中華頤養院訂4/29剪綵 綠路保護會有職位空缺

華埠社區聯盟（TCC）昨（十）日在四月份例會中報告天滿村翻修預定七月動工，一年之內竣工。華人前進會，波士頓華埠社區中心等機構免費英語班開始接受報名，綠路保護會出現工作機會，中華頤養院預定四月廿九日剪綵等。

            華埠社區聯盟共同主席廖永誠會末宣佈，下個月將邀波士頓重建局（BRA）代表出席，報告重建局近況。

            亞美社區發展協會（ACDC）房屋主任劉安琪昨日在TCC會中報告，天滿村是紐英崙中華公所在1987年以發展商身份建造的一座可負擔住宅，共有20個單位，14個停車位，其中有四戶為二睡房單位，十六戶為三睡房單位。絕大部分住戶都是年收入在平均中位收入(AMI)30%以下的低收入者。

中華公所其後把天滿村賣回給麻州政府，但受政府委託，繼續管理。

            由於天滿村年久失修，2010年時，麻州政府為翻修天滿樓，發出招標書。只有亞美社區發展協會和另一個來自多徹斯特的機構競標。

        亞美社區發展協會取得發展權後，歷經數年籌款，做翻修工程策劃，現已確定將於今年七月起，開始翻修，在儘量不打擾住戶的情況下，預定十到十二個月後竣工。

            華人前進會的雷展鵬，波士頓華埠社區中心成人教育副主任潘嘉欣昨日在會場報告兩機構辦理的免費英文班，如今都已開始招生。潘嘉欣還報告該中心設於昆士市的服務點，位於北昆士高中對面，已簽下五年租約，學生們可選擇在波士頓或昆士市上課。

            在綠路保護會（The Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy）工作已四年，二個月前才接行政主任一職的Jesse Brackenbury，昨日特地出席會議，和華埠機構代表見面。他除了指出華埠公園問題很多，酗酒，抽煙，甚至吸毒的都有，極需社區民眾和警察協力合作，清理環境，讓更多人能享受公園。

            Jesse Brackenbury也指出，綠路目前有好些工作機會，包括公共項目即活動協調員，策略項目及社區事務經理，並不全是維修性職位，希望社區人士上網查看，讓他們有更多元化的申請人。

            中華頤養院董事陳秀英昨日在會上報告，遷往昆士市擴建的中華頤養院，儘管遇到院址地底的老舊儲油系統需徹底清除，多花了一百萬元的挑戰，終於要完工了，目前預定四月廿九日剪綵，五月開始陸續把波士頓地點的100位院民，搬到昆士市去。新地點共有140個床位，全院分六個區，院民將感到如同住在自己家裡一般。

            陳秀英另以WGBH董事的身份宣布，五月廿二日晚六點多， 將在WGBH大樓內舉辦慶祝亞裔傳統月活動。

圖片說明：

            華人前進會雷展鵬（後）說明英語班情況。劉安琪（右一）提問。（菊子攝）

            綠路保護會新行政主任Jesse Brackenbury（左二）報告該會有職位出缺。又一為中華頤養院董事陳秀英。（菊子攝）

第七屆“移民國家”社區家宴 阮鴻燦獲邀籌辦

紐英崙地區反誹謗聯盟（Anti-Defamation League）日前在麻州大學波士頓分校，舉辦第七屆“移民國家（A Nation of Immigration）”社區家宴（seder），近千名出席者在二個多小時中，聆聽移民告白，學習猶太人家宴儀式，體會主辦單位鼓勵人類社會心存包容，異中求同心意。

反誹謗聯盟（Anti-Defamation League）是個創辦於1913年，旨在制止人們誹謗猶太人，為所有人爭取正義及公平對待的機構，現已擴展為打擊反猶太主義，所有偏執，護衛民主思想，保護所有人的人權的組織。

日前的這場家宴，包括天主教大波士頓樞機主教Sean Patrick O’Malley，陳清音牧師，反誹謗聯盟亞猶圓桌會共同主席陳光耀（Geoffrey Why），新波士頓人辦公室主任Alejandra St. Guillen，麻州難民移民辦公室主任Josiane Martinez等不下十四人擔任共同主席。紐英崙中華公所主席阮鴻燦也獲邀入籌劃委員會。

