What’s Romeo and Juliet?

Posted on February 10, 2022 by jonathanhs under Literature, Philosophical

Shakespeare masterpiece Hamnet is one of Bill Gates’ favourites books. William Shakespeare had influenced our culture, English literature, and, our beliefs and philosophy for more than 400 years. But after so many years, does Shakespeare still matter to the modern world? Why does Bill Gates like Shakespeare so much? In this post, we will be talking about the relevance of Shakespeare and how he had impacted us.

Answer to the driving question

In this unit, our driving question was: “Why does Shakespeare relevant to a contemporary audience?”. In brief, Shakespeare’s main influences can be catergrorized into three parts: English literature, art and music and philosophy.

English Literature

Throughout his life, Shakespeare wrote over 150 sonnets, 37 plays and invented over 1700 words that we still use today. He wrote the finest poems by selecting the perfect words/phases to present his emotions. At the same time, he was the first one to connect and compare different plays so he could write creatively. Not only was Shakespeare good at writing stories, but his themes and ideas also encourage many people to create new stories. According to Wikipedia and Guinness Books of World’s Records, there are 410 Shakespeare adaptions and around 1100 projects that credit Shakespeare’s writing.

Drama, Art and Music

Many people consider Shakespeare the father of drama as his plays paved the way for drama productions and acting. In addition, he created new genres that have mixed tragedy and comedy. The brand-new genres were like a revolution in storytelling and theatre which enhanced its effect on audiences. Meanwhile, Shakespeare’s plays have also influenced music and art through emotional experiences (Siegel). At the same time, Shakespeare had many acts associated with music and arts, which directed contributed to the growth of art and music.

Philosophy

Arguably, Shakespeare is a philosopher. Throughout his plays and sonnets, he brought up many questions that we don’t have easy answers to. His question involves justice, honour, free will, fate, love & hate, etc…. He managed to smoothly blend in his questions and doubts into his plays; his characters are often in a complex situation where there are no perfect answers. By comparing ourselves with his characters, we would be searching for solutions that solve the problem. Although he never told us the answer nor did he has the answers, Shakespeare taught us to think differently and encourage us to think deeply. Through understanding Shakespeare, we will gain a more mature perspective and find the value/purpose of life.

The language we speak today contains a lot of Shakespear’s effort; meanwhile, his philosophy is still constantly influencing our everyday life. Therefore, Shakespeare and his work are still relevant to us and modern society.

My learning journey

This unit was the shortest yet the most challenging one I had in the first semester. In this unit, we investigated the five acts of Romeo and Juliet and its film adaptations; moreover, we created our adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to represent our understanding.

Theme book

In this milestone, we analyzed and investigated Shakespeare’s purposed message then connect critically with film adaptations. When I first read Romeo and Juliet, I had no idea what Shakespeare is talking about in his play; however, I manage to understand the meaning and the message with the help of my friends. Meanwhile, I also found it challenging to compare and connect film adaptations with the original script. The adaptations are diverse and different from the original script, which made similarities and differences not so appealing. Overall, I am proud of my work because I have grown and learned a lot through the challenges and difficulties. If I have to do this again, I would look for the professionals’ comments because their points of view are often valuable. I would also look for directors’ and writers’ intentions when creating the adaptions because it would give me a more complete understanding when I compare and connect it.

Video

After we had a firm understanding of the five acts of Romeo and Juliet, we started to create our own video. Creativity and originality were our two main focuses in this milestone; our main goal when creating this video was to demonstrate our understanding and apply it to modern society. Because the first semester was ending, we only had two to three classes to plan, film and edit the video. Surprisingly, everyone in my team worked well under pressure. We didn’t face any obstacles when we film the video; however, it took us a significant amount of time just to export and edit the video. Although we have done a great job, I don’t believe it is perfect. If we have to do this video again we would probably:

Organize our story flow
Adjust audio to the same volume
Include more props and costumes
Record different point of views
Enhance our emotions when acting

At the start of this unit, I thought Romeo and Juliet were non-sense and had nothing to do with us; however, my paradigms have shifted after studying it in detail. I can relate to the characters in Romeo & Juliet and appreciate the hard work Shakespeare put into his plays. Without Shakespeare, our ideology and philosophies should never be complete.

Reference

Shakespeare’s Words

Shakespeare FAQ

Shakespeare adaptions

Shakespeare’s Influence in theatre

Shakespeare’s Influence in Arts and Music

Thank you for your time

MPol 2022

Posted on January 31, 2022 by jonathanhs under mPol

Did I reach my learning goals for this year? How much have I grown throughout semester 1? Since the first semester had ended, it’s now the time to summarize everything I learned from the first semester. In our blog post today, I will be enhancing my learning journey and reflecting on my growth as a learner.

The Three units

Think you can do better?

Main Growth: Personal and Social Awareness
In this unit, we investigate issues in Canada’s social, economic and political system to launch a solution to solve the issue. We created political parties and aim to make Canada a better place. Not only did we learn about politics, but this unit also brought us awareness of the current issue and inspired us to problem solve.
Self Evaluation: B+

Ology of Apology

Main Growth: Communication
In this unit, we studied Canada’s past wrongs and discrimination of minority groups. At the same time, we design our memorial to spread the story and its significance so they will never happen again in the future. By linking past to present, we can prevent mistakes from happening, bring improvements and shape our world into a better place.
Self Evaluation: A-

Romeo and Juliet

Main Growth: Creative Thinking
In this unit, we investigated the five acts of Romeo and Juliet and learn Shakespeare’s purposed message. We studied and analyzed different film adaptations and created our version of Romeo and Juliet that will appeal to modern audiences. Learning Romeo and Juliet allows us to have a stronger appreciation of the arts and encourage us to think creatively.
Self Evaluation: B

Overall Growth

Throughout this semester, I have developed solid communication and critical thinking skills. Valid evidence of my growth is the exhibition night; I have shared the story of Japanese Internment with over 30 people, which enlarged my comfort zone of public speaking & communicating. Meanwhile, the political party we created, the Hippopotamus Party of Canada, significantly contributed to my growth of critical thinking. Through inspecting and identifying issues in our society, we would have a deeper understanding by judging critically. On the other hand, I believe there are spaces for improvements in terms of creative thinking. Although I consider the design of our memorial to be creative, my political ad and Romeo and Juliet film lacked creativity. To develop my creativity, I am looking forward to learning more about Maker 10 in the second semester.

