The Economic Development of the World: Part 8

The dark green is where the concentration 
of Asian and Pacific Americans are in the 
United States.

Asian Americans/Asia-Pacific Americans are Americans of Asian-Pacific descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East,Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islanders or the Indian subcontinent. It can include people who indicated their race(s) as "Asian" or reported entries such as "Chinese", "Filipino", "Indian", "Vietnamese", "Korean", "Japanese", Native Hawaiian, Polynesian, Samoan, Tongan or Pacific Islanders and "Other Asian" or provided other detailed Asian responses. They comprise 5% of the U.S. population alone, while people who are Asian combined with at least one other race make up 5.9%.

The term Asian American was coined by historian Yuji Ichioka, who is credited with popularizing the term, to frame a new "inter-ethnic-pan-Asian American self-defining political group" in the late 1960s and Asia-Pacific Americans after; before that terms generally used were Oriental or Asiatic. Today, Asian American is the accepted term for most formal purposes, such as government and academic research, although it is often shortened to Asian in common usage.

As with other racial and ethnicity based terms, formal and common usage have changed markedly through the short history of this term. The most significant change occurred when the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 eliminated highly restrictive "national origins" quotas, designed, among other things, to restrict immigration of those of Asian racial background. The new system, based on skills and family connections to U.S. residents, enabled significant immigration from every nation in Asia, which led to dramatic and ongoing changes in the Asian American population. As a result of these population changes, the formal and common understandings of what defines Asian American have expanded to include more of the peoples with ancestry from various parts of Asia. Because of their more recent immigration, new Asian immigrants also have had different educational, economic and other characteristics than early 20th-century immigrants. They also tend to have different employment and settlement patterns in the United States.

As of 2012, Asia-Pacific Americans had the highest educational attainment level and median household income of any racial demographic in the country, and in 2008 they had the highest median personal income overall of any racial demographic.

The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the US Census Bureau definition of Asian, chiefly because the Census definitions determine many government classifications, notably for equal opportunity programs and measurements. People with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent are included in the Census definition of Asia. The use of a separate "Asian" category in the Census is a recent addition, beginning in 1990. Since then, the Census definitions have varied. The 2000 census divided the Asian-Pacific Islander group and created Pacific Islander ethnicities as a separate category.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "Asian person" in the United States is sometimes thought of as a person of East Asian descent. This differs from the U.S. Census definition and the Asian American Studies departments of many universities consider those of East, South or Southeast Asian descent to be "Asian". In the US Census, people who originate from the indigenous peoples of the Far East, Indian subcontinent, andSoutheast Asia are classified as part of the Asian race; while those who originate from the indigenous peoples of North Asia (Russians, Siberians), Central Asia (Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Turkmens etc.), the Middle East (Jews,Persians, West Asian Arabs etc.), and the Caucasus (Turks, Georgians, Armenians, Azeris) are classified as "White".

Before 1980, Census forms listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups, along with White and Black or Negro. Asian Americans had also been classified as "other". In 1977, the federal Office of Management and Budget issued a directive requiring government agencies to maintain statistics on racial groups, including on "Asian or Pacific Islander". The 1980 census marked the first classification of Asians as a large group, combining several individual ancestry groups into "Asian or Pacific Islander." By the 1990 census, Asian or Pacific Islander (API) was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry. In the 2000 census, people reporting Jewish, Arab, Iranian, or Turkish ancestry but not reporting race are presumed to be in the White race category rather than Asian.

The definition of Asian American has variations that derive from the use of the word American in different contexts. Immigration status, citizenship (by birthright and by naturalization), acculturation, and language ability are some variables that are used to define American for various purposes and may vary in formal and everyday usage. For example, restricting American to include only U.S. citizens conflicts with discussions of Asian American businesses, which generally refer both to citizen and non-citizen owners.

In a PBS interview from 2004, a panel of Asian American writers discussed how some groups include people of Middle Eastern descent in the Asian American category. Asian American author Stewart Ikeda has noted, "The definition of "Asian American" also frequently depends on who's asking, who's defining, in what context, and why... the possible definitions of "Asian-Pacific American" are many, complex, and shifting... some scholars in Asian American Studies conferences suggest that Russians, Iranians, and Israelis all might fit the field’s subject of study." Jeff Yang, of the Wall Street Journal, writes that the pan-ethnic definition of Asian American is a unique American construct, and as an identity is in beta.

