I am not a scholar on Chinatowns but when I was a kid 90% of the people living and doing businesses in Chinatown were Toisanese. And one thing that gravitates people going to Chinatown every week would be the Chinese credit union or “woy”, due to the fact that Chinese people cannot get loans from white establishments, Chinese people would get someone to guarantee the loan from the “woy” and that person would go to Chinatown every week to make his payments.

Everything was based on honour and there were no collaterals to speak of since most Chinese were poor.

So you would hear people say “I am going down to Chinatown to “chone woy” meaning to make payments on his loan.

So when a person wants to open a restaurant for example he would ask his friends to guarantee a loan for him from the “woy” and he will make payments every week at Chinatown.

The guarantors do not provide any securities for the loan only their word.

And if the person defaults on his loan, the guarantors would have to pay for it. But in those days, everybody knew everybody and honour was everything so it was rare for a person to default.

As mentioned in David Wong’s Escape to Gold Mountain, the reason why Chinese people were successful in railway and mines doing the most dangerous jobs was due to the fact that they were all from the same area and are related in some way.

Your statement is not exactly correct.

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I am also intrigued by your observation about the Jewish synagogue and Sikh temple. The cohesiveness about those organizations is derived from religion. The situation of the Chinese is, in my humble opinion, is far more complex in some aspects. I haven’t yet got a good handle about what constitutes religion in the Chinese mind. Professor Julia Ching formerly at the University of Toronto was probably the foremost expert on Chinese religions. My cursory reading of her suggest that the Chinese absorb religion into their behavior far more than do religions such as Islam or Protestant Christianity which seems put a greater emphasis on reading religious texts.

Also the idea that the Chinatown in Vancouver is historically governed by a single entity, again in my humble opinion, is not entirely accurate. A reading of scholars of overseas Chinese history would suggest that the Chinese in Canada have never been one, monolithic community. Even during the pre-Chinese Exclusion Act years, the Chinese community was composed of factions divided along dialect and regional differences. Only during times of stress does the community come together in a cohesive manner. Some Chinese organizations may have laid claim in the past as spokesperson of the Chinese community but that wasn’t entirely accurate. The scholars I have in mind who would suggest this are: Lisa Mar (U of Maryland), David Chuenyan Lai (formerly U of Victoria), the late Edgar Wickberg (UBC) and W.E. Willmott (formerly at UBC, and I think, now retired in Australia).

I do believe that the history and heritage of the early Chinese in Canada ought to be preserved in some way, and I applaud you for carrying out your convictions with regards to the Chinatown in Vancouver.

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Could you clarify this point? What are the stereotypes propagated in Canada?

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Chinese people used to have Chinatowns.

Now the Chinatowns are disintegrating, does that mean Chinese people are moving more into mainstream society and no longer need Chinatowns.

But Chinatowns are our heritage, whether a Chinese is from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, wherever, a person could go to a Chinatown and find comfort in a sojourn.

The dereliction of our Chinatowns is a reflection of our own decrepitude.

I am ashamed of myself for not doing anything about it.

I am going to Vancouver Chinatown this weekend.

Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC here I come.

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http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/17/hong-kong-chinese-leaving-vancouver-by-the-thousands/

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http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/05/18/hong-kong-immigrants-streaming-out-of-canada/

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BMO survey finds the province has the lowest percentage of female millionaires in the nation, but the most wealthy immigrants

By Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun June 12, 2013

When it comes to immigrants as new millionaires, British Columbia leads the country.

That’s one of the main findings of a new BMO Harris Private Banking survey that found 68 per cent of high-net-worth British Columbians — those with investable assets of $1 million or more — were either born outside of Canada or had at least one parent born outside the country.

That compares with 48 per cent nationally.

“I think this reflects on the improving window on the world that B.C. has,” John Bathurst, the company’s vice-president of trusts and investments, said in an interview Wednesday. “We attract people from other countries and they’re contributing to the economy by creating wealth.

“A very high percentage of people in B.C. are from the Pacific Rim (and) a number of those people are attracted here to do business.”

However, the survey also noted that B.C. has one of the lowest percentages of female millionaires — 26 per cent versus 32 per cent nationally. More of B.C.’s millionaires are self-made, however — 74 per cent compared to 67 per cent nationally.

Almost half of B.C. millionaires have investable assets of $2 million or more, the highest proportion in Canada. Three-quarters of B.C.’s high-net-worth population reported that “wealth was primarily generated by me,” four per cent said “wealth was primarily generated by my spouse,” and 21 per cent said “wealth is partly inherited and partly self-made.” Nationally, about two-thirds of millionaires were self-made.

The online survey was conducted between March 28 and April 11 with a random sample of 305 Canadian adults who have at least $1 million in investable assets, which includes savings and retirement plans but excludes money in an employers’ retirement plan, insurance products and their home.

Jock Finlayson, executive vice-president of the Business Council of B.C., said the survey backs up strong impressions that immigrants are attracted to the B.C.’s “fertile environment” for entrepreneurial activity and that there’s a “high propensity to form new businesses.”

He noted that while most immigrants to B.C. aren’t affluent, a small subgroup is.

“This highlights the fact that there’s a group of immigrants with significant wealth when they immigrate to Canada. And this confirms that B.C. is attracting a disproportionate share of the affluent segment.”

According to the report, 67 per cent of the Canadian millionaires who are either immigrants or first-generation Canadians say their wealth is self-generated.

Although the B.C. numbers are lower, women nationally represent one-third of those with a net worth topping $1 million — up from just 21 per cent three years ago.

“Women are more empowered, more knowledgeable and more interested in personal finance now (than in the past),” said Yannick Archambault, vice-president and chief operating officer of BMO Harris Private Banking. He describes the trend as the product of educational initiatives promoting women in business, increased female interest in financial markets, changes to family structure (more men staying home with the kids), and government policies encouraging equality.

Finlayson doesn’t agree with the survey’s findings that women are under-represented as millionaires in B.C.

“I don’t see any barriers specific to B.C. that would make it harder here than other parts of Canada (for women). That’s not consistent with what I’ve seen in the marketplace, which is that (B.C.) is a pretty good place for both genders.”

Finlayson noted that while the survey does provide some raw data, he believes its size — 305 people surveyed nationwide, 47 in B.C. — suggests people should be cautious about drawing conclusions from it.

According to Pollara, which conducted the survey, the margin of error for a sample of this size is plus or minus 4.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20. BMO also noted that the survey was taken of a “very specific segment” of the population.

The study is the first in a series being released by BMO Harris Private Banking over the next year examining trends among the wealthy across North America.

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Chop Suey on the Prairies: New museum exhibit on history of Alberta’s Chinese restaurants

http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/chop-suey-on-the-prairies-new-museum-exhibit-on-history-of-alberta-s-chinese-restaurants-1.1244205

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Listen, Goldie, there are people here who don’t feel they are in Canada when you use a foreign language.

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http://www.abbynews.com/news/126291988.html

You don’t find these news on the mainstream media … very so stale and cheap to vulgar, indicative of certain segment of society?

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