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PM Harper meets with Head Tax Survivors and community redress leaders in Vancouver

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PM Harper meets with Head Tax Survivors and community redress leaders in Vancouver




The BC Coalition of Head
Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants, quickly organized a meeting for
Prime Minister Stephen Harper to meet with surviving head tax payers
and descendants.  This was similar to when the Coalition organized
a meeting of Head Tax payers, spouses and descendants to meet with
Parliamentary Secretary Jason Kenney, earlier the same day when Kenney
addressed the “town meeting” community consultation back in April.



Head Tax payer Charlie Quan was
there, as well as 83 year old Gim Wong, the WW2 Veteran who rode his
motorcycle to Ottawa last year to ask then PM Paul Martin for an
apology for Chinese Head Tax.



The BC Coalition had a meeting
following their meeting with PM Harper, and the atmosphere was very
jubilant.  Head tax descendant and spokesperson Karin Lee
presented the BC Coalition's proposal directly to the PM, which calls
for redress compensation for each head tax certificate, rather than
limiting to only 1st generation descendants such as sons and
daughters.  On the BC Coalition we feel that a “one payment – one
certificate” compensation package is the most fair.  For example
in some families, only the grandchildren are the surviving descendants
now.  As well, my 95 year old grandmother still holds her father's
brother's head tax certificate.  Her uncle's wife and son died
before he could bring them to Canada due to the exclusion act.  He
never saw his son.

Thursday » May 25 » 2006

 

PM Harper meets with head tax survivors in Vancouver to talk about
apology

 

Elianna Lev

Canadian Press


Thursday, May 25, 2006

 

image

Prime Minister Stephen Harper smiles while
participating in a private round table discussion beside Charlie Quan in Vancouver,
B.C., Thursday. Quan originally paid the
Chinese head tax when he immigrated to Canada. (CP/Richard Lam)

VANCOUVER
(CP) – The prime minister will apologize to Chinese head tax payers and their
families before Parliament rises for the summer.

Stephen
Harper had a one-hour meeting with three elderly head tax payers and other
members of the Chinese community on Thursday in Vancouver. Fewer than 20 Chinese Canadians
who paid the racist tax are still alive. Parliamentary Secretary Jason Kenney
said the meeting gave the Prime Minister a more human perspective on the
issue.

“If
nothing else this meeting means that when he offers his apology in the House
of Commons, he will be speaking with real feeling, with real meaning and not
just reading a speech that was written for him,” said Kenney.

“This
has added an important personal dimension to the prime minister to the whole
issue.”

A
redress package will also be announced in parliament within the next month.

No
exact details on the package were discussed Thursday.

“We're
going to try to come up with a package that reflects a consensus within the
community,” he said. “Not everybody will be completely satisfied
but most people should be generally satisfied.”

Eighty-four-year-old
Gim Wong, an air force veteran and descendant of
head tax payers, attended the meeting with Harper

“He
was very friendly,” he said.

“I'm
just so happy. He has a patience and he seems so
interested. I think that's very important. One step at a time.”

During
last election's campaigns, the Conservatives won some support from the
Chinese community after promising to apologize for the head-tax.

The
Liberals, however, were unclear at the time on where the stood on the issue.

David
Emerson, the industry minister at the time, suggested they had new advice
that put the government in the clear legally when it came to an apology.

Former
prime minister Paul Martin offered a “personal” apology on a
Chinese-language radio station.

Governments
dating back to Brian Mulroney's Conservatives have had a no-apology policy.

Kenney
acknowledged that there are many communities who have been victims of racism
but said the head-tax was a particularly appalling mark in Canadian history.

“There
was no other ethnic or cultural community that was so clearly targeted by
racist policies for so long,” he said.

Thousands
of Chinese immigrants were forced to pay the tax as the price of admission to
Canada
between 1885 and 1923.

© The
Canadian Press 2006

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=658185f2-a285-4ac2-a54c-ffa90f94476d&k=97434

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/05/25/1597967-cp.html
http://www.940news.com/nouvelles.php?cat=23&id=525117
http://www.680news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n0525131A

http://www.940news.com/nouvelles.php?cat=23&id=525127
http://www.brooksbulletin.com/news/national_news.asp?itemid=52780
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=19269f68-be32-4057-aeb8-75241ae52d34&k=61230

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid
=968163964505&cid=1148593811597&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&
call_pagepath=News/News

Asian Comedy Night – This Friday and Saturday – Don't Miss it!

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Asian Comedy Night is a tradition in Vancouver – started by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, seven years ago.  It is great fun – poking at all the stereotypes of both Asians and White People.

This year, OPM (Opening People's Minds) returns, along with Vancouver
stand up comic, Jeffrey Yu, returning host Tom Chin, and Seattle's
Kermet Apio.

