[applause] >> and now i'd like to introduce dr. jay st, executive director and ceo of the asian art museum to extend greetings on behalf of the museum. sense juning me the museum, dr. chiu led the campaign to expand the gallery spaces, transforming the museum into a premiere destination, only for traditional asian art

and culture but also as a home for contemporary artist. dr. chiu. [applause] >> good morning. speaking of a hard, tough act to follow, how about their singing. [applause] wow! and once again, may i pro peas at huge round of applause for our line dance, artist and our singers. just amazing. san francisco is truly full of talents and what a full house this morning. thank you so much for all of you physically here and for all of you online participating in this landmark event. asia museum is the people's house. this is your museum. so, very welcome for this event, so our entire staff,

our board, our board chair (indiscernible) with us, our volunteers and friends and families, welcome. asian museum served our community for more than 50 years. the last opportunity of which were here -- having been here and we moved here really in the central importance of the asian and asian culture of the life of the san francisco bay area. because we're the city center. we're across the plaza from city hall and other people's house. so, this is the place for us to celebrate and i'm so honored and appropriate, i feel, to hosting this event as asian museum. many things. you have posed a service for your partnership, for your confident in utilizing asian museum as a platform. honoring

lunar new year reflects the communities vitality and american life and enabled us to tell stories about asian traditions, our past, our present and our future and ingredients that's essential to the common life that we all live together. this lunar new year is for all. the steps is for all. you know, i have to -- i have to put a personal anecdote because i was a stamped placard when i was little. and i always loved lunar new year stamps and it enabled me to communicate in writing with friends and the new an acquittances in other countries because stamps goes everywhere and we collect them as a piece of memory, the memory defines our friendship, defines the values that we can together make a better world, so i'm so

happy, also to mention that myself was born in the year of the rabbit. so, yes. rabbit in 2023 is a year of hope, prosperity and good luck. something we can use together in these days and togetherness. we're happy to have you here and make ourselves accessible with free admission to our first floor galleries including special exhibitions in our new pavilion right below. to celebrate lunar new year, we hope you are come back again soon between now and the february 5th where we'll have family (indiscernible), storytelling, and programs and many more. so, please check our website for exciting opportunities that you can participate. you can celebrate yourself, your family, your loved ones, your friends and together our community. so, thank you so very much and happy

new year. all the best of luck. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you dr. chiu for your leadership and i remember two years ago, aaron peskin were on the board of supervisors when -- when the asian army museum was in golden gate park. this is the people's museum because the city sponsors a lot of what is here today and the move here to this beautiful location. back then, mayor willy brown was a mayor strongly supported the move from golden gate park and then our mayor galvin newsom. this is truly the people's museum and thank you for being a stamp collector because we need more stamp collectors. we need more coin collectors, young people, right. this is keeps these traditions and history and education alive for the next generation through our stamps

and through our coins. now, i have the privilege of introducing the 45th mayor of the great city, the honorable london breed. mayor breed. [applause] mayor breed dedicated her career to public service served on many city commissions and the board of supervisors including being the president of the board of supervisors before we coming mayor. during her administration, she prioritized policies and programs to address some of the most crucial issues facing this city including leading the recovery efforts and keeping us safe during the covid-19 pandemic. san francisco is known for its diverse demographics and mayor breed is widely respected as a leader committed to promoting and embracing diverse cultures. everyone, please welcome, mayor london breed. [cheers and applause]

>> thank you to our amazing treasurer, feona ma. we're happy to have you back in san francisco when we have the opportunity to work with you and celebrate with you and today is such a wonderful occasion. i know we have people from everywhere. we have our us postal service representatives that flew all the way to san francisco from washington, d.c. we have a member of our board of governors here that will say a few words later from los angeles with his great family and so many of our elected leaders and officials and i want to thank our council general for being here from china, from indonesia and japan and a representative from korea, san francisco is such an amazing place and we consistently talk about our celebration of diversity as our strength. and i want to take the opportunity to really recognize the u.s. postal service and this time honored tradition. in fact, the first unveiling of this

stamp hasn't happened in san francisco since 2015. and i know that chan takings pride in the fact that 30 years ago, she was instrumental in pushing to make sure that the postal service of the united states recognizes the need to produce such an iconic stamp that really signify and uplift the asian culture, not only here in the united states, but this represents thousands of years of history. it's a chance during lunar new year to promote this community in such an extraordinary way and as we celebrate the year of the rabbit, i hope for san francisco that we continue to see mercy and kindness and all of the things that the year of the rabbit represents as we deal with the challenges around our economic recovery. but we also know that this community has not

