【4/30/2021】CAPA-NoVA Distinguished Chinese American Project
(Written by: Lan Yue)
邝友良（Hiram Leong Fong） (1906-2004)was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician from Hawaii. Born 7th of 11 children to illiterate Cantonese immigrants, Fong worked his way through school and overcame poverty to become one of Hawaii’s first U.S. Senators, acting as a surrogate representative for Asian-American constituents at home and as an ambassador of American policies to Asian people abroad, serving from 1959 to 1977.
Fong grew up from the streets of Kalihi, studied law at Harvard and served the territory of Hawaii in its legislature. From the sidewalks of an island city to the Senate of the United States, Fong with a humble beginning understood the day to day struggle of working class people. His plain-speaking wisdom for life guided him to success in finance and leadership in government.
Known as “the Man of the Pacific,” Fong is remembered for his personal generosity, his devotion to vital interest of Hawaii people, his approachable easy humor and his love for Hawaii and the wonder of its people throughout his Long life. Fong was regarded as Hero of Hawaii and is celebrated as the first person of Chinese descent elected to Congress, the first Asian Pacific American elected to the Senate, the first Chinese-American candidate for the presidency, and the only Republican Senator ever elected from Hawaii.
More information:
https://senatorfong.com/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Fong
【Not only do we live among the stars, the stars live within us! 】
