两国在脱钩的道路上会走多远这些问题，UCA邀请到一位重量级专家在11月1日来我们UCA华人大讲堂做一场我们期待已久的讲座。

02. 关于演讲者

Susan Shirk (谢淑丽)女士是美国研究中美关系和中国政治方面最有影响力的专家之一。她是加州大学圣地亚哥分校全球政策与战略学院研究教授和 21 世纪中国中心的创始主席，该中心是一个独特的学术研究中心和基于大学的政策智囊团。

Shirk 女士担任Miu Lam中国与太平洋关系委员会主席多年，是加州大学全球冲突与合作研究所 (IGCC) 的名誉主任。关于中国和美中关系她出版了许多著作，其中最著名的是《中国经济改革的政治逻辑》和《中国：脆弱的超级大国》，后者帮助美国和其他国家制定了关于中国的政策框架。她的最新著作《超越：中国如何破坏其和平崛起》于 2022 年 10 月由牛津大学出版社出版。

除了学术工作外，Shirk 女士还以其丰富的政策经验而闻名，尤其是在美中关系方面。 1997-2000年，Shirk女士担任东亚和太平洋事务局副助理国务卿，负责中国、台湾、香港和蒙古事务。她是东北亚合作对话 (NEACD) 的创始人，并一直积极参与该对话，这是一个在美国、日本、中国、俄罗斯和韩国的国防部和外交部官员和学者之间讨论安全问题的第二轨论坛.

Shirk 女士还是中国专家工作组的联合主席，该工作组于 2021 年 9 月发布了第三份报告“中国的新方向：美国政策的挑战和机遇”。她还是加州大学圣地亚哥分校美中关系论坛的联合主席。

03. 重磅讲座, 不容错过

我们邀请您11月1日参加华人大讲堂，与Susan Shirk女士见面，聆听她对中美关系的深刻分析并提出您最关注的问题，讲座时间是东部5:30pm, 西部2:30pm。注册请按下面的二位码：

活动链接:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpc-6prjopHdD5fpYhIimPw9l-Zk88-vRC

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UCA支持Jay Chen 反对麦卡锡主义公开信！

2022年11月的中期选举近在咫尺。对于生活在美国的华裔来说，南加州第45国会选区正在进行的众议员选举意义尤其重大。

选战的两位主角一方是竞选连任的现任共和党国会议员Michelle Steel，另外一方是民主党的候选人Jay Chen。66岁的Michelle Steel是一位韩国裔美国人，而小她20岁的Jay Chen是一位来自台湾的二代移民。

该选区大约三分之一的选民是亚裔，附近南加的周边地区聚集着全美国最密集的华裔人口。在这样一个华裔人口众多的地区，韩国裔的Michelle Steel使用了现代版的麦卡锡主义攻击Jay Chen亲共产主义，甚至暗示他是中国间谍。

上世纪50年代在美国兴起的麦卡锡主义，用的手法就是用不充分的证据公开指责对方政治上的不忠或颠覆。在中美关系每况愈下的情况下，这种选举策略完全置华裔的安危于不顾。

如果Michelle Steel使用这个策略能够在华裔人口众多的南加赢得胜利，现代版的麦卡锡主义会被更加广泛的在其他选举中被复制。如果同为亚裔的Michelle Steel使用这个策略可以胜选，那么其他族裔的候选人使用同样的方法就会更加轻而易举的击败华裔竞选人。如果这种情况真的发生的话，华裔在美国的民主参与进程会受到严重影响。

从这个角度讲，Michelle Steel和Jay Chen的选举对于华裔来说，是一场没有硝烟的战争，是一场利益攸关的竞选，是一场反对因出身为华裔就被攻击的种族歧视。

UCA最重要的使命就是捍卫全美华裔的权益。UCA认为这对华裔来说，是一场不得不争取的选举。

我们不能让现代版的麦卡锡主义死灰复燃！我们不能因出身华裔就被歧视为不忠于美国！我们不能让麦卡锡主义阻止我们参与美国的民主进程！

为了更好的维护华裔的权益，UCA成立一个政治行动委员会（PAC），专门支持我们认为能够最好地维护华裔权益的竞选人。

Jay Chen是我们全力支持的一位竞选人。我们呼吁华裔社区组织签署这封支持Jay Chen竞选的公开信。公开信的全文如下：

加州华裔社区谴责国会议员Michelle Steel对退伍军人和爱国志士Jay Chen无端的仇恨攻击。

以下是美国华裔和AAPI的联名组织和个人谴责国会议员Michelle Steel对国会候选人Jay Chen的仇恨、诽谤和愤世嫉俗的攻击。

Jay Chen出生在美国，是一位受人尊敬的海军少校，也是AAPI的社区领袖。

我们的社区对国会议员Michelle Steel的鲁莽、无处不在、毫无底线，以及缺乏尊严的攻击感到震惊。在加州第45国会选区，你可以看到很多标牌上写着“投票给Michelle！打倒共产主义者！”我们没有料到这种现代麦卡锡主义和红色攻击会主导这次选举。我们也没有料到，这种仇恨和分裂会在当地的AAPI社区中作为一种竞选策略，被一位同是亚裔的韩国裔国会议员所采用。

我们需要强调的一点是公开信的支持者包括民主党人、共和党人和无党派人士。作为社区组织，我们对党派问题和这次中期选举保持中立。然而，Michelle Steel的竞选伤害和毒害了我们AAPI社区之间的关系，并把50年代臭名昭著的麦卡锡主义提升到一个全新的水平。Michelle Steel无耻地攻击Jay Chen：一位授勋的亚裔美国海军军官，一位在中东抗击恐怖组织ISIS保卫我们的国家的英雄！Michelle Steel因为Jay Chen的华裔背景指责他为中国政府工作，背叛美国。这是一种危险和鲁莽的策略。必须停止！

我们要求候选人Michelle Steel停止并撤回所有针对Jay Chen毫无根据和充满仇恨的竞选攻击。

我们要求候选人Michelle Steel停止并撤回所有针对Jay Chen毫无根据和充满仇恨的竞选口号。

我们要求候选人Michelle Steel向Jay Chen道歉，并向华裔和AAPI社区道歉。

我们共同签署这封信，就是向国会议员Michelle Steel和任何采用麦卡锡主义手法的政治家发出一个明确的信号和警告：华裔美国人将不再容忍任何对我们社区或我们社区成员的攻击。因为出身而攻击华裔，我们不能容忍！我们也不会容忍！

喜讯 | UCA祝贺华裔沈观健(Ken Sim)当选温哥华市长

10月15日，选情白热化的加拿大温哥华市选最终揭晓， 华裔候选人沈观健(Ken Sim) 大幅领先现任市长肯尼迪‧斯图尔特(Kennedy Stewart)，当选新一任温哥华市长！

沈观健也创下历史, 是温哥华1886年建市以来，136年历史上的首位华裔市长！

此次市选中，温哥华选区竞争格外激烈，市长候选人就有15人。可以说，今天的市选结果，无论是对沈观健本人还是加拿大华裔来说，都是一个创造历史的胜利！

51岁的沈观健在温哥华出生和成长，其父母来自香港。

作为一名成功的企业家，沈观健拥有安永会计师事务所资深特许会计师头衔，还曾开办了温哥华的本土企业百吉饼Rosemary Rocksalt，并联合创建了一个长者居家健康服务组织，两次获得安永企业家大奖。

沈观健一直强调，温哥华对他而言非常重要，他在这里的医院出生，在Churchill中学和卑诗大学（UBC）受教育，在这里创办企业，温哥华就是他的家。

沈观健和妻子育有四个儿子，可以说温哥华见证了他的成长，也守护着他幸福而温馨的生活。

上次市选中，作为新人的沈观健俨然是一匹黑马，一鸣惊人。现任市长肯尼迪在上一届市选时就曾遭遇沈观健的有力挑战，计票时排名甚至曾一度低于沈观健，最终仅以900多票的微弱优势打赢选战。

4年之后，沈观健代表优化城市党卷土重来，他政纲的核心目标是令温哥华成为更安全、可负担、可持续及包容的城市，首要解决的是房屋及负担能力问题。

沈观健提出，增加3倍住房供给量，支持独立屋业主兴建第二套间和后巷屋，将合作社住房数量翻倍。 支持百老汇扩建计划，提高住房密度，将地铁延伸至卑诗大学和北岸。  他还表示如果当选将增聘警察及精神健康护士各100名，以应对整个温哥华尤其唐人街及市中心东端犯罪率上升问题。

此外，沈观健还表示，如果当选将在4年时间设置5000个新的日托名额。  

UCA会长薛海培表示，“美国有吴弭（Michelle Wu）成功当选美国历史和文化科技重镇波士顿市长，开拓了华人掌管美国大城市的先河；而华人成功当选加拿大西部重镇温哥华市长是加拿大华人参政议政的里程碑，UCA和美国华人表示由衷的祝贺！”

UCA National Youth Convention Youth Groups

For two days, from July 15th to July 16th, the UCA hosted the UCA National Youth Convention as part of the 2022 Chinese American Convention. The Youth Convention was a cultural and political experience seeking to empower Asian American youth through exploring identity and community.

The UCA hosted over 50 community organizations and youth groups from across the country during the event. Each had a chance to network with leaders in the Chinese American community and share their ideas for a bright and equitable future.

