Category Archives: Asian Canadian Cultural Events

Denise Chong Comes to Vancouver for literASIAN 2013 – Book Launch of ‘Lives of the Family’

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Long time Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW) member and supporter Denise Chong will be launching her latest book Lives of the Family at literASIAN 2013.  As the international bestselling author of The Concubine’s Children, Denise Chong returns to the subject of her most beloved book, the lives and times of Canada’s early Chinese families.

In 2011, Denise Chong set out to collect the history of the earliest Chinese settlers in and around Ottawa, who made their homes far from any major Chinatown. Many would open cafes, establishments that once dotted the landscape across the country and were a monument to small-town Canada. This generation of Chinese immigrants lived at the intersection of the Exclusion Act in Canada, which divided families between here and China, and 2 momentous upheavals in China: the Japanese invasion and war-time occupation; and the victory of the Communists, which ultimately led these settlers to sever ties with China. This book of overlapping stories explores the trajectory of a universal immigrant experience, one of looking in the rear view mirror while at the same time, travelling toward an uncertain future. Intimate, haunting and powerful, Lives of the Family reveals the immigrant’s tenacity in adapting to a new world.

Information about the book: http://livesofthefamily.com/

Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop hosts Ann Shin’s book launch of The Family China as part of literASIAN 2013

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Have you heard yet?  The Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop will be hosting Ann Shin’s book launch of The Family China as part of literASIAN 2013, Nov 21-24.   The Family China is a book of poems about the sense of belonging, about the tenuous ties we make across borders both international and internal.

The Family China, Ann Shin’s second book of poems, examines the decentering experiences of migration, loss and death, and the impulse to build anew. In five suites threaded through with footnote-like fragments that haunt and ambush the text like memories, the book accrues associations, building and transforming images from poem to poem, creating a layered and cohesive collection that asks daring questions about how we define ourselves.

These poems grapple rawly and musically with the profound messiness of human relations; their candour consoles and instructs. The quandaries in The Family China are deeply recognizable. Strung up between fragility and resilience, between naïve hope and domestic disillusionment, between an untenable nostalgia for the pastoral and a deep unease with the global, the voice of these poems is nevertheless determined to find some scrap of a song we can sing in common.

“... This short, dazzling collection of poems contains a universe—nothing short of North American life in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. Somehow it is all here, joyously offered up, birth, death, and everything in between, including the suspect investment schemes of the heart (and the bank), the modern war in relationships and families, the dark-light, pastoral dream of childhood, the carried-over costs of immigration and exile...” – Karen Connelly

“Ann Shin x-rays the ecstasy and the elegiac of the everyday… [her] poems are ravenous and nourishing.” —George Elliott Clarke

CBC Broadcast of Belonging – Ann Shin reads earlier version of the poems from The Family China (the collection was previously title Belonging)

Smashed: poetry and the family china – interview on The Sunday Edition of Ann Shin by Michael Enright, June 16, 2013 – scroll down to “Treehouses, Donna Neufeld becomes a doctor at 48 and Canada: Whose history is it?”

Reviews

– See more at: http://www.brickbooks.ca/?page_id=3&bookid=255#sthash.NqnWeSTj.dpuf

Canadian-born Chinese writers on tour to promote translated works in China

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jadeThere are over 40 million overseas Chinese scattered abroad in every corner of the world and at least a million or more in Canada alone. With many regularly returning to China to visit their ancestral home and the recent relaxation of visa requirement with the Approved Destination Status agreement between China and Canada multiplying the number of Chinese citizens visiting Canada, this continuing trend has created a renewed curiosity of North American Chinese history and experiences.

This interest has taken a bold step forward with the Chinese language translation and publication of the most celebrated and important works by award-winning Canadian-born Chinese writers. These translated works include Denise Chong’s Concubine’s Children, Judy Fong Bates’ at the Dragon Café, Wayson Choy’s Jade Peony, SKY Lee’s Disappearing Moon Café and Paul Yee’s Ghost Train and The Curses of Third Uncle. These popular works have been used as part of curriculum and teaching texts by a wide range of high school and university level educational institutions and considered canonized literature.

