The Jade Dragon

Interview Date: April 19, 1991.

10:04 AM

————————

Lin: Thank you for agreeing to this interview, it really means a lot.

Felix:

Lin: So, um, I have this voice recorder here, and I just want you to know that I’ll be recording this conversation. But none of it will be on public record, and I’ll make sure to send my writing over if you want me to censor anything.

Felix:

Lin: Right, so you can take as long as you need. And maybe I’ll just tell you a little bit about myself, if you don't mind.

Felix:

Lin: So like I said in my letter, I’m about to graduate from San Francisco State University, in journalism. And this is for my final project. And I really wanted to be creative, and kind of pay homage to my family by-

Felix: Interviewing a Chinese gangbanger?

Lin: Um, no Mr. Fong. I’ve just always been kind of interested in crime and history, and thought it would be cool to showcase that in my writing and-

Felix: I have not spoken to the press in the 20 years I have been here. At first it was because I would rather die than rat on my brothers. Then it was because no one cared. And then I got your letter.

[Felix stands up and approaches me. His footsteps are loud on the old linoleum. He stands toe to toe with the plexiglass separating us.]

Felix: I made some stupid decisions in my life. I did things I had to do. I did things I should not have done. If you want your final project to be on the backs of the people I have hurt in my life, then I think that says a lot about you.

Lin: But that’s the thing, Mr. Fong. I’m not trying to write about who you’ve hurt, or what you’ve done. I want to know who you are. I’m tired of being a caricature. Everything I do, I do because I want to show people that I can be whatever I want to be, and that they have absolutely no say in it. All the news articles I read about you shoved you in a box. I want to show people that you’re not some low-life, uneducated thug.

Felix: If everything you do is to prove people wrong, then you are letting other people define your success.

Lin: Well, let’s start there. How do you define success?

[There is a long pause].

Felix: Success is achieved by having a code and sticking to it. Honor. Brotherhood. Things you would never understand.

Lin: Because I’m a woman?

Felix: Because you were born here. In America. You have no idea about the struggle, the sacrifice that your parents have probably gone through, for you to be in this position.

Lin: I wouldn’t know. I never met my parents.

Felix: I am sorry. From what I know, you are not missing much.

[Another long pause.]

Felix: Is this where you ask me how many people I have killed?

Lin: Only if you want to tell me.

Felix: Five died that night in the restaurant.

Lin: The Jade Dragon.

Felix: Yes. I don’t know how many were because of me.

[Pause.]

Felix: One of them was a girl. A student, your age.

Lin: Is that why you agreed to meet with me?

Felix: Don’t go poking around in my head.

Lin: I’m not. I just wonder if you feel like maybe there’s some obligation-

Felix: I feel no obligation. I have made my peace with my crimes. I have done good and bad in my life.

Lin: So why don’t you tell me about some of the good you’ve done, Mr. Fong?

Felix: I see no need to redeem myself for you.

Lin: You don’t, but I’m here to tell your story. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Felix: Well… there was this woman. And I would not have done this if not for the brotherhood. But her story… I am… [He searches for the words] proud to have been a part of it.

Lin: Take your time.

Felix: She needed help. But that is not why we did what we did. It was for the gamble, and it was to undercut the Wah Ching. And I keep telling myself that. [He takes a deep breath.] It was the wife of one of the members of a rival gang. We had information that he was going to have her play in a tournament and lose on purpose, to win some bets.

Lin: A… tournament?

Felix: Mahjong.

Lin: My mother played mahjong.

Felix: I thought you never met her.

Lin: I didn’t. She died when I was very young. She actually left me with a mahjong set, but I haven’t learned how to play.

Felix: You should. It is an important game.

Lin: Important?

Felix: This is what I mean when I say you don’t understand. Mahjong is not only about your luck. It is about attention to detail, evaluating the missing tiles, and keeping track of what other players are looking for. You cannot just focus on what you want. You have to understand other players’ goals as well.

Lin: Maybe you could teach me sometime. [Pause.] So how did you help this woman?

Felix: Well, we knew that she was trying to escape. Her husband used to be a member of our gang, but he was not a good man. He would beat her when he drank too much. But you cannot tell a brother how to treat his wife. So everyone was relieved when he left our gang, even if it meant he was betraying us… and then we had the opportunity to help her and punish him at the same time.

Lin: What did you do?

Felix: Well, we knew that she was better than she let on. She used to play before they got married, and she got really far in tournaments. When we learned that her husband and the rest of the Wah Ching boys were betting against her, we offered her 20,000 dollars, and safety from her husband in exchange for her winning instead.

Lin: That’s a lot of money.

Felix: You don’t understand, we had many bets on these games. This game was a qualifier, but if she managed to win and play for us, we could make hundreds of thousands off just that one racket. And it was much easier to cover up than extortion and smuggling.

Lin: So you helped her out. That’s really great.

Felix: I like to think so.

Lin: Do you think that makes up for the people you killed?

Felix: What?

Lin: Do you think that giving 20,000 dollars to Mei Lin Chen in exchange for her winning the mahjong tournament is enough to make up for the five lives you took?

Felix: Well… I would like to think that it helped her-

Lin: Especially after she was promised sanctuary that she didn’t receive?

Felix: I do not know what you’re talking about.

Lin: Especially after her husband was so furious with her that he beat her to death? First with his hands, then a hammer?

Felix: I did not know that happened.

Lin: It did, Mr. Fong. She barely had time to leave her infant daughter and the money with her sister before he caught her.

[The longest pause yet.]

Lin: I think the worst part about all of this is that you stand here and lecture me about honor. Having a code. How I could not possibly understand how important tradition and loyalty are, just because of where I’m from. I didn’t come here for closure, or revenge. I came here to see if her death could have all been avoided. And it could have. But you were so focused on your goals that you didn’t understand anyone else’s.

[It’s quiet. You can hear them both breathing.]

Lin: You got my mother killed because you didn’t play your own stupid game. And I hope you carry that with you for the rest of your life.

————————

I let the rest of the recording play out into silence. So maybe I don’t have the most journalistic integrity. That’s okay. I’m not really a journalist. Walking over to my desk, I pick up the mahogany box that my mother left me. The ivory mahjong tiles clink inside, and I slide open the secret panel underneath it. A small black notebook and an envelope of cash fall out.

Her diary. It had pages of memories, drawings, and poems. She had written letters to me, telling me that she knew how I would grow up to be like her- stubborn but loving, clever but compassionate. There were apologies too, ones that broke my heart. She says she should have been stronger, that she should have left him, but I can’t find any blame in my heart for her.

There is blame for someone else though, someone besides Felix. I close the notebook and start preparing for my interview tomorrow with Joe Chen, currently serving 40 years in San Quentin State Prison for the murder of Mei Chen.