Following a convincing victory over the sitting mayor Kennedy Stewart on Saturday, Ken Sim was elected as Vancouver’s first Asian-American mayor.
Sim’s win is being celebrated in Chinatown, which is still grappling with socioeconomic problems that have been made worse by the pandemic.
At the Chau Luen Society on Keefer Street on Sunday, seniors marked the beginning of a new era.
The society’s chair, Kam Tam, emphasised how happy she was to hear Chinese voices in the municipal building.
Sim’s election, according to Michael Tan, a board member of the Chau Luen Society and co-chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group, is a significant occasion that should be honoured.
It’s without a doubt a historic moment, Tan said in a Sunday interview with Global News.
I was overjoyed to hear it and to consider that the mayor of a large Canadian city is someone similar to me.
In his victory speech, Sim acknowledged the racist policies early Chinese immigrants endured.
At ABC Vancouver, Sim announced to the audience’s cheers that Vancouver had chosen its first Chinese-Canadian mayor. One hundred and thirty-five years have passed since the first Chinese head tax, which was paid merely for the right to immigrate to our country and work on building a railroad, Sim said.
Chinese Canadians working on building B. C. were denied the right to vote and rewarded with racism, segregation and discrimination.
Despite the fact that Chinese immigrants fought alongside Canadian soldiers, more than 80,000 people paid the head tax, which was designed to discourage Chinese immigration.
“The history of this instant is not lost on me,” Sim continued.
Ken will be sympathetic and comprehend where a lot of those pains are, according to Tan.
Campaign posters from the “Sim City” landslide were still up on Sunday in Chinatown, where residents are hoping the new mayor will keep his promises on public safety.
Tam claimed that he and his family don’t frequently visit Chinatown because of the mayhem on the streets.
“Chinatown is exceedingly filthy, and there are many tents on both sides of Hastings, too.
”
“With all the hate crimes that were happening to Asians, it’s good to have an Asian mayor come in,” said Ryan Diaz, owner of Diaz Combat Sports.
Given that we are Asian, it is obviously beneficial to have another Asian in a helping role. ”
“I think that being in Chinatown, we need someone to represent us,” Una Mak of New Town Bakery remarked.
In its 42 years in Chinatown, New Town Bakery has never endorsed a mayoral candidate – until this recent civic election.
On Saturday, business owner Susanna Ng put up a billboard urging the neighbourhood to vote for “a better Vancouver and Chinatown.”
A few days prior, Ng had backed Sim and his ABC slate.
Ng’s sister Mak explained that Chinatown was out of control.
We need a shift. ”
Mak and Ng agreed with Sim’s promise to open a city hall office in Chinatown to interact with locals and businesses.
According to Tan, the trend of electing mayors of Asian heritage in North America, where the U.S. S. Asian Americans are in charge of Boston, Cincinnati, and Seattle.
“And now, finally, this is beginning to happen here in Canada. ”
Tan hopes Sim’s mayoralty will include prioritizing projects like Chinatown’s UNESCO world heritage site application..
Vancouver elects its first Chinese-Canadian mayor in “a historic moment”
About Author
