Yes, it is true (to an extent). More correctly, many Asians with a defective ALDH2 gene, get ill quicker; they cannot metabolize the alcohol very well.
http://chemcases.com/alcohol/alc-06.htm
http://www.indiana.edu/~rcapub/v17n3/p18.html
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/127/5/376
Mr Mephisto