Cover for my Chinese Translated book

My translator: Ting Kong Siin.

engines.

Something is wrong with my car, I don't get a smooth ride.

Mother was quite good in checking the spark plugs.

looking at your plane and smooth ride, and I thinking the Air Asia plane that disappear. 3rd plane in a year. Not nice.

PhotoHunt ~ Smooth

The PhotoHunt today is 'Smooth'

http://whistlestopcooking.blogspot.co.nz

working to fulfil a dream

海外华人的百年梦想又近了一步。。。
  大家都知道在美国的旧金山有一个中国城，在洛杉矶有一个中国花园；在德国的杜伊斯堡，波兰的华沙，澳大利亚的悉尼以及在新西兰的丹尼丁都有一个美丽的中国花园。奥克兰作为新西兰的最大城市，聚集了十几万的华人，我们奥克兰的几代华人又何曾没有梦想过在奥克兰建立一个中国特色的花园呢？
  奥克兰中国花园筹备委员会终于在5年前成立了。在过去的几年中，几经周折，先后考察了四五个场所，历尽千辛万苦就是要在奥克兰寻找一块合适用来建设中国花园的场地。
  在过去的几个月中终于有了可喜的进展～就在奥克兰的中区，位于美丽的鸭子湖(Western Springs)公园的附近有一块不为人知的风水宝地引起了中国花园筹备委员会的注意力。这块风水宝地就是占地32公顷的Chamberlain Park。目前全部的公园只是用于一个高尔夫球场。此公园土地归奥克兰市政府所拥有，也就是说我们每一个纳税人都是这个公园的股东。奥克兰政府在去年收回了这个高尔夫球场的管理权，因为它的使用率特别低，目前只有23%，入不敷出，每年市政府都要往里贴钱。众所周知，St Lukes和Mt Albert地区人口增长速度很快，土地开发的密度也高速增加，在这样一个人口密集地区拥有这么一块绿地可以说是当地的一块瑰宝。
  当地的议会支持将此公园重新规划，从而使本地更多的民众都可以享受到这块难得绿地。目前的初步整体规划中包括儿童游乐设施，5～6块各种室外体育场，年轻人的娱乐场所以及供大家散步，跑步和遛狗的场所，更重要的是它还预留了建中国花园的场地，因此我们华人朋友们更需要支持Chamberlain Park的重新规划!
  现在Albert-Eden地区议会正在就其初步整体规划征集民众的意见，意见征集活动在2015年1月底结束。大家可以在网上填写调查表，或者来信索取中文翻译的意见调查表。这个调查表只有6个选择题，只需要1～2分钟的时间就可以完成。
  希望我们大家可以群策群力, 共同努力支持把St Lukes附近的Chamberlain Park的高尔夫球场重新规划，从而使更多的人能够享受到这块宝贵的绿地，同时也给我们在奥克兰的海外华人们一个机会来圆一个百年的中国花园梦!
  网上填写调查表 - http://engage.ubiquity.co.nz/surveys/tgZgAjWtwkal3QjRywEEHg
或者联系中国花园筹备委员会的秘书Susan朱旭东来索取中文翻译调查表：021546880或者微信：Susan朱旭东。
(网上填写调查表请点击Albert- Eden Local Board标记下面的小字Start开始，总共6个选择题。大家请注意，第一题请支持减小高尔夫球场面积为9个洞的球场(9 Hole Course)或者练习场地(Driving Range)。最重要的选择题是第五个题E~切记打勾支持建设中国花园(Formal Chinese Garden)和表演中心(Performing Space)。有任何问题请欢迎联系Susan朱旭东021546880，或者添加其微信号。

Letter E for exciting and exhibit. Letter W for Work.

 Exciting Exhibit. The proposed Chinese Garden in Auckland to have a Museum, Cultural complex.

 Ron Sang, Co-Chairperson and architect,

 Ron is interviewed By Lingling Liang, World TV.

 Map and plan

 Peter and Audrey Chan,

The Chinese Garden Steering Committee

Proposed site, Chamberlain park.

I attended an urgent meeting this afternoon re: Submitting a proposal to the Albert-Eden park to have a Chinese Garden. It was exciting, those attending were very enthusiastic in getting more people to sign the submission.

It's been a long journey for Ron and Kai Luey and the Steering Committee who spent a lot of time working and  drawing up plans, The Chinese people are lucky to have Susan Zhu. A lot of work had been done to get people to fill in the submission forms.

http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/

http://jennymatlock.blogspot.co.nz/

search/label/Alphabe-Thursday

Research: veterans.gc.ca

 

 

Now, I remember why I omitted this Chapter in my original Book, "From China to Borneo,"I couldn't find any reference to Captain Fong. As my book was Facts, Non fiction, I decided not to  add my grandfather's and my father's story to my book..

It was only after my discussions with my brothers and Larry that bro Joseph, a lawyer suggested that Captain Fong was an alias, then it clicked. Captain Fong or Roger Cheng was a great hero. He should be celebrated. He was the pride of the Chinese, he was the pride of the Chinese-Canadian.

