Our Mission

AsianConnections.com is the leader in providing comprehensive Asian content, shopping, community, business resources, and connectivity to the exploding East meets West marketplace. It is a multi-channel website with famous branded alliances.

AsianConnections.com members have unprecedented access to some of the world's top experts and celebrities. Our many contributors and featured stars have included: 

• Celebrity TV Chef Martin Yan, host of "Yan Can Cook"
• The World's top Feng Shui author, Lillian Too
• America's leading Intercultural Expert and Feng Shui consultant Angi Ma Wong
• Former U.S. Ambassador and California Secretary of State, March Fong Eu
• Miss San Francisco, and former Miss Asian-America, Esther Hwang
• World Kick Boxing Champion Cung Le
• Actor and martial arts star Jet Li

AsianConnections.com is a main gateway to a network of industry and demographically focused sites, including StudioLA.com, and YanCanCook.com. StudioLA.com, features exclusive Hollywood interviews. Exclusive e-commerce alliances include Chef Martin Yan of TV's Yan Can Cook, Intercultural expert Angi Ma Wong and World Martial Arts Champion Cung Le, and many others. The venture licenses Internet, print, and TV programming and sells wholesale/retail products, services and technology to the corporate and consumer markets.

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AsianConnections.com is created by Michael Kai. Kai originally developed the Web site as a personal project to help people to connect globally and to take the Asian "experience" mainstream.

Kai was 15 when he felt the need to develop an online community to celebrate the achievements and portray Asian people in real life, as diverse, multi-dimensional people rather than the stereotypes most commonly found in mainstream media.

With a significant part of the world's population being of Asian descent, the Web site has created a positive movement with people from all walks of life, from New York to Shanghai to Tokyo who share Kai's vision. The response has been tremendous from people learning for the first time about Asian culture, business, trends and lifestyle to celebrities, entrepreneurs and international corporations offering mentoring, good deeds and connections to help improve people's personal and professional lives.

San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown inaugurated AsianConnections.com during a trade mission to China praising Mike before press, business and government leaders for his initiative in creating a "bridge for people, cultures and countries."

Today, thanks to young Michael Kai's vision and activism, AsianConnections.com is pleased to have as its advisors and partners an impressive group of American and Asian-based leaders from many disciplines including business, news, ecommerce, education, law, government, food, travel, health, feng shui, music, sports and entertainment worlds.

Michael Kai - Founder

Michael Kai is the original creator and developer behind AsianConnections.com. He provides vision and direction to the company, with a fresh approach to content, ecommerce, and Internet development. He has directed numerous leading edge initiatives, including the Internet's first bilingual Hollywood celebrity simulcast, produced and syndicated by AsianConnections.com for U.S. and Asian markets. 

He is instrumental in the strategic planning and development of AsianConnections.com's growing network including StudioLA.com, YanCanCook.com (Chef Martin Yan's official Web site), and BenFongTorres.com, the official Website of Rolling Stone's former senior editor. In 2002 he has launched CollegeEntrance.com, a service to help young people through the increasingly complex college admissions process.

Mike's "Excellent Adventure" at Yale is documented and available online, much to his grief.

Suzanne Joe Kai, Co-Founder

Ms. Kai has combined her experience in international business and media to develop an online network that features some of the world's top celebrities, authors, businesses and e-commerce services. Kai's interest in bridging the cultural and business gap between Asia and the U.S. dates back to her days as a broadcaster at San Francisco's KRON-TV (NBC), where she won acclaim as the first Asian American woman to break into mainstream media on-camera.

Kai earned a B.A. at Mills and a Masters in Communication from Stanford while a talk show host, documentary producer and reporter. At 23, she won two Emmy nominations for documentaries on Asian America, and reported on more than 5,000 stories including the return of POW's from Vietnam and the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford. 

Kai went on to a distinguished career specializing in Asian-U.S. ventures. Numerous deals include equity financing for a $100M China project, and for Lehman Bros. and Korea's Samsung. She co-founded a bank, now part of a Nasdaq listed group.

Kai returns to her media roots with AsianConnections.com, created with the vision and leadership by her son Michael.

