Author Description

As the largest Chinese immigrant community, Flushing was “discovered” and invested by many Chinese. They are here to reunite with family, raise their children and establish businesses and build a new immigrant society. However, many people only see what is in front of their eyes and see Flushing as how it is today. Limited by their view, they are not able to see the Flushing that was once flourishing. It is quite regretful that the new immigrants who want to begin a new life on this wonderful land won’t get to see the old Flushing.The name “New Amsterdam” made its first appearance in an official Dutch document in 1614. What’s the relationship between the Dutch and the establishment of Flushing? Why did they name it “Flushing”?The history of Flushing contributes to the important chapter of American history. The Flushing Remonstrance of 1657 was the first written document calling for religious freedom and later it became the blueprint of the Bill of Rights. For nearly 400 years, the history of Flushing represented the history of immigrants and their fight for their right to live and vote. It all started on Oct 10, 1645, with early Dutch and English colonists who built and self-governed in the Town of Flushing.The 10-episode documentary tells the stories of Flushing, from early 1600 to the 21st century, including stories of immigrants of Dutch, British, Japanese, Korean and Chinese descendants. The film crew closely worked with scriptwriter and host Paul Qiu, Assistant Library Manager of Queens Library at Flushing, and a renowned writer and poet, to produce a historical and vivid documentary based on archive, history books, census data, and real life of Flushing. The Episodes was aired weekly from August to October 2017 and was able to draw a large audience. It brought Chinese back to history where they live and changed the view and perception of Flushing for many Chinese immigrants. What you are reading now is the print edition of 10-episode documentary.