Welcome to GungHaggisFatChoy.com
Home to my passions for my inter-cultural adventures,
Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner event.
Save Kogawa House campaign,
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team,
Find what you are looking for by
1) scroll the topics links,
2) use the search function
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Join the
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team
for lots of summer fun, fitness and friendship. We are a social team full of cultural vigor, that likes to eat.
We have been featured on television, local, national and international. We have a unique and internationally famous fundraiser dinner event.
We practice
Sunday 1:30 pm -3:30 pm
Tuesday 6pm-7:45pm
Wednesday 6pm - 7:45 pm
We meet at Dragon Zone clubhouse - just south of Science World in Creekside Park above the Aquabus and dragon boat docks.
Our coach Todd Wong has 15+ years of experience including novice, recreational and competitive levels, and both community and corporate teams.
Our 2005 Season brought us the David Lam Award for being the team that best represented the multicultural spirit of the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival, and Bronze medals at the Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race. In 2007, we won Gold in B Division at Vernon Races.
For more information:
Click on
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team information
phone: 604-987-7124-
e-mail: gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca
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2009 TICKETS Available in October 2008
WHAT: GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner - 12th Annual Dinner, celebrating 250th Anniversary of Robert Burns' birth + Chinese New Year's Eve.
WHEN:
6PM January 25 2009, SUNDAY
doors open 5pm
WHERE: Floata Chinese Restaurant,
#400-180 Keefer St.
CULTURE:
Our Performers
create something special for us every year with traditional and contemporary performances featuring everything in-between and beyond!
FOOD: A quirky fusion/mix/buffet of
Scottish Canadian and Chinese Canadian culture 10 course Chinese banguet dinner
2004 - The debut of Gung Haggis Won-Ton
2005 - Haggis lettuce wrap!
2007 - Haggis dim sum appetizer buffet
2008 - Scotch tastings!
Watch for more surprises in 2008!
Description of 2006 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner featuring performers: Rick Scott & Harry Wong, The Shirleys, Joe McDonald & Brave Waves, Sean Gunn, author Joy Kogawa, with co-host Prem Gill .
Media Inquiries
Call Gung Haggis Productions 604-987-7124
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|
Wednesday, November 30

St. Andrew's Day - Gung Haggis Fat Choy style
by
Todd
on Wed 30 Nov 2005 11:58 PM PST

St. Andrew's Day - Gung Haggis Fat Choy style
St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. St Andrew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples and
he lived and worked as a fisherman in Galilee. He was the brother of Peter,
another of Christ's disciples.
A few days ago... Maggie Shiels of the BBC Radio Scotland program "Scotland Licked"
asked me if I had any plans for St. Andrew's Day. I had to
confess that I hadn't thought about it. But I promised I would
celebrate now that she had brought it up.
So... how did Toddish McWong celebrated St. Andrew's Day? By
forgetting to wear my kilt - but with the freezing temperatures and
yesterday's snowfall still hanging around the upper elevations, I
didn't dare.
St. Andrew was a fisherman, so for dinner I ate fish. Well actually it was sushi, and it was during a meeting for the Save Kogawa House committee. Next I went to see the musical show celebrating the music and dance of South Africa, called Umoja,
"the spirit of togetherness." Amazing! Filled with incredible
songs, drums, music and dance... I will write my review later.
The most important thing I did on St. Andrew's Day was go to my favorite drinking establishment in Vancouver - Doolin's Irish Pub,
where we celebrate "Kilts Night" on the first Saturday of each month.
My buddy Rod and his brother Rick were my drinking partners as we
celebrated with Guinness. We had the Irish Nachos made with
potato chips... covered with cheese, sour cream, onions, diced
tomatoes...
Doolin's is fun - the waitresses all wear short plaid skirts, and I
recieved greetings from Evan the manager, Christine Van, the promotions
manager, and Jenny our waitress.
Bear,Me, Dallas and Raphael at Kilts Night
Vancouver really doesn't celebrate St. Andrew's Day. There's a mention in the Georgia Straight
by Jurgen Goethe about a limited release Scottish Ale by Granville
Island Breweries. A few of the local Scottish societies are
having St. Andrew's Day dinners. But nobody's invited me
yet. Maybe they're afraid I might bring my accordion.
It was way back in 1955 on St. Andrew's Day in 1955,
21 Scottish Canadians groups finally opened the United Scottish
Cultural Centre
at Fir and 12th Avenue in Vancouver. (In July, 1986, the centre would
move into a new home at 8886 Hudson in Marpole.) Apparently there
was a party there on Nov 26th, Saturday Night - but nobody told
me.
- Joe McDonald on flute
Mad Celts was providing the entertainment - and Joe McDonald band leader is my regular piper for Gung Haggis Fat Choy.... and he didn't tell me!
Tuesday, November 29

Toddish McWong on BBC Radio Scotland: Check it out on-line
by
Todd
on Tue 29 Nov 2005 01:52 PM PST

Toddish McWong on BBC Radio Scotland -
Check it out on-line
"Toddish McWong" or in Canadian, Todd Wong, is featured on BBC Radio Scotland on the radio Scotland website.
Just click on programs - go to "Scotland Licked" - then wait awhile
until you hear the voice of host Maggie Shiels. Listen to the
introductions where she talks about finding me in Canada - then click
on the 15 minute fast forward button. I will be heard very very soon....
The interview explores the origins of my Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner event, and the haggis-Chinese fusion food that we have created for it.
Monday, November 28

Chinese Head Tax: Protest in Vancouver Chinatown
by
Todd
on Mon 28 Nov 2005 11:59 PM PST

