By Gerrye Wong, CHCP Co-Founder and Trustee

Under a beautiful California sunny day, CHCP welcomed visitors to an afternoon of cultural dances, singing, entertainment, tours and exhibits at History Park San Jose to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Amidst booming drum beats, the program started with the Rising Phoenix Dragon Team rallying the audience to follow it in a parade to first stop and bless the Japanese Friendship Garden, march on to the Viet Museum, and return In a flurry of intricate movements to the front of the Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM). There it entered CAHM with wild fanfare to bless the site, greet the museum’s Lion Head exhibit with ferocious fervor, and then return to the outdoor front stage to whirl around the audience outside to the delight of the children in attendance. In true Chinese tradition, a red lai see (money-filled envelope) was placed in the dragon’s mouth in thankfulness for its visit. CHCP Director Mike Mak, CHCP President Dave Yick and CHCP Co-Founder Gerrye Wong opened the program, welcoming all and stressing the importance of acknowledging and showcasing the many Asian cultures which now inhabit our Santa Clara County.

San Jose City Councilman Bien Doan, who represents District 7 where our museum is located, also encouraged the audience to think about the future of our Asian American community, and stressed we must all work together to proudly share the many aspects of our culture and history that is being shown today by CHCP. The amiable and friendly young Councilman Doan cited that since this is the first time an AAPI festival event has happened here, he in his council capacity hopes to bring city support in the future for an even bigger event during next year’s AAPI Heritage Month.

As people streamed in and out of the Chinese and Vietnamese museums, ongoing entertainment was enjoyed by the audience outside. The Silver Creek High School Polynesian Dance Club members put on a thrilling Hawaiian dance routine, followed by the Northeastern Art Troupe lovely ladies, clad in the traditional Vietnamese ao dai dress, who performed a Vietnamese dance. The beautiful ladies of the Silver Creek High School Filipino Club performed in front of the museum next.

The concluding act was the Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association performing in the open air setting with swift and harrowing moves on platforms and each others' shoulders. The intricacies of Chinese Lion Dancing takes many hours of practice by the young members of this troupe, and this Golden Turtle troupe performance thrilled the audience at the festival. It was heartwarming to hear from so many that they knew nothing of Chinese American contributions to the making of the Transcontinental railroad and contributions during WWII, until coming to our museum. These topics were shown in banners lining the walls in our second story area, on loan from the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) in San Francisco. Also shown that day was a CHSA virtual exhibit titled "Towards Equality: California’s Chinese American Women."

CHCP Board members Edith Gong, Debbie Gong-Guy and Brenda Wong happily greeted over 200 visitors to the museum where people learned about the history of the first four Chinatowns that had been mysteriously burned down during the late 1800s. Although culprits were never found or prosecuted, the anti-Chinese hate violence was evident and a safer community called Heinlenville was eventually established with a wall encircling it for safety against intruders. Many of the original pieces from this Chinatown are displayed in the CAHM including the ornate gold leaf altar, which is considered the largest historic altar on display in a public venue in the United States. Thankfully CHCP had it restored for the opening of this museum in 1991 and has since been seen by thousands of school children on tours, many of which CHCP has funded when school money for tours was not available in low income schools.

Thank you to CHCP for carrying on the mission to bring Asian American culture through music, dance, and dragon and lion performances at this event. New members are always welcome to join this fine group of dedicated CHCP volunteers, so contact the organization if you believe in its mission and would like to help further its cause with future events.  If you missed attending this AAPI celebration, hopefully the photos will encourage you to join in the next CHCP upcoming event.  Hope to see you there.

By Peter Young, 2023 CHCP Director and HELP Grant Chair

CHCP awarded Rancho Milpitas Middle School with a $200 HELP Grant for its Asian American Heritage Night on May 18^th.  The event was held at the school quad and featured 15 cultural performances by the students.  The ethnic performances included Hawaiian, Vietnamese, South Indian, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Tahitian dances, and a martial arts performance.  Hosted by four MCs, the event was enthusiastically received by students, staff, and guests. 