A select number of groups also presented their accomplishments at a convention-wide event, the AAPI Youth Organizations Presentation, for 90 minutes to an audience of over 100 attendees.

For those of you not able to attend or attendees looking for more information about how to get in touch with and support these amazing young leaders and advocates, we invite you to review some of the hard work that our students have been doing to solve real, pressing issues in the world today!

UCA National Youth Convention Youth Groups

Confront the Climate Crisis
2022-10-13-2

Confront the Climate Crisis (CTCC) is a grassroots, statewide campaign that has been achieving climate action solutions in Indiana since 2020. CTCC educates youth through climate literacy programs, including building small climate resiliency libraries, creating an information hub for blogs of resilience projects, and planning events to engage the local community.

CTCC also facilitates relationships between youth, local organizations, and policymakers to accomplish specific environmental goals. CTCC drafted and introduced a bill to the 2021 state legislature establishing a climate task force and concurrent resolution acknowledging the climate crisis. Partnering with Indiana Senator Ron Alting, we met with key legislators and built a coalition around our legislation. Although our bill did not make it to committee, we continue to push for statewide legislative action against climate change.

We were excited to participate in the UCA convention and share our progress and climate policies with attendees and other student groups during the student organization presentation.

Chenyao Liu
co-Executive Director and Events Director
2022-10-13-3

“I attended a climate strike in September of 2019. There, I met many young activists who encouraged me to get involved in the movement. I was inspired to join Confront the Climate Crisis to push for local environmental action, focusing on often ignored issues like coal ash and climate literacy. Climate change is a big issue and it’s very interconnected. In Indiana, our growing seasons will change, particulate pollution will increase, and thunderstorms will grow more severe.

Since joining, I quickly took on a leadership role in Events Planning, and pushed the team to do more outreach. We did an arts and an intersectional activism event to reach more of the community, and gained more connections with other organizations that helped our events and goals. Although it’s sometimes been difficult when other members have to focus on school or work, I’ve learned a lot about community organizing and how to turn passion into action. Working with CTCC has encouraged me to care more about my community and my neighbors.”

AAAA (Asian American Athlete Alliance)
2022-10-13-4

The Asian American Athlete Alliance is dedicated to uniting diverse Asian and Asian American athletes’ communities with the purpose of fostering support and standing united against discrimination and violence. AAAA aims to build a network of support among Asian/Asian-American athletes to help them reach their highest potential in sport and in life.

Hanzhang(Sissi) Li
Co-Founder
2022-10-13-5

“As an athlete committed most of my life to being an Artistic swimmer, I began my swimming journey at around 8 years old. My partner and I came in sixth place at the tournament held in Slovakia in August. Although I didn’t go home with any shiny medals, I felt it was an honor to represent my country at a top-tier competition.

Though traveling between Hong Kong and Shenzhen for training is exhausting, it’s all for the love of the sport. I am thankful for having the opportunity of bringing my energy to my community and build up a place where members are supported, embraced, empowered, and feel belonging and connection.”

Lebei(Nobel) Zhou
2022-10-13-6

“As a female Asian basketball player with no height advantage, I once doubted myself. However, I realized that I could make up for it by being quicker than my taller counterparts if I developed my speed and agility. Now I am lightning-fast and an excellent scorer in competitions. Many things throughout life teach us lessons like this – we are stronger than we know.

In AAAA, I hope to take the lead in research initiatives to increase knowledge and awareness of the realities of the Asian-American experience, both on the field and off. At the UCA National Youth Convention, I saw the power of standing against discrimination and violence in all forms, and I hope to use our platform to both shed light on the injustices faced by Asian-Americans and also to celebrate all the wonderful things Asian-Americans are doing every day.”

Nava Modanlou
Co-Founder
2022-10-13-7

“Although I’ve been playing sports within amateur leagues since I was about four, it wasn’t until I started playing club volleyball at 12 when I realized there was a difference in the way I competed in sports as opposed to my white counterparts. And as a member of the AAPI community, I feel that working on this project has made me grateful for the community I have found during my amateur athletic career. In turn, I want to pay that forward to those who may feel as though they don’t have one.

I am very hopeful for the future. After showcasing our cause at the UCA convention, I’m proud to say we’ve officially kick-started our campaign. I believe we should aim to grow our community and foster a safe environment.“

Jerry Da
Member
2022-10-13-8

“I believe sports have the power to help with issues unique to Chinese Americans. Unfortunately, Asians and Chinese Americans are not often involved in sports, which is a problem because sports are one of the most important cultural fields in the United States. The majority of American students participating in sport have done so since they were kids. Those cultural lessons, relationships, and knowledge have a lot of influences on kids. If we could push Asian Americans to play sports from a young age, that could change how white Americans view Asian Americans and improve racial relations greatly.”

C-World Volunteer
2022-10-13-9

C-World is a formally registered teenager volunteer organization and platform. Teenagers can help and support teams in their community via C-World by joining activities that cooperate with professional, national, and international non-profit organizations for community service.

Our goal is to promote more teens in junior high and even elementary school to commit to volunteering, since it increases their self-confidence, openness of character, and gratefulness for the society. Also, by volunteering, volunteers can learn more about other cultures, to eliminate stereotypical views toward others.

Alan Mao
Founder & Vice-President
2022-10-13-10

“When I was young, I was very introverted. I did not volunteer, and I did not meet many people outside my close family and friends. So I wasn’t very culturally competent. A few years ago, I began to volunteer, and I immediately saw myself become more open, communicating with lots of people. As I got more involved with volunteering, I started to enjoy it, especially giving back to society and building up my self confidence and self-esteem. That is when I developed the idea to create a volunteer organization to let more people, especially elementary and junior high students, engage and commit to volunteering to build their character at a young age.

C-World is a place where all children can have someone to lead their character development, to not only build their humility, self-esteem, and openness, but also give them an international perspective to establish a sense of equality and reciprocity with other races and cultures. C-World has grown its mission from simply providing volunteer services to promoting more young teens to volunteering. We have grown from only my four close friends to a diverse and multicultural group leader team. We are very proud to have established a Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) exam state test center in our school and organized tutors for participants. Our test center’s pass rate has ranked first among North American test centers.”

EAYS (East Asian Youth Summit)
2022-10-13-11

This annual summit aims to unleash the full potential of East Asian youth by providing the means to solve the “triple-E” challenges (Education, Employment, and Engagement) that East Asian youth face around the world.

As the largest generation of youth in history, East Asian youth carry the burden of not only sustaining but improving upon the dramatic socioeconomic growth that the region has experienced in the past few decades.

David Da
Board Member
2022-10-13-12

A rising junior at St. Paul VI Catholic High school in Virginia, USA. David comes from Dongguan, China. He is strongly interested in international relations and passionate about spreading Asian culture with and among his peers.

CAA (Care About AIDS)
2022-10-13-13

CAA provides information about prevention, self-diagnosis, and community help for those living with or at risk for AIDS. This is done through a Model– View–Controller (MVC) pattern, enhancing the code’s scalability and portability and achieving backward compatibility. We use RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) to construct a database of resources and manipulate it with SQL (Structured Query Language). CAA was created to raise public awareness of AIDS and the resources available to combat it.

Xuqiu (Tina) Wang
founder
2022-10-13-14

“I am Xuqiu (Tina) Wang, a senior at Culver Academies and the founder of CareaboutADIS (CAA).

I first became interested in this issue when I was in sophomore year. I was doing infectious disease research on WeChat, and HIV/AIDS was one of the topics. After careful research, I discovered that this is a uniquely difficult infectious disease, because AIDS is not only a health problem, but also imposes a heavy burden on many families required to care for patients, which is a social problem.

Building this website has helped me to understand that not everyone has the same access to medical resources as I do. Disadvantaged groups who are not able to afford insurance and medicine, who are not even educated about this issue are most severely affected by AIDS. They need help. From learning about AIDS and working to prevent and treat it, my world has gotten bigger. Thank you to the UCA for giving us the opportunity to exhibit our work and allow our ideas to be heard by more people. We hope to continue empowering more people in the future.”

Gright

Gright is a subversive social enterprise exhibition that mainly focuses on a pop-up museum with immersive environmental displays. By using entertaining and interactive technologies, STEAM education, and science shows, Gright aims to provide more accessible and cost-friendly edutainment to families with children.

Xirui(Kevin) Fan
Product Manager
2022-10-13-15

“My name is Kevin Fan. I am a rising junior in high school. In the summer of eighth grade, I went to a museum and felt that most of our time and energy was spent on the journey and tickets, but I didn’t get much of a chance to really interact with the exhibits. So I wanted to create a museum that was both convenient and interesting. Our team started from this initial idea, moving to the conceptualization in various business competitions, the implementation of the business model, and then to website design. Our goal has always been the same: more convenient and fun museums. Thank you to the UCA for giving us the opportunity to communicate with like minded people interested in promoting communication through culture.”

SEFA (Sex Education For All)

Sex Education For All advocates for accessible, comprehensive sexuality education materials published by reliable sources for youth. In this increasingly difficult climate, SEFA advocates for policy change so that students can learn about sex and learn how to protect themselves. This means a comprehensive overhaul of our sex education system, including establishing national sex educatino standards.

