February 17, 2020 by Melissa Fox

Congratulations to My Dear Friend Zhihai Li on Becoming a Citizen of the United States!

Congratulations to my dear friend Zhihai Li on becoming a citizen of the United States!

I first met Zhihai at a community picnic. We soon realized we shared a deep belief in building strong connections of friendship and mutual respect among the many different immigrant and cultural groups in our community.

When I was elected to the Irvine City Council in 2016, I appointed Zhihai as my representative on the Irvine Children, Youth, and Famlies Committee.

Zhihai exemplifies the continued strength of the American Dream.

She attended Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (北京邮电大学) and first came to the U.S. in 1998 to study computer science. She received her Green Card in 2004 and worked for several years in the Chicago area helping launch several software companies. Zhilai then moved to Irvine where she engages in numerous business and community activities, including serving as Vice President at Re/Max Luxury Properties & Commercial Division.

In addition to her service on the Irvine Children, Youth, and Famlies Committee, she is president of the Chinese American Mutual Association (CAMA), [美国华人发展互助会是], a non-profit organization that helps new Chinese immigrants adapt to the American environment.

She is also a founder of I-Love-Irvine, a Chinese social media platform that serves 15000+ members of the Chinese Community in Irvine.

Zhihai is a Board Member of the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, a member of the Advisory Board for the UCI School of Education, and Secretary and Outreach Chair of the Cadence Park PTSA.

As president of the Chinese American Mutual Association, she is working on the First Chinese Culture Festival in Irvine, scheduled for June 2020.

She is also an award-winning ballroom dancer, a wife, and the mother of two extraordinary boys!

Congratulations Zhihai Li on your U.S. Citizenship!

I am so proud to call her my friend!

April 2, 2018 by Melissa Fox

Join Irvine Police Chief Mike Hamel for a Community Safety Meeting at the Irvine Chinese School on April 15

Join Irvine Police Chief Mike Hamel and members of the Irvine Police Department who speak Mandarin as they answer questions regarding public safety in Irvine.

What: Community Safety Meeting at Irvine Chinese School

Date: Sunday, April 15, 2018

Time: 9:45 am – 11:45 am

Location: South Coast Chinese Cultural Center / Irvine Chinese School, 9 Truman St, Irvine, California 92620

This is a free event and is open to everyone.

To submit a question, go to the Irvine Chinese School’s WeChat account or email info@sccca.org by April 7.

Irvine Police Department Mission:

Working in partnership with the community, we will preserve the peace, uphold the law with fairness and provide quality service.”

Irvine Police Department Vision:

We will engage with our community through exemplary service and unparalleled professionalism, while employing a staff that reflects the growth and diversity of our community.

We will commit to implementing the latest technology and best practices to meet the demands of modern policing.

We will invest in the success of the men and women of the Irvine Police Department by providing unrivaled opportunities for training, advancement and personal growth.

Irvine Police Department Values:

Integrity – Recognizing right from wrong and the willingness to do what is right, no matter the consequences. Set the example.

Quality Service – Providing the highest level of service to our community.

Accountability – Accepting responsibility for our decisions and actions.

Respect – Valuing human life, having considerate and courteous regard for all persons. We follow, honor and defend the constitution of this country.

Contact Irvine Police Department:

Irvine Police Department, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA 92606-5207

Phone: 949-724-7000

For emergencies or to report a crime in action, call 911.

August 30, 2016 by Melissa Fox

Future Chinese Leaders of America: KUCI Podcast with Oliver Ma and Melissa Fox

This summer, I had the great pleasure of working with Oliver Ma, a 2015 graduate of Irvine’s University High School and now a history and political science student UC Berkeley, to create a new Irvine non-partisan student group called Future Chinese Leaders of America (FCLA).

Irvine Commissioner Melissa Fox speaking at Future Chinese Leaders of America about the Irvine Master Plan

FCLA “seeks to train young Chinese Americans in politics and inform the Chinese American community of the political issues it faces. During meetings, local leaders/elected officials will speak about a topic of their choice. Then, the students will have a discussion/debate where they are encouraged to think critically and to formulate their own arguments about American politics and society.”

