[nyfoil-l] Lee Siu Hin:Journey to My Home 2009--Building Binational China-US Solidarity (2)

[SIUHIN at aol.com]

Lee Siu Hin: Journey to My Home 2009--Building Bi-national China-US  
Solidarity and Understanding
 
Part Two: Updates, Purpose of My Trip
 
(Friday June 26 - Tianjin, China)
 
_http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/China2009/_ 
(http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/China2009/) 
 
I have been in China for the past two weeks, I am currently staying at  
northern Chinese city of Tianjin for family visit. But first, journal of my  
trips for the past two weeks…
 
I arrived Hong Kong at June 10th, then went to southern Chinese costal city 
 of Zhuhai over the weekend of June 13-15, meeting with my webpage design 
team  between , and en route to Shenzhen on Monday (June 15th) and leaving to 
Dalian  by plane on Wednesday June 17th attend one of the biggest IT 
convention at  China.
 
 
 
Why I am coming to China?
 
1) Meting with my webpage design team (for ActionLA.org,  
ImmigrantSolidarity.org, PeaceNOWar.net and ActivistVideo.org) for the upgrade,  and new 
project for developing e-Activism.org for on-line activist  organizing.
 
2) Building bi-national China-U.S. solidarity projects for activist  
exchange, platform for mutual & respectful dialogue and hosting a possible  future 
U.S. activist delegations to China.
 
3) Visiting my family—my parents are currently living at northern Chinese  
city of Tianjin.
 
It’s true that for historical reason, Chinese people more likely understand 
 U.S. then American understand China. It’s seems like hard to believe but I 
 almost never found a *real* Chinese restaurant in the U.S.—therefore; most 
 American never able to see the “real” China and misunderstand our 
country. And I  feel it’s  my destiny and duty as international peace activists to 
tell  everyone what I saw in China, and to build China-U.S. bi-national  
solidarity.
 
 
 
********
 
 
 
Before I talk about China, it’s also important to talk about me—who I am?  
Where my family are came from?
 
According to my family legend, we were a Ming dynasty’s emperor’s warrior  
from northern China, moved to southern Chinese region of Guangdong, and 
settled  at Zhungshan (_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhongshan_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhongshan) )  for the past 600 years.
 
At late 19th century, my family once again left the homeland and moved to  
Kobe, Japan for better economic opportunity around 1880’s for due the 
impacts  from bloody Chinese civil war of Taiping rebellion 
(_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion) 
),  we stayed in Japan for the next 60 years, my father and grandfather 
were born in  Japan.
 
As Chinese migrants in Japan at the early 20th we faced many  
discriminations and during World War II when Japan start forcing Chinese  migrants to the 
forced labor, my family decided to leave the country and move to  Hong Kong 
(it was occupied by Japan during World War II).
 
After the WW II, my father was a sailor for while, transporting goods  
between Hong Kong an Southeast Asia, later open his shipping company until his  
retirement. For the past 150 years we’re family of migrant which close 
relations  with Ocean.
 
I was born in Hong Kong and later moved to Yokohama, Japan with my parents  
at early 1970s for business reason, I first went to Japanese public school 
(1st  grade) then moved to Chinese-run migrant school at 2nd-4th grades, It’
s critical  for me to understand I am Chinese because the school helped me 
learn Chinese  language, culture and most important at all--the root. While I 
need to spend  almost 4 hours round trips everyday to commute school ALONE 
(when I was between  8 to 10 years old) and faced discrimination and even 
ambush/bully by Japanese  kids on my way to the school/home every day (because 
Japanese racism consider  hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Korean 
migrants—the two major minority  groups in Japan—never have rights of 
citizenships—consider to be inferior), I  fought with them and I never regret.
 
We left Japan on mid-70s, moved to Macau (former Portuguese colony) then  
back to Hong Kong at late 70’s to finish my high school. Then I moved to 
Canada  at mid-80’s and moved to U.S. at late 80’s.
 
The pronunciation of my name also reflects the historical-political  
differences—while my name written in the same way (at Chinese characters) The  
pronunciation at Hong Kong, Japan and China will be different: Hong Kong when 
it  was still British colony, the pronunciation of my name was based on  
British-design Cantonese standard: Lee Siu Hin. If the pronunciation of my name  
based on standard Chinese Mandarin, it’ll be: Li Xiao Xuan. When I was 
living in  Japan, the pronunciation of my name will be based on Japanese: Lee 
Shou Ken.  It’s not just a technicality issue on how to pronounce my name—
using different  way of pronunciation could mean your ethnic identity as well 
as political  background.
 
 
 
********
 
 
 
My first stop the working trip is Zhuhai, China meeting with my IT team.  
They had been our critical IT backbone and supporters for all our activism 
web  pages need in the U.S.
 
On 2005, after our Los Angeles-based volunteer webpage designer need to  
move on, we desperately need to find another critical volunteer-based webpage  
administrator. While U.S. is the largest IT country with many unemployed 
web  designers looking for jobs, yet I cannot find any U.S.-based Internet “
activist”  could willing to help us on volunteer or stipend–based (we’re 
willing to paid  some money from out of the pocket when we’re all 
volunteer-based organization  and I was a low-paid sweatshop worker).
 
I almost give up, but at a very luck—I found one of my friend who was  
recently (on 2003) moved to a Chinese costal town of Zhuhai 
(_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuhai_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuhai)   ) working at a 
U.S.-based IT outsourcing company. Zhuhai is 60 Km west from Hong  Kong 
(former British colony) water distance on the other side of Pearl River  delta, or 
just across the border north from Macau (former Portuguese  colony).
 
At that moment, I didn’t know too much about Chinese IT industry—because I 
 left Hong Kong at mid-80’s, my first and the entire computer/Internet 
experience  was at U.S.—I never learn how to type Chinese nor visit Chinese 
website. My  memory of Zhuhai at 1970s was a very small farming town border with 
Macau  without any “city” feeling nor significant industry—not eve mention 
phone  service! So when my friend suggest to ask his IT friends at Zhuhai 
to help me, I  was kind of skeptical if that’s going to work.
 
Our first working meeting was over skype on-line conference call, I was  
quickly impressed by their skills, professionalism and passion to support our  
activism work. For the next 3 years we only communicate thru 
e-mail/phone/skype  conference without ever met—until 2008.
 
I am highly appreciated their help and the work, they willing to help us  
(sometimes free, sometimes stipend-based) because they believes my activism 
work  and want to show the false notion of Western domination of Internet as 
well as  White savoir-ism. They want to proof Chinese internet activist can 
influence the  World and thump U.S. imperialist’s noise.
 
I spend 3-days stay at Zhuhai working meetings and stay at one of my  
teammember’s house and eat with their family (to save my trip’s money).
 
We envision developing a new cyber activism projects.
 
 
More stories of my trip will be coming soon….
 
 
 
**Previous Reports
 
Part One
_http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/China2009/partone.html_ 
(http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/China2009/partone.html) 
 

Reports from my past trips:
 
Journey to My Home: June - July 2008
_http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/China2008/index.html_ 
(http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/China2008/index.html) 

Journey  to My Home: Hong Kong and China 2004
_http://www.actionla.org/Reports/JourneytoHome/introduction.htm_ 
(http://www.actionla.org/Reports/JourneytoHome/introduction.htm) 


Lee  Siu Hin
National Coordinator
National Immigrant Solidarity Network _http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org_ 
(http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org) 
Peace  NO War Network _http://www.PeaceNOWar.net_ 
(http://www.PeaceNOWar.net) 
Action LA  Network _http://www.ActionLA.org_ (http://www.ActionLA.org) 
 
 
**************Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the 
grill. (http://food.aol.com/grilling?ncid=emlcntusfood00000005)