9
Although it organizes sport events and Chinese festivals, the church does not
appear to promote political participation, civic engagement, public discussion, and
multicultural understanding. In fact, the church does not perform any civic activities for
the surrounding neighborhood, which consists of both Koreans and Latinos. No program
exists to bring the local community into its cultural activities. Many Korean Chinese
sometimes express skepticism of the church’s intention to help them. For this reason,
Pastor Che decided to create a separate and secular Korean Chinese Christian Association
in 2003 in order to attract more people into the organization. The only political activity of
the church involved a visit by FBI agents to the office to solicit information about North
Korea due to its connection with Koreans in northeastern China.
28
One may conclude that the church helps improve social and economic equality
because it provides immigration and health services to undocumented Korean Chinese.
However, these undocumented foreigners work extraordinarily long hours and typically
earn more than $25,000 per year. Therefore, the church makes little impact on improving
social and economic equality to the immigrant and local community.
E. Mahayana Buddhist Temple: Hsi Lai Temple
A Taiwanese Buddhist order, Fo Guang Shan, built the Hsi Lai Temple in
Hacienda Heights in 1988. Hsi Lai, which means “coming to the West,” is dedicated to
spread the teaching of Buddha to the West. It operates various charity programs such as
winter relief projects, children funds for the handicapped and the underprivileged,
emergency relief funds, medical services, blood drives, and assistance for special events.
Its sub-chapter, the Buddhist Light International Association (BLIA) which gained the
UN accreditation for an international NGO in 2003, provides food assistance and runs a
Chinese School (with various after school programs). The temple runs a publishing
company that distributes Buddhist materials and the Hsi Lai University in Rosemead that
offers degrees in business administration(!).
The temple appears to make an active effort to promote political participation and
civic engagement. It organizes inter-faith dialogues and hosts an annual prayer for
“World Peace.” Monks and nuns at the temple sweep the streets weekly around the
neighborhood. The temple collected money and donated computers to local schools such
as the near-by Lucent High School; held a car wash and donated almost $10,000 to
victims of September 11
th
. The temple also sponsors neighborhood parties. These
activities appear to promote political participation, civic activities, and multicultural
understanding. Carolyn Chen understandably praises the temple for its contribution to
promote public engagement.
29
28
Interview with Pastor Che of the Korean Chinese Community Church, 19 September 2004.
29
Carolyn Chen, “Cultivating Acceptance by Cultivating Merit: The Public Engagement of a Chinese Buddhist Temple
in American Society,” in Jane Naomi Iwamura and Paul Spickard, Eds., Revealing the Sacred in Asian & Pacific
America (New York: Routledge, 2003), p. 28.
Convention