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Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Mass. AAPI report provides what could be the first comprehensive survey of community population
'This aggregation is needed to understand each community and their needs,' said Shubhecchha Dhaurali, program and research director at the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission of Massachusetts. 'Because if we merge everybody together, it gives us this idea that we're doing fine or everybody's not doing fine when that isn't the case." Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up MassINC Polling Group executed the survey, and the UMass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies, the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission of Massachusetts, APIsCAN, and the Asian Community Fund at the Boston Foundation collaborated to design the questionnaire. Paul Watanabe, director of the UMass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies and political science professor, anchored the initiative. A survey like this could have great implications for a demographic that's often been treated as a monolith, advocates say. Without detailed data, elected officials often overlook AAPI voters as a key voting bloc, and policy recommendations that properly address the diaspora's specific needs are difficult to make. Advertisement The survey provides key insights into the growing AAPI community, which constitutes eight percent of the state's population, according to the most recent Some key takeaways: Like many Massachusetts residents, roughly a third of respondents considered the rising cost of living and inflation among their top concerns. But the degree to which they worried about making ends meet differed by ethnicity. Thirty-four percent of Vietnamese Americans, 34 percent of Chinese Americans, and 27 percent of Indian Americans identified inflation as a key concern. The majority of survey respondents — 56 percent — identified as Democrats. The Trump administration's executive orders on AAPI residents polled also reported widespread racism, and an overall lack of belonging. Roughly one in four said they experienced discrimination, one in five were called racist slurs, and 14 percent suffered verbal abuse in the past year. These trends are echoed on the national level. A separate Advertisement For the Massachusetts survey, only 39 percent of respondents said they strongly agreed that they belonged in America — a sentiment that Danielle Kim, executive director of the Boston Foundation's Asian Community Fund found shocking, but affirming nonetheless. 'Even though AAPI residents have been in this country for many generations, so many in our community still don't feel like we're seen, visible, or celebrated,' Kim said. 'This report is a call to action.' The survey also precedes a 'We live in a society where data and numbers really help to push public opinion,' said Jaya Savita, director of the Asian and Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network, or APIsCAN. 'Many of our partners will be able to use this data to better articulate the lived experiences of our communities when it comes to advocating on policy issues, asking for grant funding, and seeking opportunities to build community.' There are some notable limitations: the data only delineates Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese respondents. All other nationalities making up the state's AAPI diaspora — such as Korean, Hmong, and Sri Lankan Americans — did not meet the survey's disaggregation threshold and are instead included in an 'other' category. The questions were also only available in English, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, and Khmer, restricting which residents can participate. But Karen Chen, executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association, said the survey is just a start. It might be the model lawmakers need on Beacon Hill to actually start acknowledging the nuances of the diaspora, and 'move with intention.' Advertisement 'We have so many folks that will say: [the community] is so diverse, we can't do anything,' Chen said. Well, 'if you have the will, we will show you how.' This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Tiana Woodard can be reached at
Axios
7 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Asian population grows across U.S., including Illinois
Illinois' share of Asian Americans is slightly lower than the national rate. The big picture: The Asian American population has more than doubled since the turn of the century, according to Pew Research. Nearly 25 million Asian Americans live in the U.S. as of 2023. Chinese Americans are the largest Asian population in the U.S. By the numbers: In 2023, nearly 895,000 people in Illinois identified as Asian. That's 7.1% of the population, slightly below the national rate of 7.4%. Zoom out: Hawaii is the only state with an Asian majority, with 57%, followed by California, with 18%. Flashback: The 2022 redistricting map made the 11th ward, including Bridgeport and Chinatown, the city's first Asian majority ward.
The Intercept
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
Trump Is Coming for Chinese Students. Who Will Protect Them?
