STORY: 81-year-old Australian impressed by development in rural China
SHOOTING TIME: File
DATELINE: Feb. 23, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:51
LOCATION: ZHONGSHAN, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE (English): MEL CHONG, Australian
2. various of Mel Chong in a village in China's Zhongshan
3. various of photos of Mel Chong's family members
4. various of Mel Chong and the villagers
5. various of photos of Mel Chong's family members
6. various of Mel Chong in a village in China's Zhongshan

STORYLINE:

SOUNDBITE (English): MEL CHONG, Australian
"My name is Mel Chong. I'm 81 years old. This is the 4th time I've come to visit my hometown. Duck Chong is my grandfather. My grandfather left Zhongshan to go to Australia about 1870.
In 1911, my grandfather (Charles Duck Chong) sent his wife (Susan) and some children back to the village. And they stayed for one year, maybe one and a half years before returning to Australia.
Most of my knowledge of this village is from the stories that were told to me by my father. He remembered it only through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy.
I came back to this village with my father (Robert Duck Chong) twice. Once in 1984 when he was 82. And later in 1989 with my children.
The town has changed very much since 1984 or 1989. Now everything is so fresh and clean. And the roads have concrete, and the houses look much, much better.
I am a child of a mixed racial marriage. The difficulty for such children is that they never fully feel that they belong to one or the other.
It's lovely to come back to this town and meet people. And only yesterday, one of the Zhongshan people called me Uncle Mel. And I thought, 'Ah! I belong here.'
It's a beautiful village. I think I will bring other people back to join me here."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Zhongshan, China.
(XHTV)