HOUSTON, TEXAS---The 51st Biennial National Convention earned the accolade of being the smoothest, friendliest, and most productive convention.  Months later, the “glow” seems to be still “on,” as no one can pin down anything to remember on the negative side. The tribute goes to the excellent Houston Lodge team, ably captained by Sis. Dorothy Chow, chair of the host committee, and Lodge led by current president Linda Wu. Not a detail seemed missing as Houston revisited many of the traditions of the convention such as the dinner/dance, with the dance started on time, well run hospitality in the hotel Presidential Suite with all the apples you could eat, and the C.A.C.A. Song, authored by Houston Bro. Parker Gee. Key to the happiness of out-of-towners was the extra mile (literally) that the Houston transportation team went, to receive every plane and send everyone off at the end. This “mission accomplished” organized by Bro. Daniel Chow was no mean feat, when one realizes that Houston has two international airports each 25 miles from the convention site and a fleet of hired vans and cars had to be coordinated. The Texas weather even cooperated by dipping from triple digits to double digits temperature just for the four days.

Board Election
Grand President Carolyn Hong Chan, of Albuquerque, was re-elected for another two years. Perhaps unexpectedly, Grand Exec. Davace Chin of SF catapulted all the way to the second spot of Grand Executive VP as incumbent Virginia Gee stepped down for family reasons. Helen L. Ying of Portland took the seat of Grand VP – Communications.  Southern California set an historical record by electing seven. Grand VP-Planning Winston Wu was reelected as were Grand VP-Membership John Y. Wong and Grand Marshal James Bok Wong, current L.A. Lodge president. Joining the Board of Grand Officers lineup as Grand Executives were L.A. Lodge’s Susan Dickson, Mike Fong, and Betty Yeow, and GSGV’s Bob Gin. They join Past Grand Presidents, Wilbur Woo, Nowland Hong, Saykin Foo and Munson Kwok, all from the Southland. Kwok was National Chair of this convention.

Other re-elected officers included Grand Secretary Rusty Chan of Albuquerque, Assistant Grand Secretary Faye Woo Lee and Grand Sentinel Joan Sung, both of San Francisco.  Moving from Grand Executives positions to officer positions were Grand Treasurer Melanie Chan and Grand Auditor Joanna Tom of San Francisco.  Elected in the second Auditor’s position was William Mei of Houston.

Aiding in the geographical diversity of the Grand Executives was election of Albert Fong and Ira Katz of Salinas Lodge, the father and daughter team of Edward Yu and Felicia Yu of Oakland Lodge, Thomas Lee of Washington, DC Lodge, Rudy Yee of Phoenix Lodge, and Jack Joe of Houston Lodge.

Regional Grand Executives appointed by Grand President Chan include Virginia C. Gee of San Francisco Lodge, Edmond J. Gor of Houston Lodge, Betty Jean Lee of Portland Lodge, Toon Lee of Washington, DC Lodge, T. Steven Lee of Albuquerque Lodge, and John Moy of Chicago Lodge.  Congratulations to all and best wishes for success!

Resolutions
Nationally, C.A.C.A. went on-record 1) to support the SUCCEED Act, a bill by Rep. Honda to improve the teaching of English to those, for whom it is a second language; 2) to support the DREAM Act to aid young students of the undocumented; 3) to encourage Local Lodges to facilitate the advancement of permanent residents to U.S. Citizenship; and 4) to voice the Asian American voting presence for communities of interest in elected officials districts.

A Portland Lodge resolution sweeping the imagination of the Grand Council was the proposal for the “Garden of Surging Waves” development that will include depiction of Chinese history in Astoria Oregon. This passage led to a spontaneous session of wallet fundraising for the Garden from among the members in the room. The goal was $2,500, but this sum was easily exceeded by a number of donations in less than 20 minutes.

Bills to support H. Res. 282 and S. Res. 201, Congressional Resolutions to express regret for the Chinese Exclusion Act and to support further efforts to recompense Filipino veterans were tabled, with the argument that prior resolutions remained operative and active. Indeed the Regret Resolutions were a constant topic of discussion among members during the convention and a seminar topic.

Perhaps the most important actions were on matters of “self-improvement,” a stated goal of all Grand Council convocations. Many of the resolutions were initiated by Grand Lodge itself to update compliance with modern corporate practice. Two amendments, Resolutions 2 and 4, will be considered by the Local Lodges for ratification: removal of a member of the Board of Grand Officers for cause or other reasons, and term limits for the upper Grand Officers. The former is a compliance requirement for modern corporate law, absent in our ancient historical Constitution. On Term Limits, no Grand Officer shall be allowed to serve more than 3 consecutive terms (6 years) in one office. Interestingly by prior law, the Grand President is more tightly restricted to two terms, lifetime. Another correction is Resolution 1, as a Bylaw, which removed the Grand Auditors from a conflict of interest as members of the Finance Committee.