For the first time, the Chinese public in China can purchase and enjoy the unique and wonderful stories depicting the struggles and survival of generations of Canadian Chinese pioneers.

Denise Chong’s Concubine’s Children, published by Chongqing Publishing House has been in circulation since the beginning of January and has already garnered much praise and attention from popular book club for readers sites such as douban.com.

The remaining four Chinese Canadian writers are published by Nankai University Press. Based in Tianjin, China, Nankai University is the alma mater of former Chinese Premier and key historical figure Zhou Enlai and is regarded as one of the top class universities in China.

From the Canadian Embassy in China is sponsoring a four city book tour to promote these newly translated works by Canadian-born Chinese writers. The tour will begin in Guangzhou and will travel to Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing.

Three of the five translated writers, Denise Chong, SKY Lee and Judy Fong Bates will be featured authors and will be giving readings and answering question about their works to the public. They are accompanied by poet, Jim Wong-Chu, a founder of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop.

SKY Lee says, “I am so excited that Chinese readers in China shall be exposed to our unique Chinese Canadian history. It’s a very rich heritage that can only be told by storytellers who were the direct descendants of a very old and proud community of overseas Chinese. Our original stories give immense emotional depth to the lone sojourner struggling to survive in the wilderness of the Gold Mountains.”

Three among the five writers, Wayson Choy, SKY Lee and Paul Yee are currently embroiled in a legal dispute with book publisher, Penguin Canada Books Inc. with allegations of plagiarism over its publication of Zhang Ling’s Gold Mountain Blues.

Toronto-based legal firm, Fasken Martineau’s May M. Cheng, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, claims that the case is making its way through the court system and no resolution is anticipated until 2015. She states that contrary to rumours, the Chinese Canadian writers are resolute in seeking a fair and just settlement to their case.

KCTS

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Tips on How to Choose A Luxury Watch

 
5 Tips on How to Choose A Luxury Watch

A luxury timepiece can represent the significant investment of time and also the value for its design, function and quality. The purchase of a luxury timepiece can be aroused from different intentions, as a personal milestone in a certain stage of life, as a token to be passed down to your next generation, to fulfill your enthusiasm for luxury watches or also as an investment. Whatever intention of yours is, it is sure a major life’s decision in choosing the right luxury watch to own or to invest in. Therefore, here are the five tips which lead you in your journey of purchasing luxury watches that suit you the most. This is the most popular replica rolex.

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Know Your Intention and Preferences

No matter for men or for women, always be clear of your intention in owning a luxury watch. The luxury watch can be an accessory for social occasions, it can be an expression of an individual’s persona, it can be an impressive art piece or even an appreciation of the complex inner mechanics engineering. By confirming your intention in owning a luxury watch, you can get to know your preferences on the looks, the functions and the practicality of the luxury watch which you will be opted for. For example, if you are looking for something sporty with modern design and some sparks of colours, the Zenith Chronomaster Sport with tachymeter which contrasts beautifully with the colours of rose gold, navy and white accents on the latest and most technical evolution of revered automatic chronograph.

source: https://horologisto.com/review-of-the-zenith-chronomaster-sport/

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Get Clear on Your Budget

After getting your intention and preferences right on track, it is time to note down your budget for your shopping. There are different valuable timepieces out there for every budget. If you have a lower budget around RM2,000, the Seiko Prospex would be a nice one to opt for.

source: https://www.seikowatches.com/us-en/products/prospex

Higher budget around RM4,000 to RM12,000, Omega Speedmaster can be one of your choices. Available in CYT.

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source: https://cytwatch.my/product/706-speedmaster-professional-moonwatch

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Study on Watch Movements and Materials

Another thing which you should do is your research on the movements and materials of the luxury watches as it influences the prices as well as the styles. What is meant by the watch movements? Watch movement is the mechanism that makes a watch to keep ticking and telling the time accurately. There are a few movement types which you can go through to check out which type you will be preferring more. The movement types are manual movement, automatic movement and quartz movement.

