Asian American Frozen Foods: Royal Asia’s ‘Prawn Hacao With Soy Ginger Sauce’

I’ve had Prawn Hacao from Costco and decided to buy them again since I don’t think I’ve written a review, like I had with MìLà’s “Soup Dumplings” (Xiao Long Bao (“XLB”)) found also at Costco. At my local Costco in Silicon Valley, this pack of 40 prawn hacaos goes for $13.99. I’m not a huge fan of the soy ginger sauce, but you can use any sauce that you would like.

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Asian Heritage Athletes in America Feature: Shohei Ohtani

By Gavin Chen

Shohei Ohtani, born in Oshu, Iwate, Japan on July 5, 1994, is a Japanese professional baseball player known for his ability to bat and pitch. Standing 6’4 and 210 pounds, Ohtani was a highly anticipated prospect in Japan, where he began his professional career with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters before making the leap into the MLB in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers

Since joining the league, Ohtani has made an immense impact, earning the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year and the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player Award. His capabilities to excel both as a pitcher and as a designated hitter sets him apart from most athletes. Ohtani has constantly been in the top percentile of the league in home runs and batting average while also displaying impressive numbers on the mound. His 100 mph fastball and his signature splitter make Ohtani one of the most feared pitchers in the league. His 2021 season, where he hit 46 home runs and struck out 189 batters, solidified his status as one of the league’s greatest players. 

Currently, Ohtani is finishing one of the most remarkable seasons in MLB history with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2024, he became the first player ever to achieve both 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Now, as the Dodgers prepare for the postseason, Ohtani is elevating his game, hitting .621 in his last seven games, and is anticipating his first playoff appearance.

(Photo Credit: Embassy of the United States in Japan licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

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The “Other” Chinatown

In contrast to the broken down, struggling Chinatown of Los Angeles, the original and oldest Chinatown in the US located in San Francisco is a hustling and bustling center of activity in the Bay Area. Established in the early 1850s as the earliest enclave of Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush, San Francisco’s Chinatown remains today as one of the densest regions in the US, filled with historic cultural sites, amenities, and cuisine. Though the two Chinatowns had similar beginnings, they have had largely different developmental periods and current situations. This is the story of the first Chinatown in the US.

Just like any Chinatown in California, this Chinatown was founded as a result of Chinese immigration during the Gold Rush. Some came looking for gold, many others ended up working for railroad companies such as the Central Pacific, which hired thousands of Chinese laborers to work on the First Transcontinental Railroad. To assist future immigrants with adjusting to the culture shock, many associations and institutions were created to help newly arrived immigrants. These eventually conglomerated into the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, which helped people who were starving, protected Chinese members from racist attacks, organized trips to and from China, and returned the bodies of the dead back to their families in China.

Though the Chinese were initially received positively in small numbers, as they continued to immigrate to the US and increased competition in the labor market, hostility towards them grew tremendously. Mob attacks, massacres, and the eventual Chinese Exclusion Act only beat down an already downtrodden demographic. Though the Chinese were blamed for their cheap, slave-like labor that displaced American labor, the truth was that many Chinese immigrants were forced to work for low wages in harsh conditions. Common at the time was the practice of going into debt to middlemen who would transport Chinese immigrants into the US, with the hopes of being able to pay it off later after accruing enough money. On top of this, the main reason why so many immigrants came to the US was to find better hopes of economic prosperity compared to the dire conditions in China. As laborers made money, they kept sending portions of their income to their families in China, which strained their resources and incentivized them to work for even longer. This created immense job competition, even amongst newer generations of immigrants who had to do more for less in order to find jobs.

Racist abuse led to the formation of Tongs, which were essentially Chinese gangs. Though they engage in criminal activity today, they were originally founded as a means of protection against White hostility. However, these Tongs were also a double edged sword – although they did indeed defend their Chinese constituents from violence, they were criminal gangs at heart and used their power to abuse or exploit other Chinese immigrants. One notable act was the trafficking of Chinese women to San Francisco and other parts of the US for either marriage or prostitution, almost always against their will. The influence of Tongs was established through gambling dens, brothels, and opium houses that they used as sources of revenue. However, there were several different Tongs that fought for dominance and control of land, leading to the Tong Wars that lasted until 1921. To this day, the Tongs remain a criminal organization, though their significance has diminished significantly since the early days of Chinatown.

