Mike Eng

Mike Eng

Mike Eng represents the California 49th Assembly District, which is located within eastern Los Angeles County and includes the cities of Alhambra, El Monte, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, and South El Monte. He chairs the Assembly Committee on Banking & Finance. Prior to serving in the State Assembly, he served as Mayor and City Councilmember of Monterey Park and as a Monterey Park Library Board Trustee. Assemblymember Eng earned his law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles after completing his Bachelors and Masters degrees at the University of Hawaii. He is also a part-time community college instructor. He is the husband of Judy Chu.

Stewart Kwoh

While studying law at UCLA from 1971 to 1974,Stewart Kwoh opened a legal-aid office aimed at low-income youth in Los Angeles' Chinatown. His partner was classmate Mike Eng, who is now a legislator in the California Assembly and the husband of US Representative Judy Chu, the first Chinese-American woman elected to Congress.

"Vincent Who?"

In 1982, Vincent Chin was brutally murdered in Detroit "at the height of anti-Japanese sentiment". The judge ruled it a case of manslaughter and the two killers, both autoworkers, never served a day in jail.

The case became a cause celebre for the Communist Workers Party.

A film about the case "Vincent Who?" was released in 2008, dealing with impact the case had had on activists at the time.

More than twenty-five years later, that case remains a touchstone in the struggle for civil rights and the advancement of the Asian American community. In this new documentary, VINCENT WHO?, we take a quick look back at the case, but more importantly we examine the effects the case had on the leading community activists of today and the future leaders of tomorrow.

Interviewees and speakers included Helen Zia (leading activist during the Chin case), Stewart Kwoh (Founder & Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center), Judy Chu (Chair, California State Board of Equalization), Mike Eng (California State Assemblyman), Renee Tajima-Pena (Producer & Director, WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN?), Frank Wu (Dean, Wayne State University Law School), Janet Yang (Producer, THE JOY LUCK CLUB), Justin Lin (Director, BETTER LUCK TOMORROW), Robin Toma (Executive Director, Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations), Nhung Truong (District Representative, Office of Congressman Adam Schiff), Sejal Patel (Activist, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy), Ben de Guzman (National Campaign Coordinator, National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity).

CHAMP

Residents of the heavily Asian Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park gott to vote spring 1986, on whether to make English the city's official language.

Petitions for a ballot measure to make it the official language were submitted to the city council Tuesday. At the same meeting, the council voted for a ballot measure that would have the opposite effect - it calls for a multi-ethnic and multicultural heritage for the city.

Monterey Park is turning into another Chinatown, complained photographer Frank Arcuri, who spearheaded the English-only drive.

The opposition tries to make us into something racist. It isn't. It's language, he said.

But Michael Eng, a spokesman for the Coalition for Harmony in Monterey Park, said, If we want a civil war, the likes of which no one has ever seen, which pits neighbor against neighbor, citizen against immigrant and race against race ... vote for English only. The coalition pushed the ballot measure calling for a multicultural city.

It was very painful… the reason I felt pain was when we moved to Monterey Park, I had been through the civil rights movement, seen what happened during the antiwar demonstrations… but I was totally unprepared for what I saw in Monterey Park,” he said.

CHAMP members included co-founder Ruth Willner,Jose Calderon, and Fred Rivera.

Commemorative Event for Joseph Ileto and the North Valley Jewish Community Center Victims

August 10, 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the attack on the North Valley Jewish Community Center on Rinaldi Street and the slaying of U.S. postal worker Joseph Ileto by Buford O. Furrow Jr., a white supremacist that occurred on August 10, 1999.

10th Annual Commemorative Event

WHAT: The plan for this year’s event is to hold a press conference on the actual day of the shooting, August 10th. We will open the remembrance with prayers in memory of Joseph Ileto and then hear from the Ileto family and victims of the NVJCC as they reflect on the past 10 years. Public officials have also been invited to speak and share their thoughts with the families. After the press conference, their will be a discussion around hate crimes in our community lead by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. This will give the audience an opportunity to see how far we have come and where we need to go.

11:30 – 1:00pm Discussion on hate crimes in our community (lead by Marshall Wong from the Los Angeles County HRC).

WHERE: Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Community Room, 1145 Wilshire Blvd., 1st Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017.

Featured Speakers

• The Ileto Family
• Joshua Stepakoff
• Mindy Finkelstein
• Bill Bender, North Valley Jewish Community Center
• Congresswoman Judy Chu, California's 32nd district
• Assemblymember Mike Eng, 49th California State Assembly District
• Assemblymember Warren Furutani, 55th California State Assembly District
• Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich
• Robin Toma, Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations

"A conversation with Judy Chu and Jean Quan"

This event was held Sunday July 10, 2011, Empress Pavilion, LA Chinatown.

The Host Committee consisted of

• Rep. Judy Chu, US Congresswoman
• Mike Eng, California Assemblymember
• Stewart Kwoh
• Kent Wong
• Jose Zapata Calderon
• Jai Lee

AACRE Bill

Legislation that will require two key state agencies to collect and disaggregate data on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on October 11, 2011.

