Los Angeles: Asian Americans form chamber of commerce

By John | Friday, January 11, 2008 | No Comments

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I’m kind of shocked to read this in The Los Angeles Times: “Asian Americans form chamber of commerce” (1/9/08):

“Aiming to increase their collective political clout and economic opportunities, Asian American business owners representing tens of thousands of mostly immigrant entrepreneurs in Southern California launched a collective chamber of commerce Tuesday. In a signing ceremony at a Koreatown hotel in Los Angeles, representatives from Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai chambers of commerce in Southern California established the Asian American Chamber Assn…Representatives said the new chamber would stay away from international politics but seek to maximize its voice in local politics. Chang Y. Lee, president of the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles, said the group would work, for instance, to ensure that its communities got a fair share of economic opportunities — including public development dollars. “As immigrants, we’re afraid at times to speak out,” Lee said. “But if we speak out, it will benefit our local businesses and residents. The chamber will be an organization that people will lend their ears to.”

Why am I shocked? I’m shocked because, especially in Los Angeles, I would have thought that a pan-Asian American chamber of commerce already would exist. It seems like this is a kind of a no-brainer to me?

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