The discrimination held towards Chinese immigrants extended to the perceived dirtiness of the region and the Chinese people. This was best exemplified by the outbreak of the bubonic plague in Chinatown when a long time Chinese resident was found dead of the disease in 1900. As a result, Chinatown was quarantined with movement fully restricted for Asian residents – White and European Americans could still exit the city freely. San Francisco officials began to burn property and sanitize the region’s buildings, streets, and sewers despite protests from the local residents. Although the bubonic plague was discovered in 1900, the governor of California worked to cover it up in order to prevent a loss of revenue due to a potential quarantine. Attempts to vaccinate the population were shady at best, as medical officials recommended using a new vaccine that has never been tested on humans before. The side effects were never discussed, and the vaccine program was eventually shut down due to opposition from the community. Four years later, the plague was eventually stopped due to new policies enacted by a newly elected governor, but not without claiming the lives of 119 people. The inaction, mistreatment, and lack of care is a pattern of behavior that residents of Chinatown have experienced for over a century since its inception.

Just after suffering from a plague, Chinatown, and the rest of San Francisco, was struck by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in 1906 – widely considered to be one of the deadliest earthquakes in US history. Chinatown was hit especially hard, destroying many of the Chinese owned and operated businesses and forcing thousands of residents to relocate. The aftermath of the earthquake was especially harsh for the Chinese – the land that Chinatown sat on was valuable as a site of commercial development, but city officials could do nothing about it with thousands of Chinese residents there. Following the earthquake, many Chinese left for Oakland, allowing officials to move into the city. Even though there was a military presence in Chinatown, looting occurred even by members of the National Guard. Chinese refugees were moved to segregated camps, where they were eventually led to a remote corner of the San Francisco Presidio in an attempt to relocate Chinatown. The effort eventually failed, as city officials realized that they would lose tax revenue and trade, eventually allowing the Chinese to return and rebuild.

With the removal of the Chinese Exclusion Act and migrant quotas, Chinatown began to increase its population once more. This growth is one of the key differences between San Francisco’s Chinatown and Los Angeles’ Chinatown; although both Chinatowns faced increasing suburbanization from recent Asian immigrants, San Francisco’s Chinatown continued to retain its significance due to its geographical location within the city of San Francisco. Located right next to the financial district, the region serves an important role in San Francisco’s downtown, providing places for cheap rent and easy access to the central business district.

San Francisco’s Chinatown has had a miserable history, but its modern day prospects are not as bright as it once was. Although it doesn’t face the same levels of poverty and dilapidation as LA, the median income is far below the citywide average, with almost 30% of residents below the national poverty threshold. Chinatown is rather struggling, more so due to macroeconomic factors affecting the whole of the Bay Area, but there have been plans to bring back life to the historic region. For now, tourists can explore the numerous cultural attractions, authentic Asian restaurants, and visit the Chinese Culture Center in the oldest American Chinatown.

(Photo Credit: Christian Mehlführer licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

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‘Interior Chinatown’ – Trailer – Hulu & Disney+ Streaming All Episodes on November 19th

I remember when the novel Interior Chinatown won the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction because the author was an Taiwanese American ex-lawyer, Charles Yu. I recently read that the novel was being adapted into a television series, which will now stream all episodes starting on November 19th on Hulu and Disney+:

“Based on Charles Yu’s award-winning book of the same name, the show follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural called Black & White. Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.”

It’s great to see Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng in dramatic roles rather than purely comedic ones. I also almost didn’t recognize that actress Chloe Bennet also stars in the series.

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Black Box Diaries – Interview with Filmmaker Shiori Ito

I had the chance to watch the documentary, Black Box Diaries, at the SF Film Festival back this April, which is coming out in NYC on Friday, October 25 at New York’s Film Forum and expanding a week later to theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.

After reading the description for the documentary Black Box Diaries, I immediately knew that I wanted to watch the film and that I wanted my friend, Rowena Chiu, a Harvey Weinstein survivor and #MeToo activist, to interview Shiori Ito. Shiori Ito is the face of #MeToo in Japan. The documentary and Ito’s bravery are both extraordinary.

