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By The Associated Press

Chinese Americans see Obama's trip in unique light

By JESSE WASHINGTON

AP National Writer

As President Barack Obama visits China seeking to balance a seesawing relationship, Chinese-Americans embody the challenges facing the giants of East and West.

They have as many different feelings about their ancestral home -- hope, indifference, pride, pain -- as there are characters in the Chinese language. Yet many share a conviction that is both logical and personal: The destinies of China and America are inseparable.

"Each one is dependent on the other to make their economy strong," said David Zhang, a New York City physician who immigrated to America at age 25. "The U.S. cannot leave China, and China cannot leave the U.S. It's symbiotic, like an organism."

The Great Recession has bound the two nations even tighter, and given China greater influence. America borrowed unprecedented sums to resuscitate itself. China, which needs American consumers to fuel its growth, supplied much of that cash and is America's largest foreign lender.

"It's like that little brother you always used to pick on, and now he's lending you money," said Nanci Zhang (no relation to David), a 22-year-old Los Angeles resident. "But you can't quite conceive of one brother without the other."

Nanci Zhang was born in Beijing and moved with her parents to the United States when she was 3. In her American schools, she remembers China's long history being celebrated while its present was ignored. Now she sees her homeland coming to America's economic rescue, and "it's kind of validating."

About three million U.S. residents are of Chinese descent, according to a 2008 Census estimate. About a third were born here, a third are naturalized citizens, and a third have arrived in the past few years, said Cheng Li, a China scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

David Zhang came to America in 1985 looking for freedom and opportunity. "What I dream of here I couldn't even dream of in China: cars, a house, a good, decent job. I could dream that here, and I realized it. Now in China, all these things we accomplished, they have accomplished."

Zhang, a pathologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and president of the Association of Chinese American Physicians, leads regular delegations of American doctors to his homeland. He collaborates with China on cancer research and clinical trials and is urging his hospital to enter the Chinese health care market.

"As Chinese physicians, we meet with the (Mount Sinai) board of trustees regularly. Ten years ago you don't even dare speak to them," he said.

Yet many Chinese-Americans fear that China's rise could create a backlash. They still have painful memories of Vincent Chin, the Chinese-American beaten to death in 1982 by two unemployed Detroit autoworkers as Japanese cars were beginning to decimate the American auto industry.

"That kind of hate crime, senseless hate crimes, would happen if the countries' relations are not very good. So on a personal level, Chinese-Americans are always very anxious," said Min Zhou, a sociology professor at UCLA and author of "Contemporary Chinese America." "

As China's economy has grown, she said, "sometimes I would hear people say, even jokingly, 'Oh, you're taking our jobs away.' When I hear this, I feel, 'Who am I? I'm American."'

Chinese-Americans also are acutely aware of China's problems, such as pervasive pollution, widespread rural poverty and repression by the Communist government.

"I don't feel like China is stable. It has so many problems, I feel like it's ready to explode at any time," said Amy Yuan Zhou, no relation to the professor, a 23-year-old UCLA postgraduate student who moved to America when she was 4.

Those problems have been a longtime source of tension with America, especially with U.S. criticism of China's record on human rights and Chinese retorts about American hypocrisy due to its racial problems.

Now America's first black president is forging a new image of inclusion, which could exert a subtle pressure on China to do the same.

"An African-American president, that itself speaks loud," said Li, the Brookings scholar. He said a Chinese minister of foreign affairs was asked at a recent press conference if he could imagine a minority as president of China, but did not answer.

Li hoped that Obama's trip could mark a turning point, from American finger-pointing to a more respectful and cooperative exchange: "The 21st-century world requires a constructive relationship."

Another turning point for some was the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. "The distance between us seemed to shrink," said UCLA professor Zhou. "That's pretty profound for me."

"My parents liked seeing Chinese people succeed on a wider stage, especially in athletics," said Nanci Zhang, the Los Angeles resident. "You and I both know what the Chinese are known for, things like physics and chemistry."

So which country did she cheer for?

"The better one," she laughed, without elaborating.

Perhaps she couldn't. America took home the most medals: 110, including 36 golds. China was next with 100 medals -- including a leading 51 golds.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Jesse Washington covers race and ethnicity for The Associated Press

NYC mayor race barely over, 2013 contenders emerge

By SARA KUGLER

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Campaign posters for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Democratic challenger can still be spotted around New York City, but the next class of potential candidates to replace him in four years is already emerging.

While most Democratic contenders campaigned heartily for William Thompson Jr. -- who narrowly lost the Nov. 3 election despite being outspent by about 10 to 1 -- having Bloomberg in office may actually better position themselves for the 2013 race.

"There will be some who advocate more or less a continuation of Mayor Bloomberg's policies, and some candidates who talk about change," said John Liu, the city's next comptroller and a potential mayoral contender in four years.

Having a Democratic mayor in office for the next four years would not have provided the natural contrast that comes with Bloomberg, who has been a popular mayor but enters his third term bruised by the close victory. The former Republican is no longer in a political party but ran on the GOP and Independence Party lines.

Democratic primaries are typically crowded in left-leaning New York, and 2013 should be no exception.

The field of likely hopefuls includes two newcomers to citywide politics -- Bill de Blasio and Liu, city councilmen who were elected to the No. 2 and No. 3 City Hall posts this month, shaking up the political scenery as potential antagonists to Bloomberg's third-term agenda.

De Blasio comes from Brooklyn, a borough of 2.5 million people that went for the Democrat in this year's mayoral race. Liu is the first Asian-American to be elected to citywide office, a milestone that has won him international attention.

