Chinese Migration to the UK

I was born in Hong Kong in the New Territories on July 20 1949. My full name is Sau Lan Tsoi. I am a Buddhist.

I only started school when I was 10 years old and only studied in the morning, five mornings a week for 2 hours, Monday to Friday. I was adopted. My education finished when I was 13 years old.

Mrs Sau Lan Tsoi with family

Coming to the UK

There was no further opportunity to attend school and I had no job. I was just wandering around and I came to England when I was 17.

I had no idea what I wanted when I came to the UK.

My father was here first and opened a business partnership he asked me to come and join him.

Charlie my brother came before me, he came when he was nine.

I didn’t miss anything about Hong Kong because I had no family at home by then.

Work

My first thought was to do a bit of studying here. I studied for about 6 months and then started working.

I arrived in Bristol in 1966 and lived there for five years. It was okay, a big city; very clean, cleaner than Huddersfield. I worked in a Chinese restaurant, in the pantry, making teas.

I worked as a waitress, even though I don’t speak English I can understand the language and that’s adequate for a waitress for a short time. I worked at the Rice Bowl restaurant on Fitzwilliam Street, Huddersfield in the 60s and 70s.

I’ve got a very good memory, so I didn’t have to write things down. But I did work in the kitchen more than as a waitress. I really would have liked to have been a doctor.

Mrs Sau Lan Tsoi with family

My first impression of Huddersfield was of the houses being black, because they were covered in smoke. I thought the British people liked drinking (alcohol), dancing and going out. I have only made Chinese friends here but that’s because I don’t speak English. I wanted to learn it but I found it so difficult to learn. I understand most of it but I find it difficult to speak it.

All my children were born in Huddersfield. The first in 1972, my eldest is my 34 year old daughter. I have three daughters and one boy. They helped me get by. They put pressure on me to learn English but I found it too hard. Out of my children, two are dentists and two are oral hygienists.

I’ve tried to tell them Chinese traditions but they don’t listen to me. I feel they are very integrated into British society, the white society, so they are not interested.

I would be very happy if my son married a Chinese girl that would be excellent. I’m not so bothered if my daughters marry white boys but I would like my son to marry a Chinese girl so they can carry our family name. I see myself as Chinese and don’t wish to be British. How can I be British if I don’t speak the language? I have lived here for forty years but can’t call myself British as I don’t have the language. But the UK is my home and the Chinese Centre. Hong Kong is just a holiday.