I'd be doubting their sincerity.

If the religious belief card is going to be played then the players better be 100% devotees.

Glorious melting pot

We talk about BC being the melting pot, where cultures co-mingle and everybody benefits.

The sad fact is that very little melting takes place these days.

There was a time when new immigrants followed the slogan: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!"

With few exceptions they spoke english in public and dressed / acted like the locals.

Later on it became trendy to eat foreign cousine, and drop the occasional foreign phrase amongst the jetset.
Ever since we have experienced a blossoming of shops that feature the cultural differences and commodities.

This could all be to the good, except that new immigrants now see us as an extention of their homebase and forget that they live in Canada and maybe should act as Canadians?

This is more than a "nimby" issue, when instead of "melting" to fit in, we have new but fancy ghettos arise and our values questioned, be it RCMP headgear or other traditional canadian values.

More Accurate Translations Required

I believe that, in this particular case, "cultural differences" can be freely and accurately translated to "property values" or even more accurately "resale values".
This whole issue should garner the same amount of consideration and attention as any small number of people being petty, NO MATTER what "ethnicity" they happen to be, NONE.
Small group of people can actually DELAY a needed project, just by waving a "culture" flag?
Is "political correctness" so prevalent that ALLEGED "cultural differences" in a so-called "multi-cultural" city/province/nation, can be used as a club?

Not Just The Chinese Victimized

Today the Chinese, yesterday, French Canadians in small prairie towns.
Ms. Lam, it's not only your race that feels racial backlashes.
Growing up in the three Prairie provinces, with a French Metis father, the antagonism, even hate, shown my family was a constant.
Yes, welcome to Canada.

Protesting Hospice

Take a long look back.........most of our lands were once the last resting place for many. This is all about money, "special interest group" which I think our present Liberal government does not believe in unless it serves the party. Can can this group of people deny any form of dying with dignity! Shame on all of them. Too much attention give to them, too much drama.

compassion

Thank you for this thoughtful reflection about the hospice debate. I appreciate that you name the problem--the overgeneralization and blaming of an ethnic group--which only escalates conflict, rather than solving it. I don't agree with the people who are protesting the hospice, and like you, I would rather try to educate them than blow useless hot air at them. There are two issues: cultural beliefs, which can be discussed, and property values, which boils down to greed. These are issues that are found in non-Chinese communities too...

"Too Asian" all over again

The Hospice location retreads of some of the tensions outlined in the "Too Asian" Maclean's article.

The student group's objection is that "...Part of the university experience is socializing, meeting new people, and partying. Building a hospice near residences will infringe on these students right to proper student life."

Source: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=157017353985&v=wall

Here we have a well-off Western view of university as a place to live it up, but no one's going to highlight the students's culture or suggest they go back home. Instead, as far as I can tell, the planners relocated the hospice site and the rez party life went unchallenged.

''Glorious'' melting pot

well said, alive!
there's 1 long back-dated issue, though. The melting ingredients were brought here 100 y ago, almost on a slave level, and ''ghettonized''. If everyone would look ''Roman''- could be nice for the national identity,,,,,but its' too late. So, if you do not see a single English sign in the 'Crystal Mall'in Burnaby, trust your senses-
when you can not read it - smell it. Have a good dim-sum.

"Yellow Flight"

As a first-generation Chinese-Canadian (CC), I'm disturbed by the other CC voices who are quick to "disown" the immigrant groups for their "religious" beliefs. I don't fault the CCs for drawing distinctions between their individual beliefs and those of immigrants - often, CCs do have a different view of "ancestor worship" than immigrants. However, categorizing the beliefs of immigrants as "crazy" and not "representative" and generally trying to distance ourselves from "that" group isn't going to solve the real problem: the institutionalized racism that posits that all Chinese are of one mind and one heart linguistically, culturally, emotionally. We are a very diverse group and it is very easy to tell us all apart, but frankly most people never invest the time, interest or work to do so.

I respectfully suggest the next time somebody makes a generalized, uninformed, uneducated statement about immigrants, Chinese or otherwise, we consider pointing out that Chinese people don't assume that every blonde-haired, blue-eyed person they encounter is Arayan.

