Your mother was born in China, haveyou been to her birth place in China?Did she tell you about her time inChina?My mother was born in China and wasapparently speaking Chinese before shespoke English. The time she spent inChina was an important part of her lifeand she speaks proudly of the medicalschool that my grandparents helped setup in Shenyang in the Liaoning Province.As a student I travelled in China and wentto visit the medical school.

You were at the US DemocraticConvention and election campaign, arethere lessons we can learn to bring outthe ethnic voters, particularly theChinese and East Asian votes for us inthe UK?One of the reasons that Obama won wasthat his campaign looked and soundedmore like America’s future than America’spast. The Convention floor in Charlottewas a sea of diversity. The Conventionfloor in Tampa was a sea of white faces.

Now of course the demographics and

diversity are different in the UK, but herewe can only win by representing the wholeof the country and not just part of it.

To win power with a broad coalition ofsupport, however, we have to find newways to connect our politics with dynamic,diverse and upwardly mobile groupswithin society that extend beyond theconfines of traditional support - framingour appeal not to 4 million voters, but to40 million.

China has a new leader, how do yousee the Labour Party and a futureLabour Government engage with Chinapositively to form a strongerpartnership?Engagement with China must be a keypriority for Britain in the future because,the size of the country, economy andpopulation of China will ensure it is a keyplayer for years to come.

I met the new Premier before hisappointment when I was in China last yearand hope that the new Chinese leadershipwill have a positive approach to engagingwith international partners and working as

a constructive and cooperative member ofthe international community.

In turn, I hope that the BritishGovernment will engage with the newChinese leadership on a broad range ofissues – from trade to human rights, fromclimate talks to the global economy.

Tibet and Taiwan are prickly issues forthe Chinese government, how wouldyou engage with them on these issues?A future Labour government will engagewith candour and openness in raisingthese issues with the new Chineseleadership.

China will be the greatest economy inless than four years’, and a globalpowerhouse, learning the Chineselanguage would put our young peopleat an advantageous position, do youthink our schools should make theteaching and learning of Chinese aspart of the curriculum?I studied Mandarin for a time as a studentin Canada so have some appreciation of

what can be gained by studying thelanguage. Our schools must equip youngpeople with the skills and tools necessaryfor making their way in the world – and Ibelieve that the teaching of Chinese canhave a role to play as part of that.

Quick fire:X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing?Strictly

The Apprentice or Dragon’s Den?Apprentice

Chicken Chow Mein or Chicken TikkaMasala?Both!

Wine or Beer?Wine

ChineseforLabour

The Official Newsletter of

Mandarin speaking Douglas Alexander saysengaging with China must be a key priority for Britain

the January 2013 • Volume 11Orient

ChineseforLabour

2 The Orient • January 2013 Volume 11

Is this the Chinese Actors’‘Rosa Parks’ Moment?

IT was over 32 years ago that the BBC broadcast a series, entitled, “The ChineseDetective”, starring David Yip. It was this very show that encouraged me to have a goat becoming an actor myself. A positive role model made me proud to be Chinese and

allowed me to believe that maybe I could also become an actor.Since the show stopped broadcasting after two seasons, over 30 years ago, we in

Britain have still yet to produce another British Chinese (or East Asian, even) householdname actor. Roles for British East Asian actors have, incredibly, diminished in size,diversity and frequency on television.

British theatre is known and admired throughout the world and none more so than theRoyal Shakespeare Company. This esteemed company has a proud history of leadingthe way in giving opportunities to racial minority actors, as evidenced by the productionsthis year of an all-black Julius Caesar and a production of Much Ado About Nothing setin India with a South-Asian cast. However, when you look at the RSC’s history ofemploying East-Asians, they have arguably done worse than their televisioncounterparts. Since David Yip vanished from the small screen in 1982, the RSC haveemployed a total of (being generous) 4 actors of East Asian origin at their Stratford uponAvon base and not one of them in a major part.

So when it was announced that the RSC would be kicking off their new season undera new Artistic Director with a Chinese play, The Orphan of Zhao, known as the“Chinese Hamlet”, it was understandable that the British East Asian acting communitywere optimistic their time had at last come.

However, it was soon announced that of the 17 cast members in this major Stratfordproduction, only 3 of these were to be of East Asian descent (and again in minor roles toboot). By doing this, the RSC were only continuing a trend. A 30+ year trend where EastAsians are not valued and where “yellowface” casting is deemed acceptable, whereas“brownface” and “blackface” is considered abhorrent. A racial equality policy trend, inwhich some races are less equal than others.

