Asian Americans are rocking the White House these days.
Check out this interview with Chris Lu in the Washington Post. Lu, the son of Chinese immigrants, is the Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary at the White House. He also used to be Obama’s legislative director in the Senate. His identity as an Asian American is not lost on him, the 43-year-old tells the Post’s Lois Romano, especially when he recently got to represent the Obama administration in China. He, along with Secretary of Trade Gary Locke and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu—also Chinese Americans—met with Chinese officials to discuss climate change. He said he thinks the presence of the trio, given their heritage and ability to speak some level of Chinese, added some ease to the discussions.
This happens to be the month also when Obama signed an initiative that establishes a President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and instructs federal agencies to improve the quality of life and opportunities for APAs through increased participation in federal programs in which they may be underserved. One of our freelance writers attended the White House announcement and said it was amazing to be in a room with so many high-level Asian Americans on the president’s staff.
