World War II Veteran Arthur Wong Joins Protest Against ABC in Boston Common

By David Li, bostonese.com

Boston, Nov. 11, 2013, — Today, Mr. Arthur Wong of Boston Chinatown celebrates 68th Veteran’s Day after he returned from battlegrounds of Europe in 1945. Nineteen-year-old Arthur Wong found himself on Omaha Beach on D-day (June 6, 1944). Five months later, he was seriously injured during a firefight in Germany. He returned Boston after a few months treatment in a hospital in southern France.

(L to R)Mr. Arthur Wong and Yiduo Nian at Saturday’s protest in Boston Common.

In the morning of Nov. 9, 89-year-old Arthur Wong joined hundreds of Chinese Americans to protest against ABC network and its Jimmy Kimmel Live show. In the Kids Table segment aired on Oct. 16, a six-year-old boy suggested “kill everyone in China” when Jimmy Kimmel asked how to resolve the $1.3 trillion US debt to China. Jimmy Kimmel responded by saying “It’s an interesting idea”, and later asked the kids “Should we allow the Chinese to live?” "I'm a Chinese. Let them kill me too," Mr. Wong said. A week earlier, close to 100 Chinese Americans protested at the Holocaust memorial in downtown Boston.

Arthur Wong arrived Boston as Japan invaded Guangdong province, China in 1938. After Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, Arthur Wong wanted to join the Army to fight the Japanese. But he was assigned to the battlegrounds of Europe later on. “Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese immigrants could not be naturalized, and family members in China couldn't come to the US to join them,” Arthur Wong recalled. He was still a Chinese citizen when he fought along side of American soldiers. The following is more pictures of Saturday's protest by Mr. Don Mo of Boston Chinese Photographer Association (BCPA). [gallery columns="4" ids="10909,10910,10907,10906,10905,10904,10903,10902,10901,10900,10899,10898,10897,10896,10895,10894"] The Chinese Exclusion Act was signed by President Chester Arthur on May 6, 1882. It was repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943 as China was an important U.S. alley during World War II. It was not until some 66 years later, Arthur Wong finally received Purple Heart, Bronze Star and other military medals.