Buddha's words

Buddha's words
My inspiration. We are what we think, All that we are arises from our thoughts, With our thoughts we make the world. Photo copyright Sean Duggan

Friday, December 20, 2013

The end of year office party

Dear friends

It has become a tradition for the office to have an end of year semi sporting affair. Last year we had a paintball shootout. A few of the staff still remember their bruises.

This year it was up to Melanie and Meliana to organise the end of year affair.

They decided on The Running Man. Apparently this is a Korean reality TV show where the contestant pit their strength and brains against each other in a team.

The day started with the office being split into green and red teams.

The first game was dodgeball in the park. I was in the red team and we managed a quick 3 sets win against the green team.

We then broke for lunch before going back to the park for a game of tearing each player's name tags from the backs of  the other player. The boys had a go first and the players put on a good fight to stop their tags from being snatched.

Victor was attacked by 3 players but kept his tag.

The next game was between the girls. They had 4 players to a team. Flora who is Junior's partner was in the green team. She had appeared quite shy at the beginning. Junior provides our office IT support and is part of the Tan and Tan team.

When the game started, we saw a different side of the girls on the office. They were going limb for limb with no one holding back. Flora was all aggro to my surprise. Even Annie got into the act aggresively.

The boys joked that we should set the girls on our bad debtors to show how serious they are.

The next game was a contest on how many songs we could sing based on categories suggested by Mel and Mel. It was good to see the team bond.

The day ended with dinner at a Japanese restaurant at Ascot.

It was great to see the team bond. I thanked everyone for their great work during the year.

I am sure they will all continue to excel next year.

The question is what are we going to do next year to celebrate. Bungy jumping maybe?

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Migrant's Night Speech at the WA Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Dear friends

I was honoured to have been invited to be a guest speaker at the WA Chamber of Commerce Migrant's Night. This took place last weekend.

It was hallowing for me as it was to be a bilingual speech. I have never made a speech in Mandarin before in my life. Infact having failed Mandarin in secondary school, it has always been a hard slog for me to communicate with my Mandarin speaking clients. I do however survive.

I had also consciously made a decision about 9 mths ago to improve my Mandarin. To that extent, I have been having Mandarin lessons on the internet with teachers in Beijing and Harbin for over 9 mths.

The lessons are 1 on 1 and I believe I can say that I have made a vast improvement. However, coming back to the speech last week, I did have a bit of time to practise with my Teacher He who is in Harbin. She has been great in teaching me Mandarin and has gone beyond the call of duty many times.

I did survive making the speech. Here is the English and Hanyu Pinyin version of the speech.



Talk to Chinese Chambers members re migration
I grew up in Singapore, the ninth child in a family of ten. My father drove a taxi and my mother was a seamstress. Life was relatively happy although the family was quite poor. Some would say I was a street kid as I spent more time outside of my home than at home. Not much time for parents to care for 9th child.
wǒ zài xīn jiā pō zhǎnɡdà shì yì jiā 10kǒu de dì 9 ɡè hái zi wǒde fùqīn kāi chūzūchēmǔqīn shì cáifénɡSuīrán jiā tínɡ tiáo jiàn bú tài hǎo kě shì wǒmen de shēnɡhuó hěn kaixingYǒu rén huì shuō wǒ shì yí ɡè jiē tóu xiǎo ziyīn wèi wǒ huā le ɡènɡ duō shí jiān zài wài miànFu mu dou mei you shi jian qu zhao gu wo zhe ge pai di jiu de xiao hai.

At 10 years of age I have sold bananas at a Singapore market as an illegal hawker, been a construction laborer at 12 years of age, been a flower delivery man, taught at a primary school, and worked full time as an office boy while attending night school. Served in the army. The list goes on.
10years wǒ zài xīnjiāpō shìchǎnɡ tou tou de màiɡuò xiānɡ jiāo12suìshí zuò ɡuò láo ɡōnɡsònɡɡuòhuāzài xiǎoxué zuòɡuò lǎoshīzài dú yèxiào de shíhou yě zuòɡuò xiǎoɡōnɡDang guo bing. Zhè yànɡ de lì zi hái yǒu hěn duō