Goal vs Reality — Taking Actions

At the start of this school year, I have set a goal for myself: to reach 93%. Unfortunately, I have not yet reached that goal. Compared to my self-evaluation, there’s a 10% gap between reality and my learning goal; however, I will not set a lower expectation for myself. To achieve my goals, I will:

Read more books and articles
Study ahead
Learn from past mistakes
Dynamically track my learning progress
Communicate with teachers to know expectations
Actively ask for feedbacks

If you have any suggestions or advice, please let me know.

At last, I would like to thank everyone who supported me on my learning journey; especially the teachers and my parents who helped me overcome challenges after challenges. Without the help and support, I would never accomplish what I have today.

Thank you for your time

Ology of Apology

Posted on January 6, 2022 by jonathanhs under History, Ology of Apology

How can we stop history from repeating itself? In this unit, we were studying Canada’s past wrongs and aiming to create a public memory so past wrongs never happen again. At the same time, I have gained new skills and had unique experiences with PLP. Moreover, I have learned to view things from multiple perspectives to make a fair judgement. Today, I will be telling you about my ology of apology and sharing my learning journey with you.

Answer to the driving question

So let’s answer the driving question of this unit first: How can we create a public memory of past wrongs so they are remembered and not repeated today? After studying this unit and reading many articles, I believe there are three essential factors to create an effective public memory. They are official apology, memorial and education.

1. Official Apology

(Picture Source)

An official apology is significant when issuing past wrongs. The apology is essential because it has the function of healing the harm and rebuilding relationships. It symbolizes the recognition and acknowledgment of wrongdoings; at the same time, it committed not to repeat past wrongs . Many consider the official apology as the beginning of a new era. Although apologies can heal and repair relationships, they can also be harmful. If an apology is insincere, it can damage the relationship furthermore.

What makes an effective apology?

When making an apology, there are many things to be aware of. After all, I have summarized some factors that will contribute to an effective apology. Which is taking responsibility, being proactive with non-verbal communications and delivering a specific improvement plan for the future.

Taking Responsibility

One of the most important characteristics that contribute to an effective apology is taking responsibility. Taking responsibility means recognizing and acknowledging the negative impacts that were caused by the offender. This can often lead to a stronger willingness to take actions repairing the harm. On the other hand, looking for excuses is perhaps the worst thing you can do when making an apology as it is a sign of insincerity

Being Proactive Non-verbal Communications

(Picture Source)

Although you may not believe so, body language is an essential factor when delivering an apology. Most experts agree that 70-90% of our communication is non-verbal. In other words, your body language, eyes contact, tones, etc… carry out much more messages than your words. Through non-verbal communication, people can easily decode what you are saying and sense your emotion and that’s why we need to be aware of it when delivering an apology.

A Specific Improvement Plan for the Future

“An Apology Without Change is Manipulation” To fundamentally solve the problem, a specific improving plan is often required in an effective apology. Instead of dwelling on the past, it is more meaningful to think about the future. The offender should explain how the improvement plan can prevent a similar event from happening again; at the same time, the improvements plan should include measurable changes to determine its effectiveness.

2. Memorial

(Iwo Jima Memorial)

The concept of memorials is easy to understand. They are built to remind people of events that happened in past and connect it to the present. At the same time, memorials can heal affected groups and bring positive effects to our society. Although it is sad when tragic incidents happen, a memorial can allow us to respect their sacrifice and celebrate our well-lived lives.

What determines the effectiveness of a memorial?

Overall, the factors that affect the effectiveness of a memorial fall into two categories: physical and spiritual appearance.

Physical Appearance: Physical appearance determines how much attention it can get from people. Some examples can be location, size, designing and colour. As memorials are built to spread an event’s significance, it would not be effective if they can not appeal to their targeted audience.

Spiritual appearance: Spiritual appearance determines how significant the memorial is to society. The feelings and emotions that are passed to the audiences are examples that fall into this category. A memorial with a strong spiritual appearance should be able to heal some harm of the affected group; at the same time, it should create a central place to visit and encourage visitors to revisit.

3. Education Systems

(Picture Source)

The education system plays a significant role in creating a public memory. As time goes by, we will repeat history when future generations forgot about it. Through studying history, we can shape and develop our society better and develop a better understanding of the world. As a student myself, I appreciate having the opportunity to know what happen in past because that allows me to learn from the mistakes made in past. However, this would never happen without a truthful education system.

How do we learn from the past?

It is important to understand some information can be misleading as it may contain the author’s biased opinions. That’s why it’s beneficial to make your ethical judgements. In brief, ethical judgements are judgements you believe are the most justifiable after considering all the perspectives and possibilities. Usually, primary sources will be stronger pieces of evidence than reports and articles as they reflect the situation better. In the process of making ethical judgements, you will develop a new way to view the world and enhance your critical thinking skills.

Overall, I realized all of the factors have been included when our government redress past wrongs. Whether it is Chinese Head Tax, Japanese Internment or the Komagata Maru incident, they have all got these factors to create public awareness.

Reflection

In the end, I would like to share with you my growth and learning in this unit. Throughout this unit, field studies and exhibitions have helped us the most on our learning journey.

