CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M; IRONY

Fake Rolex watches make up half of the luxury replica market, exec says

Phil Rosen
Wed, July 5, 2023 


Half of replica watches are Rolex replicas, according to Watchfinder's CEO.


The exec told Bloomberg that the brand sees the highest demand on replica markets.


Meanwhile, prices for luxury watches have fallen near two-year lows on secondary markets.

The replica watch market is getting more and more sophisticated, and roughly half the market is comprised of Rolex fakes, according to the chief executive of Watchfinder & Co.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, CEO Arjen van de Vall said up to 10% of the watches received from sellers last year were found to be knockoffs, with facsimile Rolexes showing up the most often. The company has been buying and selling pre-owned watches since 2002.

"Rolex is the most aspirational luxury watch brand and the highest demand, hence, it's the most replicated," van de Vall said.

Previously, Watchfinder, which is owned by Swiss luxury corporation Richemont, was able to identify roughly 80% of fakes by sight alone, van de Vall told Bloomberg. Now, however, that proportion has dropped to just 20% since replicas are getting more convincing.

But it's not just Rolex that's showing up in the knockoff market.

"You see replica or clone watches — very, very high quality watches — of virtually all of the big luxury brands," van de Vall told Bloomberg. "The whole gamut."

The luxury timepiece market at large has tumbled over the last year as the global economy slows down and wealthy buyers tighten their belts. Bloomberg's Subdial Watch Index, which tracks the 50-most traded pre-owned watches, has dropped nearly 20% since last June.

For example, a second-hand Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Ultra Thin has declined by more than 35% over the last year, and now it sells for an average of $71,692.

President Joe Biden has stated multiple times that he doesn't anticipate a recession, but Wall Street forecasters aren't so certain. JPMorgan strategists see a 23% chance that the US skirts a downturn, while Bank of America's top economist Michael Gapen expects a recession to strike by year-end.

TAKE OFF BOTH WORK 3 DAYS

We asked if people want to be in the office Mondays, Fridays — or neither. A big landlord says 5-day workweeks are dead.

Lakshmi Varanasi
Wed, July 5, 2023 

With the return-to-office debate heating up, Insider polled readers on LinkedIn to see whether they like going into the office on Mondays, Fridays, or neither.Getty Images

One of New York City's biggest landlords said the office is dead on Fridays and maybe Mondays, too.


Data on office occupancy rates also shows Mondays and Fridays are the most vacant days of the week.


We asked Insider readers on LinkedIn to tell us whether they agree. Here's what they said.

With major companies like Amazon, Disney, Salesforce, and Meta trying to wrest reluctant workers back to the office, the corporate world is grappling with a big question: Are we ever returning to the office five days a week?

Insider previously reported that Steven Roth, the chairman of Vornado, one of New York's biggest private landlords, said Mondays in the office are "touch-and-go" — and Fridays are likely "dead forever."

Meanwhile, a report from Placer.ai, a firm that tracks mobile-phone data from 800 sites across the US, found that those who come into the office are indeed more likely to do so in the middle of the week. They appear to be avoiding the workplace on Mondays and Fridays, according to the data.

Insider asked readers on our LinkedIn page if they're going into the office on Mondays and Fridays, Mondays or Fridays, or neither.LinkedIn

So Insider polled readers via LinkedIn to see if they agreed with the stats. We asked: "Given the choice, do you go into the office on Mondays and Fridays?"

As of Monday, just over 16,000 people had already responded, and the results — not scientific, of course, but an interesting snapshot — corroborate Roth's contention and the Placer.ai data.

A little less than half of the respondents said they wouldn't go into the office on either Mondays or Fridays. Another 29% said they would go in on either a Monday or a Friday — but not both. And only 22% said they would go in on both Mondays and Fridays, given the choice.

Why do some people choose to come in on a Monday, a Friday — or both of the days?

An academic administrator wrote that "the commute is easier on both days because less people work those days, it's more peaceful in coffee shops as well.

Steven Roth, the chairman of one of New York's biggest private landlords, Vornado, said Mondays in the office are "touch-and-go" and Fridays are likely "dead forever."

