Tag: world war II

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Chinese American Veterans of World War II Honored with Congressional Gold Medal

On December 20, 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Chinese-American World War II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act into law. The Act finally recognizes the achievements and contributions of Chinese Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Second World War.

The bill passed due to the efforts of everyone involved in the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project. The mission of the project was to recognize, honor and celebrate the military service of approximately 20,000 Chinese Americans who fought in the Second World War.

Chris Kwok, AABANY Board Director, Issues Committee Chair and Asia Practice Committee Co-Chair, participated in the effort to get the legislation passed. Chris served on the Steering Committee of the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project and acted as Legal Counsel to the Committee.

Brian Song, AABANY President-Elect, and Chris Kwok, as AABANY Issues Committee Chair, also advocated for passage of the bill at NAPABA Lobby Day in Washington, DC, during APA Heritage Month in 2018.

AABANY commends Chris Kwok and Brian Song for their efforts and advocacy in support of getting this very important legislation passed.

To learn more, see: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/chinese-american-wwii-vets-receive-congressional-gold-medal-n950986

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NAPABA Supports Congressional Effort to Honor Chinese American Veterans

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For Immediate Release
Aug. 1, 2017

                                                   For More Information, Contact:
                                                   Brett Schuster, Communications Manager
                                                   [email protected], 202-775-9555

WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) endorses the Chinese American World War II Veterans Congressional Gold Medal Act introduced by Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Congressman Ed Royce (R-Calif.-39), and Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.-33). This bipartisan bill formally recognizes the thousands of Chinese Americans who fought alongside fellow Americans during World War II with the Congressional Gold Medal. In a letter shared with Congress, NAPABA highlighted how “Chinese Americans, both men and women, played a significant role for the United States in the Second World War… For over half a century, Chinese Americans have gone unrecognized for their courage and selfless sacrifice. NAPABA has supported similar legislation in the past and unequivocally endorses this legislation to finally grant Chinese World War II veterans the honor they deserve for their courage and valor.”

NAPABA encourages Members of Congress to join their colleagues in co-sponsoring this Bill to honor our veterans. By supporting this legislation, NAPABA acknowledges the importance of promoting equity and justice for Asian Pacific Americans. NAPABA thanks Senators Duckworth and Shelby, and Congressman Royce for their leadership in raising awareness of the sacrifices that Chinese Americans have made for the United States.

For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, at 202-775-9555 or [email protected].

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of almost 50,000 attorneys and over 80 national, state, and local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members include solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal services and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government.

NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of color in the legal profession.

To learn more about NAPABA, visit www.napaba.org, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter (@NAPABA).

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association | 1612 K St. NW, Suite 510 | Washington, D.C. 20006 | www.napaba.org

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House Passes Bill to Award Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino World War II Vets

House Passes Bill to Award Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino World War II Vets

On November 30, following the Senate’s approval of this bill in July earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a bill seeking to honor more than 260,000 Filipino-American World War II veterans with the Congressional Gold Medal. To read more about this event, click on the link in the title for a story by Stephany Bai and Charles Lam.

As stated in the article:

The medal would recognize the soldiers who responded to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s call-to-duty and fought under the United States flag during World War II. Those soldiers were promised military benefits, but that offer was retracted by the Rescission Act of 1946.

During NAPABA’s Annual Lobby Day on May 24, AABANY was represented by Past President Robert Leung and Issues Committee Co-Chair Chris Kwok. They met with Congressman Jerry Nadler’s Office and with David Greengrass, Legislative Assistant. Using Lobby Day as an opportunity to discuss the Filipino War Veterans of WWII Gold Medal, they reminded the Congressman that Filipino Americans were the second most populous Asian American subgroup and that passage of the bill would be very meaningful to the Asian American population. He subsequently voiced support of the bill.

AABANY is pleased by the news that the House of Representatives passed this bill, which now will go to President Obama for signature. We are gratified to know that after all these decades, these Filipino-American World War II veterans will get the honor and recognition they deserve for their service to America.

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NAPABA Outraged by Trump PAC Spokesperson References to WWII Japanese Incarceration

In times of sweeping changes facing our nation, Americans of all backgrounds must come together to move this nation forward — not backwards. NAPABA condemns the comments about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II made by Carl Higbie, a spokesman for the pro-Trump Great America PAC.                                    

During an interview with Megyn Kelly on the Nov. 16, 2016, taping of Fox News’ “The Kelly File” regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s plan for a Muslim registry system, Higbie argued in favor of a plan modeled after the highly controversial National Security Entry-Exit Registration System implemented after 9/11. In so doing, Higbie stated, “We’ve done it based on race, we’ve done it based on religion, we’ve done it based on region. We’ve done it with Iran back — back a while ago. We did it during World War II with [the] Japanese.”

