Roy Mah (born Mah Quock Quon, 29 March 1918 – 22 June 2007)[1] was a Canadian veteran, journalist and activist.
Born in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in Victoria, British Columbia,[1] Mah enlisted during the Second World War.[2] He served with Force 136 at the rank of sergeant. Mah was to lead an entirely Chinese-Canadian force in guerrilla actions in Southeast Asia against Japanese forces, but after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the mission was cancelled.[3]
After returning to British Columbia, Mah used military service by Chinese-Canadians as a lever to advocate for equal voting rights for this community.[3] He published the first English-language Chinese community newspaper in North America, Chinatown News, which he used to promote this cause.[2] The right to vote was granted to Chinese-Canadians in 1947.[4] He was also a labour organizer for the International Woodworkers of America and founded the Chinese Canadian Military Museum and the Chinese Cultural Centre.[1]
For his military service Mah was awarded the Burma Star, the War Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and the 1939-45 Star. He received the Order of British Columbia in 2003. In 2007 Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan named 12 July 2007 "Roy Mah Day".[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Roy Mah". Times Colonist. 27 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Roy Mah". Chinese Canadian Military Museum. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Roy Mah". Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Chinese-Canadians get the vote in 1947". CBC Archives. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Mayor Sullivan to Mark July 12 as "Roy Mah Day" in Vancouver". Sam Sullivan. 5 July 2007.