DAVID LAM HELPED EASE RACE TENSIONS
Hong Kong emigre rose to become representative of Queen in B.C.
To mark Canada’s 150th birthday, we are counting down to Canada Day with profiles of 150 noteworthy British Columbians.
One day on the job as the lieutenant-governor of B.C., David Lam was escorted into a church in Victoria by RCMP officers. As he passed by, Lam overheard a little boy say to his mother, “‘Mommy, is that God?’”
Lam, a devout Christian, didn’t think much of the mistaken identity. He never again had the RCMP escort him into a church.
“I have always been a quiet, reserved, inward-looking guy — a scholar more than a cheerleader,” he said in an interview with The Vancouver Sun. “I think that pomp and circumstance without substance, without touching people, has a hollow ring to it.”
In 1988, Lam made Canadian history. He became the country’s first Chinese-Canadian lieutenant-governor, the vice-regal representative of the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.
Lam was born in Hong Kong. The grandson of a Baptist minister, he was raised as a Christian. After graduating with a master’s degree in business administration from Philadelphia’s Temple University, he returned to Hong Kong to work in banking for 18 years.
In 1967, Lam and his wife Dorothy grew concerned about their future. They were worried about the social stability of the territory after riots broke out when the British colonial government increased the passenger rate on an important ferry route.
Looking ahead 30 years, they wondered what kind of impact the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 would have.
They had visited Vancouver once and fell in love with the mountains, trees and clean water. The abundance of greenery also appealed to Lam, who was an avid gardener.
Lam, his wife and their three daughters arrived with enough money to stay in a one-bedroom suite in a motel in the West End. Lam didn’t know anybody. After four months of looking for work, he finally found a job selling real estate.
Very soon, he was putting together deals for Hong Kong investors who were interested in buying property in North America.
In 1985, Vancouver Sun columnist Denny Boyd contacted him for a story. Boyd wanted to write about Lam’s generosity in donating to charities. He had given $1 million to Regent College at the University of B.C., which had raised the bar for philanthropy in Vancouver.
Lam, however, was reluctant to be interviewed. He relented after being persuaded that sharing his story would encourage other Chinese immigrants to use their money for the public good.
In 1995, when he was stepping down at lieutenant-governor, Lam said his biggest success was in encouraging greater understanding.
“I came into my office during a time of heightened racial tension — it was during the ‘monster home’ thing — and I leave as an example of racial enlightenment, and with things much calmer between minorities and the majority.”