My Parents - Part 3: Post War

In the words of my uncle:

The U.S. Immigration authority long realized that most Chinese in America were on false names. While in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Immigration Service gave the Chinese G.I. a break. They offered the Chinese a chance to come forward, confess, and rectify to their own real names, with no strings attached and no penalty. Less than 10% of Chinese G.I.'s dared to accept the offer and later were extremely happy with it. Over 90% of Chinese G.I.'s dared not accept it, for fear of hurting other relatives, and later deeply regretted it. My father and brother dared not. In the case of my father, it later became a factor of the tragic split in our family.

My father advised my brother to marry any girl that he loved, any native from anywhere. My mother disagreed. Being old fashioned, she believed her dear older son should marry a native girl, at our native village. My mother won. After my brother happily married a native girl, the whole family moved from Taishan back to Guangzhou, and my sister returned to school. My father advised that his new daughter-in-law should go to school, too. My mother disagreed. She believed a married woman should belong to home, not school. My mother won. Then it was time for my brother to return to America to work. My father advised my brother to bring his new wife with him, as all other G.I.'s did, so his own son would not repeat the same kind of bachelor's life as he did. My mother disagreed. She believed at least the first daughter-in-law should live with her mother-in-law, just as she herself and all the previous generations did. My mother won. I was in medical school and saw no peace in the family. My brother's wife's third uncle happened to be my sixth grade classmate. He tried to stir up trouble. I made a special trip from Guangzhou to Taishan, scolded him in front of his father, and shut him up. I also squarely blamed by brother's own indecisiveness as the root of the whole trouble. My father disagreed with me and ordered me to apologize to my brother. I did, and appealed to my father to come home to straighten out the mess himself.

My father came home in 1946. After twenty long years away from home, he saw his three-year-old son now became a young medical student, and his unborn daughter now became a young lady and soon would be a student nurse. He was very proud of us. We were, and are, very proud of him, too. He was young-looking, pleasant, kind, strong and open-minded. On the other hand, my mother already looked like an old lady. my father offered to rectify the paper and bring my mother to America, then step by step take me and my sister to America, for my brother could take his own wife there. My mother disagreed. She believed both I and my sister were not settled yet and should not be left alone in China. My mother won. My brother in America worked very hard and pumped all the money home. My father bought another new house at No. 2, Go Wah Li, Duk Jing Jung Road and the whole family moved to the new house. Then my father and brother traded places - my father returned to America to work and my brother returned home to be with his wife. My brother came home in 1947. I came to America on August 31, 1949 for internship.

The Communists took over China on October 1, 1949, and broke relations with the U.S. My family was trapped in China.