Lawrence Chen (陈卫平) | Ep. 4: A Voice for Those Without a Vote | 2026 BC Election Interview
https://youtu.be/ypzPC6rT2tk
(Transcript from the episode's English subtitles; speakers not labelled. Host: Sarah Yu.)

[0:00] Highlights
Nearly 90,000 of us Chinese live here and pay taxes, raise their kids here, spend and work here, but can't vote. If you don't have someone who speaks Mandarin, I'm leaving. I won't open an account. And sure enough, this was 20-some years ago, Vancouver's airport suddenly had signs in Chinese.

[0:23] Permanent residents in Richmond
Another very important point I want to raise in this election: in Richmond, there are a great many PRs. Among us Chinese alone, nearly 90,000. These people live here, pay taxes, raise their kids, spend and work here, but they have no vote. I think that is somewhat unfair to them. But this isn't a provincial election issue. It's a federal one. These permanent residents living here, since they live here permanently, your policies actually affect them. They pay taxes. It's not like they don't pay taxes. The only difference between them and us is the right to vote and run for office. If these PRs could be given at least the right to cast a ballot, you could say they can't be candidates. I'd understand that. This the federal government could change. I'm raising this for the first time today: I hope that whether it's the provincial or federal government, in future elections they'll consider giving PRs the right to vote. They also have the right to be heard. A lot of what I'm hearing this time really comes from them. Why do they come to me? Because they can't vote. They feel helpless. It's like they can talk but have been made mute, right? Right. They want to speak but can't.

[1:48] Why not become citizens?
Most of them are from mainland China. Why? Because if you're from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia or Singapore, you can become a citizen without affecting your benefits back there. Taiwan recognizes people holding both Canadian and Taiwanese passports. Their benefits in Taiwan are very good, but after coming here they can become citizens with no impact. But for us mainlanders, once you become a citizen, a lot of things back there get complicated, because China doesn't recognize this kind of dual status. So they don't become citizens not because they don't love this land, but because they have no choice. They may still own property there, may still have elderly parents there to look after. And going back to China, if you're not a citizen, you're treated one way. If you are a citizen, you're treated another way. So they have many practical considerations and can't take citizenship right now. But their contribution to this country is the same as ours. So given all this, if possible, in the future, if there's another federal or provincial election, I'll take this issue to the federal level, hoping to give them, the PRs, the right to vote. I think they should have that right. So CanWest's voice, how can it, in the legislature, or at the federal level, reach the people at the top?

[3:07] Federal issues: the gun ban
At the federal level, we have no say, because we're a provincial party. All we can do is, first, raise it with the sitting federal MPs. For example, a few days ago Chak Au and I had a conversation. We have photos too. I told Chak Au, who was sitting next to me. I said, can I bring some federal issues to you, since I can't raise them with the Premier? He asked, what issues? The gun ban. Because I teach firearms courses. This gun ban was issued in 2023 by the federal Liberals. It was an order that banned good people's guns. So whether it's hunting, target shooting or just shooting for fun, they've been hit hard. So they have some views on this. It banned certain types of guns, only some, but what it banned were good people's guns. I teach the PAL course. They take the class and exam, legally obtain a firearms licence, then legally buy these guns. They go hunting or target shooting. As a... we call shooting a sport. It's even in the Olympics, right? It really is a sport. And hunting we call an outdoor activity. They're all good people who've never had any trouble. So when you ban those guns, obviously we're not happy. So why did I tell Chak Au? Because Chak Au has now joined the federal Conservatives, and the federal Conservatives' platform, during the campaign, included repealing the gun ban. So I support him. In this situation, as a provincial party, all we can do is support the federal Conservatives, or get our message, through the federal Conservatives' platform, to the federal Liberals. Or if one day we want to run federally, only at election time could we say this and have people listen. That's the only way. That is, for certain issues. Then how do you tell good from bad? I don't get that part.

[5:00] Firearms licences and background checks
What I mean by good and bad people is: after you pass the exam and apply for a licence, the RCMP will run a background check on you, to see if you have a criminal record. If you don't have a criminal record, they issue you a licence. So everyone holding a licence has been verified by the government as someone with no criminal record. Those are who I call good people. If you have a criminal record, you can't get a licence. Those are who I call people who aren't good. But some people have never committed a crime, and then one day, suddenly... right? There are people like that. Yes, there are. If you hold a licence now and suddenly get a criminal record, they'll just revoke it. So the people who actually hold licences are really all good people, who obey the law and have never had a criminal record. You've banned these people's guns, but these people aren't the ones making society unstable. The people who really make society unstable aren't among us. They don't have licences, but they have guns too, probably from the black market. That's what I told Chak Au, and he agreed, because the federal Conservatives agree that you shouldn't ban good people's guns, but should put some restrictions on illegal channels. That's how it is.

