September 26 marks the 20th anniversary of Kwan Wai-Ching's political career. A new book about her is about to be published, from which you will see a touching growth journey of a Chinese immigrant in Canada.
Thirty-eight years ago, she was nine years old, and her family of eight squeezed into a 700-square-foot basement, relying on her mother’s daily earnings of ten dollars to make ends meet. Thinking back to the days in Hong Kong when she would eat breakfast with her father before school every morning feels so distant.
Thirty-eight years later, she is the youngest city councilor in the history of Vancouver and the first Chinese provincial cabinet minister in Canada, about to celebrate her 20th anniversary in politics amidst the applause of friends and family.
Back then, the little girl with shiny black hair and bright eyes often thought: how nice it would be if I were white?
Now, this beautiful and decisive woman often asks: how can I help everyone live better?
Kwan Wai-Ching's achievements as a Chinese provincial legislator and her contributions to the community are well recognized and do not need further elaboration. Looking back over the past twenty years, from initial confusion and anxiety to the current struggle and glory, what has the little immigrant girl who could not speak a word of English experienced?
Upon Arrival
Vancouver was a name Kwan Wai-Ching only learned after arriving. When departing from Hong Kong, she had only heard that she was going to a place called "Gold Mountain." In 1975, Kwan Wai-Ching's parents brought their six children from Hong Kong to Vancouver, but upon arrival, they discovered that this place had nothing to do with "gold":
"In an instant, my world seemed to be completely turned upside down. The days of going out for breakfast with my father before school every morning would never return. I rarely had the chance to see my mother because she always left before dawn and returned home late at night."
Upon arrival, no one in the Kwan family spoke English, and even the most basic daily tasks became insurmountable obstacles. Kwan's mother, driven by the need to make a living, began her first job in life, working on a farm. The money earned not only had to support the entire family but also had to fund Kwan's father's English studies.
Experiencing a life-altering transition and witnessing her family’s arduous efforts to survive and integrate into Canadian society filled Kwan Wai-Ching with struggles:
"... My parents made tremendous sacrifices, yet during my growth, I did not feel grateful to them. I went through various adjustments and difficulties to integrate into Canadian society, and even the Chinese name my parents gave me at birth was seen as unusual, so my siblings and I successively changed our names... I often fantasized about how nice it would be if I were a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white person; then my parents wouldn’t have to work so hard, and I could be accepted by society without being laughed at."
"In fact, I did everything I could to forget that I was Chinese. However, this loss of identity directly led to my feeling lost after graduating from high school, not knowing where to go."
A Journey of Self-Discovery
Being clearly Chinese yet unwilling to admit it, being able to speak Chinese yet striving to forget it, desiring to have white skin and blonde hair yet being born with black hair and black eyes: how many souls have sunk into despair due to the distortion between ideals and reality? Fortunately, a miraculous transformation occurred after a trip.
"After a year in university, I felt a strong urge to find myself and seek the meaning of life... After saving enough money, I finally embarked on my journey of self-discovery. The first stop was back to my birthplace, Hong Kong, followed by my ancestral home in Guangdong, where I visited my mother’s old house in Kaiping... I saw the family photos still hanging on the walls of the house. My mother’s stories about her childhood flooded my mind, and I began to understand my roots and the life opportunities my parents' immigration to Canada brought to me and my siblings."
At this moment, Kwan Wai-Ching finally understood that Chinese culture, language, and traditions are innate, and how naive and ridiculous it was to deliberately avoid them in the past. It was also from that time that she began to re-recognize the significance of being Chinese.
"This unforgettable experience not only helped me find my roots and understand where I came from, but also made me realize how fortunate it is to live in Canada, further inspiring me to return to Canada and contribute more to society."
Changing the World
In 1991, the Downtown Eastside Residents Association planned to hire a staff member, and Kwan Wai-Ching submitted her application. Laura Stannard, who had previously worked for the association, recalled that Kwan Wai-Ching's qualifications were the most outstanding among all applicants, but the issue was that Kwan was already employed at a law firm, and the new job offered only half of her previous salary.
"A few days later, the association's head, Jim Green, told me that Kwan Wai-Ching was coming to work. He said he asked Kwan why she was willing to accept a position with only half the salary. She replied: because I want to change the world."
Kwan Wai-Ching did not just accept a new job with half her previous salary; in fact, she was wholeheartedly working for her ideals.
While at the Downtown Eastside Residents Association, she became well-known in the provincial department responsible for welfare affairs for her fearless opposition to welfare cuts, even earning a nickname from a senior executive: Pit Bull with Lips.
When she entered the city council at the age of 28, she was not only a newcomer to politics but also the only candidate elected from the Progressive Electors Organization. As a provincial legislator, she became one of only two New Democratic Party members in the provincial assembly. She was the one who woke up before 7 a.m., worked until others finished their shifts, and was responsible for locking up, even during her pregnancy.
In 2003, Kwan Wai-Ching's eldest daughter was born three weeks early, just a week after a debate in the provincial assembly regarding education; in 2008, her son was born, and less than a month later, she began working on the case of Zhao Wei, a female student from Burnaby who was murdered shortly after arriving in Canada from China.
She said: "Cee-Yan and Renan, they are my treasures, my songs, my motivation in life, just like Bryan Adams sings: 'Everything I do, I do it for you.'"