Other actions were to create a plan for the future of Grand Lodge’s Waverly Place property, an aging commercial property in SF Chinatown. Also, a plan for the future of the historical Grand Lodge archives is to be considered. Phoenix introduced a bill to examine the role of the Grand Executive. Happiest is the call to celebrate the centennials nationwide of our three oldest continuously chartered Lodges, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland in 2012.
Most significantly, Albuquerque Lodge put forth the call for “Redrafting the Constitution and Bylaws of C.A.C.A.,” an oft-discussed issue. This time, the membership may actually be close to real product, as a super-committee will be appointed to do a draft in a year, for review at the Retreat, and for proposal for adoption at the 52nd Biennial National Convention in Oakland, California. LA and GSGV Lodges offered 14 bills. Only three failed, by “tabling.”

LA Lodge advocated the appointment of more Asian Americans to federal judgeships, and worked on youth issues to reduce bullying in schools and to advocate aiding and to protect young subgroups of Asian Americans (such as certain Southeast Asians) who are dropping out of school early because of poverty, culture or language barriers. GSGV brought up the shark fin soup issue (tabled), support for the 1882 Project (tabled for redundancy), redistricting (passed), and rising anti-Chinese sentiment (passed). In this latter concern, economic stress and the growing economy of China are perceived to revive the old negatives, which must be deflected by action of education and sensitive outreach.

Spirit of America Awards
July 27, 2011, opening day of the 51st biennial national convention was a red-letter day for the Alliance.  Grand President Chan announced that Honorable Gary Locke had finally been confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.  The advocacy work by the C.A.C.A. and other Asian American organizations on behalf of Mr. Locke’s confirmation had borne fruit.  The Spirit of America award had been presented to Mr. Locke in May at the Department of Commerce because it was predicted that his appointment would not allow his presence in Houston at the convention.

Dr. Pearl Tang of Phoenix and Honorable Martha Jee Wong of Houston were presented the Spirit of America Award at the Grand Ball.  First Asian American woman licensed to practice medicine in Arizona, Dr. Tang was recognized for decreasing the infant mortality rate of infants in Maricopa County and Arizona by 67% by implementing mobile maternity care.  She initiated cancer screening in maternity care, mobile maternity clinics, and established a health and dental clinic for the underserved in the inner city.  Dr. Wong was recognized for her many firsts, especially for her service as first Asian American to serve on the Houston city council and the first Asian American woman to serve in the Texas legislature.  This public service as well as her accomplishments in the field of education gained her the distinction of being the first Asian American in the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.  The accomplishments of the honored Award recipients are indeed vast and impressive.

Miss Chinatown Houston Pageant
Another highlight of this year’s convention was the Miss Chinatown Houston Pageant.  All the guests were enthralled by the glamour and talents of the contestants.  The Chinese American Citizens Alliance Houston Lodge has presented the Miss Chinatown Houston Scholarship Pageant for over forty years.  The pageant is one of the highlight Gala events in the Houston community.  It is highly respected and has earned the reputation of encouraging young Chinese-American women to develop their interpersonal skills, talent, and goals through higher education.  

Chinese American Citizens Alliance
Hosts 1882 Project Houston Roundtable

Houston, Texas—In a closing burst to a successful 51st Biennial Convention, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance immediately began mobilization efforts to educate Houston’s community groups about the 1882 Project by hosting its Houston Roundtable on July 31 at the Hilton Post Oak. The 1882 Project,
led by Chinese American Citizens Alliance, the Committee of 100, National Council of Chinese Americans, Japanese American Citizens League and OCA, seeks Congressional action to deal with the Chinese Exclusion Laws first passed in 1882. Facilitated by Ted Gong, Vice-President of the Alliance’s Washington DC Lodge, the 1882 Project Roundtable was attended by many of Houston’s major community groups representing the diverse ethnic spectrum. The Roundtable discussed the significance of the laws and the latest developments, including key sponsorship commitments by House and Senate leaders across the aisle.

With an emphasis to strategize at the local grassroots level, the Roundtable sought the attendees’ input and advice on how to pass House Res. 282 and Senate Res. 201, which would have Congress acknowledge the discriminatory nature and harmful impact of the laws, express regret and reconfirm commitments to protecting American civil rights and American fundamental values. Among those actions identified were to contact your members of Congress—call, write or email your Representative and Senators to support the respective Resolution; then, tell your friends and family about the 1882 Project—call, text, email, tweet or Like the 1882 Project on Facebook. Also, tell them to contact their Representative and Senators.

Mr. Gong reiterated, “The one thing I want to emphasize is we are seeking partnerships both for the immediate political passage of the resolutions and for the longer term, sustained education effort. And, the issue is not just a Chinese or Asian American issue. It is an American one and everyone who claims to be an American has a stake in ensuring the history and lessons of the Chinese Exclusion Laws are told and studied continuously.“

To learn more about how to contact your Members of Congress and/or to engage with the 1882 Project, please visit www.1882Project.org and the 1882 Project’s Take Action Page.

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