On June 15, 2018 my UVic colleague Dr. David Chuen-Yan Lai passed away. A memorial gathering was held to celebrate his life on from 2 to 4pm on August 5th at the Chinese Cultural Centre on Pender Street in Vancouver. I had planned to offer a brief tribute to Dr. Lai but I was also participating in the Vancouver Pride Parade. Unfortunately, our position in the parade was such that it was impossible for me to make it there on time.

Below is the brief tribute I had hoped to deliver in celebration of Dr. Lai’s life.

Tribute

It is a great honor and privilege to be gathered here today with all of you to celebrate and remember Dr. David Chuen-Yan Lai.

Dr. Chuen-Yan Lai was an extraordinarily influential member of my community. He’s widely credited as leading the renewal of Canada’s oldest Chinatown in Victoria. His humble, yet articulate and insightful approach to scholarship was an inspiration to his students.

I knew Dr. Lai well as a colleague of his at the University of Victoria. His remarkable legacy of preserving the history and culture of Chinese Canadians was recognized through him being awarded the Order of Canada, the Gabrielle Léger Award of the Heritage Canada Foundation, the Heritage Award of the B.C. government and a Victoria Leadership Award.

From his fight to preserve Victoria’s Chinatown, to influencing countless lives through his days as a professor at the University of Victoria, Dr. Chuen-Yan Lai leaves behind him a legacy to follow, admire and never forget.

Thank you David for all that you did for UVic, The City of Victoria, The Chinese Community in British Columbia and all Canadians.

Your achievements and accomplishments will never be forgotten and we are grateful for your unselfish service for the betterment of our society.