been without its challenges. in fact, during the covid pandemic, we saw not only this community get discriminated against, but we saw an uprising of anti-asian hate and i'm so proud of what we did here in san francisco. how we build bridges and how we came together especially with people like clading leading the wait and building the bridges and creating opportunities for the asian community and the black community to do programming together, working with community youth center and working with our street violence intervention program and self-help for the elderly. we created an escort program, a program that not only made sure that we had eyes and ears of people who looked out for our seniors and communiti -- but they've spent thousands of hours to get seniors to various areas and we served over one thousand seniors in san francisco with this amazing program and as a result, we have

seen a significant decline in the number of hate crimes committed against the asian community. i want to thank community and i want to thank our san francisco police department for all the amazing work that they did to get us here. [applause] so now the celebration begins. now, the amazing work begins. i just, yesterday, it feels like forever ago, but i was supervisors peskin and connie chan at the gate of and i see matt dorsey here as well, at the gate of china town to really talk about safety. and to make it clear to this community that we are going to work together to do everything we can to make sure that during this most significant time in the community's history and culture that we keep the community safe.

i'm truly looking forward to all the great events, the various activities, the various parades, february 4th will be the lunar new year parade and let me tell you something, it's like no other city, so those from l.a. and dc, you've seen nothing until you have participated and been a part of the amazing festivities of the lunar new year parade celebrated like no other city right here in san francisco. so, you can clap for that, sure. [cheers and applause] so much to celebrate and typically, we have this stamp on unveiling in city hall and it's usually after the major event and we know that this is significant today and so again, i want to thank claudine for her work and advocacy. the work she not only does to help promote cost culture -- and the work she

does year-round to ensure the history and the culture of the asian community as a whole is celebrated and honored in only ways that we know how to do in san francisco. so, i'm looking forward to an exciting time, jay. people visiting the asian art museum, people going to china town and spending a lots, and lots of -- lots of money and they will give you a deal if you fight for it. people eating and enjoying the great food and cuisine. it's an amazing and special city and it's celebrated in so many ways and that's why people like a treasurer, atheon ma and state leader, malia cohen and even though they serve on the board of supervisors, they come back time and time again because they know san francisco is the place to be to celebrate our history, culture and diversity which is an important part of our strength. thank you

for being here and choosing san francisco to do this first unveiling of this wonderful stamp. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, thank you, mayor for your leadership, your commitment, your passion, your compassion to protecting all of us, not just in the asian community but everybody and all residents in san francisco. so, also, thank you for talking about taxes. as your state banker, i am -- [laughter] i'm always concerned about revenues coming to this state, so we look forward to the chinese new year parade where millions of people will come to san francisco to spend money. [laughter] so today, we have a number of special guests in the audience today and i'd like to acknowledge them at this time. please hold your applause until the end because this list is a

little bit long. first off, the mayor mentioned our newly elected state controller, our cfo of the state of california, malia cohen. fromle san francisco board of supervisors, where did aaron peskin go? he left, okay. i saw supervisor connie chan. supervisor matt dorsey. supervisor merna spl melgar. in addition, we have city attorney david chiu and joaquin torres. we also have the fabulous sheriff paul meomoto. we have appointed officials and city commissioners, city

librarian michael lambert. police commissioner larry lee. airport commissioner, malcolm young. human rights commissioner, irene e. riley. small business commissioner cynthia hu. and entertainment commissioner al perez. art commissioner ye ying lu. historic preservation commissioner, lydia so. film commissioner claudia who we'll hear from. and ms. california, 2022. kathy. and also representatives of the con sew late general of china, -- the consulate of china. council

general of indonesia. and representatives from the con sew late of korea. and japan. [applause] all right. now, it's the moment we've been waiting for, our stamp dedication. to do the honors, i'm pleased to present our dedicating official, the u.s. postal service governor art derrick kahn. [applause] the postal service board of governors is to a board of directors and the board directs the organizations expenditures and policies and governor kahn was appointed to the board by president biden early this year. prior to his appointment, he held several high-level positions in the federal government, including deputy director of the white house office of management and budget,