Misha Friedman/Getty Images

And an academic based in the UK agreed on the ease of a Friday commute: "Love working Fridays ... nice and quiet and commute is easy. Also sense of relaxation as the weekend approaches," he wrote. "Hate Monday working though — for the converse reasons."

Robert Parlaman, who works as a Facilities and human resources coordinator at Levolor, a company that manufactures window coverings headquartered in Atlanta, told Insider via LinkedIn message that he never had the option to work from home even during COVID-19.

On the one hand, the mandate has helped him feel more connected his job, he said. "I go into the office Monday-Friday. I enjoy being at the office and feel more connected to the company I work for when I'm in the office," he wrote in the comments section of Insider's poll on LinkedIn.
Offices are less than half full across the US

Offices are less than half full across the US

City	Wed 6/14	Wed 6/21
New York metro	48.1%	50%
San Jose metro	39.4%	38.1%
San Francisco metro	44.4%	45.4%
Chicago metro	54.7%	54.0%
Washington D.C. metro	46.9%	46.3%
Philadelphia metro	40.9%	41.2%
Houston metro	60.6%	60.8%
Austin metro	58.3%	58.2%
Dallas metro	54.5%	54.4%
Average of 10	49.7%	49.8%
Los Angeles metro	49.6%	49.7%

Source: Kastle Systems building swipe data from 2,600 buildings in 136 cities

But in an ideal world — or at least one with more choices — he'd like to go in just four days a week. "I would choose Monday-Thursday in-office, and the office CLOSED on Fridays," he said. "4-Day work weeks over 5-Day Hybrid schedules," he suggested.

A four-day workweek seems a long way away for most US workers, but still less than half are coming into offices.

Kastle Systems — which tracks when employees swipe their badges at office entrances — found that the average office occupancy rates across the week for the country's 10 major metro areas were just under 50% for the weeks beginning June 14 and June 21.

1933

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Odey Faces ‘Fit and Proper’ Test as UK’s FCA Contacts Police

FCA Contacts Police Over Odey Sexual Assault Allegations


Jonathan Browning
Wed, July 5, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- The UK financial regulator said it’s in contact with the police about allegations of sexual assault against Crispin Odey as it investigates whether the hedge fund manager passes its ‘fit and proper’ test to operate in the financial industry.

The Financial Conduct Authority said that as some of the allegations are “potentially criminal” it has been in touch with the police, according to a July 3 letter to UK lawmakers. The FCA is focusing on allegations that Odey dismissed the executive committee at Odey Asset Management for “an improper purpose” and said its enforcement arm is leading the investigation.

@tommackenzietv asks Sarah Pritchard from the Financial Conduct Authority why it's "taken so long" https://t.co/qee9hKfKcm pic.twitter.com/N2jlKJK0K4

— Bloomberg UK (@BloombergUK) July 5, 2023

Odey denies the allegations. A spokesman for Odey Asset Management declined to comment. London’s Metropolitan Police didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The watchdog is responding to a barrage of questions from politicians over its handling of the investigation into the hedge fund manager as well as its wider work on non-financial misconduct. It’s the first public comment by the regulator since it started looking at Odey’s conduct almost two years ago.

Odey Asset Management was plunged into turmoil last month after the Financial Times published multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault by Odey. Numerous banks have cut ties with his firm and investors have raced for the exits, forcing the company to shut funds and suspend several others.

The regulator said that Odey Asset Management itself is also being investigated over whether it failed to have a “functional and compliant governance structure.”

Fit and Proper

A fit and proper test gives the regulator a chance to assess an individual’s “honesty, integrity and reputation; competence and capability; and financial soundness,” but the regulator has been slow to issue banning orders for non-financial misconduct without a criminal conviction. It has so far banned seven people on that basis — all but one involved a conviction or caution.

Odey was acquitted of a sexual assault allegation at a criminal trial in 2021 and the FCA said that in cases where an individual has been acquitted of criminal charges, there may be “significant challenges” using the same evidence to justify using their own powers.

“Regulatory action or an investigation of regulatory matters is not intended as a replacement for, or alternative to, a police investigation or criminal prosecution,” the FCA’s Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi said in the letter. “There may be occasions where it is appropriate for us to keep our investigation on hold while the police or another authority considers the relevant matters.”

The regulator has also been investigating allegations that Odey dismissed the executive committee at the firm that bears his name.

