In the late 1930’s, Los Angeles and Oxnard was
home to several hundred immigrants with the surname Sit and Soo Hoo/Seto. Recognizing a need
to have a centralized point of connection for their
clansmen, an ad hoc committee of Sit and Soo
Hoo/Seto men came together in 1938 to explore
how they could create such a nexus. As they began meeting on Ord Street in Old Chinatown, at
a location called Morning Sunshine, the Fong Lun
Association was formed. The Association became
a vital place where clansmen could fnd social and
physical support, maintain their cultural practices,
and share news with one another about their families and the homeland.
During World War II, many young men from
the Sit and Soo Hoo/Seto clans served in the
U.S. Armed Forces, fighting in Europe as well as
in the Pacific and China. Following the war, with
the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943
and the enactment of the Chinese War Brides Act
in 1946, Chinese American G.I.s were able to return to China to marry and bring back wives to the
The United States. For the Sit and Soo Hoo/Seto clans,
dozens of young war brides arrived between 1946
and 1949 to start new lives and families with their
husbands.
As a natural result, membership in the Fong Lun
Association grew at such a rapid rate that it's building no longer accommodated all of its functions. In
the anticipation of greater growth, in 1952, the leaders
of Fong Lun registered with the State of California
as a mutual benefit Association. It also applied for
membership to the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association as a Charter Member. With its new
status, the leaders were able to fundraise for the
purchase of a new building which was eventually
acquired at 730 N. Hill Place where the Fong Lun
Temple Association continues to operate today.
The expansion of the Association was not always smooth. In 1964, the City of Los Angeles
condemned the building as uninhabitable; it would
have to be demolished and rebuilt. This created
a financial crisis as the Association did not have
sufficient funds to rebuild immediately. As an interim step, the leadership rented a small unit on
Sunset Blvd. as a temporary office and created a
plan to fundraise for the building. Fong Lun members traveled across the U.S. and Canada where
large populations of Sit and Soo Hoo/Seto families resided to request their help. They successfully raised enough funds from these communities
for a down payment and borrowed the remaining
balance from Cathy Bank in Chinatown to begin
construction. The new building was completed in
1966. Nineteen years later, in 1985, the bank loan
was paid off. Additionally, many of the loans owed
to Fong Lun’s members were forgiven by these
members as their donation to the Association.
Since the Association’s inception, many obstacles were overcome through hard work and
the leadership of Fun Lun’s officers and the generous
support of clan members. With the passage of
time, founding members have passed on and new
leadership and new ideas have emerged to meet
the changing interests and needs of its community.
A Scholarship Fund was created in 1967 to recognize outstanding students in the Association and
to motivate Sit and Soo Hoo/Seto children to continue to achieve in school. In the 1980s, the Women’s Auxiliary and Youth Council were established.
The Scholarship Fund, in particular, represents
Fong Lun’s investment in promoting the Confucian
value of education and continues the Association’s
legacy of benevolence. In the late 80’s, during an
anniversary celebration of the San Francisco Fong
Lun chapter, members planted the seed for establishing the World Fong Lun Association, which led
to the 2 nd World Fong Lun Association Convention held in Los Angeles in 1993, and it’s incorporation in 1994 headquartered in Los Angeles.
In 2015, the 9th World Fong Lun Congress
was held in Los Angeles. In anticipation of welcoming guests from around the world, the leadership raised donations and procured the labor to
give the Association building a much-needed facelift. With the hard work and planning of committee members, the world conference was a success
as many members of the Sit and Soo Hoo/Seto
clans from around the world shared their ideas and
thoughts as to how to lay the foundation for the
next generations to follow.
In 2017, fourteen of Fong Lun’s members traveled to Singapore for the 10th World Fong Lun
Congress. This was followed with a visit to the respective ancestral villages in Hoi Ping to see the
the unique culture of Chek Hom, the mix of European
and Chinese style architecture, and to witness the
stories of our ancestors and their bravery and devotion to the welfare of the Sit and Soo Hoo/Seto
clans throughout history.
Looking ahead, it is hoped that programs for the
Sit and Soo Hoo/Seto families, such as the Scholarship Awards, an Essay Contest, Bi-lingual meetings, Chinese tamale/Joong making workshops,
the Annual Spring Banquet and Picnic, Achievement & Merit Awards, Oral History Lectures,
Home Village/Travel tours to China, and the Fong
Lun’s global connections will continue to help the
Los Angeles Fong Lun Temple Benevolent Association thrive and draw in new generations of members.
年份 | 會長 |
1952-1953 | 司徒宏燦 |
1954-1955 | 司徒春光 |
1956-1958 | 司徒宏燦 |
1960-1961 | 司徒仲常 |
1962-1963 | 司徒儉俊 |
1964-1966 | 司徒住明 |
1967-1968 | 司徒宏燦 |
1969-1970 | 司徒俊祺 |
1971-1972 | 司徒鉅源 |
1973 | 司徒俊祺 |
1974-1976 | 司徒鉅源 |
1976-1977 | 司徒優振 |
1978 | 司徒競文 |
1979-1980 | 司徒潮健 |
1981 | 司徒培滋 |
1982-1983 | 司徒一鳴 |
1984-1985 | 司徒炳洽 |
1986 | 司徒尚鷹 |
1987-1988 | 司徒達秀 |
1989-1990 | 司徒宗傑 |
1991-1992 | 司徒寶衡 |
1993-1995 | 司徒武超 |
1996-1998 | 司徒焯 |
1999-2000 | 司徒寶衡 |
年份 | 會長 |
2001-2004 | 司徒潮健 |
2005-2006 | 司徒焯 |
2007-2010 | 司徒元新 |
2011-2015 | 司徒錦鴻 |
2016-2017 | 司徒元新 |
2018-2019 | 司徒展環 |
2020 | 司徒展環 |
2021 | 司徒展環 |
2022 | 司徒展環 |
2023 | |
2024 | |
2025 | |
2026 | |
2027 | |
2028 | |
2029 | |
2030 | |
2031 |