In this interview, Virginia Wong describes her experiences growing up in Hong Kong, her immigration history, and her life in Canada.
Virginia was born in Taishan, in Southern China’s Guangdong province. She had three sisters and one brother. Her family moved to Hong Kong when she was 9 years old. Her father had small businesses that supported the whole family. Virginia got married while she was in the second year of high school. In 1960, Virginia moved to Toronto, Ontario, where her husband’s family lived.
She lived with her husband’s parents in downtown Toronto in a non-Chinese neighbourhood. When her children were a little older, she and her husband moved into their own house, and she worked at a bookstore and then her husband’s factory. Virginia stresses the importance of the church in her life as a source of both faith and friendship. She also says she enjoys making friends, however she gives examples of discrimination in the workplace and in her day-to-day life.
Virginia says that she and her husband share an equal amount of the responsibilities and decision-making in the household. Her family spoke Toishan and English at home, and her children later learned Cantonese. At the time of the interview, Virginia had no interest in politics but cared very much about news from China on TV and in newspapers. She believed that she would spend the rest of her life in Canada.
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