Gabbard, Patel Sworn In After Narrow OKs
WASHINGTON — A pair of APIDAs (Asian Pacific Islander Desi Americans) picked by the president to helm federal government agencies have been approved by the Senate — barely — and sworn in to their respective posts. Samoan American Tulsi Gabbard was sworn in as national intelligence director on Feb. 12 after the Senate confirmed her nomination 52-48. A day later, the Senate voted 51-49 to confirm Indian American Kashyap Pramod Vinod Patel, aka Kash Patel, to serve as FBI director. Gabbard is a Republican who had served in the House of Representatives when she was a Democrat serving Hawaii from 2013-21. She also had served in the Hawaii Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve. Patel, a former federal defender and Department of Justice counterterrorism prosecutor, was sworn in Feb. 21, becoming the ninth person to serve as FBI director.
U.S. Bases in Japan Receive Bomb Threats
TOKYO — After emails threatening bombings at 32 U.S. military installations located in Japan’s southernmost prefecture were sent to government websites, a similar email-borne threat was sent to the website of the Japanese city adjacent to Yokota Air Base, located in Tokyo prefecture. Stars and Stripes reported that Japanese police were investigating the bomb threats that were first sent to prefectural and municipal officials in Okinawa, where the majority of American armed forces in Japan are located. A day later, the website for the city of Fussa received a similar email, demanding the same amount in ransom — about $120,000 — to prevent the bombings from taking place on Feb. 23 and 24. The military news outlet quoted an Air Force spokesperson who said, “At this time, we do not perceive a credible threat . . . .” Yokota Air Base is home to the 374th Airlift Wing, 5th Air Force and U.S. Forces Japan. Among the bases threatened on Okinawa were Kadena Air Base and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Remains of WWII’s SSgt. Hop Returned to S.F.
SAN FRANCISCO — In advance of a Feb. 7 memorial service at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, Calif., the Army on Jan. 31 — with a escort by the San Francisco Police Department — transported the long-missing remains of Army Air Force SSgt. Yuen Hop, who was killed during World War II in 1944 at age 20, from San Francisco International Airport to a mortuary in Daly City, Calif. Prior to the motorcade, a ceremony took place on the airport’s tarmac at which Hop’s sister, 93-year-old Margery Wong of San Francisco, was in attendance. After the B-17 Hop was in was shot down on a mission over Germany, he and two fellow crewmembers were unaccounted for; other crewmembers were captured and incarcerated in German POW camps. In 2024, however, Hop’s missing remains were recovered and identified.
Bostonian Acquitted on PRC Agent Claims
BOSTON — A federal jury on Feb. 10 found a local Chinese American man not guilty of charges of acting as an agent of a foreign government — the People’s Republic of China — and conspiracy. Litang Liang, 65, had been accused of providing the Chinese Communist Party with intel on local individuals and organization possessing pro-Taiwan and anti-Chinese government beliefs. The jury’s not-guilty verdicts on both charges were unanimous. Meantime in New York City, on Feb. 11, Linda Sun — a former deputy chief of staff for Gov. Kathy Hochul and, under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, deputy diversity officer — pleaded not guilty to additional charges accusing her and her husband, Chris Hu, of acting as agents for the Chinese government. Last year, Sun was charged with, among other allegations, violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Korea: Exclude Us From Plans to Hike Tariffs
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean officials have asked the Trump administration to exclude their country from U.S. plans to impose aggressive tariffs on trade partners, emphasizing that Seoul is already applying low duties on American products under the free trade agreement between the two nations. South Korea’s government said Deputy Trade Minister Park Jong-won made the request while traveling to Washington for meetings with unspecified officials from the White House, the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The South Korean Trade Ministry didn’t say what Park heard from the Americans. In other South Korea news, President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in two different courts Feb. 20, contesting his arrest on rebellion charges in one and fighting an effort to remove him from office in the other. Both cases — one on criminal charges, one an impeachment — are related to his brief imposition of martial law in December.
LTSC Adds 4 Members to Board of Directors
Following its annual board retreat, the Little Tokyo Service Center announced the addition of four new members to its board of directors: Fabiola Delgado, Sarah Fukui, Naomi Iwasaki and Nancy Okubo. ¶ In other community nonprofit news, Asian American Drug Abuse Program has announced that Sam Joo has been named its new CEO, effective March 3. He replaces Dean Nakanishi, who retired last June. ¶ Silicon Valley PR/marketing firm PRxDigital Inc. has announced Madison Nguyen has joined to lead economic development and business growth initiatives. She is California’s first Vietnamese American woman elected to public office; she formerly served as a San Jose city councilmember and vice mayor.
— P.C. Staff
