From Sid Tan....




Media Advisory: For Immediate Release – June 8, 2006

Chinese Head-tax Payer, Families To Pray 
Government Has Courage:  
Call on Kuan Kung (patron saint of Chinese Sojourners)
In Quest to Seek Justice

Vancouver BC – Charlie Song Now Quan and representatives of head-tax payer  
families and ACCESS Association of Chinese Canadians of Chinese Canadians 
for  Equality and Solidarity Society will ask Kuan Kung to strengthen and give  
courage to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government. 

Currently, they are considering an apology and appropriate redress package to affected 
victims of 62-years of Chinese head tax and exclusion laws. Mr. Quan is one of 
less than two dozen surviving Chinese head tax payers. Also in attendance will be 
Gim Foon Wong, the 82-year old World War Two airforce veteran who rode his 
motorcycle across Canada in a Ride for Redress in 2005.  

Where: Quon Lung Sai Tong 
       164 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
When:  2:00pm, June 9, 2006

Quon Lung Sai Tong an association consisting of members with the Chinese 
surname spelt in English as Quon, Quan, Kwan, Kwon and Kuan and other 
variations. Lung Sai is the birthplace of Kuan Kung, the legendary warrior 
scholar respected for loyalty, trust, righteousness and cooperation. He along 
with his two sworn brothers are celebrated heroes in the tale, "Romance of the 
Three Kingdoms." 

Quoted from http://www.civilization.ca/academ/articles/hoe1_2e.html

“Kuan Kung was well known as a righteous and loyal general. In a battle with 
Ts'ao Ts'ao, the leader of an opposing kingdom, he was defeated and arrested by 
Ts'ao. Ts'ao, impressed by his righteousness and courage, treated him well and 
asked him to serve in his kingdom. But Kuan was loyal to his elder sworn 
brother, Liu. He declined the offer and returned to Liu. 

Many years later, Kuan was requested by his army adviser Chu Ko Liang to fight 
against Ts'ao. Knowing that Ts'ao was once kind to Kuan, Chu asked that Ts'ao's 
life should not be spared if Kuan won the battle; otherwise Kuan would be 
beheaded instead. 

Kuan went to war and defeated Ts'ao. In remembrance of the kindness and comfort 
given to him by Ts'ao before, he let Ts'ao go and prepared to be beheaded upon 
return. Impressed by his kindness and generosity, Chu spared "his head." It was said 
that Chu, being a farsighted adviser, knew by fortune-telling that Ts'ao would not die 
in that battle; he sent Kuan there so as to test his righteousness and loyalty 
(K. Cheong, interview, 1977).” 

ACCESS is a not-for-profit anti-racism, human rights and social justice society 
as well as a community television corporation. It is an affiliate of the 
Chinese Canadian National Council and a member of the National Anti-Racism 
Council of Canada and STATUS Coalition. ACCESS works with other equality 
seeking organizations to fight racism and discrimination, to advance the rights 
of citizens and migrants living in Canada and to press the federal government 
to redress the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Acts. 

CCNC is a national human rights organization with 27 chapters across Canada. 
Established in 1979, it has campaigned since 1984 with other redress-seeking 
groups including the BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and 
Descendants (BC Coalition), Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and 
Solidarity (ACCESS), Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families 
(Ontario Coalition), and Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance (CCRA) for Chinese 
head-tax and exclusion redress.

- 30 -

Contact: 

Vancouver: Sid Chow Tan - sidchowtan@gmail.com
         
Toronto: Victor Wong - national@ccnc.ca

  
Head tax stories in Sing Tao and Ming Pao today... 
What is going to happen with redress?

Both Sing Tao and Ming Pao have big stories on head tax today. Thank you to
Gabriel Yiu for translating.

The story is consistent with what we have been hearing.   The government's position is to 
compensate head tax payers and their suriving spouses, if the payer is predeceased. 
The BC Coalition, the Ontario Coalition and the Chinese Canadian National Council, plus
other groups across Canada, want to include descendants if the actual head tax payer is 
predeceased (died before redress).  This makes sense.  It is like a tax refund to the person's 
estate.  If the head tax payer has already died, then compensation goes to their spouse, if
both are predeceased, it goes to their children, if they have died it goes to their grandchildren,.

BC Coalition has also been advancing One payment for One Certificate.  This means an equal 
payment for each certificate.  This is fair.  If head tax payers are pre-deceased, their spouses, 
children or grandchildren should not have to suffer again.  In many cases, the actual head tax 
payers and their spouses and their children, worked long hours at low wages in order to pay 
the monies initially loaned in order to pay the exhorbitant head tax.  

I believe that  many of the head tax payers lived shorter harder lives.  I know that my 
great-grandfather Ernest Lee, died while his youngest child was still a baby, leaving his wife 
to care for fourteen children (all born in Canada).  My mother's father, Sonny Mah, also 
died early, leaving my grandmother (born in Canada), to care for 3 sons and 3 daughters, 
the 3 youngest, still in their teens.