Preserving Chinese American History

Race Against Time: Saving the Largest Archive of Chinese American History From Fire

During the late 1970s, Charles Lai and John Kuo Wei Tchen started to collect the abandoned belongings of Chinese Americans in New York's Chinatown, a historical neighborhood dating back to the 1870s. Eager to learn more about the community's history, they collected items from Chinese elderly "bachelors", "men who went to the US when exclusionary laws still prevented women and family members from joining them", as well as items from old businesses that were closing down due to the expiring of the city's 99-year leases. Items ranged from photographs, costumes, and typewriters to art, most notably pieces of sculpture. These items, although simply considered trash by most, even by the inhabitants of Chinatown, were in fact essential in painting the picture of historical Chinese American culture. As more and more items were collected over the years, some notable items being the "papers and possessions of Hazel Ying Lee, a WWII pilot and the first Chinese-American woman to fly for the US military" and "a Pan Am Airlines bag from Richard Nixon's historic 1972 China trip", many began to see the historical and cultural significance of the collection, which eventually led to the creation of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). In January of this year, however, a fire broke out in the building where the museum is located. While nothing was damaged by the fire, the subsequent firefighting efforts left the collection drenched. A rescue was made to recover the pieces, and the community, as well as other organizations, helped raise $23,000 for MOCA and their recovery efforts. Luckily, the collection was transported to freezing facilities (to prevent water damage and mold) just in time, as the city was put on lockdown due to COVID-19. The museum and its efforts are intensely important, perhaps now more than ever "amid rising xenophobia, tensions between the US and China and increasing American nationalism" as a result of the virus. The museum's president, Nancy Yao Maasbach, remains hopeful, intent on seeing the museum expand even further, stating "Nothing can replace looking at real artifacts, at family albums, hearing oral histories, seeing the documents from all these milestones in Asian history...That's the importance of this collection". 

Dressed to Impress (Men): Japanese Women's Forced Dress Code

Japanese Women Rebel Against Painful Dress Codes

In Japan, the dress code for many businesses is very strict, especially for women. Women who work in many formal Japanese businesses and firms have to either wear uniforms, or more often than not, follow a very conservative dress code, both of which require them to wear short, but very painful heels. In the formal business setting, "More than 60% of Japanese women with jobs have been forced to squeeze their feet into heels at work or have witnessed colleagues having to". Ishikawa Yumi, a funeral parlor usher stated that she had to go about her 8-hour shift in heels, remarking how "Women have always been told to follow the dress code, even if it causes pain", being told to endure the pain. Many young women like Ms. Ishikawa are even deterred from wearing glasses in the workplace, their bosses claiming they are unflattering (even when their male workers can openly wear them). In addition to her complaints on Twitter about women being required to wear heels in the workplace, Ms. Ishikawa was also able to gather "18,800 signatures on a petition calling for a ban on employers requiring women to wear high heels, which she submitted to the government last June" as a result of the popularity of her Tweet. However, the petition has not received any formal response since its submission last year. A former labor minister who received the petition even stated that it was "necessary and appropriate” for women to wear heels for work. However, despite the dismal government response to the petition, there have been gradual changes within some businesses in Japan. For example, Japan Airlines has announced that its female flight attendants can swap their heels for heel-less shoes, and that they can wear trousers instead of skirts if they would like. Ms. Ishikawa has also started to collaborate with a shoe company to produce "chic heel-less shoes" for women to wear for work. She hopes that the rules regarding footwear will gradually begin to change in the future.

Myanmar's Wizards

Magical Spells are a Booming Business in Myanmar

Within recent years, Myanmar has seen an increasing interest in magic and the occult. From historical times, Buddhists have believed that one can be granted supernatural powers by practicing extreme piety. Burmese weizza, or wizards, who claim to "apparently fly, turn base metals into gold and attain immortality" as well as "to perk up [individual's] profits, make them more attractive, banish evil spirits and remove tumours" have received many more followers, especially within the last decade. Under politician Ne Win, chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party, weizza were marginalized as he feared and envied them and their supporters, worried "that they might overthrow him by, for instance, [by] raising an army of ghosts". His fear was so extreme, that he even "banned their magazines and books, and had portrayals of weizza scrubbed from films and other media". As political power was ceded to civilians after Myanmar's military regime was dissolved in 1988, weizza gained more prominence within society. With the abolition of media censorship within the nation in 2012, weizza have been able to reach a larger audience by using social media, broadcasting their healing demonstrations through Facebook and Youtube, acquiring many more clients, as well as students who wish to learn from them. Being that Myanmar's healthcare system is "rickety", many still turn to weizza to be healed of their ailments, often remarking that the ceremonies performed have cured them and have been successful.

𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪 in the Midst of COVID-19

Japan’s Cherry Blossoms in a Time of Coronavirus 

Japan's custom of cherry blossom viewing, or hanami, has been a quintessential part of its past and present, an entire chapter even having been devoted to it within the Heian-period classic The Tale of Genji. The viewings traditionally occur within the months of March and April, marking the arrival of Spring, and millions of people use the event as a way to escape the monotony of work-life, often setting up picnics to enjoy under the falling petals. In light of current events, however, these viewings have become worrisome issues for the Japanese government. While the government has urged people to avoid gatherings and events “that involve food and drink”, the public still continues to flock to parks to view the blooms. Despite being one of the countries with the most cases COVID-19 after China only a month ago, the spread in Japan has seemingly plateaued. Even with its population of around 14 million people, Japan "has recorded a little over 100 cases [of COVID-19] and just two deaths" as a result of the virus. While the reason behind the slowing of the spread is still quite unknown, the reason perhaps stemming from the country's traditional social culture, or the general maintenance of public hygiene, many citizens have slowly begun to resume everyday life, with "schools in some areas are already preparing to re-open and there are calls for a loosening of restrictions on large public events". However, with the rise in cases within Kansai, and as the majority of the population is within the age bracket of people most as risk (60 years and older), the Japanese government has taken perhaps rather reluctant precautions to prevent the virus from spreading exponentially, such as with the postponing of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which will certainly impact the Japanese economy. Despite all of these measures taken, the public still continues to head out to the parks to view the blooms, the tradition unable to be stripped away. 

The Language Barrier Between Singaporeans

Singapore Has Almost Wiped Out Its Mother Tongues

Younger generations of Singaporeans, especially Chinese Singaporeans, are having a greater difficulty communicating with not only elderly people within their communities, but elderly people within their own families. Being that Singapore has stressed the teaching of English within schools since 1987 (to increase the country's "global competitive edge"), and the fact that the only secondary languages are either Mandarin, Malay or Tamil, this makes it extremely difficult for young people to speak with their elders, who, more often than not, do not speak these more standardized languages. This divide was primarily brought about by the “Speak Mandarin Campaign” of 1979, which sought to eliminate the Singaporean mother tongues of Hokkien, Cantonese, and Hakka (which came from Singaporean origins in the southern provinces of China). This campaign also brought about the erroneous belief that the Singaporean mother languages were nothing more than dialects that prevented a single Chinese identity from flourishing within the country, the government going as far as to publicly proclaim "To speak dialect with your child is to ruin his future". This thus brought about the dissolving of dialects within households by 78% in 1980, and even as current as 2015, with a 15% decrease in vernacular. The sheer extent to which English has been stressed as one of the national languages of Singapore is astounding, even beating out Mandarin, with "over 70% of households with children at primary school" using English as their primary language. Despite this overshadowing of the mother languages, recent sentiments have risen in support of them, even at a high political level, such as with current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who "claims to be proud of Singapore’s unique form of Mandarin". While his true feelings towards the mother languages could only be to emphasize a single Chinese identity, there seems to still remain a sort of sentimentality towards the languages. Recently, many younger Chinese Singaporeans have embraced the mother languages, taking classes to learn Hokkien, Hakka, and Cantonese to better communicate with their elderly family members. 

