A sampan is a popular river boat in traditional China. This small but useful vessel, by transporting cargo from large boats to the village ports, creates a channel of communication among villages. Just as its name suggests, the bilingual SAMPAN newspaper delivers news and information to its readers from a wide array of local sources, and thereby acts a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area. SAMPAN, published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, is the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England. It is published biweekly and distributed free-of-charge throughout metro Boston; it is also delivered to as far away as Hawaii.
Today, SAMPAN continues to be the only comprehensive chronicle of local issues and events impacting Asian American communities and represents the only printed voice in both Chinese and English. SAMPAN starts its fourth decade as the only publication devoted to providing education and advocacy for Asian Americans in the Greater Boston area. The newspaper covers topics that are usually overlooked by the mainstream press, such as key immigration legislation, civil rights, housing, education, day-care services and union activities. These issues are crucial to the well-being of Asian immigrants, refugees, low-income families as well as individuals who are not proficient in the English language. In its fourth decade, SAMPAN strives to increase coverage of Asian arts and culture, strengthen coverage of the Southeast Asian community, and provide news coverage of the Asian American population of the Greater Boston area.