纽约”新唐人街”法拉盛大街新东溢丰大酒楼2楼，菲律宾裔美国人克里斯托弗-保蒂斯塔在10月7日晚两党总统候选人举行第二场辩论的时候，组织了观看辩论的点心晚会。

On the 2nd floor of Xiindongyifeng Grand Restaurant, on Flushing street in New York's new Chinatown, Filipino American Christopher Bautista organized a dim sum evening party for watching the second presidential debate.

可是摆好的8张桌子前，只坐满了3桌半，其中一半是华人。

In the room were eight tables, but only 3-and-a-half were occupied. Half of the people present were Chinese.

辩论开始，奥巴马出场的时候，房间响起了寥落的掌声。

Then the debate started: When Obama appeared, a few people applauded.

没过十几分钟，张健与来自中国内地的三位远房亲戚边吃点心边聊起其它话题。

Barely a couple of minutes later, Zhang Jian began to talk about other topics with his 3 distant relatives from China as they ate dim sum.

再半个多小时后，他和同伴离开了。

Half an hour later, he and his companions left.

30来岁的张健从上海来美已有20年，现在医疗中心工作。

Zhang Jian, who is in his 30s and has been in America for 20 years, now works in a medical center.

他坦言对政治不大感兴趣：“英文不好，两位候选人说得太快了，明天买份中文报纸看吧。”

He said forthrightly that he cared little for politics because he could not understand the candidates: "My English is poor, and the two candidates spoke too fast, so I'll go get a Chinese newspaper."

而在布鲁克林DUMBO街区的Galapagos Art Space酒吧，犹太人服务团体AVODAH和美国犹太人世界服务协会合办了观战晚会。

By contrast, at Galapagos Art Space Bar on Dumbo street, Brooklyn, Avodah, a Jewish service society, and the American Jewish World Service co-organized a debate-watching party.

聚会吸引了300多人到场。

More than 300 people attended the party.

这个观战会请来了很多媒体人和作家在演讲前作暖场研讨，

Lots of media people and writerswere invited to the party to do a warm-up discussion before the debate,

其中包括《新闻周刊》国际版助理执行主编乔纳森-特普曼以及《外交事务》杂志编辑丹-克茨菲兰等。

such as Jonathan Tepperman, assistant managing editor of Newsweek's international editions, and Dan Kurtzphelan, editor of Foreign Affairs magazine.

台下设了现场的选民登记等服务，两层的酒吧坐得满满当当。

At the scene, a voter registration service was provided, and the two-story bar was packed with people.

组织者奥得利-沙逊说，这是一个无党派的聚会，为了吸引更多人来关注大选，无论犹太人也好，其他族裔也好。

Audrey Sasson, the organizer, said it was a non-partisan party aimed at attracting more people to pay attention to the election -- whether Jews or other ethnic groups.

华裔和犹太裔政治热情的冷热程度，可见一斑。

The contrast between the political zeal of Chinese and Jews is apparent.

纽约华人社团联席会共同主席兼秘书长朱立创说，华人的政治热情不高，语言还是一个很大的障碍。

Zhu Lichuang, president and secretary general of the New York Chinese Associations Alliance, said that the language barrier was an obstacle that affected the political zeal of Chinese.

第二代华人移民虽然过了语言关，但他们分散在各地，没能形成集中力量。

Second generation Chinese immigrants, who have ovecome the language barrier, scatter around the country and do not have a unified voice.

所以华人没办法像犹太人一样，人数不多，却能在美国形成政治与经济力量的良性结合。

Unlike Chinese, the Jews can exert a political and economic impact upon US society, although they do not have a large population.

来自波兰的罗伯特-马里克斯是纽约城市大学的历史学教授。

Robert Maryks, from Poland, is professor of history at City University of New York.

他将华裔美国人政治冷感的原因归结为两点：

He pointed out two reasons why Chinese Americans lack interest in politics:

首先是他们生活在一个没有融入主流社会的隔绝社区，他们在那生活就象在以前国家一样。

Firstly, they live in an isolated community that has not been integrated into mainstream society. They live in there just like in their motherlands.

另一方面与各人的背景有关，有些人本来在自己国家就没有积极参与政治的习惯。

On the other hand, it has something to do with people's backgrounds; some have not formed the habit of getting involved in politics in their homelands.

在这方面人们需要被教导，因为政治意识不是与生俱来的。

People need to be educated, because political awareness is not natural.

近年来，华裔群体参政意识正逐步提高。

But the consciousness of participating in politics among Chinese Americans is being raised gradually in recent years.

来自加州首府萨克拉门托的尹立崇是美国共和党最年轻的华裔代表。

Clifton L. Yin of Sacramento, capital city of the state of California, is the youngest Chinese-American Republican delegate.

他说，如果你不主动参与，你的利益就会被瓜分。

If you do not take part in (politics) actively, your interests will be carved up by someone else, he said.