My grades were not good enough to go to a college before University as I failed Mandarin as a 2nd language skill. Hence, I had no choice but to work and study at a night school. At that time in my life, Mandarin, as a language, was not important. China was not yet a major power as Europe and America were then the world leaders. How times have changed.
yīnwèi wǒde  pǔ tōnɡ huà bù jíɡé, Wǒde fēn shù bú ɡòu shànɡ zhongxuésuǒ yǐchú le ɡōnɡ zuò hé zài yèxiào xuéxí wǒ miéyǒu biéde xuǎn zéNa ge shi houpǔ tōnɡ huà bú shì hěn zhòng yàoNàshíhou zhōnɡ ɡuó hái bú shì xiànɡ ōu zhōu měiɡuó yíyànɡ de shì jiè qiánɡ ɡuóxiànzài shídài yǐ jīnɡ bu tong leYīnwèi  zhōnɡɡuó yě shì shìjiè qiánɡ ɡuó

I was lucky enough to have my brothers and sisters support me when I was studying in England to be a lawyer.  While studying in England, I first became aware of my lack of Asian identity. That was when I started to find my Asian roots.  
wǒ hěn xìnɡyùn wǒde xiōnɡ dì jiě mèi bānɡzhù wǒ qù yīnɡ ɡuó dú fali zài yīnɡɡuó xuéxí  de shíhou wǒ dì yī cì  fā xiàn wǒ měiyǒu yà zhōu rén de shēn fèn nà shí wǒ kāi shǐ zhǎo wǒ de ɡēn

When I first started practicing in Perth as a lawyer more than 20 years ago, there were maybe 3 other Asian law firms then operating in Perth. One was my brother Charles Tan’s firm. Asian lawyers were definitely not the norm. It was, however, quite common for Australians to use the services of an Asian doctor.
In the last 10 years, Asian lawyers have become more acceptable with an average of 3-4 Asian lawyers being called to the bar each month.
20duō nián qiánwǒ kāishǐ zài pò sī dānɡ lǜshī de shíhoupòsī chà  bù duō yǒu 3jiā yà zhōu lǜshī shìwù suǒ. Qi zhong yi jian shi wo de ge ge Charles Tan kai de. Yàzhōu lǜ shī jué duì búshì hěn liu xing dànshì  dà duō shù  àodàlìyà rén xuǎnzé yàzhōu de yīshēnɡZài  ɡuò qù de 10 nián yà zhōu de lǜ shī yǐ jīnɡ bèi jiē shòuMěi ɡè yuè  pínɡ jūn yǒu 3-4 ɡè yà zhōu ren dang shang lv shi

As Asia becomes stronger, I am sure that Asian lawyers will grow in demand.
Yin wei Yà zhōu biàn de ɡènɡ qiánɡ suo yi wǒ xiānɡ xìn yà zhōu lǜ shī yě huì ɡènɡ shòu huān yínɡ

We are so lucky to be in Australia. I understand why there are boatloads of refugees trying to enter the country.
hěn xìnɡyùn women neng zài àodàlìyà shenghuowǒ mínɡbái le wèi shén me yǒu hěnduō  nàn mín xiǎnɡ  lái  zhè ɡè ɡuó jiā


I still remember migrating to Australia in 1988. It was when Australians had seen a rush of
boat people from Vietnam. Naturally some Australians took a view against anyone who
looked Vietnamese. That covers most Chinese people as well. Jack Van Tongeren and the
Australia Nationalist Movement comes into mind. There were a spate of fire bombings of
Asian restaurants Different ethnic groups have often been discriminated through the
different migration waves.
wǒ hái jìdé 1988nián wǒ yímín dào àodàlìyà nàshí hěnduō yue nan, nanmin  lái àodàlìyàZìrán yìxiē àodàlìyà rén fǎnduì suǒyǒu kànqǐlái xiànɡ yuènánrén de réndānɡrán yě  bao kuo le zhōnɡɡuórénNa ge shi hou Jack Van Togeren hé àodàlìyà mínzú zhǔyì yùndònɡ  chūxiàn leANM yě fànɡhuǒ shāole hěnduō yàzhōu canguǎnBùtónɡ de zhǒnɡzú yìnwèi bùtónɡ de  yímín bèi qíshì

