Abstract Francis Tso moved to the United States from Hong Kong in 1976, and settled two year later in Chinatown. For over thirty years, he and his wife have run a newsstand located on Canal Street that was handed down from Tsos father and leased through the city. Tso portrays Chinatown as a haven for those who do not speak English and, while he says he has seen an increase in business at his stand as a result of development in the area, he also realizes that many non-English speakers are finding it...

Abstract Frank Liu, former Director of Technology at MOCA, sits down with Tomie Arai to conduct an oral history recounting his experience growing up in Chinatown during the ‘90s and early 2000s. Liu discusses his family’s history and their experience immigrating to the U.S. from Fuzhou, Fujian when he was seventeen years old, in 1998. He discusses how his uncle was able to sponsor his family to come to the U.S. and how his family moved to Chinatown initially upon their arrival. He discusses how even...

Abstract Mr. Guo-Gan Yan is an immigrant who arrived in the United States from Guangdong, China in the 1990s in search of better educational opportunities for his daughter. Yan describes his life and career in Guangdong before immigrating. He details aspects of life in China related to recreation and work habits and compares it to his life in the United States. Yan also describes the effects of the 9/11 Terrorist attacks on his job as a restaurant worker in Chinatown, and the assistance he received...

Abstract Henry Ye of True Light Church is the Director of Immigrant Services at New Life Center, a Lutheran social service organization started shortly after 9/11. Henry was born in Canton in 1979 and moved from China in 1982 to live in Panama for a period with his sister and her family. Henry would eventually move to New York City to attend Lower East Side Preparatory High School and CUNY City College to become a psychologist. He began his career as a social worker with the Chinatown YMCA and a case...

Abstract Herbert Leung speaks about his childhood growing up in a Chinese American family in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York City. He speaks about his elementary school and teen years regarding what he liked to do (watch movies and play sports) and how participating in sports gave him a chance to travel around the country. He also reflects upon the generational differences between him and his parents as well as him and his own children. He is asked of his sister’s performances at the China...

Abstract Pang Ho Ying was born in Taishan, China, but grew up and spent a large portion of his life in Hong Kong until he moved to New York with his wife in 1988. Interestingly, his family was divided on both the East and West coasts: he and his two brothers settled in New York, while his two sisters moved to San Francisco. Pang vaguely remembers his first impression of New York upon his arrival as relatively less modern than Hong Kong, claiming that Chinatown appeared backwards since it lacked the...

Abstract Howard Pyle talks to MOCA about his experiences moving into the broader Chinatown area during the booming dot-com years of the 1990s and how he has witnessed things change since then. He offers listeners some interesting context for the rise and fall of the dot-com bubble and how 9/11 affected many parts of lower Manhattan and led to shifts in population. Howard also goes into detail about the punk scene in DC where he was from and how he felt when he first moved to NYC and was forced to...

Abstract In this interview, Huan Reng "Benson" Chin discusses his involvement in the Sino-Japanese war; conducting espionage for the Chinese Communist Party. He recalls his military education in Marxism/ Leninism and fighting in World War II. Chin speaks of the Chinese Cultural Revolution; including detention in labor camps, mass starvation, and numerous civilian suicides. Chin evaluates life after his 1984 immigration to New York City; Chinatowns of the boroughs, Sunset Park street crime, and...

Abstract Jack Tchen along with Charlie Lai are founders of the Chinatown History Project, which has gone on to become the Museum of Chinese in America. In this multiple part interview Tchen discusses growing up in Wisconsin and his family’s ties to China. He then recounts his time at Madison college and how he got more involved in activism and Asian American studies. Next he discusses his time working at Basement workshop, how he met Charlie and working on exhibitions. He left Basement workshop with...

Abstract Jami (Jameson) Gong is a Chinese American comedian and local Chinatown resident. Born August 23, 1969 in New York City, Jami is the son of immigrant parents from Hong Kong and Southern China. His parents immigrated to the United States in 1967 with a desire for better opportunities and a better life for their children. He reminisces about his time growing up and living in Chinatown, the pollution problem, the changing demographics over time, and the education he and his siblings received....