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Just before we start, this episode contains some strong language and descriptions of violence.

When I was 10 years old my parents used to ask me to record the news.

They worked at the restaurant every night and I was at home, so I'd just be watching it by

myself or with my brother.

And the people who fire bombed our restaurant the A&M they were finally on

trial and in the coverage I remember it was almost like seeing it for the first time

again.

Jack Van Tongren had set fire to Chinese restaurants

in an attempt to drive Asians out of Australia.

I remember seeing the burnt restaurants,

the interviews of my parents, and hearing all about the. the their verdicts late this afternoon. Supreme Leader Jack Van Tongren guilty of 53 charges,

including conspiracy to harm Asians and drive them out of Western Australia.

And it was at this point as a 10 year old now that I was, you know, for the first time, actually

old enough to start properly understanding the racism and the hate that motivated the attack against us.

And that understanding, that feeling stayed with me as I went into high school.

All these things are just kind of gnawing at me and kind of eats at you. So, you know, I almost started believing the worst things that people were saying about me, about Asians, and I started to question whether I was Australian enough.

I found myself really conscious about my parents speaking Cantonese

loudly because I found that suddenly embarrassing. I started dreading going on family holidays because I was

worried that people would look at us and presume that we were tourists from

overseas and being a smart student would just fulfill another stereotype, so I just slacked off.

I started chipping away bits for myself, and in some ways they were the best parts of me and then as I got to 11

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