Stephane Dion reaches out to Chinese Canadians with an insulting ignorance of history
Stephane Dion succeeds in ways few Canadian politicians ever can. All the Liberal Party leader had to do was say a few words to the Chinese Canadian Liberal Assocation about how great it is to be a Liberal. But he decides to give a history lesson -- and in doing so, besmirches the memory of a great Canadian.
Why would he do that?
Maybe because that great Canadian, Douglas Jung, was a Progressive Conservative.
And so Stephane Dion wipes him from history.
Quick, someone get Stephane Dion a computer, an internet hookup, and the URL for Wikipedia pre-programmed as the home page for the browser.
Stephane Dion has no clue.
I'm sorry, but there is no way to say it in a kinder way. Absolutely clueless.
Watch this video of Stephane Dion addressing the Chinese Canadian Liberal Association. I apologize for the sound quality -- you can hear everything Stephane Dion says.
The section of interest is just before the half-way point. After mangling the name of the association in French several times, Stephane Dion asks the audience if they are proud of a list of notable Canadians of Chinese descent, mostly to tepid response. He asks if the audience is proud of Arthur Lee, who Dion claims to be the first Chinese Canadian Member of Parliament in 1974, serving under Pierre Trudeau.
Here is the clip:
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It took that long to elect a Chinese Canadian, notes our Opposition Leader with the PhD. Says Dion, "It took time, eh? Only 1974, the first one." Dion then puts on a face that seems to suggest that Canadians not of Chinese descent ought to feel somewhat ashamed for not being liberal enough in 1974.
I don't feel ashamed. Why? Because it didn't take until 1974! The first Chinese Canadian MP was Douglas Jung, who was elected in 1957. I had no problems finding this out. Why did Stephane Dion and his brain trust miss that one? Could it be willful ignorance?
Douglas Jung joined the Progressive Conservative Party in the early 1950s. He had vowed not to join the Liberal Party of Canada because of its racist legislation against Chinese in the past. Jung was elected as an MP in 1957, representing the riding of Vancouver Centre, under the John Diefenbaker government.
So Stephane Dion and the Liberals ignore the trailblazing efforts of Douglas Jung because it would be embarrassing to bring up that element of Liberal Party history, especially in front of a room full of Chinese Canadians who are supposed to be Liberal supporters.
More than anything, this is why I loathe liberals. Their view of the truth is that it is something plastic and relative, to be shaped and squeezed into whatever form suits their purpose.
Stephane Dion did not have the guts to stand in front of a group of Chinese Canadians, Liberals in fact, and tell them the true history of one of their proudest sons.
Or Dion was simply ignorant.
But then Stephane is also deaf. In the House of Commons, MP Jim Abbott made this pronouncement on June 8:
Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago on June 10, 1957, Canada's first Asian Canadian was elected to Parliament. As a Conservative, Douglas Jung was nicknamed the “Giant Killer” when he took out the Liberal minister of defence in that election. It was just one milestone in his notable career in Canadian public life.
Born in Victoria in 1924, the two term MP was the first Chinese Canadian to argue a case before the B.C. Court of Appeal and serve Canada at the United Nations. Despite not being recognized as an official citizen of Canada, Douglas Jung enlisted in the Canadian Forces in World War II.
The patriotism that he and his fellow Chinese veterans displayed ultimately paved the way for the repeal of the Chinese exclusion act, and to full citizenship rights for Chinese Canadians. Chinese Canadians continue to be leaders in many fields of Canadian life.
I call on members of the House to join me in celebrating the achievements of Mr. Jung in this place five decades ago.
Three days later, on June 11, Meili Faille of the Bloc Quebecois joined in noting this important anniversary:
Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the election of Douglas Jung, the first Canadian of Chinese origin to be elected to the House of Commons for the riding of Vancouver Centre.
Every step of Mr. Jung's career set a precedent in relations to improve racial tension. Mr. Jung was the first member of Chinese origin to sit in the House of Commons and to represent Canada at the United Nations and he was also the first Chinese lawyer to argue before the British Columbia Court of Appeals.