Six universities received letters from Congress in March asking them to turn over information on programs where Chinese students participate and work. Now, academic workers speaking through their unions are demanding that their schools reject calls to turn over information on the students and faculty. The demand for information on Chinese students is part of a growing attack by the Trump administration and its Republican allies on Capitol Hill against universities in the U.S. The congressional focus on Chinese students in particular comes against the backdrop of rising of Sinophobia and racism against Chinese Americans under the guise of criticism of the Chinese government, said a scholar who focuses on science and technology in U.S.–China relationships. 'This issue has been weaponized by the national security establishment in the U.S. — an issue of civil liberties is being treated through the means and lens of a great power rivalry and the means and lens of national security,' said Yangyang Chen, a fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School. 'That is being further used to victimize the members of the same community in the name of protecting them.' The letters demanding information about the Chinese students came from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, chaired by Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich. Describing the student visa program as a 'Trojan horse for Beijing,' the committee called on the universities to provide information on all the schools that Chinese students at their institution previously attended; sources of tuition funding; what kind of research Chinese students are conducting; a list of programs that include Chinese participants and their sources of funding; and a list of labs and research initiatives where Chinese students work. The committee also requested a country-by-country breakdown of applicants, admittances, and enrollees at each university. The letters were sent to Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Stanford University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Maryland, and the University of Southern California. Universities have said that the letters did not request information on individuals but rather on aggregate statistics. Some schools have issued statements that they would act in accordance with privacy protections for students. (The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party did not respond to a request for comment.) Chen, the Yale scholar, said, 'This is an infringement of the Chinese students and scholars' civil liberties.' Read Our Complete Coverage While many universities — especially well-heeled elite institutions — have faced criticisms for failing to aid their international students, pushback against powerful forces in Washington continues to grow. In the case of the Chinese students, academic workers are hoping universities will show fortitude in staving off congressional Republicans. On Wednesday, a coalition of 21 academic worker unions signed an open letter to executives and trustees at their schools raising concerns about the risks facing Chinese students and demanding that schools refuse to provide any information on Chinese students, faculty, or post-doctoral scholars to the House committee. 'Complying with these letters' requests would not only contribute to demonizing Chinese nationals, but also set a dangerous precedent for victimizing any group arbitrarily labeled as a threat,' they wrote. 'At a time when the Trump administration is targeting international faculty, students, and academic workers, standing fast to strong principles of fairness, due process and academic freedom is more important than ever.' 'Blaming China has become a bipartisan strategy.' 'These letters are part of a broader escalation of anti-Chinese sentiment that has intensified with rising U.S.-China tensions,' said Valentina Dallona, political director for the nonprofit Justice Is Global, which helped organize the letter. 'As U.S. policymakers grapple with what may be the end of the neoliberal order and the shifting balance of global power, blaming China has become a bipartisan strategy. This scapegoating not only fuels discrimination but also jeopardizes international research partnerships that are crucial for addressing global challenges.' Schools have so far complied with the requests, according to statements from universities in response to inquiries from The Intercept and accounts from graduate students. The University of Southern California downplayed the implications of the request, said Daniel Delgado, a historian at the school and member of a graduate student union organized under the auspices of the United Auto Workers. The school implied that the information requested in the letter is typical or publicly available, Delgado said. 'That doesn't address the core problem, which is the targeting of Chinese students and use of this war-mongering to create fear and to target Chinese international workers,' he said. 'That's what I think they're trying to basically ignore by downplaying the significance of this information request.' The University of Maryland has not told students if the school will voluntarily provide information to government entities looking to target individuals, said Rose Ying, a graduate student at Maryland and an organizer with the university's graduate student union. Maryland administrators have said they won't work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless they have a judicial warrant — which is signed by a judge based on probable cause indicating a crime, whereas administrative warrants are issued by ICE itself without a judge's review. 'But we are trying to get them to talk about information requests more broadly,' she said. 'If this committee comes back and says, 'Hey, we actually want a list of individuals' — would they give over that information?' A spokesperson for the University of Maryland said they turned over information in accordance with federal and state law by the deadline of April 25. In a statement to The Intercept, university spokesperson Katie Lawson said, 'It is our understanding that the request did not seek personally identifiable information.' A spokesperson for Carnegie Mellon said the school had responded to the committee's inquiry but did not answer questions about what kind of data it turned over. In a March statement, Stanford said the committee had requested aggregate information not specific to individuals. 'Stanford will continue working to support our students and also to fulfill our legal obligations in protecting individual student privacy,' the university said, noting that it would 'assure the security and integrity of the research environment.' In response to questions, Stanford University spokesperson Luisa Rapport pointed to the March statement and said the school had responded to the committee's letter and would continue to 'work cooperatively' with them. A spokesperson for USC said the school was complying with the congressional request. 'We are cooperating with the select committee's inquiries,' the spokesperson said in a statement to The Intercept, 'and are following all applicable privacy laws and other legal protections, as we do for all matters.'
