Top News

September 2, 2022 0

Unprecedented T Shutdowns: Finding Alternative Public Transport

Since August 19th, the T’s Orange Line has faced the beginning of its unprecedented month-long shutdown in service. This disruption has since been followed by the closure of Green Line stops north of Government Center, with neither shutdown being lifted until September 18th. Even with the Orange Line opening up on September 18th, there seems to be little reprieve from T shutdowns. The Green Line has been undergoing the Green Line Train Protection System (GLTPS) renovation this summer, with tracks […]

August 25, 2022 0

A preview of Chinatown’s Films at the Gate Festival

by Sonia Cavazos

The Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) is bringing the community together in Chinatown on Friday, August 26th through August 28th with the riveting Films at the Gate Festival. This reporter spoke recently with ACDC’s Director of Development and Communications Christine Nguyen about the festival’s origins and what people can expect this year. CHRISTINE NGUYEN: This year is the 16th iteration of the festival; we took a break in 2020. I wasn’t involved at the very beginning, but it was a […]

close up photo of a rat trapped inside the cage

August 24, 2022 0

Boston’s response to the rat crisis has been Inadequate

by Sandy Battulga

Boston is currently battling against a swelling number of rats residing in the city. Due to the closure of multiple restaurants and businesses as a result of the pandemic, rats are migrating into residential areas of the city in search of new food sources. According to the data collected from Boston’s 311 app, which is used to report rat sightings, rat and rodent-related complaints increased by 48% from 2019 to 2021. Rats pose a public health issue as the Norwegian rat, the most common species in Boston, can spread diseases such […]

August 23, 2022 0

Complaints about the T: Sampan readers speak Out

by Christopher John Stephens

We hit the streets this week to ask readers how they are coping (and will continue to cope) with the ongoing Green Line problems and the unprecedented month long shut down of the Orange Line starting August 19. Mayor Wu has pledged to make all the Boston blue bikes free for the duration of the shutdown. Extra shuttle buses will clog the streets to assist Orange Line riders coming in and out of the city, and the lucky few who […]

August 23, 2022 0

Magnificent Beast: an eye-opening Documentary

by Sonia Cavazos

An animal underestimated, and sometimes unseen. Underappreciated…and porcine. Questions of the history of pork taboo and the interesting relationship between pigs and humans has given birth to an astounding documentary: Magnificent Beast. Headed by Maine-based Asian American author Tess Gerritsen (author of the famed novels turned tv-series, Rizzoli and Isles) and her son Josh, this documentary travels the world to find why some cultures abstain from pork, the evolution of the pig population, and the pig’s dynamic relationship with people. From taking […]

August 22, 2022 0

Building Bridges and strengthening relationships: an interview with Boston Police Superintendent James K. Chin

by Christopher John Stephens

The ideal of great community relationships between the police department and neighborhoods of any major city in this country is often in stark contrast with the reality. Crime statistics and verifiable incidents are too often recounted in a seemingly endless cycle of false moves, misinterpretations, and bad feelings from those on either side of issues regarding the sometimes strained relationships between police and the public they serve. The end result is more often than not a litany of complaints and […]

August 21, 2022 0

Sharing Mooncakes and Love at Mid-Autumn Festival

by Max Wei

There are different shapes of mooncakes with different stuffings and skins. Usually, the skin is made of wheat powder, but now there are also ice skins made of sticky rice powder. The stuffing of mooncakes varies depending on the cities and provinces: Beijing style, Jiangsu style, Ningbo style, Shanghai style, Hong Kong style. In northern and southern China, the stuffing of the mooncakes is usually sweet, made of ingredients like sugar, red beans, and lotus seed. In the middle region, […]

August 20, 2022 0

CCBA Presents the 52nd Annual Chinatown August Moon Festival

by Sampan Staff

Photos from the 52nd Annual August Moon Festival, August 14, 2022 at Phillips Square in Chinatown, sponsored by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England. Boston officials, including Mayor Michelle Wu and Police Superintendent James K. Chin, along with the New England Kung Fu Dance Association and the Boston Chinese Folk dance group, welcomed the coming fall season with a festival of joy and health. From all of us here at Sampan to all of you in Boston and beyond, best […]

August 19, 2022 0

Mid-autumn Festival: From Fairytale to History

by Yang Yang

Chinese who live abroad tend to have deeper attachment to the traditions than those who still live and breathe on the Chinese soil. If you ask someone like me, who belongs to the latter group, about Mid-Autumn Festival, I can only share a very limited knowledge beyond a fairytale which all Chinese children will remember. Fairytale origins Before all the dynasties, there were 10 suns in the sky scorching the earth and killing all inhabitants (consider it an ancient version […]

August 19, 2022 0

The Games go on: 77 Years of Chinese American Volleyball

by Christopher John Stephens

Sampan talks with Dr. Bobby Guen of the North American Chinese Invitational Volleyball Tournament ahead of Sept. 3-5 event. Nearly a century ago, the Immigration Act of 1924 had basically shut down immigration from Asia to the United States. No Asians were eligible for citizenship and those who were in the U.S. could neither enter nor leave the country. By the late 1930s, the only thing a typical Chinese laborer — mostly in laundry or restaurants — in Chinatown could […]

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