As we sit down to talk, Mr. Park’s pre-aged face tells the story of hardship in China and his life’s journey before he even opens his mouth. Having lived in China for over thirty years, he has seen and felt all that the Chinese communist government has to offer. Although the road to the U.S. has been hard, he now seeks refuge in the Land of the Free. Currently at the age of forty-two, Mr. Park recounts his life in China and his journey to the U.S.A. in his distinct Chinese accent.
My name is Park Tae-soo. I was born on February
24th of ’64. When we were going to elementary school and middle
school, the education was the same, but the treatment for females was not as good as it was for males, though it
changed little by little. We didn’t have much. The level of lifestyle for
everyone was the same because the government had very little. Things like
televisions and other things were available when I became about
twenty.
The government controls everything like channels and programs available on televisions and radios. The government is not as open as America. It keeps the information to its disadvantage as secret. The government makes decisions and tells people what to do and what not to do. If the people don’t do as they are told, they lose their job. In ’99, there was faa-ryung-goon, you see? The people – old people, people with poor heath – gathered at dawn, about five, six o’clock, and exercised for their health. When they were doing this, the chairman of China decided that faa-ryung-goon is… bad, “Don’t do it”, you see? He was afraid that these people might affect the country in a negative way. And the people argued back, asking why they should stop. Then the government started using force; it crushed them. The police raided them and caught them, and some people spent years in prison because of this. Religion, too, was oppressed with faa-ryung-goon. During the faa-ryung-goon time, the government interfered strongly. The police took some people away, and would lock him up for half a month to twenty days. Then the police let him go after making him sign an oath. If the person sign the oath, then he shouldn’t do it [the action for which they were caught]. If he doesn’t obey, he is held for half a year, year, three years… The government interferes because it fears the gathering of a large number of people.
China’s government has a chairman. He is elected through voting. Though China only has one party, it has representatives. China has provinces like America has states. Each province selects its own representatives. If a person is considered very special, and he lives for the good of the people, they [government officials] make a list of those people. In the end, though, the chairman decides on who will be the representatives; if he thinks a person has special abilities, umm, if the person speaks English, he is chosen. Out of a thousand or two thousand people, they select one – the one with a good personality, intelligent, umm, good in politics – and later in Peking they gather to elect the chairman. We [the civilians] could not vote. Only big cities, we lived in countryside. Only the representatives get to elect [for the chairman]; they choose the person they think is the finest. In the past, there was no opportunity to vote. If someone from the higher place chose a person for a job, then that was it. People of China started voting in ’90.
You have to register to have a business. If a person has a business like a restaurant, and he doesn’t register, then his business gets closed. If a person doesn’t register, the person just needs to pay the fine. I had a business in China… mmm, a market…a small one. We sold liquor, umm, food… The business was all right; we were able to eat and live, but didn’t make much profit. The police respect citizens mainly because we paid our taxes regularly. In China, we don’t pay taxes on personal things that we buy; we pay taxes as a whole, in a business.
To send my daughter and son to college, I had to earn money, so I left the country. It’s hard to earn money in China. There are many people without much availability of jobs in the community. Now, everyone starts businesses since he can’t get a job – too many people with businesses, too many people without money, so it’s hard for the people to make a decent living.
A person has to have some ability of his own to get the visa; it depends on one’s [financial] capability. I wanted to get a passport to go to Korea, and the Chinese government wanted me to come to get a passport. I needed it on a certain day, and I had to request through a government official, but that person did not do it. So, reluctantly, I offered to give him some money, then the person did it the next day; had I not paid, it would have taken forever. The government gives the job to these bastards, and instead of doing their work, they rip off people to get the money they don’t deserve. Before, I wanted to fix something on my passport, but I had to go at least ten times! In the end, it was just becoming ridiculous! I went back and offered him some money, hid the money between the documents, and paid him. He saw the money, and approved the documents and the passport for me.
I was waiting and waiting to go to Korea, but I ended up going to France. I lived there for about two years. I couldn’t earn much money… I spent the money to sleep and eat there. So I couldn’t send any money back home. My friends told me that I might have a chance in America, so I came here. My family couldn’t come when I came to the states because I didn’t get my official paperwork. I requested to invite my family here, for my daughter, son, and wife. I don’t know why, but my daughter could not come. I was apart with my daughter now… seven years. I miss her very much.
China has some positive aspects. The government helps those who are in financial difficulties. In a town where most live prosperously, but some don’t, the government collects money from some of the wealthier people to build housings for the poor. Also, in a country, the neighbors are very friendly with each other. The United States is a good country, but it’s very hard to live here. In China, it’s not that hard to live if you have some money. They [the citizens of China] are all my people. We laugh and enjoy our time. The people of China are very friendly. It’s hard to earn a living, so they all help each other.
Interviewed by Shin H. Kang