Mr. President, before we break for the Memorial Day recess, I would like to remark on the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and to honor the contributions Asian Pacific Americans have made to our country.

Mr. President, the scope of the celebration has expanded every year since 1992, when President Bush signed Public Law 102-450 designating May of every year as “Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.” In Washington, D.C., and in cities all around the nation, schools, community organizations, cultural groups, and government agencies are commemorating the occasion with film festivals, conferences, cultural shows, museum exhibits, political forums, and a multitude of other activities.

Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent number 10 million and that figure continues to rise. Asian Pacific Americans represent a broad range of ethnic groups. Their histories are as diverse as the lands of their origin. The earliest immigrants--Chinese, Japanese, Asian Indians, Koreans, and Filipinos--and the most recent refugees --Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians--all experienced similar, yet unique journeys as they crossed the Pacific to venture to a new land of opportunity. Opportunities, however, were not as plentiful as they would have hoped. From the Chinese Exclusion Laws, which restricted immigration on a racial basis, to Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the internment of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans and their immigrant relatives, life in America, at times, proved to be a nightmare rather than the promised American Dream. But despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, these early intrepid immigrants toiled and sacrificed in order to make this country their own and to preserve the American dream for their American children. They helped build our railroads, labored on our farms, worked endless factory hours, and formed the backbone of many small businesses.

Today, even more so than in the past, Asian Pacific Americans contribute to every sector of our society. They are in corporate board rooms, scientific laboratories, universities, Congress, statehouses, the judiciary, government agencies, the performing arts, and sports. They are architects like I.M. Pei, scientists like AIDS researcher David Ho, statesmen like Senator Dan Inouye, writers like journalist Iris Chang, musicians like conductor Zubin Mehta, filmmakers like Chris Tashima, sports heroes like Tiger Woods, and warriors like General Eric Shinseki. Unfortunately, the scope and ubiquity of Asian Pacific accomplishments are often overshadowed by insensitive acts directed against members of the community.

For example, during last year's investigation of campaign finance abuses, the distinction between foreign donors and Asian American donors was frequently blurred by members of both political parties and the media. While investigations focused on contributions made to the Democratic National Committee by foreign donors, legitimate American donors were unduly interrogated and harassed simply because their surnames happened to sound "foreign."

For their part, the media, including major newspapers, networks, and magazines, often confused "Asian" with "Asian American" in their stories and headlines on the donor controversy, though they never seemed to confuse "European" with Americans of European extraction. The media's inability to distinguish between foreigners and citizens contributed to the stereotypical impression that there is a nefarious "connection" between all Asians and Asian Americans.

This bias was in more recent evidence just after Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski honored America by winning the silver and gold Olympic figure skating medals, respectively. Immediately after the event, the internet website of NBC's cable affiliate, MSNBC, contained the headline, "American Beats Out Kwan for Women's Figure Skating Title." As we all know, both Lipinski and Kwan are Americans. But the difference between the two champions, in the eyes of MSNBC's editors, was their skin color, making one “more” American than the other.

Mr. President, instances like these remind us that Asian Pacific Americans, whatever their achievements, whatever their contributions to the nation, are still perceived as foreigners, whether fifth or first generation. These unfortunate incidents are reminders that as a nation we still have a long journey ahead of us on the road to tolerance and mutual understanding.

But I would be remiss if I did not also point out that there have also been a number of developments that have helped advance the Asian Pacific community's quest to become fully accepted members of America society. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight two notable events which occurred during this month’s celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, events that I hope reflect a growing understanding of, and appreciation for, Asian Pacific Americans by fellow Americans.