This anniversary gives us an opportunity to reflect on the contribution of Mr. Jung and Canadians of Chinese origin of his generation who managed to have the Chinese Exclusion Act repealed and who successfully advocated for the creation of a special immigration program, inviting people of Chinese origin who had entered Canada illegally to come forward and have their status regularized.
My colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois join with me in calling on this 50th anniversary to continue to guide our actions toward harmonious relations between parliamentarians of all origins.
Stephane Dion was definitely present in the House on June 11.
As far as I can tell, no Liberal MP stood in the house to make note of Douglas Jung's achievement.
And Stephane Dion, despite having been present when Meili Faille spoke to Douglas Jung's place in history, decided to ignore him altogether a few weeks later, and instead offer his place in history to Arthur Lee, a one-time Liberal MP from the seventies.
Chinese Canadians, whatever their political affiliation, ought to feel insulted.
No, that's too exclusive. All Canadians are slighted when our most senior politicians seem ignorant of our history, or worse, are willing to rewrite it for political expediency.
Addendum: If you really feel like piling it on, you could say that by ignoring Douglas Jung, either through ignorance, sloppy research, or embarrassment, Stephane Dion has insulted veterans.
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Comments
It's the Dion equivalent of the Gong Show. Someone better either inform him or GONG him off stage. There is no excuse for these errors and omissions, unless he has no access to information or people who he relies on are embryos at the job.
It could be the latter, all the old stalwarts have bailed, including in the back rooms.
Posted by: Libby at July 23, 2007 05:57 PM
Can you imagine the media reaction if Harper made such a mistake?
They crucified Day because he was wrong about which way a river flowed!
Posted by: Cool Blue at July 23, 2007 07:13 PM
Yes, but poor Stephane is suffering from exhaustion! It's not easy being green and right too. Don't forget he was talking to Liberals and how dumb do you have to be to be a Liberal?
Posted by: George at July 23, 2007 07:27 PM
Being a Liberal means never having to say your sorry.
Posted by: Mike S at July 23, 2007 09:46 PM
Nice. I'm proud to be a Canadian Conservative w/ part-Asian ancestry and I didn't know about Douglas Jung.
It makes me even prouder of this great country.
Imagine that: Dion insulting veterans and minorities at the same time. But then again, he's a pretty b***ard anyways.
Posted by: Ace at July 23, 2007 10:10 PM
Sorry that's supposed to read - Dion hates both veterans and minorities since he's a scudsy Liberal.
Posted by: Ace at July 23, 2007 10:17 PM
Outstanding column. Brings a great quote to mind:
"It's not that our liberal friends are ignorant. It's that they know so much that just isn't so."
Ronald Reagan
Posted by: Bob Cooper at July 24, 2007 01:09 AM
Thanks, Steve, for bringing this to our attention. I don't suppose the MSM is reporting Dion's major faux pas, as they have to protect their turf, even when it's/he's a turd.
It's astounding that a klutz as breathtakingly incompetent--and unphotogenic, to boot--as Dion is still being protected by the MSM and touted as their "leader" by the Liberals. For their sake, and that of Canada, he needs to be mothballed, the sooner the better.
Stephane Dion is an absolute disgrace, a total laughing stock. He needs to pack it in and go back to his ivory tower in academe where his ignorance will impact only his students not the whole of Canada.
What a Mickey Mouse outfit the Liberals are. Only their being propped up by a majority of the MSM keeps them "legitimate" in the eyes of many Canadians. To the rest of us, who have our eyes wide open, the MSM must be held accountable for their lamentable shilling for this two-bit, dishonest, snivelling, power-at-any-cost excuse for a political party.
Posted by: 'been around the block at July 24, 2007 05:56 AM
Hey 'been around the block, "THAT'S NOT FAIR"!
Posted by: Libby at July 24, 2007 06:15 AM
To everyone who is beating on the mainstream media, lighten up a bit. I just posted this last night. His appearance at the dinner and the video was not widely reported to start with. That he got his facts on Douglas Jung completely wrong is not obvious (I had to look it up myself). Today will be the first chance for the media to cycle this in as news. First step is for other politicians to call Dion out on this. That creates the conflict that becomes part of the story. Then the media can report on it.