Bring your friends, and see
how they squirm or laugh at the right or wrong places.  Political
correctness?  Asian Comedy Night re-writes it.  Cheers, Todd

Below is from the www.vact.ca website

Get Addicted to OPM !
OPM- Asian Sketch Comedy Troupe – Returns to get “HIGH” lighted
in the 7th Annual Asian Comedy Night

Return of the Chung King – 7th Annual Asian Comedy
May 26 – 27, 2006
8pm nightly
@ The Roundhouse Performance Centre, Vancouver

VANCOUVER,
BC (April 24, 2006) – The coveted Rice Bowl that is awarded to the
funniest Asian Sketch Comedy Troupe at the Vancouver Asian Canadian
Theatre’s highly successful SKETCHOFF!#$%!! – sketch comedy competition, returns with the 3 time winners to Vancouver, to highlight this year’s Asian Comedy Night.  OPM (Opening People‘s Minds)
will get you laughing, rolling in the aisles, and totally high for the 
evening!   It’s 120 minutes of craziness irreverence, as triple-crown
winner OPM present a semi-star studded show with appearances by 50 Yen,
Tyra Banks, Iron Chef Bobby Flay, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il,
Savuri from “Memoirs of a Geisha,“ and MORE! 

The event, organized by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (VACT), takes place May 26 – 27 at the Roundhouse Performance Centre, hosted by Tom Chin.  This year’s Comedy Night showcases local favourite standup comedian, Jeffery Yu who has a CTV comedy special this Fall, and Seattle’s funniest comic, Kermet Apio.

“If
you’re talking about entertainment value, we’ve got it with this year’s
Return of the Chung King Show,” says Joyce Lam, President for VACT. “We
are highlighting the Kings of Comedy.  Jeffery Yu is my local favourite standup comedian while Kermet Apio from
Seattle had me laughing from the get go when he explained his unusual
name and how he was sent to preschool in green pants.  Match that with
the fast pace hilariousness of OPM, back with new material from their most recent show Get Laughs or Die Tryin‘, and the very funny Tom Chin and you’ve got a wild night of mayhem, madness and hysterics!”

Also as part of this weekend of Asian Comedy, The Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre is hosting a community public forum, Dissection of Comedy, held
on Saturday, May 27th at 2pm at the Roundhouse Community Centre.  This
forum will have the Asian Comedy Night comedians:  OPM, Jeffery Yu, Kermet Apio and Tom Chin provide
insight on what is “comedy“. The audience will have a chance to see a
demonstration, hear a discussion and ask questions.  Admission to this
event is free.

Party On! Join the performers and producers at 2 AFTER PARTIES:

  1. Friday Night at SHIRU-BAY with fighting Chef, Kodai Uno
  2. Saturday Night at THE DINER (both within steps from the theatre)

$5 gets you in. You hang with the comics, have some fun and become an
official OPM groupie. Join us for a good time! Cash Bar. AFTER PARTY Tickets available on-line

Tickets:
– online at www.vact.ca
– in person at the Roundhouse Community Centre
– by phone by calling 604.713.1800

$18 plus service charges in advance
$21 cash at door

Group Rate and/or Information 778.885.1973

Hip, Hapa and Interculturally Happening…. May 25th to June 1

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Hip, Hapa and Interculturally Happening…. May 25th to June 1


I missed doing a HH&IH last week because I was consumed with
readying the Gung Haggis dragon boat team for their races of the season
at the Barnet Marine Park “Bill Alley Memorial Dragon Boat
Regatta.”  This weekend, the team will be racing under the Tacoma
Dragon Boat Association banner on the boats named Chix w/ Stix, and
Babes w/ Blades.  Each boat will have paddlers from Tacoma,
Seattle and Vancouver.  Look for us Saturday racing from 9am to
3:30pm, as part of the False Creek Women's dragon boat regatta, at
Creekside Park (just south of Science World).

Asian Heritage Month continues with lots of great performances, workshops and exhibitions – check it out at www.explorasian.org

Asian Heritage Month series
Meet the Composers: New Music and Poetry from China and the West

A program for Adults


Celebrate Asian Heritage Month with an
evening of inspired music-making, as the Orchid Ensemble perfoms works
by Hope Lee and Mark Armanini. The composers will share their musical
journeys and discuss their works related to contemporary and ancient
Asian poetry.

Vancouver's acclaimed Orchid Ensemble
blends ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and
beyond, creating a beautiful new sound that is both creative and
distinct.

Thursday May 25
7:30 pm
Free		 Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level

Central Library

350 West Georgia Street

TIM WARD

Author discusses his new book, Savage Breast: A Man’s Search for the Goddess,
the tale of one man’s discovery of the feminine divine through myth,
art, archaeology, and personal encounter. May 26, 7:30 pm, Vancouver Public Library (350 W. Georgia). Free admission, info 604-331-3602.

