U.S.A.
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
August 1, 2022
Sudden arena idea angers,
unnerves Philadelphia’s Chinatown
PRESERVATION EFFORTS. In this undated photo provided by the U.S. National Park Service, an en-
dangered Hawaiian hawksbill sea turtle rests on the beach of Pohue Bay on Hawai‘i’s Big Island. Hawai‘i Vol-
canoes National Park on the Big Island was given new land in a deal that will protect and manage an ocean bay
area that is home to endangered and endemic species and to rare, culturally significant Native Hawaiian artifacts.
(National Park Service via AP, File)
Hawai‘i national park gets land
where ancient villages stood
By Caleb Jones
The Associated Press
H
ONOLULU — Hawai‘i Volcanoes
National Park on the Big Island
has been given new land in a deal
that will protect and manage a pristine
white sand beach and ocean bay area that
is home to endangered and endemic
species and to rare, culturally significant
Native Hawaiian artifacts.
Trust for Public Land, a national
nonprofit land preservation group, trans-
ferred its ownership of Pohue Bay and
surrounding land to the National Park
Service.
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park has
the world’s largest and most active
volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Most
of the coastline where the bay is located is
made of ancient lava flows, black rock, and
sea cliffs that dart out into the ocean.
Pohue Bay, a rare and idyllic oasis in an
otherwise rugged landscape, is home to
endangered hawksbill sea turtles, green
sea turtles, endangered Hawaiian monk
seals, and other species found only in
Hawai‘i. The area houses anchialine ponds
— landlocked pools with a mix of fresh and
salt water — where rare Hawaiian red
shrimp called ‘opae‘ula live.
The area is also culturally significant be-
cause it has remains of ancient Hawaiian
villages, petroglyphs, burial sites, and the
largest known abrader tool quarry in the
state, according to the Trust for Public
Lands. Abraders are ancient tools used for
sanding, smoothing, and grinding.
Park officials hope to eventually open
the area up to the public, but the 26 square
miles of land will remain closed to visitors
as national park staff consult with local
Continued on page 10
Continued from page 7
make up parts of Chinatown.
Wei described signs for chains like CVS
and Starbucks appearing with Chinese
translations beside them, calling it a
“cosmetic illusion.” Chen fears the changes
to D.C.’s Chinatown could happen to
Philadelphia.
“If you go inside a restaurant or a
business, the workers aren’t Asian
anymore. The owner isn’t Asian. And a lot
of the customers aren’t Asian,” he said. “So
where is the Chinatown? It’s not there
anymore.”
But in Philadelphia, Chinese-speaking
households have been one of the
fastest-growing populations, according to
the census. The community passed the 5%
threshold recently, meaning Chinese
languages
became
official
ballot
languages. Asian and other immigrant
communities contributed to the city
reversing a decades-long trend of losing
population in recent censuses.
Helen Gym, the first Asian-American
woman to serve on Philadelphia City
Council and an at-large member, held up
two t-shirts from previous fights against
potentially detrimental developments
wanting to come to Chinatown. The first
says, “No stadium in Chinatown,” and the
second crossed out the word stadium and
replaces it with “casino,” for the 2008
proposal that hoped to put a casino near
the current proposal for the arena.
Gym previously joined the fight against
the stadium and said that now, as a council
member, she is “extremely skeptical” of the
76ers proposal.
“To us, this is one of the most vital parts
and neighborhoods and communities in
the city of Philadelphia,” Gym said. “This
side has been a community that has
continued to invest in itself, in its people,
in small businesses. And in fact, this side is
the one that has grown the health and
wellbeing of the city.”
After the stadium failed in 2000, Gym
said, the community developed the nearby
space north of the expressway to add a
public charter school, a community center,
extensions of the Chinese Christian
Church, the first Cambodian arts center,
and other cultural organizations.
Wei was the first principal of that school,
the Folk Arts Cultural Treasures charter
school. She said the building’s owner
turned down offers from developers who
wanted to build condos.
“People
don’t
understand
what
Chinatown means to the people of this
community, people all over the area who
consider this their home,” Wei said.
“There are precious few communities,
real communities, left in Philadelphia.
They are not just geographic; they are
about relationships and memories. They
are a place-based core that has been
systematically destroyed not just in
Philadelphia and the U.S., but around the
world,” Wei said. “And once Chinatown is
gone, it’s gone. You can’t rebuild it.”
Associated Press writer Shawn Marsh in Trenton,
New Jersey, contributed to this report.
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