From Nina Ahmad, one of our terrific AAPI grassroots leaders in Pennsylvania:

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who made the Community Forum with Congressman Honda such a successful event. Matt (our photographer extraordinaire) will hopefully post shots from this shortly. Mabel Chan & Steven Zhu outdid all expectations in making it a warm and welcoming venue. Chinese Lion Dancers snaked through the guests, consecrating this historical event of all these Chinatown groups and Pan Asian leadership coming together for a common purpose of putting the country on a new path under the leadership of Barack Obama. Joy Tsin Lau’s 2nd floor was decorated with Chinese language signs which proclaimed ” Chinatown is Obamatown.”

The place was packed with over 200 people, and everyone was excited and eager to share their thoughts about the Presidential Race. Reverend Robert Shine gave a moving invocation to start things off. Congressman Mike Honda gave a rousing endorsement of Barack Obama and explained why Obama resonates so strongly with Asian Americans and what an Obama Presidency would mean for the APA community. He mentioned small businesses, healthcare, immigration reform and education - topics that are of utmost importance in the APA community. He noted that the “Blueprint for the Change We Need for Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders” was specifically written for the APA community to focus on critical issues-first such outreach done by any campaign. He was followed by the group of the most articulate and poised APA elected officials: Dr. Judy Chu , Chair Board of Equalization, California, Councilman John Liu of NY and Councilor Sam Yoon of Boston. They drove the salient point home about the Obama understanding of the APA concerns in most persuasive of manners that resonated with the audience. All along, Dr. Mei-ling Wang translated key points of each presentation.

Just before John Liu was ready to speak, we all were very pleasantly surprised by a phone call from Konrad Ng, to thank all of us for the work being done in PA, and to acknowledge the historic nature of this event. We awkwardly held two microphones to Daphne Kowk’s cell phone to amplify the call. He asked us to continue the hard work for the remaining days of the campaign. He shared personal anecdotes about Barack as well. He told us about his wedding to Baracks’s half sister Maya, and how Barack impressed Konrad with his outgoing nature and ability to connect with the diverse crowd of guests. Thanks to Haipei Shue of Virginia, who orchestrated this call and also for all the strategy sessions.

We heard a few words from S.B Woo of 80-20, who outlined his thoughts as to why Obama was the right candidate as well as plans for post election interaction with the Whitehouse.

Finally, endorsement of the Community Leaders was announced and many spoke to convey their depth of commitment to the Obama-Biden ticket. A very cool poster (designed by Ahsan Nasratullah) displayed the endorsement list. This will now be displayed in the Chinatown Obama Office.

The event generated much goodwill and there was attendance from a cross section of the Pan Asian community. The connections made today will open communication across ethnic lines and move forward the agenda of change visualized by Obama. Right after the event, keys groups started brainstorming about leveraging what was achieved today- with concrete actionable ideas. YES WE CAN! The event would not be possible without the unstinting support of some key people: Mabel Chan, who graciously allowed use of her restaurant and has assisted this process in countless generous ways. Steven Zhu, who is the go-to person; he knows everyone and just makes things happen in Chinatown! Without him we would not have had this event. Thanks to my dear friend Andy Toy, who has been invaluable in making all the introductions for both in and outside Chinatown, and putting up with my constant phone calls. He truly loves Philadelphia and we need him as our City Council person! Thanks to Dr. Mei-ling Wang for the great instantaneous translations and her spirit of inclusiveness. Our community leaders who did wonderful introductions for our speakers: Tsiwen Law., Shelly Rahman, Andy Toy and Helen Gym. There are far too many people to mention who have helped put on this effort. However, a shout out to the dedicated Volunteers from NYC (organized by Elizabeth Lynch, Rocky Chin and Theresa Thanjan) and other places who came to the event and helped out, and come week-after-week and help out with the Obama Chinatown Field Office, where we have Anna Perng as the Obama Field Organizer and her deputies doing a wonderful job. We are so lucky to have Baldia Baldia, Daphne Kwok and Tanuka Loha (all the way from London) filling in where ever there is a need. Brad Video shot by Parag Mehta (DNC) will be edited to be used for outreach as well.

The efforts of everyone involved with this event and the guests who attended are a measure of our love for our country - asking nothing in return but a new direction forward for USA. I thank all of you.