James Wong 黄景彬
James Wong was born in Canton, China and grew up in Hong Kong. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1969, living in Los Angeles Chinatown while attending the University of Southern California. In 1976, he joined both the Wong Family Association and the Ying On Association, while also serving as the English secretary for the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association during this period. In 1978, he opened an accounting business in Chinatown, which primarily assisted local residents. He was elected as the national president of the Wong Family Association in 2006, earning the most votes that any candidate has received in the history of the association. As president, he was instrumental in rejuvenating the American Legion/Chinese Post 628.
James Wong was interviewed by Suellen Cheng and Susie Ling on July 31, 2024.
Paper Sons in the Wong Family Association
James Wong: What if we have 30,000 [Chinese Americans in Los Angeles], and then, about 20,000 are the Wongs, last names is Wong, but approximately, about 5,000 people his last name is Wong, but actually is paper, his paper name. Remember that in 1950 in here, they allowed some of them to change back to their last name because the wrong paper [during 1957 Chinese Confession Program]. In 1906, because of the immigration department in San Francisco, that got burned [during 1906 San Francisco Fire]. Therefore, you know, the elder generation told me whenever, you know, try to do things by the Immigration Department, they have to recognize it. Everybody saying that they have some sons in China, but actually it is not. But no matter what, you know, what they say, I got four sons but they actually got one or two, and then the rest, you know, the paper name. That’s how it happened, to my understanding.
Susie Ling: So after the amnesty, did the paper sons leave the Wong Family Association or did they stay?
James Wong: They leave. Because they changed their last names back.
Suellen Cheng: Oh, so your number kind of decreased, Wong Family Association membership went down?
James Wong: Yeah, what it did, it was decreased. But the Wong Family is [still] the majority in the community.
Timestamp: [00:24:52]
Relationship Between Family Associations and Tongs
James Wong: Since then, you know, I really appreciate very much the old folks. They really contributed to the family. You know, some of them even contributed their properties to the Wong Family. Donate to the Wong Family because of the old folks. It was because during that period, they are single in here. Okay. And then there’s no ladies in here. That’s why, you know, then, they have no sons and everything. Therefore all the, all the properties that they earn, since their last name is Wong, when they pass away, they contribute to the Wong Family. That’s how we got our wealth, you know, we’ve got the things that we can establish our Wong Family.
Suellen Cheng: So why did they want to do that? Because the association have helped them, or association is a place where they—
James Wong: Yeah, association had to help them. You know, I just wonder if, you know, you guys know that during the 40s and 50s, you know, there’s a lot of fighting, you know, in our Chinese community. There’s lots of problems, you know. During that period, the tongs, the triads, in other words, during that period as far as the old one told me, that during that period, you know, if your last name is Wong, you are not allowed to get in because the Wong Family is too strong already. All those small names, they have no associations and all those ones, they have to join the tongs in order to survive in our community. They have to join the tongs. You know, triads.
Timestamp: [00:34:42]
Influence of the Wong Association
James Wong: There’s 16 [Wong] family organizations throughout the United States.
Suellen Cheng: Okay, great. Wow. That’s a quite an important organization in this community.
James Wong: If you wanted to be the president of the CCBA, you have to get the okay from the Wong Family before you can become one.
Suellen Cheng: And then continuously like that or no longer?
James Wong: Well, nowadays, you know, nowadays it’s different. Because, the Wongs got the majority vote. Therefore, no matter what, you have to be approved by the Wong Family before you become one.
Timestamp: [00:43:41]
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Suellen Cheng: So I was talking about, like, older members, especially early days. Yeah. They are single or they are newer immigrants that—
James Wong: We help them. You know, we help them to solve, you know, whatever problem they run into with. Our association try to help them try to solve problems for them, for our Wong Association.
Suellen Cheng: Do you also kind of help them find jobs, especially later years? You have new immigrants from even Southeast Asia. Do you admit them as your—?
James Wong: Yeah, yeah, as long as your last name is Wong. We are welcome back to the family.
Timestamp: [00:50:06]
Challenges Facing the Wong Association
James Wong: American education background is different from Chinese. We always, we always took care of our generation. We always took care of our elders. You know, our seniors. We have to face, you know, whatever. We respect them. But the American background of education is different. They just care for themselves.
Susie Ling: So what is the future of the Wong Family Association? Are you worried?
James Wong: Yes, I worried pretty much. It’s hard. Nowadays is hard to find who could be a president of Wong Family. No, no continuation, almost. Hard to find continuations of people that are leading the family, because of the younger generation. They didn’t come. They didn’t come back to the family association.
Timestamp: [00:52:40]
Evolution of the Wong Association
James Wong: Nowadays, we start changing [to] English. If not, the new ones, the young ones [won’t] come back. They don’t know what the hell you guys are talking about.
Suellen Cheng: So do you see the change once you have the English language being used, and then there are some younger people start coming in?
James Wong: Yes. Well, as you know, as long as, all right, I’m that old already. You know, because we have to understand how the young one feels when they come into the meeting. We speak either Toisan. If you speak Toisan, then we speak in Toisanese. If you know Cantonese, Cantonese. If you know Mandarin, you can use Mandarin. But the majority the Mandarin Wong is very seldom in our family because of their language. Because they speak Mandarin. They cannot speak Cantonese. The majority in our society, I don’t care what family you come from, you speak Cantonese. Before, during the 50s, we speak Toisan. But it been changing. And if I’m Toisan, I changed to Cantonese. And then, nowadays Cantonese is changing into Mandarin.
Timestamp: [00:57:17]
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Suellen Cheng: [So] you kind of, try to make CCBA to become more like, we are American. We have, besides celebrating the Chinese holidays and celebrations or Chinese community, but also try to remember that Chinese American, right? You observe the July 4th, like you say, raising the flag. And so is that something that I would say it’s pretty important for you to do?
James Wong: Well I actually, you know, in here, as a Chinese, we have to show the American—and then society is saying that, wait a minute, not only you guys have been, you know, contributed to the United States. Hey, don’t forget, we Chinese also. In that process, you know, we do our share in that, not a majority, but we still share in the program. Just the way I look at it.
Suellen Cheng: And you continuously contribute to the American society to help, you know, the new veterans issue, the new community issue.
James Wong: Yes.
Timestamp: [01:18:15]