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SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Ding Ding TV rang in the Lunar New Year with a celebration showcasing the diversity and talent of the South Bay’s Asian community and allies on Jan. 27 in their Santa Clara (CA) studio.

Dr. Xiaoyan Zhang delivered the keynote address after which community leaders on a forum, discussed how to build bridges between communities by understanding Asian culture and heritage. 

Ding Ding TV panel urge diversity

Forum moderator Joel Wong asked the panel to share their thoughts on diversity. 

Santa Clara Councilmember Kathy Watanabe, whose parents came from Ireland, spoke about being the child of immigrants and passing on culture to her daughter, who is part Japanese and Chinese. “As the song goes ‘We all belong together, we’re all here right now, we belong together,’” said Watanabe, referring to a music video produced by Ding Ding TV. “It’s so important to continue to share that message.”

Milpitas Unified School District Board President Chris Norwood reiterated the need for diversity. “The more diverse that we are, the better the world will be. And when you’re willing to learn about other cultures and invest the time in it, you realize that they’re not that different from you.”

“As a Californian,” said Francisco Espiritu, Publisher of Philippine News Today, “as myself, as an individual, we should try to learn different cultures, as they will also learn my culture. In truth, we are all similar.”

Assimilating in a new culture

Christine Von Raesfeld, whose grandparents came from the Philippines, talked about being part of the generation whose parents wanted their children to assimilate. “We lost a lot of our culture. And so for me growing up, the Filipino culture was food, and family, but not much else.  It’s important to learn their history, and especially when it comes to health conditions. As an Asian population, we have different dreams and things that don’t really match up with others. And we have to find out about ourselves in order to help our own communities.”

Journalist Tran Vu of Phu Nu Cali Magazine addressed the journey of the Vietnamese people to the United States. “The Vietnamese people came to this country by accident as a result of a failed war” and how they didn’t know anything when they came, but “gradually we try and assimilate to the country.”

President of Fremont Union High School Naomi Nakano-Matsumoto said “When you lose your language you lose your culture.”

Celebrating Diversity

Entertainment for the evening showcased diversity with Korean drumming, kathak dance from India, Vietnamese dance, music and fashion,  a Filipino singer, Chinese students playing classical music and a demonstration on tearing paper by Yuejin Wang, who created a total of 3,180 paper-cut snowflakes from 2010 to 2013.

Also in attendance were City of Fremont Mayor Lily Mei,  City of Santa Clara Mayor Lisa M. Gillmor, California Assemblymember Alex Lee, Fremont Councilmember Yang Shao and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara Councilmember Sudhanshu “Suds” Jain and Phuong Nguyen from California State Senator Dave Cortese’s office.

For more information visit Ding Ding TV.

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India Currents’ Stop The Hate campaign is made possible with funding from the California State Library (CSL) in partnership with the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA). The views expressed on this website and other materials produced by India Currents do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CSL, CAPIAA or the California government.

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