
DATE: Friday, October 3, 1997               TAG: 9710030659

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NIA NGINA MEEKS, Staff writer 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   99 lines

ASIAN AMERICANS BOOST POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT IN HAMPTON ROADS

Like the soccer moms of '96, Asian Americans in Hampton Roads are primed to be the swing vote for Election '97.

In the past, they have mobilized voters and talked among themselves about the importance of the vote.

On Saturday, they will push people further toward the voting booth with a political forum. The local chapter of the Organization for Chinese Americans and seven other Asian civic groups have invited 45 state and federal would-be officeholders to offer their views to voters.

``We are learning that this system is a political system, and we are not taking advantage of the system,'' Vinod B. Agarwal said. He is an economics professor at Old Dominion University and an Asian Indian.

Like other people of color, Asian Americans see their share of discrimination from police, schools and other institutions, Agarwal said. But unlike other ethnic groups, Asian Americans tend to be underrepresented in policy-making positions to affect change.

As second- and third-generations of Asian Americans stabilize their professional and economic lives, more are moving into the political arena, political scientist Miranda Schreurs said. She specializes in Asian politics at the University of Maryland.

``It's actually a little bit delayed in terms of the numbers of Asian Americans, in terms of politics,'' Schreurs said.

In Hampton Roads alone, the U.S. Census Bureau tallied more than 35,205 Asian Americans in 1990. They range from Filipinos to Laotians. About half of them call Virginia Beach home. A glance at local city councils and school boards does not reflect that, though.

``We're all trained not to get involved with the community stuff,'' Shewling Moy Wong said. The Beach woman is helping organize the forum. ``I want more than that. I want to be an active participant,'' she said.

Political involvement is directly related to education, wealth and the amount of time a group of people have been in the United States, Agarwal said.

For newer immigrants, such as Cambodians and Asian Indians, that process is beginning. Many Chinese and Japanese, on the other hand, have roots that run more than 100 years and two generations in U.S. soil.

Now those trees are bearing fruit such as Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a Chinese American. He is the first Asian American in the mainland to be elected governor. His election made international news.

Stephen P. Shao, for one, was elated. The Beach man ran for the House of Representatives twice in the 1980s. He lost to Owen B. Pickett.

``I was the first official Chinese American candidate nationwide,'' Shao said. ``We all have to do what we're supposed to do, to try to improve our Asian community, to try to contribute to the nation.''

Which is why organizers of this forum do not want a recent campaign finance controversy in the nation's capital to deter Asian Americans from participating in the political process. After disclosures about national fund-raiser John Huang possibly laundering money from China to the Democratic Party, contributions from Asian Americans were stigmatized, too. Some Asian Americans grew not only offended, but discouraged.

Huang is only one man and that brouhaha cannot be allowed to cast a shadow on the bigger picture, Wong, Vinod and others insist.

Part of that picture includes reformed immigration laws and welfare benefits for legal immigrants and citizens. Another part is preparing the next generation of Asian Americans to step out even further, Shao said.

Maybe by the spring city elections, an Asian American will be among the candidates, Wong said.

``Who knows?'' she said.

Interest in the forum seems definite. So far, some 200 people have reserved seats.

Of the candidates invited, 12 had confirmed by Thursday that they will attend, including Democratic Congressman Pickett and Mark Earley, the Republican candidate for Attorney General.

``We think they should make time for this group. They make time for other groups,'' Wong said. ``It might not be a bang-up event, but at least it's a start.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The Eastern Virginia Chapter of the Organization of Chinese

Americans will host a legislative night for candidates to elaborate

their views on immigration law and welfare reform as it applies to

legal immigrants and citizens.

WHERE: Chinese Community Center, 722 Newtown Road, Virginia Beach

WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. A social hour complete with hors

d'oeuvres kicks off the evening.

WHY: A chance for constituents to make informed decisions when

they go to the ballot this fall. Space is limited, and reservations

are required. Cost is $1 for students, $2 for members and $4 for

non-members. For details, call 640-0533 or 496-5646.