Japan's Craftspeople

The Future of Japan's Master Artisans

Throughout its history and well into modern times, Japan has been renowned for its attention to detail, not only in its catering to individuals within everyday life, but also in its artistry when creating products. Within Japan, there is a sector of traditional artists called shokunin, or craftspeople, who specialize in and are devoted to their specific region of art. One notable example of this is shokuhin sampuru, PVC food display samples made for restaurants that are intricately painted and modeled to look just like, if not better than the food served. Japan takes this even further, often taking its simplest of items and products, and extending and refining their potential in order to make it the best that it can be, such as with 94-year-old chef Jiro Ono who has gained acclaim in the past from serving exceptional sushi to Barack Obama and Abe Shinzo. Japan's population is further aging, and supplemented by the fact these craftspeople have spent most of their lives fine-tuning their skills to make their art, a fear has come about that these works will soon be lost without proper successors. Takeshi Tashiro, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics solidifies this decline, remarking that the “output of traditional craftsmanship has declined from 540bn yen ($4.8bn) in 1983 to 96bn yen in 2016, according to the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries”. However, there has come about an insurgence of younger shokunin that have begun to carry the torch, adapting their artistry for modern times, such as with Yuya Hasegawa, who has elevated shoe-shining to fit the contemporary market. In a similar manner, Yozo Otsuki, whose parents once owned a jazz coffee shop, now runs Kurasu, a specialty coffee shop in Kyoto that sells artisanal coffee and coffee equipment. With this new group of shokunin, artists and business owners alike are widening their markets, selling their products overseas, and even participating in collaborations to entice the public, and to keep the crafts of shokunin alive.

Cell-Grown Prawns and Their Potential

How Artificial Shrimps Could Change the World

While prawns and shrimp are comparatively minuscule when placed against cattle, their damage to the environment is equally, if not more so detrimental. As their cultivation seemingly does not produce any sort of negative impact on the environment, or aggravate global warming as the methane produced from cattle, or the deforestation caused by the maintenance of their pastureland, one would readily assume that the cultivation of shrimp has no repercussions. However, the aquaculture required to cultivate these shrimp displace and destroy coastal mangrove swamps that are essential in preventing flooding and erosion. Even if people were to refer to consuming wild shrimp instead, to prevent the destruction of natural habitats, this would only further exacerbate the steadily declining wild population. With the cultivation and harvesting of shrimp not only comes environmental damage, but extremely unfair and dangerous working conditions for fishermen, who are more often than not, victims of human trafficking and child labor. According to some interviews done by the UN on Cambodian fishermen, many commented on their working conditions being akin to slavery, and "59% of them reported seeing fellow crew-members murdered by the captain". In order to combat this ongoing cycle of detriment, Shiok Meats, a Singaporean-based company is currently attempting to create their own artificial shrimp from "propagating shrimp cells in a nutrient-rich solution", much like Western countries are attempting to produce meat without the use of cows. As shrimp is simpler in terms of biologic complexity, it should be easier to produce in a laboratory setting. While the thought of cell-grown meat can be a bit disconcerting, Shiok Meats is seeking to produce shrimp that will be favorable to all palates, which will hopefully be a bit easier as "shrimp is eaten in lots of forms and textures: whole, minced, as a paste and so on". However, as with all cell-based food production, these shrimp will surely come at a steep price. Hopefully, with the advances in cell-based food production and technology, these more ethical and sustainable versions of food will become more affordable in the coming years.

South Korea's Real-Life 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒 Apartments

Parasite: The real people living in Seoul's basement apartments

With Bong Joon-ho's 2019 film Parasite, he illustrates the intense disparity and division between two distinct Seoul lifestyles: wealthy living in high-rise apartment complexes, and living in basement apartments, or banjiha. South Korea has the world's 11th largest economy, and yet, it significantly lacks affordable housing, especially for young people and those who have lower incomes. Historically, these basement apartments were created as a result of South Korean precautionary measures against North Korean acts of terrorism within the 1970s, new low-rise apartment buildings to serve as bunkers if the need arose. A successive housing crisis then allowed many Koreans, especially those of the younger generation, to live in these spaces. These apartments are almost always dim and susceptible to mold and other issues. And while these apartments may seem dull and almost pity-inducing to some, many of those living in these spaces are quite content with their homes, commenting on the lower prices and the savings in terms of space. They have learned to make the best of the space that they have, and some even having done makeovers on their homes in order to make them more welcoming. As a stigma still remains against those who live in these banjiha, equating the basement apartments to living in poverty, many of those living in these spaces are attempting to dissolve this stereotype in order to hopefully change people's perceptions of what banjiha living is truly like. 

Possible Transcendence of a Literary Past

Is Japan Enjoying a New Literary Golden Age?

With the advancement of technology, contemporary Japanese authors have had to deal with both the struggles and opportunities brought about by the varied media forms within the digital age. Through the wide access of reading formats, the Japanese have not only expanded their work within the nation, but have increasingly extended their work to the American market, often writing prose that deeply resonates with its audience. Recently, there has been a great escalation of published female authors within Japan who use their newfound visibility to mold what gets translated from Japanese into other languages, especially English. This expansion of literature has flourished because of the recurring central themes of alienation and the control of the self that so permeate contemporary work. These works not only simply highlight the traumas and struggles of life, but often "cut through" the bleak and dismal narratives with depth and introspection. While some may not necessarily enjoy this new style of emerging literature, it may be a precursor to a further blossoming of literature. However, while this spreading of Japanese literature (within the country and beyond) is a promising view towards a flourishing future, a future accepting of other voices and perspectives as its literature "embraces more women, minority and less-privileged voices", its literature, at least against the greater scheme of traditional Japanese literature, against "those infuriatingly male, elitist, tortured voices of the last century and their monumental achievements" unfortunately seems to pale in comparison. While a transcendence of the past may not necessarily be out of reach for contemporary Japanese authors, the looming expectations of the past still plague the Japanese literary market. 

African Swine Flu Crisis Worsens as Lunar New Year Approaches

Lunar New Year in China Raises Risks of Worsening African Swine Fever Crisis

As Lunar New Year approaches, the demand for pork reaches its peak in China, as it is to be the component of several traditional dishes. While usually a time for celebrating the new year, there is a significant amount of unrest and economic loss due to the African Swine Fever virus, a DNA virus that causes hemorrhagic fever in pigs with high rates of mortality. Around the time of the first major outbreak in 2018, "China’s sow herd declined by about 40 percent after the deadly disease, African swine fever killed millions of pigs and prevented many farmers from restocking farms". In an attempt to bolster the declining supply of pork meat, farmers have recently increased the number of pigs being bred. While this is narrowly restoring the rather decimated supply, allowing for more Chinese citizens to purchase pork for the holiday, this increase in supply further hinders the chance at a more speedy recovery. While fewer outbreaks have been recorded in more recent times, the chance of other major outbreaks occurring is still a worry with the now increased number of pigs. In addition to the risk of fresh outbreaks, the decline and subsequent increase of pigs have made pork significantly more expensive, China experiencing a 110.2% increase in price for the meat. In order to combat these prices and the challenges and risks in breeding and maintaining pigs, the government has encouraged the increased production of other meats, most notably chicken, to help with the shortages of pork.

Japanese Women and Projected Poverty

Japanese Women Face a Future of Poverty, As Confluence of Factors Conspire Against Them- The Japan Times

Despite the opulence and grandeur that modern Japan exudes, the nation is still heavily wrought with rather misogynistic policies and social norms that make it exceedingly difficult for women to succeed, even with the country's prosperous economy. While an increased minimum wage and more readily available child care programs have certainly alleviated the stressors that impact many working women, allowing for an all-time high workforce percentage of 71%, these policies and programs contain several caveats, and have not done much more than to temporarily quell women's fears and anxieties. Being that Japan has one of the oldest elderly populations, policies have been made to extend the retirement age and decrease financial benefits for those still able to work. Even with the rather paramount increase of women in the workforce (a jump of eleven points), there still remain government policies that outwardly hinder the potential and successes of Japanese women. While there is an increasing amount of women in the Japanese workforce, women still earn 73% of what men earn. It is extremely unfortunate to see that even with all of these programs and supposedly new and beneficial policies, women are still incentivized, or subliminally forced, rather, to consistently remain at the lower end of the financial scale in comparison to men. They are forced to face a future of not only uncertainty, but of projected poverty, and are seemingly unable to avoid it.