With the Head-Hunters in Sarawak

Sarawak, in northern Borneo, had been occupied by the Japanese since early 1942. When the first S.O.E. team landed in this wild, jungle-covered land, they took great risks to enlist local mountain tribes in their fight against the Japanese. Fortunately, these local people detested the Japanese and became loyal and indispensable allies to the S.O.E. agents. The Ibans, one of the most aggressive of these head-hunting tribes, were a considerable help to S.O.E. in clearing this area of Japanese.

The small, black-haired, brown-skinned Ibans had adapated perfectly to their lush and unchanging environment; they could move effortlessly through either the dense jungle or along the sinuous river with equal skill. The Japanese gradually withdrew down the river, the head-hunters spreading terror among the debilitated enemy.^{Footnote 10}

http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/uncommon-courage#chinese

 

It was into this situation that 29-year-old Roger Cheng and four other Chinese-Canadians, Jimmy Shiu, Norman Lowe, Roy Chan and Lewis King, were flown on August 6, 1945. Cheng was the first Chinese-Canadian to become an officer in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, a rare accomplishment in those days. He was an electrical engineering graduate from McGill University and spoke fluent Cantonese, making him a natural to head this team. Upon arrival, the group joined a small British team which was gathering information on the movements of the Japanese as well as about conditions in prison camps in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, where about 25,000 British prisoners of war were being held.

For someone who worked with the headhunters  at the war time earns my admiration.

Chan Kee Seng, born 1882 in China

My Ah Kung (Grand father Kee Seng) used to tell me about the war stories from the 1880’s. He told me that the Japanese used to have an army camp in Upper Lanang Road by Tai Kuon School not far from our house. It was probably five minutes walk. He recalled the time when the Allies landed soldiers from Kapit by parachute and the allies enlisted the locals and they swept aside the Japanese all the way down to Sibu. The leader of the Allied troops was an American Chinese Captain Fong. The Ibans called him Capitan Jina (Chinaman) The Allies used to strafe the local school by plane to scare the Japanese. He also told me when he and the clans in China had to fight the bandits attacking the village. He said we were landlords in China and very wealthy. He proudly said that our family had 2 big silos to store the grains. My Ah Kung and I shared a bed and he tells me his stories every night when we go to sleep. Mother put an end to that when she told him that I was still a school boy and needed my sleep!***Charles

I heard that he was Canadian Chinese Captain. He was big boy and with a bit of exaggeration he became a towering Chinaman and bigger than any white soldiers. He could be Canadian Chinese! Ah Kung said that in those days all persons of authority were Europeans and never a Chinese. The Chinese has to kow tow to Europeans. This Chinese captain commanded a company of white soldiers (about 100 soldiers to a Company). Ah Kung said whenever the Chinese captain gave orders to the white soldiers the white soldiers will stand to attention and give a big "da bag! (salute) and scream " yes captain sir!" That was why the locals were very impressed and the Ibans called him Capitan Jina! The Chinese would clap hands when they see the white soldiers take orders from this Chinaman! Fancy white people give a "da bag" to a china man! So this man must be very very powerful! I believed that from that time the Ibans started to give the Jina (Chinese) more respect! ****Joseph

Father's story: Ah Kung and others were surprised to hear from the Ibans of a Tuan Cina. Tuan, "Sir" was only meant for the white man. To the Iban: Cina, Chinese then were only farmers, and lowly coolies whom they encountered on the boats. So this Canadian Captain of Chinese origin was really a somebody being called a Tuan. So Ah Kung was so proud to be associated with the Sir. In jubilation, Ah Kung and his fellow villagers of Kwong Tung ba rushed to Tai Kuon School to welcome the arrival of their Canadian Chinaman Captain. They wanted to witness the triumphant victory of the Allies led by their own tall Cina captain over the shameful defeat of the short abominable bespectacled Japanese. The Chinese spat “Phui!!!” in disgust and shouted curses and “Bangsai go do a shit.” The onlookers including the Ibans cheered vigorously. There were peals or claps of thunder, but these didn’t come from the sky.  They came from ripple after ripple of applause as the Japanese surrendered their rifles, long swords, scabbards and short knives. The villagers sneered and jeered. They said they were told that a Japanese soldier never gave up his weapon, unless he admitted defeat, a Japanese soldier would rather die than surrender. Ah Kung and his friends were like blood hounds waiting to watch the Japanese commit Seppuku or hara-kiri. One couldn’t blame them for their jingoistic euphoria, after all these Japanese were men from hell. But these were cowards, they didn’t commit Seppuku to the disappointment of the spectators.  Instead they chose to become PoWs***Henry

The above three narration of the same event were by my three brothers told to them by my Grand Father Kee Seng or by my Father Hiu Fei.  

 Captain Fong is likely to be an alias of Roger Cheng. I am pleased that we could piece together Captain Fong, and validate Ah Kung's story. I am so excited that with our connection, we can dare say Captain Fong wasn't a figment of Ah Kung's imagination.

Larry Wong, curator of Canadian Chinese Military Museum. 

http://www.rcsigs.ca/index.php/Cheng,_Roger_K

Roger Kee Cheng served as a member of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals during the Second World War. He saw service in Ottawa prior to undertaking commando and guerrilla training for his subsequent service in the Molucca Islands and Borneo.