immigrants

Two stories worth hearing today..

Thursday, May 7th, 2009 | Photos, posts | No Comments

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Courtesy: Brooklyn Historical Society

A new exhibit about Chinese immigration to Brooklyn is opening tonight at the Brooklyn Historical Society.

The exhibit, “Living and Learning: Chinese Immigration, Restriction and Community in Brooklyn, 1850 to Present”, will weave together a story about Chinese immigrant life in Brooklyn, showcasing historical newspaper and periodical articles, oral histories, caricatures and photographs.

I’ll be at the opening tonight to talk the curator, Brooklyn resident Andy Urban, who is completing his PhD in History through the University of Minnesota.

The exhibition will be on display between May 8 and August 30 at the Brooklyn Historical Society; 128 Pierrepont St. (at Clinton St.); Brooklyn, NY 11201.

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A new documentary debuts on HBO tonight, documenting the sorrow and rage of parents in Sichuan who lost their children when schoolhouses collapsed on them during the Sichuan earthquake almost one year ago.

I was able to screen this amazing film - China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province - at the Columbia Jschool, and blogged about it here. 

For me, I was holding back tears throughout the film. Struck by the raw testimony given by the grieving parents, but also inspired  by their striking resilience. Poor, ordinary citizens, willing to stand up, demand answers, and hold their governments accountable. The film spoke to the strength of Chinese peasants, who continue to endure many hardships and sufferings in the midst of China’s race towards modernization.

China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province airs on TONIGHT – Thursday, May 7 at 8pm on HBO.

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Bullied student used taekwondo to defend himself; now charged with assault

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 | posts | 2 Comments

When people ask me about life in Canada, they are usually interested in hearing about one of two things: about the country’s natural landscapes and about how naturally nice everyone is.

That’s because Canada has a reputation for being a tolerant place – where people of all different races and nationalities can live together, with the philosophy that they all have vested interests in maintaining a thriving, multi-cultural community. Personally, I feel parts of Canada has succeeded in creating such a way of life. I find it alive and well in the big cities — in Toronto and Vancouver. And while I see a multicultural makeup here in New York City, there are times when I feel that people are so packed into this city that they are just grudgingly co-existing, getting by each day by just minding their own business.

But Canada, too, is far from perfect. It is far from ideal. This past week, news that a 15-year-old Korean boy, who defended himself when another student attacked him, has been charged with assault, suspended from school and now faces expulsion.

A white student called him a “fucking Chinese”, started shoving him backward, and then threw a punch, hitting the Korean student in the mouth. The Korean student fought back, striking and breaking the white kid’s nose with one hit.

But the Korean student was the only one punished in the matter. Arrested and now suspended from his school.

It happened in Keswick, a small community just north of Toronto, where violent attacks on Asians have occurred in the past. In 2007, some Asian Canadians who liked to fish in the Keswick area, reported being harassed and abused — some were victims of violent car chases, other were pushed into the water as they stood on the pier. Five reported cases led to criminal charges.

The story in The Globe and Mail tells the tale of a young Korean immigrant, who came to Canada with his family in 2004. His father is a martial-arts master who trained with the Korean national team. Read the story below and be outraged.

Black belt teen strikes back at bully, and rallies community against racism
by JOE FRIESEN
April 30, 2009 at 4:21 AM EDT

KESWICK, ONT. — The 15-year-old black belt thought he was doing his tormentor a favour when he elected to fight back with his weaker left hand.

He had heard his white classmate throw an angry racial slur in his direction after an argument during a gym class game of speedball, and now the student was shoving him backward, refusing to retract the smear.

The white student swung first, hitting the 15-year-old with a punch to the mouth.

The 15-year-old heard his father’s voice running through his head: Fight only as a last resort, only in self-defence, only if given no choice, and only with the left hand.

His swing was short and compact, a left-handed dart that hit the white student square on the nose.

The nose broke under his fist, igniting a sequence of events – from arrest to suspension to possible expulsion – that has left the Asian student and his family wondering whether they are welcome in this small, rural and mostly white community north of Toronto, one that has been touched by anti-Asian attacks in the past.

The 15-year-old, the only person charged in connection with the April 21 school fight, faces one count of assault causing bodily harm.

But a remarkable thing happened this week.

On Monday, 400 of his fellow students, wearing black in solidarity and carrying signs of support, walked out of Keswick High School to rally in protest in front of their school.
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Read the full story here.

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Blogging on China and the Chinese in America

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 | posts | 2 Comments

Hello, world. I’m finally starting up a new blog. It’s been awhile. I was an avid blogger years ago during my first year of university. I wrote about some news but blogged mostly about my personal comings and goings. This time around, I’m going to be blogging about two of my interests that have developed over the years: China and the Chinese in America.

My interest in Chinese Americans stems from being born and raised in Toronto (where there is a huge Chinese population) and growing up in a Chinese American household. My parents, Chinese immigrants, raised me in the best of both worlds. Homemade Cantonese soya sauce chicken one night. Lasagna the next. I have always felt close to Chinese culture and grew up with the conversational Cantonese and Mandarin language skills. Through high school and my undergraduate degree, I yearned to improve my language skills. While I could converse, I could not read and write. I felt incomplete and in many ways, barred from fully understanding China and Chinese culture. In addition to my personal urgings, China began to dominate news headlines and understanding this place became all the more important.

In September 2007, I moved to Beijing and enrolled in the Chinese language program at Tsinghua University. For a year, I spent my days and nights studying and on holidays, I traveled throughout the country.

I returned to America in September 2008 to start my Master’s at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. I began reporting in Manhattan’s Chinatown and in early March, finished a 6,000 word magazine feature on Fujanese immigrant mothers in Brooklyn. In June 2009, I’ll be reporting for the Associated Press in New York, with a special focus on the city’s Chinese community.

I am going to continue learning about China and about America’s Chinese immigrants. Some day, I’d like to go back to China and report as a foreign correspondent. On this blog, I will share interesting news on China, my thoughts on various China-related topics, and some of my own reporting, too. Please visit often. I hope you’ll find the blog enlightening, informative and entertaining.

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