The Impacts of Field Studies

It is amazing how we have six field studies in this unit, especially during the pandemic. Through field studies, we have learned in detail about Canada’s history of discrimination and understand what life was like under a racist government. The experience we have in field studies allows us to learn faster and easier; at the same time, the memorials we saw set up great examples for us to build our memorials. Field study is relevant because it allows students to gain a deeper understanding through the extension of the curriculum; furthermore, it encourages the growth of curiosity and critical thinking.

Exhibition

One of the most important goals in this unit is to create public memories by applying what we have learned previously. My group got Japanese Internment as our topic to create public memory. Although we understand the story and its significance, we did not know how to put it in its best form to make it outstanding. After brainstorming, we finally came up with the house design. The idea was to show the difference in living conditions between white Canadians and Japanese Canadians. You may be wondering how are we doing to do that. The house would be specialized into two floors, the white Canadians would be living on the top floor with luxury while crowded Japanese Canadians would be starving underground.

(Art work done by Ryan)

As we started building the house, it was only two days away from the exhibition night. It seemed to be impossible to pull everything together within such a short time; however, the power of collaboration has proved that wrong. Through communications, everyone’s responsibility became clear which increased our productivity. Because of everyone’s efforts and dedication, we were able to have everything ready before the exhibition.

Thankfully, everything went well on the exhibition night. We were able to explain in detail to our visitors what Japanese internment is as well as our memorial ideas. But there are surely spaces for improvements. I realized we were missing our group banner, which caused some confusion for visitors; meanwhile, our storyline and pictures could be bigger for better visualization. Most importantly, I did not practice presenting our script and ideas enough, which lead to poor body language and poor storytelling. But overall, I have enjoyed the process and I believe we have done a decent job.

Looking back, it was a meaningful unit throughout my PLP learning journey. I have learned a lot in communicating, critical thinking and critical thinking. Lastly, I would like to thank Ms. Willemse & Ms. Huges for the effort they have given us to make this wonderful unit possible.

References

Special Thanks to

PLP

Jakub. H

Liam. E

Ryan. U

and You!

Chinese’s Contribution to Canada

Posted on December 5, 2021 by jonathanhs under History, Ology of Apology

Throughout Canadian history, Chinese immigrants had played a significant role in the development of the nation. In this post, I will unveil BC’s history of Chinese discrimination and how Chinese immigrants had completely changed Canada

Why did the Chinese Residents want to migrate to Vancouver

In brief, they were seeking a better life for their families. The Qing dynasty in China was incapable to rule the country, causing many economic and social issues; on the other hand, many people wanted to come to BC because of the gold rush. As larger ships were invented, people in Asia could come to Vancouver and the west coast efficiently and safely. They thought BC had plenty of gold and everyone would be rich if they could migrate to Canada. However, that was not the case. Although seldom did people become rich because of the gold rush, many people only ended up with disappointment. Meanwhile, the Canadian government was planning to build a huge railway across the country to transport people and resources more efficiently. This national project will cost a large amount of steel, time, and labour. This project offered a working opportunity for many people who did not become rich because of the gold rush.

(Picture Source)

Early Immigrants & the CPR Railways

Ever since the railway construction started, Chinese discrimination seemed to be appealing. Chinese workers were paid 1$ or less while white workers can earn 2$ or more doing the job; they took higher risks to explode dynamites, which was the most dangerous part of building railways. Moreover, the working conditions were never healthy, and employers would not pay them if they died.

The Canadian government faced a challenge as they were planning out the railway path. The Rocky Mountains were on their way, and it would be extremely dangerous to bomb through. A potential way to build the railway was to go around the mountains. This would guarantee work safety for railway workers, but it would be more expensive and take a longer time. On the other hand, one solution was to go straight through the Rocky Mountains. It would be cheaper and faster to build; however, workers’ safety was not considered in this situation.

(From Knowledge — British Columbia Untold Histoty)

To save money, the Canadian government chose to follow the second method. Although this method could save time and resources, it put many Chinese workers in danger at the same time. However, many Chinese workers did not understand how dangerous their task was. Among the 10,000 to 12,000 Chinese men who participate to build the railway, around 1,200 died on the railway and had their bodies shipped back to China to be buried.

“They say there was one dead Chinese man for every mile of that track”

Finally, the railway across eastern Canada and British Columbia was completed in 1885. It brought significant improvements to transportation and communication across Canada; at the same time, it contributed to the growth of Canada’s economy and the development of new cities. The Canadian government held “The Last Spike” ceremony at Craigellachie to mark and celebrate the completion of the railway; however, there were no Chinese workers at the ceremony. They were not invited to the ceremony; furthermore, after working and living expenses, many Chinese workers were in debt and broke. Since the railway was completed, Canada did not want Chinese labourers anymore. They viewed Canada as a “white” country, so the government wanted to block more Chinese people from coming. Therefore, they passed the Chinese immigration act and the head tax era began.

The Chinese Immigration Act & the Formation of Chinatown

In 1885, just a few months after the railway was completed, the Federal government passed the Chinese immigration act. It means all Chinese immigrants had to pay a 50$ head tax to migrate to Canada. (50$ in 1885 is equivalent to approximately 1,400$ today) No other groups in Canada were taxed because of their origin. The Federal government wanted to discourage Chinese immigrants from coming; however, it wasn’t as successful as they planned out. Meanwhile, in 1886, as the Chinese population was growing, the Canadian government zoned out an area for Chinese residents to live. Chinese residents could only buy or own property in that area, where we now call Chinatown. In the first year, only 90 Chinese residents were living in the neighbourhood, but the population grew rapidly as more immigrants arrived in Vancouver. The Canadian government then increased the head tax to the regulate Chinese population in BC. The head tax was 100$ in 1900 and reached 500$ in 1903 (which is worth 15,715 today). Although the head tax penalty was insanely high, it was still worth paying for many people. As a result, the Chinese population tripled during the head tax era, from 13,000 to 39,517. In total, the Canadian government had earned around 24,000$ off head tax, roughly the same as the cost to build the CPR railway.

