Welsh | Chinese
My Mum came from Hankow, Wuhan, mainland China, my Dad has Welsh parents but grew up in Liverpool, in the north of England. They met in 1961, in Hong Kong. My Dad became more Chinese and my Mum became more Westernised, their cultures rubbed off on each other and blended very naturally. They had a good attitude about integrating and lived all over Asia, Africa & The Middle East, so were surrounded by a cultural melting pot.
My parents lived in an international community so despite there being very few mixed-race couples in those days (they were a rarity), people were mostly welcoming. Some of the bigger corporate companies, however, frowned on mixed-race couples. As a Brit you would have needed permission to get married to a non-Western person.
I think being mixed-race just gives you all the rich and varied benefits from food to social customs to different ways of thinking. Even though not many people can tell by my face that I am half-Chinese, I am always very proud when I am asked. I think it’s very special. I also think that having parents who had an interracial marriage in the 1960s shows their tenacity and integrity to do what they thought was right and I am proud to have those qualities in my genes.
Food, food, food!!! I experience my Chinese culture through my Mum’s cooking and the fact we eat often at Chinatown. But also having lived in Africa and the Middle East, I love those cuisines as well. We still have many Middle Eastern friends, so we are mindful of Eid and Ramadan. I have been to Hong Kong but mainly I learn about my culture from my Mum. And my parents-in-law live in Wales, so we are often in Wales.
I used to take being mixed-race for granted. Often the only difference I could see was having a Chinese Mother who would turn up on Sports Day with chicken curry and rice, rather than cucumber sandwiches. Now I realise how lucky I am to be of a diverse, interesting background with all that wonderful DNA.
I have always felt included, but I have to note that there are very few 100% British East Asians in the television industry.
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