These offensive and incendiary remarks invoked the distrust and xenophobia that led to the unjustifiable imprisonment of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II, a time that is considered to be one of the darkest moments in American history, in order to justify current policy proposals. This is unacceptable and such intolerance has no place in our country. After a divisive election, we must move forward as one and not instill fear into our nation’s citizens.

The lesson of incarceration is that we cannot engage in discriminatory conduct and must oppose policies that profile and target the Muslim American community with hate and bigotry at its core.

We must work together to unite our membership and our nation and to find common ground for a better path forward. We must refuse to act based on fear and intolerance. As history has shown, such actions do not make our country safer and reject the basic tenets of what it means to be Americans.

For more information, the media may contact Brett Schuster, NAPABA communications manager, at 202-775-9555 or [email protected].

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No-No Boy returns Off-Broadway and on tour this June!

The acclaimed 2014 production of Ken Narasaki’s NO-NO BOY returns to New York City for a special limited engagement this June at the Studio Theatre at Theatre Row and on tour to Washington, DC at the Burke Theatre.

Based on the novel by John Okada, NO-NO BOY is a moving drama. Set in the aftermath of WWII, Ichiro Yamada returns to his home on the West Coast in search of resolution among family, friends, and his community.

June 21st-25th, 2016
The Studio Theatre at Theatre Row
410 W. 42nd St New York, NY 10036
Tues-Sat at 7:30; Wed at 2:30pm
Opening Night June 21st

“Few dramas have as effectively depicted the sense of being torn between two cultures in a time of war.” – LA Weekly

Tickets are just $39 for this limited revival run!

We also have a limited number of tickets available to our opening night performances June 18th in DC and June 21st in NYC. These tickets are only $75 and include a VIP post show reception and meet and greet with the cast and crew!

NO-NO BOY

by Ken Narasaki
directed by Ron Nakahara
adapted from the novel by John Okada

Starring:

Leanne Cabrera, Don Castro, Chris Doi, Scott Kitajima, Glenn Kubota, Karen Tsen Lee, Claro de los Reyes, Shigeko Sara Suga, Hansel Tan, and Tony Vo.

With this powerful and timely story Pan Asian is committed to reaching new audiences nationwide. No-No Boy is supported in part by an award from the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.  Please consider a tax deductible donation towards our NEA match campaign.

To reserve your tickets visit www.telecharge.com or www.panasianrep.org

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Press Release: Heart Mountain at Cadwalader, July 11

Cadwalader to Shed Light on World War II Draft Resister Case

NEW YORK, July 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (Cadwalader), a leading counselor to global financial institutions and corporations, is hosting a unique event that will reenact the historic World War II case of the 63 Japanese-American draft resisters who were interned at Heart Mountain in Wyoming and refused to report for U.S. military service until their rights as citizens were restored.

The program will be presented by a team of Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY) members, which includes Cadwalader Partner Kathy Hirata Chin and Special Counsel Lauren U.Y. Lee. The group develops and performs reenactments of important moments in Asian American legal history, which are first performed at the annual National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) convention in November. The Hon. Denny Chin, Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Hon. Kiyo Matsumoto, Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, will also participate in the evening’s program.

“I commend Judge Chin, Cadwalader Partner Kathy Chin and the entire team for their efforts to raise awareness of significant, yet often overlooked, moments in our nation’s legal history which impacted Asian Americans. The Heart Mountain case, in particular, challenged notions of citizenship and individual freedoms,” commented W. Christopher White, Chairman of Cadwalader. “As a firm, we are committed to supporting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and are honored to host this unique program.”

Cadwalader previously hosted another performance by AABANY, which focused on two key Supreme Court cases from 1922 – Takao Ozawa v. United States and United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind. George Wickersham, a Cadwalader partner at that time, represented Mr. Ozawa in the former case.

About Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, established in 1792, is one of the world’s leading international law firms, with offices in New York, Washington, Charlotte, Houston, London, Hong Kong, Beijing and Brussels. Cadwalader serves a diverse client base, including many of the world’s top financial institutions, undertaking business in more than 50 countries in six continents. The firm offers legal expertise in antitrust, banking, business fraud, corporate finance, corporate governance, environmental, financial restructuring and reorganizations, healthcare, intellectual property, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, private client, private equity, real estate, regulation, securitization, structured finance, and tax. More information about Cadwalader can be found at www.cadwalader.com.

Contacts:

Adam Segall +1 212 504 6492

[email protected]

Elizabeth Hyland +1 212-850-5633

[email protected]

SOURCE Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft

/Web site: http://www.cadwalader.com