On Saturday (August 9), the nonprofit Canada Committee 100 Society released a new book, The Critical Time: Policy Recommendations for 2025 by CCS100. Many well-known Canadians of Chinese ancestry contributed essays, including Sen. Yuen Pau Woo (honourary editor-in-chief), Prince George Mayor Simon Yu, former Vancouver city councillor Tung Chan, and media commentators Guo Ding and Jimmy Yan. Ding is also listed as the editor-in-chief. He delivered the following speech at the launch of the book at City Square in Vancouver.
Good afternoon and thank you for joining us at the launch of our new book, presented by Canada Committee 100 Society.
You may have attended many community events, but this one is different. This book launch represents not only a cultural milestone but a civic act—a set of policy recommendations we, as part of Canada’s mainstream society, are offering to help reshape the future of our country, our province of British Columbia, and our communities.
Canada is at a pivotal moment in its history—a time of profound transformation not seen in a century. Over 150 years ago, this country made a defining choice: to found an independent sovereign nation, rather than become part of the United States. Today, with the U.S. president once again proposing to make Canada the 51st state, we are once more called to make a choice.
During Canada’s original founding, Chinese immigrants—through their participating in the Gold Rish and the construction of the transcontinental railway—became part of the nation-building process, though in a passive way. Yet, despite their contributions, they faced systemic discrimination and were excluded from political, economic, and civic participation—culminating in the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act.
Today, under Canada’s Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and our multiculturalism policy, Chinese Canadians are, in principle, part of the Canadian mainstream. However, we still face two major challenges.
First, there are those who harbour racial prejudice and seek to marginalize Chinese Canadians—portraying us as “foreigners with Canadian passports”, and turning us into scapegoats during times of social and political uncertainty.
Second, we must confront a challenge from within: some in our community remain locked in an outdated “Chinatown mindset”, passively accepting the label of “outsider”, engaging in internal divisions, and allowing ourselves to be manipulated by those with racist agendas. As a result, even baseless attacks from a few second-rate journalists or extremists can plunge the entire Chinese Canadian community into fear and silence—tripping us of our freedom from fear.
This must change.
The book is our response—crafted at a time when Canada is, in many ways, undergoing a second founding. As engaged citizens, we offer our voices, our insights, and our proposals, continuing the legacy of Chinese Canadians who have contributed to the fabric of this country, and asserting our role as essential builders of a renewed Canada.
We therefore extend our sincere thanks to all the contributors to this book, our supporters, and all of you here today—including our friends in the media.
Chinese Canadians are Canadians. At this critical moment in our nation’s journey, we step forward—not because we are asked to, but because we must.
We have loved, and will always love, this great country—past, present, and future—and we take pride in doing so as Chinese Canadians. Thank you.
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