January 3, 2025 | Vol. 54, Issue 1

The only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England

Front Page

Chinatown Needs Green Space Now

Boston’s first Urban Renewal Project, bulldozing the New York Streets neighborhood, resulted in  decades of injustice for Chinatown and other working class neighborhoods, particularly communities of color and immigrants. After more than three hundred buildings were razed, Chinatown’s land was turned over to construction of the Central Artery in 1954 (“Interstate 93”) and the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension in 1963 (“Interstate 90”), truncating a vibrant family neighborhood at its southern and eastern ends. Throughout highway construction, institutional expansion, then downtown revitalization, […]

When Autism Gets Lost in Translation

Learning that your child is on the autism spectrum is often like being dropped into a big black hole. There is no clear test for autism — no X-ray or scan — and much is left to interpretation. The signs are often vague, especially in young children, who might learn to talk or pick up social skills younger or later than their peers. Just getting the right specialists to see your child can take many months. For children of immigrant […]

Asian Hate in Boston: The Struggle for Justice Continues

The problem of Asian hate crimes in Boston and surrounding neighborhoods was the topic of a May 8 forum at the Asian American Civic Association. In attendance and speaking were City Council President Ed Flynn, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement Monique Tú Nguyen, Executive Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, Boston Police Community Service Office Sgt. Paul Chevette, MBTA Transit Police Crime Investigation Sgt. Joseph Sacco, and Boston’s Senior Advisor for Community Safety Isaac […]

A Tailor’s Journey: Kim Pham’s legacy from Vietnam to Copley Square

Editor’s Note: In honor of Asian American Pacific Islanders Month, Sampan presents the second of two video essays. The best journalism tells stories, provides forums for voices heretofore unheard. Through this forum of video essays our goal is to offer a consistent platform from which important stories can find a new and fresh perspective. There is a story behind every face we see on the streets of Boston, a narrative behind every closed shop door. They’re variations on the same […]

Tufts University’s Class of 2023 Graduation Ceremony: “Loudly! Step Up and Speak Up”

Amina J. Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, delivered the commencement address to the Tufts University Class of 2023 and their guests on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus on May 21th. The university conferred 3,730 degrees. In her speech, Mohammed acknowledged the challenges faced by the current generation, but expressed hope for the future and encouraged the graduates to “step up and speak up – loudly.” Mohammed continued: “Question stereotypes. Don’t just blindly accept the received narratives. My entire career, indeed, […]

Superstar Boston Red Sox Outfielder Masataka “Macho Man” Yoshida finds his home at Fenway Park

Editor’s Note: This interview was made possible by Daveson Pérez, Boston Red Sox Manager, Baseball Communications & Media Relations, and Mr. Yoshida’s English translator Kento Masumoto.Sampan speaks with the superstar Boston Red Sox Japanese outfielder about his life, goals, and baseball in the United States. One of the more exciting elements of the 2023 Major League Baseball season for the Boston Red Sox has been the acquisition of 29 year old Japanese outfielder superstar Masataka Yoshida, AKA “Macho Man” during […]

Parking Squeeze in Chinatown, Residents Say They Blame Construction, City Restrictions

Boston’s Chinatown has always been a crowded community with a small number of residential parking spaces and a large number of residents with cars. Now the parking problem has been made worse — and more costly — by a string of construction projects and parking restrictions that have made it impossible for some residents to park after a long day’s work. “Sometimes it takes me more than an hour to find a parking space,” said Kang Qiang Mai, an Uber […]

Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center Legal Workshop: Wills and Trusts

Have you ever been confused about how to properly distribute your estate to your family, or have you never thought about the distribution of property? Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age was honored to hold a legal workshop on “Wills and Trusts” on April 5th in Hong Lok House Activity Center, Boston’s Chinatown (25 Essex St., Boston, MA 02111). Senior lawyers were invited to help the elderly. The speakers were Peter Bellotti, Joe Markey and Julia Hogan from Bellotti Law Group. […]

The Queen of Nuclear Physics: Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu

There aren’t many universal household names amongst the storied history of physicists since the early 20th century. Stephen Hawking distilled his ideas into A Brief History of Time, Albert Einstein cemented his role in history with his theory of relativity, and Guglielmo Marconi pioneered the means by which radio transmissions were transmitted. J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi were two nuclear physicists who worked on the groundbreaking Manhattan Project which produced the first nuclear weapons. One name that’s conspicuously absent […]

Meet Chulan Huang, Mayor Wu’s Chinatown Neighborhood Liaison

Born in China, I was raised in Boston’s Chinatown. The Chinatown neighborhood has been my home all my life. With myself and my little sister both proud alumni of Boston Public Schools right from kindergarten to 12th grade, especially having Josiah Quincy Elementary School as part of this journey, the Chinatown community has become a part of me. My joys of growing up included playing basketball at the Castle Square courts and Wang YMCA, and exploring every corner of the […]

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