News

本文短链接： http://tinyurl.com/ca-political-donations 选举季节马上到了，华人参政议政很是热闹，今年加州选举有不少公投 (ballot measure)。不少朋友或者组织有计划或者已经捐款。 不过加州对竞选/公投的捐款管理十分严格，有必要大家一起探讨相关法规的常识性知识。本文抛砖引玉，信息有误不负担任何法律责任。真正的实施，涉及更多的每年都变化的细节，也涉及联邦IRS的规则，一定要询问/雇佣专业人士，包括 compaign lawyer, compaign treasurer, tax advisor等。 1. 捐款人资格和信息 先看最简单的法律要求：政治捐款必须是美国公民或者绿卡持有者。 竞选活动不得征集或接受外国人的捐款。联邦法律禁止外国人因任何选举（联邦，州或地方）而直接或间接征求，指示，接受或作出的捐款，捐赠，支出和支出。 信息来源： https://www.fec.gov/updates/foreign-nationals/ 对于超过25美元的捐款，需要： 姓名，- 街道地址（不接受邮政信箱），- 捐款额，- 收到的日期。 $100或者以上的，除了上面的信息，必须额外提供捐赠者的： 职业和雇主信息， 或自雇人士的公司名称。 2. FPPC 对政治捐款资金归类管理总的流程图 加州政府管理竞选活动，包括资金的部门是Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC or 公平政治实践委员会)， 官网是http://www.fppc.ca.gov/ 。 当加州选民通过《政治改革法/ Political Reform》时​​，他们同时创建了FPPC，以管理和执行具有里程碑意义的道德法，并告知和协助公职人员，雇员和候选人遵守其规定。 加利福尼亚的《政治改革法案》（“该法案”）的目的是确保政治付款的披露是准确，及时的，并且是在透明的方式，清晰准确的披露。做出决定的选民知道谁在为政治信息付费，这样他们就可以评估内容并在投票箱中做出明智的决定。 具体而言，该法案赋予FPPC权力以通过，修改和废除规则和法规以实现该法案的目的。除了解释和执行该法案外，FPPC还致力于提供最新信息和有用的协助以鼓励遵守。 从流程图看，给公投的捐钱，花钱的可以是个人，商业，或者各种组织。 涉及的钱有两大类： 自己的钱（ own fund）, 这个又有如下细分的情况：- 自己直接花出去，打政治广告，制作标语等等：这叫independent expenditures 独立支出。- 1千-5万之间需要作为Independent Expenditure Committee 申报- 捐给其他人: Contribution- 一万以内，没有特殊加州申报的要求，只填写基本的捐款人信息- 1万-5万之间，需要作为Major Donor Committee申报- 5万 和以上，需要作为Recipient Committee 注册和申报- 募捐别人的钱（ solicitation）：- 任何组织个人为了影响公投要募捐（收集别人的钱），$2000和以上就要在加州作为recipient commitee 注册，申报。 记住下面三个最重要的规则和数据： 包括州或地方政府机构在内的任何人，只要有下列任何行为，即有资格成为委员会（Committee）： ...

California Election Integrity in Jeopardy With Vote-by-Mail Ballots to Every Voter 随着向每位选民邮寄选票，加州选举的廉正性受到威胁 13 California counties now have more registered voters than eligible citizens 加州13个县目前登记的选民多于有资格的公民** ‘Regular people, regardless of party affiliation, they really do want fair and honest elections.’ ***‘***普通人，无论其政党归属，他们的确真的想要公平和诚实的选举。’ The Election Integrity Project California is warning that an all-vote-by-mail ballot election in the state and the state’s largest cities, means hundreds of thousands of likely deceased or relocated could “receive” ballots; thousands of duplicated voters would be mailed two or more ballots. ...

Dropping SAT from college admissions hurts minorities in the name of wokeness 以“觉醒”为名，大学录取程序取消SAT成绩将伤害少数族裔 by Kenny Xu May 22, 2020 02:55 PM 【译者注：Kenny Xu is another recipient of SVCAF’s Voice of Chinese Americans Award. He published this opinion article in Washington Examiner on May 22, 2020】 (“觉醒”是政治术语: 是指非裔美国人对有关社会正义和种族正义的问题的感知意识。它源于非裔美国人白话英语表达“ stay woke”，是指对上述社会政治问题的持续关注。) – 译者加注 We should all be concerned about the University of California regents’ decision to eliminate the SAT and the ACT from college admissions by 2025. This change will harm the very same minority students who administrators supposedly seek to protect. ...