In just a few weeks, Oliver and current Irvine Chinese-American high school students Marvin Li, Ted Xiang, Leo Krapp, Michelle Tang, Michelle Liu and others successfully created this extraordinary club through their own initiative and dedication.

My role in the formation of FCLA was encouragement, mentoring, and connecting Oliver to various California Chinese-American political leaders such as State Controller Betty Yee, California Board of Estimate Chair Fiona Ma, and State Treasurer John Chiang, who spoke at an early FCLA meeting.

Oliver and I recently discussed the formation and future vision of the Future Chinese Leaders of America with KUCI’s program “Ask a Leader” with Claudia Shambaugh.

Please listen here.

Our discussion begins at 1:42 and continues to 29:38.

May 12, 2014 by Melissa Fox

A ‘Photographic Act of Justice’ for Chinese Laborers at Golden Spike: Chinese Citizens, Asian-Americans Honor the 11,000 who Built the Railroad

by Kristen Moulton, The Salt Lake Tribune, reposted with permission.

In what an organizer called a “photographic act of justice,” some 200 Chinese Americans, Chinese citizens and other Asian American friends posed here Saturday on the 145th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

They were going for an iconic photo of their own, one to match the “champagne” photograph that has come to symbolize the celebration that day long ago when the Central Pacific from the West and Union Pacific from the East met on the windswept desert north of the Great Salt Lake.

The meeting of the rails on May 10, 1869, after nearly five deadly, costly years, linked together the industrial East and the resource-rich West for the first time. A journey that previously took six months by ox-drawn wagon was reduced to six days. The most famous photograph from that day shows hundreds of railroad employees, executives and other celebrators — but none of the more than 11,000 Chinese workers who laid track over the Sierra Nevada, across the desert and into Utah. The Chinese workers’ contribution, said New York City photographer Corky Lee, is “a neglected and forgotten,” piece of American history.

Saturday’s visit and photograph, he said, “is as an act of photographic justice.” The photographer worked with a Utah-based coalition, the Chinese Transcontinental Railroad Commemoration Project, to bring the group together on Saturday. He had the 200, including visitors from China’s Guandong Province, pose in front of the replica locomotives, as he did when a similar group came to the anniversary celebration in 2002.

The group also walked to Chinese Arch, a limestone span several miles from the Golden Spike National Historic Site’s visitor center.

Two of those participating Saturday, brother and sister Michael and Karen Kwan, in 2005 successfully petitioned the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to change the arch’s name from Chinaman’s Arch. Their great-great-great grandfather worked on the Transcontinental Railroad.

Margaret Yee, whose great-great grandfather was a chef for the Chinese work crews, said she felt the presence of the laborers as she and a New York dancer and actress, Wan Zhao, walked together along the rail.

“We came to pay them respect,” said Yee, a former head of Asian American affairs for two Utah governors. “One-hundred-forty-five years ago, nobody recognized them.”

Zhao, an immigrant from Mongolia, has been immersing herself in the history of the Chinese workers and immigrants, and performed a dance of prayer Saturday on the rails.

It’s a bit of sore spot for some in the Chinese American community that they had never been invited to help reenact the driving of the rails.

Norm Nelson, the president of the Golden Spike Association, said members of the Chinese community have long been involved in other parts of the celebration, including the act of laying a wreath on the rails to remember those who died working on the railroad.

But they have not been invited to re-enact the placement of the last spikes. “They weren’t part of that [original] ceremony,” Nelson, of Perry, said.

Lee, however, notes that women also were not part of the original ceremony, although some were present that day in 1869. He notes there are no women in the iconic champagne photo, although women and children in costume are always included in the re-enactment photos.

On Saturday, after Lee took photos of the Chinese American group, those in period costume were photographed.

And then the two groups and hundreds of other celebration attendees were photographed together.

