Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawai'ian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month: David Chiu, first Asian American mayor in Texas

David Chiu, born in China, lived in Hong Kong and Australia before moving to the United States.  He ran for mayor of San Marcos, Texas in 2000, and won, making him the first Asian American to become mayor in the state of Texas.  He served for two years when he was defeated in the 2002 election.

Happy birthday, taikonaut Fei Junlong!

Chinese astronaut Fei Junlong, born May 5, 1965, has been in space twice.  

His first mission was aboard Shenzhou 6 as commander in October 2005.  The spaceflight lasted almost 5 days before he returned to Earth.

His second mission was aboard Shenzhou 15 as commander launched in November 2022 to the Tiangong space station.  Fei Junlong performed 4 EVAs during the mission.  He spent about 6 months in space before returning to Earth in June 2023.

Happy birthmonth, Chinese astronaut Zhang Xiaoguang!

Zhang Xiaoguang, born May 1966 in China, went into space aboard Shenzhou 10 in June 2013.  The spacecraft docked with the Tiangong-1 space station and Zhang and the crew spent 12 days on board before returning to Earth.  He spent 14 days and 14 hours in space.

Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawai'ian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Gary Locke, first Chinese American governor

Gary Locke, born January 21, 1950 in Seattle, Washington, is the first Asian American to become the governor of state in the continental US. His father was born in Taishan, China and moved to the US in 1931.

He attended Yale University, graduating with a BA in political science in 1972. He obtained his Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law in 1975.  In  1996, He won the general election for governor of Washington, becoming the first Chinese American governor in US history. Locke was re-elected in 2000, but declined a run for a third term.

In March 2009, he was sworn in as President Obama's Secretary of Commerce.  Locke became US Ambassador to China in 2011.  He stepped down as ambassador in November 2013 to spend more time with his family.

Happy birthday, Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping!

Wang Yaping, born January 1980 in Shandong, China, is the second Chinese woman in space, and the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk.  She set a record for the longest stay in space by a female Chinese astronaut in April 2022 with a total of 197 days.

Her first trip into space was aboard Shenzhou 10 as Laboratory Assistant to Tiangong 1 in June 2013.  The crew returned to Earth 14 days and 14.5 hours later.

Her second mission was aboard Shenzhou 13 as Operator to the Tianhe core module, the first part of the Tiangong space station in October 2021. During the mission, she conducted an EVA in November 2021 with fellow astronaut Zhai Zhigang to install the robotic arm suspension and perform some routine tests. The EVA lasted 6 hours, 25 minutes. The crew returned to Earth in April 2022.

"Shaolin" released 2011

Awesome and spectacular Shaolin, released January 27, 2011 in Hong Kong, is a martial arts movie set in China in the early 20th century.  A ruthless warlord (played by the multi-talented Andy Lau) is betrayed by his second-in-command and flees to the refuge of a shaolin, seeking redemption.

The movie also stars Jackie Chan in a minor but entertaining role.  

Shaolin was released on January 19 in China, and September 9 in the US.  It was a major box office hit in Hong Kong and China.  Being released in Mandarin and Cantonese helped boost its popularity.

It was nominated for four Hong Kong movie awards, including a nomination for Best Song, co-written and performed by Andy Lau, who is also a successful singer in Asia.

Bion 10 (Kosmos 2229) launched 1992

 

Bion 10, or Kosmos 2229, a Russian spacecraft as part of a multinational effort, was launched December 29, 1992.  It carried two monkeys, plants, cell cultures, insects, and amphibians. The Rhesus monkeys were trained to activate food and juice dispensers, to operate a foot pedal to study muscles responses, and to make hand and head movements in response to visual stimuli.

The countries involved were Canada, France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, China, Russia, Ukraine, US, Uzbekistan, and the European Space Agency.

The spacecraft orbited Earth for almost 12 days, before landing successfully on January 10, 1993.

Shenzhou 15 launched today!

Shenzhou 15 crew (L-R): Fei Junlong, Deng Quingming, Zhang Lu

China successfully launched Shenzhou 15 earlier today, its tenth manned mission of the Shenzhou program, and the fifteenth flight overall, to the Tiangong Space Station.  Its crew consists of Commander Fei Junlong, Deng Quingming, and Zhang Lu.  

They will meet with the crew of Shenzhou 14, who launched in June 2022 and plan to return in December.  The Shenzhou 15 crew is planned to conduct 3-4 EVAs, in addition to their scientific experiments and payload work.  They are scheduled to return in May 2023.

Happy birthmonth, astronaut Tang Hongbo!

Tang Hongbo, born in October 1975, is an astronaut for the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) in China.  He went into space as part of the crew aboard Shenzhou 12, which launched in June 2021, to the space station Tiangong.  He conducted an EVA with Liu Boming which lasted for nearly 7 hours.  He spent over 92 days in space.

