lion during the 1992 presidential campaign, almost
the same to Republicans and Democrats. They
learned that sometimes giving money to a successful
candidate entailed access to that politician and per-
haps a political appointment or favorable policies.
In comparison with other ethnic groups, Asian
Americans yielded a relatively small political return
for their campaign generosity.
By 1995, the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
deeply resented their enemy Taiwan’s influence on
American politics. The PRC decided to buy itself in-
fluence through campaign contributions, primarily
to Democrats. However, American law forbids politi-
cal contributions by noncitizens or non-permanent
aliens, so the PRC had to contribute illegally. Dur-
ing the 1996 presidential campaign, the PRC fun-
neled illegal money to the Democratic National
Committee and the Bill Clinton-Al Gore campaign.
Ironically, the four key Chinese Americans helping
the communists were born on Taiwan and thus be-
trayed both their land of birth and violated the cam-
paign laws of their new country.
After Congress investigated the issue, the accused
were put on trial, and the Democrats returned the il-
legal money. From 1998 to 2001, twenty-two people
were convicted, including Chinese American illegal
contributors John Huang, Charlie Trie, Johnny
Chung, and Maria Hsia. The four each received jail
sentences with probation and had to pay fines and
perform community service. Law-abiding Chinese
Americans feared a general backlash.
Their worries were not unfounded, as proved by
the arrest of Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwan-born American
nuclear physicist, in December, 1999. Dismissed
from his sensitive job at the Los Alamos National
Laboratory in spring, 1999, Lee was charged with
fifty-nine counts of federal crimes, alleged to have
spied for the PRC, and held in solitary confinement
from December, 1999, until his trial in September,
- At this time, the prosecution dropped all but
one charge, illegally transferring classified data on
his personal computer, which was done by many
other scientists at the lab. Lee pleaded guilty and was
released for time served. Judge James Parker person-
ally apologized to Lee for the way the government
had mishandled his case.
Youth Culture and Intermarriage As many Asian
American communities matured, there also devel-
oped Asian American youth cultures fusing tradi-
tional heritage with mainstream American ideas in
an original fashion. In Southern California, for ex-
ample, since July, 1990, young Asian Americans
gathered at the annual Battle of the Imports car
races that soon became televised on sports channels.
Other youth events with a decidedly Asian American
flavor emerged as well.
Another challenge for young Asian Americans in
the 1990’s was the issue of intermarriage. While
many Asian Americans still were married within
their ethnic group, the 1990’s saw an upsurge in
interethnic Asian and interracial marriages. The ef-
fects of these interracial marriages on the next gen-
eration remained an open question by 1999.
Impact Throughout the 1990’s, the diverse group
of Asian Americans continued to grow rapidly, sup-
ported by immigration. There were considerable
differences in education, social position, income,
and family structure among different Asian Ameri-
can ethnic groups. The longer an Asian American
community had its roots in American society, the
more its members tended to be successful in Amer-
ica. A quickly rising group was Indian Americans,
whose English skills and high education spared
them from the slower social and economic ascent as-
sociated with recent immigrants.
As many Asian Americans succeeded in Ameri-
can society, Asian Americans gained cultural self-
confidence. More Asian Americans became known
nationally in sports, business, culture, and science.
However, some lingering anti-Asian resentment, un-
solved racial issues, and international conflicts cre-
ated sometimes violent tensions. By the end of the
decade, Asian Americans constituted a small but sol-
idly grounded part of American society.
Further Reading
Ancheta, Angelo N.Race, Rights, and the Asian Ameri-
can Experience. 2d ed. New Brunswick, N.J.:
Rutgers University Press, 2006. Academic study of
Asian American struggle with racial discrimina-
tion in the United States; focuses also on cases, is-
sues, and examples from the 1990’s. Notes, bibli-
ography, tables, and index.
Lee, Jennifer, and Min Zhou, eds.Asian American
Youth: Culture, Identity, and Ethnicity.New York:
Routledge, 2004. Collection of twenty-one essays
on issues of young Asian Americans, most from a
1990’s perspective. Analyzes how young Asian
Americans interacted with mainstream American60 Asian Americans The Nineties in America