The campaign to preserve Cantonese in the multicultural America is underway

A Hong Kong businessman’s generous donation to Stanford University to save the University’s Cantonese classes from the threat of suspension has revived hopes for the preservation of Cantonese in the United States. ‘Promoting Cantonese in the U.S. has never been a struggle between Cantonese and the masses, nor has it anything to do with U.S. -China relations,’ says SaveCantonese.org, a private organization that is pushing for the university to keep its Cantonese curriculum. It’s about honoring the multicultural spirit of the United States, and honoring the Cantonese language as an important and equal part of American history for over 200 years.

Stanford University in California, a prestigious university in the west Coast of the United States, announced in early January 2021 that it would not renew the contract of Dr. Silli Chang, the only Cantonese professor on campus, due to financial difficulties, which caused dissatisfaction among some teachers and students. Local Cantonese conservationists have since formed a voluntary NGO, SaveCantonese.org, to pressure the university to preserve the curriculum and continue the tradition of Cantonese at Stanford, not only in California but also in the United States.

Scott Suen, a California businessman originally from Hong Kong, recently made a $1 million donation to Stanford University’s Cantonese program, helping to keep the program alive. He said he wanted to keep a low profile in his donations, but said in a press release: ‘Cantonese is charming and inclusive. It can be popular, iconic, trendy, cool and interesting. It emphasizes that Cantonese has been handed down to this day and still retains a large number of ancient Chinese pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar, which shows its profound cultural heritage.

“Although Cantonese is now spoken by more than 100 million people around the world, a language needs to survive communication,” Sun wrote in the press release. “If fewer people know Cantonese in the future, an important part of the culture it carries will be lost. Protecting culture is close to us all, and doing what we can to help is a meaningful thing in itself.”

SaveCantonese.org founder Jane Tam and another member of SaveCantonese.org, Lang Kiu Chung, recently gave a video interview to VOA’s Cantonese Service to express their gratitude for the donation. From defending Cantonese, they spoke of the loss of Cantonese among Chinese Americans who did not understand it in the past, and the meaning of Cantonese’s place in the United States as a whole.

Jamie Tam, the group’s founder, began by talking about her own experience. As an American-born Chinese descendant of Hong Kong immigrants, she felt embarrassed and helpless not knowing Cantonese as a child. Since her grandfather passed away in Hong Kong, Tan said, she has been determined to learn Cantonese. She hopes that she and her grandmother, who lives in Hong Kong, can talk freely over the phone, instead of just saying “have you eaten dim sum?”