1st WHAA President Felix Chin
第一任會長 陳其文先生
Felix Chin served as president of Wan Hua Alumni Association from October 29, 2005 to October 29, 2006. Born in Henzada (located by the Irrawaddy River), Felix attended Catholic Anglo-Chinese School as a boarder from 1953 to 1957. During his senior years at CACS, the school assigned him to monitor the boarders. As a monitor, Felix kept a close watch on the boarders when they were in their night study or eating their meals in the dining hall. If he caught a boarder chit chatting with or pulling a prank on one another, he would punish the boarder by beating him in the butt with a cane. Continued below.....
Felix Chin and wife Margaret Wong (a Wan Hua alumna)
After completing 6th standard at CACS, Felix transferred to Sacred Heart High School to study high school there. Around the time he passed the government-held high school final exam in 1962, Burma found herself in political turmoil. The xenophobic army general Ne Win overthrew U Nu's democratically-elected government and formed a revolutionary council. The new government put in place a socialist economic system to make many private business transactions illegal, tighten foreign exchange controls, and cut off imports of essential items such as machinery and parts. Farmers were required to sell their rice to the government at rock-bottom prices. These extreme measures of the socialist government caused rice mill owners like Felix Chin's parents to worry about the future of their businesses. As the eldest son in the family, Felix felt that his father desperately needed someone who was familiar with his thinking to help him cope with the new situation. So, instead of pursuing a university education in Rangoon, Felix immediately returned home to Henzada to work alongside his father at the rice mill. Under his father's tutelage, Felix learned the rice milling business, including supervision of the workers, quality control and accounting. As his learning progressed, his father delegated more and more responsibilities to Felix. He was given a free hand in dealing with farmers and government regulators. Years went by. Felix now knew the rice milling business inside out. Convinced that Felix could independently run the family business, his father made Felix the general manager of the rice mill.
Felix Chin and his wife Margaret Wong (St. Emilie's Convent) moved to the U.S. with their children in 1978. Felix studied business administration at City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. He works as a real estate broker helping his customers become homeowners. He also works as an interpreter. In his job as an interpreter, he has helped many illegal immigrants from Burma obtain refugee statuses in the United States. Felix also helped form the organization, called Myanmar Community USA.