Gary Locke is Not a Chinese Official. Like Trump Gives a Shit.

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



New Trump Ad Suggests a Campaign Strategy Amid Crisis: Xenophobia

Right out of the racist playbook, right on time. Donald Trump has kicked off his general election advertising campaign with a xenophobic attack ad, calling Joe Biden soft on China and falsely suggesting that Gary Locke, the former governor of Washington and commerce secretary under Obama, is a Chinese official. (Locke was born and raised in Seattle.) Expect to see a lot more of this racist bullshit all the way to Election Day.

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Senate Democrats Call for Federal Action on Coronavirus Racism
A dozen Senate Democrats on Friday called on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to take "robust" action against the uptick in anti-Asian sentiment and attacks since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In a letter spearheaded by Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii, lawmakers urged the chair of the commission, Catherine E. Lhamon, to issue guidance to federal agencies, like the Citizenship and Immigration Services or the State Department, on preventing and addressing anti-Asian racism and xenophobia.

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A post shared by red*hongyi 康怡 (@redhongyi) on Apr 7, 2020 at 5:31am PDT

"I Am Not a Virus"
Malaysian-born artist Red Hong Yi, who became known for creating pop culture portraits and installations from everyday objects, has been speaking out against anti-Asian attacks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with her latest series of works, boldly declaring: "I AM NOT A VIRUS."

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Nurse Sketches the Heroes and Fighters Inside a Coronavirus ICU
"Oh Young-jun traces the outlines of superheroes."

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Tigertail
The feature film Tigertail, from writer/director Alan Yang, is now on Netflix. In this multi-generational family drama, Tzi Ma stars as a man who reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

They Call Us Bruce - Episode 94: They Call Us Alan Yang

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

On this episode, we welcome Alan Yang, writer/director of the new Netflix feature film Tigertail. We discuss why he wanted to make this multigenerational family drama, the golden age of Tzi Ma as Asian America's dad, and The Good, The Bad and The WTF of telling immigrant stories.

A Message From "Your Friendly Neighborhood"

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



"We're Watching You Fucking Chinks"
An Asian American couple in Woodbury, Minnesota came home to find this note taped to their front door. It says: "We're watching you fucking chinks take the chinese virus back to china. We don't want you hear infecting us with your diseases!!!!!!!!!! - Your friendly neighborhood." They notified their landlord and reported the incident to the police, but they have no idea who would do this. For now, I guess they'll have to assume all of their "friendly neighbors" are racist cowards.

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Asian Americans Report Over 650 Racist Acts Over Last Week
Since its inception March 18, the online reporting forum Stop AAPI Hate has received more than 650 direct reports of discrimination against Asian Americans -- being coughed at or spit on and being told to leave stores, Uber and Lyft drivers refusing to pick them up, verbal and online harassment and physical assault.

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Restaurant Owner Battles Coronavirus by Delivering Food to Hospitals
In Los Angeles, The Park's Finest restaurant may have shuttered its physical dining room in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, but owner Johneric Concordia and crew have been busy feeding healthcare workers, delivering dozens of orders to hospitals all across Los Angeles County since Saturday.

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San Francisco Nurse Goes Viral with TikTok Clips About the Coronavirus
San Francisco pediatric nurse Miki Rai has earned online fame by posting dancing video to TikTok -- which she uses to educate users about the coronavirus, sharing tips on how to maintain a safe social distance, while also speaking out about the struggles faced by healthcare workers.

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Alan Yang's Tigertail Is a 'Fever Dream' of His Father's Immigration Story
Tigertail, available on Netflix on April 10, is a story of lost love, reconnection and one man's journey from Taiwan to America. Writer/director Alan Yang says the film is a love letter to his family and all Asian immigrants.

Casting call seeks Taiwanese actors for 'Tigertail'

Upcoming Netflix feature film from writer/director Alan Yang.



Hey, wanna be a in a movie? This casting call, currently circulating on social media, is looking for Taiwanese and Mandarin-speaking actors of various ages to star in the upcoming Netflix movie Tigertail, written and directed by Alan Yang. No previous acting experience is required.