“We are investigating whether Mr Odey is a fit and proper person to work in financial services and whether Mr Odey has failed to comply with the FCA’s conduct rules relating to integrity and acting with due skill, care and diligence,” Rathi said in the letter.

Rathi also said that lawyers for Odey had threatened to bring a court challenge to the FCA’s probe. “We responded robustly to this,” the executive added.

--With assistance from Nishant Kumar.

OBS Group Nearing Deal for Bayer Pharma Assets in Pakistan, Sources Say


Faseeh Mangi
Wed, July 5, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s OBS Group is nearing a deal to acquire pharmaceutical assets in the country from Bayer AG, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Karachi-based pharmaceutical maker is close to buying a manufacturing facility in Lahore and 12 pharmaceutical brands for about 7 billion rupees ($25 million), said one of the people, asking not to be identified as the information is private. OBS Group has incorporated a new unit that is partially owned by employees for the acquisition, they said. The transaction could close in the coming days, the people said.

Following the Bloomberg News report, shares of AGP Ltd., a subsidiary of OBS Group that also manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, climbed to their highest level in five months.

Bayer is in the process of transferring its pharmaceutical and consumer health manufacturing plant based in Lahore, as well as selected pharmaceuticals and consumer health brands, to an international diversified company with a strong presence in Pakistan, according to a statement in response to a query from Bloomberg News. Impacted Bayer Pakistan employees have already joined the acquirer with effect from July 1, with a two-year job guarantee and bonuses, the statement showed.

Bayer representatives declined to comment on the name of the buyer or size of the transaction. Representatives for OBS didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The development comes as the South Asian nation is going through its worst economic crisis, with record interest rates and sky-high inflation. Shell Plc, one of the oldest multinational companies with operations in Pakistan, is also selling its stake in its local unit, while Sanofi divested majority ownership of its local arm last year for about $23 million.

Read More: Pakistan’s Politics Seen Key to Deliver on New IMF Aid Program

Drug prices in Pakistan are fixed and regulated by the government, which pharmaceutical companies have cited as a hurdle to their operation in the country.

--With assistance from Naomi Kresge.

ABOLISH SCOTUS

Federal agency powers in the crosshairs at the US Supreme Court


Andrew Chung and John Kruzel
Tue, July 4, 2023 

Court's conservatives skeptical toward agency powers


Cases involve securities and consumer protection agencies

WASHINGTON, July 4 (Reuters) - Even as it has ushered in sweeping changes to American law and society - on abortion, gun rights and affirmative action - the U.S. Supreme Court has kept tabs on another issue of keen interest to its conservative majority: keeping federal regulatory power in check.

The issue will figure prominently during the court's next term, which begins in October, as the justices already have agreed to decide several cases that could curtail the authority of U.S. agencies to issue regulations and enforce laws in areas ranging from finance to fisheries.

The cases involve what has come to be known as the "administrative state," the agency bureaucracy that interprets laws, crafts federal rules and implements executive action. The court's conservatives, with a 6-3 majority, in recent years have reined in what they viewed as governmental overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies.

"Next term is going to be a huge one at the court for cases involving the administrative state," said Brianne Gorod, chief counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Center liberal legal group. "These cases all represent challenges that are part of a long-running, multifaceted conservative attack on the administrative state, and nothing less than the ability of the federal government to function effectively is at stake."

The court, in a summer recess after ending its last term on Friday, has agreed to hear in its coming term cases challenging the constitutionality of the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the in-house enforcement regime at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It also could overturn a decades-old precedent that helps federal agencies defend their regulatory actions in court.

Legal experts see potential trouble ahead for the agencies.

"It's harder for the court to rule that the agency's composition or funding mechanism is unconstitutional without declaring a lot of what the agency has done to be illegal," said Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland.

The court's conservatives have proven willing to make vast changes to the law. Last year, they ended the recognition of a woman's constitutional right to abortion and expanded gun rights. Last week, they rejected affirmative action policies used by many universities to boost Black and Hispanic student enrollment and allowed certain businesses to refuse services for same-sex weddings.

They also last week blocked President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan and in May embraced a stringent new test for declaring wetlands protected under a landmark anti-pollution law - rulings that limited the role of the U.S. government's executive branch and curtailed its regulatory power.

PAYDAY LOANS

In the upcoming CFPB case, the justices will hear the agency's appeal of a lower court's ruling that its funding mechanism violated a constitutional provision giving Congress the power of the purse. The case involves a lawsuit by trade groups representing the payday loan industry against the agency that enforces consumer financial laws.

In the latest legal attack on the SEC, the financial markets regulator, the justices will hear a Biden administration appeal of a lower court's decision striking down the agency's enforcement proceedings as a violation of the constitutional right to a jury trial. The case involves a hedge fund manager who the SEC found committed securities fraud.

The court will also weigh a challenge by New Jersey-based fishing companies to a federal regulation requiring commercial fishermen to help fund a program monitoring herring catches off New England's coast. The companies asked the court to overturn its own precedent that calls for judges to defer to federal agency interpretation of U.S. laws, a doctrine called "Chevron deference."

For the conservative justices, cases such as these often raise a central concern: the constitutional principle of separation of powers among the U.S. government's executive, legislative and judicial branches.

"This is a court that is very interested and comfortable with separation-of-powers cases and is very interested in opining on it," said attorney Sarah Harris, an administrative law expert who has argued cases before the justices.

The court's embrace of the "major questions" doctrine has provided a seismic shift in its approach toward agency power. This judicial approach gives judges broad discretion to invalidate executive branch actions of "vast economic and political significance" unless Congress clearly authorized them.

The court's conservatives this year invoked the doctrine to invalidate Biden's student debt relief and last year to curb EPA authority to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. In a dissent in the student loans ruling, liberal Justice Elena Kagan called the doctrine "made-up."

University of Texas law professor Thomas McGarity, a critic of the doctrine, said the court's approach is diminishing "the agencies to which Congress has assigned the responsibility for protecting people, for protecting the environment and for protecting consumers."

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York and John Kruzel in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)

AMBERGRIS
A professor trying to solve the death of a beached sperm whale ended up discovering 21 pounds of whale-vomit worth half a million dollars

Matthew Loh
Wed, July 5, 2023 

A sperm whale and two young ones swimming under the surface, on November 10, 2011 in Mauritius Island, Indian Ocean.Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images

A university professor investigating the death of a beached sperm whale found $544,000 of ambergris.

The digestive substance is extremely rare, and highly valued in the perfume market.

The professor said he wants to sell the ambergris and give the profits to the town he found it in.

A scientist in the Canary Islands discovered a 21-pound lump of whale vomit worth around $544,000 in the intestines of a beached sperm whale.

Antonio Fernández, a professor from the University of Las Palmas, was inspecting the dead sperm whale at Nogales beach on May 21 when he found a huge clump of ambergris in it, per reported local news outlet Canarias7.

Ambergris is a rare and highly sought-after secretion produced in the digestive systems of sperm whales, and is typically only found in around one out of 100 specimens. It's valued in the perfume industry for its distinct odor and scarcity, and is often called "floating gold" or the "treasure of the sea."

Scientists believe the substance is excreted by sperm whales when they eat cephalopods, such as squid and octopus, and cannot digest the beaks of their prey. These remains are often vomited out, but sometimes they can mix with a waxy substance in the intestines to produce ambergris.

Fernández told Canarias7 that he was investigating the cause of death for this particular sperm whale, and was checking its colon.

"What I took out was a stone about 50 to 60cm in diameter weighing 9.5 kg," he said, according to The Guardian. "The waves were washing over the whale. Everyone was watching when I returned to the beach but they didn't know that what I had in my hands was ambergris."

Fernández, who's also the director of his university's animal health and food safety institute, said the whale died of sepsis caused by the chunk of ambergris, per The Guardian.

The professor also told Canarias7 on June 20 that he planned to give the valuable lump to local authorities in La Palma, so that it could be sold to help those affected by a devastating volcano eruption in 2021.

In 2021, a group of fishermen in the Gulf of Aden scored a hunk of ambergris worth around $1.5 million, which they sold to a buyer in the United Arab Emirates. The 35 fishermen purchased houses, cars, and boats from their profits, the BBC reported.

Commercial trade of ambergris is strictly regulated in some countries, including Australia and the US, which bans trade of the substance over concerns of exploitative whaling.

PRIVATIZATION

ROMANIA

Templeton-Led Fund Raises Record $1.8 Billion in Hydropower IPO

Irina Vilcu and Andra Timu
Tue, July 4, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- Franklin Templeton-managed Fondul Proprietatea raised 8.1 billion lei ($1.8 billion) in Romania’s largest ever initial public offering and this year’s biggest share sale in Europe.

About 78 million shares, or 17.3%, in green energy producer Hidroelectrica SA will be sold at 104 lei each in the IPO, close to the middle of the indicated range, according to a regulatory statement on Wednesday. Fondul has 30 days from when the shares start trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange July 12 to decide whether to sell more or even its entire stake of almost 20% in the firm.

The proceeds of Europe’s biggest public offering since Porsche AG will go directly to Fondul’s coffers and are likely to be distributed to shareholders. Hidroelectrica, Romania’s biggest electricity producer, is poised to gain from the increased visibility and potential new funding opportunities for its ambitious renewable energy investments.

The boost in liquidity following the listing may help the Bucharest Stock Exchange secure a long-awaited upgrade by MSCI to emerging-market status. The sale of a minority stake in the company also fulfills one of the milestones in Romania’s recovery and resilience plan, helping to unlock €29 billion ($31.5 billion) in European Union funding.

Like other energy producers in Europe, Hidroelectrica saw revenue jump last year as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a spike in power prices. The company’s net income rose about 45% year-on-year to roughly 4.5 billion lei. Its profit rose 34% in the first quarter of this year to 1.7 billion lei, according to data released by Fondul.

To be sure, energy producers are likely to start feeling the pinch when prices stabilize as EU governments step up support for consumers. Still, Hidroelectrica’s dividend policy, which envisages returning 90% of profits to shareholders and even potential extraordinary payouts, may increase the stock’s attractiveness.

The offer comes close to the record eastern European share sale, held by Poland’s Allegro.eu SA, which raised $2.3 billion in 2020. It’s this year’s biggest IPO in Europe, topping a $663 million offering by Italian gaming operator Lottomatica Group SpA.

Hidroelectrica shares were initially guided to be sold between 94 and 112 lei each, before the range narrowed to 103-104 lei this week. According to the initial terms of the offering, it was expected to raise as much as 8.7 billion lei for the 17.3% stake.

--With assistance from Mark Sweetman and Alexandra Muller.

French Insurance Lobby Says Cost of Riots Is $305 Million So Far

Alexandre Rajbhandari
Tue, July 4, 2023 


(Bloomberg) -- French insurers have so far received around 5,900 claims worth a total of some €280 million ($305 million) resulting from damage caused during a week of riots following the police shooting of a teenager.

This compares with 10,000 claims for a cost of €205 million during the last major riots in late 2005, Florence Lustman, chair of French insurers’ lobby France Assureurs, said at a financial forum in Paris on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said earlier that insurers agreed to extend the delay for store owners to make damage claims resulting from the violence to 30 days from five and that they would consider reducing the deductibles on claims for those independent businesses worst hit.

EV batteries remain major challenge for insurers - UK's Thatcham

Nick Carey
Tue, July 4, 2023 

An electric car is charged at a roadside EV charge point, London

LONDON (Reuters) -A lack of data on electric vehicle (EV) batteries continues to challenge insurers who are forced to scrap EVs after mild accidents, potentially undermining EV adoption, Thatcham Research said on Wednesday.

The British automotive risk intelligence company cited a "concerning lack of affordable or available repair solutions and post-accident diagnostics" in a report entitled "Impact of BEV Adoption on the Repair and Insurance Sectors" the UK Government's innovation agency Innovate UK funded to examine differences between EVs and fossil-fuel models.

Insurers have complained that many EVs have no way to repair or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents, forcing them to write off cars with low mileage - leading to higher premiums and undercutting gains from going electric.

Batteries can make up half of an EV's cost and Thatcham found a replacement battery can cost more than the used price of the vehicle after only one year, making replacing them uneconomical.

Adrian Watson, Thatcham's head of engineering research, said in an ideal world insurers could make informed decisions about whether to repair EVs or write it off based on access to data on its state of health after an accident.

