Portrait of Roy Mah, WWII Veteran, Activist, & Chinatown News Founder

Roy Quock Quon Mah (馬國冠), born March 29, 1918, in Edmonton, Alberta, grew up in Victoria, BC. During WWII, he served as a sergeant in Force 136, preparing to lead an all-Chinese-Canadian guerrilla unit. After the war, he was instrumental in the campaign that successfully won voting rights for Chinese Canadians in 1947. From 1944 to 1946, Mah was a labour activist and organizer, successfully recruiting 2,500 Chinese Canadian mill workers into a union. In 1953, he founded Chinatown News (唐人街新聞), the first English-language publication for Canadian-born Chinese, which he edited and published, with the publication remaining active into the 1990s. As its long-time editor and publisher, Roy Mah became the face of Chinese journalism in Vancouver. Recognized for his lifelong contributions, he received the Order of British Columbia in 2003. Roy Mah passed away in 2007.