Jincheng Zhao
founder
2022-10-13-16

“Hello! My name is Jincheng  Zhao and I’m a rising junior at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland. I grew up in 4 different countries, but we never stayed long enough in any country for me to invest time and energy to learning how politics in that country worked, since we would soon be moving away. I developed my passion for advocacy after realizing that there wasn’t much progress on the issues I cared about because of the lack of Asian representation in government and politics. 

This was why, when I heard they were looking for volunteers to speak to Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen at the United Chinese Americans (UCA) Convention, I jumped at the chance. I wasn’t going to stay quiet when I had a platform where I would be heard. In representing Asian Americans in Maryland to Senator Van Hollen, I made sure that I conveyed the dilemma of many Asian Americans I knew: having ties to family members in China, which is now considered a strategic competitor, as well as the increasing feeling of insecurity as Asians are increasingly targeted for hate crimes. In addition, I greatly appreciate that UCA had workshops for LGBTQ+ youth. I think that in the next UCA convention, we could also have workshops aimed to reduce this taboo in the Asian American society and better protect our youth.”

Kangyi Zhou
Chief Operations Officer

“Hi! My name is Kangyi Zhou and I am a rising sophomore. I became interested in sex education as I began to realize the real lack of sex education throughout my years in the United States. Although my middle school, personally, had a decent health curriculum, I know a lot of people that did not have health education as good as mine. Thus, when Jincheng approached me for help on this project, I felt quite passionately about making an impact on this increasingly prominent issue. We have definitely grown and expanded since then—from our website rollout, to future activities and advocacy. During our growth, we have changed our focus from creating a comprehensive curriculum to advocating for curriculum change in the education system.”

Wenshan Li
Social Media Manager
2022-10-13-17

“Hello! I’m a rising junior from Culver, IN, and I participated in UCA to introduce Sex Education For All. At the showcase, we presented our ideas and our work and hope to gain more support and members. Before the convention, I and my teammates prepared for our showcase by redesigning our logo and redefining our mission and future plan. We did more research and worked to connect our mission to women rights and the recent Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.

UCA offered me an opportunity to meet more friends who are also working hard to solve problems in our society and to improve lives. I learned a lot from the people I met in the showcase. I also got inspiration from some of the successful organizations that give presentations in UCA. I learned about their strategies of organizing activities and how to attract more people to support them and hope to implement them for SEFA in the future. The political leaders I met in the convention also taught me about leadership, discipline, and how to develop an idea into a full project. Thank you to the UCA for creating such an opportunity.”

Creat / Climate Reimagined Initiative

CRI is committed to improving public awareness of new energy sources, environmental protection, and cooperation among environmental protection organizations. CRI also aims to promote the development of sustainable transportation technology by focusing on the safe and environmentally-friendly recycling of electric car batteries.

Yutong(Anthony) Wu
founder
2022-10-13-18

“I discovered my interest in environmental and new energy studies after entering high school and taking an environmental science class. Grappling with the facts of our potential energy crisis, depleting energy resources, and the upsurging development of clean energy around the globe, I am looking forward to broadening my knowledge beyond the content in textbooks and learning possible solutions that lead to a promising future. Thank you to the UCA for providing a platform and becoming a bridge that welcomes all people to think about topics such as climate change, global warming, battery recycling, etc. In the future, I hope to expand the organization and make it impactful in China and the U.S.”

SLAI (Spoken Language Artificial Intelligence)

SLAI aims to create an automated grading platform for foreign language students centered around a new voice recognition algorithm for language learners which will allow them to practice at their own pace and based on their own needs. SLAI will have varying levels of language difficulty and can automatically adjust difficulty level based on student input.

Lianhao Li
founder
2022-10-13-19

“SLAI started out as a project to combine my passion for linguistics and artificial intelligence, but it expanded from there and so did my team. I never imagined being able to showcase SLAI at the UCA Youth Convention. As a startup that focuses on foreign language education, it was genuinely surprising how much interest there was for a product like ours, despite still being in (albeit final) stages of prototyping.

In addition, through conversations with leaders of Chinese-American communities across the country, I’ve received valuable perspectives and feedback. Through their questions, I’ve found areas in which to continue to hone our product. Additionally, listening to the different speakers and panels has been inspiring; it’s truly been an honor to be able exhibit my startup at the UCA Youth Convention. It was wonderful to be able to talk with other members of the Chinese American community to not only showcase our impact, but to build connections to further our impact in the future. “

Seize the Awkward

Seize the Awkward aims to help everyday people have conversations about mental health. Although it might be uncomfortable, individuals can make all the difference to those going through a mental health crisis. Seize the Awkward makes available tools – from conversation guides to tips –that can help you help those in need.

Zitong (Tony) Wang
CTO
2022-10-13-21

“Hi! I am Zitong Wang and you can call me Tony. I am a senior at Shanghai Pinghe School. Inspired by a volunteer experience with a youth education program, I founded Seize the Awkward with a group of like-minded peers who are concerned about mental health. I hope to apply technology as a tool to empower young adults to get involved when they suspect a friend is experiencing mental health issues or may be at-risk for suicide. Thanks to the UCA for giving us the great opportunity to talk with other young advocates and share our values. We hope to launch more projects in the future to support young people in Asian communities.”

We look forward to welcoming more passionate young people at future UCA events. Only by nurturing our next generation of leaders can we grow our community and make our voices heard. If you or someone you know is interested in collaborating with or supporting any of the groups above, please feel free to contact them directly or get in touch with requesting contact information.

-END-

入会可查询https://ucausa.org/join-uca/，或点击二维码查看：

2022-10-13-22

UCA in condemning former President Trump’s racist, hateful and slanderous language regarding Elaine Chao.

UCA calls on Chinese American and Asian American communities to stand with UCA in condemning former President Trump’s racist, hateful and slanderous language regarding Elaine Chao, former US Secretary of Transportation and US Secretary of Labor. UCA further calls on American patriots of all party affiliations to join UCA in condemning his shameless and unacceptable behavior! Hate, racism, insult, and slander has no place in any civilized world. It should certainly have no place in America. As an extraordinary Chinese American, Elaine Chao is one of our own. An attack on her is an attack on us all. We stand with Elaine Chao!

—— Haipei Shue, President of UCA

UCA严厉谴责美国前总统特朗普针对赵小兰的充满种族主义、仇恨和诽谤性的语言

UCA呼吁华裔和亚裔社区与UCA站在一起，谴责前总统特朗普针对美国前交通部长和劳工部长赵小兰的充满种族主义、仇恨和诽谤性的语言。UCA进一步呼吁所有党派的美国爱国者与UCA一起谴责他的无耻和不可接受的行为!仇恨、种族主义、侮辱和诽谤是任何文明世界所不能容忍的，更不应该是美国社会所能容忍的。作为一位杰出的美籍华人，赵小兰是我们华人社区的一员。对她的攻击就是对我们所有人的攻击。我们与赵小兰站在一起。

——美国华人联合会(UCA)会长薛海培

UCA快讯 | 美国首州 ! 农历新年成加州法定假日

加州州长纽森(Gavin Newsom) 9月29日在AB 2596 法案上签字，正式将“农历新年”(Lunar New Year Day)定为加州的法定假日。加州也成为美国首个确认”农历新年”这个重要亚太裔节日的州。

纽森州长在声明中指出，农历新年庆祝是辞旧迎新，挥别过去一年的烦恼，迎接来年的昌盛和好运。承认农历新年为加州法定假日，具有包容加州多样性和文化的重大意义。纽森也强调，这一法案让加州人有机会参与到庆祝亚太裔最重要的节日。

法案承认农历新年为加州的法定假日，并为州雇员提供带薪假期。该法案授权所有加州雇员可利用8小时的假期、年假或补偿休假来代替获得8小时的个人假期积分以庆祝农历新年。

此法案的主要撰写者罗达伦(Evan Low)感谢州长签署通过这项法案。他之前表示，加州拥有美国最大的亚太裔人口，农历新年是美国人口增长最快的亚太裔文化的庆祝活动。”承认农历新年为法定假日对数百万加州人来说意义重大。

AB 2596法案由加州30名两党立法者共同撰写，还包括陈立德(Philip Chen)、崔锡浩(Steven Choi)、方树强(Mike Fong)、李天明(Alex Lee)、阮珍妮(Janet Nguyen)等两党的立法者。法案承认农历新年为加州的法定假日，并为州雇员提供带薪假期。

经过UCA及其伙伴组织的共同努力和磋商，代表纽约州的联邦众议员孟昭文(Grace Meng)曾在今年1月底宣布提出新法案，希望将农历新年设为联邦假日。目前该提案进展不大。UCA将在下一届国会竭尽所能，联合华人和亚裔力量，争取让联邦政府以法定形式尽早通过纪念春节的任何提案。

UCA会长薛海培表示，加州从一百多年前带头设立了许许多多的排华法案，到今天在全美带头设立春节为法定假日，这是一个历史性的转变！是一个值得华人和亚裔社区可歌可庆的一天！UCA将一如既往，加大力度，在有条件的各州同当地亚裔社区和组织一道推动纪念春节的各项立法努力！

UCA Community Fund Announces First Grant Recipients

UCA Community Fund (UCACF) announces today the first two recipients of its microgrants. They are:
1. The “Silent War” documentary film production project of UCA WAVES
2. Iowa City Area Chinese Association’s “Love of Art” fundraising auction for the “Books for Love” campaign

Congratulations to UCA WAVES and Iowa City Area Chinese Association for receiving the grants from UCACF!