The demographics of Asian Americans/Asia-Pacific Americans describe a heterogeneous group of people in the United States who can trace their ancestry to one or more countries in Asia. Because Asian Americans total less than 6% of the entire U.S. population, the diversity of the group is often disregarded in media and news discussions of "Asians" or of "Asian Americans." While there are some commonalities across ethnic sub-groups, there are significant differences among different Asian ethnicities that are related to each group's history.

Filipinos have been in the territories that would become the United States since the 16th century.

There were thousands of Asians in Hawaii when it was annexed to the United States in 1898, and they all gained full US citizenship at that time. The United States Supreme Court in United States v. Wong Kim Ark(1898) interpreted the 14th amendment to mean that every person born in the United States, regardless of race or ancestry is a citizen of the United States.

Congress passed restrictive legislation to nearly all Chinese immigration in the 1880s, which was in effect until the 1940s. Japanese immigration was sharply curtailed by a gentleman's agreement brokered by President Theodore Roosevelt. The immigration restriction laws of the 1920s produced quotas for all countries, with Asian countries getting a zero quota.

After World War II legislation was passed, and judicial rulings gradually increased the ability of Asian Americans to immigrate and become naturalized citizens. Immigration rapidly increased following the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 as well as naturalization of refugeesfrom conflicts that occurred in the late 20th century in Southeast Asia. Asian American immigrants have a significant percentage of individuals who have already achieved professional status, a first among immigration groups. In 2009, Asian Americans surpassed Hispanic Americans as the largest plurality of immigrants to the United States. 

Additionally, from 2000 to 2010, the Asian American population was the fastest growing group according to the 2010 U.S. Census. In the years immediately preceding 2012, 61% of Asian American adult immigrants have a bachelor or higher level college education.

The demographics of Asian Americans/Asia-Pacific Americans can further be subdivided into:

• South Asian Americans, including Bangladeshi Americans, Indian Americans,Nepali Americans, Pakistani Americans, Sri Lankan Americans, Tibetan Americansand Tamil Americans
• East Asian Americans, including Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Mongolian Americans, and Taiwanese Americans
• Southeast Asian Americans, including Burmese Americans, Cambodian Americans, Filipino Americans, Hmong Americans, Indonesian Americans, Malaysian Americans, Laotian Americans, Mien Americans, Singaporean Americans, Thai Americans, and Vietnamese Americans
• Pacific Islander Americans, make up 0.4% of the U.S. population, enumerating about 1.2 million people. The term Pacific Islander refers to those who have ancestry inPolynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia, which are all the three major sub-regions of Oceania. The largest ethnic subgroups of Pacific Islander Americans are Native Hawaiians, Samoans, Guamanian/Chamorros and Tongans. Native Hawaiians,Samoans, Tongans, and Chamorros have large communities in Hawaii, California, and Utah and sizable communities in Washington, Texas, Nevada, Oregon, and other states to a lesser extent

·         As Asian Americans originate from many different countries, each population has its own unique history.

·         In 1635, an "East Indian" is listed in Jamestown, Virginia This proceeded Indian immigrants settling on the East Coast of the United States beginning in the 1790s.

·         In 1763, Filipinos established the small settlement of Saint Malo, Louisiana, after fleeing mistreatment aboard Spanish ships. Since there were no Filipino women with them, the Manilamen, as they were known, married Cajun and Native American women.

·         Chinese sailors first came to Hawaii in 1778, the same year that Captain James Cook came upon the island. Many settled and married Hawaiian women. Some Island-born Chinese can claim to be 7th generation. Most Chinese, Korean and Japanese immigrants in Hawaii arrived in the 19th century as laborers to work on sugar plantations. Later, Filipinos also came to work as laborers, attracted by the job opportunities, although they were limited.