Chinese Head Tax: Protest in Vancouver Chinatown
We chanted loud and proud. We walked up Pender St and down Keefer
St. We were interviewed by radio, TV and newspaper
journalists. We waved at the Primeminister. We were ordinary
Canadians who just happened to be Chinese. We were descendants of
head tax payers and we were supporters of a cause. We were senior
citizens, we were Baby Boomers, and we were Generation X. We were
all asking for an apology and for redress.
Somehow on Saturday, I ended up being a protest organizer. I have
never done this before. Yes, I have organized Chinese
Robbie Burns dinners for 600, and organized dragon boat races for
thousands. I have been an advocate for mental health, cancer
programs, Terry Fox Runs, dragon boat and Chinese Canadian issues - but
never before have I picked up a megaphone and urged the crowd to chant
"Apologize Now" - nor direct a crowd in a peaceful demonstration when
the Prime Minister was arriving at an event.
I woke up Saturday morning, and went down to Home Depot to buy some
correplast to make placards. I arrived at the Chinese Cultural
Centre courtyard at 10:45am and Sid Tan, shouted out "The power of
two!" to onlooking media types. I immediately asked Sid for the
markers he promised and started making signs, as Sid would shout out
"The power of Three", and "Now we are Four!" Our crowd would grow
steadily to 50, then 60, and more. People would bring banners and signs
saying "BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Descendants", "Head Tax
Redress is only Fair", and "NCCC Doesn't Speak for Me."
My signs were little history lessons which said:
In
2004, the United Nations asked Canada to apologize and make reparations
for individual head tax payers and descendants. Canada has
NOT? Why ?
Chinese Head Tax
1885 - $50
1903 - $500
1923 to 1947- Exclusion
2005 - Apology FREE!
Forgiveness and Love is Forever!
A - Actual
C - Canadians
E - are NOT excluded
Redress for Head Tax Payers
and Descendants Now!
It was great to see so many people out on Saturday. Lots of
cameraderie despite not being able to speak English or Cantonese to
everybody... but it didn't matter... there were lots of smiles.
We tried our best to translate English and Cantonese for each
other. We shared our stories and we helped each other out.
Vancouver Sun
took pictures. Epoch Times, Sing Tao and World Journal all showed
up at the Chinese Cultural Centre courtyard. There were security
guards at the CCC Multipurpose Hall who did not let our Coalition in
the doors. the NCCC had invited many Chinese community
organizations and their members from across Canada - but they did not
invite our group or the Chinese Canadian National Congress which had
registered over 4000 individual head tax payers and descendants.
So we protested and we asked Minister of Multiculturalism Raymond Chan
to come speak with us and answer our questions.
Lots of onlookers came by and asked us questions. We explained the
facts. They said they sympathized with us. We saw some of the
conference goers peering out at us from behind the doors.

We spontaneously decided to take it to the streets and marched up
Pender St, across Main St, then down Keefer St. and back to the CCC
Courtyard. All the while a Global TV cameraman filmed us and
interviewed Sid Tan - event organizer.
We decided to take a little break and get some buns and water for
everybody. This is when the police arrived and started asking us
what we were doing. Very calmly and politely we told them, as we
continued updating our signs in anticipation of the Prime Minister's
arrival. We changed some of the signs to read "Liberals Sold us
out!" "PM Martin breaks his promises."
 In front of the SUCCESS front, I was interviewed by
Toronto Star and CKNW 98 Radio. Sid was interviewed by many
more...
CBC television was there... The PM's security tried to move us back
from the front entrance and off to the side -but we pretty well held
our ground. More and more people showed up. People I never expected to see in
a protest. People from many aspects of the community. Very
respectable people. And we shared our signs, smiled and chanted
some more.
We moved to better line up along the street and make sure the PM saw our newly renovated signs when his limosine pulled up.
When Prime Minister Paul Martin did show up, there was a lion dance with drums banging
loudly. PM Martin was quickly hustled into the SUCCESS building
where he shook hands with boy scouts then went into the meeting to
speak to the NCCC and the organizations they had gathered to highlight
their ACE program for redress - which neither apologizes nor gives
individual reparation. Outside we chant some more, sign up more names on the petition,
exchange phone numbers. I grab the megaphone and thank everybody
for coming. I announce that "We were interviewed by the Vancouver
Sun, Toronto Star, Global TV, Ming Pao, Sing Tao, Fairchild and many
more. We have demonstrated that we are a community. We have
asked for apology and redress. And we have been heard!
Congratulations everybody!"
It was an exhilerating day...
I hope some pictures of the event come our way soon....
See Alex Mah's short video film of the event:
Film Synopsis
On November 26, 2005, government compliant groups met at the Chinese
Cultural Centre in Vancouver to put forward a "no apology, no compensation"
agreement-in-principle between the National Congress of Chinese Canadians
and the Liberal federal government represented by Multiculturalism Minister
Raymond Chan.
Individuals and community groups, representing head-tax payers, their
spouses, descendants and supporters organized a leafletting and information
line at the conference and subsequent photo opportunity attended by Prime
Minister Paul Martin at the SUCCESS complex in Chinatown.