Silent War: Asian American Reckonings with Mental Health is a full feature documentary profiling multiple members of our community stepping up to share their own battles with mental illness. Their accounts highlight our unique challenges as Asian Americans and the unspoken toll it has taken on us. The project is led by professor and award-winning filmmaker, Changfu Chang, who has produced a series of documentaries on identities and cultural issues. His releases, Ricki’s Promise, has won of several awards at prestigious international film festivals and was part of the Smithsonian Museum’s series on cultural identity in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2016. His other documentary, “Meet Me on the Bridge”, was viewed by over 60 million people within several months after its initial release on the BBC website.

“Depression and Anxiety are getting common among the younger Chinese generation due to the cultural differences in their education during growing and the increased college and career competition. We need to raise awareness to address the problem properly. But we need to ensure the film includes the correct perspectives and have a plan to promote the film to reach all the needed communities,” commended by a member of the Grant Review Committee of UCACF.

The “Love of Art” fundraising auction of the Iowa City Area Chinese Association (ICACA) organizes local youth artists to donate their art pieces to raise funds for their “Books for Love” campaign. The “Books for Love” campaign purchases multicultural and diverse books for children and donates them to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Each year around the Mid-Autumn Festival, the ICACA will hold a particular project as the primary fundraising channel.

“ICACA’s ‘Love of Art’ auction event will help promote the Chinese American cultural heritage and holiday spirit. Our grant will serve like a seed money to encourage them to raise the rest of the needed fund”, commended by one of the nine members of the Grant Review Committee.

We welcome more local Chinese American community organizations to apply for our grants. To start, the applicant organization needs to visit our website at ucacf.org, fill in an online grant application form and submit it. The objective of the project must be well aligned with UCA’s mission. It should be a charitable startup project. It should have an established project management team. It should be unique and creative and has the potential for significant and broad social impacts. For more information about the grant eligibility criteria and grant application requirements, please visit: https://ucacf.org/.

About UCACF

UCACF is a new initiative launched by UCA to help local Chinese American community organizations to raise funds for startup charitable projects and programs, addressing the long-time challenges of small-and-medium-sized local community organizations in fundraising for their projects and activities. UCACF’s mission is to provide microgrant ($500 to $5,000) of seed funds to startup community projects aiming to enrich and empower Chinese American communities through civic engagement, education, heritage sharing, youth development and a greater understanding between the people of the United States and China.

UCACF works like an “angel fund” for nonprofit causes. We accept grant applications online and adopt a simple-and-fast application review and approval process. Unlike the typically lengthy and complicated application process of charitable grants, which may consume a lot of time and resources of the applicants, our application takes less than a few hours to complete. Our Grant Review Committee meets monthly to review applications submitted during the period and make grant decisions. It takes less than two months for an applicant to receive the grant.

The UCACF organization comprises four teams of volunteers, the Board of Trustees, the Grant Review Committee, the Executive Committee and the Board of Advisors. The Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance and fundraising of UCACF and the Executive Committee is responsible for grant application collection and validation, grant issuing and follow-up. Since a “test launch” of UCACF’s website, we have received the first batch of 8 applications by August 16, 2022. The Grant Review Committee its the first meeting on August 19 and cast its vote on August 26. The review of the first batch of applications took less than two weeks. The grant checks will be sent to the recipients within one week after approval.

UCACF itself is a startup project. We are still in the “test-run” phase by learning from doing. We welcome more volunteers to join our team. We look for feedback and suggestions. Please contact us at ucacommunityfund@gmail.com or visit our website for more information.

About United Chinese Americans

ucausa.org
The United Chinese Americans (UCA) is a coalition of grass-root community organizations dedicated to the enrichment and empowerment of the Chinese American community in the United States. UCA was formed at the first Chinese American Convention in September 2016 and was later incorporated and received IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2017. UCA has since grown into a national federation of 12 local chapters in Atlanta, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin, New York City and San Francisco and over 30 community partners nationwide.

Oppose the Nomination of Casey Arrowood to Be US Attorney

​The White House announced the nomination of Mr. Casey Arrowood to be US Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee on July 29, 2022.  The Senate Judiciary Committee logged the nomination as PN2444 on August 1, 2022.  Academics, elected officials, civil rights groups, and community organizations across the country have raised grave concerns about this nomination — It will further erode public trust in our judicial system and increase the chilling effect on U.S. science and technology.

​Mr. Arrowood was the lead prosecutor of University of Tennessee Professor Anming Hu, an internationally-renown nanotechnology expert and the first academic to go to trial under the now-defunct “China Initiative.”  The FBI investigation on Professor Hu was started by a Google search, not any criminal predicate.

Mr. Arrowood mounted an unjust wire fraud case against Professor Hu so weak that the jury was unable to reach a verdict. After the jury deadlocked and a mistrial was declared, Mr. Arrowood sought to try Professor Hu a second time. However, Judge Thomas Varlan acquitted Professor Hu of all charges, finding that the government’s evidence, even if given in the light most favorable to the government, would be clearly insufficient to allow a rational jury to convict Professor Hu of the crimes alleged.
 
The nomination of Mr. Arrowood is an affront to the Asian American, immigrant, and scientific communities.  It opens a new wound when we still need to heal from the targeting and fallout before and during the “China Initiative.”
 
On August 19, 2022, Professor Hu wrote to the White House calling President Biden to rescind the nomination of Mr. Arrowood.  
 
APA Justice, Asian American Scholar Forum, Tennessee Chinese American Alliance, and United Chinese Americans launch this nationwide campaign to support Professor Hu and oppose the nomination of Mr. Arrowood.  We call for the White House to withdraw the nomination, and the Senate Judiciary Committee to take no action on the nomination until an investigation and a hearing have completed.  
 
For more details about this campaign, visit https://bit.ly/3dyyCsj.
 
All concerned organizations and individuals in the U.S. are invited to co-sign the letter to the White House and the letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee by filling out the form below by September 4, 2022 at 3 pm ET. We plan to send the finalized letters by September 6, 2022.  

Please help spread the word about this campaign widely. We also encourage organizations and individuals to send their own letters directly to the White House and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
 
Email contact@apajustice.org if you have any questions or comments.
 
Note: Organizers of the campaign retain the right to decide on the final co-signers to the letters.

Scan the barcode to fill the form

UCA呼吁 | 各界人士紧急签名，反对白宫提名Casey Arrowood 出任东田纳西首席联邦检察官！

UCA呼吁各界人士紧急签名，反对白宫提名Casey Arrowood 出任东田纳西首席联邦检察官！

曾受Casey Arrowood 迫害的, 后被法庭无罪释放的胡安明教授说 :

“Casey Arrowood是起诉我的核心人物。FBI调查我是否为中国间谍一年后，在毫无证据情况下，无端利用NASA相关法律起诉我！

他主导的对我的起诉表明他不仅在专业上是不合格的，并涉嫌故意歪曲法律和事实来达到对华裔科学家的迫害。对他的提名是对公义、法律、华人社区、我个人及家庭的极大侮辱！他不可能为田纳西带来公义与公正！ 

你的签名是阻止他的提名的最有效手段！我在此代表我们全家向你表示我们诚挚的谢意！”

请扫描二维码填写签名表

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2022 UCA Chinese American Convention Awards Winners

The National Awards Winners

1. Chinese American Lifetime Achievement Award:
Mae Yih叶梅
2. Advancing Justice Award：
Anming Hu 胡安明
A Philip Lomonaco
Jamie Satterfield
3. Civic Leadership Award:
Li Lu李录
4. Iris Shun-Ru Chang Award for Humanity:
R Gregory Nokes
5. Champion of Chinese Cultural Heritage Award:
Ellen Qiongzhao Schicktanz赵琼
Vincent Zhou周知方
6. Youth Leadership Award:
Christina Lu
7. Chinese American Corporate Citizen Award:
Eddie Ni倪举凌
8. Chinese American Charitable Giving Award:
Oscar L Tang唐骝千 and Agnes Hsu-Tang徐心梅
9. Congressional Champion Award:
Jamie Ben Raskin

The President’s Special Awards Winners

1. Special Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice
Michael Makoto Honda
Steven Pei 白先慎
2. Special Award for Community Contribution
Elaine Peng 彭一玲
Karina Hou 侯庆宇
Linda Bi 毕跃玲

The Community Awards Winners

1. UCA Outstanding Volunteer Award
Dr. Bing Zhang张冰/Linda Li/Ching Juhl陈清
Shirley Xiaohong Ma 马晓红
Ren Li 栋梁妈妈
Jian (Lily) Chen 陈健
Gary Guoliang Yu 俞国梁
Vicky Cheng 程以克
Hong Liu 刘红
2. Outstanding Chinese American Organization Award
WeChat User Alliance/Keliang (Clay) Zhu
Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL)
New England Chinese American Alliance (NECAA)
Los Angeles Chinese Musicians Ensemble Chorus
Civic Leadership USA
United Chinese Americans of Washington
Austin Chinese-American Network
UCA WAVES
3. Outstanding Community and Public Service Award
Tony XiaoJun Hu 胡晓军
Dong Xiao Yue 岳东晓
Melanie Lin 林小梅
Qian Ge 葛倩
Mealey Tom
Joel Wong

UCA 2022 Convention Awards Committee Members:

Gene Chang常劲* (chair), Jing Bi毕靖 (secretary), Jinliang Cai蔡金良*, Lily Jan Chen陈健, Diana Ding丁维平, Xiaomin Dong董校铭*, Shuiwen Song James宋智达*, Mintao Jiang姜铭涛, Tao Jiang姜涛, Steven Lin林青*, Steven Pei白先慎*, Haipei Shue薛海培*, Wai-Yin Tsang曾慧燕, Sophia Wen李惠琼, Jan Xie谢健*, Mingdi Yang杨鸣镝, Gary Yu俞国梁*, Bing Zhang张冰 and Xiao Yan Zhang张小彦* (names with “*” are UCA board members).

