U.S.A. / SPORTS
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
Bill may allow New Yorkers
to identify as multiracial
By Jonathan Lemire
The Associated Press
EW YORK — New Yorkers may
soon be able to identify them-
selves as more than one race
under legislation introduced in City
Council.
The measure would change dozens of
official documents, including applications
for public housing, registration with the
Department of Small Business Services,
and complaint forms with the city’s
Commission on Human Rights. Docu-
ments required of more than 300,000 city
employees would also need to be changed.
Currently, city forms that ask for
ethnicity or race have five options: “black,
not of Hispanic origin,” “white, not of
Hispanic origin,” “Hispanic,” “Asian or
Pacific Islander,” and “American Indian or
Alaskan native.”
Advocates of the bill believe the measure
would provide a clearer picture of
demographics and allow New Yorkers to
better recognize their heritage.
“I am 50 percent Irish, 25 percent
Korean, and 25 percent unknown,” said
N
Corey Johnson, a city councilman from
Manhattan, who drew upon his own
heritage to champion the bill during a rally
on the City Council steps. Johnson, a
Democrat, was one of the co-sponsors of
the bill, along with Councilman Ben
Kallos, another Manhattan Democrat.
New York City has the highest mul-
tiracial population in the country. More
than 325,000 city residents identified as
more than one race on the 2010 census.
A spokesman for mayor Bill de Blasio
said the mayor looked forward to
reviewing the legislation. If the measure is
passed, the changes would be adminis-
tered by the mayor’s office of operations.
The mayor’s own children could be
affected by the measure, its supporters
pointed out. De Blasio, who is white, is
married to Chirlane McCray, who is black.
The U.S. Census has permitted people to
mark more than one box denoting race
since 2000. Its form includes 14 categories
for race or ethnicity and contains a space to
write in their heritage if it is not already
listed.
A vote on the measure has not yet been
scheduled.
Black Pearl Acupuncture
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine
are great for:
- Acute/Chronic Pain (i.e. neck, back,
sciatica & shoulder)
- Treating & Preventing the flu and colds
- Stress Relief
- Headaches/Migraines
www.blackpearlacupuncture.com
Sita Symonette
Licensed Acupuncturist
seasymonettea@gmail.com
Call to schedule an appointment: (503) 308-9363
505 N.W. Ninth Ave., Portland, OR 97209
ASTHMA
IS
ON
THE RISE.
Help us find a cure.
1-800-LUNG-USA
December 1, 2014
China delays announcement
of Sun Yang’s doping ban
By Christopher Bodeen
The Associated Press
EIJING — Olympic and world
champion swimmer Sun Yang
served a three-month doping ban
earlier this year, China’s anti-doping
agency disclosed recently, in a case that
raised questions over why the positive test
was kept quiet for so long.
Sun tested positive for the banned
stimulant trimetazidine on May 17 during
China’s national swimming champion-
ships in Hangzhou.
The suspension began immediately and
ended August 17, prior to Sun’s
appearance in September at the Asian
Games at Incheon, South Korea, where he
won three gold medals.
Amid criticism on social media, the
anti-doping agency defended its delay in
announcing the 22-year-old Sun’s test and
sanction, saying it was for no other reason
than a backlog of cases.
The agency’s director, Zhao Jian, told
The Associated Press the ban was
announced as part of a periodic release of
testing results and disciplinary measures.
He said Sun’s support team and team
doctor were also given penalties, which he
didn’t specify.
Sun’s sanction was also posted on the
website of the international swimming
federation, FINA. It said the Chinese
swimming association also imposed a
one-year ban on Sun’s doctor, Ba Zhen.
Sun won the 400- and 1,500-meter
freestyle events at the 2012 London
Olympics, and also has five world
championship golds. He won gold in the
400 and 1,500 and the 4x100 relay at the
Asian Games.
Zhou said Sun’s status as a world-
famous athlete required authorities to
handle his case with greater caution to
ensure no mistakes were made.
“This is huge bad news, but we will not
cover it up,” Zhao said, in comments later
carried by the official Xinhua News
Agency. “We usually report the violations
quarterly or bi-quarterly and we have to
wait until the handling of a particular case
has been finished.”
The need to handle almost 10,000 tests
over a six-month period also slowed the
process, Zhao said.
“That’s why we did not release the
reports for the second and third quarters
until now,” he said.
Zhao said Sun waived his right to have
his backup “B” sample tested, but
defended himself at a July hearing by
saying the positive test was caused by an
ingredient in medication he was taking for
a heart condition and he wasn’t aware it
was banned. Under World Anti-Doping
Agency rules, an athlete can be permitted
a therapeutic exemption if a substance is
needed for medical reasons and is declared
in advance to authorities.
In a statement, Sun said he accepted the
anti-doping agency’s decision and pledged
B
RESULTS RELEASED. China’s Sun Yang
waves after winning the gold medal in the men’s
1,500-meter freestyle swimming final at the 17th
Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea on September
26, 2014. Sun tested positive for the banned stimulant
trimetazidine on May 17 during China’s national swim-
ming championships in Hangzhou. He was then sus-
pended until August 17. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
to engage in “deep reflection.”
“Whatever the cause, as an athlete, I
must take responsibility for whatever
enters my body,” Sun said in the statement
posted to his verified account on China’s
Weibo microblogging service.
Sun noted it was the first time he had
been penalized despite taking “countless”
doping tests over his swimming career and
said the May result left him “shocked.”
“From now on, I will be even more strict
in my demands on myself,” Sun said.
Trimetazidine was added to the World
Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned
substances in January.
The Chinese swimming program was
overshadowed in the 1990s by a doping
scandal, when 32 athletes were caught for
doping-related offenses, two of them twice,
and another three were disqualified from a
domestic competition for having excessive
red blood cell counts.
Sun has been controversial at times out
of the pool.
The first Chinese man to win an
individual Olympic swimming gold, Sun
was suspended from training and com-
petition last December after being
detained for seven days for driving without
a license. He’d previously been censured
after feuding with his coach and for mis-
sing practice in order to make commercial
appearances and spend time with his
girlfriend.
Ahead of the Asian Games in South
Korea, Sun filmed a series of television
advertisements gently mocking his chief
rival Park Tae-hwan. In one of them, Sun,
floating on an air mattress, thanks Park
for not quitting swimming to become a
singer or television star. “Don’t let me win
too easily,” he adds.
Associated Press researcher Yu
Bing contributed to this report.
DecideToDrive.org