Northridge : Event to Celebrate Asian-Pacific Heritage

A Chinese American group that extended help to Chinese nationals in the aftermath of the Tian An Men Square massacre is now trying to help itself, with a fund-raiser Saturday at Shepherd of the Hills church.

The San Fernando Valley Chinese Cultural Assn. is inviting the public to an Asian Pacific Heritage Night that will feature folk music and dance of six Pacific Rim countries.

One of the groups, the Chinese Music Ensemble, will play pieces using traditional Chinese instruments such as the harmonica-like sheng and the erhu , a two-string violin.

The program will feature songs and dances from Hawaii, Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines, India, Thailand, Vietnam and, in a twist, from Mexico. Jack T. H. Chen, an association director, explained that Mexican entertainment was included because Mexico is a Pacific Rim nation.

After the Tian An Men Square massacre in June, 1989--in which hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of pro-democracy demonstrators were killed or wounded by Chinese army soldiers--the Valley Chinese association began sending money to help start neighborhood libraries in the Chinese countryside.

The thinking behind the project was that the libraries would help raise education levels and standards of living, setting a foundation for political and social change, Chen said.

In the past six years, the association has spent $24,000 to stock the shelves of six libraries with books dealing with science, medicine, literature and other subjects. However, the association was prohibited by the Chinese government from buying political books, Chen said.

With Asian Pacific Heritage Night, the association launches a campaign to raise $2 million to build a Chinese American community center, which it hopes to build in Northridge.

The association has offered a number of community and cultural programs, including a Chinese language school for children in rented classrooms at Monroe High School in North Hills.

Saturday’s program begins at 8 p.m. at the church, located at 19700 Rinaldi St. The cost is $10.

For more information, call (213) 263-6177 or (818) 886-4608.