An Early History of NACA


(The following article is taken from NACA Newsletter, No. 1, January 1, 1981)

A Brief History of N.A.C.A.

For a long time Chinese-Americans living in the United States had felt the need to have an organization which could represent them and better serve their specific interests as an ethnic group. In order to meet this need and after much basic preparation, a group of Chinese-Americans got together to form the NACA with Chen Ning Yang serving its first president. NACA, as its name imples, is intended from the start to extend beyond the concept of a local organization into a national structure which can better coordinate the widely scattered Chinese-Americans living in this country.

The first organizational meeting of NACA was held on September 25, 1977 leading to the founding of NACA in early 1978. It was incorporated in the District of Columbia with the six-point purpose stated in the By-Laws as its objective.

The next formal meeting, labelled the Second Executive Committee Meeting, was held on February 23, 1978. It was attended by not only members of the National Office, but also representatives from several local chapters: Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC. By the time of the Third Executive Commettee Meeting on November 9, 1978, three other chapters sent their representatives. They were Seattle, Boston, and Pittsburgh. By now NACA embraces fourteen chapters and they are: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, Southern California and Washington DC.

The Fourth Executive Committee Meeting was held on January 31, 1979, the Fifth on March 1, 1980, and the Sixth on October 25, 1980, immediately following the National Convention.

Due to the diversity in the composition of the membership and regional concerns, local chapters place emphasis on different activities. It is the purpose of this Newsletter to communicate the local chapter activities to the entire membership so that we are better informed about each other, learn from each other, and advance together to achieve our common goal.

On the national level, NACA had contributed in promoting the normalization of the U.S.-China relations. In 1978 NACA submitted an ad in the Washington Post on the sixth anniversary of the signing of the Shanghai Communique (February 28, 1972) urging the President to complete the task in U.S.-China relations.

The rapid turn of events in the U.S.-China relations with the formal establishment of diplomatic relation between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China on January 1, 1979 brought forth many new activities for all NACA chapters. The arrival of Chinese delegations and visiting scholars had kept many of our members busy, and many of the chapter activities were directly related to them. As a result, members got a much better understanding of the daily situations in China and were able to introduce to their American friends the real face of China.

In celebration of the momentous occasion on establishing the diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the P.R.C. on January 1, 1979, the National Office of NACA in cooperation with the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association (USCPFA) and together with local overseas Chinese communities prepared a celebration on that day. It was one of the largest social events in the city of Washington. The attendance registered over 1,000.

Immediately following that when Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping of the P.R.C. came to visit the U.S., NACA together with USCPFA held a banquet on January 31, 1979 in honor of the Vice Premier and his party. The total attendance at the banquet was 730, which included 316 from NACA, 300 from USCPFA and guests.

President Chen Ning Yang reported to the Fourth Executive Committee meeting about his talks with businessmen, Chinatwon residents, scholars and students around the country. He expressed the feeling that they all indicated good support for the NACA concept. The normalization of U.S.-China relations helped to remove some fear of joining NACA. It would be time for membership drive and expanded activities. Also, it would be time to consider and formulate long-range ideas such as on the overall development of the political and social structure of the Chinese-American community in the U.S. Also, arrangements were under way to set up scholarships for Chinese-American students.

In 1979, NACA was given a quota by the Chinese government to organize tours to China. NACA instituted the tour program under Mr. Pei Tsuen Tang with the purpose to help American-born Chinese to understand more about China. The guideline for pricing was $100-200 plus cost making it one of the least expensive trips to visit China.

During the last National Convention, which was held on October 25, 1980 and attended by about 80 members, a new slate of officers was elected to the National Office. Now, NACA under the leadership of Yao Tze Li will push forward with renewed effort. One of the resolutions passed at the Convention was to request all chapters to organize their members and discuss the future goals and objectives of NACA, and make specific proposals to President Li for consideration. The Newsletter will announce these proposals to you, and you should make use of the Newsletter as a vehicle to debate the issues. [End of article]

* Activities of the time can be illustrated by this copy page of the Newsletter by NACA-Boston.