A quick and dirty internet search for TigerTail comes up with this synopsis: "After a hard childhood growing up in Taiwan, Grover takes a risky opportunity to move to America with a woman he doesn't connect with to start a new life, abandoning his love and a home he genuinely loved. He looks back on this decision throughout his life, perhaps stubbornly, especially as he sees his daughter Angela grow up to be a stubborn woman herself. Grover and Angela don't realize how similar they are, but eventually come to understand each other as they experience regret and failure, but enough happiness to keep moving on."

Yang is best known as the award-winning co-creator of Master of None, and as a writer and producer for NBC's Parks and Recreation. The film's title, "Tigertail," appears to be a reference to Yang's own family origins. In a 2015 Fresh Air interview, he mentioned that his father hailed from a small village in Taiwan called TigerTail.

Anyway, here's the casting call:

Look at all this bullshit Asians put up with this year...

...conveniently summed up in this mannequin challenge video.



It's been a hell of a year with a lot of frustrating and heartbreaking moments. This clever Asian American take on the Mannequin Challenge, entitled "A-Woke," attempts to sum it up with some perspective. Produced by Michael Tow and Teja Arboleda, it plays kind of like a "greatest hits" of some of the high profile issues and pop culture flare-ups that have recently gripped the Asian American community.

It's by no means comprehensive -- it's almost entirely East Asian-focused -- but it manages to jam in references to the Academy Awards, Doctor Strange, "Watters World," Ghost in the Shell and more in less than a minute and a half. It's like a weird wax museum of some of your favorite racist bullshit from 2016.

Check it out:

Aziz Ansari nabs Emmy nominations for 'Master of None'

Also: Michelle Ang nominated for 'Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462' miniseries.



Nominations for 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards, recognizing excellence in the television industry, were announced on Thursday morning. In a banner year for diversity on television, Aziz Ansari receive a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Master of None.

Emmy Awards 2016: The Nominees

Ansari's nomination makes him the first Asian American lead series actor to be nominated for an Emmy. He joins a competitive field that includes previous nominees Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent), Anthony Anderson (black-ish), Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth) and William H. Macy (Shameless).

Alan Yang & Kelvin Yu: "Same race, different dude."

The Hollywood Reporter confuses 'Master of None' star Kelvin Yu with writer Alan Yang.



So check it. You're Alan Yang. You co-create a celebrated, critically-acclaimed Netflix comedy series, Master of None, with your buddy Aziz Ansari. Not only does Master of None win a Critics' Choice Award for Best Comedy Series, you absolutely kill it with your burn-tastic acceptance speech thanking "straight white guys."

But in the end, they're just going to confuse you with another Asian guy.

The Hollywood Reporter's red carpet coverage of the Critics' Choice Awards included this photo of Master of None stars Lena Waithe and Kelvin Yu, who respectively play Denise and Brian on the show. Of course, Kelvin was -- let's be real, predictably -- mislabeled as "writer Alan Yang." Because, you know, Asians.

As the real Alan Yang remarked on Twitter, "Same race, different dude."

Thank you, straight white guys. You had a good run.

Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang's 'Master of None' wins Critics' Choice Award for Best Comedy Series.



On Sunday night at the 2016 Critics' Choice Awards, the acclaimed Netflix series Master of None took home the trophy for Best Comedy Series. Series star/director/co-creator Ansari, co-creator/executive producer Alan Yang and the rest of the cast were on hand to take the stage and accept the well-deserved award.

In addition to the usual thanks friends, family and industry folks, Yang specifically thanked "all of the straight white guys who dominated movies and TV so hard, for so long, that stories about anyone else seem kind of fresh and original. Because you guys crushed it for so long, anything else seems kind of different."

Best speech of the night. Take a look:

Hudson Yang nominated for NAACP Image Award

'Fresh Off The Boat' star receives nod for Outstanding Performance by a Youth



Whoa! Congratulations to Fresh Off The Boat's Hudson Yang, who is a nominee for the 47th annual NAACP Image Awards, which celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in TV, music, literature and film and honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.

The 12-year-old actor, who stars as Eddie Huang on the hit ABC comedy, is nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movies or Mini-series).

Hudson's competition in the youth category includes Marcus Scribner, Marsai Martin and Miles Brown, who are all nominated for ABC's black-ish, and Skai Jackson for Disney Channel's Jessie.

Overall, ABC led all TV networks with 23 nominations.