In conversation with Creative Thought Leaders: Andrea Cherng, Alvin Huang, Jennifer 8. Lee, Lisa Ling, Melvin Mar, Steven Wong & Gene Luen Yang
”Early Chinese immigrants come into the United States starting in the 1850s. And from the 1850s up until even the 1950s, over a hundred years, there's a lot of discrimination against people of color, against Chinese people, against Asian immigrants.”
”My family came through paper son immigration. It's illegal immigration, basically you purchased fake papers, fake identities, to come to America. It dates back to the railroad. Growing up my father wouldn't really want to talk about it that much. So when he passed away I found my grandfather's identification card from 1942, and it says his name, but with our paper son last name.”
”My grandfather came to this country, he immigrated in the 40s, before the Cultural Revolution in China, and this was a time when Chinese could not get work beyond a certain skill set. He had an MBA and was not able to work in business.”
”My father came to this country with two suitcases and a thousand dollars. Now we're in a place where I look back and I can see where I am and where my sisters are, and you know it's all because of the sacrifices that he made, and that my mother made, coming over here.”
”Often times, Chinese immigrants weren't allowed to work outside their own ethnic communities. They were relegated to acceptable jobs, like being laundrymen, being cooks. That forced many Chinese immigrants to open up restaurants early on.”
"Chinese restaurants have been around for over 167 years in the United States...The prevalence of American Chinese cuisine is not a mistake. It's influenced by a lot of historical factors that go back to early Chinese immigration in the 1850s."
”My grandfather could not find work in his field - because he was Chinese - there was a lot of discrimination. They eventually opened the first Chinese restaurant in Folsom, California.”
”That picture of my grandfather and me reminds me of where we started from. And it’s a story of Master Chef Ming Tsai Cherng and my grandmother and my father coming to this country as immigrants with nothing, and starting with one restaurant and working incredibly hard.”
”They started with one restaurant to support one family, and now we are close to 1,900 restaurants and we provide for over 30,000 families.”
”So I think you have an industry that Chinese Americans were once forced to go into - ironically that Chinese Americans flourish now, using that entrepreneurial spirit.”
Originality©2016 Panda Restaurant Group |