However, this time, something happened. A British East Asian pressure group, namingthemselves BEAA - British East Asian Artists - used social media and their network ofEast Asian friends and colleagues abroad, (especially in the US and Canada, who have ahistory of being far more vocal than we British do) to raise the case. They demandedand eventually extracted a series of apologies from the RSC. It was unprecedented. Ittook everyone, especially the RSC, by surprise.

While the ins and outs of what happened would make for extremely breathlessreading, (and I am sure will be documented soon enough) I will avoid the gory details forthe sake of space. I will, though, mention Tony award winning US-Chinese playwrightDavid Henry Hwang supporting the cause. His threat to call for a boycott of the RSC’sUS money-spinning school’s tour is one example of how seriously the issue was taken.

The point of this story is that political pressure told. For the first time in history, BritishEast Asians stood up for themselves, publicly named and shamed the perpetrators, anddared to challenge the status quo. Many of the members of the ad-hoc pressure groupBEAA did so at the potential risk to their own careers. Yet, in stark contrast to theexisting artistic leaders of the community, they did so anyway and as a result, the wholecommunity is now benefiting from their actions – and the landscape has been re-drawn.

The Chinese, as the biggest East Asian community in Britain, should aim to be lessinvisible and noisier in public life. Theatre and tv & film is one thing, but an impact canbe made in other walks of life in Britain. We should have a Chinese MP. More East Asiancouncillors. School governors. It can be done. But like it took with the actors, it willrequire a lot of bravery and perhaps a small shift in thinking.

At the time of writing, a unique and unprecedented event is now being organised forthe benefit of East Asian actors, with the aim of improving their representation, not onlyat the major theatres but other regional reps and touring theatres. This is a majorachievement and is being organised with Equity, the actor’s union, with the RSC andSociety of London Theatre. I hope it will eventually lead to more visible role models foryoung British East Asian children, which can only be a good thing.

A long-standing problem has at last been acknowledged. The issue is on the tableand there is no going back. Apart from a few bruised egos at the RSC, there has notbeen a great deal of collateral damage, either. The “East Asian Spring”, it is hoped, willresult in more actors and faces in the RSC and other British theatres very soon. All weare asking for is equal treatment and it seems the powers that be finally get themessage. Time will tell whether the tipping point has indeed been reached, but it feelslike it. I am not complacent, however. Next stop: TV and film. I, for one, want to seeDavid Yip back on the TV, perhaps promoted from detective to Chief Superintendent andwith two protégés under his wing, (the like we have never seen before on British TV).

Immigration: where next for Labour?

AT this year’s Labour Party ConferenceChinese for Labour held a fringe todiscuss the political,social and

economic aspects of immigration and onwhat we might do to improve the system.Our speakers were Rt Hon John DenhamMP (PPS to HM Leader of the Opposition),Sarah Mulley (Associate Director forMigration, Trade and Development atIPPR) and Anthony Painter is a politicalwriter, commentator and researcher.

Immigration continues to be the one ofthe top concerns to Britons and especiallyto the Chinese community. The past twoGeneral Elections have seen the issueblow up spectacularly with the Tories’ ‘Areyou thinking what we’re thinking?’ postersin 2005 and Duffygate in 2010. With LyntonCrosby at the helm of the Tory campaignagain and an anaemic economy it’s morelikely than not to be an issue in 2015.

Following on from Ed Miliband’sConference speech John Denham saidthat the personal experiences of migrationwere part of the narrative of ‘One Nation’Labour. We are currently seeing thedownsides of the Government being toughon immigration without understanding theeconomic consequences.

Duffygate was symptomatic of a Partythat didn’t understand the issues andweren’t listening. A ‘One Nation’ approachdemands that we recognize that value ofmigration is important, but that we also

China’s ruling elitecan’t ignore thegrowing calls forchange

CHINA’S 18th National People’sCongress has begun, and 2,200delegates are gathered in the capital,

about to “elect” the preordained leaders ofthe country in a once-in-a-decade powerchange. As the elites sit inside the GreatHall of the People (that excludes the“people”), Beijing’s taxi drivers have beenordered by state security to remove theirwindow handles; knife shops are told toclose business during the event; no oneshould buy anything that can fly, includingballoons; and pop songs containing wordslike “death” or “step down” have beencensored.

