 I'm Marcia Joyner and are you counting? This is a series with the 2020 census and they have graciously allowed us to visit with the census people that actually do the work on the ground and we do this once a month to be sure that everybody is counted. We absolutely have to have you counted and today we are visiting with my new best friend. Now you all know I only talk to best friends so this is my new best friend and his name is... what is your name? Robert. My new best friend and I can't even remember his name. Robert Su and he is a partnership in the Chinese community and as you know I just love our Chinatown. It is really special. It is the oldest Chinatown in the United States and unlike the Chinatown in San Francisco it was not created to be a Chinatown. It grew into a Chinatown so it's a very special place. Lots and lots of Asians speaking at least seven different Asian languages. It is a marvelous, really marvelous place and so many great people. So I am excited to meet Robert and that is going to be his mission with the census 2020. So Robert hello. Hello. Aloha. Aloha. Ni hao ma. So Ni hao. Wow very good. But my one... okay and other than Shesha that's it. That's the extent of my Chinese. So tell us about Robert. Tell me about you. Yeah my name is Roy. Sorry. Go ahead. Yeah and so how have you been all these... that you are with us as a Chinese expert? I actually just started a couple months ago and it's kind of a new experience but I feel very excited about it. Finally, I can really try to use my skill of my mother's native language skill to help our Chinese community. And I've been told all this time that Chinese community is being undercounted and that is the nature because most of China is more introvert and they don't try to deal with the government at any kind of event. So I think that's why we need to try to promote and push, make sure we can get an accurate and true count for all Chinese communities that can help our state and our community. Well, you know, we have so many people from different parts of Asia and some of those are from countries where they're terrified of the government and would not talk, would definitely not give them all of this information. So that means that they're comfortable with you. You've met everybody, well not everybody, but most of the people in Chinatown. Have you? Well, that's very good, you know, questions. And about a couple of weeks ago, recently I was invited by Chairman at University and there's a local housing foundation to make a speech presentation to a new immigrant. And I can see the reaction for those people. The first thing the concern is, will I have any trouble? I'm so new in this country. So I have to reassure everything that what they report, they file answering questions, you know, questionnaire is 100% confidential. It will not impact them at all. So I, you know, I mentioned about even though I worked in the tech department before, it's very confidential, but it's not as, you know, secure as this one, because if an FBI, CIA, or immigration office, even a court subpoena cannot retrieve any census data for law enforcement purpose. So I had to reassure that one, and I'm glad that they feel a lot more relief. They say they're going to spread out of the world to their friends. And I think that's very good, you know, milestone for me to get involved with a new immigrant group, to release their worry concern about a census. Well, I am glad to see you. And I'm really delighted with the whole program that the census has done to identify people from different communities to be able to have them, the people in the community, comfortable with your questions, feeling safe that they can answer the questions, and that the government is not going to come get them. So I am, I thank you for your service for what you're doing. I think this is a marvelous program. So thank you. Now, in our Chinatown, we have seven different Asian languages. How do you navigate seven different Asian languages? To be honest with you, I've been doing some research. There are about more than 100 different Chinese organizations in Chinatown. And, you know, yeah, that's a lot. But there are only two major organizations that can coordinate. They have an authority, I mean, they have a, you know, connection to be able to unify everybody together. And recently, I had a meeting with Chinese Chamber of Commerce. They are specialized in the business, you know, all the business merchants in Chinese society, and United Chinese Coalition, they are specialized with all non-profit organizations that in Chinese community. So we need to, these two big groups, to help to, you know, support the whole activity. I'm glad, you know, after multiple communications. And also, the government official from Taiwan's Republic of China, they actually, the Director General Chen is very supportive. He is trying to help to sponsor and support this, promote this 2020 census. So I feel very competent and comfortable with from Chinese community leaders, from the foreign people, my organizations, the leader over there to support us. And we, you know, I also involved with some universities that volunteer to help the new immigrant group support and housing support. So I feel we're going to have a lot better result compared with previous censors. Well, now, we will have to go, I will take you to see some ordinary people in Chinatown. So we will go to Kei Kailiki Mall and walk through the marketplace. There you will meet great people, but these are ordinary people. These are not, they don't belong to the different