Bios of 2022 UCA Chinese American Convention Award Winners

National Awards
Mae Yih叶梅

Yih was born Chih Feng Dunn on May 24, 1928 in Shanghai, China. She went to St. John’s University in Shanghai. In September 1948, she transferred to Barnard College in New York City, graduating in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. She went to Columbia University for a master’s degree in accounting but did not complete. In 1953 she married Stephen Yih and later moved to Albany, Oregon with Stephen.

In Albany, Yih volunteered at her children’s school, eventually running for the local school board. She started service on the Clover Ridge Elementary School board in 1969, moving to the Albany Union High School board in 1975. In 1976, the local Democratic Party chairperson asked Yih to run for the Oregon State House. Yih won the election, defeating a Republican opponent who had 14 years of incumbency. Yih took office in 1977. She went on to serve three two-year terms in the House. In 1982, Yih decided to run for a seat in the Oregon State Senate. She won this election, and was re-elected in 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998. Yih was elected Senate President Pro Tempore for the 1993–1995 session. Yih decided not to seek re-election in 2002 and retired at the end of her term in January 2003.

Known as a conservative Democrat, Yih’s many accomplishments included passage of laws establishing Enterprise Zones to promote job creations; Office of Oregon Trade Representative in Shanghai to enhance trade between Oregon and China; child support legislation to expedite child support and reduce public assistance; equal property tax relief for Linn County residents by correcting a legislative drafting error permanently; appropriation for regional Adolescent Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center; school curriculum to encourage sexual abstinence to reduce teen pregnancy; lottery funds for the rehabilitation and preventive maintenance of covered bridges and a study for assessing the health of the Willamette River. Yih was also known as a strong supporter of field burning because it is a more effective control of disease and insects than the use of chemicals. Yih introduced and passed legislation to establish a sister state relationship with Fujian province, China in 1983. She accompanied Oregon governor Atiyeh to sign the agreement with the Governor of Fujian province in 1984. Yih organized a legislative leadership trade delegation to visit Fujian province and other cities in China in 1992, 1997, 2000, and 2002. Yih was awarded Honorary Citizen of Fujian Province in 1994.

Following her retirement in 2003, Yih received the Distinguished Service Award from the Albany Chamber of Commerce. This is the same award that her husband received in 1968. The Albany street Yih Lane, where her district office was, is named for her family.

Her book “The Life and Career of a Metals Pioneer Stephen Wei-Hong Yih” was published in 2011. “East Meets West: A Bridge to Understanding, Friendship, Trust, Peace and Prosperity Between My Mother and Adopted Countries “was published in 2017.

Anming Hu 胡安明

Dr. Anming Hu is a Chinese-Canadian who had worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville since 2013 and was promoted to tenured associate professor at July, 2019. On February 27, 2020, after 18 months of surveillance, he was arrested for not disclosing his association with a Chinese university and was terminated by the University of Tennessee. However, Professor Hu refused to plead guilty and decided to fight his case at the court. His case was the first academic tried under the “China Initiative.” With his determination and courage and support of his family and friends, one and half years later, on September 9, 2021, the trial resulted in acquittal and Hu was cleared of all charges. So far this is the only academic case that the court dismissed all charges. However, he could not win the case without the strong support of his defense attorney A Philip Lomonaco and former Knox News reporter Jamie Satterfield.

A Philip Lomonaco

Phil Lomonaco attended the University of Tennessee College of Law and was admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District in 1985 and the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1986. He is the founding and managing partner of the Law Offices of A. Philip Lomonaco, starting the firm in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1987. He was selected as one of the Best Lawyers in Knoxville for many years, and selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America in 2009 – 2010, 2013 – 2015, 2017 – 2020. Phil is more than Professor Hu’s defense attorney. He and his wife Yanli Du provided support to Hu’s family as personal friends through these two difficult years.

Jamie Satterfield

Jamie Satterfield is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years of experience. Honors include a Scripps Howard Award for uncovering the poisoning of the workforce of the nation’s largest coal ash spill and induction into the East Tennessee Writer’s Hall of Fame. She built a reputation as a prolific and hard-nosed crime and courts reporter, but in recent years added environmental reporting to her beat following the 2008 disaster at the Kingston coal-fired power plant.

When University of Tennessee professor Anming Hu became the first academic to go to trial under the “China Initiative” in Knoxville, TN, most media coverage simply repeated the accusations made by the prosecutors. However, a week before the trial started on June 7, 2021, the clerk of U.S. District Court Judge Thomas A. Varlan called and suggested Jamie Satterfield to KnoxNews to cover Dr. Hu’s trial.

Satterfield’s coverage of the trial brought Dr. Hu’s case under national spotlight. In particular, her five reports starting on June 7 revealed the false accusations made by federal agents in their zeal to find a spy for China and the mishandling of the case by the University of Tennessee. After the judge declared a mistrial on June 16, Satterfield published four additional reports analyzing Dr. Hu’s case between June 23 and August 2 when the government requested the second trial, which was dismissed by Judge Varlan on September 9, 2021.

Satterfield’s reports also played a pivotal role in changing the public opinion about how the University Tennessee mishandled Dr. Hu’s employment and the reinstallation of his tenured position after Dr. Hu was acquitted of all charges.

Jamie Satterfield

Jamie Satterfield is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years of experience. Honors include a Scripps Howard Award for uncovering the poisoning of the workforce of the nation’s largest coal ash spill and induction into the East Tennessee Writer’s Hall of Fame. She built a reputation as a prolific and hard-nosed crime and courts reporter, but in recent years added environmental reporting to her beat following the 2008 disaster at the Kingston coal-fired power plant.

When University of Tennessee professor Anming Hu became the first academic to go to trial under the “China Initiative” in Knoxville, TN, most media coverage simply repeated the accusations made by the prosecutors. However, a week before the trial started on June 7, 2021, the clerk of U.S. District Court Judge Thomas A. Varlan called and suggested Jamie Satterfield to KnoxNews to cover Dr. Hu’s trial.

Satterfield’s coverage of the trial brought Dr. Hu’s case under national spotlight. In particular, her five reports starting on June 7 revealed the false accusations made by federal agents in their zeal to find a spy for China and the mishandling of the case by the University of Tennessee. After the judge declared a mistrial on June 16, Satterfield published four additional reports analyzing Dr. Hu’s case between June 23 and August 2 when the government requested the second trial, which was dismissed by Judge Varlan on September 9, 2021.

Satterfield’s reports also played a pivotal role in changing the public opinion about how the University Tennessee mishandled Dr. Hu’s employment and the reinstallation of his tenured position after Dr. Hu was acquitted of all charges.

Lu Li 李录

Li Lu, is the founder and Chairman of Himalaya Capital, a multi-billion-dollar investment firm that primarily focuses on long-term investment opportunities in Asia and the U.S. He founded the firm in late 1997 and has been running its principal fund ever since.

Li Lu was born and raised in China. Li Lu attended Columbia University where he received three degrees simultaneously: B.A., J.D., and M.B.A. from Columbia College, Law School, and Business School.

Li Lu is the co-founder and board Chair of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). He co-founded the Guardians of the Angeles Charitable Foundation to combat the global COVID-19 crisis and now serves as its board Chair. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University and a member of the Board of Trustees of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Li Lu is a member of the Committee of 100, the Council on Foreign Relations, and an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow. He is featured in the Smithsonian Institute’s Family of Voices, part of the ongoing Many Voices, One Nation exhibition at the National Museum of American History. He is the author of Moving The Mountain: My Life in China (1990 in English) and Civilization, Modernization, Value Investing—and China (2020 in Chinese). Li Lu was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.

R. Gregory Nokes

R. GREGORY NOKES is the author of Breaking Chains: Slavery on Trial in the Oregon Territory and Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon. He traveled the world as a reporter and editor for The Associated Press and the Oregonian. A graduate of Willamette University, he attended Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow. His reporting on the 1887 murders of more than thirty Chinese gold miners in Hells Canyon resulted in a formal designation of the site as Chinese Massacre Cove and was the basis for an Oregon Public Broadcasting documentary. Greg and his wife, Candise, live in West Linn, Oregon.

“Massacred for Gold: The Chinese in Hells Canyon” traces the Nokes’ long, personal journey to expose details of the massacre and its aftermath to understand how the crime was kept in the dark for so long. In the book, he tells of the experience of the tens of thousands of Chinese who journeyed across the Pacific to mine gold and build railroads throughout the American West and how hostility toward the Chinese resulted in Congress enacting the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. The book is the first authoritative account of the long-forgotten 1887 massacre of as many as 34 Chinese gold miners in Oregon’s Hells Canyon.