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Roger Tsien, awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008

Dr. Roger Tsien, born February 1, 1952 in New York City, New York, was awarded the Nobel prize in Chemistry in 2008.  A Chinese-American, Tsien suffered from asthma growing up and spent much time indoors, conducting chemistry experiments in his family's basement.

He won the Westinghouse Talent Search at 16.  He received his PhD in physiology in 1977 from Churchill College in Cambridge, England.

He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Osamu Shimomura and Martin Chalfie in 2008 for their wok for "the green fluorescent protein; discovery, expression and development".

He passed away in August 2016.

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Leroy Chiao, Taiwanese-American astronaut

Leroy Chiao, born August 28, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Taiwanese immigrants, has traveled into space aboard the space shuttles three times.

He has won numerous NASA awards, the De la Vaulx Medal, and has been inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame.

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: James Wong Howe, first Asian-American to win an Academy Award

James Wong Howe, born August 28, 1899 in China, is the first Asian-American to win an Academy Award.  He won for Best Cinematography for his work on The Rose Tattoo at the 28th ceremony in 1956.

He was nominated ten times for Best Cinematography winning a second time for Hud at the 36th ceremony in 1963.  

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Jubilee, Chinese-American superhero

Jubilation Lee, or Jubilee, is a superhero and a member of the X-Men.  She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and born in Beverly Hills, California.  After her parents were murdered, she was sent to an orphanage.  However, she ran away and hid in the Hollywood Mall, stealing food to survive.  That is when her mutant powers begin to manifest themselves.

Her first appearance was in The Uncanny X-Men #244 in May 1989.  She has been a member of Generation X and the X-Corps.  

Shiro Yoshida, or Sunfire, made his first appearance in X-Men #64 in January 1970, but although an earlier member of the X-Men than Jubilee, he maintains his distance from the team and from the West.

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Kurt Chew-een Lee, first Asian American Marine officer

Kurt Chew-een Lee, born January 21, 1926 in San Francisco, California to Chinese immigrants, is the first Asian-American to become an officer in the US Marine Corps.  He was in high school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he joined the Marine Corps in 1944.  He graduated from The Basic School, USMC officer training in 1946 as second lieutenant, becoming the first non-white officer and the first Asian-American officer in the Marine Corps.

He served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.  He attained the rank of major on January 1, 1963 and retired in 1968.  He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.  He passed away in March 2014.

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Garrett Wang, Star Trek actor extraordinaire

Garrett Wang, born December 15, 1968 in Riverside, California, is best known and beloved actor for his role as Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager.  His parents were Chinese immigrants and he moved from California, to Indiana, to Bermuda and then Tennessee.  

In 1997, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people in the world. 

Happy birth-month, Chinese astronaut Liu Wang!

Liu Wang, born in March 1969 in China, went into space aboard Shenzhou 9 in June 2012.  Wang performed the first manual docking for the Chinese space program. 

Chang'e 5 probe lands on the moon today!

China's lunar probe Chang'e 5, launched November 23, landed on the moon today.  Its mission is to sample the lunar soil (about 4.4 lb or 2 kg) and return to Earth about December 16-17.  It will make China the third nation to send a probe to the moon and return with samples.

Happy birthday, Taylor Wang, first Chinese astronaut!

Taylor Wang, born June 16, 1940 in the Republic of China, is the first Chinese astronaut.  He went into space aboard Challenger (STS-51-B) as payload specialist in April-May 1985.  He was employed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the time.  It was the second mission of the European Space Agency's Spacelab.  He spent about 7 days in space.

Curse of the Golden Flower released 2006

Curse of the Golden Flower, released January 12, 2007, is a tale of ancient China, the Tang Dynasty in the 10th century.  It's one of the best foreign films I've seen.  It stars Chow Yun-Fat as the Emperor and Jay Chou as Prince Jai.  It wasdirected by Yimou Zhang who directed House of Flying Daggers.

It was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design but won the Saturn Award for Best Costume.  It also won four Hong Kong Film Awards (out of 14 nominations) in 2007: Best Actress for Gong Li; Best Art Direction, Best Costume and Make-up Design and Best Original Song.

Baiji, Chinese river dolphin, declared extinct 2006

A Chinese news agency announced early December 2006 that a six-week survey of the Yangtze River had failed to detect any baijis (Chinese river dolphins).  The species was declared functionally extinct on December 13, 2006. 

In the 1950s, the baiji population was estimated at 6000 but by 1970, only a few hundred were left.  For years, humans had hunted the baiji and other species using illegal practices, such as electric fishing.  Other causes for the baiji's decline were over-fishing, collisions with boats and ships, and pollution.  There was a failure to determine what the impact construction the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River would have on the baiji.

Pollution in the water resulted in diseases and pathogens which have also caused the decline in the species.

Although hunting the baiji was declared illegal in China in 1983, the animal was still hunted.

However, there have been a few unsubstantiated sightings of the baiji since 2007.  Even if these are confirmed, are there enough of the baiji left to repopulate the species?