Chinese American Group Rejects Elitism, Seeks to Broaden Focus

Like many in the crowd, An Yin, a 35-year-old geology professor at UCLA, said he knew little about the Committee of 100, an organization of highly successful Chinese Americans that held its national convention in Pasadena on Saturday.

“Never heard of them until recently,” Yin said.

Yin and others crowded into a hotel meeting room to witness one of the few events at the convention that was open to the public--an interview with internationally acclaimed Chinese American architect I.M. Pei.

The Committee of 100 may not be widely known, but it has managed to attract significant attention in the six years since it was founded by Pei and other noted Chinese Americans after the Tian An Men Square uprising in China.

And its members include some of the Unites States’ best-known Chinese Americans, ranging from UC Berkeley Chancellor Chiang-Lin Tien and cellist Yo Yo Ma to ice skater Michelle Kwan. Members say they have worked quietly behind the scenes in an effort to further the cause of Chinese and Asian Americans and to improve relations between China and the United States.

But critics say the group’s progress has been slow and have accused the organization of avoiding some of the grass-roots issues faced by Chinese Americans.

This year, organizers said, they are seeking to shed the committee’s image of elitism.

“We are trying to reach out to young people to help them break the glass ceiling,” said Shirley Young, a vice president of General Motors Corp. “This (convention) is an opportunity for younger people to question those who have been successful. It’s a chance for them to share some of their thoughts.”

Committee members reject the idea that the group has been aloof from the problems facing Asian Americans. The committee, they say, has had a number of successes, including a trip last year by a 20-member delegation to Beijing to meet with high-level Chinese government leaders.

The committee also played a pivotal role in pressuring CBS to apologize for a television show that depicted immigrants from China as Communist spies, members said.

In addition, committee officials say they are not trying to be community activists.

“We are not trying to do what community activist groups are doing,” said former Monterey Park Mayor Lily Lee Chen, the first female Chinese American mayor in the nation. “We don’t want to usurp what other groups are doing. We are trying to complement, not duplicate.”

Peter Shiao, a consultant to the committee, agreed.

“We want to be a bridge of understanding between the United States and China, and we are seeking full participation of Chinese Americans in American society.”

Craig Gee, who is not a member, traveled from San Francisco to the convention to find out what the group is all about.

“I want to see what kind of vision they have,” he said.