Head Tax Protest: Redress: and a good time was had by us...Saltwater City reporting
by
Todd
on Mon 28 Nov 2005 11:54 PM PST

Head Tax Protest: Redress: and a good time was had by us...Saltwater City reporting
Sid Chow Tan is the organizer of the BC Coalition of BC Head Tax Payers
and Descendants. He wrote this e-mail describing Saturday's
protest outside the NCCC conference
at the Chinese Cultural Centre. This was the conference where the NCCC
had flown their members from across Canada and put them up in hotels
with money from a $100,000 grant. Basically photo ops with
Raymond Chan and Prime Minister Paul Martin. Hopefully they don't use
the head tax redress payments for their conferences and organizational
costs.
Sid writes below:
Yo all
Simply,
the soul-suckers could not face us. The Prime Minister did not glance
at us. The Multiculturalism Minister and National Congress people snuck
out other doors. Set-up started at 10:30am. We remained together at the
CCC square, picking up numbers. A half an hour into leafletting, we
were a hundred and more. I'm hoping photos will start coming in.
We
could not attend the NCCC meeting and so held our own. Placards
appeared. After occupying the square for an hour, the group
spontaneously decided on walk through Chinatown with Global TV. We went
up Pender onto Main, down Keefer and back to the square.
This
was a visual feast and galvanizing moment. We took up a collection and
got buns and water, Some socializing and gabbing and a decision was
made to welcome the Prime Minister at 2:00pm at SUCCESS. The group
halved to the hardy.
Then somehow, we started picking up people, practised our chanting and
started to have fun. If nothing else, it was already a successful day.
At SUCCESS, the media following the PM started showing up. We
stared to suck up coverage with chanting and our numbers. Then a big
loud lion dance.
The PM was inside in three eye blinks,
looking straight ahead. There was quite a crowd by now. We spent
another half hour petition signing, answerings the public's question
and doing alot of smiling and laughing.
The day exceeded my
expectations by ten-fold. We got the names and numbers of a lot of
supporters. Lot's of multi-tasking. I can't begin to thank all the
people.
Our
banner looked good and most were feeling fine. We tried to do group
building and definitely sucked up media. At our level of organisation,
much more can be and will be done. We can have much hope and
inspiration at what our seniors and their families accomplished today.
This is only the end of the beginning. The legislation lasted over
three generations. It may take that long for a just and honourable
redress.
The subject line says it all. More later.
Take care. anon Sid

Head Tax Redress: Gabriel Yiu and Raymond Chan speak on CBC Radio Early Edition
by
Todd
on Mon 28 Nov 2005 10:34 PM PST

Head Tax Redress: Gabriel Yiu and Raymond Chan speak on CBC Radio Early Edition
Gabriel Yiu and Minister of State (Multiculturalism) Raymond Chan were
both interviewed on CBC Radio Early Edition this morning by host Rick Cluff. They
spoke about the current head tax issues. My comments are in
italics.
You can hear the interview on-line
http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/bc_chan-head-tax20051128.html
Gabriel Yiu said the following:
- Chinese Canadian community response
so far is one-sided. On Sat, Fairchild Radio & Channel M's
open-line shows (3 hours), not a single caller supported Liberal's
handling of the matter.
(The issue has actually been very hot in the Chinese media for the past
2 weeks – Mainstream media has been slow to explore in-depth issues or
to give more than a wire story except CBC Radio.)
- On Sunday, Sing Tao (page A2),
one of its headlines said "Martin gives political promise, will
apologize to Chinese if elected".
( This headline is translated
from the Chinese - and was attributed to NCCC chair Ping Tan, who said
this to the NCCC conference. The Liberal position is that an
acknowledgment is as close to an apology as Chinese Canadians will
get. Martin is clearly politicizing the issue. It has
already been debated in standing committees at parliament. Only
the NDP and Bloc Quebecois debated against the language that the
Liberals and Conservatives are trying to ram through as Bill C-333 put
forward by Conservative MPs Inky Mark and Bev Oda. NDP MP
Margaret Mitchell
first tried to resolve head tax issues in the 1980’s.)
- CCNC has been working on the Headtax
Redress for over 20 years and it represents over 4000 Headtax payers
and they've been shut out of the government settlement.
(Chinese Canadian National Council
formed after the 1979 W5 issue when it was recognized that a national
voice for Chinese Canadians was needed. CCNC was also the organization
that started registering headtax payers and descendants since
1984. The NCCC has not claimed that they have registered any head
tax payers.)
Raymond Chan basically attacked Gabriel Yiu next stating:
- Gabriel Yiu is not only a commentator, he is a NDP
candidate
(FACT: Gabriel Yiu has been a Chinese
media commentor for many years and has also contributed to mainstream
media such as the Vancouver Sun, CBC Radio, Ming Pao and many others. Yiu is NOT a candidate in the upcoming
federal election, but did run in the provincial election as an NDP
candidate – same colour as Ujal Dosanjh before he joined the federal
Liberals to become a Senior Cabinet minister compared to Chan’s junior
portfolio.)
- Gabriel Yiu is misleading the community
(How is presenting the views of the
community misleading? Chan must be desperate to resort to
personal attacks rather than to feature the facts).
- Chan denied any community opposition and said the settlement is well represented by a great many Chinese organizations I
was one of 75 people protesting on Saturday outside on the NCCC
conference at the Chinese Cultural Centre and at SUCCESS when Prime
Minister Paul Martin arrived. We chanted, and we held up placards and
were interviewed and filmed by Vancouver Sun, CKNW 98, Global News, CBC
TV News, Ming Pao, Epoch Times, Sing Tao.
Guess Chan wasn’t listening when many of the organizations listed on
the Liberal press release complained that they did not give NCCC
permission to use their names, or wasn’t aware that NCCC national chair
Ping Tan severely critized NCCC director Tsai Fung Chan Lee for openly
criticizing NCCC's approach, and urged its executive chairman Ping Tan
and the federal government to reconsider their approach to the Head Tax
issue. Raymond Chan is WRONG on many facts! I
believe that Raymond Chan is seriously misleading the public. He listed
a number of organizations such as the Chinese Cultural Centres of
Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and SUCCESS - an immigrant services
organization. The directors of these groups are primarily
immigrants
who arrived in Canada since 1967, not actual head tax payer
descendants. These groups are interested in the cash grab that is
available to them - not for rightful redress to head tax payers.
Chan
lists a number of projects for these organizations such as "museum
projects, youth education, restore historical building to remember
railroad workers, Toronto Cultural Association wants to build momentuum
for their centre." All these projects should be eligible for
already existing programs in Canadian Heritage or Multiculturalism.
The $23 million originally
collected from original head tax payers
was further worked off by themselves and their descendants who
basically gave up years of their lives to pay for
initial loans to pay for the tax. They lived separated from
families over generations. The
total impact from 1885 to 1947, then further until 1967 when
restrictive immigration laws were relaxed, may never be totally known. Chan also said the Chinese Canadian veterans are almost all head tax payers. WRONG!
most were born in Canada, and many were head tax descendants, and guess
what? They weren't even allowed to fight for their country until
England asked Canada for Chinese speaking soldiers, and even then
Chinese Canadians still couldn't vote in Canada. The veterans have
always asked for only an apology - not for compensation. Jan Wong of
the Globe & Mail reported on Saturday that the veterans were
pulling out because no apology is being given. Chan says that
the government cannot look at ethnic redress issues in isolation - "We
have to worry about, we have to consider all the other claims by other
ethnic groups that have claims to the government..." WRONG -
the Chinese head tax is a unique situation, because only ethnic Chinese
were taxed from $50 to $500 from 1885 to 1923 when Chinese immigration
was banned until 1947, and then very limited until 1967. No other
ethnic group was taxed for immigration nor excluded, at consideral cost
to community and families. Chan says that a "responsible" government cannot give away individual compensation for a past wrong such as head tax. WRONG!
In 1988 the Progressive Conservative federal government under Prime Minister Brian
Mulroney signed a Redress package with Japanese Canadians that included
$21,000 individual compensation. The CCNC and the BC Coalition of Head
Tax Payers are simply asking for a Tax refund of what the government
acknowledges was wrong. The United Nations in 2004 asked Canada to
apologize and make individual reparations, which New Zealand did.
Chan says the Chinese Community has never come together like this
before:
WRONG!
In 1979, Chinese ad-hoc committees sprouted up across Canada to protest
CTV's W-5 program which aired a misleading story called "Campus
Giveaway." It was the CCNC that grew out of this unified movement.
Unfortunately Gabriel Yiu did not get a chance to dispute Raymond
Chan's statements. Chan repeatedly said that Gabriel Yiu was
"lying" and "misleading the public" when it was clearly Raymond
Chan who is out of touch with the community and needs to take Chinese
Canadian history lessons. I recommend Paul Yee's "Struggle and Hope:
The Story of Chinese Canadians." It's a good easy read written for
young adults.
You can find my name listed on the bottom of page 85 just
above Raymond Chan's in the Chronology: The Chinese in Canada.
Raymond is listed for being an MP appointed to Secretary of State for
Asia Pacific Affairs whereas I am listed for being awarded the Simon
Fraser University Terry Fox Gold Medal for my personal battle with
cancer and for efforts to create racial harmony.
Please ask CBC Radio to present more in depth stories on Head Tax
Issues where the interviews can clarify their positions and also
include the actual descendants of head tax payers - not just the more
recent immigrants of the "Chinese community".
The CBC Radio Early Edition Talk Back phone number is 604-662-6690.
Saturday, November 26

