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The China Initiative's Harmful Impact

🏛️ The latest: Last month, federal prosecutors indicated that they will seek to retry Anming Hu, a former University of Tennessee professor who was falsely accused by the FBI of being a Chinese spy and brought to trial unsuccessfully with a hung jury.
⚖️ Why this matters: Hu’s case was the first to go to trial as part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Trump-era "China Initiative," in which dozens of researchers have been racially targeted. The program not only perpetuates anti-Asian sentiments, but also destroys the careers of those impacted.
📣 What we're doing: OCA National Center denounced the decision to retry Professor Hu and signed onto a letter penned by Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33) requesting a formal investigation into the Justice Department's "wrongful targeting of individuals of Asian descent for alleged espionage.” We will continue to demand justice for Professor Hu while raising awareness around his case.

📰 OCA IN THE NEWS

WBIR included remarks from OCA's National President Linda Ng in its coverage of the Anming Hu trial. Read more.

Senior Policy & Advocacy Associate Michael Nguyen was interviewed by the South China Morning Post about the decision to retry Professor Hu. Read more.

China Daily USA included OCA's statement on the China Initiative in its 8/3 print edition. Read more.

Deputy Executive Director Thu Nguyen spoke to Bloomberg about T-Mobile's diversity council. Read more.

📡 COMING SOON

We're partnering with Asian American Federal Employees for Nondiscrimination (AAFEN) to deliver critical policy updates to your inbox. Stay tuned!

UPDATES

Enjoy OCA's 2021 Virtual Summit From Any Device, Anywhere

Missed part of last month's "Building Hope Through Solidarity" summit? Recordings of nearly two dozen advocacy trainings and issue-based workshops are now available to stream on-demand!

View exclusive content, download individual sessions, or purchase access to all of them at once on Vimeo.

💻 WATCH NOW

🔥 News — State Lawmakers Secure Historic Investments for AAPI Communities
With the help of OCA chapters across the country, California approved millions in funding to fight anti-Asian hate, while Illinois became the first state to require public schools to teach Asian American history. Read more.

Coming Soon — The New IMAGE Magazine
The Spring/Summer 2021 issue of IMAGE Magazine—with in-depth chapter highlights and a more colorful appearance—is coming your way! Most OCA members will receive a physical copy in the mail and a revamped digital experience will go live later this month.

🗳️ Update — Strengthening Our Efforts With Congress' AAPI Caucus
OCA applauds the appointment of Nisha Ramachandran as executive director of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. We look forward to strengthening our work on anti-Asian violence, voting rights, and other shared priorities in the years ahead. Read more.

News — Raveen Arora Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
We congratulate Raveen Arora, a member of our Greater Phoenix chapter, who was recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his global humanitarian work. Read more about his journey.

POLICY CORNER

Apply Now — JACL/OCA Leadership Summit
For 20+ years, JACL and OCA have provided advocacy training to rising AAPI leaders, and our next summit will take place in Washington, D.C. from September 11-14! You must be nominated by your OCA Chapter President and provide proof of vaccination to participate in this program. Apply by August 13th at 11:59 PM ET.

❤️ Recap — OCA Intern Advocacy Day
After weeks of preparation, our summer interns met with over a dozen congressional offices on July 23rd and successfully advocated for legislation supporting voting rights, federal education funding, and immigration reform. We are so proud of their dedication to public policy advocacy and and advancing AAPI causes! Learn more.

Update — Expanding Affordable Broadband
This past July, OCA’s policy team conducted congressional outreach in support of Broadband Equity for All, an initiative that seeks to expand affordable access to high-speed internet in diverse and low-income households. Explore our current policy work.

✍️ Update — Improving Language Assistance Services at Federal Agencies
OCA recently endorsed a letter by Reps. Doris Matsui (CA-06) and Judy Chu (CA-27) urging the Justice Department to reaffirm their commitment to expanding and improving language assistance services for the more than 25 million Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals. Read more.

SUPPORT OUR WORK

Have questions for OCA's policy team? Contact [email protected].

📅 EVENTS + OPPORTUNITIES

August 8: "In a Yellow Tone" Premiere

Attend OCA-Greater Seattle’s reading and screening of “In a Yellow Tone,” a comic novella honoring Asian congressional medal winners that was produced by OCA interns with funding from the City of Seattle. Copies of the comic novella, along with free t-shirts and totes, will be distributed. 👉 Register here.

🎬 August 12-22: Phoenix Film Fesitival
Join OCA Greater Phoenix in Arizona for screenings of AAPI-focused cinematic works such as Driveways and Far East Deep South at the Phoenix Film Festival! View the full schedule and purchase tickets here.

GIVE TO OCA

OCA National Center
Embracing the hopes and aspirations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

1322 18th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20036

Copyright © 2021 OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates, All rights reserved.

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