Post by Helen on Dec 30, 2015 19:44:31 GMT 12
REFELECTIONS ON THE EXPERIENCES OF THE CHINESE COMMUNITY IN SAMOA”
Presentation by Tuatagaloa Aumua Ming Leung Wai, Attorney-General of Samoa at the
China and the Pacific: The View From Oceania Conference, National University of Samoa,
Apia, Samoa, 25th February 2015.
Introduction
1. The experience of the Chinese community in Samoa has not only been challenging, but
also very rewarding, particularly for those who stayed in Samoa and their descendants.
The Chinese have been migrating to Samoa in the last 150 years. This paper will explore
the nature of the challenges faced by the Chinese in Samoa. The paper will also touch on
the contribution of the Chinese community to the development of Samoa.
My Background
2. My great-grandfather Leung Wai (a.k.a. Ah Wai or Avai) is from Si Ju, Datang, Taishan,
Jiangmen, Guangdong, China. He was born on 12 October 1886. One week after he got
married, he left China to come to Samoa around the age of 24. He was assigned to work
as an assistant to Dr Oskar Thieme.1 He married Lealofi-o-Amoa Luafalealii Falenaoti Segi
of Saasaai and Lano, Savaii. He managed to avoid repatriation and became a successful
businessman in Samoa.2 He had various businesses such as a laundry, butchery,
plantations, farms, restaurants and taxis. His eldest son Ming (my grandfather whom I
am named after) was sent to China at the tender age of 8 for education. Ming was born
on 9th February 1918 at Saasaai, Savaii. He went to China around 1926 and stayed with
my great-grandfather’s first wife who raised him as her own. Ming later married a
Chinese woman named Hung (Hana) Lock (my grandmother) from Gang Bei-Cun,
Taishan, Jiangmen, Guangdong, China. Before they got married, a lot of questions were
asked by Hana’s family because Ming (who was half-Samoan) was tall and had brown
skin. This was unusual because the Chinese in Southern China are normally fair skinned
and relatively short in terms of height.
3. The hardship experienced by the Chinese population
www.victoria.ac.nz/chinaresearchcentre/programmes-and-projects/china-symposiums/china-and-the-pacific-the-view-from-oceania/9-Ming-Leung-Wai-Chinese-Experience-in-Samoa-paper-sp2-15-REAL-FINAL-2.pdf
Presentation by Tuatagaloa Aumua Ming Leung Wai, Attorney-General of Samoa at the
China and the Pacific: The View From Oceania Conference, National University of Samoa,
Apia, Samoa, 25th February 2015.
Introduction
1. The experience of the Chinese community in Samoa has not only been challenging, but
also very rewarding, particularly for those who stayed in Samoa and their descendants.
The Chinese have been migrating to Samoa in the last 150 years. This paper will explore
the nature of the challenges faced by the Chinese in Samoa. The paper will also touch on
the contribution of the Chinese community to the development of Samoa.
My Background
2. My great-grandfather Leung Wai (a.k.a. Ah Wai or Avai) is from Si Ju, Datang, Taishan,
Jiangmen, Guangdong, China. He was born on 12 October 1886. One week after he got
married, he left China to come to Samoa around the age of 24. He was assigned to work
as an assistant to Dr Oskar Thieme.1 He married Lealofi-o-Amoa Luafalealii Falenaoti Segi
of Saasaai and Lano, Savaii. He managed to avoid repatriation and became a successful
businessman in Samoa.2 He had various businesses such as a laundry, butchery,
plantations, farms, restaurants and taxis. His eldest son Ming (my grandfather whom I
am named after) was sent to China at the tender age of 8 for education. Ming was born
on 9th February 1918 at Saasaai, Savaii. He went to China around 1926 and stayed with
my great-grandfather’s first wife who raised him as her own. Ming later married a
Chinese woman named Hung (Hana) Lock (my grandmother) from Gang Bei-Cun,
Taishan, Jiangmen, Guangdong, China. Before they got married, a lot of questions were
asked by Hana’s family because Ming (who was half-Samoan) was tall and had brown
skin. This was unusual because the Chinese in Southern China are normally fair skinned
and relatively short in terms of height.
3. The hardship experienced by the Chinese population
www.victoria.ac.nz/chinaresearchcentre/programmes-and-projects/china-symposiums/china-and-the-pacific-the-view-from-oceania/9-Ming-Leung-Wai-Chinese-Experience-in-Samoa-paper-sp2-15-REAL-FINAL-2.pdf