當天由波士頓以色列教堂”拉比（Rabbi）“Elaine S. Zecher，以及領唱者Roy Einhorn主祭。波士頓市議員吳弭，以嘉賓身份應邀出席。

阮鴻燦（左四）這天邀來他的好友，摩頓市市長葛帝生（Gary Christenson）（右二），李嘉玲（右一起），翁宇才，黎雯，以及雷景林（左一），伍國光等人出席，期望把心存包容，異中求同這種精神，也帶進華埠社區。（圖與文：菊子）

馬英九強調兩岸和平發展人民得利

駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處昨（九）日一早舉辦“臺美關係研討會”，呼應馬英九總統在他與美國華府智庫「戰略暨國際研究中心(CSIS)」所開視訊會議中強調的，“跨太平洋夥伴協定（TPP)。“，”區域全面經濟夥伴協定（RCEP）“是政府目前重點，“臺灣關係法”是臺美關係基石。

波士頓經文處在Fish & Richardson律師樓舉行的這場“臺美關係研討會”，以「戰略暨國際研究中心(CSIS)」為馬英九總統和美國人士第三度舉辦的視訊會議為重點。

波士頓本地在馬英九的遠距演說後，由波士頓經文處處長洪慧珠，Fish & Richardson律師樓律師黃瑞祺（Rex Hunag）做開場白，波士頓大學大都會學院行政科學副教授Barry Unger做主持人，波士頓大學大都會學院助理教授Virginia Greiman，以及塔芙茨醫療中心董事何淑圭講談。

該視訊會議由該中心「費和中國研究講座（Freeman Chair in China Studies）」主任張克斯（Christopher Johnson）主持，美聯邦眾議院「國會臺灣連線」共同主席迪馬里（Mario Diaz-Balart）及世界銀行前總裁、美臺商業協會理事主席伍弗維茲（Paul Wolfowitz）大使等與談。

            今（十）日是”臺美關係法“三十五週年。馬英九總統昨日在視訊會議中，以「臺灣展翅，夥伴同行」為題發表演說，談臺美外交，兩岸關係，國際貿易。

馬英九從美國以1080萬美元在1909年設立“庚子賠款獎學金”開始，細數歷史，強定美國對台灣安全的承諾，更指2008年他上任總統以來，首要工作就是改善與美國的關係，如今已把雙方的高層互信，關係，帶到三十五年以來最佳狀態。

            馬英九在發言中還提及“開羅宣言” 明載日本竊自中國之領土，如東北四省、臺灣與澎湖群島，必須歸還中華民 國，《波茨坦公告》對此再做確認，還指出一位美國學者當年表示，《臺灣關係法》形同卡特政府在撤銷承認臺灣後，又再承認。前兩天美國聯邦眾議院以一致同意方式通過的一項法案，也重申了美國對《臺灣關係法》這承諾堅定不移。

            馬英九也藉此機會重申台灣是和平締造者，人道援助者。他在2012年八月就提出「東海和平倡議」，主張以和平協商取代對抗，擱置領土爭議，合作共享資源。去年的四月十日和日本簽署《臺日漁業協議》，五月時處理菲律賓海巡人員射殺台灣漁民等事件，都秉承該倡議精神。他認為，「東海和平倡議」之精神，也可適用於南海。

            在演說中，馬英九強調兩岸和平發展，可為人民帶來實質利益。他指出兩岸已簽署廿一條協議，成績包括兩岸直航定期班機由零增至每日118個航班；中國大陸赴臺觀光人數，從每年29萬 人躍增至280萬人；大陸學生在臺就學人數從800人增至2萬4千人；兩岸執法機關合作，已逮捕近 6,000名刑事嫌犯，使詐騙犯罪案件銳減百分之六十等。陸委會主委王郁琦今年2月訪問中國大陸，並在南京和國臺辦主任張志軍會晤，更是兩岸分治65年以來首次官方會談，證明了活路外交與兩岸關係確實可以相輔相成，形成良性循環。