But what marks out the 18th congress asdifferent from any of its predecessors is thegrowing demand for change from below.During the 14th congress of 1992, the firstafter the Tiananmen Square massacre, therewas no such idea as “citizen” as theatmosphere of repression had silencedsociety. Even during the 17th congress in2007, there was relative social calm andlittle enthusiasm for political debate amongthe population. But discontent has grownsteadily, mainly as a result of the economicslowdown. Many working-class people arebearing the brunt of the global slump and,in the third decade of the economic reformand opening-up era (gaige kaifang), areexperiencing the greatest insecurity in theirlife. They face unemployment, job insecurityand the burden of privatisation of publicservices – and they are not keeping silentany more.

There has been a sharp increase of“mass incidents” (the government’s term forall forms of civil disobedience) across thecountry: the number reached 80,000 in2008 and then increased to 100,000 withintwo years.

And more than ever, China’s citizens arespeaking out through the growingly activesocial media. The hidden voters – theinternet users – are demonstrating theirfrustration and anger at the absence ofdemocracy.

All over Sina Weibo and Qzone – thelatter the world’s largest social networkingsite, with 9.5m new blog entries registeredevery day – citizens’ anger is boiling up. Asthe world watches China’s leaders changehands, Chinese citizens say they feelexcluded and ridiculed.

Bloggers demonstrate a total lack ofconfidence in the government’s ability toaddress corruption, which is particularlyrampant at a local level. “Our politicalsystem excludes civil participation … Thecentral leadership lacks legitimacy … Themarket economy has exacerbated theserious problems of corruption andmisconduct in the state bureaucracy,” saidShen Zewei.

China’s social media population – largelyyoung, working age, and many living awayfrom home – are the world’s most active.They spend, on average, 46 minutes eachday on social media sites, higher than theirUS counterparts (37 minutes). They are wellinformed and politically aware. More andmore, it appears they have created a cyber-civil society capable of effecting change. Wesaw the wave of protests known as thejasmine revolution, inspired by the ArabSpring, organised online in 2011. The sameyear, a dozen online supporters of theWukan villagers’ uprising (against land grab)organised protests in Guangzhou.

Bloggers’ sites might get censored andclosed down, but they are set up againelsewhere, under new names. It is a guerrillawar of the working class.

All this development points to a clearfuture direction: the ruling elite can nolonger expect the working class to be docileand trade off their political rights for“economic freedom”. When people areencouraged to consume and help theeconomy grow, they want to have a say inhow their workplaces and the country is runtoo. Their anger will continue to bechannelled into calls and action for change.Soon enough, those at Sparta will have toloosen their grip in order to survive.

by Ash McGregor, Vice Chair, Chinese for Labour

need to have a dialogue with ordinarypeople, so they are involved.

Whilst immigration brought manybenefits to the broader UK economyduring Labour’s period in office, Labourwas too casual about local impact ofimmigration in terms of the reduction ofwages for some groups and on thedemand on local services from non-English speakers.

We need to ensure that we tackle theexploitation of migrant workers, enforcethe minimum wage and work with tradeunions to support collective bargaining toprevent undercutting with cheap labour.We also need to improve skills in sectorssuch as ethnic catering in the UK beforeimporting skills and this demands thatgovernment works hand in hand withindustry, which isn’t happening now.

Better systems of support forcommunities need to be built. Localgovernment was given three yearsettlements but found it hard to shiftresources. The Migration Impact Fundfocused on immigrants but rarely on

communities impacted. The LabourGovernment was advised incorrectly byacademics on numbers of easternEuropean arrivals. The key lesson learnedwas that change needs to be planned andresponses need to be flexible.

As a minister, Denham granted the rightfor international HE students to stay fortwo years after graduation. This was goodstrategic soft diplomacy, allowingrelationships to be built with thesegraduates. Labour should revive thispolicy but perhaps reduce the term to oneyear.

Sarah Mulley suggested that theCoalition’s policy is targeted at reducingnet migration which is a blunt measure.But there are three reasons it won’t work:

• It’s bad policy. Highly skilled workersand students miss out so there’s noeconomic benefit - and these are notthe areas of migration that Britonsare concerned about

• Even if net migration falls people willstill see immigrants. Whilstgovernment will declare a ‘success’

this will not address the public’sperception, thereby reducing trust inpoliticians

• Government is unlikely to hit itstarget

Labour needs to talk about the benefitsand be honest about costs of immigrationset against the context of high levels of(youth) employment. People are alsoworried about impact on culture andidentity. Communities are more adaptableand have more in common than politicalcommentators suggest. The focus ofLabour’s immigration policy should not beabout managing numbers but rathermanaging education, employmentconcerns, access to jobs etc.