An added treat at the Asian Heritage Night was the display of various cutouts of Asian costumes.  The cutouts were created by the students and had information on the significance of the costumes and when the costumes would be worn.  Food and drinks as well as Stop Hate T-shirts were sold to help offset the cost of the Asian Heritage Night.  It was an entertaining and fast-paced event for all to enjoy.

Photo: Sgt. Sing Lau Kee (aka Lau Sing Kee), awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions taken near Mont Notre Dame in 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, WWI.

The Chinese American Museum DC (CAMDC) held this online event moderated by military expert, Monty Hom, to discuss the incredible stories and legacy of Chinese Americans serving in the U.S. Military since the Civil War.

By Allan Low and Debbie Gong-Guy, 2023 Scholarship Committee Co-Chairs

For the ninth year, the Chinese Historical & Cultural Project (CHCP) was honored to recognize the recipients of the Lillian Gong-Guy Memorial Scholarship (LGGMS) awarded during Student Recognition Day held on Sunday, May 7th at History Park San José. Scholarship Committee Co-Chairs Allan Low and Debbie Gong-Guy introduced each of the scholarship winners to an enthusiastic audience of family, friends, and fellow students. Each of the recipients expressed much appreciation and thanks to CHCP for their scholarships.

The Lillian Gong-Guy Memorial Scholarship was established in 2014 in tribute to CHCP’s late co-founder, Lillian Gong-Guy, to recognize exemplary seniors who have demonstrated academic achievement balanced with strong community service and involvement. Our eight scholarship award recipients this year truly represent the future leaders of our community.

Our 2023 scholarship winners are (left to right above):

In addition to the Co-Chairs, Allan Low and Debbie Gong-Guy, this year’s Scholarship Committee members were Helina Chin, Brenda Wong, Judy Wong and Karyn Wong.

For more information, please contact us at scholarship@chcp.org.

A special award was given to History San Jose volunteer Tony Ornellas who has always been a special friend to CHCP, helping with maintenance of the 32-year-old museum building and especially helping as the "Godfather to Hoong the Dragon" - helping maintain Hoong so he looks his best at performances and appearances.

Volunteer participants in CHCP's Student Docent Cultural Ambassador Program (SDCAP) were recognized by SDCAP Chair Brenda Hee Wong for their hard work, serving as docents in the Chinese American Historical Museum as well as volunteering for other CHCP activities. The "10 Years of SDCAP" slideshow was shown to highlight and review SDCAP activities through the years. View the slideshow below.

Thanks to all the donors to the LGGMS and SDCAP programs for their continued generosity and support.

By Christian Jochim (2023 CHCP Vice-President of Education), Gerrye Wong (CHCP Co-Founder/Trustee), and Mike Mak (2023 CHCP Director)

What a proud moment for CHCP! A large number of attendees from the Committee of 100 (C100)'s 2023 Annual Conference, held in downtown San Jose this year, accepted our invitation to attend an event for them at the Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM). Thanks to the efforts of CHCP President Dave Yick and CHCP Director Mike Mak, the event was a total success.  CHCP President Dave Yick, CHCP Director Peter Young, and CHCP VP Chris Jochim drove people to and from the museum, and CHCP Co-Founder/Trustee Gerrye Wong, CHCP Governing Trustee Anita Kwock, and CHCP Director Brenda Hee Wong were there to welcome them. 

C100's Chinese American leaders from all over the USA came and were awed by our great museum. There was great interest by the group (some from Boston, NYC, Seattle, Irvine, the Bay Area, and elsewhere) to learn how and why CHCP was formed, what became our “Project” and how we gifted the museum to the City of San Jose in 1991. C100 Founder Henry Tang came, was impressed with our accomplishments, and said he hoped to have more interaction between the two groups in the future – always a good omen! It was an important networking event to introduce our museum to a new group of Chinese Americans who hopefully will spread the word further.  