[6:21] Running federally in 2008
So some issues differ depending on the election, since I've run at all three levels of government. In 2008 I ran for MP. When I ran for federal MP, I said Chinese should become an official language. At that level, you can say that. My reasoning for saying Chinese should be an official language was: if French can be one, why can't there be a third language? Because this country calls itself multicultural. It didn't say monocultural, and it didn't say bicultural either, right? So after I put that forward, some non-Chinese reporters felt what I said had a point. It made sense, it wasn't nonsense. I said, exactly. One said, then tell me: if all of Canada adopted Chinese as a third language, wouldn't our government spending go up? Wouldn't taxes have to go up? I said no. I only want it in some places. That's enough. Say, in Vancouver and Toronto, where there are many Chinese and few French speakers. Government documents don't need to be in English and French. Change the French part to English and Chinese. You waste no resources at all, yet the number of us who can benefit from government services gets huge. He said, "Wow, that's a really good point." So I said back then: at Vancouver's airport, could you make the signs in Chinese? Skip the French signs. That way, you're not adding any cost. And wouldn't it be easier for us arriving? He said that made sense. That reporter was a national... a CBC reporter. He said, I'll help you spread the word, right?

[7:46] Chinese signs at YVR
And sure enough, this was 20-some years ago, Vancouver's airport suddenly had Chinese signs and all that, right? It's simple. What I say, if it makes sense, through legitimate media, reaches today's politicians. If they see me, this person represents some people too, since a candidate speaks for part of the public. So if what this person says makes sense, can't we make improvements? And they did. So through this platform we speak up, and that voice represents part of the community. If those in power think it's worth considering and make improvements, then my job is done. In Canadian society, we all carry a dream, and we all hope society keeps getting better and more complete, and truly serves ordinary people. That's really true. Lao Chen, I can see that for Canada's development, people's livelihoods and better lives, I think you really are doing a lot of practical work. We use legitimate platforms to push for society's healthy development. So people can see my intentions are right. This country really does have these platforms. For example, earlier we formed a party, and we launched a movement to help our people find jobs.

[9:06] Speaking Mandarin at the bank
You may not have heard of it. In the early days, when we first came in the 2000s, we were all skilled immigrants. You were a skilled immigrant too, right? I came as an international student. International student, right. The biggest problem for skilled immigrants here was that we couldn't find jobs because our language wasn't good. So what could we do? Our party launched a campaign: whenever we spend money, we only speak Mandarin. That would lead society to hire more Mandarin-speaking staff. Let me give you an example. A bank: one day I went to open an account. I walked in and said I'm here to open an account. A clerk came and spoke English. I said, English no. Don't understand. He asked what language. I said Mandarin. "Hold on." I said, if you don't have someone who speaks Mandarin, I'm leaving. I won't open an account. I have $5,000 here I want to deposit. "Don't go, have a seat, we'll find someone. We may have someone in the back who speaks Mandarin." OK. After a while, I sat a bit, and sure enough a young Taiwanese woman came. She came over: "Hello, sir, what can I..." Then she looked: "Wait a minute..." I was a realtor then, I had some TV ads. "Lao Chen? Is that Lao Chen?" I said, yes. "You speak English. How come... why did you say you don't?" You did it so that the bank's management would know how important Chinese is. If they don't hire staff who can speak Chinese, they could lose some customers. I said, I came today to tell your manager: because you served me, my $5,000 is going in here. Without you, I'd have turned and walked out. I want him to know that in Richmond now it's not just me. There are many people who really can't speak English well, who really brought money from China to open accounts. Do you want to win these customers? If you do, if you can hire a teller who speaks Mandarin, your bank will surely get lots of customers, right? And from then on, you'd find every bank had Mandarin-speaking tellers right at the front counter. That's the movement our party launched. We didn't break any laws. We just felt like speaking Mandarin. And it's true some of us really can't speak English, like investor immigrants. They need to deposit money. So banks, and later even phone companies, like Telus, all hired Mandarin-speaking staff, right? So our movement let ordinary people feel that the government really cared about us. Ours is a very constructive suggestion. It helps society move forward, so newcomers don't feel this place is foreign, but warm. Isn't that the point? That's the true original purpose behind our running in elections.

[11:46] Twenty years of speaking up
Since 2007, your party has been around for 20 years, always thinking for the community and planning, listening to everyone, right? Bit by bit, carrying it upward, speaking up. You've made a great effort. I can see you really want this country to do well, want ordinary people to live happily. I think you've done so much. Great work, kudos. We use legal channels to speak for the people, and lawful means to promote society's healthy development. That's all.