Proposition 209: How California’s Battle Over Affirmative Action Exposed Deep Flaws with Direct Democracy 209号法案：加州的平权行动之战暴露了直接民主制的深层缺陷 Claremont Journal of Law and Public Policy / March 23, 2018 By** Wesley Whitaker (CMC ’18)** 译者按：加州是否修改宪法取消209法案的争议越演越烈。本文作者可以看出是反对209的，因为文章有明显的倾向性。不过写的209法案从开始的一个想法到最后公投成功后面的历史背景和过程，对今天的现实也很有参考价值。强烈推荐关心按肤色搞特殊照顾政策的朋友读读。 90年代的209法案成败的核心基于一个深度的民意调查。发起者密切注意围绕平权行动的用词和公众观点的民意调查数据。他们的发现非常惊人：对平权行动计划的支持根据问题的措辞有大幅度的波动。一项民意调查发现：当在不使用配额系统的情况下询问是否会支持平权行动时，75%的调查对象表示支持，其中包括白人中的71%。然而当问到他们是否会支持比起同等资格的白人对少数族裔候选人给予基于种族的优待的系统时，72%的白人调查对象和42%的黑人调查对象给出了负面答案。 所以大概结论是：公投关键看双方用哪种措辞来赢得选民的选票。 Introduction 介绍 While discussions of affirmative action typically revolve around the decisions of the Supreme Court, the battle for affirmative action in California played out over the airways and door to door, rather than in a courtroom. The first major piece of civil rights legislation to be voted on by the public, Proposition 209 was approved by a majority of California voters in 1996 after a long, tumultuous campaign. Proposition 209 amended the state constitution to prohibit state governmental institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, specifically in the areas of public employment and university admissions. Curiously though, public opinion polling showed overall support among Californians for policies that took race into consideration during hiring for example. The framing of the issue, then, as a preference for minority candidates over whites was the driving factor in the campaign’s success. As an amendment to the state constitution, only by passing another constitutional amendment through the initiative process can Proposition 209 be repealed. Thus, affirmative action policies are extremely unlikely to return to public institutions in California. ...

加州选民，请立即注册WheresMyballot，以保护您的11月的投票！ 作者：EIP-Ca （加州选举完整项目) 立法监督总监Ruth Weiss， ruthweiss@eip-ca.com 加利福尼亚圣克拉丽塔。由于加州AB 860法案的生效，今年11月普选所有加利福尼亚州的选民将收到邮寄选票。这引起了许多担心，其中一个担心是邮寄选票的丢失。今年3月份初选时丢失的选票数量达到数十万！ 为确保在11月的选举中不会发生这种选票丢失的情况，请立即前往 WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov进行注册以接收有关您的选票的电子邮件，SMS（短信）和/或语音呼叫通知。我刚刚做了，大约只需要20秒。 注册后，当选举时间到来时，您会收到如下通知： 您的选票由您的选举办公室（或供应商）放到邮件中- 您的选票在10月5日至10月9日之间邮寄出来- 邮政的预计递送日期- 如果它未能如期到达，您可以致电取消并更换，以防止有人用你的名字进行选票欺诈- 什么时候选举办公室收到您的选票- 您的选票被计算或拒绝- 如果被拒绝：为什么以及可以采取的步骤- 如果在特定日期之前未收到您的选票会提醒您。 目前加州58县中的52个县正在提供这项服务。（请看文章最后有关列表）。如果您的县尚未提供此服务，请点击此处，了解如何检查你的选票。 在忘记之前，请立即执行此操作。然后告诉每个人您都知道。 WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov 下面的县提供WheresMyBallot选票跟踪服务 Amador- Butte- Calaveras- Colusa- Contra Costa- Del Norte- El Dorado- Fresno- Glenn- Humboldt- Inyo- Kern- Kings- Lake- Lassen- Los Angeles- Madera- Marin- Mariposa- Mendocino- Merced- Mono- Monterey- Napa- Nevada- Orange- Placer- Plumas- Riverside- Sacramento- San Benito- San Bernardino- San Diego- San Francisco- San Joaquin- San Luis Obispo- San Mateo- Santa Barbara- Santa Clara- Santa Cruz- Shasta- Siskiyou- Sonoma- Stanislaus- Sutter- Tehama- Trinity- Tulare- Tuolumne- Ventura- Yolo- Yuba 点击此处，可以直接转向选票跟踪网站

编者按：Mr. Haibo Huang is one of the recipients of SVCAF’s Voice of Chinese Americans Award. He published an op ed about ACA-5 in San Diego Union Tribune on June 9th. Here is his unabridged article in both English and Chinese. **ACA-5 is a Wolf-in-Sheep’s-Clothing ACA-5, 一只披着羊皮的狼** ACA-5 seeks to repeal Prop 209 under the guise of “Affirmative Action”, “Equality” and/or “Diversity”. Like its predecessors SCA5 and AB1726, it seeks proportional representation, a.k.a. “racial balancing”, a patently unconstitutional goal under the California and the U.S. constitutions. Thereby, the California constitution must be amended to make way. ...

