People from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China have distinct cultures, languages, and backgrounds.
Learning
People from different ethnocultural backgrounds have made Canada their home. Many people continue to work towards anti-racism in Canada and have talked about the experiences of racialized communities. However, ethnocultural discrimination still is not completely visible or fully recognized in Canada. People from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China have distinct cultures, languages, and backgrounds—they would not just say they are Chinese. There are many differences and similarities between Chinese from different parts of Asia and between Chinese Canadians.
Discrimination also occurs among ethnocultural groups who are aware of their distinct cultures, languages, and backgrounds. There can be preferential treatment of individuals who belong to a given group as well as negative and biased prejudgments. For example, no matter whether I am in Vancouver or Toronto, I have experienced a difficult time in some Chinese restaurants. Sometimes servers have made me wait until after they’ve served mainland Chinese. The server in one of the popular seafood restaurants in Vancouver said they didn’t speak Cantonese and kept talking to us in Mandarin, even when I told them that I didn’t speak Mandarin. So prejudice can also damage relationships within what many people see as a single ethnocultural group—a group that is, in fact, made up of diverse communities.
Faith Reflection
Prayer
Dear God, may you help us to notice the beauty of every human being and recognize the injustices against and within different cultural groups around us.
Grant us the knowledge, strength, and grace to understand each other, and to invite others to our tables. As Genesis 1:26‒28 reminds us, you created us in your image.
As the image-bearers of God, we are all created equal and deserve equal treatment and respect. We are called to be in relationship with each other, to love our neighbours, and to serve one another.
God, you are creative.
May we be creative in our work to embrace the differences between ethnocultural groups.
Strengthen us to make amends for past injustices, and fill us with the courage to build bridges and establish peace in our communities.
We pray in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Living It Out
To acknowledge the injustice within some of the ethnocultural groups, we need to foster conversations and reflections. I am planning to curate art exhibitions to reflect ethnocultural diversity due to the increase of new immigrants from Hong Kong. The idea is to understand the diverse orientations and values of their unique backgrounds and promote reconciliation. I hope that more people will be able to learn that Chinese from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Vietnam, Thailand, or Malaysia have their own uniqueness and cultural identities.
When you meet new Chinese friends next time, you might begin by asking them about their ethnocultural background. This would create new opportunities to understand each other and to learn about cultural characteristics.
People can take several steps to address ethnocultural diversity and discrimination. First, people could engage in educational programs and awareness campaigns to highlight diverse cultural backgrounds. Include workshops, seminars, and resources that aim to raise awareness about the unique cultural identities and experiences of different ethnocultural groups. It would be great to support art and cultural initiatives, such as art exhibitions that I’ve mentioned. These actions will help create a more inclusive and harmonious community that values and respects the unique cultural identities of its members and the broader Canadian population.
—Michael Lee (he/him) is The United Church of Canada's New Emerging Community of Faith Lead. He was born in Hong Kong, the British colony, before it was turned over to China on July 1, 1997. Lee is a designer and a media artist who graduated from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and studied at Regent College. He is the co-founder of Mini and Michael Gallerists and PRESS MINI, the crossmedia business establishment airing since 2011, incorporated in 2008. Lee worked in leading media and communication companies: Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Co., Television Broadcasting Limited, and PCCW Limited in Hong Kong. He moved back to Canada from Hong Kong 10 years ago.