THE ROLE OF THE MULTICULTURAL WRITER IN SOCIETY: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS


As part of the 20th-anniversary Conference of Italian Canadian Writing,
Ariadne Sawyer hosts a world-poetry roundtable with a panel including
Carmelo Militano, Pasquale Verdicchio, Diego Bastianutti, Anita
Aguirre-Nieveras, and Victoria Pescha. May 26, UBC (Anthropology-Sociology Rm. 203). Free admission, info 604-526-4729.

CHINESE OPERA DEMONSTRATION

Chinese Opera Demonstration

Afascinating introduction to Chinese opera,
presented by members of Vancouver Cantonese Opera. There will be a
make-up demonstration and display of costumes and accessories, followed
by a workshop with discussions about opera characters and performance
techniques.

  • Make-up Demonstration: 12:00 p.m. -2:00 pm., in the Promenade.
  • Opera Workshop: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., in the Alma VanDusen and Peter Kaye rooms (lower level)

DISSECTION OF COMEDY


OPM, Jeffery Yu, and Kermet Apio share insights on their processes and
careers during this forum on sketch comedy, complete with
demonstrations. May 27, 2-3 pm, Roundhouse Community Centre (Pacific & Davie). Free admission, info 778-885-1973.

THE MULTICULTURAL CANADA CONFERENCE: OUR DIVERSE HERITAGE


Simon Fraser University hosts a conference with a focus on the
Multicultural Canada Digitization Project, which is committed to making
historical records of individuals and cultural communities available
online; speakers include historians Henry Yu (UBC) and Hugh Johnston
(SFU). May 31–June 2, SFU Harbour Centre (515 W. Hastings). Info ocs.sfu.ca/multiculturalcanada2006/.

WORLD POETRY READING SERIES

Ariadne Sawyer
and Alejandro Mujica-Olea host a celebration of Asian Heritage Month,
featuring readings by Tibetan lama Pema, Kagan Goh (Singapore), Billy
Yizhong (China), Anita Aguirre Nieveras (Philippines), and Mandana
Rastan (Persia), plus songs in Tagalog performed by the Holy Rosary
Cathedral 12:30 Choir. May 29, 7:30 pm, Vancouver Public Library (350 W. Georgia). Free admission, info 604-526-4729.

Denise Chong: Asian Heritage Month at Vancouver Public Library continues

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Denise Chong: Asian Heritage Month at Vancouver Public Library continues






Denise Chong

Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level

Vancouver Public Library
Central Branch

350 West Georgia Street




Denise Chong is best known for The Concubine's Children, one of the first non-fiction narratives of a Chinese family in Canada, which tells of
her grandmother's life as a tea house waitress in the old Chinatowns. 
It is an incredible book about how challenging life was like for the
Chinese pioneers, many of whom paid the head tax to succeed in Canada
despite rampant racism.  This book won the Vancouver Book Award, and
was turned into a play 2 years ago, premiering in Nanaimo. I have met Denise a few times at readings at the library and also in Nanaimo.

Photos of Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team at the Lotus Sports' Bill Alley Memorial Dragon Boat regatta

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Photos of Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team at the Lotus Sports' Bill Alley Memorial Dragon Boat regatta.







Gung
Haggis marshalling for their first race. (l-r) Jonas, Gail, Carolyn,
Dave, Julie, Steven, Natalie, Wendy and Jim – photo Todd Wong







Daming finds his seat in the boat – photo Todd Wong







The Pirates team waves their paddles “Hello” – “See Ian… Your team listens to me now!” – photo Todd Wong.







Gung Haggis paddlers join “Smoke on the Water” to fill some empty seats – photo Todd Wong







Gung
Haggis paddlers join “Smoke On the Water” to help fill some empty seats
(l-r) Pam (Sudden Impact), ??, Natalie, twins Sean and Jasmine, Deb,
and Carolyn – photo Todd Wong.







Steve hold the boat steady while Gung Haggis team empties the boat back to the beach – photo Todd Wong







The Hon.
David Lam Award from the 2005 Alcan Dragon Boat Festival for “the team
best representing the multicultural spirit of the Festival.” – photo
Todd Wong.





2006 Gung
Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team at Lotus Sports Club's “Bill Alley
Memorial Dragon Boat Regatta” – seated: Ann-Marie, Jim, Dave, Natlie,
Julie, Wendy, Todd, Jennifer.   Standing: Deb, Rita, Carolyn,
Daming, Steven, Stephen, Jonas, Constance, Dan and Sonja. – photo Mike
Jeffries.