Posted by: Steve Janke at July 24, 2007 06:30 AM
Well Steve, the Media are not reporting much on Dion because there is nothing of substance to report, they're acting as a shield for the little fart. One old adage the Left leaning media hold true to, if you can't say something good, say nothing.
Someone once said "Hell is a half filled auditorium", maybe Dion is going through Hell.
Posted by: Libby at July 24, 2007 07:40 AM
Geez, we already know the way Stephane D. eats a hot dog. What more is there to say about the guy?
Posted by: Phil in Ottawa at July 24, 2007 08:25 AM
Excuse me? You have the nerve to tell me what me, my family and friends should be offended by?
Now that's ignorant.
You're not the 老板 of me 老外!!!
Posted by: Yao W-M at July 24, 2007 08:36 AM
I know it doesn't add much to the conversation, but watching the video, all I can think of is that this man is odd. Dion is seemingly a strange man.
I'm not sure why the Liberal party would post this video - it doesn't portray Dion in any sort of a good light. He just appears awkward and odd.
Posted by: alan at July 24, 2007 08:55 AM
I agree Alan. I would think someone with half a brain in the Liberal brain trust (is that an oxymoron?) would have spoken up and said that video was too embarassing to post. Someone save a copy quick before they yank it.
Posted by: Reid at July 24, 2007 09:15 AM
Steve, I disagree somewhat with your analysis of media coverage. Ideally, it shouldn't be politicians who create the conflict, since they then become a part of the story themselves, and become open to the criticism of engaging in partisan bickering.
If the media was doing their job, they'd ask Dion to explain, then get reactions to the explanation, or lack thereof, from others such as partisan opponents.
Posted by: Dennis (Second Thoughts) at July 24, 2007 09:31 AM
Sometimes reporting is like telling a story. A plot is driven by conflict. In any case, if the Liberals don't say anything, the story is too short. The press can't directly criticize Dion, but they can report on someone else's criticism. So getting that criticism from the other side allows them to explain just why this is so bad by proxy.
Posted by: Steve Janke at July 24, 2007 09:40 AM
CP and others run short stories at first all the time. You tell of the incident, you provide the background with Jung's story and the House speeches — like you did. You then fill the blanks with reactions from partisans, historians, professors, and others as the story develops.
The story is Dion's faux-pas. That some media have to wait until partisans jump in suggests to me that they're slow. They also might make the critics the story.
CP engages in hit pieces on Harper all the time without waiting for partisans to jump in. So, why are they waiting now?
There might be a good reason, but I'm just not seeing it at the moment.
Posted by: Dennis (Second Thoughts) at July 24, 2007 09:46 AM
Canada's MSM is truly a goebellian institution. This "Jung" story is only one of many that the Liberal-biased MSM has ignored when a Liberal politician has stuck his foot into his mouth.
This is a serious situation that diminishes our so-called democracy, and something must be done about it. Perhaps this expose by Steve should be emailed to those journalist-reporters who have their pov published by the owners of the MSM, and let's see what happens.
Shove the story down their throats, and then wait to see who picks it up. I don't hold much hope, but it's worth a try.
Posted by: Observer at July 24, 2007 10:52 AM
Janke -- purely excellent catch and post.
Notify the National Post; they have a penchant for highlighting this sort of stuff.
Posted by: mark peters at July 24, 2007 11:40 AM
Did I hear him call the group les chien??
Posted by: OMMAG at July 24, 2007 11:49 AM
Steffi is obviously suffering from the effects of high levels of CO2 and the resulting catastrophic rise in temperatures that are frying his brilliant academic's mind.
Poor Steffi, can't handle heat.
There's the kitchen door, dude .. help yourself to an exit.
Posted by: Fred at July 24, 2007 12:29 PM
All Canadians are slighted when our most senior politicians seem ignorant of our history, or worse, are willing to rewrite it for political expediency.
Oh, settle down, ya big fat bitch.
Posted by: Angry on a great white toilet at July 24, 2007 01:43 PM
Just emailed the story to a few Chinese Canada News medias. Hopefully, if enough of us email them about it, may be they will pick it up and then the Canadian Media will pick it up.
editor_toronto@singtao.ca
newsroom@fairchildtv.com
editor@CanadaChinaNews.com
Posted by: hdom at July 24, 2007 03:34 PM
What amazes me is that there is such a thing as the Chinese Canadian Liberal Assocation. Did they both turn up?
