ONE IN CHINESE COMMUNITIES AS THEY CELEBRATE THE LUNAR NEW YEAR. THE CHINESE CELEBRATION WELCOMING THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON LASTS FOR TWO WEEKS. THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON IS PARTICULARLY AUSPICIOUS SINCE THE DRAGON IS KNOWN FOR ITS POWER AND ITS ABILITY TO ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS THAT GOOD FORTUNE MIGHT BE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR ONE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY. THAT’S FIGHTING FOR ITS SURVIVAL. OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JOEY CHEN IS IN PHILADELPHIA. IT’S THE BIG KIDS VERSUS THE LITTLES AT THIS SATURDAY MORNING SCRIMMAGE OF THE PHILLY SUNS. AND THESE GUYS ARE CLEARLY THE UNDERDOGS. BUT THE LITTLEST PLAYERS IN CHINATOWN ARE UP FOR A FIGHT. THEY’RE TWICE OUR SIZE, BUT WE DON’T GIVE UP A RALLYING CRY ECHOED BY CHINATOWNS OTHER OUTSIZED TEAM LEADING THEIR FIGHT IS ACTIVIST DEBBIE WAY. IT’S AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT. IT WILL DESTROY CHINATOWN. WHAT SHE CALLS A THREAT IS A $1.5 BILLION ARENA COMPLEX PLANNED BY THE OWNERS OF THE PHILADELPHIA 76 ERS TO BE BUILT RIGHT NEXT TO CHINATOWN. DEVELOPERS PROMISE IT WILL BRING JOBS AND NEW ENERGY TO A STRUGGLING DISTRICT. BUT CHINATOWN ACTIVISTS FEAR THE ARRIVAL OF A JUGGERNAUT. IT’S LITERALLY NEXT DOOR TO THE FIRST BUSINESS OF CHINATOWN. XU LIN TAKES US ON A WALK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. HE’S CALLED HOME FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES, WHERE HIS KIDS NOW GO TO SCHOOL, WHERE HE, ALONG WITH TEN SIBLINGS AND COUSINS OF ALL, STARTED SMALL BUSINESSES, INCLUDING HIS RESTAURANT BUBBLEFISH CHINATOWN IS IS OUR CONNECTION TO THIS LAND HERE. THE FRIENDSHIP GATE GLEAMING IN GOLD LEAF AND PIG’S BLOOD, HAS WELCOMED GENERATIONS OF ASIAN IMMIGRANTS TO A COMMUNITY BUILT MORE THAN 150 YEARS AGO. CHINATOWN IS THE ONLY MAJORITY MINORITY NEIGHBORHOOD IN CENTER CITY. LEFT. YES, EVERYBODY IS GONE. EVERY OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD IS GONE. WE ARE THE LAST NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE CITY, AND WE WANT TO KEEP IT THE WAY IT IS. BUT DEVELOPMENT HAS REPEATEDLY THREATENED THIS COMMUNITY, SLICED IN HALF BY A FREEWAY, ACTIVISTS FOUGHT OFF TWO CASINOS AND A BASEBALL STADIUM, BUILDING A CHARTER SCHOOL ON THE SITE INSTEAD. AND THEN THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A PARKING LOT. WE’D BE STANDING IN A PARKING LOT. YEAH. NOW, ACTIVISTS FEAR THE 76 ERS, SIX YEAR LONG CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WILL BLOCK CHINATOWN’S ALREADY JAMMED STREETS. IF YOU CAN’T GET HERE BECAUSE THE ROADS ARE BLOCKED, OUR BUSINESSES DIE. AND WHEN OUR BUSINESSES DIE, THE COMMUNITY DIES. IT’S NOT JUST LOCALS WHO ARE CONCERNED. THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION NAMED PHILADELPHIA’S CHINATOWN ONE OF THE MOST ENDANGERED PLACES IN THE COUNTRY, CITING THE ARENA PROJECT AS THE KEY THREAT. AND ACTIVISTS POINT TO WASHINGTON, D. C. S CHINATOWN AS A CAUTIONARY TALE. THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF WHEN YOU THINK OF CHINATOWN, URBAN PLANNING AND PRESERVATION SCHOLAR MICHELLE MAGALONG EXPLAINS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN ANOTHER NBA ARENA MOVED IN A QUARTER CENTURY AGO. WHILE THE CITY TRIED TO PRESERVE THE FLAVOR OF CHINATOWN, LOCAL MERCHANTS WERE PRICED OUT AND RESIDENTS FOLLOWED. WHAT’S MISSING IN CHINATOWN, DC ARE THE PEOPLE. IT’S THE CHINESE PEOPLE. THE CHINESE PEOPLE, ASIAN PEOPLE. UM, IT’S MISSING ITS BUSINESSES. DC CHINATOWN’S ASIAN POPULATION PLUNGED FROM SEVERAL THOUSAND TO ABOUT 300 PEOPLE. THEY SAY IT’S NOT CHINATOWN TOWN, IT’S CHINA BLOCK. RIGHT? LIKE, I HOPE THAT’S NOT THE STORY OF PHILADELPHIA. 76TH PLACE DEVELOPERS INSIST THEIR PROJECT WILL BE DIFFERENT, CITING PLANS FOR. SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY BENEFITS, PROMISING THEY WON’T NEED CITY TAXPAYERS. FOR SUPPORT. AND IN AN EMAIL STATEMENT NOTING PRIVATE INVESTMENT. IS CRITICAL FOR THE LONG TERME HEALTH AND VIBRANCE OF CENTER CITY. BUT THEIR OPPONENTS ON THE HARDCOURT AREN’T BACKING DOWN. WE ARE SEASONED RESISTANCE IN CHINATOWN. WE PASS ON TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. YOU WILL NEED TO FIGHT FOR THIS COMMUNITY BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN UNDER ATTACK FOR SO LONG, EVEN IN THE FACE OF OVERWHELMING ODDS. IN PHILADELPHIA, I’M JOEY CHEN FOR MATTER OF FACT. HEY, THERE YOU GO. PHILADELPHIA’S CHINA TOWN IS NOT ALONE IN THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE. THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION COUNTS 83 CHINATOWNS IN THE U.S. TODAY, FEWER THAN HALF ARE HISTORIC PRESERVATIONISTS SAY THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND RESTAURANTS IN CHINATOWN WERE ESPECIALLY