Top 10 local stories in 2023 affecting or involving AAPIs

Compiled by Ruth Bayang
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

1. Eina Kwon was eight months pregnant when she was shot and killed on June 13 near the Belltown restaurant that she and her husband, Sung Kwon, owned. Both Eina and her baby girl died. Sung Kwon, who was shot multiple times in his left arm, survived.

   Cordell Maurice Goosby, 30, is charged with murder and attempted murder. He faces up to 57 years in prison, if convicted.
   

   

   The Sung Family

2. Chinatown-International District (CID) activist Tanya Woo ran for District 2 on the Seattle City Council but lost by a slim margin to incumbent Tammy Morales. Now, she’s vying for another seat, position 8, that’s about to be vacated by Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda.
   
   

   Tanya Woo

3. Seattle police officer Burton Hill, who called his neighbor a ‘f—ing Chink,’ was placed on administrative leave in September. Police Chief Adrian Diaz instructed his staff to conduct a thorough review of the officer’s arrest and investigation history.

   “Racist comments and behavior by department employees will not be tolerated,” Diaz said.

   

4. A coalition of more than 60 stakeholders in the CID was formed in October to demand urgent action on the persistent public safety crisis. Frustrated by crime and a drug crisis, the coalition issued a joint statement and a letter to the mayor, seeking solutions to safeguard businesses and revitalize the community.
   
   
5. 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula, a graduate student from India, was killed in a crosswalk by Seattle police officer Kevin Dave as he was responding to a medical call in his patrol SUV in January. He was driving at 74 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone, and he did not have his sirens on.

   Another officer, Daniel Auderer, who made callous remarks about the incident, was taken off patrol and reassigned. In an audio recording from body camera footage, Auderer called Kandula a “regular person” and suggested her life had “limited value.” He proposed to “just write a check” for $11,000 when discussing potential repercussions.

   

   Jaahnavi Kandula

6. 21-year-old Angelina Tran was stabbed over 100 times by her stepfather, Nghiep Kein Chau, when she tried to defend her mother from his abuse. Tran, a 21-year-old student at the University of Washington, died from her injuries. Chau faces a first-degree murder charge in Tran’s death and a first-degree attempted murder charge for his wife’s injuries.
   
   

   Angelina Tran

7. The Sound Transit board voted for the north-south option over Fourth Avenue in March—in its bid to build a new CID station on the Ballard to West Seattle light rail extension. Advocates for Fourth Avenue emphasized mobility and transfers, while north-south supporters focused on the preservation of Seattle’s Chinatown.
   
   

   The Sound Transit board held an in-person and virtual meeting on hub station options for the CID community on March 23, 2023. (Photo by Assunta Ng)

8. Six people were arrested in September in connection with a series of home invasion robberies mostly targeting Asian Americans in South Seattle. In all, police say they have been investigating 14 incidents since June. In many of those cases, the suspects confronted their victims outside their homes and forced their way inside.
   
   

   Still image from a RING video of the armed robbery of a south Seattle man on Aug. 26, 2023.

9. The City of Seattle planted eight new cherry blossom trees on Pike Street in November. This initiative follows controversy over the removal of cherry trees in the spring for the  Pike Pine Streetscape and Bicycle Improvements project, sparking a preservation effort. The planting also aimed to commemorate the Japanese and Japanese American farmers who once sold their produce at Pike Place Market.
   
   

   (Photo via Assunta Ng)

10. 2023 saw a new chapter for the Northwest Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post (SCP). Jan. 19 was the last day of print operations for both publications. 

    In October, publisher Assunta Ng donated SCP to the Asia Pacific Cultural Center and three long-time contributors are continuing their work freelancing. SCP is no longer connected to the Asian Weekly, its sister publication prior to closure, which has continued to run exclusively online since January.

    

Other stories of note include the cancellation of the CID Night Market, which was slated for September, due to a decline in corporate sponsorships and other financial constraints, and the vandalism of the Wing Luke Museum in September. Craig Milne, 76, shouted racial epithets while taking a sledgehammer to the museum’s windows. He told the Seattle police officer who arrested him that “the Chinese ruined my life.”