Another possible candidate is City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who put her own plans to run for mayor on hold when Bloomberg, her ally, announced he was running again last year.

The move by the billionaire mayor was barred by term-limits law at the time, but he arranged for the City Council to extend it so that he could run again.

Quinn and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who is also well-positioned to run, both backed Bloomberg's bid to extend the law, but the other potential Democratic candidates did not.

Other contenders for 2013 include U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, who also dropped out of the 2009 race after Bloomberg got in, and Thompson, the comptroller who gained more notice and respect when he came within five points of unseating Bloomberg this year in an election the mayor was predicted to easily win.

Thompson told The Associated Press does not know whether he'll run again, but he is open to it.

When contacted, most of the other potential candidates said what they're supposed to say right now: They're focusing on their current jobs and aren't thinking about four years from now.

Except for Weiner and Stringer, who did not return calls, none would rule out running.

New Yorkers can expect them to all be jockeying for attention as Bloomberg takes office for his ninth year under different circumstances than his 2005 re-election, which he won by nearly 20 points.

"Candidates will feel that he is not invincible and that they can take him on, on an issue," said Democratic strategist George Arzt. "They will not be afraid of the incumbency anymore."

The definition of de Blasio's job as public advocate is to be a watchdog, and he is likely to hammer Bloomberg regularly on policy decisions and what he perceives as failures by the administration.

He has chaired the council's general welfare committee since 2002, and has said he plans to highlight social service issues like homelessness, which has worsened under Bloomberg.

Liu, as comptroller, has the power to audit city agencies and can be a strong opposing voice on Bloomberg's economic policies. This comes after the mayor enjoyed nearly constant support from that office for most of his two terms.

Liu also has strong ties to civil rights leaders and has cultivated support among black voters.

Analysts say he and any Democrats with their eye on the mayor's office in 2013 would be smart to court minority voters early and frequently.

Thompson, who is black, was propelled not only by voter resentment about Bloomberg's term-limits switch but also by support in neighborhoods of the city that are largely black and Hispanic.

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Sikh owners to keep 1 Pa. airport sandwich shop

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- The Sikh owners of two eastern Pennsylvania airport sandwich shops have settled a federal lawsuit alleging that they were being evicted because their appearance worried passengers.

Attorney George Kanupis says the owners will keep the lease on one Subway restaurant at Lehigh Valley International Airport and will get "generous financial incentives" to give up the other.

The plaintiffs -- Suhirdbir Bhasin, Raminder Bhasin and Ishmeet Bhasin -- alleged in August that they had been subjected to racial, ethnic and religious discrimination because their long beards and turbans concerned passengers.

The airport authority denied the allegations and said the evictions were due to renovations and an expiring lease. Executive director George Doughty says officials are pleased with the settlement and the authority board will vote on it Tuesday.

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Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com

Analysis: Is the future still Cao?

By KEVIN McGILL

Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- "The Future is Cao" was the widely reported subject line of a memo U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner issued the day after Republican Anh "Joseph" Cao won an upset victory over Democrat William Jefferson last December.

More appropriate would have been a question: "What is Cao's future?"

Even then there were serious doubts he could repeat his 2008 victory in the heavily Democratic 2nd Congressional District. The scenario involved an indictment-crippled incumbent in a low-turnout, hurricane-delayed election. That's not likely to play out again in 2010.

Cao was making headlines again last week because he was the only Republican voting for the Democrat-pushed health care bill. The vote probably endeared him to some of his constituents but it really doesn't make his future any clearer.

Republicans were clearly unhappy that Cao gave at least a bit of credibility to the argument that the health care bill was a bipartisan effort.

When pressed during an interview in New Orleans, House Republican whip Eric Cantor said Cao would not face retaliation in the House. But some people apparently had retaliation in mind: Cao said some contributors canceled fund raisers or asked for donation refunds after the vote.

Louisiana Democrats meanwhile, had nothing good to say. The state party spokesman declined comment and one of Cao's likely challengers essentially said the vote was not enough to make up for past votes -- like the one he cast against President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package.

Such votes have built Cao's reputation for independence and conscientiousness. That reputation should be a big plus, especially when combined with Cao's compelling life story: An immigrant who fled Saigon as a child when it was falling to the communists, who went on to earn physics, philosophy and law degrees. A former seminarian, he earned a reputation as an effective activist in his small but thriving Vietnamese community in eastern New Orleans -- especially after Hurricane Katrina. His election made him the nation's first Vietnamese-American congressman.

Perhaps the only issue on which Cao might be considered doctrinaire is abortion -- his opposition to it is what led him to join the Republican Party. Otherwise, his positions are not always predictable and he has frequently decried Washington partisanship.

Is there room anywhere in politics for someone who gives more than lip service to bipartisanship? Sometimes. Democrat Mary Landrieu has been able to hold on to her U.S. Senate seat through two re-election campaigns.

But racial and party politics will likely play a bigger role in District 2, which is 60 percent black and 66 percent Democratic.

Black voter turnout was low in Cao's win last December. There was no Obama at the top of the ballot to boost black turnout and, in a state that had only recently returned to the party primary system, many voters might have thought Jefferson had already won, owing to the hoopla that surrounded his Democratic primary runoff victory a month earlier.

Black voters will likely have a black candidate to rally around next year. And, as University of New Orleans political science professor Ed Chervenak said, "At the congressional level, party is a good predictor of the vote."

Cao's health care votes -- the recent one and one he will cast when and if the issue returns after Senate action -- may help him with Democrats. The question is whether the party that worked so hard to get him elected last year will work as hard for him next year.

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Kevin McGill covers Louisiana politics for The Associated Press. He is based in New Orleans.

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