Manual movement is also called as the mechanical movement. A mechanical watch with mechanical movement needs to be wound manually before wearing it to make sure that you will be seeing the correct timing. This movement is the most traditional movements which can be found in conservative, expensive and collectable watches. Example of manual movement luxury watch, the Piaget. Available in CYT.

source: https://cytwatch.my/product/562-limelight-paris-new-york

Automatic movement type of watch will be winding by itself while it is being worn on the wrist. However, if it is not worn for some time, the watch will stop working and it will be needing a manual winding to restart it. One of the examples for automatic movement luxury watch will be the Cartier. Now available in CYT.

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source: https://cytwatch.my/product/356-cartier-rotonde-de-cartier

Quartz movement watches work on the uses of battery as its power source. Therefore, it does not need a manual winding to make it works. This type of watch movement is currently the most accurate type of movement being produced and normally these quartz movement watches will be less expensive compared to the mechanical ones due to the craftsmanship of the production. Check out the automatic movement luxury watches, the Tag Heuer in CYT.

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source: https://cytwatch.my/products/48-tag-heuer

As for watch materials, stainless steel watches are more affordable, Titanium ones are light-weighted, carbon fiber material watches are less expensive than noble metals ones. Therefore, try to make sure of all these details when choosing for your ideal luxury watches.

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Naomi’s Road at West Vancouver Library is great… looking forward to April 23 at Italian Cultural Centre

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Erica Iris and Hiather Darnela-Kadanoga play Obasan and Naomi, in a scene when the family leaves Vancouver on a train.

I saw the production at West Vancouver Library on Friday April 19th, and we both really enjoyed it.  Sam Chung returns as Stephen. The new singers are all good. Hiather Darnel-Kadonaga plays Naomi, Erica Iris plays the 3 roles Mother, Obasan and Mitzie. Henry Chen plays Daddy, Bully, Rough Lock Bill, Trainmaster.

I saw the original production in 2005/06 five times and enjoyed it immensely.  West Vancouver Library isn’t the best place to the performance because lighting was not the best, and the performer’s faces were often in shadows.  Close to 50 people came to the library for the free performance.

The performances by all singers are strong, and the storyline is strong.  Watching the perfomers, we were amazed at both the choreography of the movement on stage, as well as how the small versatile set is used and moved to simulate so many scenes: Powell Street, Living Room, Train, Internment Camp.   There were tears in my eyes as I watched the pinnacle scene of the opera.  It makes a powerful statement against racism and bullying.

Tickets are still on sale for Tuesday’s April 23 performance.

buy tickets on-line here:

http://italianculturalcentre.ca/highlights/naomis-road/

There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door.

Hiather Darnel-Kadonaga (soprano) plays Naomi


Erica Iris (mezzo-soprano) performs as Mother, Mitzi, Obasan

Sam Chung (tenor) plays Stephen
Photographs courtesy of Vancouver Opera, and available from the Naomi’s Road press kit http://www.vancouveropera.ca/2012-13-naomisroad-presskit.html

Gung Hay Fat Choy ~ GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY ~ Gong Xi Fa Cai

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Happy Lunar New Year to everybody!

Here is the Joy TV News video that is currently running on Joy TV – Check it out!  Thank you videographer Dean Atwal for checking out our celebratory event.

  1. JoytvNews – Gung Haggis Fat Choy

    Vancouver is no stranger to fusion events. One of the most anticipated is the Scottish Chinese celebration of Gung Haggis Fat Gung Haggis Fat Choy. Dean Atwal joins in the fun…

    There are many similar traditions between Chinese New Year and Scottish Hogmanay:

    1) Both celebrate the beginning of a new calendar

    2) Both emphasize food with family and friends

    3) Both make lots of noise – Chinese set off firecrackers, and Scots set off cannons in the harbour

    4) Both suggest paying off all your debts before the New Year.

Congratulations to Winnie L. Cheung, Winner of Nesika Award

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Story and photos by Allan Cho

Nesika (Ne-SAY-ka) means “we, us, our” in Chinook, originating from a trade language used by many different Aboriginal groups on the Westcoast.  Used extensively in British Columbia during the 19th and early 20th centuries, Chinook was tool of communication between Aboriginals and early European traders.