Ellen Qiongzhao Schicktanz 赵琼

Ellen Qiongzhao is a professional artist (oil painting and sculpture) and a senior curator of international art events, a doctor of literature and art history. President of the American Goddess Art Museum and Deputy Secretary of the Rodin International Artists Foundation. She graduated from Kyoto University of Art and design in Japan, Northwest University Writer Class in China and Tokyo Waseda University in Japan. She has participated in many international art exhibitions and her work has been collected or used as urban art landscape by many institutions, such as Fuji Art Museum of Japan, the Museum of the American Revolution, The National Constitution Center ，The American Chinese Museum and World Foundation of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and other institutions. She immigrated to the United States in 1997 as a distinguished artist and later became a U.S. citizen. In 2018 Ellen Qiongzhao received the “Ellis Island Medal of Honor” at the American Multicultural Supreme Immigration Awards.

In 2019, as the first Asian artist, she successfully held a personal oil painting and sculpture art exhibition at the National Memorial of the Federal Hall in New York ( where the first US President George Washington was inaugurated ). The Chinese Cultural Foundation of the United States and the Rodin International Artists Foundation co-sponsored, supported by the National Memorial of the Federal Hall in New York and provided exhibition venues. She has earned the highest honor and excellence award at the 43rd New York Art expo 2021. At the same time, the New York Times Square NASDAQ big screen broadcast Ellen’s award-winning information and her oil painting sculpture series.

Vincent Zhou 周知方

Vincent Zhou is an American figure skater. He is a 2022 Olympic Games team event silver medalist, a two-time World bronze medalist (2019, 2022), the 2021 Skate America champion, and a three-time U.S. national silver medalist (2017, 2019, 2021).

Vincent, US National Olympic Team Skater, proudly demonstrated his Chinse Heritage in the Olympics as well as other worldwide competitions. Recognized that “this Olympics is going to be the most significant competition of my career” as a US athlete, he selected the traditional Chinese style garments, used Chinese music from Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger in his programs, and greeted the audience with a traditional Chinese greeting of clenching his hands (抱拳）. He presents his Chinese heritage and culture in the broadest world theater with pride.

Christina Lu

Christina Lu is an 18-year-old senior at Central High School in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, Nov. 17 2021, Christina was riding home from school when she noticed a group of Black girls “tormenting” another group of Asian-American students who attend Central. When she tried to intervene, the group of harassers turned on her, injuring her to the extent that she required hospitalization. The attack has reignited fears in Philly’s Asian communities about racially motivated violence. After the attack, her family and friends launched the “Support Christina in Advocating for Public Safety” campaign to fight against Asian hate crimes and advocate for the safety of students when taking public transportation.

Eddie Ni 倪举凌

Own importing & exporting businesses for building materials; President & Chairman of Real Estate Development Companies, develop high rise & skyscraper buildings, commercial & residential buildings in United States & China; shopping center development in U.S

Eddie Ni is a Chinese-American business leader and entrepreneur, social activist and philanthropist. As CEO of Windfall Group, where his global empire was based, his financial and political influence as derived from his diverse holdings which included the catering industry, building material, real estate, and biotechnology led Crain’s Business Magazine, Plain Dealer, and many Chinese Newspaper and Magazines to call him ‘one of the most excellent Chinese-American business models.

Oscar L. Tang 唐騮千 and Agnes Hsu-Tang 徐心眉

Oscar Liu-Chien Tang (唐騮千) is a Shanghai-born American financier who co-founded Reich & Tang, an asset management firm. He graduated from Yale and received an M.B.A. from Harvard. Tang was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005. Prior to this, he was appointed to the New York State Council on the Arts from 2000 to 2004 and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities from 1990 to 1993. He also co-founded the Committee of 100 with Yo-yo Ma, I.M. Pei and others in 1989.

Dr. Hsin-Mei Agnes Hsu-Tang (徐心眉) is a Taipei-born archaeologist and art historian. She received her Ph.D. in Chinese art and archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hsu-Tang was a Mellon fellow at Cambridge and an assistant professor of Chinese archaeology at Brown. She is Chairwoman of the New-York Historical Society board of trustees and a Distinguished Consulting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Dr. Hsu-Tang works in cultural heritage protection and rescue and has advised UNESCO and the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory Committee.

Just over the past ten years, they have co-founded the Hsu-Tang Library for Classical Chinese Literature at Oxford University, the Tang Center for Silk Road Studies at Berkeley, and the Tang Center for Early China at Columbia University. In addition, they have also donated to the New-York Historical Society, New York Philharmonic and many other institutions to support Chinese arts and East Asian cultures including the $125 million – the largest ever capital gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in November 2021 – to fund the renovation of the Modern and Contemporary Wing at The Met. In honor of their generosity, The Met has renamed the modern and contemporary galleries to the Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing.

During the COVID pandemic, they co-founded The Yellow Whistle campaign to combat anti-Asian violence and historical discrimination against Americans of Asian descent. The campaign distributed 500,000 free customized yellow whistles emblazoned with the slogan “WE BELONG” at rallies and through a national alliance of activist organizations and has received extensive national press coverage to raise awareness.

Jamie Raskin

Jamin Ben Raskin is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland’s 8th congressional district since 2017. The district is located in Montgomery County, an affluent suburban county northwest of Washington, D.C., and extends through rural Frederick County to the Pennsylvania border. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Maryland State Senate from 2007 to 2016.

In Congress, Raskin is the chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus. He was also the lead impeachment manager for the second impeachment of President Donald Trump in response to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.Prior to his election to Congress, he was a constitutional law professor at American University Washington College of Law, where he co-founded and directed the LL.M. program on law and government and co-founded the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project.

Representative Raskin openly denounced ethnic profiling in DOJ’s investigations of scientists of Chinese descent under China Initiatives, saying: “That is not acceptable in the United States of America, which was founded on principles of equality and justice. We reject guilt by association, we reject notions of collective guilt or ethnic or racial guilt. The United States is a welcoming place, it is open to people of all backgrounds and to creative ideas, and to scientific research and inquiry. That is how we established ourselves as a world leader in innovation and technology, by allowing for free-flowing thoughts and theories. By targeting people who are ethnically Chinese, without evidence, we are hampering our ability to be that world leader and we are harming an entire community.”

President’s Special Awards
Michael Makoto "Mike" Honda

Michael Makoto “Mike” Honda was a member of the Democratic Party, he served in Congress from 2001 to 2017. Over the course of his 16-year career in Congress, the affable Mike Honda quietly attained positions of authority in the House Democratic Caucus, serving on the party’s Steering and Policy Committee and rising to a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. An advocate of tolerant and inclusive policies, Honda led the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and helped found the LGBT Equality Caucus. According to a political scientist based in Honda’s hometown of San Jose, Honda “really puts the K in ‘Kumbaya.’”

For more than four decades, Congressman Honda has been a stalwart champion of civil rights for the AAPI. In 2016, at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, the lead Democrat on the subcommittee, questioned Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey. He specifically asked about the shameful treatment of Sherry Chen, a NOAA employee, and Dr. Xiaoxing Xi, Chairman of the Physics Department at Temple University, and called on Comey to apologize for the treatment of Xi and Chen.

Steven Pei 白先慎

Steven Pei is an Electrical Engineering Professor, the Executive Director of the Southwest Public Safety Technology Center founded by the Congress and a member of the faculty senate at the University of Houston. He was born in Guilin and grew up in Taiwan. Prior to joining academia, he was a department head at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ. In Houston, he co-founded the first Asian American PAC in Texas in 2000 and served as its president. He was also a member of the founding boards of several APA and environmental organizations including the founding chair of United Chinese Americans. Steven Pei is an at large UCA board member, the Chair of UCA Governance Committee.

Steven Pei has made great contribution to UCA’s effort to fight against anti-Asian hate crimes, civil right violations of Asian Americans, and racial profiling and surveillance of Asian American scientists, particularly of Chinese descent, by DOJ under its China Initiatives program.

Elaine Peng彭一玲

Elaine, Founder & President, National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Chinese Chapter /Mental Health Association of Chinese Americans. Elaine is an incredible advocate on all fronts of civic engagement: community service (mental health services, housing, food of love), voter registration, Chinese American rights (plaintiff for Trump’s WeChat ban that successfully won), anti-Asian hates (organizing hundreds of volunteers for transportation needs of seniors, and patrolling China town 350 days of a year), advocating rights of the most vulnerable such as people with mental illness and language barrier. She is recognized nationally by NAMI national with “culture award”, and her organization was recognized the “Best Non-profit of the Year” in 2019 by California Governor. She is a UCA founder, and faithfully supported UCA.

Karina Hou 侯庆宇

Karina Hou is a renowned artist, musician, and educator. She studied piano and founded Fantasia Music Studio. Also, she has studied Chinese paintings and has hosted several art exhibitions. She is familiar with Eastern and Western culture, as she was born in China, grew up in Hong Kong, settled in Montgomery County, Maryland for many years, and has traveled to over 60 countries.

Karina is a keen social activist and currently is Montgomery International Film Festival Chairman and Co-Founder, Montgomery County Executive Business Advisory office Advisor, Chinese American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Washington President, Organization of Chinese American Women President (Maryland Chapter) and U.S. Congressman David Trone’s Office of Asian American Pacific Islander Business Advisory Committee Member. Karina is a senior advisor of UCA and a key organizer of the 2022 UCA Chinese American Convention and National Youth Convention.