and under secretary of the u.s. department of transportation. he was also a member of the white house coronavirus task force in opposition warp speed. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome u.s. postal service governor derrick kahn. [applause] >> good morning. thank you treasurer ma. the usta is a huge organization. we have a $78 billion budget but treasure ma has four times a big budget, $300 billion so i can imagine how big treasure ma's day must be. thank you mayor breed for your kind words and inspiring us and bringing this city together. mayor breed is the first african american mayor in the city's history and breaking barriers and paving the wait for many

african americans behind her. thank you everyone here at the chong moon event for hosting the eye vent. jay, this is a beautiful event and the most beautiful cities in this country. thank you all, thank you each and every one of you for being here today as we dedicate the year of the rabbit forever stamp. i'm not lucky enough to have been born in the year of the rabbit myself, my 12-year-old son evan was born. [applause] i'm glad he and my family connie, jordan, ebony could be here. stand up. [cheers and applause] the lunar new year is an important celebration for many asian people with an estimated 1.5 billion people around the world marking this special occasion. the origins of this holiday date back many centuries when china's rural communities and farmers used the lunar solar

calendar to mark the season. the second new moon after the winter solstice, it was the few times they could rest and reconnect with their loved ones. over time the lunar was a time to reflect on our ancestors who came before us and mark the beginning of a new year and i can't think of a better or more appropriate acknowledgement of this holiday than to mark it with the united states postage stamp. just this lunar new year celebrates and represents new beginnings, the united states represented a new beginning for millions of asian immigrants with the postal service serving as a source for opportunity for these new americans and the first wave of asian-americans came to these

shores a few miles away in the middle of the 19th century. like others, they came in search for opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their children. and in the generation sent, asian-americans have proudly offered pages in the american history books. asian immigrants help built the first railroad and were leaders in the fight for labor rights and better working conditions. asian-americans fought bravely for their country during second world war as they face internment and discrimination back home. in the decades that followed, asian-americans had made important contibutions in a ton mick science and space exploration and computer technology. if you look around this room, you'll find asian-americans as the leading part of their craft from law enforcement to museum scientist, so all around this community, you see asian-americans at the

top of their organizations leading great, great institutions. these stories of opportunity resonate dheeply with me because i experienced it myself. my parents came to the united states from taiwan and like others, my mom didn't have the opportunity to go to college, but rather instilled in me a strong work executive he can and ensure her children would have opportunities that she did not have. my father provided me with a similar growth mind set and a strong desire to give back to the community. and so when i was nominated to serve on the board of governors for the u.s. postal service, i felt proud and responsibility. growing up, many of our friends that had parents were postal service workers and like my parents, they were recent immigrants. and the postal service provided them with the first sturdy rung they could climb to build a career and join the american middle-class. for generations,

the postal service was the american middle-class. it's a tradition that continues today with more than 49,000 postal employees who identify as asian. they are letter carriers and processing clerks and sales associates and branch supervisors. all together, americans of asian decent make up 8% of the postal workforce and more than 11% of the postal service clerks. in fact, half of all postal employees are from minority groups. that is the postal service did dei before dei was even a term. [laughter] this diversity is a reminder of how the postal service is a unifying force for all-americans. the postal service brings together people through communication, it unites our country across rural and regions and helps our small businesses and entrepreneurs and creates opportunities for people regardless of their race or

background. and through its postage stamp, it honors the rich heritage that immigrants of all backgrounds from brought to the united states and the diverse heritage is reflected in the stamp that we issue today. for more than three decades, the postal service issued stamps highlighting the lunar new year and there are the most successful stamp releases in our history. now, at this time, i would like to invite our participants to the stage for the official dedication of the year of the rabbit forever stamp. yay! [cheers and applause] this year of the rabbit stamp highlights the colors red, pink and purple and are said to be lucky for people born in the

year of the rabbit. like my son everybody an. the three dimensional mask is the take on the long tradition of paper cut (indiscernible) and reminiscent used in lion and dragon like we saw today performed during lunar new year parade and the patterns in the stamp are reflect of asian textiles while the shape in the rabbit's head is the lunar calendar on which this holiday is based. i want to thank antonio akala who designed the stamp and camille chiu who created the mass on which this art is based. as we use the stamp in the weeks ahead, let us reflect on the american journey. and the millions of americans, asian-americans who have helped walk in it. thank you again for joining us today.

[cheers and applause] >> thank you, derrick and to the us. postal service for modernizing this year's stamp. now before we hear from our final speakers, we have a special performance for you. please welcome the lilly kai chinese dance company for a traditional ribbon dance. [cheers and applause] ♪ [ music ] ♪ ♪

[cheers and applause] >> what a mesmerizing performance. i wish we had time for more. i believe the president of the dance company, ms. lilly kai is here with us

today in person. lilly. [cheers and applause] >> okay. one more round of -- one more round of applause for the lilly kai company. and now for final speaker of this ceremony, let us welcome ms. claudine chang. [cheers and applause] >> the president of the api heritage foundation and trustee of the asian art museum and my good friends, we've been doing this for what, 25 years claudine and it never gets tiring and perhaps ms. chang is the most familiar with the story of the lunar new year stamp. 30 something years ago, the idea of the stamp came from the organization of chinese-americans oca, georgia

chapter member jean chang who felt strongly that the stories asian-americans can be told on the stamp like the black heritage and hispanic stamp achieved. she was inspired by the idea and led a campaign urging the u.s. postal service to issue a stamp honoring chinese and asian-american culture and do contributions and the rest is history. please welcome claudine chang. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, thank you everyone for being here. i'm proud of them. i thank the staff, they reminded me about what communities can do if you put our minds together, when we set our mind on it and it wasn't easy. when i think back last night, i took a binder i have

for this particular project and i thought about every year at this time, about jean chang and i'm glad the owner mentioned jean chang. she inspired me not only because of the idea of the stamp because she represented to me that one person, one idea can make such a big difference. maybe i do know a little bit about more about the history of the stamp here because in fact, jean's idea for the stamp, she started thinking about it in 1986 and 1987. she sent a letter to the united states postal service. on her wishlist was a stamp in 1993 to celebrate the 50th anniversary or commemoration of the repeal of the chinese exclusion act. the other option she recommended was in 1994 for the 125 year anniversary of the completion of

the chinese continental railroad and we know, majority if not all, but the laborers were chinese immigrants and not recognized for their work and jean felt these were really compelling subjects to be understood because she saw how at that time, we had the black heritage series and other culture series and they were effective in materialing the stories -- effective in telling the stories of the ethnic communities. in the end, i think the idea that one over the committee that make decision on the stamp is the -- our lunar new year series. in the beginning, actually, it wasn't -- it was known as the happy new year stamp because as many of you may remember, we always said merry christmas stamps and we have happy easter stamps but for the longest time we didn't have a new year stamp in this country, so to put everything

together, one and one and in the first few years, the lunar new year series was noticed as the happy new year's series. we're happy with that decision, not only because it's really an important culture tradition but it's also a festival celebrated by many ethnic groups in the asian-pacific. when we're talking about 30 years celebration, the posters that had the previous stamps on it, the first stamp, the first is -- some of you may remember because you followed the stamps, it was the lunar calendar and it was designed by karen lee of hawai'i and design concept is the cut oust of the stamp so it's clear to see what year, what is the zodiac animal of the year. a few -- 15, 16 years later, a second

artist was engaged, kim mag of new york and kim decided to be different and received festive and happy images, flowers and all things that we -- we think that associate with the celebration of the new year. and of course, starting from the year 2020, now we have what we call the new-age series. i don't know. when you look at the current series, it's innovative and it's a different interpretation of what a zodiac animal is. in fact i was telling mayor breed i have heard comments, it looks like a rabbit from avatar. [laughter] it's very cute and innovative. it's a new interpretation. and the fact is that no matter which design you look at, it's beyond the art, it's beyond the design, there's a story. there's a story, governor talked about how

this is a communication -- this is communication. this is a story and behind every one no matter what the design, we would like to share this part of the tradition of the asian community. and fast forward to today, mayor breed has talked about our efforts, citywide under her leadership and the human rights commission, how we always look for every single opportunity to bring communities together, to learn more about each other's tradition, heritage, and this stamp has a unique place to do that. so, there is much to be said after all that we opted the last three years of meetings and getting used to online communications, there is a space for the stamp. we hope that it will stay forever. right! [cheers and applause] can i hear some enthusiasm here. we want more stamps to issued and more subject matters besides just the lunar new year that we

can send to the united states postal service for your consideration in the future. so, in closing, as we think about the 30 years, i really want to take this opportunity to thank all the organizations and people like from 30 something years ago that believe in this vision, believed we -- we would like to see a commemorative stamp down and send letters and i want to pay tribute to our two congressional representatives at the time in 1991, this worked closely with us, congresswoman nancy pelosi. i think her staff sabrina sun is with us today. thank you so much and former nancy -- and former congresswoman barbara boxer. both of them had bent over backwards and support what our community was advocating for and to be on our side and help to

navigate and guide the way, so, nothing happens by itself. there's no accident. a lot of people, a lot of organizations get together to make things happen and we'll continue to do that. thank you for the opportunity and i wish you all happy new year. [cheers and applause] >> thank you and as claudia mentioned, jean chang was a chapter member of the organization of chinese-americans and today, our last speaker is a very special guest, linda ng is a national president of oca. a national advocacy and education headquarter in washington, d.c. and established in 1973 and they have been working in collaboration with civil rights organizations, providing a strong voice on national issues that impact the aapi community.

ms. linda ng. [applause] >> thank you, it's an honor. good morning. thank you for inviting me to be a part of today's ceremony. and the opportunity to share a few words with you. this year is a historic one, as we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of oca. [applause] thank you! oca is a national civil rights organization headquartered in washington, d.c. with 50 chapters and affiliates across the country, of which four of them are based

here in the northern california. founded in 1973, as the organization of chinese-americans, oca has evolved into a truly pin asian organization, advocating for the asian and pacific islander americans. when we think about what we have accomplished over the past 50 years, the load far new year commemorated stamps stands out as a part of our efforts to promote cultural awareness and heritage. as you have all heard now, we are so thankful to jean chang of our georgia chapter and claudine chang, our former national president for their roles and

visions to make the lunar new year stamp a reality over 30 something years ago. each year, oca chapters across the country -- travels across the country during lunar celebrations by unveiling of the lunar new year stamp with the u.s. postal service. today, i am delighted to be here to continue this tradition and celebrate the new year of the rabbit. now, more than ever, as everybody says and agree that we communicate online with the mail, zoom, or text, but i must say, i find it very, very refreshing when i got a letter or even a greeting card in the mail, don't you agree. i mean, you're seeing the christmas cards is getting less and less, right, but when you get one, it's just wow! today,

is a celebration -- this celebration clearly shows the same. not just a postage, but a means to promote, recognize, and communicate. the lunar new year stamp is a great reminder that there's so much within our traditions to be proud of, to cherish and share, so i want to give a shout-out to our national executive team. they are here with me today, so if you're there, wave your hand, our executive director, yeah, thank you. [applause] what about our executive vice-president. oh! anyway, we're here to support you. and on behalf of oca, i would like to thank the u.s. postal service for continuing the lunar new year stamp series and also want

to give a great thank you to the asian art museum for today's celebration. but most important of all, i wish all of you a happy new year of the rabbit. [foreign language] thank you! [applause] >> thank you, linda and i also want to recognize city attorney david chiu who joined us. [applause] thank you, linda and oca, we have one more partner who was not able to come, donald lieu is president of the chinese chamber of commerce. the chinese chamber has been known for presenting the country's largest load load far parade on february -- lunar on february 4th. i hope you saw the rabbit statue on the front

steps and this is a part of the chinese chambers project. there are five colorful rabbit statues located in different parts of the city. i hope you get to see them and take some nice pictures. we invite you to go to the chinese, the website, chinese parade dot com to learn more about the flower fair happening this weekend and the parade and street fair that's taking place on february 4th. in addition, for a listing of the key lunar celebrations, you can checks out the website, apasf dot org. apasf dot org. we're truly fortunate to have organizations such as oca, the chinese chamber of commerce and asian art museum and our elected city family and many others that worked together to support this stamp and promote the appreciation of diverse api cultural heritage in san

francisco and in the country. so we are at the end of today's ceremony and just a quick reminder, you can purchase your year of the rabbit stamps and other items at the postal service booth located right outside this hall. you can also go online to visit the website wspf dot com store to purchase additional stamps and program participants will be there shortly to autograph today's program and other commemorative items and last but not least, you are in the best asian art museum in the country. this is -- [applause] this is a great opportunity to visit the galleries on the first floor and see the current exhibits. thank you again for attending today's event. you've been a great audience. enjoy your visit to the museum and i wish you all a very happy, heathy and prosperous year of the rabbit. thank you. [cheers and applause]

morning. we're going to go ahead and get started. hi, everyone. welcome welcome. my name is tamika moss and i have the pleasure of serving as your eor