Douglas Jung Douglas Jung , ( 鄭天華 , pinyin : Zhèng Tiānhuá ) ( February 24 , 1924 – January 4 , 2002 ) was a Canadian politician . He was the first Canadian Member of Parliament ( MP ) of Chinese and Asian descent in the Canadian House of Commons . Early life . Douglas Jung was born in Victoria , British Columbia , on February 24 , 1924 . During his childhood , the Government of Canada passed numerous pieces of legislation that disenfranchised Chinese in Canada . Jung and a group of young men from British Columbia enlisted in the Canadian Army during World War II in order to change the status of Chinese Canadians . Although Jung enlisted himself in the Canadian Army back in 1939 , he did not receive his first assignment until 1944 , mainly because politicians in Ottawa and Victoria did not want to deal with the issues of enfranchising the Chinese after the war . However , Winston Churchill ' s wartime Special Operations Executive recruited Jung and a group of Chinese - Canadian soldiers who were sent to British Malaya to train local guerillas to resist the Japanese Imperial Army occupying Malaya and Singapore . The mission for the Asian Canadian soldiers was known as Operation Oblivion . However , the operation came to an abrupt cancellation , allowing Jung to lead his troops through China in their own search and rescue missions . After the war , Chinese in Canada were enfranchised in 1947 . Veterans Affairs Canada provided funds so that Jung and his Chinese - Canadian comrades could obtain a university education . Jung graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1953 with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees . He was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1954 . Political career . Douglas Jung joined the Progressive Conservative Party in the early 1950s . He had vowed not to join the Liberal Party of Canada because of its racist legislation against Chinese in the past . Jung was elected as an MP in 1957 , representing the riding of Vancouver Centre , under the John Diefenbaker government . In his maiden speech in the House of Commons , he urged Canada to take a leading role in serving as a bridge to the Pacific Rim countries . Jung ' s other achievements include taking part in the debate on the implementation in 1960 by the Hon . Ellen Fairclough , Minister of Citizenship and Immigration , of the Chinese Adjustment Statement Program that granted amnesty to illegal immigrants from Hong Kong , also known as " Paper Sons " . He also represented Canada in the United Nations as an alternate member of the Legal Delegation to the United Nations ( Source : Department of Foreign Affairs ) . His profusion of honours included the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia , the highest honours a citizen can receive from the federal and provincial governments , respectively . Other awards came from the Chinese Benevolent Association , S . U . C . C . E . S . S . Chinese Cultural Centre , Chinese Canadian National Council and Chinese Association in Moose Jaw , Saskatchewan , Thunder Bay and Toronto , Ontario , as well as the Quebec Japanese Canadian Citizenship Association in Montreal . Other achievements . Jung was also a prominent figure in the community , especially the Vancouver Chinese community . They include : Life President of Army Navy Air Force Veterans in Canada Unit # 280 , Patron of S . U . C . C . E . S . S . : Director of the Vancouver Symphony . B . C . : Deputy Director of the Governor General ' s 1992 Regional Celebration of Canada 125th Anniversary . Director of the Far East Relations of the Former Parliamentarians Association and the President of Japan Karate Association of Canada , which awarded him a sixth degree Black Belt . On September 7 , 2007 , the Hon . Jason Kenney , Secretary of State ( Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity ) announced that the federal building located at 401 Burrard Street in Vancouver would be named after Douglas Jung , as the first Chinese - Canadian elected to Parliament . Death . While marching with fellow veterans in 1995 , Jung suffered a massive heart attack . He never completely recovered and died in 2002 .