Vision
Youth Leadership Program
Vision
Graduation Gala,
Feb. 22, 2003
Honoured
guests and friends,
First of all, I would
like to thank Eric Li for inviting me to speak to you today. When I received his
letter, I accepted because I like to motivate young people to participate in a
meaningful way in Canadian society.
I don’t need to tell
you anything about the programme or about the achievements of the graduates, but
I am going to tell you why I think what you do is important, for you personally,
and for Canada.
I believe most of you are from Hong Kong or your parents are from Hong Kong. Since I came from the same place, I have a good understanding of the issues. I certainly know about the importance of high scores in school. I was a student of St. Paul’s co-ed which is known for its high academic standing. When I was 10, my parents took me and my younger brother to Thailand for Christmas holidays. It was such a nice holiday that Dad wanted to extend it by taking us to Singapore after, since we were still out of school, but guess what I said, “No, I have to get back to study for my exams.” What a ridiculous statement for a 10 year-old. That was how competitive it was. So I understand.
Someone asked me a few years ago how I could have been
a student of St. Paul’s co-ed because I didn’t look like a bookworm! I still
remember the biggest news in Hong Kong every July was which school had the best
students with the highest scores. But that was in the 50’s, and things may be
different now.
I am a strong believer
in formal education, and I would be the last person to say that high academic
scores are not important. However, we need to understand that education is not
just book work or high scores. It’s learning about life, and education does
not end until the day we die.
From my experience, high
academic scores account for 50% of our success in life. The other half is
social and language skills.
In order to develop social skills, the first thing you
need to tell yourself is that you are as good as the other person, no matter the
colour of their skin. Then, you tell yourself, “Yes, I can, no matter what I
want to do.” I had that confidence at a very young age. It’s so strange now
to think back to that time, but then I was fortunate because I had good role
models. My parents had always held their own in society, and it wasn’t easy
for the Chinese in Hong Kong in those days because the Chinese were second-class
citizens.
In order to have
confidence in yourself, you must be proud of who you are - in other words, be
proud of your heritage. Only then will you be able to move forward with your
life, as well as help others along the way.
Since we live in Canada,
we do need to follow Western social conventions. In many gatherings, I’ve
noticed a lack of skills, such as a firm hand-shake. When people speak,
especially when they are making speeches on stage, it is only polite to be
attentive. I know the Chinese community events are appalling in this regard. If
we want respect, we need to earn it.
Another very important
skill is to keep smiling. Speaking from experience, it works for me because it
makes people happy when they see me. Once a friend in the Senate told me that
she always smiles because it confuses her enemies.
Language skills are very
important because we need them to communicate. I know you have training in
public speaking so do it whenever you have the opportunity in order to gain
confidence. Most of you are at least bilingual, and that’s wonderful. Don’t
worry if you speak English with a little bit of an accent because you can always
improve upon it.
I don’t need to speak
about personal achievements to anyone in the Vision Youth Leadership Programme,
but I will touch on achievements in the Canadian community. You probably have
learnt that the simplest way to get involved is to be a volunteer. This is the
best way to make friends, and in life, the more friends you have, the better.
Friends will become future contacts in your work. Speaking personally, being
able to make friends easily is one of my greatest strengths.
So why do I think all
this is important to you?
We are visible
minorities in Canada even though our numbers are growing. If I may stretch my
generalization, the Chinese community as a whole is successful as entrepreneurs,
in mathematics, and in the sciences etc., in other words, the professions that
we can excel at on our own. But when you look at Canada, as a whole, visible
minorities are doing very poorly.
In the private sector,
the employment record of visible minorities at the five major banks is the best,
up to 14%, as compared to just over 7% in the general Canadian labour force
(1995).
However, employment of visible minorities has decreased in recent years. In the
corporate sector, it’s even worse, constituting only 1.7% of members of Boards
of Directors of Canadian companies surveyed recently by the Canadian Board Index.
So, what does that mean? You don’t want to be just an employee, you want to
have a chance to be the boss! And you shouldn’t have to start your own company
to achieve that.
In the public sector, even though visible minorities
account for 13% of the Canadian population (2001), we only account for 6 % of
federal employees. It’s even worse among those in the executive
levels, where it’s under 4% (2002). That is, despite the passage of Equity
legislation. When I first arrived on the Hill, coming from a city like Toronto,
I was amazed how few visible minority faces I saw. Having been in Ottawa for the
last four and a half years, I have heard a lot of rhetoric, but not much has
changed.
In Parliament, the
representation is pathetic. You can count them on two hands. There are only 4 visible minority Senators out of 105 seats, with me being the only one of
Chinese origin. And in the House of Commons, the numbers are minute, and there
are only two ethnic Chinese M.P.s.
Despite the fact that I
don’t have a political background, I learn fast. During the past four and a
half years, I have had the opportunity to observe the political process, and
learned how to get things done.
So, now, I’ve come to the most important message I have for you today – get involved.
How do you go about it
at your age? Get involved in your communities so that you are conscious of
Canadian issues from the perspectives of every level of government. Look at
Canada as your family, and what happens to Canada affects you directly. And, if
you are so inclined, join the political parties whose platforms are similar to
your vision of Canada.
Some of you may know
that, after the passage of the Motion in the Senate in December, 2001, then
Canadian Heritage Minister, Sheila Copps, proclaimed May as Asian Heritage Month
last year. Asians in cities across Canada will be celebrating every May.
Here’s your chance to help and to join in the celebrations, in Toronto and
other cities across the country. These celebrations help to profile achievements
of contemporary Asian Canadians to the mainstream communities. You can get the
information from my website. And, if you have any questions, e-mail me.
In conclusion, remember
that visible minorities in Canada have not yet attained equality in Canadian
society. The fact that we now have a Governor General, who is of Chinese
heritage, only means that our contribution to Canadian society is being
recognized by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Those of
us in positions of power have a huge responsibility to help those who are
disadvantaged in Canada. I look forward to seeing many more visible minorities
on the Hill. We need you because you are our leaders of tomorrow.
Thank you.