In this interview, Rowena digs deeper into some of the motivations behind some of the choices of the documentary and the state of the #MeToo movement in Japan. Ito discusses her decision to turn her experience into a documentary after facing challenges with getting her case investigated and the lack of Japanese media’s coverage. She emphasizes the difficulty of discussing sexual violence openly in Japan due to stigma.

Ito also discusses the impact of the global #MeToo movement on her story in Japan and reflects on the importance of allyship, both internationally and locally, highlighting the support she received from male allies and bystanders. She encourages audience members to share their thoughts on the film and hopes for its eventual screening in Japan, due to pressure and, she hopes, a successful run internationally of Black Box Diaries, to continue the conversation on sexual violence.

 

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Why Stockton for Asian Americans?

Stockton – a mid sized city in California’s Central Valley known for being one of the poorest, most dangerous cities on the West Coast. Whenever the name is mentioned, there is a negative connotation associated with it; being one of the most dangerous cities in California and least literate cities in the US doesn’t help its reputation either. The city also recently declared bankruptcy in 2012 which it exited later in 2015. Walking through Stockton, one can expect to see plenty of graffiti, boarded up windows, and fences around every piece of housing closer to the Southside – it’s a rather unpleasant place to be, a sentiment reflected by the decrease in population growth since 2020. Despite all these shortcomings and bad reputations, it still attracts a substantial amount of Asian residents however – in the latest census, Asian residents made up over 20% of Stockton’s demographics, being the second largest demographic after Hispanic or Latino residents. Given that Asian Americans are the wealthiest, most highly educated demographic in the US, surely they would have more options to settle elsewhere like the Bay Area or SoCal. This begs the question: why Stockton?

First, we must go through Stockton’s history to find an answer. The City of Stockton has its roots in the California Gold Rush as a location to rest and stock up on supplies before travelers reach the Bay Area. The city grew as a supply point for miners, its position near the San Joaquin River and its location as the northern terminus for the Stockton – Los Angeles Road contributed greatly to its significance. Alongside the Gold Rush came Chinese immigrants, who flocked largely to the Bay Area to search for gold. When prospects failed, these immigrants went to Stockton instead to work on railroad construction and land reclamation projects, later settling in Stockton permanently. Stockton soon became the home of the third largest Chinese community in California, with Asian residents accounting for 10% of the population by 1870 – a remarkably high rate at the time.

Stockton’s Chinatown had similar stories to those of LA’s Chinatown; following a rapid increase in Chinese immigrants, racially restrictive covenants were passed, forbidding further immigrants from entering while barring them from purchasing property. Residents faced violence and rampant discrimination, and on top of it all, urban development projects eventually tore down much of the Chinese owned buildings and establishment, displacing the residents and erasing it completely from the map. To this day, Stockton does not have an official Chinatown neighborhood unlike in LA. The area which used to be Chinatown does not have many Asian residents in it either. Compounding these events was the suburbanization of wealthier Asian immigrants towards the later 20th century, as they opted to live in places such as the Bay Area, the San Gabriel Valley, and Orange County where cities are more affluent and educational opportunities are better.

Alongside Chinatown, a Little Manila existed in the city as an ethnic enclave for Filipino agricultural workers in the 1930s. In response to the racial discrimination, the Manongs, (which is an Ilokano term given to the first born male in a Filipino family to denote respect), advocated for better working conditions on farms, better wages, and equal rights. This activism formed the first labor unions among Filipino workers in the Central Valley, which saw relative success throughout the 20th century. Although public opinion towards Filipino Americans improved following WWII, this didn’t change their reputation as being a second class citizen in a segregated America – in the 1950s-60s, much of Little Manila was destroyed as part of urban renewal projects, similarly to Chinatown. A publicly opposed freeway, now known as Crosstown Freeway, was constructed, and fast food restaurants displaced many local residents. Filipino locals who have lived here for generations suddenly found themselves having to move out.

Despite these demographic shifts, how has the Asian share of the population increased since the 1870 census? The main reason for this is that the suburbanization of immigration is largely tied to wealth – the people who can afford to live in the aforementioned areas oftentimes come from East Asian countries or India, while people from other regions of South and Southeast Asia find themselves in less amicable neighborhoods. Taking a look at the rates of immigration by country, Filipinos, Cambodians, and Vietnamese are the most populous demographics, a reflection of the city’s image of being a lower income community. Yet compared to other similar regions in the central valley, no city comes close to having the Asian population as does Stockton. So why is this the case?

