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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: CTown Los Angeles (1 of 11)
HEADLINE: Los Angeles' suburban Chinatown grows with new waves of immigrants
TEASER: Migrants from mainland China add to diversity of LA’s Chinese immigrant communities in both historic Chinatown and suburban San Gabriel Valley
PUBLISHED AT: 5/27/24, 9:12 am
BYLINE: Mike O’Sullivan
CONTRIBUTOR: Mo Yu
DATELINE: Los Angeles
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mike O’Sullivan, Ning Lu, Hai Lun, Victor Hugo Castillo, Oscar Sulbaran
PRODUCER: Mike O’Sullivan
SCRIPT EDITORS: ELee, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:26
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: Please put in the Chinatown folder within HFR. This is part of the Chinatown Series. Release Date Monday, 5/27 ))
((INTRODUCTION))
[[Los Angeles' Chinatown has undergone many changes, as immigrants from mainland China join those from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. As Mike O’Sullivan reports, the growing community has also expanded to the suburbs, where recent arrivals find much that is familiar.]]
((SHOW STREET SCENES OF CHINATOWN, CELEBRATIONS))
((NARRATOR)) ((nat pop))
Although many Chinese Americans still celebrate major festivals, ((nat pop)) live and work in historic Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles,
((SHOW STREET SCENE OF SAN GABRIEL VALLEY))
the most heavily populated Chinese areas of Los Angeles are the eastern suburbs — the San Gabriel Valley.
((SHOW SISTER AND BROTHER PLAYING))
((Mandatory Courtesy: He Family))
((NARRATOR))
Thirteen-year-old Jenny He ((Pr: Huh)) plays with her younger brother here,
((SHOW ASIAN PEOPLE WALKING))
a place that has attracted many...
((END COURTESY))
migrants from mainland China.
((VOA MANDARIN’S CENTRAL AMERICA CLIPS OF FAMILY, OBSCURE MR. HE’S FACE, SHOW HIM POINTING OUT SON’S SPRAINED ANKLE))
Jenny, her brother and father made their way through Central America, and VOA met them at a migrant center in Panama in February. Their father, He, asks that he not be fully identified for fear that Chinese authorities will harass his family in China.
((radio: He says their boat overturned, so they couldn't go by boat. So instead of a two and a half day walk, they had to walk for four and a half days in the rainforest.))
((He, Asylum Applicant)) ((Male, Speaking Mandarin))
“Our boat overturned, so we couldn’t go by boat. So instead of a two and a half day walk, we had to walk for four and a half days in the rainforest.”
((VOA DRONE FOOTAGE OF MIGRANTS WALKING))
((NARRATOR))
He would later lose sight of the migrant caravan in the depths of the rainforest.
((radio: He says he couldn't see anyone in front of them or behind them. At that point, it was a test of his own state of mind.))
((He, Asylum Applicant)) ((Male, Speaking Mandarin))
“I couldn’t see anyone in front of us or behind us. At that point, it was a test of my own state of mind.”
((SHOW VOA MANDARIN DRONE FOOTAGE OF MIGRANTS CROSSING RIO GRANDE AND SEATED AT MCALLEN TEXAS CBP CENTER))
((NARRATOR))
They persevered. When the family reached the United States, they asked for political asylum, and their case is pending.
((SHOW JENNY HOLDING PHOTO OF DOG))
Jenny misses her dog back in China, and her mom, who will join them later, but she is happy here.
((radio: She says the America she imagined was a place that was not very safe, but now that she's here, she feels it's quiet and they are especially kind to children.))
((Jenny He, Asylum Applicant)) ((Female, Speaking Mandarin))
31:06 The America I had imagined is a place that’s not very safe, but once I got here, I feel it’s quite quiet here and they are especially kind to children. 31:20
((SHOW LI DRIVING CAR))
((NARRATOR))
Another asylum applicant from China, Li Delong, delivers food from a rental car. Two years ago, he faced hardships — and bandits — in Central America.
((SHOW CHINESE PEOPLE IN SAN GABRIEL VALLEY))
Li now lives and works in a neighborhood where not much English is needed to survive.
((radio: He says his understanding is that the U.S. is a country of immigrants. Different ethnicities all live within their communities. For a new immigrant like him who doesn't really understand English, he mainly lives in the Chinese enclave.))
((Li Delong, Asylum Applicant)) ((Male, Speaking Mandarin))
“My understanding is that the U.S. is a country of immigrants. Different ethnicities all live within their communities. For a new immigrant like me who doesn’t really understand English, I mainly live in the Chinese enclave.”
((SHOW LI LOOKING OUT WINDOW))
((NARRATOR))
Li copes with loneliness, but says life is better here than in China.
((radio: He says in that kind of environment, it's hard to survive. People are not optimistic about the future, especially since Xi Jinping came to power. The Chinese economy is declining in a straight line.))
((Li Delong, Asylum Applicant)) ((Male, Speaking Mandarin))
“In that kind of environment, it’s hard to survive. We are not optimistic about the future (of China) especially since Xi Jinping came to power. The Chinese economy is declining in a straight line.”
((SHOW VOA MANDARIN MIGRANT VIDEO))
((NARRATOR))
U.S. officials say from October 2023 through April 2024, 27,700 Chinese migrants tried to enter without visas through the southern border, along with hundreds of thousands of migrants from other countries.
((SHOW BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO OF EARLY CHINESE IMMIGRANTS TO LOS ANGELES, CREDIT: Library of Congress))
((Mandatory CG: Library of Congress))
The waves of Chinese immigrants arriving in Los Angeles over the years have received help from benevolent groups — made up of Chinese who had come before them.
((End Courtesy))
((SHOW VOA FOOTAGE OF ENGLISH LESSON IN CHURCH))
More recently, help has come from outside their own communities, including English lessons from this local church,
((SHOW TWO PHOTOS OF PEOPLE RECEIVING BLANKETS))
((Mandatory CG: Lijian Jie))
and household supplies at this neighborhood charity drive.
((End Courtesy))
((SHOW VOA CLIP OF PEOPLE WALKING IN FRONT OF CHINESE BUSINESSES, SHOW VOA CLIPS OF THIEN HAU (TAOIST) TEMPLE, WOMEN BUYING VEGETABLES, MEN GATHERED ON SIDEWALK))
Much of the aid is informal, coming from new friends made at work or at gathering places like shopping centers and temples...
((SHOW IPHONE CLIP OF BROTHER AND SISTER WITH BASKETBALL ENTERING HOUSE, CREDIT “He Family”; SHOW VOA VIDEO OF HE FAMILY WALKING DOWN STREET, SEEN FROM REAR)) ((Mandatory CG: He Family))
as they adapt to a world that’s both familiar and different.
Mike O’Sullivan, VOA News, Los Angeles.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 27, 2024 09:31 EDT
BylineMike O’Sullivan
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