Italians have been targeted, Greeks have been targeted, Vietnamese Asians have been targeted, and now, refugees from the Middle East , Afghanistan  etc.
Australia goes through these waves of discriminations as a natural response to a change in population change. We are after all, all migrants to Australia.
yìdàlì rénxīlà rén yàzhōu rén yǐqián dōushì bèi qíshì de Xiànzài cónɡ zhōnɡdōnɡāfùhàn lái de nànmín yě yíyànɡ bei qishi
zhèshì yìzhǒnɡ zìrán fǎnyìnɡmei yi ci yi min ren kou zeng duo dou hui you zhe zhong qing kuang chu xianwǒmen bìjìnɡ dōushì àodàlìyà de yímín


This brings me to work as a registered migration agent.
I have helped business people migrate to WA. I have helped partners stay in WA with their loved ones. This is some of the work I am most happy to deal with being, a migrant myself.
zhè rànɡwǒ zhǎodào wǒde ɡōnɡzuòzhùcè yímín dàilǐ
ceng jing bānɡzhù yìxiē shang ren yímín dào WA, bānɡzhù fūqī zài WA hé tāmen de àirén yìqǐ shēnɡhuózhèshì wǒ zuì ɡāoxìnɡ zuòde shìyīnwèi wǒ yase yímín
I am now helping a number of migrants with assets of $5 million under Visa class 188 as a significant investor. And guess where most of them are from? That’s right, China.
Xiànzài wǒ zai bang yi xie you 5bǎiwàn ao bi zīchǎnde shang ren tou zi yi min dao aodaliya.  Cāiyìcāi dàduōshù  shì nǎɡuórén? duìle shì zhōnɡɡuó
A question constantly asked is if migration law is boring.

To me, no area of the law is boring. In my years of practice I have seen all aspects of human nature. I was recounting to one of my junior lawyers today of one of my most memorable experiences as a lawyer.
Jing chang you ren wen wo yi min fa shi bu shi hen wu liao.
wǒ juéde suǒyǒu de fǎlǜ dōu yǒuyìsī。Zhe me duo nian de ɡōnɡzuò rang wǒ kàndào le rénxìnɡ de měiɡè fānɡmiànJīntiān wǒ shuō yíɡè cónɡ wǒ zuò lǜshī dào xiànzài zuì yǒuyìsī de kusu

I was asked to represent 3 overseas clients who had all been arrested and detained by the Immigration department as their visa had expired and they were illegally in Australia. The Migration Act allows a detainee in the detention centre to apply to be released on the agreement that the detainee will make arrangements to leave the country. To allow the detainee to be released, the Immigration department usually requires a surety to sign a bond to say that if the detainee fails to leave as agreed, the bond will be forfeited. The bond amount can range up to $20,000.
wǒ dàibiǎo 3ɡè  kèhùtāmen yīnwèi qiānzhènɡ ɡuòqī bèi jūliúrúɡuǒ tāmen bǎozhènɡ líkāi zhèɡè ɡuójiāyímínjú kěyǐ fànɡ tāmen chūláibúɡuò tāmen xūyào dānbǎorénhé 20000 ao bi de bǎozhènɡjīnrúɡuǒ tāmen měiyǒu líkāi bǎozhènɡjīn huì bèi chōnɡ ɡōnɡ


The 3 clients I saw at the detention centre informed me that they had been on the run for over 2 years. I also found out that the snakeheads (the “people smugglers”) would arrange for their clients to arrive in Australia on a valid visa. Upon the expiration of the valid visa, the client will disappear underground. For the privilege of the snakeheads making the arrangements, the clients would pay up to a year’s wage. Upon paying up the debt to the snakeheads, any time spent in Australia earning an income is a bonus. That bonus, for many, could mean the funds to buy a home in their home country.

wǒ zài jūliúsuǒ jiàndào de 3ɡè kèhù tāmen yǐjīnɡ fēifǎ zài àodàlìyà liǎnɡnián duō lewǒ yě zhīdào shétóu bānɡzhù tāmen dédào qiānzhènɡqiānzhènɡ ɡuòqī yǐhòu tāmen huì mìmì de xiāoshīkèhù hé shétóu shuōhǎokèhù xūyào fù yìnián de shōurù ɡěi shétóuChúle ɡěi shétóu qiánqítā zhuàn de qián shì jiǎnɡjīnhěnduōrén  kěyǐ yònɡ zhèxiē qián zài damen guochia mǎi fánɡzi

For us privileged residents in Australia, it makes you appreciate what we have here.
Neng zai ao da li ya sheng huo, wo men dou shi hen xing yun de.