Perhaps the biggest reason for this trend is Stockton’s proximity and accessibility to the Bay Area. Being serviced by the Altamont Corridor Express, a commuter train that takes residents from Stockton to Fremont and San Jose, highly educated and skilled workers can still make a livelihood in the Bay Area while living in a city that is significantly cheaper. Stockton’s other regional competitors, Sacramento and Modesto, don’t have both benefits; Sacramento, though being connected to the Bay Area through the Capital Corridor, is an affluent city in its own right and is not as affordable as Stockton. Modesto, on the other hand, is similarly cheap compared to Stockton, but does not have the benefit of having direct access to the Bay Area via rail, making it less convenient for commuter workers. These factors solidify Stockton’s status as a bedroom community for Bay Area commuters, which may work in the city’s favor as more people get priced out of the Bay Area and search for cheaper alternatives to live in.

For now, though the city has a poor reputation for being a hotbed of crime, locals and visitors can still enjoy Stockton’s Asian American History, abundant cultural diversity, numerous museums, cultural festivals, and catch a game at the Stockton Arena, home to the G-League basketball team the Stockton Kings. Besides its slew of negative rankings, Stockton is also in the “top 25 for positive momentum growth” in the US, 16th most fiscally solvent city, all the while retaining its top spot as the most diverse city in the nation. It seems things are trending in the right direction for Stockton; hopefully one day, the question will become: why not Stockton?

(Photo Credit: TownMapsUSA.com licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

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The Aconic™ Podcast – Inspiring Stories of Asian and AAPI Icons

A friend of mine is involved in this recently launched podcast, The Aconic™ Podcast – Inspiring Stories of Asian and AAPI Icons:

“The Aconic™ Podcast features candid conversations with successful Asian and AAPI icons who share their personal journeys of challenges and triumphs. We delve into their experiences, including the obstacles they faced and how they overcame them, as well as the seminal moments of hope, frustration, determination, and achievement that led to their success. Through these stories, we explore the key lessons they learned and how they’ve used them to create lasting impact in their fields.”

The podcast was officially launched back this recent September. It is sponsored by Altos Ventures, the Founders of the Asian Alumni Chapter of Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), and Gold House and hosted by Soon Yu, an international speaker, award-wining and best-selling author, and Forbes contributor who has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and New York Times.

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San Francisco Japantown Thriving, at least for the moment

We have written about the challenges and evolution of Japantowns in the US, but according to this article, San Francisco’s Japantown is thriving.  According to the article, tax revenue for the Japantown area is up this year compared to 2019, before the pandemic.  Only only one other area in San Francisco (the Presidio) could claim the same.  And this is despite the start of two year construction project affecting the area.

I haven’t been to San Francisco Japantown recently, but Number Two Son has, and he said it was really busy.  I have had other friends say that their family in San Francisco likes to go there.  If San Francisco Japantown is doing anything like San Jose Japantown (went their last night with my family and restaurants were full – had to wait an hour to get into our favorite place), I would say it would be doing well.

The article does mention trends we talked about like other Asian ethnicities setting up shop in the area. Asian themed malls have been doing well and defying the general problems affect many other malls in the United States. Still, the article’s title includes a caveat:  “Can it last?”  Let’s hope that it does.

(photo credit:  mliu92 licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.)

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Black Box Diaries Opens Oct 25th in NYC (Plus Review & Post-Screening Q&A)

The documentary Black Box Diaries:

“… Japanese journalist Shiori Ito takes on the most compelling and traumatic assignment imaginable – investigating her own sexual assault.

The nonfiction feature from MTV Documentary Films – an expected Oscar contender that has won awards at festivals around the world — opens Friday, October 25 at New York’s Film Forum before expanding a week later to theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. In January, it becomes available for streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan, ahead of its on-air debut. We have your first look at the film in the trailer above.”

Japanese journalist Shiori Ito takes on the most compelling and traumatic assignment imaginable – investigating her own sexual assault.”

I had seen the film earlier this Spring 2024 but had to wait to publish about the film until its impending release.

