Dear Editor,
Re: “I apologize for Chinese parents,”Letters, March 3.
As a Canadian citizen, immigrated from China years ago, I’m astonished at all the negative comments aimed at Chinese people. It is outrageous that a letter written by Ashley Low apologizes on behalf of all Chinese.
As a Chinese immigrant, loving and learning Chinese culture all my life, I feel compelled to clarify the rumour and dirt dumped on Chinese people.
LGBTQ is nothing new to Chinese culture. It’s been recorded in the history books throughout more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
What’s more, it seems that people from higher classes in the ancient society enjoyed this more, rather than the commons. According to some ancient findings, LGBTQ were privileges to the kings or the highest commanders.
In a famous Chinese work of literature, written hundreds of years ago, titled Hong Long Meng, also called Dream of the Red Chamber, there are more than 10 chapters describing LGBTQ! All of those descriptions are, by no means, discriminatory. Likewise, look at the history of the ancient civilizations in Greece and Rome, or the Greek mythology — the LGBTQ phenomenon was recorded throughout those histories, as well.
Brutal persecution and discrimination were imposed on the LGBTQ community in some parts of the world, but not in China. The fact is that Chinese culture is much more calm and tolerant. It is absolute prejudice to say Chinese people hate LGBTQ.
So, excuse me, Ashley Low, please don’t represent all people of Chinese origin. You appear to know little about Chinese culture. Please represent yourself only. We have a right to voice our opinion. We accept LGBTQ people, but we don’t accept that their rights should override the rights of other kids. Whether one is LGBTQ or heterosexual, everyone has the right to express themselves.
I feel very disappointed that the school trustees have forced through an LGBTQ policy, totally ignoring the opinions of thousands of parents. Perhaps, our English is no better than that of school kids. Perhaps, we sometimes are not able to use the most suitable words to express our ideas. But, by no means, do we need to apologize.
All parents are happy when our kids are happy, including LGBTQ kids. Why do we need to apologize for respectfully expressing our voice?
Vicky Liu
Richmond