Globe & Mail: Jan Wong writes about Chinese head tax and Grandpa Wong
by
Todd
on Sat 26 Nov 2005 04:04 PM PST
Globe & Mail: Jan Wong writes on Chinese head tax
and Grandpa Wong
I first met Jan Wong in Beijing in October 1993. I
found her at her Globe & Mail Beijing bureau chief office, and we
talked about Terry Fox, Canada, her American husband, Svend Robinson
getting kicked out of China - and me speaking at the Terry Fox Run at
the Canadian embassy in Beijing. Jan is very cool. She has
written the books Jan Wong in China and Red China Blues, describing her
time as the first Canadian foreign student in Communist China.
The following is her story in the Globe & Mail.
"Give
the money to us" - Who gets the $2.5 Million federal payout announced
this week for Chinese Canadians. Jan Wong reports on a taxing
question.
Globe & Mail
By JAN WONG
Saturday, November 26, 2005 Page M2
What would Grandpa Wong think?
Last week, the National
Congress of Chinese Canadians thought it had a good news story. In the
wake of similar federal agreements with the Italian and Ukrainian
communities, the congress triumphantly announced it had beaten out two
other Toronto-based organizations to negotiate a $12.5-million payout
from Ottawa for the head tax once levied on Chinese immigrants when
they entered the country.
But then reporters began asking awkward questions. Why did the deal
exclude an apology? Why was there no compensation to those who paid the
head tax? And why, on the eve of a federal election, was so much money
going to a single organization that sent out squads of volunteers to
campaign for a Liberal candidate running in Toronto's Chinatown in the
last election?
Ping Tan, a Toronto lawyer who heads the NCCC, started getting
tetchy. He publicly scolded Linda Tse, a Fairchild Television
correspondent, when she asked several pointed questions at his press
conference. "You don't ask questions like that," he snapped.
Toronto First Radio, a Chinese-language station with a popular
suppertime call-in show, never got invited to the press conference in
the first place.
No wonder. A few weeks earlier, the host of the show, Simon Li, had
posed this loaded question to listeners: Do you think this is a
sponsorship scandal in the Chinese-Canadian community? "A majority of
callers said the only difference is it is taking place in the Chinese
community, not Quebec," says Mr. Li, 25.
One major difference is that no one is suggesting that any criminal
conduct has occurred. It's a harsh comment, meant to reflect concerns
about Liberals favouring their supporters, but it demonstrates how
divisive the issue of head-tax redress has become among Chinese
Canadians.
Further complicating matters, the government, which could fall as
early as Monday, this week downplayed any suggestion of a done deal
with the NCCC. A spokesman for Raymond Chan, multiculturalism minister,
said on Tuesday that his department was merely "reviewing" the
application from the organization.
But on Thursday, Mr. Chan did sign an agreement in principle with
Mr. Tan -- for just $2.5-million. And a multiculturalism program under
his purview provided Mr. Tan's group with a $100,000 grant for airfare,
hotels and meals for a national conference this weekend in Vancouver to
discuss how to spend the money.
So far, Mr. Tan says, the group has no specific plans for the payout
money. But one thing is certain: It won't be used to compensate the
families of Chinese Canadians who paid the tax, in compliance with the
government's stipulation that no individual redress payments be made.
Officials with Mr. Chan's office, who say that the NCCC is the only
organization that actually applied for redress money, issued a press
release that included a list of dozens of community groups that support
the deal. But one organization listed -- a Chinese-Canadian veterans
group called Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans in Canada --
disassociated itself from the congress, specifying it wants an apology
as part of the government's settlement.
Another group listed is, in fact, one of the toughest critics of the
deal -- the Chinese Canadian National Council, which has lobbied since
1984 for direct head-tax redress. "We want something for the head-tax
payers and their families," said Victor Wong, executive director, whose
group didn't apply for the federal money because it disagreed with the
government's conditions. He says the council plans to file an
injunction to stop the payment to the Congress, and stage protests
today in Chinatowns in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver, where
Prime Minister Paul Martin is expected to meet with Mr. Tan and other
congress officials.
Mr. Tan hopes his organization will eventually see even more money.
"This is the initial funding," he says. "We have an agreement to
negotiate for more."
In this pre-election flurry of feel-good largesse, the federal
government bypassed the one group formed to represent the victims, the
Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families. The group
has signed up 4,000 payers and their families since the 1980s. It
estimates that only a few hundred head-tax payers, at most, are still
alive.
Like the callers to Mr. Li's radio show, the head-tax coalition
alleges that another Liberal scandal is in the making. "They will
transfer $12.5-million of taxpayers' money to political cronies," Susan
Eng, the coalition's co-chair, said at a press conference last week
before the lower amount became public.
Pressed at the time for specifics about cronyism, Ms. Eng came up
short. But at Mr. Chan's Liberal nomination meeting last Sunday in
Richmond, B.C., congress members and officials packed the hall,
including many who didn't live in the riding, according to several
witnesses.
So what would Grandpa Wong make of all this? He and other family
members of mine paid a total of $1,300 -- about $23,600 in 2005
dollars, according to the Bank of Canada inflation calculator -- to
enter Canada. Grandpa Wong and my grandmother each paid $500 in 1915.
My other grandmother, who arrived in 1902, paid a lower head tax, $100,
as did her stepson and daughter-in-law. Her husband, Grandpa Chong,
arrived in 1881, before Ottawa dreamed up the tax. One of about 9,000
coolies recruited to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, he paid a
different tax -- after the last spike was driven in -- to stay in
Canada and find a new job. But that's another story.
Canada discriminated against aboriginals, Japanese, Germans,
Italians and Ukrainians, to mention just a few. The government devised
regulations to keep out Africans, Indians, Jews and a host of other
non-Aryan types. But only the Chinese were singled out for a punitive
admission fee -- and issued receipts. From 1885 to 1923, more than
82,000 Chinese immigrants to Canada paid an estimated $23-million to
the government. (In 1923, the head tax was replaced by the Chinese
Immigration Act, the Orwellian name for a law that barred virtually all
Chinese immigration until its repeal in 1947.)
My grandparents might have had a claim for redress, but they died
decades ago. Even if I wanted repayment of their $23,600, it would
probably work out to the price of three Starbucks lattes by the time I
finished divvying it up with my zillions of cousins, second cousins,
their children, and their children. The rest would go to lawyers and
accountants -- oh, wait; we have a dozen of those in the family, too.
The point is, we're all here and flourishing; thank you, Canada. But I
can't and shouldn't speak for others.
Jack Chong, a retired postal sorter, has kept his father's $500 head-tax receipt, dated April 9, 1914, and numbered 87126.
"We want the government to say they were wrong, to apologize," said
Mr. Chong, 73. "Why don't they give the money to us? Instead, they
throw the money to the Congress."
For 91 years, Har Ying Lee's family has also kept her father's
head-tax certificate. Mrs. Lee, 69, said her father worked as a
laundryman, briefly returning home to marry and start a family.
The Chinese Immigration Act forced him to leave them behind when he
came back to Canada. Mrs. Lee said her father saw her once when she was
an infant, and not again until she was 22 and had arrived as a bride in
Canada. "My mother is still alive. She's 97," said Mrs. Lee. "My father
told me it took him so long to come up with the head-tax money that he
hoped my mother would have a long life to get the money back. She wants
the head-tax money back. We need direct compensation from the
government."
George Lau, a thin, energetic man, is a co-chair of the Ontario
coalition of head-tax payers. His father paid the head tax in 1924.
Now, at 74, Mr. Lau fears time is running out for redress. He points
out that Mr. Tan came to Canada from Malaysia as a student in 1968,
after the era of the head tax. "They were not impacted," said Mr. Lau,
speaking of people like Mr. Tan. "They shouldn't be given sole
responsibility for handling this money."
Friday, November 25

