December 20, 2024 | Vol. 53, Issue 24

The only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England

Month: September 2024

‘Most Famous Woman in China’ Visits Hub

Chinese author and mega celebrity Yue-Sai Kan, while on tour at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center on Sept. 16, discussed her cross-cultural influence in promoting China abroad, and introduced her aptly titled new book, “The Most Famous Woman in China.” Kan’s journey from a modest start to becoming a global media icon and influential philanthropist coincided with China’s dynamic transformation over the years. Both topics were her focus at the meet-and-greet book event. “I’m both a witness and a participant,” […]

CineFest Founder Tackles Big Questions on Identity

Sabrina Avilés founded Boston’s only currently operating Latino film festival, CineFest Latino Boston, in 2021, during a time of personal crisis. “I was in a kind of a very pivotal moment in my life at that point, and my father was very ill and close to dying,” Avilés, executive director of CineFest Latino Boston, told the Sampan recently. “And so it just made me reflect about a lot of things. When something like that happens, you just reflect about, you […]

Chinatown Celebrates Opening of New Upper School after Decades of Using Aging Buildings

Josiah Quincy Upper School Head Richard K. Chang, and Chinatown community members and city officials on Sept. 12 celebrated the ribbon cutting of the new Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown. The school, serving grades 6-12, opened for the 2024-2025 school year with modern facilities including a media center, fitness center, and band rooms, all aimed at helping the Boston students reach their full potential. The $223.6 million project was jointly funded by the City of Boston and the Massachusetts […]

How Political Banter, Local Law Enforcement Forever Changed the Lives of the Danbury 11

As immigration has become an even more heated debate issue over the past year or so, especially with the immigrant housing crisis and hateful political rhetoric coming from public officials, Sampan took a look back at an event that rocked the hometown of our reporter, Ryan Lundgren, 18 years ago this month. It involved immigrants without their proper paper work, men just trying to get by for their families, and a set up by local law authorities to have them […]

EDITORIAL: The Lasting Hurt of Hate

The images are shocking, but are they really all that shocking by “today’s standards”? In one propaganda poster, a cartoon depicting a Japanese person’s face is getting punched by a muscled up “American” laborer. The words above the drawing: “Don’t save his face! Every blow counts in the battle for production.” In another cartoon, a Japanese person is depicted as a rat – the most despised of all animals – crawling into a trap that reads, “Army, Navy, Civilian.”And one, […]

Filipino Culture on Center Stage in Cambridge

October is Filipino American History Month and to celebrate, the Harvard Square Philippine American Alliance is partnering with Harvard Square Business Association to host the third annual Filipino American Festival in Harvard Square on Oct. 6 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event will take place along side the business association’s Oktoberfest and the HONK! Parade. Event leader Cathy Uy said the aim of the Filipino celebration is to diversify the Cambridge festivities and “teach everyone about different cultures.” […]

Chef Shi Mei of Lenox Sophia Serves Up Big Flavors Inside a Small Space

South Boston’s Lenox Sophia is not your typical restaurant – and in many ways Chef Shi Mei is not your typical chef. Trained in economics, Mei says the first dish he made as a kid was instant ramen. And his restaurant – where patrons are encouraged to bring their own drinks – is more akin to a tiny Japanese noodle house than a glitzy Hub bar. But the result is an intimate and delightful taste of small-room dining that serves […]

Rally in Boston Calls Out Lies, Hateful Words About Haitians

A group of demonstrators on Sept. 24 surrounded the “Embrace” sculpture at the Boston Common to stand in solidarity with Haitian migrants across the country. The group called out the rhetoric and lies spread by the campaign of former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump about Haitian refugees in Ohio. “As a Haitian American person, I have an obligation. Whenever something bad is said about my community, it’s important for us to come together and unite,” said Brockton Councilor […]

Bias Against Muslims, Palestinians Permeate Press: Rights Advocate

The contrasts in the headlines were striking. Projected on a screen were copies of online stories from The New York Times and the BBC News, both covering killings in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli bombings of Palestinians in Gaza.Pointing out the differences in the treatments, Hena Zuberi of the nonprofit human rights group, Justice For All, noted how in one set of headlines, the group carrying out deadly attacks, Israel, goes unnamed, and in the other, the […]

Dorchester Art Project Set to Honor Vietnamese Diaspora

An art project by a group of Vietnamese Americans in Dorchester will complement a proposed Vietnamese diaspora memorial and aim to become a permanent presence in Boston, say organizers.The “Trưng Bày Mẫu Thiết Kế” show debuts on Sept. 14, from noon to 3 p.m. at the VietAID Community Center at 42 Charles St. in Dorchester, as part of the “1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial.” The exhibit is lead by artist Ngoc-Tran Vu. “This design showcase is an inclusive and accessible […]

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