Let's take the argument back to it's true conflict: property value concerns. If immigrant Chinese owners are truly concerned about their own proximity to dying people (valid), there is nothing preventing them from reselling their property at fair value to non-Asians who do not share their qualms or taboos. (It appears the lack of ability to see the diversity of Vancouver runs both ways.)

melting pot never happened for anyone really

My aunt was a long time instructor of psychology (1957-78) at the University of Western Ontario.

After she retired she still taught alumni classes on occasion while doing a lot of work with the Huron Indians in South-Western Ontario.

One of the last conversations I had with her in 2004 before she passed was about immigration.

She looked at me and stated;

“Part of the problem with immigrants is that when they immigrate they bring their bigotry with them. Mix that bigotry with the bigotry we have here already and you got yourself a real genuine problem.”

I am sure any First Nations person reading the above article would smile wisely and state; “Well for us you are ALL immigrants.”

Touché to all of us here in Canada I guess……

I have this great poster on my wall here. It is a photo of 6 American Indians representing the Six Nations of AIM. The fellow in the middle is holding a poster which states;

American Indian Movement. Fighting terrorism since 1492………

Sjmah

"The institutionalized racism that posits that all Chinese are of one mind and one heart linguistically, culturally".

Be careful playing the racism card.

Which brings me to the recent Wall Street Journal article by Ms. Chua entitled "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior".... really???
That article garnered more responses than any article ever in the history of the WSJ, I believe. CAN YOU IMAGINE if a Western woman wrote an article entitled "Why Western Mothers are Superior"... to all mothers of other ethnicities. I mean seriously. As an early poster commented (piano rex) "I can’t help but think that the demonization has been by themselves for themselves".

Get over yourself already.

Straw man fallacy

This article is a classic example of misrepresenting a proposition or issue (or argument), refuting that misrepresentation, creating the illusion of actually having addressed the real issue at hand.

Fiona Tinwei Lam accuses the media of "demonizing" the Chinese condo owners and of facilitating an "anti-immigrant backlash has indeed occurred and continues."

The bulk of the media reports I heard were of prominent Chinese-Canadian leaders, such as former SUCCESS CEO Tung Chan, and spokespeople calling BS on this group of condo owners. The media, hyperbolic and sensation-driven as they tend to be most often, was actually quite reserved, if not perplexed, on this issue. The media were simply delivering the message.

The other problem with Tinwei Lam's argument (or lack thereof) is that she provides zero citations or examples of this supposed demonizing or anti-immigrant backlash. If you are going to make these kinds of charges, at least provide some examples.

As Tung Chan correctly said of the condo owners: "People take whatever excuse they can dream up and say that they don't want it to be in their backyard."

If there was any harsh judgment or demonizing going on, it was coming from within the Chinese-Canadian community. Otherwise this issue is nothing more than classic NIMBYism cloaked in culture clash.

have compassion...really?

Consider this..giving up ALL your ways..your way of everyday life..forget your history of who you are..your ancestral lands that is today taken.. without any economic distribution or sharing of wealth in mining resources tourism or water..and ALL your family,relatives and neighbors forced on little parcels of worthless swampy land...now jump ahead into the 20th century where your houses are,,think of the ghosts there..whose ghosts..the first nation people ancestors whose land you sleep on...get a grip

Facing inevitable consequences

If the condo owners are going to choose to shout out preposterously offensive arguments against the hospice coming next door, they cannot possibly be surprised by the negative reaction to such arguments.

Instead, I'm thinking that our generalized public outrage in this case is more likely just a natural reaction to stupidity and blatant intolerance when and where we come across it, no matter where it comes from.

Personally, I don't care if such objections to the hospice originate from Chinese, Ukrainian, Swedish, green or purple neighbours.

Those who filed the complaint clearly did not accurately anticipate the consequences of their actions. They evidently believed that merely playing the Chinese culture card would automatically get them what they want: to stop the hospice project.

I'm grateful to the senior members of the local Chinese community who have come forward to correct the embarrassing misinformation that the condo owners have tried to get away with here.

you state

At the heart of that dislike are unease and fear.

