When Wenting Xu saw Geng Tan’s name show up at the bottom of the CBC news feed on election night, she was surprised. Xu, the vice president of STU’s Chinese Student Association, thought he must be a Canadian-born Chinese.
“After I searched his name on the website, I was surprised that he is a first generation immigrant, and he used to be an international student, just like us,” said Xu.
Tan was elected to the Don Valley North riding in the House of Commons on Oct. 19, the first mainland Chinese native to do so. For Chinese students, many of whom would like to stay here, the new Liberal MP is an inspiration and an example of how to better integrate into Canadian society.
“Sometimes people just lack the confidence to represent themselves,” said Tan. “I have the advantage for running for election. I study and work both the Chinese and Canadian communities so I know what the actual needs of the Chinese community are and how to put them into practice in Canada.”
Don Valley North is a federal electoral district in Toronto. Nearly half the riding’s 103,080 residents speak a second language at home. The Chinese language is by far the most prevalent with over 30,000 who speak the language in the riding.
Tan has made Canada his home for nearly two decades. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto and is active within community groups that help new Canadians. He has participated in numerous panels, providing advice on immigration and community development policies.
Zhiyong Huang, a member of Geng Tan’s election team, said the community needs equal political status within the population. “Tan is an opportunity for our Chinese community to get our rights.”
Xu’s parents want her to immigrate to Canada, but she still worries about integration difficulties. But there are 1.4 million Chinese living in Canada. More than 600,000 speak Mandarin.
“I used to hear a lot of negative things about finding a job or working here, like discrimination towards newcomers. But Tan is a good example of how new immigrants can get involved in this country; I’m proud of him,” said Xu.
Tan said not enough Chinese immigrants are interested in Canadian politics. He thinks they lack a voice and need to participate more.
“If you want to integrate into Canada, investing in only local projects is not enough. Our Chinese community should say something with their unique voices,” said Tan.
During his studies, Tan was chairman of the Toronto University Chinese Students Association. After he graduated, he became the founder, first-term executive president, and current co-chair of the Council of Newcomer Organizations and vice-chairman of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations.
For Tan, Canada emphasizes multiculturalism. Every ethnic culture needs to maintain its traditional culture, but also must accept the local culture. Establishing effective communication channels between the two communities is the reason Tan entered politics.
Tan said the Canadian immigration system could be improved. The new generation of immigrants contains excellent technicians and entrepreneurs. With the right policies, Canada can maximize the contribution of new immigrants to benefit the entire the country.
“As a first-generation immigrant, I know the difficulties of new immigrants who stay in Canada,” said Tan.
For university students like Xu, training is important, but feeling truly Canadian is easier said than done.
“Today, our Chinese community’s still too closed,” said Xu. “Many Chinese students are too shy to talk to local students. We need to invite more Canadians to join in us and make more connections with local communities.”