            談及國際貿易時，馬英九指出，礙於缺乏正式外 交關係，臺灣難與許多國家進行自由貿易協定談判，但以臺灣在2013年與《跨太平洋夥伴協定》(TPP) 12個成員國間之貿易總額近2,000億美元，佔對外貿易總額百分之34，若臺灣能加入《跨太平洋夥伴協定》，不僅對臺灣有利，《跨太平洋夥伴協定》所有成員國亦均能獲益。
            臺灣和“區域全面經濟夥伴協定(RCEP) ”16個成員國的貿易關係也很密切，2013年的貿易總額高達3,250億美元，佔臺灣對外貿易總量百分之57。臺灣冀求加入”區域全面經濟夥伴協定“也很自然。

        在波士頓部分的講談中，Virginia Greiman表示，她提出的解決國際爭端方法之一是放下領土爭議，強調資源共享，因為均享資源對人類，社會益處更大。在談及南海主權時，她指共有七個聲稱有權者，包括臺灣（ROC），中國，文萊，菲律賓，印尼，馬來西亞，以及科洛尼亞王國（Kingdom of Colonia）。
            何淑圭則以她近年和塔醫組成的代表團，訪問中國，台灣，了解兩地在治療癌症上的進展，查察可加強治癌效果的綠茶提取物（green tea extract）有哪些穩定來源為例，指貿易是改善人類生活的根本之道，臺灣則是世界各國進中國大陸貿易的最佳窗口。

圖片說明：

            馬英九總統在視訊會議中演說。（菊子攝）

        右起，波士頓大學大都會學院行政科學副教授Barry Unger，波士頓經文處處長洪慧珠，波士頓大學大都會學院助理教授Virginia Greiman，以及塔芙茨醫療中心董事何淑圭坐在主席台，回答出席者提問。（菊子攝）

            經文處經濟組組長石大玲（左立者）也提問。（菊子攝）

            何淑圭從企業角度談貿易與兩岸關係。（菊子攝）

Updates from Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York

As we march into the warmer months here in New York, I write to share with you some exciting news on Hong Kong:

Big Step Forward in HK's Securities Market             The HK Securities and Futures Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission have just approved, in principle, a "Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect" pilot program, which will establish stock market trading links between HK and Shanghai.  This will allow HK and overseas investors to trade, for the first time, eligible stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through the HK Stock Exchange directly.               The ground-breaking initiative will connect the HK and Shanghai securities markets, and it is a development that will have long-term, strategic significance.   As China's global financial center, HK will continue to play an important role in the two-way opening up of Mainland China's capital market to the world.  For more information, please visit -http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201404/10/P201404100513.htm IMF: HK's GDP to grow by 3.75% in 2014             This week, the IMF published the Preliminary Conclusions of its 2014 Article IV Consultation discussions, projecting that HK's real GDP will grow by 3.75% in 2014.  The report also praised the city's robust financial oversight and sound fiscal management policies, which are supported by an improving global economy and solid domestic demand.    Further details of the IMF's assessments are at this link - http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201404/09/P201404090417.htm Hong Kong Kung Fu Fest 2014             An equally exciting development in Hong Kong is our annual International Film Festival, which just took place over the past two weeks.  The Festival featured 300 titles (in almost 400 screenings) from 56 countries and regions, 88 of which are world (11), international (9) or Asian (68) premieres.   The next talk of the town in the HK's film and entertainment business will be the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards on April 13, which is the HK version of the American "Oscars", when many of our leading film talents including Wong Kar-wai and Stephen Chow will be vying for the various awards up for grab.  For the nomination list, visit the awards website at: http://www.hkfaa.com/winnerlist.html.             To echo these celebrations in New York, my office will be presenting a retrospective of select films of the legendary HK Kung Fu master Lau Kar-leung at the Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10003) on April 18-20, 2014.  At the screening of "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" at 8:00pm on April 18, we have also invited a veteran Wing Tsun master, Alex Richter, to speak on Lau's legacy and how this HK Master inspired him to be a Kung Fu follower.  Tickets are now available for sale at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/607097  and I look forward to meeting you there!