That's a bit strong, and maybe painting with a brush, although correct in many instances.

A more fair assessment might be:

At the heart of it is a clash of values.

The balance between integration of and honouring of values is a difficult issue. There are some things that are just unacceptable and illegal in Canada (not Chinese culture, but genital mutilation being an example), and then things that we fight over, like this.

It's healthy and not that surprising.

culture, spirituality, superstition.

I write as a lover of Chinese philosophy--esp. Lao Dze, Zhuang Dze, Meng Dze, and the sages of Cha'an Buddhism. In fact I can speak some Chinese, and frequently use Chinese traditional medicine. I'm pointing this out because what I feel needs to be said will almost certainly seem offensive to some.

Calling this fear of ghosts Chinese culture is like calling strip clubs, mixed martial arts, and Lindsay Lohan's excesses "Western Culture." It is nothing more than craven superstition, and I'd bet that none of the great minds of Chinese thought, who stressed acceptance, waking up, kindness and compassion (in various ways) would disagree much with this assessment. This is mere pig-headed clinging to harmful peasant irrationalism at best, and at worst it is, as another writer pointed out, a ruse to protect the value of an investment.

And yes, I'll stick by my apparently obnoxious elitism (stress on the apparently--I don't believe it is). I've had the great opportunity of getting to know Chinese culture both first-hand in Asia and through extensive reading (I have a relevant graduate degree). My love for it grows. But I will say this: there is, particularly among many of the well-moneyed recent immigrants from the Cantonese south, a rather crude, phillistine indifference to the depths even of their own culture, to say nothing of Western culture. Sure, there is the odd trip to the temple to "bai bai" (bow with incense before the buddha), but this is usually with the intention of asking "buddha" to give them a raise, a winning lottery ticket, or a well-placed spouse etc. Could anything be further from the intentions of either Siddhartha Gautama or the Patriarchs of Chinese buddhism? Of course Christians, particularly here in NA, are often guilty of the same dim, crude materialism and superstition.

Goya produced a famous picture called "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters." In it, a sleeping man, slumped on a table, is surrounded by ghosts and demons issuing from his own "asleep"--superstitious and without critical thought--mind. That is the true source of ghosts: superstitious and greedy minds. I would welcome the elimination of that source of haunting from our communities!

We should under no circumstances give any consideration to this nonsense.

Fii

You should know that racism is not always overt (e.g., name calling or the blatant assertions of the Tiger Mom article). It can be subtle and institutionalized, such as assuming "of course Chinese Canadians born in Canada don't believe in any of that ghost nonsense." That statement alone makes a lot of assumptions: that it's about religion (it isn't religious issue for many Chinese); that Chinese born in Canada do not subscribe to these beliefs; that the belief is nonsensical. There's a whole history rooted in ancestor worship (the rite that Ms. Lam describes when explaining Ching Ming) and people should fully understand that history before they see fit to judge it.

Institutionalized racism, sexism, ageism, etc. are all assumptions that we make about a group and take to be truths because there is nobody in the mainstream challenging those assumptions or providing a context to them. Rather than make assumptions, let the other person talk and provide a context. Then you can have a real discussion and get to the heart of the matter.

melting pot vs cultural mosaic

there is mention above about the mclean's magazine article from a couple of months back. again, the question mark has been left off of the reference. the article was titled, 'too asian?' the question mark makes a difference.
as for this issue with the hospice, shame on the rich asians out at ubc for playing the culture card. we were not born yesterday. this is not a cultural issue.
anyone that could may have heard the whole interview with ms fan would know that. it was a shocking interview. it reeked of the situation a few years back when the toney area along the arbutus corridor where trying to keep rapid transit out. they called themselves, 'la creme de la creme.' having heard ms fan's whole interview i was reminded of that.
try as she might to hide behind asian ooga booga, the question was property values and their fear that their condos would lose value was what was really behind it all.
the whole thing angers me and makes me wonder if the americans have it right...maybe a melting pot would be preferable to the canadian cultural mosaic.

Worry about whether it will be a leaky hospice!

How luxurious it is to worry about silly superstitions associated with this project. The prudent resident even in this shi-shi enclave is only interested in one thing:

Will the proposed hospice leak the same way all these brand-new half-a-million-plus-dollar condos have in the area, forcing those nearby to endure another summer of ugly, blue tarps, buzz saws and the omnipresent convoy of contractors' vehicles taking up all the available parking?

sjmah

I agree completely. No one is denying the Chinese history of ancestral worship. Having lived in Taiwan for three yrs, I am quite familiar with this practice. The response to the condo owners was NOT disrespect by "Westerners" toward Chinese culture.

You say "We are a very diverse group and it is very easy to tell us all apart, but frankly most people never invest the time, interest or work to do so". This is a human characteristic. Do you think most people have a clue (or care, or take the time or interest as you point out) to learn about the diversities among "White" people. Which by the way, is a skin colour, NOT an ethnicity. Basically, I think your points are taken out of context. Of course Westerners make generalizations about Asians, as do Asians about Westerners! None of this is really racism, which is a very strong word, and means to "think you are superior to or dislike another person based on race".

Let's just stick to the point here. The building of a hospice for Canada's elderly, regardless of their race/birthpace trumps the cries of NIMBYism from a small group of protesters regardless of their purported reason, be it property value, "religion", cultural beleif, etc.

Hospice

Canada has never been a melting pot.
Canada is a stew.
Many nationalities coming together but staying distinct.
It adds up to a complicated dish.
I do not believe that the individuals bellowing out at U.B.C. represent the many Asian families I've met that honour and respect their elderly and ill family members.
After all, I've met many of them in hospitals taking very good care of their loved ones.
I do not understand what is going on about the hospice.

Elitist Contemporary Chinese Imigrants Shame Others

This is not about a simple Hospice and the NIMBY fears of a group of greedy, selfish condo owners nor is it just about an over-zealous, narcissistic Tiger Mom robbing her children of a childhood for the sake of future performance and monetary gain: This about balance in community.

I, for one, believe society is suffering in communities that are overwhelmed by selfish, elitist Asian immigrants who have absolutely no intention of becoming an active part of a community, they simply want to use it for their purposes for as long as they need to and probably move back. That's why few now live and work here. They make their money elsewhere, import what they need here, exploit our social benefits and move on.

My spouse is Japanese Canadian and my children are Eurasian, so I embrace the idea of our cultural mosaic experience. This is why I am so offended by recent immigrants who have thrown our sense of community and quality of life out of whack so badly that it is almost impossible for working families to live happily in Vancouver any longer. Outrageous housing costs created by imported dirty money and cultural tensions. These new elitist, so-called superior Chinese ways may generate good grades and lost of money but they certainly do not create happiness - quite the contrary and I will not stand by and watch them destroy what has made Canada so welcoming to so many working families.

hospice issue

I am Caucasian and I thought this petition was not at all representative of the entire Chinese community. My Chinese friends are respectful and caring toward their elders. The news reports I read and heard on this issue were actually very accommodating toward the beliefs of people who were against having a hospice nearby. If there was a virulent, anti-immigration backlash, I only saw it reflected in a few online comments, not in the media reports.

A welcome point of view.

I was moved by Fiona Tinwei Lam's insightful article. I have read her two published books of poetry and consider her to be one of the finest poets writing in Canada today. Many thanks.

Thanks

Thanks for your story, Fiona, which points out that individuals within all our wonderful cultural groups are as diverse as the groups themselves, and stereotypes more often than not mislead.

Well said and informative. Thank you. We are all immigrants!

Even the First Nations people immigrated originally.

Our similarities eclipse our differences. Some of us, regardless of race, are altruistic, some are greedy, but most of us are a mixture of both

Dishonesty

I think there is dishonesty going on here. The people in the Condo making those arguments do so not necessarily because they believe them but because they realized that they could defend the argument easier than saying: "But it will make this place less desirable and I may lose money."

This isn't a racial issue, it's an issue of people trying to get their way by playing the race card. If you want, it's racism in reverse.

