After Los Angeles, San Jose, and Antioch have issued similar apologies for their historical mistreatment of the Chinese-American community, Supervisor Matt Haney wants one from SF, possibly with reparations.

It is fair to look at everything District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney does these days through the lens of the fact that he’s running for state Assembly, and eager for absolutely any way to distinguish differences between him and his opponent David Campos. One such difference is the 27-story SoMa housing complex that the supervisors rejected, which Haney is making a centerpiece issue. And he may be trying to shore up another key voting bloc, as the Chronicle reports he’s introducing a resolution for the city of San Francisco to apologize to the Chinese-American community for a legacy of racist mistreatment in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

These apologies are something of a trend, as Antioch issued an apology in May, which was largely symbolic, though it did add a Chinese historic district designation. San Jose issued one last month, and Los Angeles followed suit a few weeks later. Per the Chronicle, Haney will introduce his apology measure today.

And San Francisco has some uniquely bad history in this department. San Francisco Unified School District actually still had a law on the books demanding that Chinese students be segregated up until just four years ago, though it was no longer enforced. SF Chinatown was also blamed and quarantined for a 1900 Bubonic plague outbreak that was not its fault. White mobs brought ethnic violence against the Chinese during the Gold Rush era, and the SF Board of Supervisors itself passed several racist ordinances during that era, banning anyone Chinese from a city government job,  and even banning gongs and yeo ho poles used for transporting goods.

“This was really the hub of a lot of awful xenophobia and violence toward Chinese residents specifically,” Haney told the Chronicle. “At the time San Francisco was very much the urban center of this region, and so it sent ripple effects throughout the entire state.”

Yet there’s the question of whether this would merely be symbolic, and just a meaningless set of words saying we’re sorry and thanking the Chinese-American community for their “commitment to fostering reconciliation and friendship.”

“What does making amends look like? Are reparations on the table? What about reinvestment in the Asian community and its organizations?” executive director of the Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco Justin Hoover asked the Chronicle. “An apology is great, it truly is, but it can’t just be a gesture.”

Haney told the Chronicle that he wants to hear from the community on any tangible remediations that might be included in the legislation. One idea is something similar to Mayor Breed’s Dream Keeper Initiative, which reinvests $120 million in the African-American community.  

Related: A Cabaret Group of San Francisco Grandmothers Is Denouncing Asian Hate — One Rap Lyric at a Time [SFist]

Image: chensiyuan via Wikimedia Commons

And now, a helpful tidbit in case you (like me) had planned on trudging to the Inner Sunset this week to check out San Tung and/or San Tung #2: they're closed until Thursday, May 1.

According to the voicemail on the other end of the line, they're on vacation. (Deservedly so as their second spot, located next door, opened a couple weeks ago.)

Alas, those wings will have to wait until May.

Sure, the fight between two ladies on a Muni happened in October. But it deserves repeated viewing. (We don't know about you, but like Mullholand Drive or a rerun of Bad Girls Club, we see something new each time we watch it.) And, at last, we are finally getting official confirmation as to just what, exactly, the non-English speakers were saying on the bus during the brawl. Ying Ma was kind enough to translate the entire thing, perfect for those of us who don't speak/understand Cantonese and Taishanese (the two Chinese dialects used in the video).

Behold:

Chinese woman throws her bag down on the seat.

In the background, a male Chinese passenger says (in Chinese): “…Hit her back!”

A female Chinese passenger says (in Chinese): “No, don’t hit her…”

Chinese woman to black lady: “Fuck you!”

Black lady: “Put yo’ hands on the [unintelligible].”

Video man: “Just another day on MUNI…fucking MUNI.”

Chinese woman turns around to the other Chinese passengers and frantically says (in Chinese): “…She hogged the seat and refused to let me sit down.”

Black lady: “I guarantee you won’t walk off this bus.”

Gripping stuff, folks. Be sure to read the rest of it.

To watch the video, which is actually quite depressing in an oh-the-humanity kind of way, check out SFist's original post.

There's a lot to love about SF's fantastic Chinese New Year parade -- and a lot of love the parade as well. Marching for the fifth time in a row this year is API Equality, and LGBT advocacy group serving the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. And you can join them!

API Equality has put out an open call to anyone interested in joining their contingent. They're meeting up beforehand at 4:45 on February 7th, near Market and 2nd. (Dress in yellow and red, and look for contingent #39.) The parade starts at 5:30 and will, as always, be a blast.

If you'd like to join the festivities, RSVP via Facebook. See you there!

What with Chinese New Year approaching, which officially begins Monday, SFPD are warning Richmond District residents to be on the lookout for "extortionists, robbers and burglars, who may prey on those stocking the shelves for Lunar New Year." Rude! It seems burglaries and robberies "spike each time this year as merchants do more business for the Lunar New Year."

Mystery solved! Probably! Thanks our perceptive readers, we have learned what was maybe on the mind of the lady we posted about yesterday, the one who was gently blocking access to an empty seat. Also, we've learned that SFist readers are violent, flatulent racists.

Here's what she was probably thinking: "In my country of origin, I learned that public transit is lousy and over-crowded. So if I want to get off of this rumbling deathtrap someday, I must be forever perched, cat-like, by the exit." Or something to that effect.

Thanks to tomate4369 for pointing out a cultural aspect to this seat-saving strategy that simply hadn't occurred to us; and thanks to our other commenters who pointed out that special accommodations may be required by the very tall, those with leg injuries, and the very demure ladies who wish to avoid a potential groping.

Also, to the bilious individuals who gleefully report banging seat-savers in the head with purses and subjecting them to digestive winds: consider practicing some anger-management, and consulting a gastroenterologist.

A small protest was held at City Hall yesterday by 400-plus pissed off Tibetan immigrants, honoring the 49th anniversary of Tibet's uprising against China, but also San Francisco's hosting of the Olympic torch. Just a preface of what will happen in the city next month, San Francisco will be the focus of a major protest since it's the only US city hosting the Olympic torch relay in the 2008 Beijing games.

According to CBS 5, the decent-sized group held banners on the steps of City Hall reading "Olympics in China, Torture in Tibet," and "Truth is our only weapon." Over at sftorch2008.org, it notes that a larger rally will be planned for April 9 when the torch finally makes its way here.

The Chinese government is running the Olympic torch around the world, hoping to win the approval of the global public and cover up its brutal occupation of Tibet and abysmal human rights record. When the torch relay reaches San Francisco on April 9th, China will be in the global spotlight like never before. We have an unprecedented opportunity to shine this spotlight on Tibet.

China's occupation of Tibet is a hearted issue -- even though China has maintained that it has "ruled Tibet for centuries" -- especially here in the Bay Area and on you more liberal college campuses. Next month's protest during the torch's arrival is expected to draw thousands.

Photos of nunchaku, Superman, pageant winners, and a guy unafraid of a little rain after the jump.

However -- those of you who fear Chinese opera, take heed! The and the guzheng will be played.

The concert is on Sunday Feb. 10, 4 p.m., at Symphony Hall, with tickets starting at $20.

Picture of Chinese dancers from the SF Symphony

Image credit: Nature abhors a vacuum