Since 2006, the Committee of 100 has been the driving force behind the Mandarin in Schools (MIS) committee, which has worked to bring quality Mandarin language and Chinese cultural curriculum and programs to Southern California public schools, including the Los Angeles Unified School District. MIS was first convened by the Committee six years ago and is composed of community leaders, representatives from several Los Angeles school districts, and administrators, academic leaders and faculty from UCLA, Cal State Los Angeles and Loyola Marymount University.
This month’s newsletter highlights new approaches in how the Committee carries out its mission through three core programs—Education, Diplomacy, and Leadership Development. Each program compartment has set parameters for specific program development, funding, member engagement, and customized program products. The organization’s research and communication capabilities are fully integrated into each program area to enhance program content and optimize social media-based delivery platforms. New tools and features include:
Recent events in U.S.-China relations--the purge of Bo Xilai and high-profile case of a blind Chinese dissident on the eve of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue--underscore the importance of candid communication and cooperation between Washington and Beijing and the people of both countries. In its efforts to deepen bilateral understanding and enhance people-to-people diplomacy, the Committee has made significant strides as evidenced in this month’s newsletter.
21st Annual Conference Leadership Development Forum Mentors and Mentees.
As part of C-100’s Leadership Development Program, C-100 members and young professionals convened for a luncheon discussion on professional advancement in Pasadena on April 21. The twelve C-100 member-mentors and 32 mentees were divided into five groups.
Stewart Kwoh, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Korean Churches for Community Development, and Asian Law Caucus.
Stewart Kwoh speaking at the Asian Law Caucus gala.
Three Los Angeles organizations honored President and Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) Stewart Kwoh this April.
On April 5, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles [CHIRLA], an organization “serving and empowering low-income immigrant workers and youth,” honored Kwoh for “his inspirational leadership for the immigrant communities of Los Angeles.”
After the Committee of 100 released the “U.S.-China Public Perceptions Opinion Survey 2012” on April 19 at the 21st Annual Conference in Pasadena, leading international and domestic media outlets picked up the breaking news. To date, 63 media stories have been generated in the English and Chinese language media, including Associated Foreign Press (AFP), Channel News Asia, China Daily, Korea Herald, Los Angeles Business Journal, MarketWatch,People’s Daily, Radio Netherlands, Reuters, Shijie Ribao and Voice of America.
Jackson Tai took over in January as Interim President and CEO of Brookstone, the 300-store and direct marketing retailer of practical electronic gadgets and other home and travel products based in New Hampshire. Tai had served as Brookstone’s Chairman of the Board since 2009 and a director since 2008.
“Home Bass” by Kelly Chung Dawson in China Daily on March 3 describes the U.S.-China career of Metropolitan Opera bass Haojiang Tian and spotlights Tian’s newest cross-cultural innovation, I Sing Beijing, which selects twenty young Western opera singers for a month of training in Mandarin and Chinese opera in Beijing.
Despite growing mistrust between the two nations, citizens in both the U.S. and China acknowledge the need for improved political and business cooperation and diplomacy. This was the key finding of the Committee’s 2012 Mirror Survey, which was released during the 21st Annual Conference in April.
Hollywood producer and entertainment executive Teddy Zee’s op-ed appeared in the April 25 New York Times’ “Room for Debate” discussion, “Whitewashing on the Small Screen.” Zee’s take on HBO’s hit series, “Girls,” and its lack of minority representation, is excerpted below:
