Woman Urges Study of Asia's WWII History

Flora Chong, a Chinese-Canadian, didn't know much about the Nanjing Massacre and the resistance of Chinese against Japanese aggression. That was until the late 1990s, when she read Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking. To help educate youth about the history of World War II in Asia, Chong in 2004 joined the Toronto-based Association for Learning and Preserving the History of WWII in Asia (ALPHA Education). She vows to always help the organization achieve its goals of promoting peace and reconciliation through education.
Chong, who was born in Hong Kong, immigrated to Canada in 1987. While she attended a government-run high school in Hong Kong, she had very little chance to learn about history, particularly Chinese history beyond 1911. "To deal with the heavy workload in school, most of us did not have the 'leisure' to seek knowledge other than what was taught in school. My understanding of the Japanese invasion of China came from my parents, (and that understanding) was very limited by their own experiences," Chong says.
Chong's desire to learn more about Chinese and Asian history developed after she learned about the atrocities committed by Japan during WWII. "I was ashamed by my ignorance, and I felt severe heartache for all those who suffered, particularly the Chinese. This piece of history served as a bridge for me to cross the gap between me and me as a Chinese," Chong says.
Prior to joining ALPHA Education (established in 1997) as a full-time volunteer, Chong was chief executive officer of a Toronto-based, international-trading company. As she thought it was important to educate young people in the West, especially those of Chinese descent, about Asia's WWII history, and about China's war effort, she quit her job and devoted herself to helping spearhead educational programs within Canada and beyond. She is now executive director and vice-chairwoman of ALPHA Education's board.