Vancouver Chinese Benev'lt Assoc celebrates 100yrs
Nov 5, 2006 16:40:14 GMT -5
Post by David Wong on Nov 5, 2006 16:40:14 GMT -5
The Government of Chinatown
VANCOUVER : A century ago, the Chinese Benevolent Association wielded far-reaching control. It still exists
Michael Scott, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, November 04, 2006
The council hall of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver is a long, high room, ringed with imposing armchairs from the Qing Dynasty. They are so intricately carved and inlaid with marble and mother-of-pearl they might properly be considered thrones.
A century ago, when these seats were first installed in the chamber above East Pender Street, the men who sat in them controlled much of what happened in the teeming streets of Vancouver's Chinatown.
You see their pictures along the eastern wall of the chamber: these dignified, prosperous men, merchants in well-cut suits. They settled disputes, regulated business practices, remonstrated with the federal and provincial governments, raised money, cared for the indigent and the dispossessed, and rooted out racial prejudice.
They were, for all intents and purposes, the government of Chinatown.
Their exclusive and secretive tong ran things for generations; and while it has been decades since the Chinese Benevolent Association gave up any pretense of coercive power and evolved into a gentle, democratic confederation of fraternal organizations and community groups, you can still feel the gravitas in this room, where so few non-Chinese people have ever been.
The air itself seems thick with history; the chamber's walls literally encrusted with testimonials, plaques, artwork, rare carvings and calligraphy presented over the years by grateful and admiring visitors. Here are mementoes of the visits of Sun Yat-Sen, considered the father of modern China, from the beginning of the last century, of delegations and politicians by the score, souvenirs of the association's immense public banquets at which a thousand people sit down to dinner.
These days, the room is an amiable clutter where cartons of festive paper lanterns compete for floor space with the magisterial council furniture. Its guardians are mostly elderly, smiling shyly for an unexpected visitor as they stuff envelopes and discuss the details of this weekend's celebrations.
On the eve of the CBA's 100th anniversary, Sun Yat-Sen's republican motto, emblazoned in large characters at one end of the chamber, rings truer than ever: "Justice for all, under heaven."
"Right now, I'm happy to say we're not having to deal with so many human rights issues as in the past," says Jun Ing, a director who even though he is in his 40s, is genially referred to by other CBA board members as "the young guy."
"Our focus now is really on community."
...
VANCOUVER : A century ago, the Chinese Benevolent Association wielded far-reaching control. It still exists
Michael Scott, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, November 04, 2006
The council hall of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver is a long, high room, ringed with imposing armchairs from the Qing Dynasty. They are so intricately carved and inlaid with marble and mother-of-pearl they might properly be considered thrones.
A century ago, when these seats were first installed in the chamber above East Pender Street, the men who sat in them controlled much of what happened in the teeming streets of Vancouver's Chinatown.
You see their pictures along the eastern wall of the chamber: these dignified, prosperous men, merchants in well-cut suits. They settled disputes, regulated business practices, remonstrated with the federal and provincial governments, raised money, cared for the indigent and the dispossessed, and rooted out racial prejudice.
They were, for all intents and purposes, the government of Chinatown.
Their exclusive and secretive tong ran things for generations; and while it has been decades since the Chinese Benevolent Association gave up any pretense of coercive power and evolved into a gentle, democratic confederation of fraternal organizations and community groups, you can still feel the gravitas in this room, where so few non-Chinese people have ever been.
The air itself seems thick with history; the chamber's walls literally encrusted with testimonials, plaques, artwork, rare carvings and calligraphy presented over the years by grateful and admiring visitors. Here are mementoes of the visits of Sun Yat-Sen, considered the father of modern China, from the beginning of the last century, of delegations and politicians by the score, souvenirs of the association's immense public banquets at which a thousand people sit down to dinner.
These days, the room is an amiable clutter where cartons of festive paper lanterns compete for floor space with the magisterial council furniture. Its guardians are mostly elderly, smiling shyly for an unexpected visitor as they stuff envelopes and discuss the details of this weekend's celebrations.
On the eve of the CBA's 100th anniversary, Sun Yat-Sen's republican motto, emblazoned in large characters at one end of the chamber, rings truer than ever: "Justice for all, under heaven."
"Right now, I'm happy to say we're not having to deal with so many human rights issues as in the past," says Jun Ing, a director who even though he is in his 40s, is genially referred to by other CBA board members as "the young guy."
"Our focus now is really on community."
...
for full story and photographs, see this link: www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=6498c32e-8b63-4fd9-82f0-c0d6870585ec