I still remember when I left Taiwan back in 1989. I first went to London, England for a year, to experience the culture of the British Empire. Only later did I come to Toronto, Canada.
Time passes so quickly. Many years of life abroad have taught me to be independent, and have made me a great deal more mature. They have also helped me gain an understanding of Taiwan from the perspective of someone looking in from the outside, and to realize something of the direction the world is moving. During the last several years, I completed my college education, and gradually set down roots here, making this place my home. The really wonderful thing about Canada is its living environment, the best in the world. And its ethnically diverse culture and commitment to protecting different ethnic groups have attracted many people from around the globe, who have chosen to make Canada their home.
The living environment and social services of Toronto are very good. The only disadvantages are its relatively lackluster economy, and the fact that the winters are extremely cold and long. Here, I've met many Chinese people, from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan, and we all mix freely together. Generally speaking, most Chinese from Hong Kong came because of the 1997 handover deadline, and felt compelled to invest in Canada in order to change their citizenship. Toronto's flourishing Chinese business community is dominated by people from Hong Kong. The reason may be that they came to Canada earlier on, and they had money to invest. That's why Cantonese is spoken here more commonly than Mandarin. So anyone looking to find work in Toronto's Chinatowns must be able to speak Cantonese.
More and more Chinese immigrants are showing up in Canada. In some of the bigger Chinese commercial districts, you can taste Taiwanese-style delicacies, like milk tea made with sweet glutinous rice balls, meatballs, oyster omelets, octopus balls and lots more. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office often holds gatherings and seminars to help the local Taiwanese get to know one another. They also have a Chinese-language library, where you can borrow magazines, video tapes and books, putting expatriate Taiwanese in contact with their own culture and the latest news from home.
Most of the people coming from mainland China are either exceptional students that have come to study abroad on government stipends, or wealthy business persons who have chosen Toronto as a place to invest. Because the mainland has opened up in recent years, quite a lot of outstanding people have been able to immigrate to Canada based on their technical expertise, especially in computers, electrical engineering and medicine. Without a doubt, they have infused Canada with a new vitality.
Living abroad, I often have the chance to personally see well-known government figures and entertainers from the Chinese world, who have come to meet their compatriots living in Toronto. Now that I live abroad, I've met famous people I would never have seen at home. For example, Taipei City mayor Ma Ying-jeou came to Toronto for a symposium, to keep expatriate Taiwanese abreast on what was happening in politics at home. A while ago, an all-star baseball team from Taiwan, including Kou Shih-hsun and Tung An-ke, came to Toronto for an exhibition game. And there are overseas Chinese performance troupes, international youth troupes, ROC national day celebrations on October 10, and so forth. Living in Toronto, I really feel that I'm at home. I've never felt that I was alone in a strange land!
Because the number of Chinese people in Toronto is constantly increasing and the scale of the Chinatown districts constantly expanding, quite a lot of American film companies have come to Toronto in recent years to make motion pictures in a Chinese setting. Many of the older generation of Chinese, their teenage children, or just people who are interested in movies, jump at the chance to make a little extra money, by playing the part of refugees, or gangsters, or fruit vendors, or waiters, or kungfu masters, or luscious bombshells! Life can seem like a play, but here you can actually live out your dreams of being a star. Two or three months ago Hong Kong movie actor Chow Yun Fat came to shoot a film in Toronto. He was very amiable and approachable. He didn't have the airs of a big star at all. He really behaved nothing like a hero that everyone worships. I hope that he will be able to make some films that have a positive educational effect on society, to sweep away the undesirable image Westerners have of the Chinese as a society of gangsters.
Canada is a land of wide open spaces and abundance. Especially in Vancouver and Toronto, where most ethnic Chinese live, public safety is much better than in the United States! Life in Toronto feels like home. Chinese people account for about 30% of the population. There are three major Chinatowns in the city, not counting other scattered shopping centers catering to Chinese clientele.
Yet no matter where I live, as an expatriate I always have a feeling that I can never sever my ties with Taiwan. Taiwan is like a mother, giving her far-away children a feeling of protection, warmth and care!
p.95
Hero of the silver screen Chow Yun Fat is in real life every bit as carefree and affable as the roles he plays in the movies. To be able to work with him in a film is one of the special opportunities that those who have immigrated to Toronto can sometimes enjoy.
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