Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver facts for kids

The Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver (CBA, Chinese: 加拿大溫哥華中華會館) is a special organization for Chinese Canadians. It is based in Vancouver, Canada. The CBA acts like a main group for many other Chinese organizations in Vancouver. For a long time, especially in the first half of the 1900s, it was considered the most important group in Vancouver Chinatown. Some even said it was like the "government of Chinatown." The organization used to support Taiwan, but around the 1980s, it started to support mainland China.

History of the CBA

The CBA was started in 1896 by six people: Wong Soon King, Lee Kee, Shum Moon, Yip Sang, Leong Suey, and Chow Tong. Ten years later, in 1906, it officially became a nonprofit organization.

The CBA had its own building in Chinatown, which was built in 1907. More buildings for the association opened in the 1910s and 1920s. As more Chinese people moved to Vancouver, another big Chinese association from Victoria, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, also moved to Vancouver in the 1930s. After 1949, for some time, the CBA supported the government that moved to Taiwan.

In 1962, the CBA changed how it was run. It started including leaders from other Chinese groups in Vancouver Chinatown on its main committee. This happened because Chinese people were becoming more accepted in Canadian society. Also, new immigrants were not as connected to the older Chinatown groups. By the 1970s, the CBA lost some of its power. In 1979, another group, the Chinese Benevolent Association of Canada, separated from it.

Around the 1980s, the CBA became closer to the government of mainland China. By 2014, the CBA had gained back some of its influence. In 1991, the CBA's president thought the group had about 10,000 members. However, it was hard to know the exact number because there were different ways to join.

In 2023, the CBA put out some advertisements that supported the 2020 Hong Kong national security law. This made some people say that the CBA was now supporting some of mainland China's most debated policies.

What the CBA Does

By 1964, the CBA did many things for the Chinese community. It ran a school to teach Cantonese, which is a Chinese language. It also offered legal advice to people. The CBA helped Chinese people take part in public events. It also set up programs to help people in need. The group often made public statements to share the views of the Chinese community.

In the past, when Chinese people did not always get fair treatment in Canadian courts, the CBA sometimes acted like a court itself. It helped solve problems and disagreements within the Chinese community. By 1964, Chinese Canadians were getting proper services from the Canadian court system.

More recently, the CBA has taken public stands on political issues. For example, during the 2014 Hong Kong protests and the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the CBA placed ads in local newspapers. These ads supported the view of the Chinese Communist Party and were critical of the protesters. In September 2019, the CBA held a big party to celebrate the founding of the People's Republic of China. In July 2020, the CBA publicly supported the 2020 Hong Kong national security law, which was a very talked-about law.

During the Canadian federal election in 2021, the CBA hosted an event to support a candidate from the Liberal Party of Canada.

In 2022, when Nancy Pelosi, a U.S. official, visited Taiwan, the CBA signed a letter. This letter was published in a newspaper called Ming Pao Daily News. The letter spoke against the visit and showed support for Chinese unification, which means Taiwan becoming part of mainland China.

Groups the CBA Represents

The CBA represents many other organizations. Some of these include the Chinese Cultural Centre (CCC), the Chinese Freemasons, the Chinatown Merchants Association, and S.U.C.C.E.S.S.. As of 1991, the CBA represented 48 different groups.

See also

• Chinese Benevolent Association
• Chinatown, Vancouver
• Chinese Canadians in Greater Vancouver
• History of Chinese immigration to Canada
• Chinese head tax in Canada
• Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration (1885)
• Chinese Immigration Act of 1885
• Vancouver anti-Chinese riots, 1886
• Chinese Immigration Act, 1923
• Anti-Oriental riots (Vancouver)