Looking back on a landmark year for Asian Americans

What kind of Asian American do you want to be?

For many Chinese Americans, 2014 was of special significance, and they would call it "the year of political awakening."

Eventful, bumpy yet inspiring, the past year saw many politically petrified Chinese Americans move out of their comfort zone and get involved in public and civic affairs in the US.

Meanwhile, more Chinese Americans moved from being self-defined alien dwellers in a foreign country to active and responsible US citizens.

Different from the old generation of Chinese immigrants who were labeled by mainstream US media as "the silent who never complain", the new generation intends to exert influence by, for example, electing public officials who can best serve their community's interests.

"We would regard 2014 as a defining year in the history of Chinese Americans' participation in administering and operating their residence country," said Charles Liu, president of the United for a Better Community (UBC). The grassroots civic organization was established last year during the protests by Asain Americans against the passage in California of Senate Constitutional Amendment No 5 (SCA-5) on Jan 30, 2014.

Passed by the state Senate by a two-thirds majority, the proposed amendment would have allowed public education institutions -- such as the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) systems, as well as K-12 schools -- to use race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in considering admission of students or hiring employees.

Many parents were concerned that the bill would profoundly shake the foundations of higher education in California and cast a shadow on the future for thousands of Asian-American school-goers.

The SCA-5 issue not only inspired Asian Americans in California to take to the streets to express their objections, but it also helped accelerate a political awakening among local Chinese Americans, and got them to reconsider the importance of public and civic affairs, said Chris Zhang, a California-based attorney who worked closely with politicians on the SCA-5 issue to better inform the community.

On March 17, 2014, State Assembly Speaker John Prez returned SCA-5 to the Senate, meaning the bill "is dead at least for the year" and the Chinese community could celebrate a hard-won temporary victory. However, Zhang warned that the community should stay alert and be prepared for possibly more arduous battles against discrimination and prejudice.

The Chinese-American community should also be cultivating and encouraging talented young people to pursue public service careers by providing training to develop their skills for government positions. Otherwise, the political enthusiasm among Chinese Americans in 2014 may end up being short-lived and won't advance the community at all, said former US ambassador to China Gary Locke. Locke made his comments to 400 attendees at a re-election fundraiser for the then-incumbent Cupertino City Council member Barry Chang on Sept 7, 2014.

The Chinese are part of the immigrant story, Lock said, adding that the Chinese and Asians have helped build and defend this country. "Therefore, we have a responsibility, we actually have a right, a duty to be at the table and make the laws that affect all of us," said Locke. "And that's why we need to encourage our young people to seek careers in politics."

Chinese-Americans' participation in making US history included 12,000 Chinese laborers' sacrifices and accomplishments in building the Transcontinental Railway. In May 2014, on the 145th anniversary of the joining of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads, the US Department of Labor honored those workers when Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez inducted them into the Labor Hall of Honor. Utah Governor Gary Herbert declared May 10, 2014 "Transcontinental Railroad Chinese Laborers' Recognition Day".

President Obama also paid tribute to the Chinese railway workers in a proclamation naming May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: "This month marks 145 years since the final spike was hammered into the transcontinental railroad, an achievement made possible by Chinese laborers, who did the majority of this backbreaking and dangerous work."

The Chinese-American community is never short of exemplary role models who serve the US, sometimes risking their lives.

On Sunday in New York City, mourners lined up to pay respect to New York City police officer Liu Wenjian, 32, one of two police men shot to death while sitting in a patrol car in Brooklyn last month. He is believed to be the New York Police Department's first Chinese-American officer killed in the line of duty.

A Chinese ceremony led by Buddhist monks followed by a traditional police ceremony with eulogies led by a chaplain.

Liu's funeral drew thousands of uniformed colleagues from across the country, and family and friends from China. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton spoke at his funeral.

"Liu is our hero, our community needs to make every effort to let his deeds and his name remembered by the Americans," said Yibing He, a commentator in San Francisco.

Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com