AALDEF honors author Salman Rushdie and Don H. Liu at Lunar New Year Celebration in New York

Posted by Lia Chang on Monday, 31 January 2005.

Author Salman Rushdie and Don H. Liu will be honored by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) on Feb. 7 in New York.

Cindy Hsu and Arthur Chien of WCBS-TV emcee the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Funds Lunar New Year Gala on Mon., Feb. 7, 2005, at PIER SIXTY , Chelsea Piers, in New York City.

2005 Justice in Action honorees include author Salman Rushdie and Don H. Liu, Senior VP and General Counsel of IKON Office Solutions for their contributions in advancing social justice, racial equality and freedom of expression. Presenting the awards will be novelist Monique Truong (The Book of Salt ) and former NJ Supreme Court Justice Stewart Pollock.

Defending the civil rights of Asian Americans since 1974, AALDEF is a New York-based organization that promotes and protects the civil rights of Asian Americans nationwide through litigation, advocacy, and community education. AALDEF has provided legal representation to over 1,000 South Asians and Muslims affected by post-Sept. 11 immigration policies; conducted a multilingual exit poll of 11,000 Asian American voters in eight states and documented hundreds of incidents of voter discrimination in the November 2004 elections; improved access to health care for Chinatown residents affected by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers; and won cases on behalf of low-wage immigrant workers seeking minimum wage and overtime pay.

6PM: Cocktail Reception/Silent Auction
7PM: Dinner

Bid for one-of-a-kind autographed items from Salman Rushdie, Fred Korematsu, Mira Nair, George Takei (Star Treks 'Sulu'), Ichiro Suzuki, Jeanette Lee ("the Black Widow") and New York City Ballet's Wendy Whelan; tickets to the Jon Stewart Daily Show, Conan OBrian and David Letterman; lunch/dinner at Nobu, Shun Lee, Eleven Madison Park and Salaam Bombay; memberships at LA Sports Club/ Rockefeller Center, Equinox, Crunch Fitness and Eastern Athletic; and tickets to the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus, and the US Open during the silent auction.

All proceeds from the Gala will benefit AALDEF's legal and educational programs in the areas of immigrant rights, civic participation and voting rights, economic justice for workers, language access to services, Census policy, affirmative action, youth rights and educational equity, and the elimination of anti-Asian violence and police misconduct.

ASIAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND
99 Hudson Street, 12/F New York, NY 10013-2815
t: 212.966.5932 f: 212.966.4303 website: www.aaldef.org
Tables of ten at $15,000, $10,000 and $6,000 include a VIP reception with the honorees. Ticket prices start at $600, with special discounts for AALDEF members.
For ticket info., contact Assistant Director Lillian Ling at 212.966.5932 x202.