Linda Bi 毕跃玲

Linda Bi is the President of Chicago Expert Importers. Born in Henan, China, she immigrated to U.S. 30 years ago. She and her husband started Central Equimpex, Inc. (CEI) in San Francisco CA, a supplier of mainly RV/mobile home parts. She grew the company into a sourcing, import logistics, warehousing and distribution full package service provider, and added a d.b.a. of Chicago Expert Importers.

Linda has been actively involved in her passion to serve local communities. She is a committed donor, loyal supporter and devoted volunteer of UCA. She is the honorable President of Chicago Chinese American Women Chamber of Commerce, and an active participant of local Bata via Chamber of Commerce.

Community Awards Winners
Dr. Bing Zhang张冰/Linda Li/Ching Juhl陈清

Dr. Bing Zhang is a professor of Biological Sciences at University of Missouri. Ching Juhl is a producer, director, DP, editor as well as a music professor and concert violist. Juhl has been creating documentary shorts, videos of live performance, audition, interview and web-videos for more than 20 years.

After UCA 2018 convention, Dr. Bing Zhang and Linda Li launched Yang Gang support groups in with over 800 members, which became the leading force for many Chinese Americans to participate in a Presidential primary and made our presence felt in grass root engagements such as Iowa and New Hampshire. Ching Juhl, a media producer from NY, spent one year documenting the Yang Gang movement from New York to Iowa and New Hampshire, which won 5 awards in film festivals and put Andrew Yang and his Humanity First movement in public focus.

Shirley Xiaohong Ma 马晓红

Shirley Ma is a founding member, board director and long-term volunteer of UCA. She is a senior scientist working in the area of drug development for cancer immune-therapy in the SF Bay Area after her Master’s degree study in SFSU in 2000. Shirley received her medical education in China Medical University in 1991.

Shirley joined the UCA national board in 2017 and has been an active and dedicated founding member of this organization. She has been serving as the Secretary of the Board and leading the committee of UCA Donors and Members Services. She has been the key member supporting UCA national operations and programs, UCA conventions and local outreaching activities, UCA donor database management and donor following up services.

Lily Jian Chen 陈健

Jian (Lily) Chen is a registered nurse and Certified Nurse Educator by the National League of Nursing. She currently teaches community health nursing and elder care nursing at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). Lily is a long-time volunteer in her local communities and was part of the core team instrumental in helping to elect the first Chinese American State Representative in Illinois. She was one of the founders of UCA and a key organizer for two Chinese American conventions. She has also successfully coordinated multiple national and local programs, including the UCA Youth Mental Health Collaborative WAVES (Wellness, Advocacy, Voices, Education, Support) since 2016. Lily was previously the Executive Director of UCA, as well as founding President and Board Chair of UCA Illinois Chapter. She serves as the project director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Clinical Scholar leadership development program and the Nursing Student Peer Mentoring Program at NCCU. She is a certified Mental Health First Aid MHFA instructor.

Lily has played critical roles in organizing three Chinese American conventions and coordinating multiple UCA programs, such as WAVES.

Gary Yu 俞国梁

Gary Yu is the founder and chairman of Boston International Media Consulting Inc and Boston Asian Radio & TV Station, president of North America Hangzhou Association. president of North America Nanning Association. president of APAPA Boston chapter. Has worked as a reporter for Sing Tao Daily, World Journal and other media. Gary is an at large UCA board member and also serves as a team member of UCA Executive Team. Gary has worked tirelessly to deliver the UCA news.

Ren Li Dongliang Mama 栋梁妈妈

Ren is the founding member of UCA IL, and instrumental in implementing EVERY UCA IL as key organizers.

She was indispensable in organizing the first event Jiaozhi festival in 2017, and two more thereafter – the most labor intensive events with hundreds participating and tens of thousand dollars raised for UCA IL . Jiaozi festival helped UCA IL in a unique position in connecting with local organizations and community members. Ren also is passionate about sharing Chinese culture through food, music, and arts with local communities. She was often found in festivals and school events.

As a former teacher in China, her heart has always been on developing our next generation. She not only has the most effective way of connecting with our youth and being trusted and well respected by every youth intern working with her, she also knows how to work with all agencies, organizations, and state legislators such as Rep Theresa Mah creating a positive environment for our youth. Under her leadership, UCA IL youth summer internship program was offered three full time positions (college students) by the State of Illinois Central Management System this summer, and UCA IL was recognized by the mayor of City of Aurora (the second largest city in Illinois) with outstanding community service award (we had intern there). Overwhelming positive feedback from interns, their parents and government agencies including Illinois State.

Ren participated in both UCA convention mental health sessions, and helped organize the 2017 Asian Parents, American Children youth mental health conference in Chicago and it drew 250 participants nationwide. She continues to help organize many webinars, and became a Mental Health First Aid – youth trainer in Jan, 2021 so she can better serve youth. She has been a strong advocate and frequent speaker to decrease stigma and increase mental health knowledge in our community. She is parent ambassador leader at WAVES-UCA Youth Mental Health Collaborative.

Ren singly handly organized her students and parents and raised $241, 599 to buy PPES, arranged logistics, contacted five Chicago hospitals and clinics, and transported them. She helped organize a UCA IL team and participated in UCA’s Food of Love.

Ren is the outreach sponsor for 2018 UCA convention, bringing over 12 participants (brought multiple participants as well), and currently organizing UCA IL youth and showcase teams to the convention (team of 7-10 people) . She donated to UCA thousands of dollars, and continued to help fundraise for UCA IL for convention.

Vicky Cheng 程以克

Vicky Cheng is a senior IT professional with over 30 years’ experience, an author of 20+ Children books for pre-teen published in China and USA, the chief editor of “It’s My Book, which is the first Chinese Guided Reading series” published Level 1-8 in the USA. She is also a host of Dr. Zhang DaoLong’s talk show series on Popular Psychology/Personality Disorders. Vicky has engaged local Chinese community activities as one of key persons to help the management of several large-scale concerts/performances in Chicagoland. Vicky Cheng is a member of UCA Executive Team.

Vicky has been supporting many UCA events and projects. Since she joined UCA a few years ago, she has been helping managing data and collecting important informations for different events and have been delivering high quality results. She exemplified what an unsung hero is.

Hong Liu 刘红

Ms. Liu is one of the founding members of UCA -MA. She has been a generous donor to many important causes taken up by United Chinese Americans and other non-profit organizations. She has supported the campaign for Lindy Li, and was the biggest donor for Sherry Chen in MA. She has given a lot to the local communities and has led several organizations herself. Recent few years she has donated $5000+ to UCA. She and her husband will come to this convention and donate $4000. She has also done a lot community volunteer work and helped Chinese people with employment and internship at the hotels she owns.

Tony XiaoJun Hu 胡晓军

Tony (Xiao Jun) Hu is a celebrity chef, restaurateur, culinary teacher and mentor, and community leader. Hailing from China’s Sichuan province, Chef Tony graduated from The Culinary Institute of Sichuan, China’s premier culinary institute, in 1989. In 1993, he immigrated to the U.S. as a special technician chef, establishing himself in Chicago as a trailblazer for introducing authentic Sichuan cuisine to a Chinese culinary scene largely dominated by Canton cuisine.

Chef Tony’s unwavering passion for promoting and elevating Chinese culinary culture in the United States and China-US Relationship. Nicknamed Chicago’s “Mayor of Chinatown,” Chef Tony shaped Lao Sze Chuan into one of America’s most beloved Chinese restaurants with a nationally-acclaimed reputation for providing traditional Sichuan cuisine with high-quality ingredients.

Dong Xiao Yue 岳东晓

Dongxiao was a physicist by training and software engineer in 1990s. In 1997 Ana Mae He was given to temporary custody to a TN Baker’s family due to extradentary hardships what ensured was a custody battle that lasted 8 years and all the way to the Supreme Courts of Tennessee and The US. Anna was eventually reunited with her family in 2007. Through it all, Dong Xiao was the De facto legal counsel and instrumental in the custody battle with strong logic and understanding of the law that eventually helped the Hes reunited. Dongxiao’s personal conviction and courage despite all odds deserve recognition from our community. Dongxiao has been actively providing legal advice to the Chinese American community through writings and seminars. He took an active role in U.S. WeChat Users Alliance’s campaign against Trump Administration’s executive order on use of WeChat.

Melanie Lin 林小梅

Melanie has been tirelessly serving the town and Chinese community over the past decade. She is currently the co-president of CAAL, Chair of CAAL Civic Engagement Committee, and Board Member of the Cary Library Foundation. Melanie is one of the most recognizable faces representing the Chinese community in Lexington, MA.

Melanie has been an active member of the Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL) for the past decade. She has served CAAL in different capacity including Chair of Civic Engagement Committee, Secretary, Vice president of Communications and Operations. She currently serves as Co-president of CAAL. She has also served in numerous town committees including Town Celebrations Committee, 300th Anniversary Celebrations Committee, Town Manager Search Committee, and most recently the Cary Library Foundation Board.

Melanie has been a key leader for Chinese American Association of Lexington over the past decade. With the rapid influx of Chinese families, CAAL has doubled its efforts to work with the town, the school system and a host of community organizations. Most recently CAAL has undertaken an epic $280,000 Covid relief campaign for the Lexington community and beyond. CAAL has been recognized as the most impactful town level community organization in the US! CAAL was also known for its massive CAAL for Cary fundraising of $75,000. Lunar New Year Celebration and Candidate forum each year are CAAL traditions of decades.