societies, but these are some great people. And trust me, you will love it. Just walking through there and see all the people from the different countries that are selling their vegetables. It is just fabulous. So yeah, I actually, that's a promise. Yeah, sure. I appreciate that. I actually, I'm walking around Chinatown almost every day. So I believe they kind of get familiar with my face. Well, this guy will suit and tie, wear a shirt and tie every day, walking around with the censors back. So pretty soon I'll be a mayor of Chinatown. Have you met the mayor of Chinatown? I saw the news before. Yeah. Very admiring. Yes. I'm sure that they're not used to seeing somebody with a shirt and tie on. But that's okay. Now, can you explain, tell our audience what the benefits are of filling out the census? What do we gain from filling out the census and why everybody needs to do this? Sure. Yeah. You know, maybe years, federal government distributed more than 675 billion dollars for the whole nation. And the way the criteria for them to make the business management decision to distribute the funding is actually go by the census result. And it's so important, if we don't respond, the money might go to other states. So I know we all work hard. We pay our fair share of taxes to federal government. In the meantime, we deserve to get our fair share of money back to our community to help our students, our hospitals, and any kind of charity organization, even highway, fire, and disaster recovery, all these funds can be used to help our citizens here. And that is one of the number one impact from an economic perspective. It also impact our congressional seat in the Congress. If we don't respond, then we might lose, the person can win our voice up to Capitol Hill. It happened to Ohio State, the last two congressmen seat in Capitol because- Who lost? What state? Ohio State. Uh, they lost to- Really? Yeah. And Texas State, I heard they got four additional seats because their census result is so good. So- Well, now, I have been telling everybody, yeah, I have been telling everybody that we have enough population for a third seat. We do. If everybody in the state of Hawaii fills out the form, we can have a third seat after all of these years of being in the state, we should get a third seat, especially if Ohio lost. Tell them we want that seat. Yeah. So, all of you, our teamwork will make it happen. Yeah. So, it is- We'll make it happen, yeah. We had the teamwork together, you know, and to make sure. Yeah. You know, our voice, our count really reached out, and so they can know, you know, we do deserve to have a third seat. Yes, I fully agree. It is. Yeah. That will help us, yeah. Yeah, it will help us. So, how many people are in the area that you cover? Do you know? Well, again- How many- The population of Chinatown is what? Do you know? To be honest, let me say- To be honest, you know, I look at Chinese in the last census, the populations, you know, we actually said, you know, number five in the whole state-wise. And- In the state. Yeah. So, we have, you know, a little bit under 200,000 populations. But when I talk to some Chinese community leaders, they say, how could it be so low? We should be higher than that, I said. That's right. Let's come out. Everybody participate. So, we can bring up the count to match the reality. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Because there's a lot of silent outside, behind the scenes somewhere that we don't see it. Yeah. That is exactly what I was saying, how many people are afraid and they don't speak out. And then I think because we get to choose, you have Hawaiian Chinese. So, how is that counted? Does that count in the Chinese category or in the Hawaiian category? Because that's a huge, huge population of Hawaiian Chinese. So, how's that counted in terms of- Because I think you're right. I think there's more Chinese, I think. Sure. Yeah. But they didn't ask me. Well, we'll make sure we come up a good count this time. We gotta make sure. We gotta make sure. Yeah, that's right. You gotta make sure. Yes. That's why I have a heavy weight on my shoulders. No, you can do this because you have met the important Chinese and then, of course, we have so many Chinese in business and in the legislature and the city council and the county councils across the state. So, there should be more than that, I'm sure. So, we gotta find the people that aren't being counted. Yes. I'm sorry. Yeah. I don't know if you notice since you've been in Chinatown area for 10 years, the personality of Chinese, they are more introvert. I remember when we were young kids. Yes. You know, there's a 5,000-year history in Chinese history. Most of the citizens, they don't care who is emperor. As long as I can have enough hobbies to feed my family, I'm fine. Who will be a king? Emperor? I don't mind. And because that personality lasts for 5,000 years, majority of people keep law. And we need to encourage those people to educate them, communicate with them. You know, if you don't say anything, you will all be always hiding in the corner. You lose your benefit that you deserve to have. And we need to get our fair share of funding come to our community. It's not only for ourselves, for our children, grandchildren, you know, for our parents, our relatives, our neighbors. It's so important that we have the actual count. It takes some time and effort to convince them, to encourage them, to engage them into this activity. I think that's very important. I like it. It's a big challenge. Every day I feel so tired