哥伦布、匹兹堡及各地消息
　

Letter to Governor DeWine

The Honorable Mike DeWine
Governor's Office
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6117
August 11, 2021
Dear Governor DeWine,
  We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, write to thank you for your leadership in shepherding Ohio through historic challenges, and express our disappointment by the inaction of your office to reinstate the Ohio AAPI Advisory Council. We respectfully request an in-person meeting with you to discuss how to move forward.
  As the fastest growing racial group, there are 350,000 Asian Americans in Ohio according to the Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey. The Ohio AAPI population had more than doubled since 2000. According to the Ohio Development Agency, there are over 21,000 Asian American-owned businesses in Ohio, providing 64,000 jobs and generating $10.8 billion revenue for the Ohio economy.
  However, we were very disappointed by the inaction of your office for over two and a half years to reinstate the Ohio AAPI Advisory Council that was supported by both Governors John Kasich and Ted Strickland, despite the many contributions our community have made, and the many challenges we have faced. We were also disappointed by the recent decision by the Ohio Senate Finance Committee to exclude the budget item to fund a dedicated AAPI Affairs Commission.
AAPI is the only major ethnic group in Ohio that is not supported by a commission. Our unique demographic, cultures and needs cannot be properly addressed by lumping us into other groups. We are also concerned that merging AAPI Affairs into an existing agency may not solve the problems we have, but rather cause more problems by adversely impacting the work for other groups.
  The COVID pandemic has changed Ohioans’ lives monumentally. We applaud you mandating social distancing measures early in the pandemic and encouraging Ohioans to wear masks and take vaccine shots. Your leadership and hard work have made a big difference in our lives.
  Ohio Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) were among the first to support your administration’s COVID measures and actively participated in COVID relief efforts since early 2020. We have raised funds and acquired personal protection equipment to support first responders, hospital workers, seniors and neighbors. Between January and May 2020, Ohio AAPI community accomplished the following to support COVID relief efforts statewide:
● Raised $240,000 from the Asian grassroot community organizations and many individuals for COVID relief
● Donated 205,400 surgical masks, 12,700 N95 respirators, 26,000 gloves, 600 protective gowns, 400 face shields and 10,000 other PPE items to first responders, healthcare workers and seniors
● Donated 5,300 hand-make reusable cloth masks to essential workers, senior homes and homeless shelters
● Provided 15,700 meals to homeless shelters, food pantries, Mid-Ohio Food Bank and The
Salvation Army.
  However, we are worried about the surge in anti-Asian hate incidents in Ohio and nationwide.
  Stop AAPI Hate reported over 6600 incidents and 77 incidents in Ohio between March 2020 and March 2021, including verbal harassment, physical assault, civil rights violations and online harassment. Recently, Columbus Dispatch reported that anti-Asian hate incidents are underreported due to cultural and language barriers and lack of support. A lot of work needs to be done and a lot of resources are needed to address anti-Asian hate and other pressing issues faced by the APPI community.
  We appreciate your timely support in the aftermath of the senseless shootings that killed six women of Asian descent in Atlanta by sending a letter to our Solidarity against Hate rally in Columbus on March 20. We also have fond memories of your participation in the candidate forum we held during the 2018 election that helped AAPI community members understand your leadership style and policy platform.
  Despite the many contributions we are proud of, we must point out that the “model minority”myth about AAPI may as well lead to the oversight of the difficulties that a large portion of our community is faced with that urgently need to be addressed, in addition to anti-AAPI hate:
● 12% of Asian Americans in Ohio live below the poverty line
● Language barrier is hampering AAPI participation in Ohio’s economy and democracy.
76% of Asian Americans in Ohio speak a language other than English at home, and of those, more than 42% speak English less than “very well”
● AAPI population has been experiencing health disparities associated with language barriers and lack of access to health care, which have resulted in increased prevalence of chronic health conditions such as Hepatitis B, cancers and diabetes
● There are over 145,000 eligible AAPI voters in Ohio, but voter contact continues to be an unmet need for AAPIs. 50% of Asian Americans received no contact or were unsure if they received contact about the election
● Voter turnout is 9% lower for Limited-English Proficient (LEP) than non-LEP registered voters, and 63% say that Asian language support at polling places would be useful.
  We hereby request an in-person meeting with you in the next month to discuss the current state of our community, how we can support your administration, and the best approach to reinstate the AAPI Advisory Council and establish the AAPI Affairs Commission.
Please contact Vincent Wang at 765-409-2585 or wang177@gmail.com if you have any questions and to schedule the meeting.

Thank you.Sincerely,
Akron Asian Christian Church
Asian Festival Corporation
Asian-American Community Service Council (ACSC)
Asian American Bar Association of Ohio
Asian American Community Services (AACS)
Asian American Commerce Group (AACG)
Asian American Council of Dayton (AAC)
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Central Ohio
Asian Pacific American Public Affairs Ohio (APAPA Ohio)
Asian Services in Action (ASIA)
Bangladesh Association of Central Ohio
Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA)
Case Western Reserve University Asian Faculty Association
Cleveland Contemporary Chinese Culture Association (CCCCA)
Council on American-Islamic Relations - Ohio (CAIR-Ohio)
Erie Chinese Journal (ECJ)
Federation of Indian Associations Ohio (FIA-Ohio)
Greater Cincinnati Chinese Cultural Exchange Association (GCCCEA)
Japanese American Citizens League Cincinnati Chapter
Japanese American Citizens League Dayton Chapter
Lao Mutual Assistance Association (LMAA)
Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center
Ohio Asian American Health Coalition (OAAHC)
Ohio Chinese American Association (OCAA)
Ohio Federation for Health Equity and Social Justice
Ohio Institute of Communities of Color (OICC)
OPAWL
Philippine American Society of Central Ohio
Philippine American Society of Dayton
Philippine Nurses Association of Central Ohio (PNACOh)
Physicians Action Network