Abstract In this interview, Mirian Yau Oyola recounts her family’s migration from Guangdong, China to Panama and reminisces about her childhood growing up on a ranch and in a large Asian community in Panama. She chronicles her family’s eventual move to New York City, familial dynamics within a mixed family, the difficulties of cultural assimilation into American life with a Chinese stepmother, and the stark contrasts between life in Panama and America. Growing up in Brooklyn, she recalls how her...

Abstract In this interview, Miu Fei Li discusses life since her 1981 immigration to New York City. She tells of the decision to immigrate to America as a twenty-two year-old newlywed; initial impressions of Manhattan; and attempts to learn English. She describes life and working conditions experienced as a garment factory seamstress and the benefits of being a union member. She talks about her work schedule; which played roles in fostering her husband gambling addiction and their subsequent divorce....

Abstract Mr. and Mrs. Chan, founders and owners of the long established and renowned coffee shop and restaurant, Mei Lai Wah, in New York’s Chinatown, are both Taishan natives, who claim that New York, especially their restaurant, is home to them. Upon arrival, Mr. Chan was employed at a bakery, the culinary training from which he later applied to his own business, Mei Lai Wah. Mr. Chan explains that he runs his business like a family and has not changed anything since he first opened it in 1968. He...

Abstract Paul Kazee, one of the founders and former director of the organization Subway Cinema, played a significant role in showcasing Asian films to the New York public after the closing of Music Palace, a theater that specialized in showing Hong Kong films. Starting in 2000, Subway Cinema spent its first two years organizing events centered on dispelling what the group perceived as a misconception that Hong Kong cinema was degenerating and uninteresting. After gaining strategic connections and...

Abstract Selina Chan is a nurse working at St. Vincent Hospital's Chinatown Clinic. She discusses her work in the clinic taking care of the Chinatown population, covering topics such as low-income patient care and how, as a Catholic charity, they often try to cover the majority of the costs for patients without insurance. Salina also describes the demographics of the immigrant population living in Chinatown who come for care at the clinic and notes a gradual shift from Cantonese speakers to majority...

Abstract After being petitioned by his wifes family, Sing Kong Wong, a former administrator for a government agency in China, immigrated to New York in 1980 where he worked as a presser in a garment factory. Wong illustrates the poor working conditions in the garment factories, commenting on the lack of sanitation, violations of workers rights, and inadequate benefits and welfare. He explains how the steady decline in the garment industry has been especially problematic for immigrant populations, as...

Abstract Sio Wai Sang sits down with MOCA to discuss his experience in Chinatown since he first arrived in the 1970s by way of Macau and the Dominican Republic. He discusses his experience working as a jeweler, how he set the precedent for immigrant jewelers in Chinatown, and how the counterfeit industry has negatively affected Chinatown businesses by making them all seem cheap. He also shares his thoughts on the more close-knit community culture of Chinatown when he lived there and how he perceives...

Abstract Spring Wang is an independent developer who was born in China and raised in Taiwan. In this oral history, she discusses her experience of moving to the United States in 1968, where she attended college and became a Marxist heavily involved in political and social movements. One organization with which she associates herself is Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), a group devoted to talking about social services, equal employment opportunities, and housing development. She reflects on her...

Abstract S.W. Sang is a local Chinatown jewelry merchant who arrived in the United States during the 1970s. In this interview, he talks about his life as a migrant, moving from country to country, including China, Macau, and the Dominican Republic before finally settling in New York City. Sang was trained as a jeweler at a young age in the Dominican Republic and would eventually establish his business in Manhattan, operating stores in Harlem and Chinatown. As Sang expanded his business in Chinatown,...