at the end of the day when I get home. I'm thinking about it. It's a very achievement feeling because I get some more people that understand better about census. They say, if I heard, say, oh, I'm going to tell my neighbor or my cousin about this, then I know I'll make a successful day today. Well, you know, I think that because you are Chinese and just listening to you, they know that you are one of, that you belong and that you're not some foreigner trying to do something. And I think that means we'll go a long way to those people that are afraid, those people that are quiet, like you said, that don't make waves, they just go to work and come home. I really believe that you are the right person at the right time in the right place. And that is so precious. That is so precious to getting those people to feel comfortable enough to answer the questions. So, and especially since they aren't hard questions, it's not like you're taking an exam or anything. You're not asking them anything they don't know. Because census, they actually, they don't even ask your social number, ask your bank account numbers. They will not touch you, those kinds of stuff. So, you know, I asked them, don't worry, it will never happen. Something bad. Somebody tried to put a scam and cheat your money. No, government will not do that. You know, we are here to help everybody. So, in making it clear, I guess, can you tell us now where the money, the federal government collects the taxes that we all pay, and then they portion it out? So, what kinds of things does the federal government fund in Hawaii, other than the highways? But what else? Well, I look at the, this whole year, I think, 2018 report, we get about 3.6 billion dollars into the state. The number one funding, yes, the number one funding was spent for the money. It actually is Medicare. And then a lot of, yeah, yeah. And then there are some of the Medicaid, but school will impact a lot. School, you know, not only the funding for the school facility, the school hard mail, all those, you know, or, you know, from the, a lot of them are from federal funding. The scholarship grants for the college's higher education students, that can be, you know, used for the census money too. So, hospitals, you know, file departments, emergencies, you know, there's a lot of funding that we, you know, we use that total about 45 programs that are used in the state for those funding. So, we have a reserve money. So, if we don't answer, yeah, so if we don't answer, then we don't get our share. Is that it? Exactly. You know, you have more part, right? You know, there's all, you know, same in China. There's too many monks, but we don't have enough juke, the rice soup to feed the monk. That's the same thing. Yeah, that's the same. Too many monks, but not enough rice, rice soup. So, if you don't have enough funding here, how can we help all the community people? Because the people didn't respond. You are using the share of the people that they actually response here. So, we want to make sure we... So, even if you don't respond, you still get the money? Yes, you get the money. It's not fair to your peer, you know, your own race people, your own community. So, we got to do our share of efforts. You responded, the money come in, maybe by the equally we got what we deserve to have. So, again, we all file tax. We send tax every year to government. And they, in return, they will sponsor and support us, distribute the money, then we don't get our fair share. And this money could go to other state. And while we abandoned this, especially it's no cost for us. Not say you buy luxury, you had to put money, buy the ticket. You don't have any cost at all. You just respond, spend about maybe 20 minutes, fill the form and send it out, or do it online. And, you know, we're going to have some, you know, follow-up communities, you know, presentation to show them how to do this census form response or how to do online. But it's a small investment, spend your 20 minutes, you bring a lot of money, come to our community to help our community and support our community. Now, how do you help those people? You just said online. And I know in your literature, in this book here, it says that the online may have 59 languages. But if you don't speak English to begin with, so how do you get online to get those 59 languages? Good question. This is actually 2020. This is the first time, this is the first time that, you know, the Bureau of Census will conduct the questionnaire besides traditional paper form or telephone call will have an online. And so far, we will offer 12 language, 40 language online available if you file online. And very fortunately, the Chinese is one of the 12 languages that are available online. So I believe, you know, those Chinese, you know, residents, if they get online, when they see Chinese characters, the word, you know, sentence on the screen, they will feel more comfortable and more relaxing. So yeah, I know what I should do. So I think the result will be a lot, a lot better than traditional paper form, like only English. Yes. Well, because if they mail out something to you, it will be addressed in English. So what is it that gets them to open it because it's addressed in English? How do you prepare people in your area, say that this is coming to you in the mail and it will be addressed in English so that they feel comfortable with opening the letter? How do you, I can, if you, so it's not going to have the Chinese characters on the envelope? Wow, good question. So how do you get them, how do you