Forward a hundred years, in February 2008, the Province of B.C.’s Multicultural Advisory Council sponsored the Provincial Nesika Awards to celebrate British Columbia’s cultural diversity and Indigenous communities.  Each year since,  four award winners in the individual, business, organization and youth categories are recognized at the Awards Event on Nov. 23 during B.C. Multiculturalism Week.   Elder Larry Grant giving a traditional Musqueam welcome.

 Sitting here are Mo Dhaliwal (Acting Chair); Shellina Lakhdhir (Acting Vice-Chair), John Yap, MLA, and Larry Grant (Musqueam Elder).  And the winners Julie Linkletter (President of Collingwood Neighbourhood House); John Donnelly (John Donnelly Events Management); Winnie Cheung (Women Transforming Cities); Jorge Salazar (Vancouver Foundation).

The Multicultural Advisory Council (MAC) was officially created in 1990 to provide advice to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism on issues related to multiculturalism and anti-racism.  This year, they announced the winners of the Nesika Awards.

Winnie Cheung is a dear friend of the community, and has been a tireless supporter of Asian Canadian community initiatives, particularly in the arts and culture.  Winnie has been instrumental in establishing several signature programs to foster interactions between international and local students, engage the community with UBC, and promote learning through the appreciation of cultural diversity.

Besides Women Transforming Cities, Winnie is a leader in many community organizations, serving as a board of director on the Laurier Institution, Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society’s explorASIAN, Hong Kong Canada Business Association, and the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW).   Winnie is also a published author and writer, most recently a translator for her mother’s book Childhood Lost.  Congratulations again Winnie!

The audience in the standing room-only filled room was also treated to a wonderful repertoire of music from Big World Band, a group based in Vancouver and formed in 2011 by its member musicians. The group combines musical instruments and traditions of the world in various new ways to create what it brands as a “new world music.”  Its music performances range from ancient pieces, to new recombinations and arrangements, to new compositions — the goal is to celebrate the meeting of many cultures.

For Gung Haggis, this is Allan Cho.

Chinese Canadian Stories and Japanese Canadian Tribute

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I was really honoured to be part of the celebration of the Chinese Canadian Stories and the Japanese Canadian Students Tribute.   Despite a frigid, rainy evening, a large number of community friends and supporters joined in the celebration at the van der Linden Dining Hall at UBC St. John’s College.   Chinese Canadian Stories was a three-year project, that finally wrapped up earlier this year in September 2012.  A number of talented UBC students under the guidance of Professor Henry Yu took part in the creation of a fantastic website, mobile kiosk, video game, and oral histories of Chinese in Canada.

Dr. Yu presented the project to the packed dining hall of St. John’s College.

There were many people from the community who participated.  Here is the UBC table.

Here is Ken Yip, president of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia, myself (Allan Cho), and John Yu (Henry’s father and friend of the CCHS).

The Chinese Canadian Stories involved twenty-eight communities across Canada.  From Victoria, BC’s University of Victoria to St. John’s, Newfoundland’s Headtax Redress Organization (NLHRO).

Chinese Canadian Stories began as a small project of collecting oral histories from Vancouver’s Chinese community.   Some of these oral histories are still being captured as we speak, and can be viewed online on its YouTube channel.  In this picture John Yu (standing) speaks to Larry Wong on his left.  Also sitting at the table is Bill Wong and his wife Zoey, of Modernize Tailors – subject of the documentary film “Tailor Made: Chinatown’s Last Tailors”

The night also included a very special recognition to Mary Keiko Kitagawa, leader in effort to get UBC to award degrees to 76 Nisei whose educations were affected by internment in 1941.  It was Mary who had first contacted UBC about the idea of welcoming the students back to campus and honouring their place and coming to terms with past injustices of the forceful removal and then internment.

The evening was capped off with a special honorary degree presentation to Min Yatabe.  It a very appropriate tribute during Remembrance Day weekend — Min had fought for Canada in World War II.   Big thanks goes out to Al Yoshizawa, of the Chinese Canadian Stories project, for permission to use these images.

Prior to Chinese Canadian Stories, the Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies (INSTRCC) had already collected and promoted Asian Canadian Studies.  UBC has approved a new Asian Canadian Studies program, which will start in September 2013.

