Pearl of the Desert | Chinese History of Arizona, USA (Seventy-three) Original historical books and publications 7. "Special Issue to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Phoenix Chinese Seniors Association" (continued)

Arizona Chinese Historical Association Zhang Zhaohong 7. "Special Issue to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Phoenix Chinese Seniors Association" (continued) In 1984, the Senior Citizens Association sent Fang Huixian...

Arizona Chinese Historical Association Zhang Zhaohong

7. "Special Issue to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Phoenix Chinese Senior Citizens Association" (continued)

In 1984, the Senior Citizens Association sent Fang Huixian to participate in an information conference held by the federal government to apply for subsidies for building apartments for the elderly. The construction plan of Corning Building begins. Found the current location of the Corning Building. There are five acres in total, and the transaction price is 420,000 yuan. If the application is unsuccessful, the 10,000 yuan deposit will be void and the sales contract will be cancelled. Therefore, the Senior Citizens Association immediately set up a "Corning Support Group" and collected 51 shares at $5,000 per share, totaling $255,000.

In 1985, it was approved by the federal government and received about 2.1 million yuan including land of 20,000 yuan. The cornerstone of the Corning Building was laid on July 25, 1987, and it was completed on December 30, 1988, which took five years. This was a hugely expensive project, and every leader felt uneasy when discussing it, but it was a success. The Corning Building has 43 single rooms on two floors and 15 workshops, with a total of 58 units, which can accommodate people with disabilities over the age of 60 or without age restrictions. The Senior Citizens Association has done a very proud thing. Nine members of the "Building Committee" broke ground for the Connaught Building

In June 2007, the construction plan of another elderly apartment "Conn Lok Building" was launched. The Chinese Senior Citizens Association assisted the organizer in applying to the federal government’s Department of Urban Housing Development for budget funds for building a senior citizen building. An application of more than one hundred pages finally did not waste time and energy. In 2009, I received a notification from the federal government that $5,117.484 in construction funds had been received, which made me very happy.

The land was purchased with 30,000 yuan from the Overseas Chinese Federation and a 70,000 yuan donation from the Taiwan Overseas Chinese Affairs Council, for a total of 100,000 yuan. At that time, these funds were originally used to help the Senior Citizens Association pay off the loan of the "Kang Ning Support Group" and to open the Feinian Chinese School. Qiyinghui used the money from selling the land to pay off the loan from the "Health Support Group" that year.

After more than three years of construction, the Kang Le Building was completed in January 2011. The building has three floors, 41 apartments with one bedroom and one living room, 11 storage rooms, offices, public toilets, laundry rooms, etc. Each apartment has a Chinese-style range hood, emergency alarm equipment, an oversized bathroom, wireless TV lines, and private air conditioning. The conference room downstairs is equipped with a kitchen, and the floor is made of glue-free and non-slip wood. There is a computer room on the second floor and a mahjong hall on the third floor. There are 4 large TVs in the whole building, two karaoke machines with 10,000 songs, and drinking machines.

Kangle Building has a Chinese-style decoration. The room number in front of the door and the signs of the public toilets are all specially designed. Such as the extra-thick handrails and lighting along the corridor, and the super-high panels on the floor and along the wall. High-quality gas barbecue equipment in the garden is made of beautiful and practical materials. In the garden, there is the "Yue Ming Pavilion" donated and built by Mr. Yu Wenjin in memory of his late mother Yu Yueming. The "Yue Wenyu Hall" frame hangs on the lintel of the reception room of the building, which was donated and built by Mrs. Yu in memory of her late husband, Mr. Wenyu. On the lintels of the computer room on the second floor and the entertainment room on the third floor are the frames of "Yu Wenwei Hall" and "Yu Yulin Hall", which were donated by Mrs. Yu Wenwei in memory of her late husband and family father.

>The large plaque "Benefiting Hometown" facing the entrance of the living room is a gift from Wu Yingyi, chairman of the Taiwan Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, to encourage overseas Chinese. The portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen is a painting by the famous writer Mr. Huang Guoxi (Yongtai). The marble peach blossom plant was a souvenir given to Kang Le by Cai Nianli and his wife to congratulate the elderly on everlasting life. The couplets on the gate of Kangle Building are the calligraphy of Mr. Chen Pu, a calligrapher. The four stone lions are a gift from orthopedic surgeon Yang Tong.

This book is a record of Fang Huixian's personal experience over the past forty years. The article is written in a concise way, summarizing the fruitful achievements of the Chinese Senior Citizens Association in the past forty years. These are the fruits of the hard work of the predecessors for the welfare of the Chinese people. I hope that outstanding Chinese sons and daughters will inherit the traditional virtues of filial piety, miss and respect every predecessor.

The book sincerely thanks every benevolent person who has made contributions. The real estate of the Chinese Senior Citizens Association, including Corning Dakang, Connaught Building, Senior Citizens Center and parking lots, etc., had a market value of more than 12 million in 2018.

In the construction and expansion of the Chinese Senior Citizens Association and the construction of Kangning Building, although Fang Huixian was not at the highest leadership level, she was a loyal executor and the most powerful supporter. Strive for real benefits for the Chinese in all aspects.

As the representative of the Senior Citizens Association on the building committee, Fang Huixian added many elements with Chinese characteristics to the Connaught Building. The Chinese senior citizens who moved in lived happily in the same cultural atmosphere.

In 1988, Fang Huixian, an overseas Chinese, became the chairman of the Federation of Overseas Chinese and served as the chairman of the Federation of Overseas Chinese for six terms, making many contributions to the Chinese community.