Ze Min Xiao, the main organizer of Saturday’s visit to Golden Spike, said the coalition wants to steadily increase the number of Asians who participate each year.

It also wants more recognition from political leaders, to create a supplemental curriculum for Utah classrooms, and to archive the oral history stories of Asian Americans.

It’s interesting, she said, that the descendants of the Chinese laborers, who were forced to return to China by American law, later immigrated to the United States.

Karen Kwan, who teaches psychology at Salt Lake Community College and is running for the state House, said the railroad workers’ contributions deserve a more prominent place in Utah’s historical consciousness.

“Utah was built by a great diversity of people. We belong to Utah. Utah belongs to us.”

January 31, 2014 by Melissa Fox

新年快樂 Happy Year of the Horse!

The Year of the Horse

The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, which begins on January 31, 2014, is the most important holiday in China, as well as for many people of Chinese origin throughout the world – including the nearly 30,000 people of Chinese heritage living in Irvine.

The Chinese zodiac, the cycle of twelve stations or “signs” along the apparent path of the sun through the cosmos, plays an important part in the calendar, and each new year is marked by the characteristics of one of the 12 animals of the zodiac: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

This year is a Year of the Horse.

A Year of the Horse is considered to be fortunate and filled with luck, as well as a time of adventure and an excellent year for travel.

Those born in the Year of the Horse are said to be extremely confident and independent.

The Chinese New Year holiday was traditionally a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a time to bring family together for feasting. Today, the holiday remains a time for family, food, and the celebration of traditional Chinese culture.

My friend Albert Wu, a young Irvine-based violinist, violin teacher, and founder of Irvine Young Concert Artists (IYCA), explains his family’s traditions:

“Get ready for Jan. 31 to welcome the Year of the Horse! The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese, in which they celebrate family and a new beginning. The New Year begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar, which is different from the Western calendar. Before the holiday arrives, people will completely clean the house in order to get rid of the old and prepare to welcome the new. After the cleaning comes the decorating, and most of the decorations are red in color because that color signifies good luck. The New Year’s Eve meal is the most important meal of the year where families get together for a dinner reunion. They may choose to eat at home, go to a restaurant (which often has to be booked months in advance), or hire a chef to cook at their house. The Chinese New Year lasts for 15 days, during which families often rotate which relative’s house they will eat at. Fish is normally served at the New Year’s Eve dinner, and dumplings, because fish and dumplings are thought to be good luck and to bring a family prosperity in the New Year. Wait… Who wants to celebrate with me for next 15 days?”

I do!!

Chinese New Year Events in Irvine this Weekend

This weekend I will be celebrating the Chinese New Year at two special events in Irvine.

First, I will be attending a special “Lunar New Year Celebration” at the at the Irvine Metrolink Station, 15215 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA 92618, at 8:00 a.m.

The first 100 people there will receive a free round-trip Metrolink ticket to Los Angeles Union Station (first come, first served) to join Celebrate the Year of the Horse by visiting the 115th Annual Golden Dragon Parade and Festival in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, one of the premier cultural events in southern California. Enjoy a special Lunar New Year program with traditional Lion Dancers. Bring your family to taste the delicious free refreshments provided by Champagne Bakery and 85° Bakery Cafe. For a chance to spin the OCTA prize wheel, bring a non-perishable food item to donate to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. After the fun at the Irvine Station, take Metrolink to Los Angeles for the popular Golden Dragon Parade. Train departs from Irvine Station at 9:00 a.m.

I will also be celebrating the Year of the Horse at the “Chinese New Year Exhibition and Performance” at the Irvine Chinese School, located at 9 Truman, Irvine, 92620, on Saturday, February 1, 2014, at 5:30 and 6:30 PM.

This performance has been a tradition for over 35 years. The school lobby will open to the public from 5:30 PM for the exhibition. The performance starts from 6:30 PM.

Here are the details:

What: Lunar New Year Celebration (and chance at a free round-trip to the Golden Dragon Parade in LA’s Chinatown
Where: Irvine Metrolink Station, 15215 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA 92618
When: Saturday, February 1, 2014, at 8:00 AM
Info: 714-560-6282.

