Electric rice cooker

I stumbled upon this rice cooker on the streets of St. John's, Newfoundland, left outside in working order for whoever might want it. I stopped to examine it. It was almost exactly like the one my family had bought in Hong Kong nearly fifty years earlier. I was “made in China” in the 1970s, when the country was still in the midst of the Cultural Revolution, which left it in disarray and impoverished. My peasant family was able to escape our destitution to a better life in Canada in 1979 thanks to its family reunification programme. Relatives who ran successful businesses in Toronto’s Chinatown sponsored us. Without them, we would not have qualified to enter Canada, which largely selects its immigrants through a points-based system. When we emigrated from Canton (Guangzhou), our first port of call was Hong Kong (which back then was a British colony). This was, de facto, the only point of travel connecting China with the West at the time. It was there that we also first encountered the modern world, and my family took advantage of this to buy the iconic white National/Panasonic electric rice cooker. Until then, we had previously prepared rice in our village…

Returning to Aawu (Yahucun)

As I sat with my wife on the stone bench in front of my childhood home in the village of Aawu (鴉湖村), an elderly lady walked by us and without pausing asked if I was the boy from that house who left nearly fifty years ago. She finally stopped fifteen metres away below the arch at the front of the laneway to rest by the entryway shrine. I followed her there and confirmed that I am indeed that boy and we quickly slipped into conversation in our Aawu dialect (countryside Cantonese), which instantly gave us a connection. I explained the reason for my return to the village. I had never visited my grandfather’s grave. Nor had I fulfilled another Cantonese obligation: Introducing my wife to him. With the extra fear of the village disappearing due to rapid urbanisation, I had finally returned to Maaubou (茅㘵, a neighbourhood within Aawu) to fulfil my duties. As we spoke, an elderly gentleman walked by and he too without stopping remarked as he strode past us, “I remember Kai. He would always say ‘tomorrow’ whenever we asked him when he would be moving to Canada.” The lady laughed and confirmed the story. Over the…

Tomorrow 50 years later

As I sat with my wife on the stone bench in front of my childhood home in the village of 𝐴𝑎𝑤𝑢 (鸦湖 = “Crow Lake”), an elderly lady walked by us and without pausing asked if I was the boy from that house who left nearly fifty years ago. She finally stopped 15 metres away below the arch at the front of the laneway to rest by the entryway shrine. I followed her there and confirmed that I am indeed that boy and we quickly slipped into conversation in our 𝐴𝑎𝑤𝑢 dialect (countryside Cantonese), which instantly gave us a connection. As we spoke, an elderly gentleman walked by and he too without stopping remarked as he strode past us, “I remember Kai. He would always say ‘tomorrow’ whenever we asked him when he would be moving to Canada.” Over the years, several other residents of 𝑀𝑎𝑎𝑢𝑏𝑜𝑢 (茅㘵 = “Reed Field”; a neighbourhood within 𝐴𝑎𝑤𝑢), have told me the same story. Apparently, as a child I was quite loquacious and would go around greeting all the households in the laneways connected to 𝑀𝑎𝑎𝑢𝑏𝑜𝑢 Street. When news came about that my family would be moving to Canada, all the people of 𝑀𝑎𝑎𝑢𝑏𝑜𝑢…

FT: Swedish PM’s Chinatown quip at odds with the data

Letter to the FT (September 7, 2022) If Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson were familiar with crime statistics by immigrant groups, she would not take the view that her country would be better off without its Chinatowns (“Sweden playground shooting shapes voter concerns”, Report, September 3). The Danes have collected (and published) data on criminality by immigrant groups. A 2016 study by the Danish national statistical office shows that first generation Chinese immigrants have criminality rates more than a quarter below the Danish average. Based on patterns for other East Asian immigrant groups and in other geographies, criminality rates will fall to less than half the level for the Danish population as a whole, for second generation Chinese immigrants. This phenomenon holds in Sweden as well. Not all immigration is equal. Kai L Chan Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Article as it appeared online. © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2022. FT and ‘Financial Times’ are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.

G&M: It starts at home

Letter to the Globe & Mail (September 18, 2014) It starts at home Twenty-plus years ago I would have been one of Hieu Ngo’s interview subjects (Young Gang Members: Their Numbers Are Increasing, But Why?– Sept. 16). The gangs described in the report are reminiscent of the groups I associated with as a teen. Although each person who has has stumbled in life as a teenager (or an adult) has a complex story, the one overriding factor that is almost universally common is the absence of human capital at home. Many of the social constructs that middle-class families take for granted – e.g. parents reading to children; discussion of life or politics at the dinner table – are largely absent from immigrant families, especially those from less developed countries. If we want to build a better society, it all starts at home. Kai Chan, Dubai Letter as it appeared in the G&M © Copyright 2014 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc.  All Rights Reserved.