As for the other two locations where there was opposition:

At least they had some valid points there. To put a Hospice next to a dorm would not have worked for either group, neither would the location near Wreck Beach really been ideal either. Note that the opposition in that Condo never had a "real world reason" agains the Hospice, just "calling on ghosts".

The University should dismiss it and build it, the location seems to be well suited to the Hospice. Be there Ghosts or not.

Let me get this straight ...

The concern of these residents is that the proximity of a hospice to their condos will lessen the value of their condos because of the proximity of hostile or depressive ghosts?

Then, why are they determined to make those ghosts angry and hostile by forcing people to die without the comfort and dignity of a hospice?

Halloween

Sally Bowles is onto something here. Come Halloween a lot of spooks will be headed out U.B.C. way. If I was a PO`d ghost I know where I`d head for some serious haunting action.

Oldest NIMBY Trick in the Book

Regardless of the ethnicity of these condo owning NIMBY’s, they are just employing a tried and true tactic to thwart the building of a very necessary hospice.

Remember Clayoquot Sound and the cries of "last" pristine wilderness on the BC Coast? The fact is that the ecosystems in this area were no different than any of the other ecosystems in the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone that stretches along most of the B.C. and Alaska Coasts.

Remember the Tsawwasen power line whiners and how having these power lines near their homes would affect their children's health? Yet there has been no massive outbreaks of cancer or any other disease attributable to electrical current amongst BC Hydro workers or other electrical workers. All the credible scientific studies showed no support for that argument.

Environmentalists and other protesters are very adept at finding any flimsy excuse to sink projects they don't like. These anti-hospice protesters were just showing a remarkably good understanding of how to get your way in Canada. Fortunately for the majority of us, the community as a whole was paying attention this time and caught this group before they got their way. Now let's just hope that the UBC Board of Governors does the right thing.

Religion, not race, is the key

Much of the criticism is not racist or xenophobic, but because these ideas are based in outdated religious sentiments. If a bunch of Catholics were on TV complaining about how a hospital uses stem-cell research, I'd react the same way that I do to these protesters. The criticism is not because the people or the ideas are Chinese, but because they are about two centuries behind.

About fear and such

"Immigrants are disliked and resented for whatever reason that can be found -- wealth, poverty, language, religion, accent, clothing, customs. At the heart of that dislike are unease and fear."

I think it's about time we dispensed with the 'fear' paradigm. It's wrong and self-serving inasmuch as it tends to shut up people 'fearing' to be labeled as somehow pathological.

The problem with immigration is that people perceive it as something the politicians cram down our throats against our will, in an eagerness to help the industry keep wages low and the land market more hectic, so as to help the holders of assets and companies, and, incidentally, screw those who work for a salary and/or seek a place to live. It's as simple as that. No one other than those groups being helped by importing people continuously believe that immigration is good for us. If we believed it, we would effect the population increase ourselves by natural means, i.e. larger families. The birth rates show how we really feel about population numbers; there is no better indicator. So, as long as politicians override our collective statement in this, there will be tension, not racial, but social. Get it? No, this is not the fault of individual immigrants; I am one myself. But we are what people can see and scoff at on the bus, and so they do, and try to rationalize it (because they think it's really wrong to scoff) by all those 'whatever's. Hope this has helped to clear things up.

Whose beliefs are being served here?

Since UBC is located on what was (or, is, depending on who you're asking) Musqueam land, I can only assume that this hospice, too, is being built there.

So I'm curious, since UBC, who pays a premium to the band for the use of their land, doesn't check to make sure the Musqueam's traditional beliefs regarding the area are being respected before building, why are the religious beliefs of Chinese immigrants who pay money to the bank every month, who officially owns their condo for now, being catered to?

The concept of who actually has a "right" to that land is contestable. The only thing I see happening here is lip service being payed to the highest bidder.

HOW ABOUT THIS SOLUTION

Build the hospice on the site of the student dorm and relocate the student dorm next to the condo tower. Then the condo owners could enjoy the fun non-stop energy of partying students rather than the soft final breaths of the dying.