La blessure du 1er juillet: entre deuil et guérison
À l’occasion du 1er juillet, je suis allée couvrir la manifestation #cancelcanadaday à Montréal où des milliers d’autochtones et d’allochtones ont défilé. Depuis que 1505 enfants ont été retrouvés sur les sites d’anciens pensionnats à travers le pays, les nations autochtones sont en deuil. Elles ont été sollicitées de partout pour témoigner – une tâche difficile qui…
As a Chinese Canadian, I’m joining hands with Indigenous communities to speak up about this nation’s history of violent oppression
I wrote about why I will not be celebrating Canada Day tomorrow. As a Chinese-Canadian who has seen my community suffer throughout history in Canada and who stands in solidarity with other racialized Canadians, Canada Day is a day of mourning for me. I hope my fellow Chinese-Canadians will join me in solidarity with other…
Dialogue avec la communauté sino-montréalaise
Dans le cadre de l’exposition Dialogue avec la communauté sino-montréalaise, j’ai écrit une série de textes qui abordent des thèmes majeurs qui touchent notre communauté – les nouveaux arrivants, l’art sino-montréalais, l’aménagement urbain du Quartier chinois, et la résistance de notre communauté contre l’adversité. J’ai consulté beaucoup de gens issus de la communauté qui ont…
The Revolutionary Anger of Asian Women
For Asian women in the diaspora, the denial of our anger exists at the toxic intersection of sexism and the model minority stereotype, enforced on two fronts by white Western culture and from within our own communities. The prohibition of our rage actively endangers us. But attempts to suppress our anger also reveal its power: it…
Mois du patrimoine asiatique
À l’occasion du Mois du patrimoine asiatique, j’ai eu l’occasion de discuter avec trois aînés asiatiques aux origines et aux parcours très différents. Ces trois personnes m’ont très chaleureusement raconté leur histoire, leur périple jusqu’au Canada et leur quotidien. Je me suis entretenue avec M. Wei, un retraité shanghaïen qui a un lien fusionnel avec…
How Tam Found Empowerment in the Closet
Many queer people find incredible strength and power in the act of coming out fully as themselves. While being able to show up as our full queer selves in our lives is a very beautiful thing, it can also be a lot of pressure to craft the perfect official coming out. This is especially true…
Quartier chinois : la communauté se mobilise contre l’embourgeoisement
La semaine passée, la partie la plus ancienne du Quartier chinois a été achetée par Investissements 1000 Saint-Urbain. Le quartier est de nouveau dans une impasse, coincé face aux spéculateurs. L’inquiétude grandit devant les acheteurs de propriétés, qui menacent de réduire à néant ce quartier, dont la superficie diminue année après année. Les membres de la…
Do Queer Asians Even Exist?
This 3-part series of articles explores the different facets of queer Asian invisibility in Montreal and the specifics of that particular intersectionality. Throughout the series I follow the lives of six queer Asians in Montreal – Linh, JP, Shawn, Fang, S. and A.L. – as they navigate life at the intersection of their identities and…
Everyday Sustainability Asia
Sustainability is at the risk of commercialisation – the very thing it is supposed to be fighting against – facing greenwashing aimed at white consumers to the exclusion of minority groups. Yet around the world, every community has its own sustainability traditions, many of which can unlock sustainable habits for all homes. I talked to…
Agression mortelle au Dépanneur de Lille: une communauté soudée dans le deuil
Avertissement: meurtre, racisme, funérailles, mention de crime haineux Le 15 november 2020, je me suis rendue aux funérailles de M. Yong, un propriétaire de dépanneur qui a été tué dans son commerce. J’ai discuté avec sa famille, ses amis, et plusieurs membres de la communauté pour honorer cet homme, faire entendre son histoire, et prêter…
Plan A Presents: The Rebel Minority
My millionth sincere attempt to become “the worst minority ot all time”, The Rebel Minority is my monthly column. Published on the first Wednesday of every month, I perform countercultural analyses of various societal and lifestyle phenomena in a sometimes light, sometimes serious tone. The goal of this column is to break the veneer of…
UBI: A New Form of Artistic Patronage?
Artistic labour has always been traditionally devalued and exploited, and now this reality is more stark than ever. On September 19, 2020, as part of the International Basic Income Week, I attended an informational gathering organized by Revenu de Base Québec at Espace Lafontaine to spread the word on UBI. The main purpose of the gathering…
Culture Pledge: Sharing the Arts Crowdfunding Story
The art world has traditionally been elitist and inaccessible to many artists as well as many art enthusiasts from marginalized backgrounds. This inaccessiblity has recently sparked discussions in the mainstream about representation and diversity in the arts, and many are trying to figure out the best way forward. As a regular contributor to Culture Pledge,…
Navigating Capitalist Mandates of Happiness and Collectivist Fears of Shame
Using some of my own experiences with university applications, I analyze North American and Asian cultural frameworks with regards to dealing with failure. I perform an intersectional societal analysis to explore how failure is dealt with in a capitalist society that relies on exploitation to function and compare it to a collectivist society that requires…
Raving Asians Make the Bass Drop: The New Rave Culture
As part of an investigation into the cultural phenomenon of raves within the Asian diaspora, I talked to Asians in the United States, Canada and Australia to learn about their experiences in the subculture and investigate the reasons behind their popularity. Young Asian ravers, experienced Asian ravers who have been in the scene for decades…
Diamond Yao 