I first heard of Black Box Diaries when a PR agency reached out about opportunities to interview the filmmaker Shiori Ito for the San Francisco Film Festival. to prepare, I read the following about the film:

“A 2015 dinner with Noriyuki Yamaguchi evolves into a years-long nightmare for Shiori Ito after the veteran journalist drugged and sexually assaulted the Reuters intern. In her quest for justice, Ito faces long odds: Yamaguchi, is not only a high-profile newsman but also Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s personal biographer. But she will not be deterred in this powerful, intensely personal documentary that depicts her campaign to hold her assailant accountable. The case makes Ito the face of Japan’s #MeToo movement while launching a national discussion about the country’s outdated sexual assault and consent laws. As she faces threats and the possibility of a coverup, she turns investigator, chasing leads, determined to expose the truth. Splashed across the media as both a hero and villain, Ito becomes a voice for the modern Japanese woman, speaking for those whose own experiences have been too often silenced.”

After reading the description, I immediately knew that I wanted to watch the film and I wanted my friend, Rowena Chiu, a Harvey Weinstein survivor and #MeToo activist, to interview Shiori Ito, which I will post in the near future.

Review

After I watched an online screener in preparation to interview filmmaker Shiori Ito, an elderly sounding woman’s comment made in the post-screening Q & A of Black Box Diaries mirrored my thoughts exactly after I watched the film: “You are the bravest woman I’ve ever met.” After the film concluded and the lights went up, there was a standing ovation.

Shiori Ito documenting her personal experience against the forces of Japanese patriarchal culture, political power, and and a media landscape incapable of self criticism of its society as Ito tries to find justice for her rape case is a very compelling documentary – one of the best documentaries I have ever seen in my life. Ito’s bravery is mind blowing given her circumstances in Japan. She is the very definition of holding truth to power.

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Asian Boyz – A Cambodian Street Gang in SoCal

Asian Americans are often thought of as the “model minority” – a highly educated, wealthy, and good-behaving demographic. Sure, Asian Americans as a whole do have the highest income amongst all racial demographics and are massively overrepresented in higher education, but this sentiment cannot be applicable to all Asian Americans. As explored in another article, the wealth distribution amongst Asians varies heavily depending on their country of origin. East Asians tend to be the wealthiest, along with Asians, but the story is different for Southeast Asians, particularly Cambodian, Laotian, and Burmese. These demographics have some of the highest low income rates amongst Asians, and many of them migrant to America to work in low paying jobs. These demographics would eventually constitute the bulk of the gang “Asian Boyz”.

Gangs are predominantly found in low income communities. They may form for many reasons, such as for protection from the police or to make money through street crimes; the Tiny Rascal Gang was founded by Cambodian refugees in Long Beach in the 1980s as a response to harassment from another gang: the East Side Longos. Time Magazine recalls the situation: “You land in a gang neighborhood, it might seem natural to form a militia to defend yourself.” Finding themselves in hostile territory marked by street crimes and gang violence, Cambodian refugees had no choice but to adapt to the lifestyle, forming street gangs as a way to protect themselves. After an internal dispute in the Tiny Rascal Gang, members splintered off to form the Long Beach Asian Boyz.

The Asian Boyz grew rapidly in a few decades, given its lax membership and attraction amongst low-income Asian communities who were gatekept from other gangs. It also merged with several other Asian gangs such as the Asian Boys Insanity, which was based in Chinatown and parts of the San Gabriel Valley, and the Van Nuys Asian Boys based in Van Nuys. Membership is estimated at around 2,000-5,000 members in Long Beach; with this expansion, the Asian Boyz grew their influence across the nation, operating in “at least 28 cities in 14 states”. Additionally, gang memberships include members of the US Military, constituting a national security risk. Soon, the Asian Boyz became a notable force within gang culture, and they quickly grew their reputation through notorious crimes.

Pierre Mercado, one of the Mercado brothers and a leader of the Asian Boyz, was found guilty of committing 4 murders and was sentenced to 218 years in prison – the victims were mistaken for rival gang members. His older brother, gang founder Marvin Mercado, was sentenced two years earlier for 8 murders – his punishment: 8 consecutive life sentences. Deputy District Attorney Hoon Chun remarks, “Many of the murders were “indiscriminate” and marked by violent abandon; gang members once threw a grenade and fired wildly into a crowded party of what seemed to be random victims”, highlighting the violent nature of the gang.