Warmest regards, Paul Cheung Acting Director Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York (HKETO-NY) Email:  paul_cheung@hketony.gov.hk Website: http://www.hketony.gov.hk/ny/whatsnew.htm

亞美聯誼會宣佈新年度活動

亞美聯誼會八日晚假紐英崙藝術學會會址，舉行本年度活動發佈會，說明該會恢復出版“亞美報”，將舉辦“大夢敦煌”舞蹈表演，齊派藝術展，以及廣東夏令營等活動。

            新聞發佈會由亞美聯誼會副董事長甄雲龍主持。天使舞蹈團創辦人克可，紐英崙藝術學會會長梅宇國，北美藝術家協會會長程嶺，中華書法會會長池元山，以及亞美聯誼會董事柏志剛列席發言。

        甄雲龍表示，該會刻正努力爭取合作夥伴，以團結眾力，達到提升華人在美地位，形象，促進中美交流，彼此互助合作，改善社會目地。

            今年五月至八月，該會將陸續推出的活動主要有三項。

五月十七日在昆市高中禮堂舉辦“大夢敦煌”舞展，由合作夥伴，天使舞蹈團演出。

八月二日至十二日間，該會與亞文中心合作，舉辦“齊派藝術展”。湖南湘潭的齊白石紀念館館長將聯同六、七名齊氏家族藝術家抵波士頓，展出約六十幅畫作。齊白石的徒孫也將從澳洲趕來與會，並帶兩幅齊白石真蹟參展。

            這一展出還將安排有茶會，以及音樂會。

        七月廿二日至八月四日，亞美聯誼會受合作夥伴委託，將與南粵禪武中心，廣東華僑職業技術學校合作，以十五至廿三歲青少年為對象，帶三十人到廣東參加南粵禪武中心夏令營，學習中國文化，藝術，包括禪武十八是，書法，獅藝，剪紙，中醫，中國茶道，中國畫，八段錦等，另有三日珠海旅遊。這一活動由廣東省僑務辦公室贊助，報名參加者只需自付國際機票。

            甄雲龍強調，亞美聯誼會是要建立一個供所有人溝通的平台，現已恢復出版亞美報，希望有更多夥伴加入合作陣容，一起為創造更好的明天而努力。

圖片說明：

            左起，克可，梅宇國，程嶺，甄雲龍，柏志剛，池元山等人列席新聞發佈會。

            甄雲龍（中）伸手拿一份亞美報展示夏令營內容。

            天使舞蹈團創辦人克可（左）將推出“大夢敦煌”舞展。

Mayor Walsh’s Elderly Commission releases “Aging in Boston”

Mayor Walsh’s Elderly Commission releases “Aging in Boston”

Report includes a demographic profile of the City’s fastest growing population and

the City’s next steps

Boston – Today Mayor Martin J. Walsh released “Aging in Boston,” a comprehensive report on Boston seniors  produced by the Boston Commission on Affairs of the Elderly in collaboration with the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging at the Gerontology Institute of the University of Massachusetts Boston.  In addition, Mayor Walsh announced that the City of Boston will join the World Health Organization’s Age Friendly Cities Network.

“The over 60 population is growing rapidly in Boston. In fact, by 2030 one out of every five residents of Boston will be over the age of 60,” said Mayor Walsh. “This population has a strong legacy in Boston and they continue to contribute in important ways to life in the city. Yet too many of our seniors still struggle day to day as they face difficulties in maintaining their ability to continue to live independently.”

“At the University of Massachusetts Boston we are committed to developing a growing body of knowledge that will address the wellbeing of New England’s older residents,” said Chancellor J. Keith Motley. “We are honored to collaborate with the Boston Commission on Affairs of the Elderly on this report, and we look forward to continuing to work together with the City of Boston.”

Research staff at the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging at the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston performed all calculations and generated the report based on publicly available data obtained from the United States Census Bureau, the Boston Public Health Commission, and from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). Projections for the Boston population were generated by the UMass Donahue Institute and by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).

The report includes information related to the welfare of older adults in Boston with data on age, gender, race, education, as well as income, housing situation, mobility, and health and disabilities. The report highlights an increasingly diverse senior community where nearly one in five older adults speak little to no English and live in linguistically isolated households. While many seniors have the resources they need as they age, 75 percent of Boston seniors living alone have incomes insufficient to meet their expenses. Additionally, while there are many Boston residents who are still healthy and thriving, 50 percent of residents age 80 and over don’t have access to a vehicle and one out of five seniors age 60 to 70 report ambulatory difficulties.

