16-year-old US soccer star reps South Korea

Hello and good morning! It’s Wednesday, June 5. Here’s some of what you need to know in our community today:

🌎 Happy World Environment Day

“This year, World Environment Day focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience under the theme ‘Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration,’ giving us the chance to shine a spotlight on solutions to protect our land,” Siddharth Chatterjee, UN resident coordinator in China, said on Tuesday.

Sports

16-year-old US soccer star reps South Korea

New Jersey-raised Casey Phair took to the field on Saturday in a losing effort against the U.S. Women's National Team, a team she once aspired to join. The Korean American forward instead opted to represent South Korea, where she was born, and made history as the youngest player at the Women's World Cup last year. 

• After her World Cup performance, Phair landed a contract with Los Angeles National Women's Soccer League club Angel City F.C. and a Nike sponsorship. On why she chose to sign with Angel City, she told the Korea JoongAng Daily: “Everyone there was so welcoming, and it’s not like I have to go out of my way to ask for help. It’s like, everyone wants to help me. Just, like, a nurturing and welcoming environment [like] I found in Korea.”

• Former coach Mike O'Neill told GOAL: "She's a really talented footballer. She's a really good person, too. It is so important that, in all of this, you have to keep your feet on the ground. You never lose sight of what helped you get there."

Government

Hmong call for U.S. Census race reclassification

Although the federal government's recent reclassification of race and ethnicity groups in the U.S. had been widely celebrated in the AANHPI community, it has also created tension among excluded groups like the Hmong. 

• Many Hmong feel that they should be classified as Southeast Asian. However, the U.S. Census Bureau categorized them as East Asian after the 2020 census, a change that has been criticized since the group was persecuted in China as an ethnic minority before they mostly migrated to South East Asian countries. 

• The East Asian classification also raises concerns about hiding socioeconomic disparities between Hmong, with a per capita income of $26,000, according to the 2022 American Community Survey, and other Asian households, at a per capita income of $53,000. The Census Bureau is reportedly working with the Hmong community to improve their classification.

Space

China is 1st to collect samples from moon’s far side

Chang'e-6, which touched down on the moon's far side on Sunday, unfurled the country’s national flag before setting its course back to Earth on Tuesday. The lander, carrying 4.4 pounds of rock and soil samples, is expected to arrive at Inner Mongolia by June 25. 

• China and the U.S. are engaged in a space race, with both countries aiming for a crewed lunar landing. China's space program has set a goal of 2030, while the US Artemis program is targeting a landing in 2026.

• The far side of the moon is more challenging to land on due to its rugged terrain and lack of direct communication with Earth. Scientists believe the samples from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the moon's oldest craters on the site, could provide insights into the moon's formation and history.

Japan

Japan’s $48 million whaling “mothership” sets sail amid controversy

Japanese company Kyodo Senpaku has launched the Kangei Maruin, now the world’s only whaler factory ship, in the hopes of revitalizing the nation’s whaling industry and amid continued criticism of the killings of Earth’s largest mammals. Japan, which cites whales as an important part of its food culture, is one of only three countries that commercially hunts whales, whose populations were nearly driven to extinction before a global moratorium was issued in 1986.

• The 370-foot, 9,300-ton ship equipped with drones sailed off its home port of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on May 21 for an eight-month hunt in Japan’s northern waters. However, activists reportedly fear that it would go beyond as its cutting-edge features allow for voyages as far as the Antarctic.

• “Whales are at the top of the food chain. They compete with humans by eating marine creatures that should be feeding other fish,” ship guide Hideki Tokoro told CNN. When asked about switching to whale watching, he said, “We will not switch to whale watching but eating whale meat while watching whales might be quite a nice touch.”

Japan

Big Japanese automakers embroiled in scandal

Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha Motor admitted on Monday to falsifying testing data or conducting improper tests, as Japan’s auto-testing scandal continues. The five companies revealed that a total of 38 motor vehicles – six available on the market and 32 discontinued models – had irregularities in their applications.

• In a statement, Toyota admitted it had tested a number of models “using methods that differed from the government standards,” while Mazda conducted improper engine tests on its Roadster RF and Mazda 2 models. Yamaha also admitted to irregular testing for its current sports motorcycle model YZF-R1, as Honda reported faulty testing and results for 22 discontinued models. Suzuki disclosed similar tampering for one of its models.

• Japan’s transport ministry ordered Toyota, Mazda and Yamaha to halt shipments for some of its vehicle models while it conducts an investigation. "As the person in charge of the Toyota Group, I would like to sincerely apologize to our customers, to car fans and all stakeholders for this," Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder, said while bowing at a press conference on Monday. “We are not a perfect company. But if we see anything wrong, we will take a step back and keep trying to correct it,” he added.

News

Woman who lost baby after being shoved off cliff is pregnant again

A Chinese woman who lost her unborn child after her husband pushed her off a cliff in Thailand in 2019 is now preparing to welcome her new baby. Wang Nuannuan, her alias on Douyin, announced her pregnancy via in vitro fertilization (IVF) on International Children’s Day, June 1.

• Wang Nuannuan survived after being pushed by her husband, Yu Xiaodong, from a 111.5-foot cliff at a tourist spot in Thailand in June 2019. Wang suffered 17 bone fractures from the fall, resulting in painful operations in which over 100 steel nails were inserted into her body. A Thai court sentenced Yu to 33 years and four months in jail for the incident.

• “I never expected to have another miracle. After five years, 1,882 days and nights, my dear baby, thank you! You have come back to me again. Next year on Children's Day, I will hold your little hand, take you to see the mountains and seas, and listen to the birds singing,” the woman wrote in her Douyin post announcing her pregnancy. 

More News

• Shohei Ohtani is also a talented artist!? Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Ohtani is also apparently good at drawing, as evidenced by a recent screenshot shared on X last week. The post shows Ohtani’s artwork depicting a crying Hisashi Mitsui from the basketball anime “Slam Dunk.” The all-time two-way MLB great reportedly drew the character on a whiteboard before leaving the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters for the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, with a message in Japanese that reads, “Thank you.”

  

• A case for stricter schools? University of California, Davis researchers suggest that fostering positive school climates can protect Asian American students from hate speech. In their recent study, they found that Asian American students in schools with "strict, yet fair" disciplinary structures and adult support experienced significantly less hate speech (5%) compared to those in schools with weaker structures (20%). 

📺 What We’re Watching

The Acolyte

Lee Jung-jae goes from “Star Wars” fan to Jedi master: Lee, who stars in Disney Plus’ “The Acolyte,” recalls the moment he first became fascinated with the “Star Wars” cinematic universe as a young boy in Seoul in a new interview with NextShark. “I wondered, ‘What kind of movie is this? Is this even a movie? It was something that I had never seen before. It really piqued my curiosity. This movie really had a sensational impact when it came out in Korea,” Lee said.

Godzilla Minus One

King of the Monsters conquers Netflix: Oscar best visual effect winner “Godzilla Minus One” dominated Netflix’s top 10 rankings after a surprise release on Saturday. The critically acclaimed kaiju movie dethroned Jennifer Lopez and Simu Liu’s “Atlas” from the No. 1 spot. Netflix did not report or announce anything related to “Godzilla Minus One” before its release.

Featured Post

Until Tomorrow,

Alan Van