TEO CHEW ASSOCIATION OF NEW ENGLAND

In memory of beloved President Yang Kejing

It has been more than four years since Uncle Ke Jing, the former president of the New England Teochew Association, left us. On November 16, 2019, the day before he left, everyone still remembers that he was still busy in the clubhouse and truly served everyone until the last moment. Mr. Yang Kejing was born in Cholon, Saigon, Vietnam in 1940. His ancestral home is Puning. He is the second of seven brothers and sisters. He was working in a sundry store at the age of fifteen, became a manager at the age of twenty, opened a paper business at the age of twenty-seven, and opened an import and export company at the age of thirty-two. He was good at managing all situations and his business was very successful. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. When he was 35, the turbulent situation in Vietnam broke all his peace and everything turned into nothing. In 1978, he resolutely led his family of eight to flee Vietnam by boat and take refuge in the raging sea. A small fishing boat was packed with 197 people. Mr. Yang Kejing stayed at the stern of the boat throughout the voyage, taking responsibility for protecting all the people on the boat. After four days and four nights of drifting in the ocean, the smuggling boat was in distress. Before it was about to sink, it was fortunately rescued by an oil tanker and sent to a refugee camp on an island in Malaysia. In the face of difficulties and hardships, Mr. Yang Kejing has demonstrated the Chaozhou people's perseverance and hardworking positive energy. He was not idle in the refugee camp. He ran a catering and grocery business for eleven months and it was also very successful. They were then sponsored by a Catholic church in Boston and immigrated to the United States. The time came to 1979. Like many new immigrants, when Mr. Yang Kejing first arrived in Boston, he also worked in a restaurant. At the same time, in order to express his gratitude for the church's guarantee, he began to volunteer in the church, and he did so every day for decades, even though he was not a Christian. In 1982, Mr. Yang Kejing opened a gold shop and a cloth shop in Chinatown. This may be the first time that Vietnamese Chinese opened a shop and did business in Boston. Afterwards, businessmen from Chaozhou descent began to expand their businesses, and supermarkets and restaurants sprang up everywhere. Mr. Yang Kejing has a happy family. His wife is also from Chaozhou and is a famous beauty in Dike. The couple loves each other and has one son and two daughters. Although their children have their own careers, they are still very filial and family-oriented. They also help their parents run the store business, fully demonstrating the Chaozhou people's entrepreneurial spirit and their willingness to work together. Mr. Yang Kejing has a happy family, a successful career, and never forgets to contribute to the overseas Chinese community. In 1982, he helped to establish the Vietnam-Laos Chinese Association. Twelve years later, he founded the Teochew Association. He made great contributions and served as the president of both associations. He was deeply loved by the people and was a well-known overseas Chinese leader in Chinatown. We will always cherish the memory of President Yang Kejing's outstanding contributions to the New England Teochew Association.