Anthony Painter spoke how immigrationand migrant labour was a major issue onthe doorstep during his time as an MEPcandidate.

There is a strong generational divide onimmigration with those under 40 morepositive. Most people are pragmatic aboutit if they see migrants as making a positivecontribution to the country. However,

by Hsiao-Hung Pai, author of Scattered Sand: The Story of China’s Rural Migrants

by Paul Courtenay Hyu , an actor and member of BEAA and a potentialprotégé Inspector to David Yip

The Orient • January 2013 Volume 11 3

From theVice Chair…

WISHING all readers aHappy & Prosperous2013. I hope you andyour family had a

great Christmas break.In the dying months of 2012

much of the glare of the world’smedia was focused on the re-election of President Obama in theUS, whose foreign policy quicklypivoted to East Asia. A matter ofdays later, China unveiled its newleader as Xi Jinping who gainedcontrol of both the Communistparty and the military for the nextdecade.

In this issue we speak to the

Shadow Foreign Secretary, Rt HonDouglas Alexander MP, aboutChina’s place in the world, ourChair, Sonny Leong provides aninsight into what British employersshould learn from the East andHsiao-Hung Pai outlines some ofthe internal challenges facing thenew Chinese leadership.

Chinese for Labour members,Paul Courtenay Hyu and Mee LingNg talk about their involvement innew campaigns in the Chinesecommunity, one local aroundcommunity organizing in London’sChinatown and the other aroundEast Asian representation in the artsin Britain (which has gone global)!

Our Gala Chinese New YearBanquet 2013 to celebrate the Yearof the Snake is on Wednesday,February 27, 2013. The event will beheld at the Phoenix PalaceRestaurant, 3-5 Glentworth Street,London NW1 5PG. As in previousyears, the banquet will no doubt bea highlight of the Labour socialcalendar. It promises to be awonderful occasion, providing anexcellent opportunity to enjoy anevening together with supporters,business colleagues, friends, and across section of the Chinesecommunity. For those interested inattending, please contact LaurenPang on 07863 110 889 or emailher on lauren.pang@gmail.com. Ilook forward to seeing you there.

Ash McGregor

by Dr MeeLing Ng, Vice Chair, Chinese for Labour

Labour needs to address sense of culturalloss which comes with migration or apolitical vacuum will be created forextreme right groups to fill. We need tosee the opportunities offered by newcommunities and find common historiesas a nation of migrants.

A lot of concerns come from dividedneighbourhoods and communities thathave lost social mobility. Programmes toget people together to communicate andparticipate in a shared endeavour wouldhelp with community-building.

A pragmatic agenda on immigrationmight include: improved management ofborders, a requirement for immigrants tolearn English, clear pathways tocitizenship and more responsive andflexible government and local publicservices.

Chinese for Labour is developing asubmission to the Labour Party’s policyconsultation (yourbritain.org.uk) onprotecting workers and immigration.Please get in touch if you’d like tocontribute.

London Chinatown:Working towards Excellence

WHEN we think of LondonChinatown, we have images of anexciting tourist destination, a

place to enjoy Chinese cuisine, shop forexotic food, visit the nearby cinemas,theatres and clubs and socialise in themiddle of the West End. However, if weexamine the place closer, we see an areain need of renewal and support to remaineconomically, socially and environmentallysustainable.

In this recession, the local businessesand in particular, the smaller Chinese andfar eastern restaurants and shops arestruggling. Many businesses haveindicated that they face crippling highleases, experience difficulty recruiting andretaining trained chefs, worry aboutcommunity safety issues affecting theirstaff and customers and overall, they thinkthe place need an environmental ‘facelift’.The statutory agencies such as theCouncil and the Metropolitan Police play akey role but they too find that theirresources are being cut and stretched.

It is in the above context, that a groupof concerned Chinese organisationsdecided to organise a communityengagement day to explore with the localbusinesses, voluntary organisations andinterest groups which live, work andprovide services in Chinatown on whatand how Chinatown can be improved tomake it a place of excellence for all. Theorganisations are: The London ChineseChurch, London Citizens and the threeChinese political parties (Chinese forLabour, Chinese Liberal Democrats andthe London Chinese Conservatives led byLord Nat Wei). They form the coreplanning group and had initial discussionswith local umbrella organisations such asLondon Chinatown Chinese Association(LCCA) to seek their support for theengagement day.

