Immigration Interview Project
By Michael Wong
Interview
Person interviewed: Kui Fung Wong
Relationship: Father
Q: What made you decide to immigrate to the United States?
A: The United States had a reputation in China as being a very rich and
powerful yet fair government. The United States guaranteed freedoms and
gave people the opportunity to be successful based on their skills. For
example, somebody who is smart could go to college in the United States
regardless of their political standpoint, whereas in China at the time, in order
to have luxuries such as education and a choice of occupation, you must
have connections with the party in control of the government. Also, I was
very poor in China and had no opportunities to improve my life.
Interview
Q: Where did you live before you immigrated to the United States?
A: I had lived in Canton Province in China (also known as Guangdong
province) until 1974. In 1974, I had escaped from mainland China to Macau,
and from there escaped to Hong Kong, where I lived for four years until
immigrating to the United States.
Note: My father had two sisters who lived in Hong Kong,
(as well as three brothers who remained in mainland China),
but he did not live with them while he lived in Hong Kong.
Guangdong Province
Q: What did you do while you were in China?
A: I was required by the government to work as a farmer. I was not allowed to
continue my education or have my choice of an occupation.
Interview
Q: Describe your process of immigration to the United States.
A: As stated earlier, I had escaped from mainland China in 1974 by swimming to the
country of Macau, which bordered my home in Guangdong province. Then, I escaped
from Macau to Hong Kong by boat and settled there for four years. During those four
years, I had contacted my distant uncle who lived in the United States and asked for
him to help me apply to immigrate to the United States as a refugee escaping harsh
conditions in China. Finally, in November of 1978, I was accepted as a refugee and
flew on a plane from Hong Kong to Queens in New York City, where my distant uncle
lived.
Q: Did you end up settling in New York City?
A: No I did not. I stayed in New York for a week and was then brought to the Westbrook
area in Maine by a friend of mine, where I got a job as a chef at a Chinese restaurant.
I later moved to the Newport area in Vermont where I ended up opening my own
Chinese restaurant with two friends of mine. I later moved to Lewiston, Maine after
selling the restaurant
Note: Since immigrating to the United States, my father has always worked as a chef in Chiense restaurants. Also, by
the time he had moved to Vermont (around 1990 I believe), he had married my mother, and in December 1991, I
was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
Interview
Q: Did you know English when you arrived in the United States?
A: No. I did not know English. The only language I knew was Cantonese (a dialect of the
Chinese language, which is the primary dialect in Guangdong Province, Hong Kong,
and Macau).
Q: What did you think of the United States?
A: I absolutely loved life in the United States. Compared to life back in China, it was like
living a dream. Even though I wasn’t rich, I valued the freedoms I had in the United
States and the fact that I could choose my own occupation and was paid sufficiently
for it.
Note: During this question, my father also took the time to tell a story about how he especially liked the bank system in
the United States. He mentioned how he was able to buy things on credit and get loans with extreme ease and
was able to support himself off of borrowed money from banks upon immigrating to the United States while saving
money from work and paying his debt off.
Q: How did the government support you?
A: After they allowed me to immigrate, they did not provide any more support. My support
came from friends who had helped me find work and adapt to life in the United
States.
Research
The Chinese first started immigrating to the United States in 1820, though few had arrived
before the California Gold Rush in 1848. By 1880, there were over a hundred thousand Chinese
immigrants, most of which settled on the West Coast. Chinese immigrants worked as laborers in
the railroad and mining industries. They had contributed to building the western half of the
transcontinental railroad. While employers exploited the immigrants as cheap labor, the majority of
white Americans opposed the Chinese immigrants. Labor unions and other organizations
protested against the immigration of the Chinese.
Chinese immigration to the United States faced a halt when the Chinese Exclusion Act of
1882 was passed, which was heavily influenced by the opposition of Chinese immigrants by white
Americans. This act was the first attempt by the United States to regulate immigration and had
placed ban on Chinese immigrants until the act was repealed in 1943. While the act was in effect,
those who were already settled in the United States were excluded from being able to apply for
citizenship.
The second wave of Chinese immigrants came after the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of
1943. During the time when the act was passed, China was an ally of the United States in World
War II. Though Chinese immigrants were permitted to immigrate to the United States for the first
time since 1882, immigrants were limited to 105 visas per year. Also, this act allowed for the
Chinese in the United States to apply for naturalization.
Research
As of 2009, there are between about two million to three and a half million ChineseAmericans living in the United States, making up between 0.64%-1.2% of the United States
population. Chinese-Americans are the largest of the Asian minority group. When the Chinese first
immigrated to the United States, the majority settled in West Coast states of California, Oregon,
and Washington. Some settled in other states in the West while a few settled in the East,
specifically the New York-New Jersey and Massachusetts area. By 1970, the settlement of
Chinese-Americans had spread to a variety of large metropolitan areas. While a large number
remain in the West Coast, a large population of Chinese-Americans can also be found in the New
York City area, the Boston area, the Houston and Dallas areas, and the Chicago area. Also found
throughout areas where there is a large population of Chinese-Americans are Chinatowns.
Research
Image From: http://migrationinformation.org/DataHub/FB_maps/Chinese_by_state_wCityTop15.pdf
Research
Image From: http://valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/pct_chinese.pdf
Research
1880s
1970s
2000s
Research
Major contributions which the Chinese immigrants and Chinese-American peoples have
made to the United States include the building of the west portion of the transcontinental railroad
as well as the construction of the levees in the Sacramento River Delta. Chinese immigrants also
brought with them their own cuisine, which transformed into the American Chinese cuisine which
is served at the many Chinese restaurants found wherever there is a population of ChineseAmericans.
Positive perceptions of Chinese-Americans today, which reflect the values Chinese
immigrants brought with them, include strong family values, honesty as business people, and a
high value on education.
A traditional Chinese holiday is the Chinese New Year. Though it is not recognized as a
national holiday in the United States, the festivities are celebrated amongst the ChineseAmericans in the United States, especially in cities where there is a large Chinese-American
population.
Research
Map of China
Image From: http://www.expo2010china.hu/elemek/china.gif
Reflection Paragraph
Culture is defined as the behaviors, beliefs, and arts of a particular group. It defines
somebody on the terms that that person is exposed to and may be raised by such behaviors,
beliefs, and arts. For example, my parents, who lived in China for a great deal of their lives, were
raised by the Chinese culture; their beliefs and practices reflect those of the people in China. After
immigrating to the United States, my parents were exposed to American culture, though they may
not choose to believe or practice everything that comes along with that. Meanwhile, I was born in
America to Chinese parents and was raised by a combination of both cultures. I was exposed to
the Chinese culture by my parents and the American culture by my peers, teachers, and all others
which I communicate with. My future children may be exposed to less Chinese culture than I was,
and my future grandchildren may be exposed to even less, if any.
Then again, culture is not simply the behaviors, beliefs, and arts of a particular ethnic
group. Culture pertains to social groups and age groups as well. Humans in general differ from
each other. While some choose to follow a certain social group, others choose to follow a different
one. Some of this may be by choice, but one’s preference may also be related to what one is
exposed to and at what age that person is exposed to certain cultures. Overall, cultural factors will
differ for everybody on the basis of their ethnicity, geographic location, period of time, and age.