2010 Census and 2008-2010 American Community Survey Report

By the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans

Census Reporting
This report will provide an overview of Asian and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander populations based on the 2010 Census and the 2008-2010 American Community Survey. Five race categories are used in the Census; White, Black or African American,  American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN), Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders (NHPI) and Hispanic Origin. For the first time in Census 2000, individuals were also able to select ‘one or more boxes’ on race to allow individuals of mixed race backgrounds to identify as such. This option continued with the 2010 Census. This report primarily focuses on the Asian and NHPI populations.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines “Asian” as people with origins in the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. For the 2010 Census, individuals were able to self-identified under seven Asian response categories; Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese or Other Asian.

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Returning to Mall of America on April 21 and 22 for its 5th annual presentation of A Passage to China, the Chinese Heritage Foundation, together with China Insight, reaffirms its goals by ‘inscribing’ them in both English and Chinese on its entrance gates into the Rotunda.  There is no better way to achieve its goals of mutual understanding and mutual courtesy between the Chinese community and the greater Twin Cities community than to have proponents from both communities come together at Passage. 

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By Kent Clark, China Correspondent

The ability to communicate clearly with others is a skill.  The more people one knows, the more one realizes that riding a unicycle while juggling four flaming piggy banks is easier for some than the simple act of communicating an idea or a feeling.  Due to many linguistic and cultural differences, China is a fertile breeding ground for communication mishaps.  Of course language is a rather large reason for these misunderstandings, but culture plays a very important role as well.  The picture above is one from a series depicting the multitude of cultural differences between China and the generic “west”- a generalization of North American and European cultures. 

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Sustaining Growth

By Philip Schellekens, et al., World Bank Office, Beijing

Executive Summary

Recent Economic Developments
The Chinese economy is in the midst of a gradual slowdown. A weaker global economic environment and tighter domestic policies combined to slow GDP growth from 10.4 percent in 2010 to 9.2 percent in 2011. Slow growth in the Euro area and sluggish recovery in the [United States] limited the contribution of net exports, as exports decelerated more rapidly than imports. Tighter domestic policy conditions dampened investment – particularly in infrastructure and real estate. In contrast, consumption growth remained robust as consumer confidence was sustained and household income continued to grow rapidly.

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Vegetarian trends build on venerable Chinese traditions

By Wang Yuan, China Daily

From the moment you enter, you feel that this is going to be a different kind of restaurant. The green gate at the entrance, the wooden tables in the siheyuan, or courtyard house, and the traditional Chinese decorations whisper one word: Confucius.

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