SVCAF announces a new program to recognize Chinese Americans who publish influential articles which help advance the mission of SVCAF. A recipient of this award will get a certificate and a small honorarium. Criteria The articles are related to at least one of the items listed in SVCAF’s mission statement: The Foundation shall advance better integration of Chinese communities in Silicon Valley and its neighboring areas into the U.S. society by: providing education to Chinese communities on legal and political systems in California and the nation;- encouraging active civic engagement and political participation by Chinese communities; and- promoting recognition of Chinese communities’ contributions.- Due to restrictions on 501(c)3, the articles should be non-partisan. Nor can they be tied to any election campaigns. - The articles should be first published within the past six months at the time of the nomination. - The articles can be written in either English or Chinese. How to Nominate An Article If you think you have found an article meeting our criteria above, please send us (info@svcaf.org ) your nomination with the following information: ...

Since late March this year, SVCAF has collected ~$50,000 donations from the Chinese American communities to purchase and deliver masks for local charities, hospitals, police stations, small businesses, senior homes, and so on. We just got a thank-you letter today! For hospitals or essential businesses to accept our PPE donations, please refer to: /pages/pperequests/ **A Warm Thank You Letter **for SVCAF’s COVID-19 Contribution Dear SVCAF leaders, I hope your organization is doing well amidst this special time. ...

For Immediate Release June 14, 2020 Fremont, San Diego & Irving, California: Representing a diverse and broad-based coalition of concerned organizations to oppose Assembly Constitutional Amendment ACA 5, the Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF), San Diego Asian Americans for Equality (SDAAFE), TOC Foundation and Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) issued the following statement denouncing several members of Californian Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus. During a recent Assembly floor held on June 10th, San Francisco API Caucus Chair Assemblymember David Chiu and members of the API caucus turned a blind eye to fierce opposition of ACA 5 from their constituency, including a large majority of the Asian-American community. They passed ACA 5 on a majority party-line vote – 60 to 14. Members of the API Legislative Caucus who voted to pass ACA 5 included: David Chiu (17 D), Al Muratsuchi (66 D), Ash Kalra (27 D), Rob Bonta (18 D), Todd Gloria (78 D), Evan Low (28 D), Adrin Nazarian (46 D), and Phil Ting (19 D). ...

For Immediate Release June 8, 2020 **FREMONT, Calif. — **On behalf of a growing civil rights campaign against state government-sponsored racial discrimination, the Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) denounces the insidious attempts of American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) to incite racial tension. Under the pretense of racial justice, ADOS operatives have relentlessly denigrated the Asian-American community and its grassroot representatives who have been courageously fighting against discrimination since 2014. ADOS’s deliberate tactics of defamation and intimidation were intended to silence SVCAF’s opposition to a controversial bill ACA-5, which would reinstitute government preferences in California’s public programs. ...

编者按：圣拉蒙山谷联合学区（San Ramon Valley Unified School District）最近赔偿亚裔学生65万美元的案子在本地引起巨大反响。Nextdoor上邻居们七嘴八舌争论不休。很多不明真相的群众认为受害者家庭滥用诉讼让学区就范，舆论一时对亚裔受害者家庭非常不利。SVCAF三年里一直跟受害者一家保持联系，了解其中艰辛。幸好有真正花时间阅读法庭公开文件的居民写了案件的总结。现摘录如下，让华人社区也清楚本案的来龙去脉。 Case summary 案件摘要 I read the original complaint filed when this all started back in 2017, and the one in these documents looks pretty much the same, with apparently some amendments along the way. In broad strokes the legal complaint was: 这诉状始于2017年，我读过其原始档案，这些文件中的有一份资料看起来几乎一样，只是有一些明显的修改。大致的法律控诉是： The student was an exceptional student with great grades and accomplishments. 这个学生成绩优异，出类拔萃。 In conjunction with running for office the student shot a video with some other students. Two of those friends were Muslim Afghan-Americans who played the antagonists and adlibbed their own parts as there was no script. 在竞选职务时，这名学生与其他一些学生一起拍摄了一段视频。这些朋友中有两个是阿富汗裔美国穆斯林，扮演反角，即兴演出，没有脚本。 ...

