Faculty of Art
Chinese Canadian Stories Research Team 2012. Back Row (L-R): Elizabeth Cheong, Denise Fong, Prof. Henry Yu, Wendy Phung, Rosanne Sia, Ben Pham, Alejandro Yoshizawa. Front Row (L-R): Janet Tse, Mylo Yu, Joanna Yang, Chloe Yu, Alyssa Leung, Jennifer Yip, Joanne Poon.
Elizabeth Cheong
Research Assistant, 2012-2013
Alyssa Leung
As a Canadian born Chinese, I have always been fascinated by the stories of the early Chinese in Canada and how prominent their contributions to Canadian society were. Through my involvement in sharing this project with the public and community members, I have had the opportunity to witness first hand their intriguing interest in the Chinese Canadian history and how much they wanted to showcase their own history through our project. The reminiscence of the glorious days of Chinatown or the recollection of the infamous Chinese Head Tax serves to remind all Canadians of the collectivism of the Chinese society and mistakes made in the past. Moving forward, I’m excited to continue being a part of this meaningful construction of our uncommon past.
Janet Tse
As an assistant for the CCS, I took part in editing the coffee table book and event-planning. Growing up as a first generation Chinese Canadian, working at CCS has been an eye-opening experience. Not only was I given the opportunity to learn about my own background, I also got to learn about the experience and stories of others. Moreover, as a history major, CCS has inspired me to look into oral history and dig up my own family background, from my great-grandparents’ experience in the remaining days of the Qing Dynasty, to my grandparents’ struggle in the Second World War and the Cultural Revolution, and to my parents’ reminiscence of British Hong Kong and their migration to Canada.
Ben Pham
Research Assistant, 2012-2013
Joanna Yang
Joanna graduated from the UBC Human Geography and Migration/Globalization Studies program in 2014. She is a first-generation Chinese Canadian with roots in sunny Hainan, China. In 2012, she applied for a GoGlobal Group Study Exchange program and did a comparative heritage conservation study between Vancouver and Hong Kong. After, she became part of the Chinese Canadian Stories (CCS) team and has been working on the team since.
Prior to her time with the CCS team, Joanna had no background in film making or editing. However, over the past two years, she had the opportunity to learn about filming and editing short documentaries, and has since created three short pieces. Recently, Joanna took Asian Canadian Film Production (FIPR 469A) and partnered with Stephanie Fung (UBC English MA student) to create a film on how queer Asian Canadian youth are “Radicalizing Intimacy” in their lives.