Epoch Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Chinese Americans Brace for Curtailed Trade With China
As the trade war between the United States and communist China continues to unfold, many Chinese Americans—who often base their small businesses on imports from China—are weighing their options. Some expect to survive the price hikes, some will consider sourcing their goods elsewhere in Asia, and still others are pondering closing down. Since entering office, President Donald Trump imposed a slew of so-called reciprocal trade measures on China that significantly hiked U.S. import prices. He raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent in April, while China retaliated with a 125 percent levy on American goods, effectively raising a trade embargo. Within weeks, both countries agreed to a 90-day truce, though Trump still left in place a baseline 30 percent tariff.
Chicago Tribune
11-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: The economic war between the U.S. and China is causing pain in Chicago's Chinatown and beyond
President Donald Trump is beginning to understand that nosebleed tariffs on goods imported from China aren't sustainable. Encouraging, at least. Just before Trump administration representatives were to begin meeting Saturday in Switzerland with Chinese counterparts, the president suggested that 80% might be an appropriate tariff on China rather than the current 145%. That surely is too high as well, but at least we're headed in the right direction. This bit of cautiously positive news came just after this board met with the genial Midwest consul general of China, Wang Baodong, and some of his staff and had a wide-ranging discussion, including on the tense state of affairs between the two countries, one these diplomats bemoan. What struck us after leaving the meeting at the Chinese Consulate General in River North was how the economic warfare waged by the highest levels of these two powerful countries affects ordinary folks trying to make a living and carry on the traditions of their culture in our city, a true melting pot if there ever was one. The area around Chicago's Chinatown is the only Chinatown in the U.S. that is growing, the consul general told us. Between 2010 and 2020, Asian Americans were by far the fastest-growing ethnic group in Chicago, with their numbers rising by nearly a third in that span. Much of that influx was centered in Chinatown and nearby Bridgeport. Many of those residents are first- or second-generation Chinese Americans, and they maintain close ties with relatives in China. It's a connection felt strongly in Chinatown itself, where small businesses depend heavily on trade with China. With the Trump administration having removed tariff exemptions for even small deliveries of goods, those business owners are scared and hoping cooler heads prevail. So it is our fervent hope that the combative rhetoric that has emanated from the White House toward China not filter down to the day-to-day interactions of people going about their business. So far, we've seen no evidence of that, thankfully. And neither had the consul general when we asked him. Still, folks have to make a living. In a global economy that will remain a fact of modern economic life no matter how fervently Trump wishes for a made-in-America past to be revived, the world's second-most-populous country (barely trailing India) can't long be the target of what effectively is a trade embargo. Traffic at some U.S. ports already has slowed dramatically. The Port of Los Angeles, the busiest such facility in the Western Hemisphere, reportedly saw its cargo traffic drop 35% last week compared with the same time a year ago. Such trends, if they persist, will hurt unionized port workers, rail employees and truck drivers, among many others. In other words, many Trump voters. In an Oval Office press gathering Thursday, Trump was asked directly about port workers losing their jobs because of lack of trade. His response? Calling it a 'good thing and not a bad thing,' he said: 'That means we lose less money, you know? When I see that, that means we lose less money.' Trump routinely interprets a negative balance of trade the U.S. has with another nation as equivalent to this country as a whole paying something when, of course, the only Americans paying for the administration's draconian trade barriers are consumers (in the form of higher prices) and workers (in the form of lost trade-related jobs). There surely are legitimate grievances the U.S. has toward Chinese government behavior in the global marketplace. The complaints have run over the years from technology theft to uncompetitive dumping of commodities to inordinately high barriers making it difficult for U.S. companies to access the vast Chinese market. Notably, President Joe Biden kept the Chinese tariffs imposed by Trump's first administration throughout Biden's presidency. Worries about Chinese trade practices have been — and continue to be — bipartisan. We are pleased to see the beginnings of recognition from the administration that economic warfare of this magnitude is bad for most of the country even if favored by a few industries that are direct beneficiaries. Let's keep lowering the rhetorical temperature and allow for rational negotiations to open up the channels of fair trade — in both directions — rather than close them down.
