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Hillsborough County proclaims May 2025 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and denounces CCP influence in proclamation language
Summary
The board presented a proclamation recognizing Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, invited community representatives to the podium and included language condemning Chinese Communist Party infiltration directed at Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander American communities.
Hillsborough County commissioners on June 4 presented a proclamation recognizing May 2025 as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and invited leaders of local Asian American, South Asian and Pacific Islander communities to the podium to accept the document and speak.
Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda read the proclamation, which recited the U.S. Congress’s establishment of the observance and celebrated the contributions of Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander Americans to government, business, the arts and other fields. The proclamation also included language stating that Hillsborough County “wishes to bring attention to and condemn Chinese Communist Party infiltration and influence directed at the Asian, South Asian, and Pacific Islander American communities.”
Community leaders accepted the proclamation and offered brief remarks. Hung Mai, a local AAPI leader who helped organize the appearance, invited representatives from the Philippine Cultural Foundation (Vivian Furigai Dajin), the Tampa mayor’s AAPI council (Marybeth Anderson), the Vietnamese community (Mai Dong and Anna Lam), the Chinese community, and professional groups (Jenny Chang Holcomb) to the podium to speak or offer gifts.
Speakers told commissioners the proclamation recognizes the contributions of AAPI residents in Hillsborough County and supports cultural celebration, inclusion and services. Vivian Furigai Dajin, representing the Philippine Cultural Foundation, thanked the board for the recognition and said the proclamation “is a powerful reminder that cultural heritage plays a meaningful role in shaping our collective future.”
The presentation included community photo opportunities and distribution of small gifts from participating organizations. The proclamation was executed on the fourth day of June, 2025, and the board publicly acknowledged the contributions of local AAPI organizations.