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Gregory L. Karns, Director

Mr. Karns is one of the nation's leading authorities on successful cross-cultural joint ventures and brings his Pan Asian expertise to AsianConnections.com. He is the Pacific Rim Partner at the Los Angeles law firm, Cox, Castle & Nicholson, LLP. He is a frequent speaker on U.S. - Asia joint ventures nationally and internationally. Clients include Samsung, C.S. First Boston, and numerous Asian banking institutions and Internet startups.

He has co-chaired for five years, Pacific Resources, the annual conference on U.S. - Asian commercial real estate investment. Mr. Karns earned a B.A. with honors, from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and a J.D. cum laude from Loyola University of Los Angeles.

J. Chen - IT Director

Mr. Chen is an IT professional with extensive experience in programming and maintaining Fortune 100 Internet sites. He holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of California at Irvine. Mr. Chen is experienced in network administration, database and server management and ecommerce. He is an IBM Certified MQ Series Engineer, Certified Solutions Expert and Lotus Specialist. He writes technical programs written in C++, Java, Java Script, Perl, Lotus Notes, ASP, DHTML, XSL and XML.

Shu Fen - Technical Business Analyst

Ms. Fen is an IT professional with experience in marketing, e-commerce, security solutions and business development for Fortune 100 companies. She earned a Masters Degree in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of California at Irvine. Ms. Fen is a business development advisor and codes innovative programming. She also develops technical programs written in C++, Java, Java Script, Perl, Lotus Notes, ASP, DHTML, and XML.

Cherie Campbell - Contributing Editor

Ms. Campbell has more than fifteen years of experience in managing operations for multi-million dollar, large scale projects. She is well versed in marketing, design, finance and business development. She holds a BA from Mills College and has completed graduate studies at the University of Arizona.

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Master Chef Martin Yan

Master Chef Martin Yan is the most widely watched television chef in the world. His Emmy award winning TV series, "Yan Can Cook" is in its 20th season and is aired in more than 240 U.S. television market and 75 countries including China. Chef Yan has produced more than 1,500 TV shows and 20 books. AsianConnections.com is the exclusive gateway to Chef Yan's official Web site YanCanCook.com and ecommerce partner worldwide for his signature products and autographed books.

U.S. Ambassador March Fong Eu

Ambassador Eu is the former Secretary of State of California and co-founder of the World Trade Commission of California. She is one of the most widely respected Asian American leaders in the world.

Albert L. Huang

Mr.Huang is Executive Director of the Millennium Group, a diversified pan-Asian group, with ASP and other high tech and Internet related interests in China. He was formerly Managing Director of China operations for OOCL, a publicly traded Hong Kong based conglomerate which was led by Mr. C. H. Tung, now Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong SAR.

Lillian Too

She is the world's most popular author on Feng Shui, an ancient practice which is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide. Ms. Too is a Harvard MBA and former CEO of several major multinational conglomerates in Hong Kong.

J. Blanton Belk

Founder and Chairman of the Board, Up With People. UWP cast members have entertained at the half time shows at the National Football League's Super Bowl and at the Olympics. Director Eugene Cernan, a former Commander, Apollo XVII Astronaut, describes UWP as "one of the few organizations I know that not only understands the interdependence of nations and people, but also attempts to build bridges of understanding."

Dr. Ting Ho

Dr. Ho is the former Chief Economist for Worldwide Operations for the Federal Express Corporation. Dr. Ho has been instrumental in developing FedEx's annual business plan forecasts, shaping new growth strategies through market segmentations, new value propositions and identifying strategic opportunities for change.

April Minnich

Ms. Minnich was a founding partner of Total Creative, San Francisco, wholly owned by Total Film Group (Nasdaq:TFGP) and has extensive experience in new media and traditional media. Clients have included The Gap, Disney, North Face, Nike, Motorola, KPMG and Bank of America. She has directed digital advertising industry delegations on behalf of the San Francisco Mayor's Office Trade Missions to Asia and Europe. Her co-founding partner, Doug Humphreys, is co-chair of SF's Multi-media Task Force.

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