·         Numerous Chinese and Japanese began immigrating to the U.S. in the mid-19th century for work, because of poor economic conditions in their home nations. Many of the immigrants worked as laborers on the transcontinental railroad. Although the absolute numbers of Asian immigrants in the late 19th century were small compared to that of immigrants from other regions, much of it was concentrated in the West, and the increase caused some Americans to fear the change represented by the growing number of Asians. This fear was referred to as the "yellow peril". The United States passed laws such as Asian Exclusion Act and Chinese Exclusion Act to sharply restrict Asian immigration.

Asians make the most money than any other group

As far as making more than $100,000 per

Year Asians lead here as well.

Asian Business

When Asian Americans were largely excluded from labor markets in the 19th century, they started their own businesses. They have started convenience and grocery stores, professional offices such as medical and law practices, laundries, restaurants, beauty-related ventures, hi-tech companies, and many other kinds of enterprises, becoming very successful and influential in American society. They have dramatically expanded their involvement across the American economy. Asian Americans have been disproportionately successful in the hi-tech sectors of California's Silicon Valley, as evidenced by the Goldsea 100 Compilation of America's Most Successful Asian Entrepreneurs.

Compared to their population base, Asian Americans today are well represented in the professional sector and tend to earn higher wages. The Goldsea compilation of Notable Asian American Professionals show that many have come to occupy high positions at leading U.S. corporations, including a surprising number as Chief Marketing Officers.

Asian Americans have made major contributions to the American economy. In 2012, Asian Americans own 1.5 million businesses, employ around 3 million people who earn an annual total payroll of around $80 billion. Fashion designer and mogul Vera Wang, who is famous for designing dresses for high-profile celebrities, started a clothing company, named after herself, which now offers a broad range of luxury fashion products.An Wang founded Wang Laboratories in June 1951. Amar Bose founded the Bose Corporation in 1964.Charles Wang founded Computer Associates, later became its CEO and chairman. David Khym founded hip-hop fashion giant Southpole (clothing) in 1991. Jen-Hsun Huang co-founded the NVIDIA corporation in 1993.Jerry Yang co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1994 and became its CEO later. Andrea Jung serves as Chairman and CEO of Avon Products. Vinod Khosla was a founding CEO of Sun Microsystems and is a general partner of the prominent venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Steve Chen and Jawed Karim were co-creators of YouTube, and were beneficiaries of Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of that company in 2006. In addition to contributing greatly to other fields, Asian Americans have made considerable contributions in science and technology in the United States, in such prominent innovative R&D regions as Silicon Valley and The Triangle.

Please keep in mind, Asians came from the rival ancient empires of the East. Blacks and Hispanics came from the Western empires and was treated as the working class. Here is the reason why they were discriminated against. But not like Black and hispanics, Asians had the best social back grounds to create a higher form of economic and scientific society, independent of the Western peoples.
   

Education

Among America's major racial categories, Asian Americans have the highest educational qualifications. This varies, however, for individual ethnic groups. Dr. C.N. Le, Director of the Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program at the University of Massachusetts, writes that although 42% of all Asian American adults have at least a college degree, Vietnamese Americans have a degree attainment rate of only 16% while Laotians and Cambodians only have rates around 5%. It has been noted, however, that 2008 US Census statistics put the bachelor degree attainment rate of Vietnamese Americans at 26%, which is not very different from the rate of 27% for all Americans. According to the US Census Bureau in 2010, while the high school graduation rate for Asian Americans is on par with those of other ethnic groups, 50% of Asian Americans have attained at least a bachelor's degree as compared with the national average of 28%, and 34% for non-Hispanic Whites. Indian Americans have some of the highest education rates, with nearly 71% having attained at least a bachelor's degree in 2010. According to Carolyn Chen, director of the Asian American Studies Program at Northwestern University, as of December 2012 Asian Americans made up twelve to eighteen percent of the student population at Ivy League schools, larger than their share of the population. For example, the Harvard Class of 2016 is 21% Asian American.

The Military

Since the War of 1812 Asian Americans have served and fought on behalf of the United States. Serving in both segregated and non-segregated units until the desegregation of the US Military in 1948, 31 have been awarded the nation's highest award for combat valor, the Medal of Honor. Twenty-one of these were conferred upon members of the mostly Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of World War II, the most highly decorated unit of its size in the history of the United States Armed Forces.

