Yao Xiao | Margins of Margins: Re/searching Forgotten Chinese Canadian Journeys in The Chinese Times

This public lecture with Dr. Yao Xiao explores the undertold vicissitudes of Chinese Canadian lives and expressions through The Chinese Times (1914 – 1992), one of the longest-running Chinese-language newspapers in Canada that was published in Vancouver Chinatown. Drawing on personal farewell letters, editorial essays, ads for everyday escapes, as well as community news of mutual aid, resilience, and collective protests, Xiao brings to light the subtleties of inter-group relations, the reverberations of global geopolitics, the power of grassroots literacy, and the evolving role of culture in shaping diasporic Chinese Canadian identification. At its heart are the soulful and indignant voices of forgotten migrants – underpaid workers, dreamers, lifeline connectors, nonconformists – whose embers of hopes and sorrows glow at the margins of minoritized memories, underrepresentation, and above all, long overdue human dignities. Dr. Yao Xiao 蕭堯 (he/they) is an educator, writer, and scholar in Chinese cultural studies, critical Asian studies, Asia/Africa interface, and social justice education. He teaches in the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice, as well as the Department of Educational Studies, at The University of British Columbia. Dr. Xiao’s collaborative research has been published in international journals such as Cultural Studies, Critical Arts, Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, and Postcolonial Directions in Education. He is an Associate Editor of Critical Arts, a Steering Committee Member of the Centre for Culture, Identity, and Education, and a founding member of Critical Alternatives, a knowledge network committed to unlearning imperialism and platforming pluriversal ways of being. A non-binary Cantonese-Hakka first-generation immigrant settler of colour on Turtle Island, Dr. Xiao has spent over a decade accompanying/walking/working with grassroots seniors and youth in and around Vancouver Chinatown, centring intergenerational memories, non-Anglophone-dominant practices, and forms of care that are non-extractive, non-savior, and grounded in reciprocal learning. Recorded on July 1, 2025 at the Chinese Canadian Museum. Video recording and editing by Elwin Xie. The Chinese Canadian Museum is now permanently at home inside the historic Wing Sang Building in Vancouver's Chinatown. The museum honours the history, contributions, and heritage of Chinese Canadians, while elevating and engaging with voices and communities across this country. To learn more, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.