Flashback to 1986:
http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/asian/history_heritage/ling_san_gabriel_0408.asp
By the late 1970s, new Mandarin-speaking immigrant families were purchasing suburban homes in Monterey Park. Realtor Fred Hsieh actively sought to develop what later became called ?Little Taipei? or the first suburban Chinatown. Monterey Park was ideal as it is just east of Chinatown and downtown Los Angeles but with a superior public educational system to that of Los Angeles Unified. The Chinese immigrants were also attracted to the suburban lifestyle with newer homes and by the 1980s, condos. One such Chinese commented, ?With our limited English skills, we preferred newer homes to avoid the hassle of calling in plumbers, electricians, and the like.? The community was cemented by Diho Market on Atlantic Boulevard that sold fresh Asian produce, Asian meat cuts, and food needs.
The Mandarin-speaking ? and Latino ? population grew steadily in Monterey Park. Lily Lee Chen moved to Monterey Park around 1964. Her father was chancellor of a university in China and then Chair of the Education Committee in Taiwan. Lily came to the U.S. in 1958 to pursue higher education. As a parent, Lily became active with Monterey Park?s Boy Scouts and PTA, which led her to run for City Council in 1982. Concurrently, Monty Manibog, a Filipino American attorney who had been an Olympian in his youth, was also on Monterey Park?s City Council.
While Monterey Park received recognition as an ?All-American City? with an ethnically mixed City Council, some of the older Whites residents led by Barry Hatch and Fred Arcurci felt more and more threatened. This manifested itself in a grassroots-based slow growth movement protesting the <strong>?invasion? of mini-malls, condos, and Asians</strong>. In 1986, Lily was replaced by Barry Hatch on the City Council. An overtly racist movement had evolved. Monterey Park voted to have English as the official language of the city. Monterey Park voted to limit non-English business signs. Some residents complained about the lack of ?good? restaurants as Chinese restaurants proliferated. [citation 4] Lily recalls:
<em> I got more attention and more publicity than I ever could have wanted. Arcurci threw the U.S. constitution right in my face. I was sued for defamation. I was so overwhelmed but I fought back</em>