After three months of planning, theCommunity Day was held on 20th Octoberat the Chinese Church in ShaftesburyAvenue. Prior to the day, over 300invitation letters were sent out and one-to-

one conversations were held with anumber of businesses to encourageparticipation. About 60 people attendedthe day which consisted of a keynotespeech by Lord Wei who gave his supportand offered help in the future to addresssome of the issues identified. There was apresentation by The Chinese MentalHealth Association about their recentresearch project about the history ofChinatown, followed by a number ofworkshops such as ‘supporting businessgrowth’ and ‘employment rights’ targetedat businesses.

The core planning group recognisedthat some of the issues which surfacedrequired a deeper understanding beforesolutions can be found by a range ofpartners, all with an interest in Chinatown,working together. The group alsorecognised that engagement is a relationalprocess and a one day event isinsufficient. One key outcome which willbe taken forward will be for the core groupto bring together the key organisationsoperating in Chinatown to begin toconsider how they can develop a new andsustainable vision for Chinatown and howcan this be achieved over the next fewyears.

These organisations will include theLCCA, Chambers of Commerce and otherumbrella groups. The core group will beinviting Lord Nat Wei to coordinate such astrategic Interest Group. London Citizensis also planning to train a number ofvolunteers in early 2013 to continue withthe engagement process. A secondengagement day will be planned in thespring of 2013 which we hope will includebetter participation by the businesses,interest groups and the statutoryagencies. It is envisaged that some of thechallenges identified and their solutionswill be generated in this business andcommunity led process.

Further details can be obtained from:Mee Ling Ng, Vice Chair of Chinese forLabour meelingng@btinternet.com

Firing employees at will is so last century,British employers should learn from the East

ADRIAN Beecroft’s recently publishedreport on employment law hasdrawn a dividing line in

Westminster. The ability of employers todismiss employees without cause is notgoing to help UK’s economic grow.

Not only is it repugnant, disloyal,

uncaring - it is bad for business. We donot need gung-ho employers frighteningthe daylights of employees at a drop of aP45. Beecroft fails to grasp thefundamental value of good employer-employees relationship – show themrespect, fairness and care - you will berewarded loyalty, diligence, honesty inabundance.

In East Asia, successful companiesvalue their employees to an extent ofcaring for their families. Some companiesgo as far as providing child care,accommodation to key employees. Inreturn, employers expect total dedication,loyalty and hard work.

East Asians have a predominantly strictattitude to life, marked by clear authoritystructures and distinct social status lines.Many traditional businesses practicegroup-centeredness, that is, the traditionalvalue of co-operation amongst groupmembers to maintain group harmony. In aworkplace, teamwork and co-operationare seen as the main means of achievingcompany goals. This Collectivist culturehas a preference to work together andshare rewards more than to strive forindividual recognition; sharingresponsibilities, helping each other andlearning from each other.

Understanding work attitudes instead offocussing on dismissal processes wouldbe a good start to responsiblecorporatism. CEOs have often

by Sonny Leong, Publisher and Chair, Chinese for Labour

communicated that employees are thecompany's most important asset,therefore mass redundancies and salaryfreezes are a poor way to show it. It istime for corporate leaders to show someleadership instead of worrying about theirremuneration packages.

As the gap on pay and pensions widensbetween directors and employees, UKbusinesses should disclose the ratiobetween their highest and lowest paidemployees, to promote greater workplaceequality and economic efficiency

Inequality in the workplace, as well asbeing inefficient, drives inequality insociety more broadly, carrying high costs.Research also shows how high payworsens performance of top executivesrather than being an effective incentive.

Guanxi a Chinese concept, literallymeans “relationships”, it stands for anytype of relationship – employers andemployees, customers and suppliers. Inthe Chinese business world, there is animplied network of relationships amongvarious parties that co-operate togetherand support one another. In essence, thisboils down to mutual respect andunderstanding, which are expected to bedone regularly and voluntarily.

