Yu Wenjin: The ins and outs of the establishment of the Chinese Welfare Association

Yu Wenjin: The ins and outs of the establishment of the Chinese Welfare Association Why was the Chinese Welfare Association established? In 1957, the U.S. Immigration Service, in view of the "fake papers" used by Chinese people to pretend to be citizens...

Why did the Chinese Welfare Association be established? In 1957, the U.S. Immigration Service, in view of the increasing number of Chinese immigrating to the United States with "fake papers", suddenly launched a strict investigation and deportation. At that time, the overseas Chinese community in the United States was panicked and fled. The situation was very serious, so San Francisco The Chinese Association, together with the New York Chinese Office, took the lead in initiating great unity among Chinese people across the United States. They immediately held an emergency meeting in Beijing, the United States, and immediately established the "National Chinese Welfare Federation". They immediately hired a team of lawyers to fight against the Immigration Bureau to protect the interests of all Chinese overseas Chinese. The Chinese Welfare Branch came into being. At that time, overseas Chinese associations in various cities and towns across the United States responded and established welfare branches to show the unity of all overseas Chinese and to be united in dealing with the outside world. Our Feini Welfare Branch also came into being. Who is responsible for founding the association? In the 1950s, there were not many Chinese in Feini, and even fewer enthusiastic people participated in overseas Chinese community activities. They were all from Taishan and Kaiping, and no outsiders or people from other provinces participated in overseas Chinese community activities. In other words, the members and staff of various overseas Chinese groups at that time, such as the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Yingduan Industrial and Commercial Branch, and the Welfare Association that was later established, were all Taishan and Kaiping people. It can also be said that all the money and effort were also Taishan people. Then again, since there were so few Chinese at that time, who would establish a welfare association? It is also a group composed of people from Taiwan, such as the four surname groups of Deng, Yu, Huang and Longgang. He raised the banner of establishing a welfare association and fully supported it, and people with the surname Deng served as chairman the most times. In addition, no one with another surname had ever served as chairman or vice-chairman of the welfare association. Later, even if people with other surnames were "recruited" to serve as committee members, it was only to accompany the prince to study (this is definitely not self-discrimination, but due to service interests and work relationships, which means that some people are not even interested in being the chairman). The status of the Welfare Association's affairs in recent years. Later, the Welfare Association's affairs came to a standstill and was disbanded. The Welfare Association's Welfare Branch also did nothing and was in name only. Therefore, it has been chaired by Chairman Deng Bingzhang for more than ten years without re-election. Unfortunately, Chairman Deng Bingzhang passed away last year. Some enthusiastic overseas Chinese leaders believe that it is easy to disband a group but difficult to establish. The welfare association is not in operation. A simple organization can be reduced, but it must continue to be maintained. Moreover, every three years, in the name of the welfare association, it jointly holds a birthday sale with the Greenwood Cemetery Company, saving tens of thousands of overseas Chinese (over the past 20 years, a total of nearly 200,000 yuan has been saved). The Welfare Association was re-elected and started anew. The re-election of the Welfare Association was completely in accordance with traditional precedents and passed down the rules of sages' decisions. It was based on four groups with four surnames as the backbone, with four presidents taking important positions. It was in full compliance with the regulations of the charter. The new leadership team of the Welfare Association was elected. (Note: The backbone is to take charge, not to do everything)

> Unity of all overseas Chinese, special honorary advisors. Due to the increasing number of Chinese in the local area, the overseas Chinese community has undergone major changes. In order to unite people from all walks of life, enthusiastic overseas leaders of all surnames have been hired as honorary advisors to draw on the collective wisdom and efforts of the people. We hope to provide support and guidance, and everyone can cooperate harmoniously and work together for the welfare of the overseas Chinese. (Honorary consultants are ranked at the top of the staff list to show respect) The author's postscript: I am old and this article is only based on memory. Please give me your advice. If there are any mistakes or omissions, I apologize.