[IMPORTANT update on Free Masks for Seniors ] Up till 4/10 17:08, all of our existing available masks are all donated out, including the masks for seniors. Thus we are pausing the online request and delivery service for seniors until future notice. If you have not received our confirmation about the drop off, please come come back to our website for next such activity. Thanks. As of today, we have proudly donated a total of 15770 masks to the hospitals, local cities, local stores and our community. ...

北加州东湾的丹维尔的学生在针对圣拉蒙山谷联合学区的言论自由的诉讼中获得和解，将获665,000美元及公开道歉 编者按： 三年前一位叫Nate Yu的亚裔学生被他所在高中校方暴凌，他和同学制作的喜剧搞笑视频被污蔑为“种族主义”、“仇视穆斯林”。老师的朋友、同为本校家长而在社区十分有影响力的人物甚至在Facebook贴大字散播谣言，引起社区不了解真相的人在社交网络上围攻未成年孩子，使Nate和他的父母、弟弟、妹妹深受身心的迫害，导致三个孩子数周不能上学。Nate和他的父母对学区提起诉讼，状告学区侵害学生言论自由。他们遭到的不公待遇在华裔社区引起公愤。三年后，案子在庭外和解了。 大家应该记得Yu家三年前用gofundme向社区求助，筹款打官司告学区。加州甚至外州很多朋友都慷慨捐款。本地的朋友不少也参加了学区会议，声援受害者及他的家庭，谴责学区和老师捕风捉影迫害亚裔学生。Nate Yu因为勇敢发声获得2018年度SVCA基金会的The Voice of Asian Americans Scholarship。 他们的诉讼历时长达三年，当初Nate是high school senior，如今已经大三。漫长的诉讼过程中Yu家爸爸妈妈把自己为退休存留的资金和给孩子上大学存的学费拿出来打官司。除了巨大的经济压力之外，Yu家面对“社区领袖”和他们的附和者对儿子的personality assassination，面对无数不解实情听信谣言的群众的白眼，仍然坚持做“硬骨头”。试想一个移民家庭，与掌握着孩子生杀大权的校方和学区官员针锋相对；一份普通工薪阶层的薪水苦苦支撑律师费用，与有雄厚资金支持的学区律师团队相比，如鸡蛋碰石头。Yu家知道自己选择的诉讼道路是不可为而为之，为的是给孩子讨一个公道，也为了其他孩子不会继续受到Nate遭遇的迫害。他们打赢官司，警告了行事不公的学区及其领导，正面回击了利用拿政治正确做幌子对当事人无限上纲上线、甚至谋取私利的恶劣行径，避免类似的群体性霸凌亚裔学生的事件再次发生。 本文转载翻译本地报纸对该案的最新报道，仅供参考 **Case stemmed from discipline for ASB president-elect over controversial ‘parody video’ in 2017 ** 这起诉讼源于2017年学生会主席选举时对有争议的“搞笑视频”的惩戒 by Ryan J. Degan The San Ramon Valley Unified School District has settled a free-speech lawsuit involving a former student who was disciplined for his part in the creation of a video that at the time had been described as Islamophobic. 圣拉蒙山谷联合学区为言论自由诉讼达成和解，此诉讼涉及一名已毕业的学生，学区当时把他参与制作的视频定性为伊斯兰恐慌，对他进行了纪律处分。 ...

[IMPORTANT on Free Masks for Seniors ] Up till 4/10 17:08, all of our existing available masks are all donated out, including the masks for seniors. Thus we are pausing the online request and delivery service for seniors until future notice. If you have not received our confirmation about the drop off, please come come back to our website for next such activity. Thanks. After a few days of preparation, we are finally ready to distribute the free disposable masks for the senior members of the community, at three Safeway stores. ...

We will need your: 0. To be a California based hospital, senior center or essential local business. 1. Legal Disclaimer (liability release form) **2. Verifiable Title and Contacts ** 3.Receipt 4.Pictures with donated PPE In order to qualify for donations from SVCAF, we require a legal disclaimer to be provided before hand, otherwise, we are afraid that we can’t help. Please download the template here. Please Sign and send the disclaimer via your **hospital or clinic’s office email **with your title and contacts (If it’s before the donation and you are not sure about the quantity of donated PPE, please fill in the space of Type x Quantity as ‘See receipt’), so that we can verify your identity. ...

What can one do about this COVID-19 madness? One can be nervous about the numbers of confirmed patient all day long, or one can step up and do something to help. What can a group of people out of Sunnyvale do about this COVID-19 madness? They can form a social media group worrying about the situation all day long, or they can come up with some plan and see it through to help. ...

