Reagan’s Appointment of Asian-American Met With Praise, Questions

Asian-American leaders Tuesday welcomed President Reagan’s appointment of a San Marino man to the U.S. Commission for Civil Rights, but some questioned its value as an election-year boost to Vice President George Bush in California.

Sherwin T. Chan, 64, an aerospace engineer whose family fled the Chinese Communists, was selected by the White House last weekend as the first Asian-American member of the commission, a body that has turned controversial in the Reagan years.

Widely known among the older Chinese immigrant community in Los Angeles, Chan came to Los Angeles in 1948 to attend USC, became a naturalized citizen in 1952 and in recent years, has become a devoted fund-raiser for Reagan, Bush and Gov. George Deukmejian.

By his own estimate, he has contributed more than $16,000 to those top Republicans in recent years and helped raise at least $50,000 more from friends and associates. He is also chairman of the Asian-American Republican National Assn. and co-chairman of Victory ‘88, a $1,000-per-plate dinner in Los Angeles Sept. 13 that will raise money for Republican candidates.

Los Angeles businessman Irvin Lai, president of the nationwide Chinese-American Citizens Alliance, praised the appointment of Chan as an advancement for the Asian minority but said it should have come sooner.

“Why not appoint him three-four years ago? Why wait until you’re almost out of office? Maybe it’s because Mr. Bush needs all the help he can get in California,” Lai said.

Lai and others said the appointment appeared designed to help Bush in California but were skeptical that it will gain the candidate any new support in the state’s small, but growing Asian-American political community.

“I don’t know if it can help him or not, because people already have made their minds up,” Lai said.

Henry Hwang, president of Far East National Bank in Los Angeles and a Republican, also questioned if the move would significantly help Bush.

“It’s not a big deal,” Hwang said.

But Hwang, who attended USC with Chan, said he expects Chan to bring a voice of reason to the Commission on Civil Rights.

“We (minority Republicans) believe in free enterprise, but we also believe in civil rights,” he said.

Chan was appointed to the vacancy created when commission Chairman Clarence M. Pendleton Jr., a conservative black San Diego businessman died of a heart attack in June.

Pendleton was an outspoken opponent of affirmative action who continually drew the ire of liberal black leaders and civil rights groups. After a 1986 audit raised questions about money paid to Pendleton and some of his associates, Democrats in Congress began slashing the commission budget in an effort to shut the agency down.

In 1983, Reagan removed three liberal Democrats from what was then a panel of six members, prompting moves by Congress to insulate the commission from ideological and party politics. A compromise expanded the commission to eight, half appointed by the President and half by Congress.

Reached in New Orleans, where he is a delegate at the Republican convention, Chan said he thought he was appointed to the commission “because I treat things logically instead of having a certain prejudice on a certain race or background. . . .”

“In other words, I’m open,” he said.

Claudia Luther reported from New Orleans, Kevin Roderick from Los Angeles.