Sexy Black Men: a Vancouver guide to loving women and learning to love themselves
by
Todd
on Fri 25 Nov 2005 11:57 PM PST
A Common Man's Guide to Loving Women
Firehall Arts Centre
November 11 to December 3, 2005
written by Andre Moodie
directed by Denis Simpson
starring Awaovieyi Agie, Kwesi Ameyaw, Peter John Prinsloo and Hayden Thomas
Where can you find four sexy black men, who are hip, urbane, and live in Vancouver's trendy Yaletown neighborhood? Well... believe it or not - at the Firehall Arts Centre on the corner of Cordova St. and Gore St. in the Downtown Lower Eastside.
Denis Simpson directs the Andrew Moodie play "A Common Man's Guide to Loving Women. Set designer Derek Butt has created a beautiful urbane condominium that every person would want to live in. A wide screen tv with a kick-ass sound system, complimented by a very cool dining set complete with clear acrylic chess set. This is not some "gangsta crib in the 'hood." more »

I am Canadian: I take the oath at Canadian Citizenship court.
by
Todd
on Fri 25 Nov 2005 07:48 PM PST

I am Canadian: I take the oath at Canadian Citizenship court.
"O Canada, I stand on guard for thee...."
It was my first time at Canadian citizenship court. As a 5th
Generation Canadian, I really never had a reason to go. My
parents were born in Canada, my grandmother was born in Canada.
My great-grandmother came to Canada as a baby in 1899. My
great-great-grandfather came to Canada in 1896.
Eighty people stood in the room, some holding Canadian flags, some
wearing Canadian lapel pins. Citizen court judge Sandra Wilking
presided, and give an inspirational speech about what it means to be a
Canadian. She talked about the responsibilities about becoming a
Canadian, and giving back to this new country. She acknowledged
that some people came from countries that were ravaged by war, while
others came from countries at peace - but all have come to Canada for a
better life.
At the end of her address, each row stood up in turn stating their name
and raising their right arm. Then we all stood up together and
took an oath to serve Canada. We next sang O Canada.
Then, Judge Wilking introduced me to the people about to be sworn in as
citizens, as a member from the Canadian Club. She also introduced
me as a 5th Generation Canadian who works tirelessly in community
service, and as an arts advocate. Then she did something she
almost never ever does. She gave me a plug for Gung Haggis Fat
Choy! Judge Wilking just thinks my multicultural Robbie Burns
Chinese New Year dinner is a most Canadian event, and that every
Canadian should attend. You could see the smiles on people's
faces, and the stifled laughters at her description of haggis won-ton,
and the blending of Scottish and Chinese cultures into something
uniquely Canadian.
I introduced myself as a director of the Canadian Club founded in 1906
to emphasize Canadian culture and identity when Canada was still very
"British" in nature and manners. But through the years, the
Canadian Club has honoured Canada's best and brightest, it has nurtured
its cultural evolution, as new waves of immigration have added to our
cultural mosaic. We have addressed the hurts of Quebec
separatism, American imperialism, and First Nations issues.
I invited everybody to become active participants as Canadians.
Next, I thanked Judge Wilking for her inspirational address and shared
with everybody in the room, that Judge Wilking had been an immigrant
from South Africa, and she spoke true about committment to our
communities, because she had been the first Chinese-Canadian woman to
serve as a Vancouver City Councillor. I hoped that everybody
could be as inspired by Judge Wilking as I have been.
It was a wonderful day. It was great to be part of helping people become Canadian citizens.
I AM CANADIAN!

Joy Kogawa opposes Bill C-333 - ACE program "so-called" Chinese head tax redress
by
Todd
on Fri 25 Nov 2005 07:31 PM PST
"This is almost exactly what happened with Japanese Canadian redress. My new/old novel, "Emily Kato" (a re-write of Itsuka and just published) describes the panic when government tried to pull the rug out from the redress movement. But we did stop it." wrote Joy Kogawa to me in an e-mail.... more »

Chinese Head Tax: Open letter from Kwok Gin and Meena Wong
by
Todd
on Fri 25 Nov 2005 07:17 PM PST
Chinese Head Tax: Open letter from Kwok Gin and Meena Wong
Dear Mr. Owen, Your
Government has tried everything in the book to silence those of us who
refuses to accept their preset conditions of no apology, no
compensation, including cynical manipulation of the private members
legislative process to pass Bill C-333. Despite our loud opposition,
the Minister of Multiculturalism is quietly processing the paperwork
out of the spotlight to hand over the $12.5 million dollars to The
National Congress Of Chinese Canadians even before the terms and
conditions of the so-called ACE Program have been finalized. I would
like to know if there are any members of this congress with any real
remote connections with the Head Tax community or the issues at stake. On
Nov.17th last Thursday, Chan Ping Ting of The NCCC held a press
conference at Ruby’s in Scarborough on how they would use the 12.5
million etc...Why weren't any Head Tax descendants informed of this ?
It was only by chance that I spoke to a Journalist colleague who was
there for 1 of the local Chinese Medias. I was informed that not only
was Chan avoiding issues of fundamental justice but this reporter
feels threaten now that her career might be jeopardized with future
media blacklist if she continues to be persistent. Does freedom of
speech mean nothing in this country anymore? Is that where this
Government is heading ? If it is…then I shouldn’t really care too much
concerning this Government’s other messages; that the Head Tax
community’s contributions in Canada were worthless; that we were not
welcome in Canada ; & we will continue to be unwelcome in the
future of Canada.
It
is totally irresponsible of your Government to empty the funds before
the Head Taxpayers and families even have the chance to seek justice.
We've been on their case for over 20 years and they’ve done zilch until
now. So why the sudden rush ? If they’re going to throw
money out the window like that, at least take the time to hear out
those who directly suffered from 62 years of legislated racism.
Isn't that what these funds are all about ? Your Government must be
diligent & not just give the money out with no accountability. I
like to remind you in case you’ve forgotten that it is your
responsibility & one of the reasons you were elected into office to
begin with !
Our friend
& social justice activist, June Callwood said ‘to favour one group
selected by the Government is unacceptable. I haven't seen such
highhandedness for a very long time’ while she wonders ‘what are
they hiding?’ Tony Chan, ex-CBC broadcaster now broadcast prof/writer
said ‘This is worst than the W-5, ‘campus giveaway’ CTV program in
1979!’ If you remember the noise from the community back in ’79…that
was nothing compare to what you’ll be hearing this time around. I've been getting overwhelming support from as far as Washington State
& MPs from B.C. but nothing from my local MP...That really pisses me off !
Again I ask you..."How can the Liberal Government negotiate with these
privileged and self-important members of so-called national group with
no historical/community understanding or connections to the issues at
stake?" As
a direct descendant of a Chinese Head Tax payer, I want you & your
Government to know that I’m not interested in your ‘Guilt Money’&
empty political gestures. The irresponsible rush to pawn off this money
to The NCCC without any true representation of my community is
essentially what this money is & the message it carries. What I
want for my ancestors’ are sincere recognitions for their contributions
to this country & a meaningful apology to put their souls to rest. You’ll be hearing from my wide circle loud & clear at the polls this coming election ! Regards, Kwok K. Gin Trinity Spadina M6G 1H8 Meena Wong Vancouver Central V6K 2S4 Thank
you all for your recent overwhelming solidarity. Please copy and paste
the letter into a new message and place your names under this list with
your riding, postal code & forward it to your MP (google them on
line). For Liberal MPs in BC:

