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Biography of President York Kue Chan
York K. Chan, who was elected to a two-year term as
President of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent
Association (CCBA) in March 2004, is a well-known leader
in the Chinatown community. A graduate of the Sun
Yat–Sen University in China, he immigrated to the United
States in 1979.
A banker and educator, Mr. Chan is a former director of
the Chu Investment Group. He is a member of the Advisory
Board of East Bank, President of the Sun Yat-Sen
University Alumni Association of East America and former
President of Lin Sing Association of East America.
During his term as President of the CCBA, which
represents more than 60 of the leading business and
fraternal organizations and associations in Chinatown,
Mr. Chan has achieved many milestones. He spearheaded
the move to form the Chinese Voters Federation in May
2004 to encourage qualified Chinese-American citizens to
register and vote in the 2004 Presidential election, a
community-wide effort that produced an increase of 24.2%
in the number of Chinese-American voters in Chinatown.
He strongly supported the formation of the Chinatown
Partnership Local Development Corporation, the Asian Job
Service Employer Committee and the Greater New York
Chinese Community Dollars for Scholars program, all of
which benefit the Chinese communities in many important
ways.
Mr. Chan also helped lead the successful community
effort to designate Chinatown as an "Empire Zone" which
became a reality in January 2006 when Governor Pataki
and the New York State legislature voted their
approvals.
The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA)
and the Chinese American Voters Federation (CAVF) hosted
a debate in September 2005 with Democratic Party
candidates for Manhattan Borough President. Those
participating included NY State Assembly members Adriano
Espaillat, Scott Stringer and Keith Wright; NYC Council
members Margarita Lopez, Eva Moskowitz and Bill Perkins;
Carlos Manzano and Stanley Michels. The Forum was
moderated by Ti-Hua Chang, award-winning investigative
reporter for WCBS-TV News and former long-time resident
of Chinatown. In May 2005, the CCBA hosted a debate
featuring the Democratic candidates for Mayor, including
former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer,
Congressman Anthony Weiner, NY City Council Speaker
Gifford Miller and Manhattan Borough President C.
Virginia Fields. NY 1 News correspondent Sandra Endo
moderated the debate.
Both
Forums were conducted entirely in English with
simultaneous translations provided in both Mandarin and
Cantonese through the use of headphones.
Mr. Chan not only cares for the people in the Chinatown
community, but he is also concerned about people around
the world. In November 2004, he made official visits to
China and Taiwan where he met with high officials in
both governments to explore ways of improving
relationships between them. Immediately following the
earthquake and tsunami disasters in south Asia, he and
the CCBA led an emergency community-wide campaign to
raise much-needed funds for the victims, a drive that
raised more than $500,000 for the American Red Cross
Emergency Response Fund. In September 2005, right
after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, CCBA and Sing Tao
Daily joined together and raised $170,000 for the
victims.
President Chan’s effort is recognized by many government
agencies and organizations. Since his inauguration
in March 2004, he has received many honorable awards,
including from New York City Department of Small
Businesses, Manhattan Borough President Office,
Organization of Chinese Americans, New York
Cosmopolitan Lions Club, etc.
Mr. Chan is also President of the New York Chinese
School and the Chinatown Daycare Center, as well as a
board member of the United Orient Bank.
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