[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 54 (Monday, April 11, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





   RECOGNIZING ART PING LEE FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DISTRICT OF 
                  COLUMBIA CHINESE AMERICAN COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 11, 2016

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing Art Ping Lee, who has spent 
his career advocating on behalf of the overseas Chinese community.
  Born in Taishan County, Guangdong Province, Mr. Lee immigrated to the 
United States in 1936. After the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, 
only a year after Mr. Lee's arrival in his new home in the District of 
Columbia, Mr. Lee began national fundraising efforts to support the 
Chinese army to resist the invasion of Japan. After World War II, Mr. 
Lee worked tirelessly to assist Chinese families affected by the war. 
Many Chinese families were kept from being reunited with their loved 
ones due to U.S. immigration laws and immigration quotas. Mr. Lee was 
one of the founding members of the National Chinese Welfare Council, in 
1957, which campaigned aggressively for lifting of immigration quotas. 
As a result, 40,000 Chinese immigrants were allowed to enter the U.S. 
every year.
  Mr. Lee has also advocated to enhance and strengthen the relationship 
between the United States and Taiwan. Mr. Lee is a founder of several 
organizations, including the Chinese Youth Club of Washington, D.C., 
the Washington, D.C. Lodge of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, 
and the Lee Federal Credit Union.
  Mr. Lee, who turns 102 this year, continues to contribute to his 
community, where he serves as an Honorary Elder of the Chinese 
Consolidated Benevolent Association of Washington, D.C., a Senior 
Advisor to the Overseas Community Affairs Council of the Republic of 
China (Taiwan), and an Honorary Elder to The Lee Family Association in 
the United States.
  He has received the Hua Kuang Medal, First Class, which is given by 
Taiwan to Chinese people who have made special contributions in 
overseas Chinese affairs.
  Mr. Lee has an impressive record of service and leadership to 
overseas Chinese communities throughout the United States, particularly 
in the Washington metropolitan area.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
recognizing Mr. Lee and his lifetime of service to the Chinese American 
community in the District of Columbia and for his continued 
contributions and care for the people he serves.

                          ____________________