(Chinese Head Tax Certificate — Picture Source)

A Harsher Solution: Exclusion Act

As the politicians realized the head tax did not stop Chinese men from coming, they decided to fundamentally stop the Chinese from coming. On July 1st, 1923, a new Chinese immigration act was published, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese exclusion act stated that Chinese immigrants, except students and merchants, could no longer immigrate to Canada. From white people’s point of view, it was an astounding success. Fewer than 50 people were allowed entry during the exclusionary era. The Chinese population decreased by 25% and essentially stopped the Chinese communities from growing. However, it was a whole other story if you look from Chineses’ point of view. All Chinese residents became “bachelors” and many of them lost their purpose of immigrating to Canada. 80% of the Chinese immigrants had their families back in China and they planned to bring them here; however, the exclusion act would separate them apart. But the Chinese discrimination in Canada did not stop with the Exclusion act.

Chinese Discriminations & Resilience

It was never easy for Chinese men to live in Canada. They could not live outside Chinatown; their career life was limited, which they could only take low status or high-risk jobs; moreover, many of them were heavily in debt because of the head tax and living expenses. They had only partial, if any, citizenship even though they had paid their head tax. They faced personal attacks from the white community every day. Many white people believed Chinatown was a dangerous place to be in; they believed there was a tunnel for Chinese men to deal with illegal drugs. However, non of their beliefs were factual. Chinatown in Vancouver was safer than many cities in BC. Although the situation for the Chinese was never friendly, they managed to protect their community and fight for their rights. For some examples…

Ex. Sam Kee Building

In 1903, Sam Kee purchased the standard size lot of the Sam Kee Building. But in 1912, the Canadian government planned to widen Pender Street, which a huge amount of Sam Kee building would be torn down. Although Sam Kee did not agree to anything, his land was expropriated anyways. The lot he owned became four feet and eleven inches wide. Many people considered the lot to be useless, but Sam Kee was determined to rebuild his business with four feet wide lot. He renovated and redesigned the building; moreover, he developed a basement and extended his business area. It was one of the most creative buildings in Vancouver’s Chinatown. To this date, the Sam Kee Building is the narrowest building around the world based on the Guinness Book of Records.

(Sam Kee Building — Picture Source)

Ex. WWII

On December 25, 1941, Hong Kong had been fully captured by Imperial Japan. It was significant and devastating news for both Canada and Chinese Canadians. Since Hong Kong was an essential communicating club between North America and China, the situation in China was unknown to the Allies. Up to around 600 Chinese Canadian volunteered to serve in the war. They fought for their right and respect; They fought for China and Canada; they fought for what they deserved: a better life.

(Picture Source)

Ex. Freeway protest

Last but not least, the freeway fight. In the 1960s, Vancouver’s historic Chinatown was at risk of being redeveloped. The government planned to build a freeway across Chinatown, they planned to transform Chinatown and nearby historical communities into modern communities. They believed this plan would make Vancouver a “Livable” city; however, many Chinese Canadians strongly disagree with the idea. Chinese Canadians viewed the Chinatown community as “home” since the Chinese were limited in Chinatown for many years. They believed these historical communities should be protected, so many Chinese residents went on protest. However, what stopped the government from building the freeway wasn’t just the protest; it was the lack of money to build the freeway. Although that’s being said, the freeway protest did play a significant role in protecting historical communities.

(Picture Source)

Redress and Official Apology

The exclusion act was finally abolished in 1947. The Chinese Immigration Act had banned the entry of Chinese immigrants for over 24 years. However, immigration restrictions based on race and origin were not fully scrubbed until 1967. On June 22, 2006, more than a century since the railway started, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered an official apology to Chinese Canadians.

“Chinese Canadians are making an extraordinary impact on the building of our country. They’ve also made a significant historical contribution despite many obstacles. That’s why, as I said during the election campaign, the Chinese Canadian community deserves an apology for the head tax and appropriate acknowledgement and redress.” Stephen Harper made this statement in a news conference, 2006.

He offered “symbolic payments” of 20,000$ to 20 surviving head taxpayers; however, it was disappointing for many people because there was no compensation for the descendants of the head taxpayers. The Conservatives promised they would spend 34 million dollars on programs of various groups that suffered from discrimination. Many people believed this official apology was significant because it recognized wrongdoing in the past and adjust it. However, not many head taxpayers were lucky enough to receive the official apology.

Significance

Chinese Canadians had made a huge contribution to Canada as a nation, whether through railway constructions, head tax payments or serving in WWII. Through the efforts of many people, Chinese Canadians brought more equality and justice to Canada. I admire all early immigrants who faced racism and yet fought for their life. As we visit Chinatown in the future, we should remember what had happened in history and never repeat them.

References:

Canadian Pacific Railway:

The Canadian Encyclopedia — Canadian Pacific Railway

Coquitlam Heritages — The Legacy of Chinese Railroad Workers

The Canadian Encyclopedia — The Last Spike Ceremony

Family.Org — The Chinese Railroad Workers (More Videos Explaining Working Condition )

Immigration and Exclusion Act

Human Rights — The Chinese Head Tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act

The Canadian Encyclopedia — Chinese Head Tax in Canada

Wikipedia — Head Tax in Canada

Chinatown Formation

SFU — Vancouver Chinatown 1886~2011

Vancouver Council Report

Areavibes — Crime Rate in Chinatown

TrueNorthFarEast — Chinese Canadian in WWII

Wikipedia — Sam Kee Building

The Guardian — Freeway Protest

Apology and Redress

The Globe and Mails — PM Offers Apology and Symbolic for Chinese Head Tax

Thank you for your time

Komagata Maru— What is it & Why is it important to you?

