Abstract This oral history focuses on Ti-Hua Chang, a Chinese American television news reporter who was the first journalist to cover the story of the Golden Venture when it ran aground off Rockaway Beach, Queens on June 6, 1993. He discusses how he was first informed about the Golden Venture and the process of reporting on the event. Chang recounts how the news station had brought in an anti-immigration lawyer to speak on the story, and how Chang felt compelled to speak up to counter the hate...

Abstract Ti-Hua Chang is a prominent television journalist based in New York City. He has been awarded the Peabody, Edward R. Murrow, and numerous Emmy awards for his investigative journalism. Chang is especially proud of discovering the four witnesses to the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers, which led to the re-opening of that famous case.Chang’s father was a renowned journalist who covered various significant events, including the Hiroshima bombing. Chang decided to follow his father into...

Abstract Tommy and Frank Wong discuss their experience coming to America from Hong Kong with their three brothers and working in a variety of restaurants before starting their own. The brothers lived across the US in Texas, Kansas, and San Francisco until they started their own restaurant in New Orleans. Tommy offers an interesting explanation of the history of Chinese food in America as well as how he worked to blend the styles and flavors of Chinese and Louisiana cuisine into what he considers to...

Abstract Tony Wong, General Manager at Sino Television, was born and raised in Hong Kong. He immigrated to the United States to study broadcasting at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Tony recalls his initial struggles as a student coming from a poor economic background and how he eventually moved to New York City, receiving a job offer at NBC right after graduation. During his time at NBC and in Sino TV as a part-timer, Tony would learn a myriad of skills including production, directing,...

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Vivian Ku, owner of the fast-casual Taiwanese restaurant Pine & Crane, talks about her journey to opening up her restaurant and the decisions she made along the way. She particularly details how her family’s background and her grandmother’s cooking influenced what dishes she puts on her menu and what type of restaurant she wishes to run. Her belief in the family values behind the Chinese food culture continues to drive her down the path as a restauranteur.

Abstract William Chiu, born in 1952, begins this interview recalling his childhood growing up, learning and working in Hong Kong. He talks about his father’s work as a chef and his father’s fateful opportunity to immigrate with his family to the United States. He describes his education and reasoning for desiring to go to the United States. William recounts his first job working as a waiter in training before beginning to work with his father in the restaurant business. He also describes the working...

Abstract Wing Ma (Ma Wing Guo) was born in China to a poor farming family who moved to Hong Kong as refugees when he was age two. Wing talks about his life growing up in Hong Kong with his mother working in the garment industry and his father working as a chef in Manila. He studied until post-secondary school before moving to the United States to train and work as an engineer. Wing would eventually join the garment industry as a factory owner, and describes the industry’s decline over time due to...

Abstract In this interview, Wong Lai Chow describes her life history; which spans the Japanese invasion of China, World War II, the Korean War, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and her immigration to America in 1980. She recalls her career as an educator during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, being charged with "illicit relations with a foreign country," and re-education at a hard labor camp. Chow also speaks from her perspective of an active retiree in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. She...

Abstract In this interview, Yee "Curie" Hoen describes her life as a single, female Chinese immigrant living alone in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. Leung recounts the process of getting a job as a disk jockey at a Chinese radio station and her promotion to supervisor of the Programming Department. She discusses neighborhood ethnic relations and crime (including being mugged). Hoen tells of her leisure activities; singing karaoke and opera, attending Sunset Park traditional Chinese...