Next week, the United States could see its first black president. Having learned from the African-American experience, the country's Asians are also finding their political voice and, as Ivan Broadhead reports from Colorado, the groundswell could take one Chinese Democrat all the way to Congress.
On the morning of this year's September 11 anniversary, the final notes of Taps fade from a fireman's bugle and the Stars and Stripes at Jewell Elementary School in Denver, Colorado, is lowered ceremonially to half mast.
'If I can live the American dream then so can these kids, no matter how bad the economy or the threat of terrorism,' says Hank Eng, gesturing to several hundred four- and five-year-olds who have broken into an all-American cheer after the minute's silence honouring those who died when al-Qaeda attacked New York and Washington seven years ago.
One of only three Chinese-Americans running for Congress in next week's US elections, Eng is a Democrat and he's hoping that voters in Colorado's Sixth Congressional District (CD6) will turn to him for political inspiration and a way to reconnect with the American dream.
An engineer born in New York, his career has included a stint with the United States Agency for International development (USAid) and 20 years with GE Aircraft Engines. His work has taken his family around the world - Russia at the fall of communism and China at the time of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Indeed, it was while in Beijing that Eng converted to Judaism, his wife Lindsay's faith, making him the only Chinese Jew standing for federal office, and a source of religious fascination for several media outlets.
'People are seeking alternatives,' he says. 'I look back on the last eight years and feel downright angry. Neighbourhoods in this district are seeing mortgage foreclosure rates go through the roof.
'Families are losing their homes, investments, jobs and health care. Meanwhile, our men and women in uniform are putting their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan while Halliburton profits ... where's the justice? I'm angry, America's angry. It's time to make a stand for change, and that's what my campaign's about,' says Eng.
