Douglas Jung (; February 25, 1924 – January 4, 2002) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, military officer, and

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

secret agent. A

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, he was the first member of a

visible minority In Canada, a visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada ...

elected to the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

, as well as the first Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) of Chinese and Asian descent in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

Early life, military career and education

Douglas Jung was born in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, on February 25, 1924. During his childhood, the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

passed numerous pieces of legislation that disenfranchised Chinese in Canada. Jung and a group of young men from British Columbia enlisted in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in order to change the status of Chinese Canadians. Jung explained his reasons for enlisting as: "Some of us realized that unless we volunteered to serve Canada during this hour of need, we would be in a very difficult position after the war ended to demand our rights as Canadian citizens because the Canadian government would say to us, "What did you do during the war when everybody else was out fighting for Canada? What did you do?" So a few of us volunteered to serve, and my group was probably the first to join up."

World War II

Although Jung enlisted in the

in 1939, he did not receive his first assignment until 1944, mainly because politicians in Ottawa and Victoria did not want to deal with the issues of enfranchising the Chinese after the war. However,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's wartime

recruited Jung and a group of Chinese-Canadian soldiers into

Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's O ...

, a team of secret agents who deployed to

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the ...

to train local guerrillas to resist the Japanese Imperial Army occupying Malaya and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. The mission for the Asian Canadian soldiers was known as Operation ''Oblivion''. They received parachute training at Australia and prepared themselves to fight in

South West Pacific Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. However, the operation came to an abrupt cancellation. Jung instead deployed to Japanese-occupied

British Borneo British Borneo comprised the four northern parts of the island of Borneo, which are now the country of Brunei, two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan. During the British colonial rule before Wor ...

and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, and led his troops in

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

missions.

Post-WWII

After the war, Chinese in Canada were enfranchised in 1947.

Veterans Affairs Canada Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC; ) is the department of the Government of Canada with responsibility for pensions, benefits and services for military veterans, former and current members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Pol ...

provided funds so that Jung and his Chinese-Canadian comrades could obtain a university education. Jung graduated from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1953 with

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degrees. He was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1954.

Political career

Douglas Jung joined the Progressive Conservative Party in the early 1950s. He had vowed not to join the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

because of its racist legislation against Chinese in the past. Jung was elected as an MP in 1957, representing the riding of Vancouver Centre, under the

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

government. In his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

in the House of Commons, he urged Canada to take a leading role in serving as a bridge to the Pacific Rim countries. Jung's other achievements include taking part in the debate on the implementation in 1960 by the Hon. Ellen Fairclough, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, of the Chinese Adjustment Statement Program that granted amnesty to illegal immigrants from Hong Kong, also known as "

paper sons Paper sons or paper daughters were Chinese people who were born in China and illegally immigrated to the United States and Canada by obtaining documents that indicated they were the blood relatives of Chinese people who had already received U.S. ...

". He also represented Canada in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as an alternate member of the Legal Delegation to the United Nations (Source: Department of Foreign Affairs). In 1962, Jung was defeated in his riding of Vancouver-Centre by voters in the

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

community disillusioned by his handling of the amnesty issue, in which they viewed Jung as siding with government authorities against Chinese Canadians. Progressive Conservatives had also tried to strike 500-600 Chinese voters from the rolls in order to mitigate this issue. His profusion of honours included the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...

, the highest honours a citizen can receive from the federal and provincial governments, respectively. Other awards came from the Chinese Benevolent Association, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Chinese Cultural Centre, Chinese Canadian National Council and Chinese Association in Moose Jaw,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, as well as the

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Japanese Canadian Citizenship Association in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Other achievements

Jung was also a prominent figure in the community, especially the Vancouver Chinese community. They include: Life President of Army Navy Air Force Veterans in Canada Unit #280, Patron of S.U.C.C.E.S.S.: Director of the Vancouver Symphony. B.C.: Deputy Director of the Governor General's 1992 Regional Celebration of Canada 125th Anniversary. Director of the Far East Relations of the Former Parliamentarians Association and the President of Japan Karate Association of Canada, which awarded him a sixth degree Black Belt. On September 7, 2007, the Hon.

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member o ...

, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity) announced that the federal building located at 401 Burrard Street in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

would be named after Douglas Jung, as the first Chinese-Canadian elected to Parliament.

Death

While marching with fellow veterans in 1995, Jung suffered a serious heart attack. He never completely recovered and died in 2002 due to related complications.

References

. * Hawthorn, Tom.
Jung, Douglas Class of '41

Archive
. ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. February 2, 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jung, Douglas 1924 births 2002 deaths Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Canadian people of Chinese descent Lawyers in British Columbia Members of the Order of British Columbia Members of the Order of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs University of British Columbia alumni Canadian Army officers Special Operations Executive personnel Canadian Army personnel of World War II 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada