Chinatown Public Safety Association

LAPD and the Chinatown Public Safety Association (CPSA) partnered together for Public Safety Walk through Chinatown. LAPD Captain Jodi Wakefield, LAPD Captain Michele Veenstra, CPSA President David Gee and others walked through the business district of Chinatown and met with merchants and organizations.

CPSA hosted their first Saluting America to recognize America as a land of freedom and opportunity. The event was also a great opportunity to honor some veterans and immigrants who make America great.
The "Outstanding Chinese-American Entrepreneur & Community Leader" awards were presented to Chak Por Tea, Benjamin Wang, and Peter Ng.
The "Outstanding Community Leader" award was presented to Steven Senhin Moc.
The "Outstanding Community Service" award was presented to Gihan L. Thomas.
The "Patriotic Service to the United States of America" awards were presented to Victor Ronald Lu (posthumously, Iraq War), Anthony Marengo (Vietnam War, Silver Star recipient), Tibor Rubin (Korean War, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient), Fred Gong (World War II).
And a special award presentation was presented to the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS).
Samuel Mok (Former Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Labor), Honorable Judy Chu (Vice Chair of California State Board of Equalization), Honorable Mike Eng (California State Assemblymember), and Colonel Anthony Daniell (U.S. Army) presented the awards to the honorees that evening.

CPSA made arrangements for various community leaders to have a tour of USCIS. The presentation educated the group about the naturalization process in detail and included a walking tour of the USCIS facilities.

CPSA recognizes FBI Assistant Director in Charge J. Stephen Tidwell for his Outstanding Leadership and Community Outreach.

HIFCA (High Intensity Money Laundering and Related Financial Crime Area) is the U.S. effort to disrupt and dismantle large-scale money laundering systems and organizations. Cash transaction reporting is currently a very important issue especially for the Asian community and not fully understood. Noncompliance can lead to account seizures and serious criminal penalties. The Special Agents in Charge (top level) from IRS-CI, DEA, ATF, and USPIS discussed the importance of compliance. Other issues discussed included money laundering, terrorism financing, narcotics trade, and gun running.

In cooperation with the Chinatown Public Safety Association, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is hosted a roundtable for the Asian news media covering the agency's latest enforcement activities. ICE's mission is to prevent the illegal movement of people, goods, and money that put our communities and our country at risk. Topics discussed included human smuggling and human trafficking, violent street gangs, sensitive technology and military hardware, track and arrest immigration fugitives, and more.

CPSA partnered with LAPD to host a community safety walk. On April 26, 2007, CPSA walked the Chinatown area with Captain Andrew Smith. On May 8, 2007, CPSA walked the Hollenbeck area with Captain Blake Chow. Many community representatives joined CPSA and LAPD to walk to meet with merchants and organizations to promote safety and crime prevention.

The Chinatown Public Safety Association (CPSA) celebrated their 25th anniversary of servicing the community and dedication to public safety. LAPD with the “Community Policing Award” in recognition of 25 years of partnership with CPSA, Downtown L.A. developer Geoff Palmer with the “Community Impact Award”, ATF & Explosives Special Agent in Charge John Torres with the “Outstanding Community Outreach Award”, Elder Jon G. Wong of the National Wong Family Benevolent Association with the “Community Service Achievement Award”, Past President and current CPSA Board Member Stanley Yep with the “Founder Award”, Chinese American Citizens Alliance members on the original Ad Hoc Committee (David Bow Woo, Saykin Foo, Marilynn Quon, Irvin Lai, and Ming Ng) with the “Pioneer Award”, Past President of the Hai-Nam Association Danny Lu with the “Outstanding Community Service Award”, Founder of the Indo-Chinese American Political Action Committee Jim Tsai with the “Outstanding Community Service Award”, and Lam Yau Jong of the Lam Yau Jong Foundation with the “Outstanding CPSA Benefactor Award”.