"The reality is that's not the situation we're in at the moment," he told Reuters. "The diagnostics we have do not enable you to really know what the status of the battery is."

In a statement Mike Hawes, CEO of British industry group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the car industry is "keen to engage with insurers to understand their challenges and ensure vehicles involved in an accident are properly assessed – rather than being written off by default - and the majority repaired and returned safely to the road."

Only around 1.65% of cars on Britain's roads are electric, but Thatcham said EV-related insurance claims are already 25.5% more expensive than for fossil-fuel equivalents and take 14% longer to repair.

Due to their potential fire risk, damaged EVs awaiting repair must be stored outside at least 15 metres (49 ft) from other objects.

An outside facility for 100 fossil-fuel cars today would have space to safely quarantine just two EVs, Thatcham said.

(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Josie Kao and Louise Heavens)

‘Seeing the faces made it real’: Generations of Chinese Canadians reflect on new Vancouver museum

Story by The Canadian Press 

Firecrackers popped as lion dancers rippled and tossed lettuce through the doorway of Vancouver’s historic Wing Sang Building. The crowd outside 51 East Pender St. cheered as they snapped photos with their phones.

They gathered to witness the official opening of the Chinese Canadian Museum on Canada Day, 100 years after the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act. This legislation banned Chinese migration until 1947, effectively separating families or ending family lines for almost a quarter of a century.

The museum’s feature exhibition ‘The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act’ displays hundreds of certificates of identity documents used to track Chinese Canadians already in the country, including ones born here. Prior to the outright ban of Chinese immigration, the Canadian government tried to discourage migrants from China with costly head taxes.

“Seeing the faces in the exhibit made it real,” said exhibition guest Lily Yee.

Yee came from Toronto with her siblings, Jean and William, because their father was connected to this history — he paid the head taxes and had an ID document used to track him. Yee, her siblings, and their spouses had been invited to a preview event a day before the museum opened.

As the siblings moved through the space, they felt different waves of emotions, Jean said. Initially, there was amazement as they learned about the politics of the time and how anti-Asian racism grew out of racist policies. Moving through the exhibits, the Yee siblings felt sadness as they witnessed how isolated men struggled trying to reconnect with family members and community.

Jean said she felt fortunate and thankful that their dad, Wai Bun (Ben) Yee, didn’t pass on any of the pain or shame he felt to them. But, she said, the culture back then probably did not allow for people to speak out against injustices.

“Our dad never talked about it,” Jean said.

When Wai Bun passed away in 1975, the siblings received all his belongings and did not really know much about it except a lot that looked like immigration paperwork. They didn’t learn about the significance of these papers until three years ago when they received a call about the 1923 identification certificates and later contacted the museum’s feature exhibition curator Catherine Clement.


Lily said her friends had mixed feelings about whether to wish her a happy Canada Day because July 1 also marks “Humiliation Day” due to the Chinese Exclusion Act.

“I am proud to be a Canadian,” Lily said. “Thinking about the history, we [the Yee siblings] live lives that honour that sacrifice.”

William said their parents would’ve wanted that. “They don’t want us to hold that grudge,” he added.

More than a hundred attendees joined the Yee siblings, flowing in and out of the Chinese Canadian Museum on July 1. A basket of wrapped fortune cookies — which, ironically, is a Japanese invention popularized and frequently served in Chinese restaurants across North America — sat by the door.

Steven Yau, one of the attendees, said he came to see the exhibition because he wanted to learn about the immigrants who came before him. Yau felt it was overdue because, to him, Chinese Canadian history had not been documented and presented as extensively as other community groups.

“I came [to Canada] before my parents came here, but in the exhibit, it’s the opposite,” said Yau, referring to his journey moving to Canada from Hong Kong at age 17 and bringing his parents over to join him years later.

Yau also took his two biracial teenage sons to the museum to learn more about this heritage and better understand the context of who they are.

“I think they didn’t identify as part-Chinese when they were younger,” Yau said.

Unlike other museums, Yau found the Chinese Canadian Museum to be noisy.

“Maybe it’s the acoustics but you can hear when others are talking. It echoes,” he said. “When I thought about it, it was appropriate because Chinese [people] are noisy.”

Deanna Cheng, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media

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