Posted on November 8, 2021 by jonathanhs under History, Ology of Apology

Overview of the Komagata Maru Incident

Komagata Maru is a ship that carried the hopes of many immigrants who wanted to live in Canada. The passengers were mainly south Asian, among the group, many people contributed to the British empire through a series of battles and wars. They dreamed of a better life living in Canada. They thought they would be welcomed because Canada was also a British subject. However, their dream did not come true because of racism and they were forced to sail back to India.This incident became a significant factor that influence Indians to unite and fight against British empire. In this post, I will explain in detail how the Komagata Maru incident happened and why it matters.

How Did It Happen?

Background

In 1908, the Canadian government passed the continuous passage act, which required every immigrant to have an uninterrupted journey from their origin of birth to Canada. This act is preventing immigrants from coming from Asia because they believed in white supremacy. In other words, they believed that Canada is a “white” country. To present their biased opinions formally to the British government, they decided to pass this law because they knew no ship can directly come to Canada from Asia and the Middle East. But after six years, Komagata Maru arrived at Vancouver’s harbour, challenging this unfair act.

(Immigration Act: Picture Source)

How Did the Journey Start

Baba Gurdit Singh, the leader of this journey, rented a coal-transport steam ship, also known as Komagata Maru. He persuaded hundreds of hopeful passengers to join his journey to immigrate to Canada. They sailed from Hong Kong and stopped at ShanHai, Moji and Yokohama before heading to Canada. More passengers join the journey looking for a better life when they stopped by. Most of the passengers were men and almost all of them were Punjabi. Although Gurdit Singh and the passengers were aware of the continuous passage act, he had reasons to believe they can immigrant to Canada because, in 1913, a BC lawyer successfully argued in the court against these provisions, which enhanced their faith. Baba Gurdic Singh decided to challenge the act by sailing to Canada because he hoped to open the door of imagination from India to Canada. He wanted to fight against the racist laws for South Asian people. With this hope, they sailed across the Pacific Ocean to Canada.

(Baba Gurdit Singh: Picture Source)

Arrival and Treatment

On May 23, 1914, the ship Komagata Maru along with its 376 passengers arrived at Vancouver’s harbour. But to their surprise, the immigration officer didn’t allow the ship to dock. Their entry was denied because they did not have an uninterrupted journey to Canada. The local South Asian community quickly organized, they formed the “Shore Committee”. They raised funds to hire a lawyer, J. Edward Bird, to speak for people on Komagata Maru. However, the condition on the ship was getting worst. The Canadian government ignored passengers’ requests for food and clean water. The Shore Committee donated some food and water to make their living possible, but it was far from enough. Although the Shore Committee had tried its best, the Canadian government refused to back down. The governemt continuously asked the Komagata Maru to sail back to India, as soon as possible. It was obvious that the chance to immigrate to Canada was low.

(Komagata Maru and Its Passengers: Pictures Source)

Retreat to India and the Consequences

On July 23rd, exactly two months after its arrival, Komagata Maru and its passengers were forced to sail back to India. There were only seldom people who have previously lived in Canada were allowed in. When they sailed back to India, many British police officers were waiting for them. The British government viewed the Komagata Maru incident as a rebellion against the British government. The British police fired at the passengers, 20 people died and injured nine people. Many passengers who survived gun violence were arrested and imprisoned in, but some managed to flee away

Official Apology from the Canadian Government

In 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a formal, full apology at the House of Commons for the Komagata Maru incident. He apologized for the role the Canadian government played in the Komagata Maru incident. “Canada’s government was, without question, responsible for the laws that prevented these passengers immigrating peacefully and securely” The government finally apologized for the Komagata Maru incident, more than a century after the arrival of Komagata Maru

(Picture Source)

Why Does the Official Apology Matter?

Although the official apology from the Canadian government is late, but it was still important for South Asian community. Recognize the wrongdoing in past and adjust it for future is the reason why many people believe an official apology matters. A formal apology from the federal government will prevent negative effects from growing, such as white supremacy.

Why Should We Remember the Komagata Maru Incident

The Komagata Maru is relevant to us because it demonstrates the importance of equality. As a nation, understanding and remembering what happened in the past will help us build a better future for the next generation. If everyone knows this story and understands its significance, we can prevent all forms of racism. As a immigrant, I can relate to this incident and understand its significance. To this date, Canada have over eight million immigrants, roughly 21.5 percent of the total population. In fact, Canada have one of the immigrants highest rate per population among the world. But this can never happen without Komagata Maru and its 376 passengers. Racism and inequality that caused this incident should be remembered and never repeat it again. The story of Komagata Maru should be passed down to future generations and never be forgotten

References

Reflecting on the Komagata Maru Apology

The racial legacy of Komagata Maru

CTV News— The Komagata Maru apology

Thank you for your time

Summary of the Politics Unit, Why Does this Unit Matter?

Posted on October 29, 2021 by jonathanhs under Government & Politics

Why Does this Politics Unit Matter?

Throughout this unit, I have learned a lot of concepts, ideas and skills. But it is more than politics, government and the subject matter in itself. I have developed my core competencies skills such as critical thinking and communication; I learned how to investigate issues and design a solution for them; furthermore, I can launch my solution by collaborating with others and influencing the world. In this post, I will be reflecting on my learning and sharing with you my learning journey throughout this unit.

Answer to Driving Question

(Picture Source)

Let’s start with the driving question of this unit: How should we govern ourselves? Although you might think this question has nothing to do with you, but it is constantly influencing your everyday life. After reading many articles, I believe the answer to the question of “How should we govern ourselves” is healthy competitions.

How Does Healthy Competition Relate to My Learning Journey?

Overall, the idea of healthy competitions can occur in every project I do.

Let us take “Is there any issue with our political system” as an example, I was investigating issues with our election system and designing solutions. Because of democratic nature of our government, anyone can form a new party and design solutions to improve our nation. This is a type of healthy competition.

Take a look at the Press Release milestone, this is more interesting. Hippopotamus encourages businesses to compete fairly and freely. As one out of the many political parties in Canada, we need to be very thoughtful with our messaging and communication as we are competing to win the vote.