First, last Saturday, a ceremony celebrating the designation of Angel Island as a National Historic Landmark was held in San Francisco. Located in San Francisco Bay, Angel Island Immigration Station served as an immigration processing station for many West Coast immigrants between 1910 and 1940. Most of the immigrants entering through Angel Island were Chinese, but a sizable portion of the immigrants came from Japan, the Philippines, and Europe as well. However, the Chinese experience was vastly different from that of other immigrants, regardless of which port of entry they entered through. Subject to a series of Chinese exclusion laws beginning in 1882, Chinese immigrants could only enter the United States under the “exempt class.” Instead of a welcoming atmosphere, these Chinese were subjected to days, weeks, months, and even years of hostile interrogation before being admitted to the U.S. or being deported back to China. They languished in prison-like conditions at Angel Island until decisions were handed down. In contrast, processing at Ellis Island took an immigrant, on average, three to five hours. Angel Island Immigration Station closed in 1940 after processing over 175,000 Chinese immigrants.

In 1970, a state park ranger discovered scores of poems beautifully carved into the wooden walls of the detention barracks, evidently composed by its onetime Chinese and Japanese residents. In one poem, a prospective Chinese immigrant wrote:

Everyone says traveling to North America is a pleasure.
I suffered misery on the ship and sadness in the wooden building.
After several interrogations, still I am not done.
I sigh because my compatriots are being forcibly detained.

Another wrote:

Originally, I had intended to come to America last year.
Lack of money delayed me until early autumn.
It was on the day that the Weaver Maiden met the Cowherd
That I took passage on the President Lincoln.
I ate wind and tasted waves for more than twenty days.
Fortunately, I arrived safely on the American continent.
I thought I could land in a few days.
How was I to know I would become a prisoner suffering in the wooden building?
The barbarians abuse is really difficult to take.
When my family's circumstances stir my emotions, a double stream of tears flow.
I only wish I can land in San Francisco soon,
Thus sparing me this additional sorrow here.

These poignant works reveal the hardships these immigrants endured; but, more importantly, they also revealed hopes and desires that are universal to the American story. This story is worth preserving, whether it is the experience of the Irish of Boston, the Italians of New York City, the African Americans of Savannah, the Mexicans of El Paso, or the Cambodians of Long Beach.

I would like to congratulate the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, the Chinese Historical Society of America, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and the many other community organizations and individuals who worked tirelessly to procure National Historic Landmark status for Angel Island. It is my hope the new designation will help preserve a significant experience in the lives of Asian Pacific immigrants, one that will also resonate with the universal immigration experience of all Americans.

The second promising development that occurred this month was the announcement by Hasbro Toys, the company, which manufactures "G.I. Joe," that it will be creating a Japanese American G.I. Joe, as part of its G.I. Joe Classics Collection. The action figure will honor the Japanese Americans who fought valiantly for our country during World War II.

My colleagues will recall that as members of the famed 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, Japanese American soldiers suffered unparalleled casualties in the French and Italian campaigns. Many veterans today still recall the heroism of this fighting unit, which during one famous engagement sustained 800 casualties to save the lives of some 200 members of a Texas battalion who were facing certain annihilation by German troops. The 442nd emerged as one of the most decorated units in our nation’s military history; among its more famous members is Senator Daniel Inouye, whose heroism earned him the Distinguished Service Cross.

Aside from their military prowess, what was even more remarkable about these brave men was the fact that they were fighting for a country which was, in essence, holding their families hostage in internment camps. One of the darkest chapters of our nation’s history was the forced evacuation of over 110,000 Japanese Americans in to internment camps.

And so I am very pleased that a toy company, which markets to our most important community, our children, has dispensed with typical marketing values to honor America's home-grown Asian Pacific American heroes. For ultimately, only change in our cultural values will have a transformational effect on race and ethnic relations as we approach the next millenium.

Mr. President, I am Native Hawaiian and I am Chinese, but above all I am American. I have embraced all of my identities and hope that others can learn to embrace and cherish our inherent diversity. It is my sincere hope that as we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, each and every citizen will reflect on our nation's multiple heritages and appreciate the relationship between our racial and ethnic diversity and the unity that binds us together as Americans.