Coming back to these 3 clients, 2 of them were brothers. They all filed an application to be released on their undertaking that they would make arrangements to leave Australia. Their applications were rejected as the Immigration Department did not believe they would abide by their promise to leave Australia. However, the decision is appealable to the Migration Review Tribunal.
Huílái shuō zhè 3ɡè kèhùqízhōnɡ liǎnɡɡè shì xiōnɡdìTāmen dōu shēnqǐnɡ bǎoshì hé bǎozhènɡ tāmen huì líkāiyímínjú bù xiānɡxīn tāmen huì líkāiTāmen juédìnɡ shang su

That was where I came in. I was instructed to file the appeal on behalf of the 3 clients. Upon receipt of my fees (yes, of course for such cases, you need to make sure your fees are paid up front) I filed the requisite appeals. The Migration Review Tribunal then set a date for the hearing of the 3 appeals for the 3 clients.  I attended the Tribunal hearing that day for the clients.

Yu shi wo shang chang le wǒ bānɡ zhè 3 ɡè kèhù shànɡsùShōudào  qián yǐhou wǒ  qíchū shànɡsù。(zhèzhǒnɡ ànzi yídìnɡ yào xiān shōu qián
fa ting jue ding kai tingwǒ dàibiǎo ta men chūtínɡ

Prior to the hearing, the clients had all arranged for sureties who were willing to put in a cash bond to confirm the clients would not breach any conditions for their release to freedom. This is just to allow them to make arrangements to leave the country.
Zài kāitínɡ yǐqiánkehù yǐjīnɡ ānpái dānbǎorén jiāo bǎozhènɡjīn bǎozhènɡ tamen shang su chenkong hòu yídìnɡ huì líkāi

The hearing is heard by video link as the Chairperson for the appeal hearing is based in Melbourne. We attend a court room with television screens for us to communicate with the Chairperson in Melbourne. Now as there are 3 different cases, there are 3 different Chairpersons for each different hearing.
Yin wei fa guan zai mo er ben, ta shi yong shi pin gen wo men jiao tan deYīn wèi shì 3ɡè bùtónɡ de ànzi suǒ  yǒu 3ɡè fǎɡuān

My clients were brought to the court by security guards. The guards are tasked to bring them from the detention centre to the court and then to bring the clients back to the detention centre. In this case, as there were 3 clients, there were 3 guards, one for each client.
Wǒde kèhù bèi bǎoān dàidào fǎtínɡBāoān shì cónɡ jūliúsuǒ bǎ tāmen dàilái ránhòu zài bǎ tāmen dài huíqùměiyíɡè kèhù yǒu yíɡè bǎoān

The hearing started and I represented the 1st client. He was not convincing as his record showed that he had been evading the Immigration department for over 3 years before he was caught. The Chairperson for his hearing gave a clear indication that he did not believe the client would leave the country if he was released. The Chairperson reserved his decision and the client was released from court and brought back to the detention centre by his allocated guard.
di yi ge an zi kai ting lezài tā bèi zhua zhu yǐqián tā yǐjīnɡ fēifǎ le 3niánduōfǎɡuān hěn qīnɡchǔ de shuō tā bù xiānɡxìn wǒde kèhù huì líkāi fǎɡuān méi zuò juédìnɡ qǐnɡ bǎoān bǎ zhèɡè kèhù dàihuí jūliúsuǒ xiang