But Now, What Does Healthy Competition Mean?

I would like to spend a minute to explain my view on competition. In general, there are two types of competitions, healthy competition and unhealthy competition. The difference between the two types of competitions is based on how the competitors see it. Healthy competitions want participants to focus on personal improvements, contributions to the environment or the journey of their learning; On the other hand, unhealthy competition want participants to only focus on the outcome at all cost. Some may focus on getting recognizability or attention from others.

Outcome of healthy and unhealthy competitions

Healthy competitions lead towards:

Advancing the entire field or organization
Unlocking personal potential
Honouring mutually held values
Points to inspirational examples

While unhealthy competitions lead towards:

Fear and scarcity
Focusing on validation and attention
Diminishing others
Winning at all costs

(Learn more about the two competitions)

But Why Do We Need Competitions?

Competitions can be beneficial in many categories, such as politics, economics, biology and even education.

Biology: Competition plays a significant role in biology, specifically species adaptations. Through natural selection, species and organisms compete, which eliminates organisms that are weak or do not fit into the environment. Competition in biology is important because it forces species adaptation, leading to the betterment of the environment. (Click Here to Learn More)

Politics: One of the important principles for us to be democratic is free and fair elections. With that in mind, we will never have just one political party. Political competition is important because it will produce better candidates and political parties in the process of competing with each other. (Click Here to Learn More)

Economics: Competitions in the market is essential because it boosts up productivity, encourage innovation and at the same time it lowers the cost for consumers. In other words, competition among businesses can bring up innovative technologies for the betterment of our society. (Click Here to Learn More)

Education: For kids, competitions allow them to learn faster, think deeper, and have a better performance. At the same time, it teaches kids to manage their nerves and know competition does not have to be feared. In brief, competition can simulate real-world for kids and allow them to prepare earlier. (Click Here to Learn More)

In general, competitions bring benefits, such as:

Greater productivity and efficiency
Economic developments and growth
Higher product quality and innovations
And more…

With these benefits in mind, competitions are essential for our society. We will grow and adapt faster with competitions, so that is why building up a healthy environment for competition.

Reflecting on My Journey

Throughout this unit, there are four important milestones: election result, statement of intent, press release, and campaign video.

Milestone #1: Election Results

In this milestone, I investigate issues with the current election system and develop potential solutions for it. One of the most important skills I learned in this milestone is problem-solving, which is an essential ability in real life. The knowledge I learned through this milestone can be used again when I study more about society. Politics is only one factor that influences our society, when I study more about other factors, such as economics, I will be able to make the connection between them. The skill of problem-solving will be used again when I discover issues that concern people, which can be useful in the real world. Looking back, I struggled through this project. Maybe some people will say I have done a decent job, but I know it is not enough. To do better next time, I can read more books and listen to podcasts to improve my knowledge and communication skill; I will make sure references make sense and they are relevant. I will prepare ahead because I know I need more time to study.

Milestone #2: Statement of Intent

In this milestone, I collaborate with my political party to publish the purpose of our party. It was an interesting milestone because it stimulates how political party functions and how elections happen. At the same time, we learn to persuade people and explain our beliefs. These skills can be beneficial because it encourages leadership and allow us to better communicate with others. These skills can be used again when we are communicating with others. By answering the question “why should people believe in you?”, we need to earn trust and respect from others. Looking back, I found a pattern of how we completed this milestone. To be specific, we first find issues that concern Canadians the most. Then, we shared our opinions, and we gave each other feedback. Last, we merge similar ideas and write out the solution based on ideas and research. As a member of the HPC team, I can share my point of view with others with a full explanation. At the same time, I encourage others to share their ideas as well. If we do this milestone again, we can do better by organizing our thoughts and belief into a poster so people can understand us better. We will also focus to explain in detail how we will achieve our goals and promises. As a political party, HPC should advertise itself to let more potential HPC voters know about this party.

Milestone #3: Press Release

In this milestone, we write a blog post explaining in detail why should people vote for your party and not others. This is interesting, but also important because through this milestone we need to show statistics and evidence instead of just sharing our idea. This milestone relates to the last one because it is like an adaptation that we need to organize, communicate, and back up our beliefs with evidence at the same time. Through this project, I learned the importance of statistics and evidence which will be used every time I present a project, product or myself. As the first milestone, the most significant thing I do is research. But in this milestone, I can identify which data or information is more reliable on the internet. I would say there are some improvements between this milestone and the first one, but it is still not enough. My expectations for myself are always on a high level because I know better is possible (NDP slogan) I agree with the teacher’s suggestion that I need to narrow down the topic and focus on it. This will lead to a deep and thoughtful blog post.

Milestone #4: Campaign Video

In this milestone, we take the previous milestone to launch a final video of our political party. I look through many political ads from liberals, such as Relentless, Forward, Real change now because their ads are good examples to make a campaign video. This milestone can be difficult because we are aiming for their trust within two minutes only, but at the same time it is also important because it is a great opportunity to enhance our communication skills. The experience of this milestone can be used to give the audience a stronger, more powerful visual effect. But it is more than that. As we record the video, we understand the importance of teamwork. Through this milestone, we collaborate better than before and collaboration is one of the most important life skills, especially when you belong to an organization. As I reflect on this milestone, I realized the pattern we used to complete this video. We start with the question “How will the final video look like?”, such as the themes, script, location, etc…. Then we fill our draft with action and preparation. Last, we collaborate to make this difficult milestone possible. Overall, I believe we have done a good job with this milestone. At the same time, I know we can do better by having more clips and introducing graphics and statistics. To this point, I believe we, as a political party, should aim to be as professional as other parties.

Developments in Core Competencies

(Picture Source)

When I was reflecting and summarizing my learning, I realized my learning and growth can be represented through all the six core competencies above.

