By Staff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter died on Sunday, Dec. 29, at the age of 100. Carter was president from 1977 to 1981 and will be remembered for a number of acts that have affected Asian Americans.

In China, he is known for establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. On Dec. 15, 1978, following months of secret negotiations, the United States and the People’s Republic of China announced that they would recognize one another and establish official diplomatic relations. Notably, this meant that the United States would withdraw diplomatic recognition from Taiwan.

On Dec. 30, China’s president, Xi Jinping, extended condolences. “Former President Carter was the driving force behind the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and made important contributions to the development of China-U.S. relations and the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries,” Xinhua cited Xi as saying.

For many decades after World War II, Japanese Americans pushed forward redress efforts to advocate for federal compensation to seek justice for the mass incarceration of 120,000 citizens and permanent residents of Japanese descent during World War II in the United States (Executive Order 9066). 

In 1979, Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii introduced Senate Bill 1647 to establish the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed the bill into law. This bill paved the way for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which granted reparations to Japanese Americans who had been wrongly incarcerated by the U.S. government during World War II. 

In 1979, Carter also issued Proclamation No. 4650, the first presidential proclamation for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. In the proclamation, Carter expressed, “We have succeeded in removing the barriers to full participation in American life, and we welcome the newest Asian immigrants to our shores—refugees from Indochina displaced by political, and social, upheavals. Their successful integration into American society and their positive and active participation in our national life demonstrates the soundness of America’s policy of continued openness to peoples from Asia and the Pacific. … Now, therefore, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States of America, declare the week beginning on May 4, 1979, as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.”

Carter is survived by his children—Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Rosalynn, and one grandchild.

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