Chinese drummers celebrate Asian heritage in Chinatown still threatened by developers

Montreal’s Chinese community gathered in Chinatown Saturday to celebrate Asian Heritage Month with a “Drumming for Unity” event to promote diversity, inclusion and world peace.

“Celebrating Asian culture in North America to let people know that we are here, we are Canadians,” said participant Matthew Chan.

“Celebrating Asian heritage is not only the culture, our heritage,” added Jimmy Chan, a community leader. “The most important thing is to remember where we came from, our ancestors. That’s the reason why we’re here today.”

The pandemic has been particularly difficult for Montreal’s Chinese community, with numerous hate crimes and storefronts in Chinatown vandalized.

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Many called Saturday’s event a celebration of strength and unity.

“To fight against racism, discrimination especially during COVID, there was a rise in Asian racism,” said Matthew Chan. “People just started hating Asians, blaming them on the virus, so this is a good event to get people together.”

“Stop the racism, stop hurting each other,” added Noraa Liang, the president of Canada China Culture and Art Exchange Association. “We need love now, we need love together, everybody.”

The group of drummers on Saturday has been drumming together for more than a decade, but they say they haven’t seen each other or drummed together in more than two years.

“We missed each other very much, so today we are very happy to come here,” said drummer Li Hong Zhang.

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With the celebration of heritage came the reminder the important issues faced by the community in Chinatown.

The historic area in Montreal has been threatened by developers, and working groups in the area have been fighting the past several years to save what’s left.

“We have to remember Chinatown is not just for dim sum and bubble tea, Chinatown is a living soul,” said Jimmy Chan.

“People live in Chinatown, the elderly people live in Chinatown because they can’t afford to go anywhere else. But here in Chinatown, it’s the perfect place for them. They get the fresh food and everything, so we need to keep Chinatown alive for the next generation to come.”