get them comfortable enough to open the envelope? Very good question. And that's why I'm here, my partner here, because before we see the mail, we already have a full communication, awareness, education, training, that they know, you're going to receive the mail in March, then they know what is that for. So that is how we have to try our best to reach out to every community so they can feel, understand, they can expect there's something coming in in the mail in March. And basically, you know, they can get rid of fears, at least they pay attention to it. And that's very important. So our communication, collaborations, education to a community are very important. And good thing is, you know, the sensors might start as early as March 12, because online, the official sensor state is April 1. And that is very close to Chinese New Year events that you know in Chinatown so long, you know, usually, you know, around, you know, January or February. Yeah. And so it's a good timing to remind them during that, you know, that kind of event. Next month, pretty soon, you got to receive the reminder information, you know, invitation from Census Bureau about the census. I think that will help. It's a good timing. Very good. Yeah, that is, that's a good idea to get them ready for receiving this. So that is, you know, I'm sure they get so much in the mail, at least I do all kind of ads and all kind of things. And you said, well, why am I getting this? And what is this about? So I love that idea that that you're getting them ready to receive it. So that you talk to people so that they are not afraid. And that's the big thing with me is so that immigrant people are not afraid, not just in Chinatown, but all over immigrant people are not afraid to answer. Sure. So they don't afraid is a scam mail. They know our government is going to send something to them. So they have expectations in their heart. They feel more comfortable and feel safe. There's no problem. This is not a scam. I don't have to worry to open it. It's going to open it. I'm helping my community, helping myself to bring some more federal money in. They will feel proud of themselves. They are doing the right thing, that's the civic right. I hadn't thought about that of feeling proud that they're doing something. And we got to remember to make sure that everybody understands that they feel proud that they're supporting not just themselves, but all of us. I like that. I'm going to remember that one. You're doing it. Thank you. Yes, yes. Now, you have all these different dialects in Chinese. So do you speak other dialects? What do you speak? I actually speak Chinese Mandarin. I also speak Taiwanese. Cantonese I can understand a little bit, but the good thing for Chinese, even though you have so many different dialects, if we write down the character all the same, we can read and understand what we write. That is a good thing. We are the same writing, same characters. The same characters. Same characters. So it doesn't matter. They hear one thing, but they see a nothing. They see in the characters so that it doesn't matter which dialect you have. The writing is the same. Yeah, exactly. We appreciate the first emperor in China. He unified the whole nation, built a war, and unified the characters. That's very good. Now, that was smart. That's smart. Yes. Because otherwise the country could be divided to 100 different small countries. China is so huge, right? Well, I think he's smart. Yeah, he's very smart. That was smart, yes. Yeah, that's how that's unifying people. Because even here in villages and farms and things that where you don't have this kind of conversation, that's a way of reaching people that can't be reached like we're doing here. So you have to go out to the farms and the villages and what have you. Because so many of the people that sell in Chinatown get vegetables from people that live in Kuhuku and way out. So there's this communication. At least there's a way of them seeing, as I guess that's what they can write and everybody understands. Does everybody write in Chinese calligraphy? Is it still done? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, because I noticed a lot of Chinese family, they actually send their children to Chinese school too. And that's one area. Yeah, there's a lot of Chinese school in town. And I actually did some volunteer work for seven years teaching Chinese school too. I know a lot of parents send their kids, even though we are in the United States, but they don't want their children to forget about the root, forget about the cultures. So they actually send their children to Chinese school. And those children is also one area we can use them, use their communication with the parents. We educate them in school. So school is one of the areas we try to reach to. So not only the regular school, we go to Chinese school, try to communicate with the educate them so they can go back to talk to their parent or grandparents about sensors. That's one of the good channels that we can do. And that's a great idea. That is a wonderful way to do that. But you know, I am so pleased to have spent this time with you. And we will have to walk through Chinatown. I'm looking forward to it. Sure. Thank you so much. I thank you. But to our audience, remember, you must do this. We absolutely have to have another member of Congress. And only, only if you accounted, can we do this. Only you must be counted. And I thank all of you. And Robert, it's a pleasure spending this time with you. And again, thank you all. And we'll see you next time.