Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen met Chinese American community leaders on March 11 for his candidacy for the US Senate and discussed issues of concern to the state's Chinese-American and other Asian- Pacific American communities.

Van Hollen, the only member of the Maryland delegation on the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said he would look to enhance health care for Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans and protect the civil rights of all citizens of Maryland.

The Democrat has served as the US representative for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District since 2003. The district includes most of Montgomery County, an affluent suburban county adjacent to Washington, and portions of Carroll and Frederick counties.

Former Speaker of the House and now its Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi named Van Hollen assistant to the speaker in 2006, and he later became chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Van Hollen is running for the Senate in 2016 in a bid to replace incumbent Senator Barbara Mikulski, who is retiring.'Congressman Van Hollen has been consistently engaged on issues impacting our small businesses, from improving access to capital and procurement

opportunities to working to identify discrimination in lending

practices,' said Lisa Liu, president of the US-China Association of Industry and Commerce.

Jon Liu, president of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, said Van Hollen 'understands that small businesses are the engines of

the economy and an especially important cultural element of our tight-knit communities'.

'(He) has been a strong voice in condemning crimes against Comfort

Women during World War II, urging the government of Japan to formerly acknowledge its role in coercing these young women into sexual slavery, 'said Stan Tsai, chairman of the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center.

Tsai said that by 'co-sponsoring legislation to bring these atrocities to light and supporting efforts to eliminate human trafficking and sexual slavery throughout the world', Van

Hollen 'has proven to be a supportive partner' for the Asian-American community.

Sheng Yang in Washington contributed to this story.

(China Daily USA 03/20/2015 page14)