Communication: Communication is shown throughout the press release project. As a team, we need to communicate with each other our thoughts or ideas; As a political party, it is essential to communicate our purpose and goals with everyone to get their votes. Although we can have different points of view, we can work with each other without conflict, and that is the art of communication. I know I can improve in this field because I sometimes have conflict with others when sharing opinions. If I can redo this project again, I will think more about others’ feeling before I comment.

Creative Thinking: When we did the press release of our party, the question “What makes you unique” challenged us the most. We brainstorm ideas and plans that will separate us from other parties, and many innovative ideas came up. And it is that moment I realized this question push us towards creativity and critical thinking at the same time. I can say with confidence, without creative thinking we will not be able to reach what we have done. I know I can improve in this field because sometimes I lack creativity to write or to create a solution. Next time if I face similar projects, I will encourage myself to think outside the box.

Critical Thinking: When we were doing the first milestone, we need to question and investigate the current political system. At the same time, we developed and design solutions to solve that issue. For me, it was difficult to design a solution that can perfectly solve the issues, without any consequences. Throughout the first project, critical thinking plays a significant role to challenge us to think deeper. I realized afterwards that I spent more time than I needed to develop solutions, so I will train myself to do deeper thinking everyday to improve it.

Positive Personal and Cultural Identity: Looking back, I realized I used my strength, such as investigating, designing, and organizing, to help the team. I generate and organize ideas to keep us on track, at the same time, I encourage others to share their opinions as well. Through this project, I can find other people’s strengths as well. Without one of us, I do not believe we will achieve our goals. After all, I realize we would have done better in this field if I enhance our group vision and culture.

Personal Awareness and Responsibilities: When I was doing the first project for the first time, I did not do as well as I expected. I know by looking through my classmates’ work, that I am no match with them. Although this is frustrating, I was determined to catch up with them. I read many articles and worked till my body cannot endure more. I regulate myself so I can hand my work in on time. Overall, I believe I need to enhance my self-determination so I can handle frustrations better.

Social Responsibility: As we are making the final product, we had many unique thoughts and plans from each other, and we valued the diversity of ideas. Although it could be hard to include all ideas, we manage to merge ideas peacefully. When it comes to the final recording, we bring everything the video needs to contribute to the final product. Throughout this project, we can save a lot of time if we focus more on the question “how can we contribute to the team”.

Finally, I would like to thank PLP for giving me this opportunity to participate in this program. I have learned a lot from this unit. The process of traversing these thoughtful milestones made me a better person.

Thank you for your time

Hippopotamus Party Vowed to Build a Better Economy for Canada

Posted on October 12, 2021 by jonathanhs under Government & Politics

(Logo of Hippopotamus Party of Canada)

Did you know Canada is ranked the best country in the world? With political and economic stability, public safety, and a low employment rate, Canadians can enjoy quality of life and freedom. We have a chance of a life time to become the global leader. This doesn’t mean we don’t have issues to solve to get there, few examples are:

Housing Affordability

Housing price is a significant issue in Canada. In fact, house price had grown faster than income over years; An Oxford report discovered that house is 30% more expensive than an average income citizen can afford. Moreover, Canada has the world’s second highest housing risk. Housing issues affect many of our citizens today. This must be solved and not be passed down to future generations

(Picture Source: Rocketmortgage )

Taxes

In the recent highest tax country survey, Canada ranked #9 globally. As a result of changes to Canada’s personal income tax system, the combined federal and provincial top personal income tax rate has increase in every province since 2009. These increase have significant consequences, hindering economic growth and prosperity.

(Picture Source: Herefordgroup)

National Debt

In total, National debt in 2019 reach up to 2.4 trillion. The consequence of growing national debt is well summarized in this article:

– Lower national savings and income

– Higher interest payments, leading to large tax hikes and spending cuts

– Decrease ability for government to respond to problems(such as wars, financial crisis or natural disasters)

– Greater risk of a fiscal crisis

(Picture Source: Here)

What Makes Hippopotamus Party of Canada Unique?

Unlike all other parties, we are founded by a group of teenagers who are interested in changing our country for a brighter future.

A Hippopotamus government will:

– Decrease house price by 50% within 4 years.

– Decrease taxes by 15% so you and your family can have more money to spend on family, child education, cars, and more.

– Minimize and cut national debt

– Bring prosperity through developments of new industry

– Push back against COVID crisis by creating more job opportunities

Our plans

Housing Issue

Housing crisis is continuously growing and we have a solution. The reason house is so expensive is because house demands is higher than supplies. To change that situation, we need better technologies that allows us to build houses fast and safe at the same time. The Hippopotamus Party will introduce innovative technologies like 3D printed homes to fundamentally cut housing crisis.

(Image source: Future.ca)

Tax

We want every Canadian citizen to have financial freedom, so high tax is a problem. Especially during paramedics, we understand many people lost their jobs. The current tax rate is higher than needed, so we will decrease the tax rate so more money can go into your pocket. Along with that, we will to create more job opportunities and push back covid crisis so your life is back on track.

(Picture Source: Siteselction.com)

National Debt

We promise to pay off national debt. To pay off national debt, we will:

– We will allow oil/ gas industry to grow. Although we understand the importance of a healthy environment, but we believe a more qualified life for all Canadian citizens is more important. We believe through the growth of oil and gas industry; it will bring prosperity to our country.

– We will cut social service to save money and use the money to pay it off. Even though could be a pain to cut off some social services, with all the consequences of national debt in mind, it is obviously worth doing

(Picture Source: Promarket)

Why Should you choose us

We know we are young but we believe we can change the world.

The Hippopotamus Party is new Choice

The Hippopotamus Party is new Hope

The Hippopotamus Party is new Sovereignty

To join us, you can contact us through email or comment down below.

How this Relate to My Previous Post?