This philosophy of raising gang reputation through widespread violence was the motivation for much of their crimes; on top of dealing drugs, committing burglaries and robberies, and many murders, the Asian Boyz was also responsible for the deaths of two students at San Marino High School. While attending a graduation party, the Asian Boyz saw rival gang members and initiated a shootout, killing two youths. This wasn’t the only instance in which children died by their hands either: 16 year old gang member Richie Nguyen was sentenced to 5-15 years in prison for beating Chino Vu, a 15 year old, to death. In another case, a 17 year old gang member Sophal Phon was sentenced to life for killing 2 parents and shooting their 12 year old daughter in the head. These are just a few examples of the widespread carnage the gang has created over the last few decades, which still goes on today.

The Asian Boyz gang is still active across the US, but following the arrest of their leaders and the Mercado Brothers, gang activity has decreased significantly. Just last year, 9 members and associates of the gang were charged with drug trafficking and firearm offenses, a sign of their continued presence. If one were to look through the news for them, however, it appears that news reporting on them are few and far between, with their last documented crimes occurring in 2023 and then 2020. The history of the Asian Boyz was rooted in defense against a hostile community, but a few decades later, this gang has been responsible for some of the most heinous crimes in SoCal and across the country. As gang activity declines across the nation, we may one day see the disbanding of the SoCal gang should conditions better for low income communities; for now, the Asian Boyz continue to keep a presence in California’s Asian communities.

(Photo Credit: A Syn licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License)

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Asian American Commercial Watch: McDonald’s Chicken Big Mac with Randall Park & Hudson Yang (Plus Food Review)

If you haven’t heard, McDonald’s has launched the new Chicken Big Mac on October 10th (for a limited release). With that launch is a new commercial, including old familiar faces from the television series, Fresh Off the Boat, Randall Park and Hudson Yang:

“Ready to try your first Big Mac®? Let Randall Park and Hudson Yang help you decide which one to get. Or just go to McDonald’s yourself and choose between the original Big Mac® or the new limited-time Chicken Big Mac®. Either way, you can’t go wrong.”

Apparently, this commercial marks the first time the former TV father and son duo have shared the screen since Fresh Off the Boat ended in 2020, and this is Hudson’s first TV commercial ever! One of my very first Asian American Commercial Watch blog posts was on Randall Park in a Wells Fargo commercial. I even got to tell him that in person before interviewing him for his directoral debut!

It’s kind of crazy to see how tall Hudson is. I remember when I first met and interviewed Hudson back in 2015, he was still a kid. Now he’s a student at Harvard.

I wonder what the motivation was for McDonald’s to get these two in a commercial – nostalgia? I don’t think Asian Americans in general have a particular fondness (nor dislike) for McDonald’s, but I could be wrong!

(Food Review for the Chicken Mac Follows)

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China’s Education Dilemma: Balancing Exams and Creativity

By Junjie Yang 

China’s education system has long been driven by a singular goal: success in the Gaokao, the national college entrance examination that defines a student’s academic future. This system, known as exam-oriented education, has shaped the educational direction of the country for decades. However, recent debates have centered on the need for quality education, which promotes a more holistic approach by nurturing creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. The conflict between these two represents a critical juncture in China’s education reform.

On the surface, exam-oriented education seems to promise fairness. Every student, regardless of their background, faces the same test. For many students not in the city, the Gaokao serves as their only hope for a better future, a narrow, but essential pathway to escape poverty. In provinces like Gansu or Guizhou, where resources are poor, students view the Gaokao as a single beam of light on an otherwise dark educational journey.

However, beneath this veneer of fairness lies a cruel reality: the resources available to prepare for the Gaokao are far from equal. According to a 2019 report from the China Institute for Educational Finance Research, the per-student funding in rural areas can be up to 50% lower than that in urban schools. In many rural schools, resources are often limited. Teachers may be inexperienced, classrooms may lack the latest technology, and students may not have access to additional tutoring or learning materials. For instance, in some rural schools in provinces like Gansu or Guizhou, classes are overcrowded, and teachers may teach multiple subjects due to a lack of staff. Students often use old textbooks and have little access to modern learning tools such as computers or science labs.       

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