Chapter 900: A letter to the Szeto family at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association

San Francisco Chinatown is the place with the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere. More than 100,000 Chinese people live here, second only to New York Chinatown in terms of scale.

Most of the Chinese in the entire state of California gather here, and for hundreds of years, San Francisco Chinatown has become a sacred place for overseas Chinese.

In the United States, a country with widespread gun ownership, public security is a huge problem. Coupled with racial discrimination in the United States, the Chinese can only choose to stick together if they want to survive.

There are nearly a thousand Chinese communities in the whole of California, most of which are concentrated in San Francisco.

Among these, there are six most famous ones in San Francisco, namely the Five Continents Hungmen Zhi Gong General Hall, the Binggong General Hall, the Cui Sheng Industry and Commerce General Association, the He Sheng General Hall, the Yingduan Industry and Commerce General Association and the Qimen Xiesheng Trade Union. Each of these six has a history of more than a century.

The purpose of establishing these tongs back then was to protect members by force from being bullied by others. Members, regardless of social background, surname, or place of origin, unite and help each other and look after each other.

However, as time passed, the tongs accumulated more and more social resources and capital. Due to the general environment in the United States, the tongs are constantly trying to go legit and become businessmen. The only difference is the degree of success in going legit.

This time, it was the head of the Situ family, Situ Boshan, who invited Xia Yu!

Xia Yu and Situ Boshan have known each other for quite some time. It all started when Xia Yu first came to San Francisco to establish Polaris Capital and incidentally spent 1.7 million US dollars to buy a luxury home in the wealthy Atherton neighbourhood in the San Francisco South Bay, and his reputation spread. Subsequently, he received many visitors, and it was at that time that Xia Yu got to know Situ Boshan.

Before the election, when Ronald Reagan came to San Francisco to give a speech, Xia Yu visited Stuart Bergman again and asked him to help mobilise the Chinese to cheer for Ronald Reagan.

And on the day of the election on 4 November, Xia Yu also entrusted Stuart Bergman to mobilise the Chinese to vote for Ronald Reagan, and the latter also did his best to contribute to Ronald Reagan.

However, Xia Yu had been busy, and the actual electoral college vote had not yet taken place in December, so Xia Yu just called to express his gratitude and did not visit in person.

This time, Situ Boshan took the initiative to invite Xia Yu, not as the leader of the Zhi Gong Zong, but in a private capacity for a banquet, a completely family dinner, so Xia Yu went before buying a bunch of gifts.

From a distance, Xia Yu saw two people standing in front of Situ's house: an old man and a young man. They were Situ Boshan and his 28-year-old son Situ Nan.

After the car stopped, Xia Yu immediately got out, smiled and quickly walked up to them, saying, 'Sir, Brother Situ, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting.'

Situ Boshan laughed heartily, shook Xia Yu's hand firmly and said loudly, 'Mr Xia, you're not late.

'Besides, you are a distinguished guest in my family, and I should greet you at the door to show how much I value you.'

Xia Yu once again exchanged a few humble greetings.

'Mr Xia, you're still bringing gifts, that's too much,'

said the old man Situ Boshan, a little displeased, as he saw Li Wuming take a bunch of gifts out of the boot.

Xia Yu laughed and said, 'Of course, no one comes empty-handed. These are just some fruit and things.'

Stu Bo-shan said with a stern face, 'Mr. Xia, you can't bring any next time. Your arrival has already made my humble home shine. Your presence is the greatest gift to me.'

After saying that, Stu Bo-shan commanded his son, Stu Nan, 'Nan, answer the phone for Mr. Xia.'

'Mr. Xia, please come in!'

'You go first, sir!'

'Together!'

After a few polite exchanges, Situ Boshan and Xia Yu entered side by side, followed two steps behind by Situ Nan and Li Wuming.

The layout of the Situ family home was in the Chinese style, as was the decor.

If you didn't know you were in San Francisco, you'd definitely think you'd arrived in the ancestral home of a wealthy family in some Chinese village.

The Chinese community in San Francisco, thousands of miles from their homeland, has preserved many customs and culture from their homeland, and the layout of the house is a very obvious example.

The Szeto family is a large family. After hundreds of years of reproduction, the family has a large population. Even though a few decades ago, Szeto Boshan's uncle brought some direct family members back to the motherland, there are still dozens of people left.

Among the Szeto family members who stayed in San Francisco, the Szeto Boshan branch is the main family.

Xia Yu also met Szeto Boshan's wife, as well as Szeto Nan's wife and four-year-old son in the courtyard.

Szeto Nan originally had another son, but he died in an accident.

After a brief tea break, it was time for lunch.

The wife of Situ Boshan and her daughter-in-law had prepared a very authentic Cantonese meal, and Xia Yu had a hearty appetite.

It was 1:30 pm when they finished eating.

Situ Boshan, his son, and Xia Yu went out into the courtyard and sat down at the rustic stone table to drink tea.

'Sir, thank you for your hard work in this election,'

Xia Yu thanked him.

Szeto Pok Shan waved his hand and said nonchalantly, 'It's just a small favour. In the past, we Chinese didn't care about politics, so we didn't vote in every election. This time, we were able to help Mr Xia, so of course we had to help you.'

