美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Racist Bill'? Chinese Immigrants Protest Effort To Collect More Asian-American Data

 

STACEY VANEK SMITH, HOST:

Asian-Americans are an incredibly diverse group. Now some states are passing laws to help capture that diversity and requiring state agencies to collect more detailed¹ data about Asian-Americans. But those policies are facing protests. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports on a controversy² brewing³ in Massachusetts.

HANSI LO WANG, BYLINE⁴: Democratic state Representative Tackey Chan says he didn't expect a backlash over his bill about data collection.

TACKEY CHAN: Yeah, I was - have to be honest with you, I was rather surprised by that.

WANG: If his bill is passed, state agencies in Massachusetts would be required to identify Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in surveys about health, schools and employment, for example. And that data would have to be broken down by ethnic⁵ groups, such as Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese.

CHAN: We are a data-driven society. It's hard to make public policy without data. And if you don't have data, you can't advocate.

WANG: Chan says there's little to no information at the state or local level about the country's fastest growing racial group. States including California, Minnesota and Rhode Island have recently passed similar laws. Lawmakers say more data can help pinpoint⁶ needs that can be hard to see. But some demonstrators disagree.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Chanting) Stop the racist⁷ bill.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Stop the racist bill.

WANG: About 60 protesters waved picket⁸ signs and American flags recently on the steps of the Massachusetts State House in Boston. Andy Liu, a computer engineer from Sharon, Mass., helped organize the protest.

ANDY LIU: The fear is, you know, how you can guarantee the demographic data collected will not be abused or will not be misused⁹ for other purposes.

WANG: Almost all of the demonstrators were immigrants from China, including Linglan Zhang of Lexington, Mass.

LINGLAN ZHANG: (Speaking in Mandarin¹⁰).

WANG: "This is obviously discrimination against Asian-Americans," Zhang said in Mandarin. She questioned why Massachusetts' bill calls for detailed data only for Asian-Americans and not for other racial groups. Protesters in other states have also raised that concern, according to Karthick Ramakrishnan. He's a political scientist at the University of California, Riverside, who's been following the activism against the data collection laws. And he says this debate shows the divide between a new generation of Chinese immigrants and more established Asian-American groups who've been calling for more data for years.

KARTHICK RAMAKRISHNAN: These mainstream¹¹ Asian-American organizations are nearly completely absent from the spaces where a large and growing number of Chinese immigrants are active.

WANG: Ramakrishnan is a longtime advocate for more Asian-American data. And he says a main issue driving this fight over data collection is affirmative action. He says many of the immigrants from mainland China, who are protesting, are worried about their children's schooling¹².

RAMAKRISHNAN: The belief is that by killing¹³ any kind of data collection on race, these Chinese-Americans might have a fair shot getting into Ivy¹⁴ League schools. That's the theory.

WEN ZHAO: They use those data in education, in college admissions and even in workforce¹⁵. That's not fair.

WANG: Wen Zhao of Westford, Mass., says she's concerned that separating data by ethnic groups would further divide Asian-Americans. But for service providers, like Anh Vu Sawyer of the Southeast Asian Coalition¹⁶ in Worcester, Mass., more data could mean more help.

ANH VU SAWYER: I have to have data to let them know there's a need right here.

WANG: Sawyer says many of the grant-makers that could fund services to immigrants from Vietnam, Burma and other countries, they need data. Still, Sawyer, who was a refugee who escaped the Vietnam War, says she understands the privacy concerns in a political climate that doesn't seem to welcome immigrants.

SAWYER: This is a very interesting time because after 40 years in this country, I thought I'd never have to deal with fear again.

WANG: Sawyer adds she does hope the Massachusetts bill will pass, but there's no clear timeline. Another protest against the bill, though, is set to take place in Boston later this month. Hansi Lo Wang, NPR News.

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1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

7 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

8 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

9 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

11 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

12 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

15 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

16 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。