6-year-old boy breaks cycling record, raises $12K for charity

Hello and good morning! It’s Thursday, June 6. Here’s some of what you need to know in our community today:

Sports

6-year-old boy breaks cycling record, raises $12K for charity

Ryan Soon achieved an extraordinary feat by cycling 129 km (80 miles) around Singapore in 14 hours on June 1, raising $12,000 for charity supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities. 

• Soon became the youngest person to cycle more than 120 km (74 miles) around Singapore in a day, surpassing the previous record of 120.28 km held by 6-year-old Adiv Seth in 2022. The preschooler, who has been cycling since age 2, underwent two months of training for the event.

• Accompanied by his father, Benjamin Soon, and a family friend, they started their journey at 5:30 a.m. and overcame challenges like rain before eventually making their way back home at around 7:30 p.m. “I hope that what we have done will inspire more parents to do something great or amazing with their child,” Benjamin told Asia One.

Government

AAPI leaders decry Biden’s asylum ban

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced a broad asylum ban for migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the November elections. The executive order imposes a temporary halt on asylum requests when the daily average of border arrests surpasses 2,500 over a week. Border arrests averaged 4,300 per day in April. Since October, Customs and Border Protection has encountered over 21,000 Chinese nationals at the southern border near San Diego, exceeding the number of Mexican nationals in recent months.

• Under the measure, illegal migrants face deportation or being sent back to Mexico, with exceptions for unaccompanied children and those facing serious threats. However, operational questions remain, and AAPI leaders and organizations have voiced concerns, with the American Civil Liberties Union denouncing the executive order and intending to sue over the new restrictions. 

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Rep. Judy Chu said in a statement: “Rather than address humanitarian issues at the border effectively and with the nuance they deserve, today’s actions will gut protections for countless migrants exercising their legal right to claim asylum. Rather than decimate the ability for those fleeing violence or persecution to seek asylum based on an arbitrary numerical cap, we should be redirecting our efforts to modernize ports of entry, expand legal pathways for migrants, and address the root causes of migration.”

Government

Andy Kim wins Democratic primary for US Senate

On Tuesday, Democratic voters in New Jersey overwhelmingly chose (74.8%) three-term Rep. Andy Kim to run as the party’s nominee for a US Senate seat, setting him up for a general election battle against indicted incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez and wealthy hotel operator and political newcomer Curtis Bashaw, who defeated his Trump-backed rival in the GOP primary.

• Kim, the first Asian American elected to federal office in New Jersey, defeated three self-funding millionaire candidates from 2018 to 2022. Menendez, who has served as a senator since 2006, declared he would run as an independent on Monday amid his federal corruption trial. Democrats have won every Senate race in New Jersey since 1972. 

• “Our work is just beginning. New Jersey has a choice: the chaos and corruption of Bob Menendez and Donald Trump, or a politics that works for families struggling to get by. New Jersey deserves better, and I'm ready to take our movement for change to the U.S. Senate,” Kim said in a statement announcing his win.

Crime

Shohei gets “closure”

Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax charges in a federal court in Santa Ana, California, on Tuesday. Mizuhara, who was fired in March after being accused of stealing approximately $16.5 million from Ohtani, faces up to 33 years in prison for these charges.

• Mizuhara, who entered a guilty plea deal in May, acknowledged the theft in court on Tuesday, stating that the only way he could think of to clear his gambling debt was to use Ohtani’s money. In addition to the prison sentence, Mizuhara also faces a maximum fine of $1.25 million. His sentencing is scheduled for October 25.

• “Now that the investigation has been completed, this full admission of guilt has brought important closure to me and my family,” Ohtani said in a statement through a spokesperson. “It's time to close this chapter, move on and continue to focus on playing and winning ballgames."

Business

CFO of Falun Gong-backed paper accused of laundering $67M

On Monday, The Epoch Times’ Weidong "Bill" Guan pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court to charges linking him to the laundering of $67 million through cryptocurrency and fraudulent unemployment benefits. If convicted, Guan could face up to 20 years in prison for the laundering charge and an additional 30 years for each of the two bank fraud charges.

• Guan allegedly utilized the "Make Money Online" team at the far-right media company  — originally started in 2000 by Chinese American members of the Falun Gong new religious movement as a free anti-Chinese Communist Party newsletter — to purchase illicitly obtained funds using cryptocurrency. These funds were then laundered through various bank accounts belonging to both The Epoch Times and Guan personally.

• "The company intends to and will fully cooperate with any investigation dealing with the allegations against Mr. Guan. In the interim, although Mr. Guan is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the company has suspended him until this matter is resolved," The Epoch Times said in a statement.

Tech

Stanford researchers apologize for plagiarizing Chinese AI model

Stanford University researchers have admitted to copying the code and functionality of their Llama3-V model, released last week, from the MiniCPM-Llama3-V 2.5 open source model developed by Tsinghua University’s Model Best, including a unique ability to recognize ancient Chinese characters.

