Saturday, March 17, 2012

AH LEE CHEE YUNG,

IN THE BANKRUPT ESTATE OF AH LEE CHEE YUNG, OF WEST BROOK, STOREKEEPER. I hereiy give' notioe that I hare this day SOLD to Mr CHOW FONG, of Grey month, 'storekeeper the s whole of the Book "Debts -in the! 'Bankrupt Estate of Ah Lee Chee Yung, of Westbrook, storekeeper. R W WADE, Deputy Official Assignee. Hokitika, Nov. 12th, 1891. With reference to the absve I hereby give notice that all the penbni Indebted to the above estate whose names appear below are requested to pay the amounts of their several account at once.
Grey River Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 7217, 23 November 1891, Page 2

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=GRA18911123.2.12.5&srpos=1&e=-------10--1----0chan+ah+chee--

Friday, March 16, 2012

Henry Fine Chong

A Chinese wedding attracted considerable interest at Parramatta on June 24, when a marriage was celebrated in St. John's Church between Mr. Henry Fine Chong and Miss Lily Ah Poo, daugh- ter of a well-to-do Chinaman in Parramatta. The bride wore white silk trimmed with lace, a wreath of orange blossoms, and a long tulle veil. Her bridesmaid was her sister, Miss Jessie Ah Poo, who wore a pretty costume of buttercup muslin. Australian Town and Country Journal Saturday 4 July 1896

REV. CHEOK KONG CHEONG.

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER.

There was an interesting gathering at the offices of the "Tung Wah News" last evening, when a complimentary dinner, under the auspices of the Chinese Empire Reform Association, was tendered to the Rev. Cheok Kong Cheong, the Chinese lecturer. A large number of gentlemen, representing European and Eastern nations, were present, and the evening proved a most enjoyable one. Mr. Yee Hing, the president of the association, was in the chair, having beside him the guest of the evening, and amongst those who sat down to dinner were Mr. J. Blanksby, M.L.C., Mr. P. Jessep, M.L.A., Mr. Davis, M.L.A., Mr. J. Hayes, M.L.A., Mr. Lockyer (of the Customs Department), Captain Green; the representative of the Japanese Consul, Mr. Powell, Mr. Palset, Mr. David O. Young, Mr. Ping Nam, Mr. Han Chong Jowe, and Mr. Henry Fine Chong.

The toasts of "The Queen" and "The Emperor" were drunk with enthusiasm, and then Mr. Tee Hing proposed "Our Guest." He referred to the pleasure it gave the members of the league to have had Mr. Cheok Kong Cheong in their midst for the past few months. Their visitor was the model of the true Chinese gentleman. Not only among his countrymen but among all with whom he mixed he was regarded with the highest feelings of respect. His work for all causes of charity had been unceasing. For the furthering of the ends of the association, for the enlightenment of his countrymen, the suppression of the opium trade, for Christianity, the relief of Indian and Chinese famines, and other causes, be had always been a prominent leader among

the Australian Chinese.

The Rev. Cheok Kong Cheong, who was received with cheers, expressed his gratification at the recep- tion accorded to him while in Sydney. In language that many public speakers of English might envy, he briefly touched upon the present state of China. He referred to the resources and possibilities of the East- ern nation. He was firm in his opinion that when the people had a settled Government and took up the

Western ideas a new existence would begin forChina, and she would rank with the foremost nations of the world.

Other toasts, including "Chinese Merchants," and " The European and Japanese Visi- tors," were proposed and responded to. During the evening the rev. gentleman was presented with a handsome address signed by the leading Chinese of Sydney. On the souvenir was a realistic scene from Sydney Harbour painted by Mr. Henry Fine Chong. The Sydney Morning Herald Thursday 18 October 1900

Friday, March 9, 2012

Head tax activist dies in Vancouver at 105

Charlie Sang Now Quan was remembered Saturday as an ordinary man with extraordinary accomplishments, an unlikely activist who fought in his 90s to right the wrongs of Canada’s Chinese head tax and Exclusion Act.

Quan, who was one of the oldest remaining head tax payers, died Feb. 23 in Vancouver. He was 105.

Quan came to Canada in 1923 from Hoyping, China, and was forced to pay the $500 head tax — equivalent to about two years’ wages in China at the time.

Head tax activist Sid Tan, a close friend of Quan’s, remembered him as the only head tax survivor who actively spoke out against the legislation, demanding both an apology and monetary redress from the Canadian government.

“Charlie was the only head tax payer that would come out and say what he wanted, unequivocally,” said Tan, who gave a eulogy at Saturday’s service at Forest Lawn cemetery in Burnaby.

Quan told Tan that when he came to Canada, immigration officials forced him to stand naked for half an hour — “for really no reason at all.”

The Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned all Chinese immigration to Canada from 1923 to 1947, meant he would not see his wife and children until after it was repealed.

“Charlie was the guy that taught me what being a chink was,” Tan said. “That is a word that is used to describe the Chinese in the most surly, derogatory, disrespectful way, and Charlie didn’t like that.”

After meeting Tan in the late ’90s, Quan began actively calling for an apology and redress. He met with three prime ministers — Jean Chretien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper — to plead his case.

When the federal government in 2006 issued an official apology and tax redress cheques of $20,000 to survivors and spouses, Quan was among the first to receive his.

“The next day, I went down to visit him and he had this incredibly big smile on his face,” Tan said. “He came up to me and he said, ‘Sid, I’m not a chink any more. I get my money back.’ ”

Friends and family celebrated with a feast.

Tan was predeceased by his wife, Own Yee Lee. He is survived by his daughter-in-law Chung Yit Quan, his two sons Gary and Wesley, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

awoo@vancouversun.com

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