Assembly Bill 1088 was introduced by Assemblymember Mike Eng, who worked closely with Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE) to sponsor the bill and mobilize yearlong community support for passage. Over 1,200 individuals and 100 organizations representing the AANHPI and broader California community signed petitions and submitted letters, urging passage of the bill.

California Asian Pacific Island Legislative Caucus

The California Asian Pacific Island Legislative Caucus formed in January 2001, consisted, in the 2011 - 12 session, of Assembly Members Mike Eng, Paul Fong, Warren Furutani, Mary Hayashi, Ted Lieu, Fiona Ma, Alberto Torrico, and Mariko Yamada and Senators Leland Yee and Carol Liu. State Controller John Chiang and State Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee served as honorary members of the Caucus.

APALA "Rising American Electorate" event

The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance , AFL-CIO, hosted “The Rising American Electorate: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at the Forefront of Political Action,” a briefing and dinner reception, on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011, at 6 p.m. at the UCLA Downtown Labor Center, 675 S. Park View St. (at Wilshire Boulevard), Los Angeles.

The event, which recognizes the growth of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and highlights the history of AAPIs in politics, is being held in conjunction with the APALA National Executive Board meeting that is taking place Oct. 6 to 8.

“AAPIs, especially in Los Angeles, have played instrumental roles in electing candidates that support working family and immigrant issues, while running for office as well,” APALA said in a statement. “In Los Angeles alone, AAPIs now number over 1.34 million, and deserve a chance to make their voices heard on key issues, including the budget, jobs, health care, and education.”

Speakers included:

• State Controller John Chiang
• Rep. Judy Chu (D-El Monte), chair of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• State Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance)
• Assemblymembers Warren Furutani (D-Long Beach) and Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park)
• APALA President Johanna Hester
• APALA Los Angeles Chair Raahi Reddy
• Kent Wong, UCLA Labor Center

White House guest

On October 13, 2011, Congresswoman Judy Chu, her husband Mike Eng, and Kent Wong and Jai Lee Wong, were guests at a White House dinner to honor South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Honorary Board Asian American Action Fund

Circa 2013, Mike Eng served on the Honorary Board of the Asian American Action Fund;

API Equality-LA rally

According to Marshall Wong, in 2005, anti-LGBT forces gathered in vitriolic protests in the San Gabriel Valley — the heart of Los Angeles’ Chinese American community — against same-sex marriage and LGBT equality. It was a jarring sight: hundreds of Chinese people, young and old, led by religious extremists, carrying signs with hateful messages denigrating the LGBT community. Even more distressing was that these protests went virtually unchallenged, and coverage by the Chinese-language media made it appear that homophobia was a Chinese cultural norm.

Those protests in 2005 catalyzed the formation of API Equality-LA, a grassroots organization committed to advancing LGBT equality in the Asian American community. Now 10 years later, as a result of those efforts, there has been a seismic shift in public opinion in support of LGBT civil rights.

On July 19 2015, barely a month after the Supreme Court’s decision that legalized same-sex marriage through-out the U.S., API Equality-LA learned that conservative Chinese clergy in the San Gabriel Valley had planned a march on July 19 to protest the Supreme Court ruling.

API Equality-LA Executive Director Eileen Ma said, “Today’s outpouring of support for marriage equality and LGBT rights is a powerful symbol of the progress we’ve made.”

API Equality-LA, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA and other allies sprang into action and in less than 48 hours, mobilized more than 125 supporters to rally across the street from the church leading the homophobic march. In the face of hate and intolerance, the crowd delivered a message of hope and equality. LGBT supporters chanted “open hearts, open minds, this is how our community shines,” throughout the organized gathering.

Speakers included Congresswoman Judy Chu; L.A. Community College Board Members Mike Eng, Mike Fong and Scott Svonkin; and San Gabriel Mayor Jason Pu; West Covina Mayor Pro-Tem James Toma; and Rosemead City Council Member Polly Low. Several ministers, including Rev. Nori Ochi, Rev. Mark Nakagawa and Rev. Gary Oba also spoke of their support for the LGBT community, demonstrating that intolerant clergy do not speak for all Christians.

In addition, representatives of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (API Chapter), OCA (Greater Los Angeles chapter), Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team and Chinese Rainbow Association were also in attendance. It was a stunning demonstration of the growing breadth of support for LGBT equality in the Asian American community.

In contrast, the opposition drew fewer than 20 supporters, illustrating their declining influence.

Said API Equality-LA Executive Director Eileen Ma: “Throughout history, Chinese Americans have fought back against discriminatory immigration laws, bans on interracial marriage, legal segregation and hate violence. Based on this legacy, we should be the first to stand up against all forms of bigotry, including homophobia. Today’s outpouring of support for marriage equality and LGBT rights is a powerful symbol of the progress we’ve made. Together, we are making history.”

Radical law students

Stewart Kwoh and Mike Eng.