Melanie co-founded Community Task Force in 2011 with a mission to promote Chinese American civic engagement. In 2011, Melanie wrote a touching letter to the Chinese community after attending a town wide community conversation where she saw very few Chinese faces in the event and asking the community to engage more with the broader community. The letter drew very positive responses from the community. A group of people decided to work together to make a change, which is the start of the Community Task Force (CTF) which draw many new blood and later become leaders for CAAL

Under Melanie’s leadership, the civic engagement committee (former CTF) and the town joined effort on “push and pull”, successfully engaged more Chinese Americans for civic participation. As of 2021, there are 16 Chinese American town meeting members, and over 30 people joined town committees. Melanie also organized many CAAL candidate forums.

Qian Ge 葛倩

Qian Ge is the Co-president of NECAA, president of WeStar, a Chinese association in Westom, Massachusetts, entrepreneur. Qian Ge has been enthusiastic about public welfare and has been serving the community for a long time. She has spared no effort in donating money and led the community to do many meaningful things, such as donating money to buy PPE and donate to China and the United States, and participating in promoting the writing of Asian history into the textbooks of primary and secondary schools in Massachusetts.

Mealey Tom

Maeley Tom Trailblazer in Asian American politics. Maeley Tom’s 20-year career in the State Legislature of California (1974-1994) was during an era when Asian Americans were struggling to find a voice in politics and public policy. During this period she was able to break the glass ceiling twice in the State Capitol by becoming the first woman and ethnic minority to serve as the Chief Administrative Officer of the State Assembly and subsequently serve as the Chief of Staff to the President of the State Senate.From 1994 – 2000, she became one of the first Asian American woman to serve as a Senior Vice President of a prominent Washington D.C. lobbying firm, Cassidy and Associates. Subsequently, she and her husband formed their own California public affairs firm, Tom & Associates in 2001 until her retirement in 2014. Mealey Tom is recognized for her contributions to the empowerment of the Asian American voice in politics and government at the state and national level for more than 4 decades. She has set a great example to Asian women and our next generations on What does American Dream mean to us and how to serve the community as a contributor and an outstanding leader.

Joel Wong

Joel Wong retired as a scientist/engineer from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2000 where he was the Division Leader of the Environmental Safety and Health Division. He was the founder and CEO of the Environmental Safety Services, a private consultation firm.

Currently, Joel is the President of the NAAPAC (formerly 80-20 PAC) and NAAUnited organizations. He served on the National Governing Board and the Public Policy and Issues Committee of APAPA and chaired the CLUSA (Civic Leadership USA) Editorial Committee. He is an Advisor on APIA issues for DingDingTV .Asian Pacific Affairs Council; the President of the CAPA (Chinese American Political Association); and the CAPA Public Affairs Education Fund.

Joel has been a volunteer in many organizations: Asian Pacific Affairs Council; Chinese American Political Association; CAPA Public Affairs Education Fund; NAAPAC (formerly 80-20 PAC); APAPA; Civic Leadership USA; Silicon Valley Community Media and more. He full time devoted himself serving the community for over 20 years. He wrote articles weekly, Empowering Asian Americans & Promoting Better Relations with China and Asian Pacific countries. Not like other well recognized Asian Americans, he is Unsung Hero that need to be known by our community.

UCA WAVES

UCA WAVES is a youth mental health collaborative that seeks to provide support particularly among Asian American families. Chinese/Asian American youth often suffer “silently” with stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Stigma against mental illness, social isolation, cultural expectations, identity issues, low mental health literacy, and lack of available Chinese-speaking or culturally sensitive mental health professionals – these are only some of the barriers that stand in the way of getting help. In response, we as a collaborative community are here to stand together and work towards Wellness, Advocacy, Voices, Education, and Support (WAVES).

Since 2016, WAVES has served thousands of community members in the U.S. and abroad through “Asian Parents American Children,” a free, open series of mental health educational seminars. In 2020 and 2021, WAVES webinars drew over 5,000 participants from all 50 states. Amidst a rise of anti-Asian hate during the pandemic, WAVES organized educational webinars, including a Self-Defense and Empowerment training and an Op-Ed writing workshop titled “Silent No More: We Rise Up and Write Up.” In 2021, the UCA WAVES Program (WAVES) sponsored the training of five Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructors. In 2022, WAVES released documentary film “Silent War: Asian American Reckoning with Mental Health,” which features four Asian American families and their grappling with mental health issues. WAVES is currently creating an educational toolkit for Asian American parents, which will focus on youth voices, general mental health knowledge, communication skills, and self-compassion.

WeChat User Alliance/Keliang (Clay)

Mr. Keliang “Clay” Zhu’s practice specialties include cross-border merger & acquisition, export control and corporate compliance, commercial litigation, and international tax planning in the U.S. He earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree and has practiced law in the U.S. since 2000. He is licensed in both California and Oregon. He used to serve as a senior legal counsel to the World Bank and the U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization on their projects in China. He currently is the Managing Partner of the Silicon Valley Office.

As the Founder of WeChat User Alliance, Clay and fellow lawyers quickly formed the US WeChat User Alliance shortly after the Trump administration issues order to ban WeChat in the United States.

USWUA successfully defended the rights and defeated the US to ban WeChat in the United States for millions of its users.

Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL)

Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and has been proudly serving Lexington and its Chinese-American community for the past 39 years since 1983.

With the rapid influx of Chinese families, CAAL has doubled its efforts to work with the town, the school system and a host of community organizations. Most recently CAAL has undertaken an epic $280,000 Covid relief campaign for the Lexington community and beyond. CAAL has been recognized as the most impactful town level community organization in the US.

Among the many events CAAL organized, Lunar New Year celebration is CAAL’s tradition of decades. Known as the best party in town, it draws hundreds of in-person participants, to tens of thousands of online audiences.

CAAL’s other tradition of decades is Candidate Forum where they invite town wide candidates to meet with the community. CAAL continues to encourage Chinese Americans to participate in town activities and increase civic participation. There are more Chinese Americans who decided to run town meetings and participated in various town committees. As of 2021, there are 16 Chinese American town meeting members, and 30 people joined various town committees

CAAL has worked with the town and AAPI Youth Team on a series of celebration events for the May AAPI Heritage Month to promote AAPI culture, unity, solidarity and belonging. In each week of May, they feature a different aspect of AAPI including history, art, food and a cumulative festival celebration and 5K Run on Memorial Day May 30th.

New England Chinese American Alliance (NECAA)

NECAA journey started with fighting with the pandemic. Established at the beginning of 2020, NECAA is dedicated to fairness, justice, peace, and humanity. More than 50 Chinese American associations in New England united to support China in fighting COVID-19. The Alliance was rapidly formed to collect donations and send the urgently needed medical supplies to the hospitals in China. Most medical supplies were sent to the temporary hospitals, known as FangCang, and permanent hospitals in Wuhan, the city that suffered most in China.

As the pandemic has spread to the U.S., NECAA is now focusing on supporting the U.S. by collecting donations, procuring medical supplies from China, and distributing them to hospitals, police stations, senior homes, and other places with urgent needs. The initiative also includes but not limited to watching the discriminatory situation for and offering support to the Chinese Americans and help the Chinese American businesses survive during the pandemic. It also shares verified pandemic-related information with the community.

After the pandemic tapers off, many members of the NECAA started a new chapter. NECAA, New England American Alliance is dedicated to promoting civic engagement and social welfare of New England Chinese Americans.

As one of the few 501C4 organizations in the New England area, NECAA has done a lot of outstanding work in encouraging Chinese people to participate in politics, such as pushing for legislation to include Asian history in U.S. elementary and middle school textbooks, organizing over 80 rallies of various ethnic organizations, calling for an end to racial discrimination and hate crimes, participating in UCA food drives, etc.

Los Angeles Chinese Musicians Ensemble Chorus

LACMEC was founded 25 years ago. Since its inception, LACMEC has been promoting Chinese American cultural heritage and serving the multi-ethic community in Southern California uninterruptedly. It has performed more than 150 concerts.

Civic Leadership USA

The Civic Leadership USA is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2013. It was the vision of Mr. Sandy Chau, chairman of the board. The Foundation is headquartered in San Mateo California.

Civic Leadership USA has been doing all the years to create a pipeline for Civic Leaders for a fair and harmonious society, to strengthen the status, image, participation, influence, and collaboration in the civic engagement of Asian Americans.

United Chinese Americans of Washington

UCAWA is a local chapter of United Chinese Americans in Washington State founded in 2018. UCAWA has been actively taking the leadership to serve the local Chinese American community. Since its inception, it has organized and led the local Chinese American community to donate money and medical equipment to local hospitals during the pandemic, raise relief fund for people in-need, rally for Stop Asian Hate and Chinese Expulsion Remembrance, and celebrate Chinese cultural heritage, etc. UCAWA was one of two winners of the UCA membership development pilot program.

Austin Chinese-American Network

Austin Chinese-American Network (ACAN) is a leading Chinese community organization in Austin TX. ACAN devotes itself to serving the Great Austin community and to promoting Chinese-American solidarity. It organizes active community services, raises awareness of Chinese culture, encourages civic engagement and incubates young leaders.

Over the years, ACAN has been doing amazing amount of volunteering work. It has a great youth program. Few Chinese American community organization has as much as ACAN has and won so much acclaim from local community and media.