I then had to attend the hearing for the next client, who as I mentioned was one of 2 brothers. The hearing commenced before a new Chairperson.  The Chairperson, as expected, raised questions as to why he should believe that my client would leave the country voluntarily.  I told the Chairperson, we had a surety who would place a bond of $10,000 if needed to ensure my client left Australia voluntarily. The Chairperson was not moved and indicated so. Upon seeing that the Chairperson was not likely to grant my client his temporary freedom, he stood up and said, “I guarantee I will leave the country with my life”. This was of course stated in a foreign language. 
Ránhòu wǒ dàibiǎo dìèrɡè kèhù chūtínɡ jiùshì liang xiōnɡdì qi zhong yi gefǎɡuān wèn wèishénme tā kěyǐ xiānɡxìn tāmen huì líkāi àodàlìyàwǒ ɡàosù fǎɡuān ta yǒu dānbǎorén huì jiāo 10000kuài de bǎozhènɡjīnfǎɡuān bù tónɡyìméiyǒu shìfànɡ tāWa de kehu zhànqǐlái shuō “wǒ yònɡ wǒde sheng mìnɡ bǎo zhènɡ wǒ huì líkāi zhèr” dānɡrán tā shì yònɡ pǔtōnɡhuà shuōde

Before there was a chance to translate to the Chairperson, this client took a razor tìxūdāo (God, knows where he got it from and how he sneaked it past security) and proceeded to slash ɡē his wrist in front of everyone.
Hái méi fànyì zhèjùhuà yǐqiántā náchū yíɡè tìxūdāo (méirén zhīdào tā shì zěnme dài jìnlái de) zài dàjiā miànqián ɡē tāde shǒuwàn

There was blood everywhere. There was blood on the table, on my file and on the floor of the court. There was pandemonium as the Chairperson screamed out in surprise and the guards rushed to my client. An ambulance was called and the 2 security guards present tried to stop the client from bleeding but he refused to be helped.  It took at least 30 minutes before the ambulance arrived and removed the client. However, during all this commotion, his brother managed to make an escape by leaving the building.  So, it was all pre-meditated. Let’s sacrifice one brother to return to their country. The other brother can still make some money before he is caught again.
Zhuōzi shànɡ wǒde wénjiàn shànɡ dìbǎn shànɡ dōushì xiě。2 Bǎoān pǎo ɡuòlái jiàole jiùhùchē2 Bǎoān shìzhe bānɡ tā zhǐxiě    tā bù tónɡyì。jiùhùchē lái yǐqián
fēichánɡ luànzài nà shíhou tāde xiōnɡdì táopǎo lesuǒyǐ zhèshì tāmen yǐjīnɡ shuō
hǎo deXīshēnɡ yíɡè xiōnɡdì huí ta quochia lìnɡyíɡè hái kěyǐ zhuànqián

Yes, that is the extent that people will sacrifice to be in Australia. I can tell you that I faint at the sight of blood. I had always wanted to be a doctor. I always (for egoistic reasons) wanted to be in a situation where a patient would say to me “Thanks, doctor, you have saved my life”.  However, this desire was never met, due to my aforementioned [pause] condition. Hence, I thought the next best thing was to be a lawyer. That is where I am today. Still happy to know I have helped a client, whether to save jiùtheir business, their life if it is a criminal matter or their children.
méicuò rénmén kěyǐ xīshēnɡ yi qie liúzài àodàlìyàwǒ kěyǐ ɡàosù nǐmen wǒ yūnxuěceng jing xiǎnɡ dānɡ yīshēnɡniánqīnɡ de shíhou wǒ kàn diànshì bìnɡrén ɡēn yīshēnɡ shuō xièxiè ni jiùle wǒde mìnɡ wǒ yě xiǎnɡ zuò yīshēnɡ dànshì wèntí shì wǒ yūnxǔ dìèrɡè bànfǎ shì zuò lǜshīzuò lǜshī wǒ kěyǐ bānɡzhù tāmen de shēnɡjiù tāmen de mìnɡ bānɡzhù tāmen de háixī.  Ze se wa chingtien ta ming.

I thank the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for inviting me to talk about my life as a migrant. Yes, we are a lucky country. However we are lucky because of the people who have migrated from all over the world to make Australia their home.
  fēichánɡ ɡǎnxiè zhōnɡhuá zǒnɡ shānɡhuì yāoqǐnɡ wǒ shuōshuō wǒde ɡùshì。zhè shì yíɡè xìnɡyùn de ɡuójiāwǒmen yěshì hěn xìnɡyùn yīnwèi women cong bùtónɡ de dìfānɡ lai,  rànɡ àodàlìyà biànchénɡ women de jiā。