the people making complaints about affirmative action are not Vietnamese or Thai or Filipino, they're East Asian - Chinese in particular

That is true, and that's why there are pushes for disaggregation. Like I said, currently affirmative action still affects AAPI as a whole. But it's also the case that the effects are experience differently.

You can complain that it's not about elite institutions, but it explicitly is; the most notable suit against affirmative action is against Harvard, by a 0th generation Chinese-American woman with a doctorate.

This is part of the narrative -- not imputing it to you, btw -- that I find troubling. It goes, "Asians who work hard can't get into top-tier schools." On the one hand, it supports the idea that anyone complaining about this is just privileged and whiny. On the other hand, it supports the vicious idea that other PoC do not work hard. Either way, just because media reports have focused on this element does not mean it's the reality.

I think there needs to be a case for taking charge of the issues. The system is premised on the idea that people will speak out for their own interests. To talk about an issue that actually affects us is necessarily being complicit with racists? Let me ask you, when as a single AAPI issue not been co-opted by the greater American culture wars?