Science and technology

Asian Americans have made many prominent and notable contributions to Science and Technology. Chien-Shiung Wu was known to many scientists as the "First Lady of Physics" and played a pivotal role in experimentally demonstrating the violation of the law of conservation of parity in the field of particle physics.Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for theoretical work demonstrating that the conservation of parity did not always hold and later became American citizens. Har Gobind Khorana shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in genetics and protein synthesis. Samuel Chao Chung Ting received the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics for discovery of the subatomic particle J/ψ. The mathematician Shing-Tung Yau won the Fields Medal in 1982 and Terence Tao won theFields Medal in 2006. The geometer Shiing-Shen Chern received the Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 1983.Andrew Yao was awarded the Turing Award in 2000. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics and had the Chandra X-ray Observatory named after him. In 1984, Dr. David D. Ho first reported the "healthy carrier state" of HIV infection, which identified HIV-positive individuals who showed no physical signs of AIDS. 

Charles J. Pedersen shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his methods of synthesizing crown ethers. 

Steven Chu shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research in cooling and trapping atoms using laser light. Daniel Tsui shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics in 1998 for helping discover the fractional Quantum Hall effect. In 2008, biochemist Roger Tsien won the Nobel in Chemistry for his work on engineering and improving the green fluorescent protein (GFP) that has become a standard tool of modern molecular biology and biochemistry. Yoichiro Nambu received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the consequences of spontaneously broken symmetries in field theories. In 2009, Charles K. Kaowas awarded Nobel Prize in Physics "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication" and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan won the prize in Chemistry "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome". Ching W. Tang was the inventor of the Organic light-emitting diodeand Organic solar cell and was awarded the 2011 Wolf Prize in Chemistry for this achievement. Min Chueh Chang was the co-inventor of the combined oral contraceptive pill and contributed significantly to the development of in vitro fertilisation at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology. David T. Wong was one of the scientists credited with the discovery of ground-breaking drug Fluoxetine as well as the discovery ofatomoxetine, duloxetine and dapoxetine with colleagues. Michio Kaku has popularized science and has appeared on multiple programs on television and radio.

Health and medicine

Asian immigrants are also changing the American medical landscape through increasing number of Asian medical practitioners in this country. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, the US government invited a number of foreign physicians particularly from India and the Philippines to address the acute shortage of physicians in rural and medically underserved urban areas. The trend in importing foreign medical practitioners, however, became a long-term, chronic solution as US medical schools failed to produce enough physicians to match the increasing American population. Amid decreasing interest in medicine among American college students due to high rates job dissatisfaction, loss of morale, stress, and lawsuits, Asian American immigrants maintained a supply of healthcare practitioners for millions of Americans. It is well documented that Asian American international medical graduates including highly skilled guest workers using the J1 Visa program for medical workers, tend to serve in health professions shortage areas (HPSA) and specialties that are not filled by US medical graduates especially primary care and rural medicine. Thus, Asian American immigrants play a key role in averting a medical crisis in the US.

A lasting legacy of Asian American involvement in medicine is the forcing of US medical establishment to accept minority medical practitioners. One could speculate that the introduction of Asian physicians and dentists to the American society could have triggered an acceptance of other minority groups by breaking down stereotypes and encouraging trust.

Traditional Asian concepts and practices in health and medicine have attracted greater acceptance and are more widely adopted by American doctors. India’s Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine (which also includes acupuncture) are two alternative therapy systems that have been studied and adopted to a great extent. For instance, in the early 1970s the US medical establishment did not believe in the usefulness of acupuncture. Since then studies have proven the efficacy of acupuncture for different applications, especially for treatment of chronic pain. It is now covered by many health insurance plans.

Meditation and mindfulness practices are taught in mainstream medical schools and hospitals. Increasingly they are seen as part of a holistic approach to health. Doctors and hospitals treating diseases such as heart disease and cancer have adopted meditation as a practice recommended for patients.