Special thanks to the White Crane Dragon & Lion Dance Association of San Francisco for the welcoming lion dance performance that opened our program with a big splash. White Crane is the #1 ranked team outside of Asia and is the only USA team invited to compete against the world in Malaysia.  They are universally considered the best team in the USA.

CHCP visited Iris Chang Park to clean and beautify the park, to honor the Chinese American journalist, author, and political activist Iris Chang, and to celebrate Earth Day. Iris’ parents, Ying Ying and Shau Jin Chang, shared their family background, Iris’ academic love of China and its history, as well as Iris’ recognition of Chinese American contributions and their identity in America. 

The South Bay Historic Chinese American Cemetery Corporation (SBHCACC) had their annual Ching Ming ceremony on April 8th at the Historic Chinese American Cemetery in San Jose.

CHCP was a sponsor for this event and presented paper ingots for ceremonial offerings and participated in the reading of the names of those buried there. CHCP participants attending included: Director Brenda Hee Wong, Student Docent Cultural Ambassador Program (SDCAP) member Kasey Walker, Trustee Allan Low, and Advisory Board Members Nathan Louie and Michael Chan.

By Ingrid Lai, 2023 CHCP Co-Vice President

On March 12, 2023, the SDCAP (Student Docent Cultural Ambassador Program) community planned to celebrate their 10-year Anniversary at History San Jose. However, an unexpected fire at History Park on the morning of the event forced the celebration to be moved to a different venue, thanks to SDCAP Chair Brenda Hee Wong's quick thinking and the kindness of CHCP Director Dr. Arthur Jue and CHCP Advisory Board member Daniel Jue who offered their office space in San Jose.

Despite the last-minute change, the celebration was a success. The program included talent performances by SDCAP members, a "10 Years of Growth" slideshow, highlights of two meaningful video projects, founders, honorees and SDCAP recognition, alumni reflections, lunch, and cake cutting. The event ended with a raffle drawing.

The SDCAP community would like to thank Liz Chew, Teddy Sue, Lillian (posthumously) & Debbie Gong-Guy, and Brenda Hee Wong for their hard work in making SDCAP a success from the beginning and for their ongoing efforts in supporting its growth. The celebration was a testament to the dedication and hard work of all the alumni and current SDCAP members who have contributed to making SDCAP the success that it is today. Despite the unexpected challenge, the SDCAP 10-Year Anniversary Planning Committee, hosted the community to come together to celebrate and look forward to continuing their work together in the future.

Watch SDCAP's "10 Years of Growth" slideshow below:

CHCP Student Docent Ambassador Program (SDCAP) members got together with the South Bay Historic Chinese American Cemetery Corporation (SBHCACC) and the Chinese American Women's Club (CAWC) to make paper ingots for the Ching Ming celebration to be held on April 8th at the Historic Chinese American Cemetery in San Jose.

By Gerrye Wong, CHCP Co-Founder and Trustee

On Saturday, February 18th, we had a wonderfully sunny California day which was perfect for the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) to hold its annual Lunar New Year Celebration at History Park San Jose where its Chinese American Historical Museum proudly stands. Besides being able to visit our museum and see new exhibit features, we had Lion Dancing, Hoong our dragon and a Year of the Rabbit in person leading the parade of children at the end of the event.

In addition, we had remarkable groups performing martial arts, Chinese cultural dances and Chinese yo-yo demonstrations.

There was also Chinese calligraphy demonstrations, K-pop dancing, the Firebird Chinese Youth Orchestra playing traditional Chinese musical instruments, Chinese New Year games and craft activities for the kids, the "Rolling Duck" food truck serving delicious Asian dishes, plus our educational "Pioneering the Valley" Traveling Exhibit was also out on display.

So be sure to come out and not miss the fun and festivities next time CHCP holds its events – lots of excitement and fun cultural experiences.