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.

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: