What do Asian Americans care most when electing local officials?

It is helpful to start with what Asian Americans care most. There are certain fundamental values which should appeal to voters regardless their ethinicity or party affiliation.

Asian Americans in general and Chinese Americans in particular put a premium on children's education. They want their kids to be the best and brightest, to be able to compete on the world stage with kids not only in Europe and the Americas but also kids in Taiwan, Kong Kong and China. They want their children to be able to enroll in the Gifted and Talented Program in New York City if the kids' grades are good enough. After all, it is every Asian American family's dream that their kid can get into a reputable college and get prepared for success in a changing and competitive modern society.

So we need to ask the question, does your candidate support such parents' choice in children's education? Or does the candidate promote teaching Critical Race Theory at schools?

Asian Americans value public safety in their area, especially after the incidents where Asians were attacked in New York City. Regardless of race, every family wants to have safety, especially for women and children.

Crime not only harms people's safety and state of mind, but also their property values. Safe residential areas with low crime rates tend to increase in value whereas properties in crime-ridden areas tend to lag in appreciation. Chinese Americans are known to be buyers of premium properties. They certainly hope to see their investments not to be reduced in value because of crimes.

Is your political candidate pro-police? Is she or he tough on crime? Does your candidate want to defund the police while using private security for herself? Does the candidate want to have loose bail for criminal defendants?

For those Asian Americans with prior experience in a country of dictatorship or an once-free-city-turned-into-dictatorship like Hong Kong, individual freedom and the right of free expression in the U.S. are so precious because they actually lived in an environment where they were deprived of such freedom and rights. These people know what it is like being censored and not being able to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions. Some feel the pain of the loss of private property or being incarcerated because they simply wanted free elections of local officials. They know the misery of not being able to elect representatives who stand for their interests but having to cope with corrupt local officials who behave like bandits.

They treasure the freedom America provides, free speech and the opportunity to make a living with dignity and to pursue their happiness without a party-controlled police monitoring every movement.

The above are some fundamental values that are dear to many Asia Americans. If a political candidate is a true believer in these values (not a fake), then she or he will have a large chance of winning Asian Americans. It is also time for those apolitical Asians to realize exercising their rights to participate in local elections can affect not only their lives, but their children's as well. It is time to act and select their own political representatives.