First of all, it does not have to be basedon money. Treating someone with decencywhile others treat him/her unfairly couldresult in a good relationship. Second, itstarts with and builds on thetrustworthiness of the individual or thecompany. If a company promised certainthings and delivered as promised, thecompany is showing trustworthiness andthe Chinese would be more inclined todeal with them again. Third, beingdependable and reliable definitelystrengthens the relationship. It is like beingfriends, and friends can count on eachother in good and tough times.

Indeed, the economic road ahead istough, challenging and bumpy. The time isnow for all good employers to work withtheir employees as a team to facewhatever comes their way.

“Teamwork is the ability to worktogether towards a common vision. Theability to direct individualaccomplishments towards organisationalobjectives. It is the fuel that allowscommon people to attain uncommonresults.” Thomas Edison

Beecroft’s report is divisive,antagonistic and self-serving – it shouldbe consigned to the dark ages.

Our Patron, Cherie Blair made aCBE for charity work inNew Year Honours

CHINESE for Labour’s Patron, Cherie Blair has been made a CBE in the NewYear Honours for her services to women's issues and charity.

Cherie has worked to raise both funds and awareness for a wide range ofcharities at home and overseas. She is honorary vice-president, formerlypresident, of Barnardo's, and president of the Loomba Foundation, whichcampaigns to alleviate the plight of widows around the world.

In 2008, she founded the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, which runsprogrammes in many parts of the developing world, including Africa, India andthe Middle East. It aims to help women set up and expand businesses, in orderto gain financial independence.

Many congratulations from all of us at Chinese for Labour.

4 The Orient • January 2013 Volume 11

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Chinese for Labour membership supports and promotes the values and principles of theLabour Party in order to improve the quality of life of the Chinese community in Britain.

The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of ourcommon endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each ofus the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power,wealth and opportunities are in the hands of the many not the few, where the rights weenjoy reflect the duties we owe, and where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity,tolerance and respect.

�

Chinese for Labour seeks to:• Increase the recruitment of Chinese people to the Labour Party• Increase the involvement and representation of Chinese people

within the Labour Party• Increase Chinese support for the Labour Party at elections

Membership benefits:• Receive regular information on all issues affecting the Chinese

community• Financial assistance may be available to potential candidates offering

themselves for election to local, regional, national and Europeanelections

• Participate in formal or informal events with MPs and Ministers

Come on, join us

Executive Committee Members 2011/2012Sonny LeongSonny Leong is the Chair of Chinese for Labour and a member ofthe Development Board of Labour Party 1000 Club. He isChairman of FutureFirst, a social enterprise company working toincrease social mobility by building alumni communities aroundstate schools to inspire and inform young people about theirfutures. He is also a director of Left Foot Forward, a political blogfor progressives, providing evidence-based analysis on Britishpolitics, policy, and current affairs. He is Executive Chairman ofthe Academy for Parliamentary & Policy Studies and Civil ServiceCollege, both providing tailored made training solutions to thepublic and private sectors.

Lady (Katy Tse) BlairKaty is the second Vice Chair of Chinese for Labour. She is one ofthe Founders of Chinese for Labour and Islington ChineseAssociation. Katy is a member of the Executive Committee of CfLand her contribution to the Committee is much appreciated. Sheis very committed to helping and improving the life of Chinesepeople in the community. She works tirelessly to ensure thatIslington Chinese Association serves the local people well. ICA isone of the most successful Chinese associations, providingadvice, care and a pleasant environment for the local Chinesecommunity, enabling them to get together every day. Katy’sexperience of working with the community is of particular value toChinese for Labour. Other than being a trustee on variouscommunity and voluntary organisations, Katy was a Non-Executive Director with the Islington Primary Care Trust

Dr Mee Ling Ng, OBEMee Ling is the first Vice Chair of Chinese for Labour. Mee Lingwas the Founder Chair of CfL, leading us with distinction andsuccess until pressure of work forced her to relinquish herChairmanship. Under her leadership as Chair, CfL has gainedrecognition in the Chinese Community and in the Labour Party.Mee Ling was a Councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham

for 16 years and was Deputy Leader of the Council for a numberof years. She was formerly the Chair of Southwark Primary CareTrust, a position she held for a number of years. In recognition ofher services to the Chinese Community and to the widercommunity, Mee Ling was awarded an OBE.