Herbalism and massage therapy (from Ayurveda) are sweeping the spas across America. Meditation andyoga (from India) have also been widely adopted by health spas, and spiritual retreats of many religious bases. They are also part of the spiritual practice of the many Americans who are not affiliated with a mainline religious group.

Stereotypes

Until the late 20th century, the term "Asian American" was adopted mostly by activists, while the average person of Asian ancestries identified with his specific ethnicity. The murder of Vincent Chin in 1982 was a pivotal civil rights case, and it marked the emergence of Asian Americans as a distinct group in United States.

Stereotypes of Asians have been largely collectively internalized by society and these stereotypes have mainly negative repercussions for Asian Americans and Asian immigrants in daily interactions, current events, and governmental legislation. In many instances, media portrayals of East Asians often reflect a dominantAmericentric perception rather than realistic and authentic depictions of true cultures, customs and behaviors. Asians have experienced discrimination and have been victims of hate crimes related to their ethnic stereotypes.

Study has indicated that most non-Asian Americans do not generally differentiate between Asian Americans of different ethnicities. Stereotypes of both groups are nearly identical. A 2002 survey of Americans' attitudes toward Asian Americans and Chinese Americans indicated that 24% of the respondents disapprove ofintermarriage with an Asian American, second only to African Americans; 23% would be uncomfortable supporting an Asian American presidential candidate, compared to 15% for an African American, 14% for a woman and 11% for a Jew; 17% would be upset if a substantial number of Asian Americans moved into their neighborhood; 25% had somewhat or very negative attitude toward Chinese Americans in general. The study did find several positive perceptions of Chinese Americans: strong family values (91%); honesty as business people (77%); high value on education (67%).

There is a widespread perception that Asian Americans are not "American" but are instead "perpetual foreigners". Asian Americans often report being asked the question, "Where are you really from?" by other Americans, regardless of how long they or their ancestors have lived in United States and been a part of its society. Many Asian Americans are themselves not immigrants but rather born in the United States. Many are asked if they are Chinese or Japanese, an assumption based on major groups of past immigrants.

Historically Asian Americans have been the target of violence based on their race and or ethnicity. This includes, but are not limited to, such events as the Rock Springs massacre, Watsonville Riots, attacks upon Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor., and Korean American businesses targeted during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. According to historian Arif Dirlik: "Indian massacres of Chinese was a commonplace experience on the frontier, the most notable being the "legendary slaughter by Paiute Indians of forty to sixty Chinese miners in 1866."'" Violence against Asian Americans continue to occur based on their race, with one source asserting that Asian Americans are the fastest growing targets of hate crimes and violence.

After the September 11 attacks, Sikh Americans were targeted, being the recipient of numerous hate crimesincluding murder. Other Asian Americans have also been the victim of race based violence in Brooklyn,Indiana, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Furthermore, it has been reported that young Asian Americans are more likely to be a target of violence than their peers. Racism and discrimination still persists against Asian Americans occurring not only to recent immigrants but also towards well-educated and highly trained professionals. Examples include a boycott of Asian-owned businesses in Dallas in 2012, hate mail received by Filipinos in American Canyon in 2013, and looting of Asian-owned businesses during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

In 2012, there are 1.3 million illegal alien Asian Americans; and for those awaiting visas, there are lengthy backlogs with over 450 thousand Filipinos, over 325 thousand Indians, over 250 thousand Vietnamese, and over 225 thousand Chinese are awaiting visas. As of 2009, Filipinos and Indians accounted for the highest number of illegal immigrants for "Asian Americans" with an estimated illegal population of 270,000 and 200,000 respectively. Indian Americans are also the fastest growing illegal immigrant group in the United States, an increase in illegal immigration of 125% since 2000. This is followed by Koreans (200,000) and Chinese (120,000). Due to the stereotype of Asian Americans being successful as a group, the immigration debate often leaves out Asians and focuses on those from Latin America. Asians are the second largest racial/ethnic illegal immigrant group in the U.S. behind Hispanics and Latinos. While the majority of Asian immigrants to the United States immigrate legally, up to 15% of those immigrants immigrate illegally.