What: Chinese New Year Exhibition and Performance
Where: Irvine Chinese School, 9 Truman, Irvine 92620
When: Saturday, February 1, 2014, at 5:30 PM (Exhibition) and 6:30 PM (Performance)
Info: For tickets, contact Rachel@sccca.us or call 949-554-6868 ex.502

新年快樂

Happy New Year!

November 6, 2013 by Melissa Fox

Irvine Chinese School Hosts Inspiring “Immigrants Building America”

I recently had the honor of presenting a Certificate of Recognition to the Irvine Chinese School and the South Coast Chinese Cultural Association on behalf of the City of Irvine on the occasion of the grand opening of the powerful new photographic exhibit “Immigrants Building America,” a traveling exhibit from the American Institute in Taiwan that features stories and photos of how immigrants from Taiwan and China have contributed to the United States and tells the “moving and inspiring stories of people journeying to a new country, struggling to establish themselves, and contributing their intelligence and hard work to create the vibrant America that we know today.”

The exhibit covers the time period from the mid-19^th Century – when consecutive years of drought in China coupled with the discovery of gold in California led thousands of Chinese workers to travel across the oceans to work in the gold mines, and then in the construction of the railroads, in the American West – to the years of discrimination, hardship, and expulsion under the Chinese Exclusion Act from the 1880s to the early 1940s – to the present, when Chinese Americans are celebrated for their accomplishments and contributions across numerous fields, including journalism, sports, politics, medicine, music, film, architecture, and science.

Among the Chinese Americans featured in the exhibit are Samuel C. C. Ting (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1976), Steve Chu (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1997), Roger Yonchien Tsien (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2008), Anna May Wong (first Chinese American movie star and outspoken advocate for Chinese American causes), I. M. Pei (Chinese American architect often called the master of modern architecture), Ang Lee (Academy Award, Best Director, 2005 and 2012), Elaine L. Chao (U.S. Secretary of Labor, 2001-2009), Judy Chu (b. 1953, first Chinese American woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress), Yo Yo Ma (b. 1955, Grammy Award winning cellist), Maya Lin (b. 1959, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.), Michelle Kwan (b. 1980, Olympic and World Champion figure skater), Jason Wu (b. 1982, fashion designer), and Jeremy Lin (b. 1988, outstanding college and NBA basketball star).

Irvine Commissioner Melissa Fox awarding Certificate of Recognition to Irvine Chinese School

I also had the pleasure of discussing the exhibit – and the crucial role that cultural diversity and immigrant communities have played in the success of Irvine – with the principal of the Irvine Chinese School, Yulan Chung, and the president of the Irvine Chinese School’s Board of Directors, Albert Tseng. The Irvine Chinese School is truly an Irvine treasure. Founded in 1976, the mission of the Irvine Chinese School is to promote Chinese language learning, preserve Chinese heritage, enhance the understanding of the values of Chinese culture, and to advocate for Cultural diversity in America. Located in the beautiful new South Coast Chinese Cultural Center in Irvine, the Irvine Chinese School is largest Chinese school in Southern California, with more than a thousand students enrolled in classes ranging from traditional Chinese phonetics, writing, grammar and conversation, to Chinese customs, folklore, painting, calligraphy, performing arts and other aspect of Chinese culture.

Visit “Immigrants Building America” and experience the struggles and triumphs of Chinese immigrants in America and learn about the many contributions of Chinese Americans to building the ongoing and still-unfolding American Dream. “Immigrants Building America” speaks to every immigrant community and every American.

What: “Immigrants Building America” – Traveling exhibit featuring stories and photos of how immigrants from Taiwan and China have contributed to the growth of the United States.
Where: Irvine Chinese School at South Coast Chinese Cultural Center, 9 Truman, Irvine CA
When: November 2 though December 30, 2013
More information: (949) 559-6868

Click here for an NTDTV.com news report (in Chinese) about the exhibit and the opening ceremonies.