Project #StrongerTogether To alleviate the extreme shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals and public service workers, Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation has successfully secured the first batch of masks including N95 respirators! More shipments are coming in. We welcome our supporters to donate toward the purchasing of more PPE. These equipment will go to healthcare providers, first responders, postal workers as well as senior citizens to protect them from coronavirus. ...

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/b296ImNgZ4yvH_2fRIMt5Q 最近几周，我们亲眼目睹了新型冠状病毒转移攻击目标，从中国转向全世界。从各种媒体报道我们得知一些医疗防卫物资PPE （Personal Protective Equipment）的短缺让在病毒面前裸奔的医疗工作者受到生命的威胁。短缺的物资包括医用口罩，防护衣等，短缺现象在全国大范围内出现。大难当头人性尽显，隔离身体隔离不了大爱。积极响应很多医疗机构发出对社会的呼吁，各个组织/私人发起的口罩募捐活动进行得如火如荼，也得到了受捐医疗机构的正面反馈。为我们的新家园尽自己的一份绵薄之力， 这时不回馈社区，更待何时？ 我们以下几个组织讨论了一下，决定立即携手发起口罩募捐活动： Herbert Chiu, DDS, Health Chair, Citizens for Better Community (CBC)- Chunchi Ma, President, Huaren Rotary Club- **Jenny Zhao, President, Bay Area Homeowners Network(BAHN) **- Crystal Lu, President, Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation (SVCAF) 目标是未来10天-两周内，募集2万美元的善款，用来购买5-10万只医用口罩。货源是广州的一家厂商，有FDA认证，是援美公益活动提供最低的价格（1.5人民币/只左右)。目 前 运 输通 关 等 准 备工 作 都 在平行进行中， 速度是关键。如果Local医院派送不完，还有大量的机构可以赠送，包括老人中心，警察局，需要口罩的服务性行业人员，及各市府工作人员等。我们现在可以安全的在大后方家里工作，应该感恩那些没得选择而勇敢战斗在第一线的医护人员。 祈福加州，天佑美国！谢谢大家的不懈支持！ CBC网站 http://www.cbcsfbay.org

回顾2019年，SVCAF在会员和各界朋友支持下，开展了一些服务社区的义工工作，例如： 继续与AACE (Asian American Coalition for Education)大力合作，向AACE捐款 $5000；- 2. 继续支持SFFA为亚裔争取平等教育权利的奋争，组织支持SFFA的配捐活动，SVCAF配捐$10,000，社区捐助额 $13,865；- 3. 协助 American Coalition for Equality (ACE)和 Let People Vote等组织 ，挫败华州按种族搞配额的法案 I-1000；- 4. 与UCLA的Sander 教授合作，协助他跟踪和监督加州大学隐形的种族招生的操作；- 5. 与另两个加州草根组织—圣地亚哥亚裔平权会基金会（SDAAFE）、橙县俱乐部（TOC）联合举办“加州青少年立法论文大赛”，在青少年推动对立法议题的了解和参与，获得圆满成功；- 6. 推动社区对法律、权益等议题的认识，更新了加州《枪支安全证书学习手册》的中英文对照版本，推出2019年最新版本；- 7. 开启加州立法的早期预警系统的开发（Early Alert of Laws)，在Github上建立了基金会的软件库，尝试用软件协助公益；- 8. 支持社区关注S386议题，跟踪绿卡职业法律的更改；- 9. 协办职场讲座，职场讲座群，社区反响热烈；- 10. 为增进华人相互沟通交流，组织传统的一年一度的漂流活动，超过300人参加；- 11. 增加华人参与社区、政治议题的宣传力度，开通了微信公众号 SVCAF。 展望2020，我们将会继续在各界会员和朋友的支持下，专注社区关心的热点问题，维护华人的核心权益，包括平等的教育和工作权利。欢迎认同我们的理念和行动的您，加入我们的义工队伍；捐款也欢迎。谢谢大家！ 硅谷华人协会基金会 2020年1月1日

As a long-time supporter of SFFA and true believer in the equal protection clause of the US Constitution, Chunhua Liao, a Co-Founder of SVCAF, is now running for SFFA Board of Directors to help SFFA accomplish its mission further and fight for equal education rights for all students. The following is the statement from Mr. Liao. Dear SFFA Members, My name is Chunhua Liao. I am a scientist, father, volunteer, and a proud naturalized US citizen. As a long-time supporter of SFFA, I would like to take my effort further by serving on its board. I hope to win your support. ...