Xia Yu once again expressed his gratitude, sipped his tea, and after a moment of thought, said to Szeto Pok Shan, 'Old man, there are no outsiders here, so I'll say a few heart-felt words. If they're not pleasant to hear, please forgive me.'

Szeto Boshan's gaze hardened, and he made a gesture of invitation, saying, 'Please go ahead, Mr Xia. There is nothing between you and me that you can't say. Your career is so big, and it is an honour to be able to take your advice.'

'I don't deserve the praise. I'll just say a few words of my humble opinion!'

Xia Yu said modestly, 'For a long time, Chinese Americans have not cared about politics and have not participated in politics. This is related to our Chinese cultural thinking since ancient times: minding our own business and sticking to the principle of "if you don't mess with me, I won't mess with you". Therefore, we have always kept a respectful distance from American politics.'

'Of course, this does not rule out the fact that Chinese people have tried hard to integrate into the American political sphere before, but their efforts have been in vain.'

'However, I do not agree with this approach. The United States does not have such a long and profound cultural heritage as China. American culture comes from pirates and prisoners. Here, the strong are supreme, and the only way to get ahead is through struggle and competition!'

'In the United States, it has always been white supremacy. Blacks were originally as miserable as us yellow people, but blacks have been fighting all along, so to this day, although blacks are not as good as whites, they are far better off than yellow people in the United States. Of course, this is undeniable because there are more blacks.

'But even among yellow people, our Chinese community is the largest, followed by Filipinos, Indians, Vietnamese, Koreans and Japanese.

'But in reality, although we Chinese are the largest group, the Filipinos have the highest social status, followed by the Indians. Why is that? Because they fight for it!'

'When we Chinese have a problem, we basically don't solve it through the authorities, but solve it ourselves in private. And we don't get involved in politics. So both the Democrats and Republicans have given up on us. In the final analysis, the low social status of the Chinese is actually caused by ourselves, because we have given up on our rights under the US Constitution.'

'Now the top Chinese organisations are doing their best to whitewash themselves, isn't that just to improve their social status? And the best way to improve social status is to actively participate in politics and climb as high as possible, so that they can speak for the Chinese community, defend our rights, and fight for the resources that belong to us!'

After Xia Yu finished speaking, Sima Boshan sighed and said, 'Mr Xia, I know what you're saying is all true, and I'm aware of this too, but the Chinese community is interwoven with various organisations, and the situation is very complicated.

'For hundreds of years, no one has thought of participating in American politics, but they have been excluded. We are unable to do anything despite our good intentions! Over time, we naturally gave up!'

'In addition, each major clan is deeply involved and there is a lot of internal struggle. It is difficult to work together to climb up and we cannot find this opportunity.'

'Precisely because of this, we simply give up participating in politics and solve problems in our own way.'

'Even if I am the head of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, it is not as glorious as it seems. The major veteran families within the association still have a lot of say, not to mention the forces involved at a lower level. It's hard!'

'After all is said and done, many Chinese people still can't live a stable and good life. If they can't even get by themselves, how can they be expected to care about politics?'

Xia Yu suddenly fell silent.

He had also made a special effort to learn about the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and knew that what Situ Boshan had said was not false.

Among the top six Chinese temples in San Francisco, the other five have been constantly whitewashed, while the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association has been the least whitewashed. And when Zhou Tianlong, the leader of the next generation, seized power and rose to the top, it became even more corrupt. When Zhou Tianlong of the next generation was arrested, he was convicted of 162 charges by the US judicial department and sentenced to life imprisonment, plus more than 2,900 years in prison, without the right to bail.

As for Szeto Wah's last words, they also provide a good illustration of the current situation and true thoughts of Chinese Americans.

Rather than relying on political power to solve their own problems, they would rather rely on their own hands to be self-reliant, even if it is a bit hard and tiring. This is the most hardworking ethnic group in the world.

'But old man, muddling through is not a solution after all. The Chinese have contributed no less than other groups to the construction of the United States with their sweat and toil. If they don't fight for it, various social benefits such as education and livelihood will bypass the Chinese just like they are now. These things are what the Chinese deserve.'

'And if the Chinese want to do well in the United States, climbing up the social ladder is the best way out. There is a limit to purely commercial endeavours. Without political asylum, even the biggest of foundations can easily collapse. So the path of politics must be taken, and one must be strong enough to be able to provide asylum!'

Sima Boshan nodded and said, 'I know, so after learning that you and Ronald Reagan were friends, I figured it was time to take this path. I will start by taking the lead in my family. As long as we are willing to go, we will eventually find a way. Maybe one day we Chinese will also have police chiefs, supreme court justices, governors, and legislators!'

Xia Yu raised an eyebrow and asked, 'Old man, I have a good relationship with Ronald Reagan, and I can really help in many ways. I want to know what you plan to do?'

Sima Boshan suddenly looked at Situ Nan, who had been silent. Situ Nan had a determined expression and asked Xia Yu sincerely, 'Mr. Xia, it is I who plans to go into politics. I want to seek the happiness of Chinese people across the United States and seek justice for the majority of my compatriots. Please give me some advice!'