Speech #990183745

There are now more than 4 million Asians living in the United States and their success here has been impressive. Historically. Asian immigrants have made tremendous contributions to the growth of this countryfrom ChineseAmericans who helped to build the transcontinental railroad to JapaneseAmericans who helped to establish Hawaiis sugar industry. In our time. Asians have become successful business owners. entrepreneurs. and are emerging as a powerful political voice. They have also excelled academically. taking full advantage of our greatest resource. our education system. The freedom to make ones own way is the foundation upon which our country is based and AsianAmericans. with their ethic of hard work and selfsufficiency. provide an example that we can all learn from. I think of the Indochinese refugees who have come to our shores with little more than the shirts on their backs and proven themselves successful and industrious citizens of our country. I think of the Philippine- and KoreanAmericans as well as the Asian- and IndianAmericans who make such an important contribution to the social. political. and economic life of the city of Chicago in my home State of Illinois. I think of Ellison Onizuka. the grandson of Japanese immigrants. who grew up on the island of Kona in Hawaii. where he worked in the coffee fields. He was a star athlete. an honor student. and an Eagle Scout. as well as an Air Force test pilot for 8 years. He always had the dream of being an astronaut. but until recently there were no AsianAmerican astronauts.