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I was privileged to be a speaker at the Federal Asian Pacific American Council’s (FAPAC) 24th Annual Conference held in Houston from May 11 to 15, 2009 and attended some of the programs. I’ve been in the US for more than twenty years and participated in many large gatherings at Chinese New Year celebrations where the attendees are primarily Chinese. This was the first time I was in the presence of so many Asians of different ethnic backgrounds. It was a delightful experience.   At the reception in the evening of Monday, May 11, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Kin Wong, Co-Chair of the Conference Committee, Mr. Faroot Sait, President of the Council, Ms. Alice Wong, moderator of my panel, Mr. Charles Fan, immediate past president of the Council, and Chau Le Williams, another former president of the Council, and many others. I was impressed by the large crowd the conference drew considering the current difficult economy.   Mr. Sait gave a brief but powerful speech at the evening reception, followed by another equally eloquent and powerful one the next morning at the general session. He praised the contribution made by Asian and Pacific immigrants to the U.S. and complimented the attendees on their values placed on education and family and their achievements. Yet, despite all these, Asians are generally perceived as “passive,” Mr. Sait pointed out. We should all step forward and change that stereotype image, he said. The theme of the conference was “Leadership to Meet the Challenges of a Changing World.” Mr. Sait’s words had a tremendous impact on me. Seeing the enthusiastic applause from the audience, I knew that the rest of the audience felt the same.   After the general session on Tuesday, May 12, I gave a talk titled “Yes, You Can—Overcoming Adversity.” Alice Wong, Senior Advisor at the Office of Space & Advanced Technology at the Department of State, introduced me and monitored the discussion. I talked about qualities, such as belief, optimism, resilience and persistence that we should acquire, especially as immigrants, to overcome the obstacles on our way. I also used my own experience of becoming a writer as an example to encourage everyone to explore their potential and realize their dreams. “I am certainly not a born writer, as I know many talented, established writers are,” I said. “I didn’t study English seriously until I was in college. Even then, we called our command of English “Chinglish”, Chinese-English. But writing is my passion. It took me eight years and many revisions to finish my book Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China,” I told the audience. “If I could do it, you can also achieve the goals and dreams you reach for.” I was glad to have a lively discussion with the audience afterward.   I wish I could have attended more panels and workshops at the conference. But I had to return to my full time job in Chicago. I left the conference Tuesday afternoon, feeling motivated and encouraged. Under Obama’s new administration, we have already seen that many Asians being given prominent leadership positions. I am convinced that with the increase of the Asian and Pacific population and their increased presence and achievements in the government and other fields, the “passive” stereotype image will soon become history and the good work of organizations such FAPAC will play an important role in making that a reality.   Jian Ping, author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China. For more information, please visit www.mulberrychild.com or www.smearedtype.com.