Head Tax issue: Todd's letters and Joy Kogawa's letters
by
Todd
on Fri 25 Nov 2005 12:06 PM PST

Head Tax issue: Todd's letter to the editors of the Vancouver Sun
To Kirk LaPointe
Managing Editor, Vancouver Sun
Hello Kirk,
Thank you for taking seriously my comments about
the Sun's coverage of Canadian issues that just happen to have Asian
names and faces behind them, and not just to feature Asian faces at
Chinese New Year time.
I am a 5th generation Canadian, my
picture and activities have been featured in the Vancouver Sun many
times since 1993, for my Gung Haggis Fat Choy events, for being awarded
the SFU Terry Fox Gold Medal, and for speaking as a Terry's Team member
for the Terry Fox Run as a living cancer survivor.
I believe
that the Vancouver Sun can offer a different perspective to the Chinese
head tax issue. I want to know what real community leaders such as Bob
Lee, Milton Wong, David YH Lui, Lori Fung, Roy Mah and Bev Nann have to
say. Their pioneer forefathers all likely had to pay the head tax,
their families were isolated by the Chinese Exclusion Act. These
people have recieved the Order of Canada and or the Order of BC.
I want to hear from
architect Joe Wai, writer Wayson Choy, historian Jim Wong-Chu. How
about "white" people that are important members of the Chinese
community such as Dr. Jan Walls or Dr. Edgar Wickberg.
Kevin, here is the link to my blog article postings on Chinese Canadian Head Tax redress
http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/ChineseHead TaxissuesGimWongsRideforRedress
What does writer Joy Kogawa think about the Chinese head tax redress
issue. Joy and Roy Miki both worked on the Japanese Canadian redress
campaign and both are listed in Almanac's 100 Greatest British
Columbians.
Here's a letter to me from Joy Kogawa below
Regards, Todd Wong
Hi Todd,
This
is almost exactly what happened with Japanese Canadian redress. My
new/old novel, "Emily Kato" (a re-write of Itsuka and just published)
describes the panic when government tried to pull the rug out from the
redress movement. But we did stop it.
Here's
a copy of the letter that Tam asked for and that went off this morning.
It may not make it, of course, into the Globe. Please do anything you
want with it -- add, alter, delete, whatever.
Joy
Letters to the editor
Re: Money for grievances, Nov. 19.
June
Callwood, Dr. Joseph Wong, Michele Landsberg, and many other people of
conscience have added their support to the Ontario Coalition of Chinese
Head Tax Payers and Families plus the Chinese Canadian National
Council. The strenuous efforts of these organizations to have the Head
Tax redress resolved in an honourable manner have thus far been
thwarted by the federal government.
Two
decades ago I was passionately involved in the Japanese Canadian
struggle for redress for the actions against my community during and
after World War II. The aspect of the struggle that was for me the most
arduous was the endeavour to have the government recognize the
legitimacy of our national organization. More than once in its haste
and impatience to resolve the issue, events were staged by government
officials to undercut the community's need for an inclusive, open and
healing process.
Today,
this same unseemly haste and disregard for the passions and needs of
the affected people are once more evident in the issue of the Chinese
Head Tax. Surely there is time enough to heed the many voices across
the country, pleading for the healing of those who were directly
affected and those who have been working across the country on this
matter for many years.
I
am reminded again as I was twenty years ago of the words of the prophet
Jeremiah. "They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying
'Peace, Peace,' where there is no peace."
Joy Kogawa

Government Bungling Confuses Canadians on Chinese Head Tax/Exclusion Redress: 4,000 Head Tax Payers and Families Call for a Just and Honourable Redress Now
by
Todd
on Fri 25 Nov 2005 11:31 AM PST