Today Mayor Walsh also announced that the City of Boston will join the World Health Organization’s Age Friendly Cities Network to better prepare Boston for the growth in the over 60 population.  In joining the network, Boston makes a commitment to create environments that promote healthy and active aging and a good quality of life for older residents. Over the next five years, the City will work with partners to assess its “age friendliness,” and then create and implement a three-year action plan.

“We are excited to finally have Boston specific data on this population. We look forward to working with our partner agencies to utilize this data to plan for Boston’s growing and diverse older adult population,” stated Elderly Commissioner Emily Shea. “We are one of the first cities in Massachusetts to join the WHO Age Friendly Cities and we are eager to get started and make Boston an even better place to grow older.”

To view the full report, visit the City of Boston’s Elderly Commission website at www.cityofboston.gov/elderly.

Mayor Walsh Announces Formation of Ethics Committee

Mayor Walsh Announces Formation of Ethics Committee

Mayor Walsh Keeps Promise; Working to increase Ethical Standards in the City of Boston

BOSTON – Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced today the formation of an Ethics Committee, which will be tasked with reviewing any relevant changes to the City’s Ethics Policy, implementing a new Statement of Financial Interest for all City employees, creating continuing education programs around ethics issues, and analyzing existing practices and procedures.

"The City of Boston is fortunate to have an experienced and talented, diverse group of individuals to review and make recommendations about our ethics policies," said Mayor Walsh.  "They will work diligently to reassess our internal policies and procedures. All through the campaign, we talked about establishing an even stronger culture of ethical behavior and transparency in City government. The citizens of Boston and those who interact with our government should be absolutely confident that their government is working for them, at the highest ethical standards."

The Mayor has appointed the following individuals to the Ethics Committee:

Eugene L. O’Flaherty, Corporation Counsel for the City of Boston, will Chair the Committee. Prior to joining the City of Boston, Attorney O’Flaherty served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for seventeen years. He has been practicing law for 20 years. 

O’Flaherty served for 12 years as Chair of the Judiciary Committee for the Massachusetts Legislature. During his 12-year tenure at the helm of the Judiciary Committee, O’Flaherty was responsible for the drafting, implementation, review and strategy associated with the largest number of legislative proposals before the Massachusetts Legislature. He was the chief architect of the overhaul of impaired driving statutes, court reorganization legislation, stronger sex offender statutes, tougher penalties for violent habitual offenders, and CORI reform and human trafficking, while also repeatedly defeating attempts to reinstate the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Elissa Flynn-Poppey is a partner with Mintz Levin and Chair of the firm’s Government Law Practice Group. Prior to joining Mintz Levin, Flynn-Poppey served as Deputy Legal Counsel to the Governor of Massachusetts and was the Executive Director of the Judicial Nominating Commission.

Flynn-Poppey previously worked for Congressman J. Joseph Moakley and was clerk to Judge Joseph Nolan of the Supreme Judicial Court. Flynn-Poppey has lectured and written extensively on ethics, campaign finance, public records law, lobbying, and open meeting law. She has also served as a Special Assistant Attorney General representing and defending various government entities.

Peter Sturges is a member of the Massachusetts Contributory Retirement Appeal Board and is the Chair of Common Cause Massachusetts. 

Sturges has been practicing law in the private and public sectors for over 35 years. His public service includes 10 years as General Counsel to the Office of Campaign & Political Finance and seven years as Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. He also served as legal counsel to the Department of Mental Health, Department of Education and the Office for Children.

Chancellor J. Keith Motley is the eighth chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston. He oversees strategic planning initiatives to enhance the university’s academic offerings and research enterprise, grow enrollment to meet the increasing demand for a well-educated workforce, and build involvement in community service. Prior to appointment as chancellor, Dr. Motley served as vice president for business, marketing, and public affairs at the University of Massachusetts’ President’s Office, and has served in many other leadership capacities in his more than 20 years in higher education. 

Dr. Motley is a founder of the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School and chair emeritus of the school’s Board of Trustees. He is also founder and education chair of Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts, Inc., and the Paul Robeson Institute for Positive Self-Development, an academic and social enrichment program for school-aged children of color. Dr. Motley serves on numerous boards of community organizations with local, regional, and national reach, including Carney Hospital, Freedom House, the Boston World Partnership, the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, the Boston Sports Museum, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, the Commonwealth Corporation, and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.