Chinese Take to U.S. Politics

Laura Lee, Chi Mui and Peter Yao recently won council seats in their Southern California cities, using classic techniques of local campaigning. They pressed the flesh, sent out glossy political mailers and advocated causes most voters care about: jobs, good schools and public safety.

But in one respect, they represent a startling departure from standard politics: all three are Chinese immigrants.

Lee was born in Taiwan, came to the United States to earn a master’s degree in biology and built up a real estate business before winning a City Council seat last month in Cerritos.

Mui and Yao were raised in Hong Kong before immigrating here as youths. Last month, they became the first Asian Americans ever elected to the city councils of San Gabriel and Claremont, respectively.

The three personify a surge of immigrant political figures in Southern California’s fast-growing Chinese American population, particularly in the San Gabriel Valley. The 1 million Chinese Americans in California make up the state’s largest population of Asian Americans.

The more usual pattern in American politics has been that the second generation -- those born in the United States of immigrant parents -- makes the break into politics.

Generally, “the immigrant generation is not as visible in the political process because of the length of time it takes to become politically socialized,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political commentator and USC senior scholar, who added that she was “just astonished” by the political success of Chinese immigrants.

The candidates vary from real estate brokers to wealthy entrepreneurs, some of whom have sunk $45,000 to $400,000 of their own money into their campaigns. They are the children of Chinese generals and shipping magnates, illiterate homemakers and dishwashers.

“I still speak English with an accent, but I believe I’m all-American in my heart,” said Joaquin Lim, 52, a native of China raised in Hong Kong who became Walnut’s first Asian American council member in 1996.

Other Asian American communities have not produced a similar phenomenon. Filipino immigrants, for instance, tend to lack the community cohesion, financial resources and political role models that would support successful campaigns, said Susan Maquindang of the Filipino American Service Group Inc.

The Korean population has produced some immigrant candidates, but they have tended to fail by running insular campaigns geared only to other Koreans, said Charles Kim of the Korean American Coalition. Second-generation candidates are having more success, he said. One of them, Art Yoon, was elected to the Hermosa Beach City Council in 2001.

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Role Models

In contrast, Chinese immigrants have benefited from role models such as former Secretary of State March Fong Eu; successful entrepreneurs willing to back campaigns; and concentrated populations, mostly in the San Gabriel Valley, that have served as important bases.

Many of the immigrants say they are driven to run by a sense of gratitude toward America and a passion for public service inspired by everyone from Sun Yat-sen, the father of the Republic of China, to President John F. Kennedy.

Others say they are determined to improve what they see as still-unequal social conditions. Some say their political activity was sparked by anger over the treatment of Wen Ho Lee, the scientist accused of passing nuclear secrets to China, and allegations that Chinese Americans illegally gave campaign contributions to the Democratic Party in the mid-1990s.

Still others say they were raised with Chinese traditions that encourage leadership. Lisa Yang, a three-time City Council candidate in Monterey Park, cited a common Chinese proverb: “It is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a cow.”

The community’s rambunctious media -- there are at least 10 newspapers and four TV stations in the region -- also are credited with playing a key role in whipping up political interest.

After seven new Chinese American city council members were elected in Southern California municipalities last month, for instance, the Sing Tao newspaper trumpeted the news with pages of splashy campaign coverage and a banner headline.

The community has developed a core of leaders dedicated to increasing the Chinese American political presence and able to help finance campaigns.

Among them are former South Pasadena Mayor Paul Zee, a Republican, and wealthy entrepreneur Charlie Woo, a Democrat, who joined forces in 1993 to launch CAUSE-Vision 21, which offers seminars on leadership development and candidate training, along with voter registration and education projects.

The Hong Kong-born Woo helps organize major fundraisers, working with other immigrant tycoons such as Andrew Cherng, founder of the Panda Express restaurant chain, and Dominic Ng of East-West Bank. In fatter times, Woo says, he could easily raise $100,000 by calling a handful of friends.

“Getting involved in politics is a proactive way to erase the perception that we are different, that we are foreigners,” Woo said. “To me, that’s a mission.”

The Chinese American political significance is deepest in the San Gabriel Valley, where several cities are approaching or achieving Asian American majorities.

Immigrants from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China have moved in large numbers into Monterey Park, San Marino, Arcadia, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, Rowland Heights, Temple City, Walnut and the unincorporated areas of East San Gabriel and Hacienda Heights. All have Chinese American populations that make up between one-quarter and half of their total residents, according to U.S. census figures.

The highest-ranking Chinese American elected officials are still American-born -- including Washington state Gov. Gary Locke, California state Board of Equalization member John Chiang and three of the four Chinese Americans in the state Assembly.

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Chinese Dominate

At the local political level, however, Chinese immigrants are dominant. Experts say they are far better equipped to adapt quickly to America than their predecessors a century ago who worked the railroads and gold mines, spoke little English, suffered from widespread racial hostility and were not even allowed to become U.S. citizens until World War II.

Many of the more recent immigrants came to the United States already fluent in English, which they learned in college. Some honed their leadership skills in the region’s vast network of Chinese American organizations, which often served as a launching pad to mainstream political activity.

Mui, for instance, first volunteered in Chinatown teaching citizenship and English classes, helping senior citizens and starting a sports program for girls. Eventually, he volunteered for the campaigns of officials who represented Chinatown, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina and former state Sen. Richard Polanco.

Other Chinese American officials, however, made the leap directly into mainstream community affairs. For Claremont City Council member Yao, the occasion was a police shooting of an African American male and the city manager’s decision to name the two officers involved “employees of the year.”

“I got involved because I couldn’t understand how the city I loved could do something so stupid,” said Yao, 58, a director of engineering at Raytheon Co.’s Space and Airborne Systems.

He joined the city’s human relations commission to examine ethnic conflict and racial profiling. Along the way, he became perturbed by the city’s decision-making process and decided to run for office on a platform of open government, economic diversity and better relations with the Claremont colleges.

Yao finished first in a field of seven candidates, outpolling two incumbents, even though Asian Americans make up only 11% of the city’s population. Successes like that, experts say, depend on the growth in the number of voters who will choose a candidate regardless of ethnicity. Asian American communities are not large enough in most cities to allow candidates to win with their vote alone.

Increasingly, Asian American candidates are able to capture the votes of whites, Latinos and others.

When state Assembly member Judy Chu first campaigned for a Monterey Park City Council seat in 1985, for instance, a predominant question voters asked was: “Where was she born?” said Chu’s husband, Michael Eng. (Chu and Eng are U.S. natives.)

When Eng himself successfully ran for a Monterey City Council seat this year, he said, not one person asked about his ethnic background. He joins more than 20 other officials in the Southland-based Chinese Elected Officials organization.

And in Monterey Park, Eng and fellow members Betty Tom Chu and Mayor David Lau will form what is believed to be the nation’s first Chinese American council majority .

On a recent day of walking precincts, Yang of Monterey Park knocked on the door of Joaquin Matar, a retired accountant who immigrated here from the Dominican Republic 50 years ago. Matar, 77, said he backed Yang because of her business background and maturity.

“I’m looking for someone who cares for our well being and will serve us, rather than use the position as a steppingstone for other activities,” Matar said. Asked if he had qualms about voting for an Asian, Matar said: “If I had a problem with Chinese people, I wouldn’t be here.”