China News Service, May 18. According to a comprehensive compilation report by the US "World Journal", many Asian-American groups are actively participating in the ongoing redrawing of the New York City Council constituency map, advocating that the redrawing should reflect the interests of Asians and prevent the use of Asian-Americans. The dominant community is drawn into different constituencies, thereby increasing the voice of Asians and strengthening the electoral political power of Asians.
The Asian population of Woodside Community in Queens is about 24,720 people, and the ethnic scale is the largest in the community, but the community is divided into 22nd, 25th and 26th city council districts; Woodside's Filipino Community Center said that if Woodside If the constituency is drawn in the same constituency as the neighboring Elmhurst where the Filipinos are concentrated, the political power of the Filipinos will be greatly enhanced.
In the city council districts that have been drawn over the past decade, because Asians are divided into multiple districts, it is difficult to obtain government resources. The Filipino Community Center said that initial language translation during federal grants for small and medium-sized enterprises after the outbreak The service does not have Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines.
District redraws for city councils must comply with city, state, and federal regulations, including compliance with voting rights laws, that communities with common interests must be drawn in the same district; common interests include culture, race, and religion, etc., and are primarily defined by residents .
Ouyang Xiao An, coordinator of the Asian-Pacific Constituency Redrawing Alliance, said that Asians should fully express their opinions in the constituency redrawing to bring the Asian community together and turn it into political power, because the most vocal ethnic group in the constituency will be more affected. Pay attention to.
Ouyang Xiaoan said: "The authorities will listen to the opinions of the majority in the constituency, give the majority money, and keep Asians as a whole, which will form our majority."
The voices of minority communities are more likely to be heeded now that the city council has passed a resolution allowing noncitizen immigrants to vote in citywide elections.
The redrawing of the city council's constituencies will take several months and needs to be completed by January 1, 2023, and 50 city councillors will be elected next year based on the new constituencies.
Ouyang Xiao An said that ensuring that Asian communities are drawn in the same constituency is the core strategy for launching Asian candidates.
She believes that because Asian Americans in New York have grown by 33 percent over the past decade, it is big enough to change the rules and, in turn, increase their political influence.
The city council currently has six Asian-American members, up from two a decade ago.
"The redrawing of the city council's districts brings hope to the Asian American community, and we need candidates in the city council who understand our language needs, immigration issues and employment concerns," Ouyang Xiaoan said.
As a fast-growing Asian-American community in Brooklyn, Benson He is divided into four city council constituencies. Ouyang Xiaoan said that community residents are dissatisfied with the increasing prejudice attacks against Asians and demand a strong response from the city government , if Benson Ho was a constituency, their voices would get more attention in the city council.
(Sun Liang)