Media Release: November 24, 2005 - For Immediate Release
Government Bungling
Confuses Canadians on Chinese Head Tax/Exclusion Redress: 4,000 Head
Tax Payers and Families Call for a Just and Honourable Redress Now
Vancouver – The federal government is poised to sign an agreement with
the National Congress of Chinese Canadians (NCCC) that humiliates and
disrespects the few remaining Head Tax payers and their spouses.
Community groups say the NCCC is not representative of the Chinese
Canadians calling on the government to engage in a genuine process of
redress and reconciliation. Only good faith negotiations with
representatives for the last surviving Head Tax payers and spouses who
are in the 90's or older will bring about the long overdue
reconciliation and healing.
“We would all agree that Canada is a better country today because of
the legacy of the Japanese Canadian redress. In that light, we
respectfully request that the Prime Minister review the deliberations
taking place regarding Bill C-333 and re-engage in negotiations with
active participation of all Chinese Canadian communities,” said Grace
Eiko Thomson of the National Association of Japanese
Canadians. “Only a just and honourable settlement can bring about
a healing process leading to full participation and pride in Canadian
citizenship.”
Since 1984, over 4,000 Head Tax payers, spouses and families, each with
Head Tax certificate, registered with the Chinese Canadian National
Council (CCNC) to represent their claim to the Government. The
CCNC was not consulted about the agreement because the government set
preconditions of "no apology" and "no compensation". This was
unacceptable to those seeking direct individual acknowledgement,
recognition and a tax refund.
"Paul Martin is doing the same to the aboriginal community at the First
Minister Conference: luring native elites and chiefs into
accepting a dollar cap for a Ten Year Plan without consultation with
grassroots groups and victims of residential schools,” said Bill Chu,
chairperson of Chinese Christians in Action and Canadians for
Reconciliation. “It is shameful that a Chinese group (NCCC) with
little history of fighting for Head Tax redress bypassed consulting the
victims and is willing to accept whatever small funds offered with no
intent of paying the actual victims."
“As Canadians, we should have the courage to face our past wrong-doings
including the imposition of head tax and the Chinese Exclusion
Act. We should also urge our government to redress the head tax
payers and families,” said Thekla Lit, a human rights and peace
activist. “Before anyone or group benefits from the money
established because of the injustice to Chinese pioneers, they have the
moral obligation to ensure the head tax payers, spouses and families
get their refund of head tax first."
"The Chinese head tax redress has been dragged on for over a quarter of
a century. We shouldn't rush to an unjust settlement because of a
upcoming election, said Gabriel Yiu, current affairs commentator.
“By shutting out the Chinese Canadian National Council, who represents
over 4,000 redress claimants, the Liberal government is adding another
disgraceful chapter to our national history."
“There is much anger and frustration at the federal government.
Before his election to the Commons, current Multiculturalism Minister
Raymond Chan supported Head Tax payers, spouses and descendants at
Chinese Canadian National Council meetings,” said Sid Tan of the B. C.
Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants, director of CCNC
and a grandson of a Head Tax payer. “His proposed agreement
with the NCCC is unethical and humiliates the very people who overcame
the racist legislation to enable him to serve in public office.”
The B. C. Coalition of Head Tax Payers Spouses and Descendants are head
Tax payers, their surviving spouses, descendants and supporters.
They are joined in their demand for a just and honourable redress now
by the Ontario Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Families, Chinese
Canadian National Council, Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance, the
Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society
and the Metro Toronto Chinese and South East Asian Legal Clinic.
Go to www.headtaxredress.org to sign the on-line petition to stop the
proposed agreement between the federal government and NCCC.
Without proper consultation with the over 4000 Head Tax payers and
families registered with CCNC, any agreement on the on the Chinese Head
Tax/Exclusion redress and reconciliation will be unethical.
-30-
Sid Tan, co-ordinator 604-433-6169
B. C. Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants
Thursday, November 24

CBC Radio story on Head Tax issue - interview with Sid Tan of BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Descendants
by
Todd
on Thu 24 Nov 2005 07:58 PM PST
CBC Radio story on Head Tax issue - interview with Sid Tan of BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Descendants
CBC Radio has a story on their website
Compensation deal reached on Chinese head tax |
Last updated
Nov 18 2005 01:12 PM PST
CBC News |
|
Ottawa is set to pay millions of dollars in compensation to descendants
of Chinese workers who were charged a head tax to enter the country.
The government has agreed to acknowledge the tax was discriminatory and
will pay $12.5 million into a new foundation. The agreement comes
following negotiations with the the National Congress of Chinese
Canadians, a group appointed to negotiate redress.
"We have concluded the negotiations and now we are looking forward to
signing the agreement with the federal government as soon as possible,"
said Pin Tan, of the Congress.
The federal government imposed a $50 head tax on Chinese immigrants in
1885 after Chinese workers were no longer needed to work on the
Canadian Pacific Railway. The amount was raised to $500 in 1903. In 1923 the head tax
was replaced by the Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from
the country altogether until 1947. The tax was the equivalent of about
two years' wages at the time. About 80,000 Chinese were singled out.
It wasn't fully repealed until 1967.
"The cabinet has approved an acknowledgment, commemoration and
education program to make sure that Canadians understand those issues,
those wrong things that were done to the communities in the past," said
Raymond Chan, Minister of State for Multiculturalism. However, some head tax payers and their families are upset
with the deal. The Ontario Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Families,
which is representing 4,000 of them, is questioning why it has been
shut out of negotiations with the government.
It is demanding individual payments to Chinese who were charged the tax.
"We think that no money should go out until it is settled," said Susan
Eng, of the coalition. "There is widespread opposition in the Chinese
community."
The group is planning to sue the government to stop the deal. It says
every Chinese-Canadian who paid the price for decades of discrimination
should be given the chance to be heard.
The Congress said it is willing to hear proposals about how the money should be spent.
But the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is opposed to any money being paid out.
"The danger is that it fosters other groups to come forward and also
demand compensation and tax money," said John Williamson, of the
Federation. "We'd kind of get into a cycle whereby it's one group after
another."
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Wednesday, November 23

Toddish McWong on BBC Radio Scotland - next Monday Nov 28th - Scottish Time
by
Todd
on Wed 23 Nov 2005 02:06 PM PST

Toddish McWong on BBC Radio Scotland - next Monday Nov 28th - Scottish Time
"Toddish McWong" or in Canadian, Todd Wong, will be featured onto BBC Radio Scotland on Monday - Nov 28th (11.30 am
Scottish time) or 3:30am PST if you are in Vancouver BC.. However, you can go to
the listen again option on the radio Scotland website.
The interview explores the origins of my |