By Tiffany Ran
Northwest Asian Weekly

Writer and academic Martin Jacques is shown with his late wife, Harinder Veriah. Veriah was an attorney whose death profoundly affected Jacques and his writings. (Photos provided by Martin Jacques)

For many, the title of Martin Jacques’ new book, “When China Rules the World: The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World,” brings a sense of dread. However, Jacques is not afraid to present bold ideas.

“I don’t see this as a work of fortune-telling or prediction. I see it as a contribution to understanding China,” said Jacques. “I see myself as handing on — ‘Okay, here is what I think. Here is the baton. Now discuss it.’ ”

Jacques’ first trip to China in 1993 was to Guangdong and Hong Kong, a trip that would occupy his thoughts and research for years to come. Read the full story

By Jason Cruz
Northwest Asian Weekly

Images by NWAW staff

Shoreline retirees Yoshi and Naomi Minegishi, ages 70 and 61, returned this spring from a vacation in Asia and brought back a new interest in health care options. “It was just happenstance,” said Naomi Minegishi. They toured Thailand’s Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok at the suggestion of a friend.  After a two-and-a-half hour tour, they were impressed. “I am happy with my care here [in Seattle], but I thought that [Bumrungrad] was not bad at all,” said Naomi.

“Bumrungrad supersedes American hospitals in terms of care. [The hospital] makes sure your every need is taken care of in reasonable time,” Minegishi said. Read the full story

By Tiffany Ran
Northwest Asian Weekly

In a screen capture, Gizmodo Editor Jason Chen demonstrates the features of a prototype of Apple's next iPhone, which was lost at a bar in Redwood, Calif., found, and sold to Gizmodo for $5,000. After Chen's video aired, California officials raided his home and seized computers and tech gadgets. (Screen capture from Gizmodo.com)

The raid

Jason Chen and his wife returned home on a Friday night last April to find his garage door opened and his front door bashed in. Before he was able to enter, police officers came out of his house with a search warrant. They took his computers, cell phone, bank cards, flash drives, hard drives, digital camera, and more — just about everything Chen needed for his work. Before driving off with his possessions, the detective in charge gave Chen his card and suggested that he file for reimbursement on the damage to his front door. Read the full story

By Gillian Wong
Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities on Sunday executed a man convicted of slashing 29 children and three teachers with a knife in one of a series of recent assaults on schools and kindergartens, a state news agency reported. Read the full story

On May 19, the National Park Service (NPS) awarded the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial nearly $183,000, covering two-thirds of the total cost to design and install an educational wall at the memorial. Read the full story

All official census takers will provide you with identification and verification information.

The 2010 Census was due May 1, 2010. Anyone who did not respond to the mail-in questionnaire will receive an in-person visit from a census taker. While it is very important to be cooperative, households should take care to open their doors to official census takers only. Look for the following identifiers: Official census takers will have a badge with a Census Bureau logo and will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the local census office phone number. Do not be afraid to call for verification. A real census taker will not be offended. Census takers will never ask you for your citizenship status, Social Security number, or any type of credit card or banking information. ♦

For information in Chinese, call 1-866-935-2010. For info in Korean, call 1-866-955-2010. For info in Vietnamese, call 1-866-945-2010.

A five-year, $75 million initiative called “America Healing” was launched by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation on May 11, promoting racial equity by addressing the effects of structural racism on communities. Read the full story

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders announced the Obama administration’s efforts to improve the lives of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities under served by federal resources. Read the full story

The current progress of the "Knowing the Spring Courtyard" gate in the Seattle Chinese Garden.

The site is ready. The foundation and walls for the first courtyard are in place. Now, 27 skilled artisans must come from China this summer to build the traditional gate, the tile-roofed walkways, and intricate windows that will transform this big, open space into a treasure for the community. The courtyard will be a place to bring family and friends, to celebrate seasonal festivals and special events, and to admire the interweaving of art and nature in a Chinese garden. Read the full story

By Josh Dubow
The Associated Press

Eri Yoshida, an 18 year-old knuckleball pitcher from Japan, makes her U.S. professional debut pitching for the Chico Outlaws in Chico, Calif., on Saturday, May 29, 2010. (Photo by Steve Yeater/AP)

CHICO, California (AP) – Japan’s Eri Yoshida has become the first woman to pitch professionally in the United States in a decade, showing Saturday that she and her sidearm knuckleballs can compete with the men. Read the full story

By Hope Yen
The Associated Press

Married for 7 months, Hai Nguyen, 37, and Jon Pope, 37, sit outside their home in Houston, Tuesday, May 25, 2010. They are part of a slowing trend of inter-ethnic marriage. (Photo by Michael Stravato/AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Melting pot or racial divide? The growth of interracial marriages is slowing among U.S.-born Hispanics and Asians. Still, blacks are substantially more likely than before to marry whites.

The number of interracial marriages in the United States has risen 20 percent since 2000 to about 4.5 million, according to the latest census figures. While still growing, that number is a marked drop-off from the 65 percent increase between 1990 and 2000.

About 8 percent of U.S. marriages are mixed-race, up from 7 percent in 2000.

The latest trend belies notions of the United States as a post-racial, assimilated society. Demographers cite a steady flow of recent immigration that has given Hispanics and Asians more ethnically similar partners to choose from while creating some social distance from whites due to cultural and language differences.

White wariness toward a rapidly growing U.S. minority population may also be contributing to racial divisions, experts said. Read the full story

By Don Thompson
The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Restaurants and vendors could sell Asian rice noodles at room temperature without fear of being shut down due to health concerns, as long as they follow provisions in a bill approved Monday by the state Senate. Read the full story