App ban threatens Sacramento-to-China communication + ‘Patriot Act’ ends: Your AAPI newsletter
It is Thursday, Aug. 20, and this is The Sacramento Bee’s AAPI weekly newsletter.
Here’s a recap of the stories I’ve recently covered and issues I’m following:
President Donald Trump’s executive order banning WeChat could cut many Chinese in Sacramento off from their families, friends and other community members, especially elderly and non-English speaking people.
The Aug. 6 order states all United States transactions with WeChat’s parent company Tencent will be banned after Sept. 20. It’s not clear what that means, but WeChat could be pulled from Apple and Google stores in the U.S., and American companies might be prevented from doing business with Tencent.
The order is driven by national security concerns, citing fears that the Chinese government could use WeChat to gather data on the U.S. and spread propaganda. But WeChat has become a crucial lifeline for the Chinese diaspora, as China has long banned most other messaging apps. Without it, many Chinese Americans would lose their only reliable communication with family and friends in the mainland.
“This is backward thinking,” said Evette Tsang, a Sacramento resident from China. “We are pushing to go back to the old Cold War mentality.”
In Sacramento, WeChat is also an important outreach tool for many Chinese American community organizations. Many Chinese Americans also use WeChat to fight Chinese propaganda consumed by relatives in China. Banning the app would rid them of one of the only tools they have to combat the misinformation.
“This particular measure will not raise the U.S. GNP (gross national product) for sure and it’s unlikely to increase security either,” said University of California, Davis, economics professor Wing Thye Woo. “It’s just to make some people feel like, ‘The Chinese are so dangerous, we should watch out.’”
In The Bee
- Will the ethnic studies plan include Pacific Islanders and Arab Americans? Eventually [The Sacramento Bee]
- Elk Grove candidate criticized Hmong ‘clans men.’ New community group demands apology [The Sacramento Bee]
- Elk Grove council will ask grand jury to investigate accusations of misconduct against mayor [The Sacramento Bee]
- Elk Grove mayor apologizes for disregarding harassment claims, calls for ethics commission [The Sacramento Bee]
- ‘Let’s go win this.’ What California Democrats are saying about Biden’s VP pick of Kamala Harris [The Sacramento Bee]
In other news
Americans are still figuring out how to talk about multiracial identity. Kamala Harris’s nomination is a perfect example. [The Washington Post]
- Indian Americans Don’t Want Kamala Harris Pigeon-Holed. But They Don’t Want to See Her Biracial Heritage Erased Either [Time Magazine]
- How a Joke Twitter T-Shirt Exposes a Frustration Many Asian Women Share [VICE]
- Artist Chanel Miller on reclaiming her identity after sexual assault and anti-Asian racism [CBS News]
- ‘Not what it used to be’: in New York, Flushing’s Asian residents brace against gentrification [The Guardian]
- Asian American, Pacific Islander Vote Could Prove Pivotal In Texas In 2020 [Houston Public Media]
- Japanese-American teen collects, shares stories of WWII internment [The Mercury News]
- CH Projects Opens Ode to Classic Chinese-American Takeout [Eater San Diego]
- In This Dinner Series, Chinese Food Is at Home Worldwide [The New York Times]
- Desi Twitter erupts with jokes, praise and criticism over Kamala Harris [NBC News]
- Opinion: What Kamala Harris means to Indian Americans [CNN]
This week in AAPI pop culture
“Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,” Netflix’s award-winning infotainment show, came to an unexpected end this week.
Minhaj, a Davis native, broke the news Tuesday morning that Netflix canceled his series after two years. The sudden announcement prompted shock and sadness from fans including “Kim’s Convenience” actor Andrew Phung and “Never Have I Ever” actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
“I got to work with the best writers, producers, researchers, and animators in the game,” Minhaj wrote on Twitter. “TY to (Netflix) and everyone who watched. Now it’s time to return these screens to Best Buy.”
With 39 episodes and six seasons, the show was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Motion Design and a Peabody in 2019. The show was praised for tackling controversial issues head-on, which occasionally put Minhaj and Netflix in hot water.
In January 2019, Netflix removed an episode on Saudi Arabia from the country’s platform at the request of the Saudi government due to the episode’s criticism of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and his military campaign in Yemen, a move denounced by many viewers as well as Minhaj himself. An episode on India’s 2019 general election slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi also drew controversy in India and led to Minhaj being banned from a pro-Modi rally in Texas.
“Patriot Act” was also lauded for its South Asian representation, as Minhaj regularly incorporated his experiences growing up Muslim and Indian American into the show’s subject matter and humor.
Join me in mourning the end of one of the only Gen-Z focused talk shows with an Asian host. I’ll be eagerly waiting for Minhaj’s next project.
Got a story suggestion? Please reach out to me at awong@sacbee.com.
That’s it for this week’s newsletter. Try to stay inside if you can - maybe with this recipe for ube crinkle cookies? Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Please spread the word about our newsletter and send to a friend. Sign up here to receive this newsletter each week.