Lauren PangLauren Pang is a new member of the Labour Party and the latestaddition to the Chinese for Labour executive committee. Aftergraduating with an MA in Economics from Cambridge Universityshe was headhunted by the Department for Trade and Industryand is currently working as a local government researcher. Shehas spent five years in this role and is dedicated to raisingawareness about East London’s most vulnerable children andfamilies through her research and in her role as an advisor to theChildren’s Trust board. She hopes to bring her passion for bakingand blogging to local Labour campaigning in her home town ofSouthend, Essex.

Dr Stephen Lui Nam Ng, PhD, MBEStephen is Press & Media Officer, also a founder of Chinese forLabour. He is a long serving member of Islington ChineseAssociation, and has given a lot of his time and effort to theseorganisations. He is one of the key members of CfL and iscurrently its Media Officer. He is a dedicated Trustee of IslingtonChinese Association and the Great Wall Society Home for ElderlyChinese People. He works tirelessly for the Chinese community invarious capacities. Stephen was joint winner of the OutstandingContribution to Community Volunteering Award in 2005.

Gordon LyewGordon is Treasurer of Chinese for Labour, a long standingmember of the Labour Party, and Cooperative Party member. He isan anti-racist campaigner and a former trade unionist. Headvocates the fight for civil rights, justice from racism,oppression, and combating hate crimes. He has made remarkable

contribution using his trade union status to ensure and promotefree speech with effective strategies to instigate positive changewithin a number of fundamental institutions. Working within theBlack and Ethnic Minority communities, he has gained first handknowledge of the needs and shortcomings of many currentfundamental infrastructures. He is committed to the regenerationof all communities.

Vicki KanVicki is the Women’s Officer and Membership Secretary forChinese for Labour. She has been successful in her career in thePharmaceutical industry in the past nine years while also being asmall business owner in Manchester, where she is originally from.She therefore has a keen interest in business related matters. Shehas been a long time Labour supporter having worked on severalelection campaigns since 2006, and a Labour Party member sinceearly 2010.

Cecilia LoveCecilia Love is a Chinese British international adoptee who waselected as one of the 46 Labour Cardiff councillors in last Mayslocal government elections. She is currently undertaking adoctoral study on international and domestic trans-racial adoptionat Cardiff University. She is very pleased to be the first Chineseelected representative in Wales and will work hard to ensure thevoice of the Chinese community and all of the members of thediverse ward she represents are listened to and involved in thepolicy making process. Cecilia was helped as a young working,single mother by Labour’s family, education, work and women’spolicies and fully understands some of the challenges families arenow facing under the coalition. Cecilia will bring her life andprofessional experience to her work as a local councillor and toher contribution in returning a Labour Government in 2015.

Peter WongPeter Wong has been a member of the Labour Party for 26 years.He was the agent for Jenny Rathbone’s successful WelshAssembly campaign in Cardiff Central in 2011, and is currentlyChair of Cardiff Central CLP. He is a member of PCS, and has been

a civil servant for the last 11 years, working for the Departmentfor Work and Pensions and the Valuation Office Agency to delivereffective public services.

Sarah OwenSarah Owen is an Executive Committee member providingassistance to the Women’s Officer. She worked in Brighton andHove Council, London Fire Brigade and provided frontline care atthe Conquest Hospital and in the community as well as theLabour Party. She is currently Political Adviser to Lord Sugar – andworking on Labour’s national small business policy. She wasrecently selected as Labour’s parliamentary candidate forHastings and Rye.

Ashton McGregorAsh is a Vice-Chair of Chinese for Labour who hails fromStockton-on-Tees in the North East. A member of the GMB,Fabian Society and Cooperative Party, he is also a former Chair ofChinese for Labour and is the youngest ever Chinese Labourcouncillor. In 2010 he was the Parliamentary agent to a LabourMP in one of the few English Tory target seats where there was aswing to Labour. Much travelled across the public sector Ashcurrently works in policing. He has previously advised the HomeOffice’s Policing Bureaucracy Taskforce and has advised theDepartment of Health’s Diabetes and Cancer Tsars on healthinequalities.

Bhavna JoshiBhavna is an Executive Committee Member of CfL. She has beena member of the Labour Party since 1997. Elected as a localCouncillor in London from 2002 to 2006 and stood for Parliamentin 2010. Currently, she is a regional representative on the NationalPolicy Forum, a School Governor of two schools and a Trustee ofStevenage Community Trust. Bhavna works for a pharmaceuticalcompany, working with local heath organisations on projectswhich improve access to contraception. She is involved inimproving Asian representation in her workplace, and it is theseskills that she hopes to utilise with CfL.