Reporting for Gung Haggis, this is Allan Cho

Final Day #4 at VAFF – Closing Party at Wild Rice

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VAFF’s after party took place at the much beloved Wild Rice, a modern Chinese fusion restaurant on 117 West Pender Street.  Wild Rice has been host to VAFF for the past number of years, and each party has gotten bigger, better, and wilder.

It was fantastic late night of networking and socializing with celebrities, filmmakers and VAFF organizers.

Mark Lee who has been a volunteer at VAFF since 2005, making him one of the longest serving volunteers of the festival.  Mark was a founder of the Asian Canadian Cultural Organization at UBC,  Editor-in-Chief of Perspectives Newspaper, as well as a docent at the Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden.   He’s a community mover and shaker.

Among the celebrities were Olivia Cheng, from the movie Iris Chang: Rape of Nanjing and actor Rick Tae (most recently in the TV series Artic Air).

Also on hand was our friend Bev Nann, community builder, former President and founding member of ExplorASIAN and currently on the board of the the the Laurier Institution.

Mark Oh (caught in picture), did a terrific job as Volunteer Coordinator this year for VAFF.  Along with Thomas Greiner, these two gentlemen were able to bring together a collective of new volunteers and make the festival happen.  Lots of time, we don’t give enough credit to those volunteers who work so tirelessly behind the scenes to make the festival happen — they are the ones who sell the tickets, do the marketing, and operate the theatres during screening.  Kudos to you all, VAFF!

Speaking of volunteers, Callan Tay has been a mainstay at VAFF for a number of years now.  A film afficionado, Callan’s knowledge of films is unsurpassed.  He’s one of many volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, including picking out the venues to make these film festival parties a success.  Callan was last year’s Volunteer Coordinator – and stayed on throughout VAFF 2012 as a volunteer, helping steer the ship.  

For VAFF 2012, I tried to do my best Todd impersonation here as a blogger.  I had a lot of fun.  VAFF 2012 had a number of excellent films.  The quality is getting higher now.  It always helps that there’s a home-grown talent like Harry Shum Jr., and Kelly Hu, too.  With the emergence of Asian Canadian filmmakers and actors, you can see that the future is bright.

Reporting for Gung Haggis, this is Allan Cho

Day #4 at VAFF – White Frog Kisses the Spirit of Japan

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VAFF 2012 ended with a host of great films.   Here is the lovely and vivacious VAFF executive Winnie Tam, who is this year’s Director of Marketing as well as Festival Programmer, introducing the program and giving welcoming remarks to the audience to the much anticipated Spirit of Nihonmachi and Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.

Both films give a wonderful glimpse into Japanese culture on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.  Spirit of Nihnomachi is an excellent documentary the people behind the  annual Powell Street Festival that celebrates Japanese-Canadian culture and their history in Vancouver, while the Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom is a touching documentary of the survivors of the the March 2011 tsunami that destroyed much of their cities and lives.   Beautifully told, the film relates nature to destruction and rebirth, and examines the Japanese people’s deep-rooted relationship with the cherry blossom in helping them cope with the aftermath of one of the country’s most devastating natural disasters. Both films are testaments to the resilient nature of the Japanese people.

The festival ended with a bang, as audiences were captivated by a remarkable film White Frog.   Having an all-star cast of Harry Shum Jr., Joan Chen, Kelly Hu, and B.D. Wong, and starring the emerging Bamboo Stewart, White Frog is a coming-of-age story about 15 year old Nick Young (Booboo Stewart) who is a neglected teen with Asperger’s Syndrome.  Surprisingly produced with only under a $1 million budget, the film touched audiences deeply about Nick’s  life as he is challenged and ultimately changed forever when tragedy hits his family. Taken under the wing of his brother’s best friends, the young man goes through a personal journey that forces him out of his comfort zone and reconcile who he is and who he wants to become.   The audience was then treated to a live a Q&A session with the director of the film Quentin Lee and Writer/Producer Ellie Wen.   Afterwards, the audience was treated to a night of partying over at the Wild Rice!