Dr. May Chen, who was awarded the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in Chinese Media, Publishing, and Cultural Heritage in Southern California by the Los Angeles Chinese-American Association, has been dedicated to promoting Chinese cultural education overseas since moving to Los Angeles in 1977. Over the past 40 years, she has received over 40 awards from U.S. Congress members and various cities for her relentless efforts.
Chen expressed her great honor to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award alongside many elected officials and community leaders during the 135th anniversary of the Los Angeles Chinese-American Association. She admires the association’s longstanding commitment to promoting traditional Chinese culture, with its member organizations truly embodying the essence of fostering community harmony, honoring ancestors, and preserving Chinese history through annual activities. She remarked, “Continuing these activities every year is truly admirable,” especially the challenge of sustaining Chinese language schools in today’s environment.
In 1980, Chen founded the “South China Times” and served as its publisher and president. In 1989, she ventured into the education sector by establishing the Mei-Asia Cultural Education Foundation and founded the Sunshine Education Center (Chinese school) in Rosemead.
Reflecting on the vibrant development of Chinese language education at the time, Chen recalled that each Chinese school had many students, with some schools even enrolling over a thousand students. The landscape was simple then, as most parents were among the first batch of study-abroad students in the U.S., working in mainstream society and dedicating weekends to accompany their children in learning at Chinese schools, forming strong bonds. This golden period was from around 1980 to 2000, but with the changing backgrounds of immigrant families, Chinese schools gradually declined.
After 2000, the children of the first generation of study-abroad families grew up, and most new Chinese immigrants were small business owners, resulting in fewer parental involvements in school affairs and less guidance on their children’s Chinese education. This had a significant impact on Chinese schools, with many seeing a sharp decline in student numbers, with barely over a hundred students left in most cases.
The Sunshine Chinese School, led by Chen, being a formally registered school in the U.S. rather than a weekend teaching institution, did not suffer greatly but was inevitably affected. She believes that Chinese schools are truly where the next generation of Chinese descendants should be nurtured in national consciousness, patriotism, and ethical standards. Regardless, she emphasizes the need for Chinese schools to continue their efforts and encourages community support for Chinese schools in various regions.
From 2010 to 2014, Chen served two consecutive terms as the president of the Los Angeles Chinese Writers Association and began the initiative to write the history of overseas Chinese immigrants at the end of 2009. Under her leadership, a team formed based on the North American “Los Angeles Chinese Writers Association” collected and contributed millions of words in writings over four years, resulting in the compilation of “The Heritage of Light – 30 Years of Southern California Overseas Chinese Stories,” which consists of 17 chapters covering areas such as overseas communities, organizations, politics, rights advocacy, media, Chinese education, technology, literature, arts, sports, community development, business, families, faith, outlooks, and reflections, totaling over 960,000 words.
“The Heritage of Light – 30 Years of Southern California Overseas Chinese Stories” was published in Taipei on December 6, 2013, with nearly 1,300 pages, over 1,200 photos, and 3,000 limited edition deluxe cloth-bound copies, serving as valuable historical documentation for the Chinese community in Southern California. In 2022, Chen was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Taiwan’s Chinese Culture University, recognizing her efforts and contributions to promoting Chinese culture overseas. ◇