• The plagiarism was discovered after social media users noticed similarities between the models. Christopher Manning, director of the Stanford AI Lab, attributed the controversy to “a few undergrads, some at Stanford.” Siddharth Sharma and Aksh Garg, who worked on the project, claimed that one member of their team is responsible for the plagiarized code and they are awaiting his response

• "We deeply regret this incident,” said Model Best’s chief executive, Li Dahai, according to the state-run China News Service. “On the one hand, we feel that this is also a kind of recognition from the international community, and on the other hand, we call on everyone to build an open, cooperative, and trusting community environment,”

Crime

Multi-city temple thief who led gang of women accomplices is caught

Narcis Chiciu, a 36-year-old man wanted for stealing from Buddhist temples in North Texas in November 2022, was arrested in Woodbury, Minnesota, on May 22.

• Police believe Chiciu, identified using facial recognition software, led a group of eight women that stole $38,000 from the Wat Busayadhammvanaram Buddhist Temple in White Settlement, which they targeted knowing it had large donations. The suspects, who wore masks and head scarves, distracted monks by asking for a prayer while others stole cash. 

• Chiciu faces charges of organized criminal activity and has been linked to similar thefts at other Buddhist temples in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The eight other suspects have not been identified. Chiciu will be extradited to Tarrant County for further questioning, with authorities hoping to identify additional suspects through his interrogation.

Japan

Tokyo govt. launches dating app in hopes of more babies

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is set to release its dating app this summer in a bid to reverse the declining marriage and birth rate crisis in the country. Only 727,277 infants were born in Japan in 2023, about 5.6% lower compared to the 799,728 childbirths in the previous year, while the number of people who got married dropped by 6% to 474,717.

• The government will employ a strict registration process for the app to ensure users will use it for seeking marriage rather than casual relationships. Some of the measures include the required uploading of a photo ID, an interview with the operator contracted by the app and the completion of a questionnaire which covers height, educational background and occupation. Additionally, the app will require users to submit a tax certificate slip as proof of their annual salary.

• “We hope that this app, with its association with the government, will provide a sense of security and encourage those who have been hesitant to use traditional apps to take the first step in their search for a partner,” a Tokyo official said.

Hong Kong

HK residents told to smile to attract more tourists

On Monday, the Hong Kong Tourism Board launched their “Let’s Go the Extra Mile” hospitality campaign, aimed at improving courtesy and services to visitors. As part of the initiative — reminiscent of similar politeness drives in the 1990s and 2000s — officials encouraged residents to smile more.

• “I ask you all to take part, to enhance visitors’ experience,” Chief Executive John Lee said via an interpreter at a press conference on June 4. “We should be more courteous, we should be more helpful, we should smile more, we should take the extra mile to promote Hong Kong’s hospitality so that Hong Kong will become a well-known place where visitors are welcome.”

• The campaign comes after reports of rude behavior, which Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung stressed were individual cases involving a few “black sheep,” and a years-long decline in tourism. 

More News

• Orgs call for boycott of white comedian who used anti-Asian slurs: At the Chinese American Citizens Alliance in Los Angeles today, Asian American groups and experts will call for Netflix and Bud Light to end their business ties with comedian Shane Gillis over his past use of anti-Asian slurs unless he issues a sincere apology. “Gillis claimed he never said the ‘N-word’ on any of his broadcasts. So the message we get is that he won’t offend the Black community and will apologize for using a gay slur on a straight man, but not those slurs made against Asian people,” MANAA President Guy Aoki told NextShark.

• Wanna be a K-pop idol?: This could be your moment as SM Entertainment — the label behind acts such as Aespa, Riize and Red Velvet — over the weekend announced global auditions for a new girl group. Teenaged women born between 2005 and 2011 can apply from June 1 to June 22 to go through a two-stage process that includes online and on-site auditions.

• Hey Nigahiga, it’s your birthday: Today, June 6, is Ryan Higa's birthday. In celebration, reminisce about the time when TikTok users and content creators paid tribute in 2022 to one of YouTube's biggest OGs through a TikTok trend in which fans filmed themselves lip-syncing to the 2011 song "Nice Guys," originally written and sung by Higa and fellow early Asian American YouTubers Chester See and Kevin Wu.

• Japan wants to investigate UFOs: Japanese lawmakers have established a team to investigate Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), citing potential national security concerns. The group, convening for the first time today, will analyze UAP data and collaborate with similar investigative efforts in the U.S.

• Watch free Japanese films online!: The Japan Film Festival Online is back for its third edition, offering free streaming of films from June 5 to July 3. The festival is showcasing 23 diverse films, two TV dramas and four horror shorts from Japan. Visit the official website for the full program and registration.

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