In the world we live in, there are many issues we need to solve. In the process, it unveils the convolutedness and complexity these issue possess

Learn More About Hippopotamus Party

The Hippopotamus Party of Canada

An average post about a press release

Is There Any Issue With Our Election System?

Posted on September 22, 2021 by jonathanhs under Government & Politics

Is There Any Issue With Our Election System?

As an immigrant from Taiwan, I can tell there are significant differences between elections in Taiwan and Canada. People in Taiwan are a lot more into politics. In fact, voting rates in Taiwan is higher than Canada. Every time there is a new election coming up in Taiwan, you can see groups of people walking around the city, wearing identical t-shirts that represent a party of their choice; you can see trucks driving 24 hours a day around your neighbourhood, playing political ads out loud to get you vote; elections in Taiwan is like a sport or carnival that most adults participate.

(Canada, speech after election)

(Taiwan, speech after election)

I felt like it is a different story in Canada. I didn’t realize we were having election until it was the time to take our student votes. As I studied through government and election system in Canada, I realized there are some differences between election in Taiwan and Canada. Election in Taiwan is based on citizen votes, the candidate who gets most votes wins; election in Canada is based on ridings, which means it is possible to lose an election even if you have more votes. Today I would like to share with you my observations on Canadian election system. But to understand how election functions, we first need to know how the government is structured.

Structure of Government

Candian government can be described as constitutional monarchy (or parliamentary democracy). Constitutional monarchy means we have a king or queen as our head of state, but with limited power. Parliamentary democracy means people can elect government officials to represent them. The word “democracy” comes from Greek. It simply means “rule by people”. Here is an excellent chart from PLP that summarized principles for a democratic government.

For effective management, government is split in to three levels: Federal, Provincial and Municipal. The Federal government handles national issues such as, foreign affairs and trades, national defence, currency, passport and immigration. Members of the Federal level is called member of parliament or MP. The leader of MPs is known as the Prime Minister.

(Picture Source: the Canadian Encyclopedia)

The Provincial government manage regional issues such as education/healthcare delivery, natural resources, and highways. Members of the Provincial level have different names depend on where you live. Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA); Member of Provincial Government (MPP); Member of the National Assembly (MNA); and Member of the House Assembly (MHA). Leader in the Provincial level is called Premier.

(Detail explanation about Legislative Assembly here)

The Municipal government make decisions on local issue, for examples: waste management, local police, public transportation, water supply, and zoning areas. Members of the Municipal level is usually called Counsellor or Alderman. And their leader is the mayor. Under the Federal government, there are in total 13 Provincial governments and 3700 Municipal governments

What is more important than this system is the people behind it. The process of selecting candidates is called election.

Elections

Election happens every four years, but the Prime Minister can call an election any time in that period. Canadian citizens over the age of 18 years old, can vote for a candidate who would best represent their interest. Most of the candidates belong to a party, but they can also be independent as well. Parties are groups of people who have similar belief and want to rule the government. Each party has their own political platform, which communicate with people their goals and point of view. After election, the candidate with most votes in a riding wins election.

Picture Source: https://liberal.ca

Ridings are smaller political zones based on population. In the House of Commons, there are 338 seats, each seat represents a riding. The party with the most seats wins the election and the party’s leader will become the Prime Minister. The entire election system is called “First Past the Post”, also known as FPTP.

(Riding map from Wikipedia)

The Issue with Election System

Let’s go back to our driving question: What is the issue with our election system? More specifically, what is the issue with First Past the Post (FPTP)?

Wasted Votes:

One of the most significant issue is FPTP can misinterpret majority’s voice. Based on the latest election result, Canada had re-elected Justin Trudeau as the Prime Minister. But you might notice Liberals actually had less vote comparing to Conservatives. Here is a diagram that explains what waste votes is about.

(Source from: Favorite.ca)

Same was true for Student Votes Canada 2021. I was surprised how Liberals had won more seats, especially when you compare Liberals to NDP and Conservatives. Another point I found it hard to believe is the Green Party has less seats than Bloc Québécois. As you can see in the chart below, the Green Party had a lot more votes than Bloc Québécois.

(From Student Vote Canada)

How could this happen? Well, it is because Bloc Québécois is more dominant in some riding areas. Under this system, your votes won’t count if you vote for a candidate who didn’t win the election.

Geographical Issues:

Another issue I discover is that different riding represents different number of voters. This could lead to a statement that not all votes are truly equal, because each riding counts as one seat, no matter how many people it represents. One of the most important principles in order for a country to be democratic is free and Fair election. I do not believe this system is fair because it fails to represent what majority is in favour of. This election system is misleading in a sense that majority is defined by elected seats, but not popular votes.

Potential Solutions

We now realized the issues with FPTP, but how do we solve them? The geographical issue could be solved by dynamically adjust riding areas based on population. Except protected groups, we can use AI assist programs to track population in each riding areas, then adjust riding areas based on population. Under this proposal, each riding represent equal number of voters. Which will better represent entire nation’s voice.

Fortunately, there are many thoughtful ideas on how to improve the election system. Here are some video that explains other possibilities to adjust the current election system, such as proportional representation, approval and instant run-off.

(Proportional representation)

(Plurality, Instant Run-off & Approval)

Conclusions

Although the FPTP system is not perfect, government officials are elected by citizens. A significant benefit with a democratic government is that everyone can help to improve the society. Government could also be a platform for us to influence and improve the society. If you are interested about political parties, I have a more detailed post on that. I hope this post gives you a better understanding of how governments and elections function.

References

Governments & Monarchs—By Jordan Lo

Reflecting The Electing—By Amy Sheardown

Election Reflection— Why Canada didn’t Go on GREEN .—By Ryder Oliver- Green

Every Vote Should Matter—By Anders Bergman

An Election Reflection—By Ethan Rae

We Need To Change Canadian Election, Now!—By Quinn Smilgis

Why We Should Ban Lobbying—By Jakub Hoffmann