Posted by: Pissedoff at July 24, 2007 05:09 PM
Don't forget Canada's first black MP, cabinet minister, and vice-regal: Lincoln Alexander. Not Grit; but Tory! Same old story!
Posted by: groovy-on-granville at July 24, 2007 05:12 PM
Excellent work. But still, who gives a damn who the first Chinese-Canadian MP? I thought a Canadian was a Canadian. Why do the Chinese feel the need to hyphenate and create these racist and segregated communities and distinctions for themselves? So my family came from Anglo-Scotland 200 years ago. Do I still call myself Scottish-Canadian? Pure rubbish!
Posted by: Raphael Alexander at July 24, 2007 05:58 PM
"Don't forget Canada's first black MP, cabinet minister, and vice-regal: Lincoln Alexander. Not Grit; but Tory! "
And http://canadaonline.about.com/od/womeningovernment/p/ellenfairclough.htm
"Ellen Fairclough became the first Canadian woman federal cabinet minister when she was appointed Secretary of State by Prime Minister Diefenbaker in 1957."
Posted by: Gabby in QC at July 24, 2007 07:42 PM
Last year, Jason Kenney said in a speech that the first Chinese Canadian Cabinet Minister was a Conservative and that's false. Raymond Chan was the first. I didn't see you jump all over Kenney and call him arrogant and ignorant to Canadian history.
Posted by: Bailey at July 24, 2007 10:07 PM
I wonder if the you tube entry was from someone in the liberal party who realizes what a moron Dion is and hopes to see his demise. I say lets not see the end of Dion. He is a gift that keeps on giving.
Posted by: eyesopen at July 24, 2007 10:35 PM
Was Chan a member of the cabinet, or just a junior minister?
Ministers of State generally aren't, and I seem to remember that most of Martin's Ministers of State (as he appointed so damn many of them, just so that he could make sure no one felt bad about not having a car and driver) were just Secretaries of State in almost everything but name.
Posted by: poster at July 25, 2007 12:04 AM
Dion mentioned Adrienne Clarkson, too.
She was the first Canadian of Australian descent (on her father's side) to serve as Governor General of Canada.
It took time, eh? Only 1999, the first one.
Tut-tut.
Posted by: F. Rottles at July 26, 2007 10:11 PM
Bailey and poster:
Raymond Chan became a Cabinent Minister (multiculturalism) in 2004.
His previous post as Secretary of State (for Asia-Pacific) in 1993 was a junior ministry position and did not make him a member of the Cabinet. His area of responsibility was represented in the Cabinet by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
About twenty years earlier, Pat Carney became a member of Multroney's Cabinet in 1984. She was born in Shanghai, China.
Carney became the first woman appointed to several of the cabinet positions in which she served. Later, in 1990 she was the first person (male or female) born in China to be appointed to the Senate.
Some purists may dispute counting her as a Chinese Canadian (i.e. in terms "visible minority"). I haven't seen nor heard Jason Kenney's speach of last year so I don't know what he said or did not say. But by birth she came from China.
Three years after Carney's appointment to the federal Cabinet, Bob Wong became a cabinet minister in the Ontario government. He was appointed the Minister of Energy when the Liberals formed the government of Ontario in 1987.
While Bob Wong was not a federal cabinet minister, he did serve as a member of the Ontario provincial cabinet before Raymond Chan was even elected to the Canadian House of Commons.
Dion could have mentioned a broader list of federal MPPS of the other parties: As already mentioned, Douglas Jung of the old federal PC party; Arthur Lee, Liberal; Raymond Chan, Liberal, Sophia Leung, Liberal, Inky Mark, the Reform/ Alliance/ Conservative parties; Mike Chong, Conservative party; Meili Faille, Bloc Quebecois; and Olivia Chow, NDP.
But Dion was speaking to a Liberal organization about the first Liberal elected to the House of Commons in 1974. He mangled the english and that led to his embarrassing mistake.
Posted by: F. Rottles at July 27, 2007 12:09 AM
 
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