Abstract

Ambassador Curtis S. Chin has been in public service for a number of years and comes from a military family. He has served as ambassador of the Asian Development Bank under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He spent his formative years in Virginia, Washington and went to Northwestern for under grad and earned a masters of MPPM at Yale School of management. Both his father and mother families come from Toishan, in Southern China.

Abstract This oral history interviewed Fay Chew Matsuda, director of the City Hall Senior Center, a division of the Hamilton-Madison House, and her life story. Fay grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan as the first generation Chinese-American girl born to immigrant parents. Fay would describe herself as a nurturing environment with parents who never pressured her to succeed and instilled in her values of the importance of family and togetherness, and respectation. Fay attended the elite Hunter...

Abstract Dr. Fred Hu is a renowned Chinese economist who obtained his PhD in Economics from Harvard University and now runs Primavera Capital Group, his own capital investment firm. Today, he speaks to us about his childhood in the 1970s during Mao culturally repressive programs of Mao, his ascension to university right after the reopening of the higher education system and studying abroad at Harvard University in the 1980s. He then expands on his career choice in Economics and talks about his time...

Abstract

In this interview, Tina and John Yuan share the journey of their families from China to Taiwan, where they were born, to the US, where they met and built their own family. They mention their parents’ experiences in China, their early childhood in Taiwan, culture shocks when migrating to the US during the 1970s, adolescent school years, the encounters of Chinese communities, and fostering their son as a Chinese American.

Abstract This is an oral history interview with Maxine Hong Kinston on Nov 15th 2018 by Nancy Yao Maasbach for MOCA Legacy Award tribute video and a family journey. Maxine Hong Kingston born on October 27, 1940, is a Chinese American author and Professor Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a BA in English in 1962. Kingston has written three novels and several works of non-fiction about the experiences of Chinese Americans. This interview talked about her...

Abstract For over forty-five years, Ming Cho Lee has served on the faculty at Yale School of Drama, including as the co-chair of the design department. As a recipient of the National Medal of Arts in 2002 and the Tony award for lifetime achievement in 2013, Ming Cho Lee is one of the most acclaimed living set designers in the U.S. He is originally from Shanghai but moved to Hong Kong during his childhood, and went to the United States to attend Occidental College in 1949. He then attended UCLA and...

Abstract

Rita and Patrick Lee are first-generation Chinese Americans. In this interview, they address memories including Patrick’s journey from Hong Kong to America, the development of Patrick’s financial career, his business philosophy, their parenting philosophy, and their Chinese identity. They also bring family photos to the interview and give a short description to each of them.

Abstract

Richard and Jane Liu briefly talk about their early lives in China and Taiwan. Richard discusses his time working for a newspaper in Taiwan before moving to NY to work as an editor for a newspaper in Chinatown. The two further discuss their thoughts on child rearing and the current political climate of country for Chinese Americans.

Abstract Richard Wong, later changed to Richard Ong, was born to a paper son who later became naturalized through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. His mother was able to come to America through the War Brides Act of 1945. His family eventually settled in a suburb in East Rockaway New York, where they worked and lived in and behind a laundromat. Richard became a Catholic during his childhood years. He later went on to attend Princeton, describing his suburban upbringing as an experience...

Abstract

Eva Lam (daughter of Sau Wing and Jean) talks about her parents' lives in Shanghai before coming to the US. She further discusses her experience as well as that of her parents in the US. Her father was a violinist as well as a collector. As a result, she recounts her family's love of music and talks about her father’s violin collection.