K. Dock Yip

{{Short description|Canadian lawyer}} {{Infobox person | name = Kew Dock Yip | honorific_suffix = | image = Kew Dock Yip.jpg | alt =  | caption = Osgoode Hall Law School – Class of 1945 | birth_name =  | birth_date = 1906 | birth_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | death_date = {{Death date and given age|2001|10||94}} | death_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | other_names = | alma_mater = *University of Michigan *University of British Columbia *Osgoode Hall Law School *Ryerson University | occupation = Lawyer | years_active = 1945–1992 | spouse = Victoria Jane Chow | children = 3 | parents = Yip Wang Sang | relatives =  | known_for = *First Chinese-Canadian lawyer *Fought for the 1947 repeal of the ''Chinese Exclusion Act'' | awards = Law Society of Upper Canada Medal 1998 | notable_works = }}

'''Kew Dock Yip''' (葉求鐸; pinyin: Yè Qiúduó; 1906–2001) was community leader in Toronto's First Chinatown, the first Canadian lawyer of Chinese descent, and played a critical role in helping repeal the Canadian ''Chinese Exclusion Act'' in 1947. He is the third youngest son of Yip Sang, a prominent Chinese merchant and paymaster of CP Railway, in Vancouver in the 1900s.<ref name=KDY>{{cite web |title=First Lawyers — Kew Dock Yip |url=http://www.roadtojustice.ca/first-lawyers/kew-dock-yip |publisher=Road to Justice – {{resize|The legal struggle for equal rights of Chinese Canadians}}}}</ref><ref name=Gladstone />

==Early years==

Yip was born in Vancouver in 1906, the 17th of 19 sons, and one of 23 children born to prominent Canadian businessman Yip Wang Sang's four wives.<ref name=Gladstone>{{cite web |title=Obits: Kew Dock Yip (1906-2001) & Irving Himel (1915-2001) |url=http://www.billgladstone.ca/?p=3696 |date=October 25, 2011 |publisher=The Globe and Mail |via=Bill Gladstone}}</ref> alt=Dock Yip in front of Angell Hall, at the University of Michigan|thumb|Dock Yip in front of Angell Hall, at the University of Michigan In 1931, Yip graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Michigan.<ref name=Gladstone /><ref name=video /> After completing his pharmacological studies, Yip returned to Vancouver where he became Secretary for the Chinese Consulate; it was during this period that Yip decided to pursue a career in law.<ref name="Interviewees">{{cite web |title=Biographies of Website Interviewees 2011 • Kew Dock Yip (1906-2001) |url=http://www.roadtojustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Biographies-of-Website-Interviewees.pdf |publisher=Road to Justice – {{resize|The legal struggle for equal rights of Chinese Canadians}} |website=roadtojustice.ca |accessdate=November 26, 2015}}</ref>

Yip, along with some of his brothers, were members of the Chinese Students Soccer Team in 1933, when they became the B.C. Mainland Cup Soccer Champions. The team is believed to be the only soccer team composed of Chinese players outside of China in that era, a time when Chinese people in B.C. faced heavy racism. In 2011, they were inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.<ref name=soccer>{{cite web |title=Inductees • 1933 Chinese Students (M) Soccer Team |url=https://bcsportshall.com/honoured_member/1933-chinese-students-/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009092102/http://www.bcsportshalloffame.com/inductees/inductees/bio?id=60&type=team |url-status=live |archive-date=October 9, 2015 |publisher=BC Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=November 26, 2015}}</ref>

In 1941 Yip earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia.<ref name=Interviewees /> Driven by the fact that British Columbia did not allow individuals of Chinese origin to practice law, Yip moved to Toronto with his future wife Victoria Chow upon the completed his studies at UBC.<ref name="KDY" /><ref name="Interviewees" />

In 1942 Yip joined the Canadian Army, becoming an army reservist with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.<ref name=Gladstone />

==Law practice in Toronto== After three attempts to gain admittance into Osgoode Hall Law School, he was admitted and graduated in 1945 with his Bachelor of Laws. Later that year, he became the first lawyer of East Asian descent called to the bar in Canada.<ref name="KDY" /><ref name="Interviewees" /><ref name="soccer" /> Yip, working closely with civil liberties and human rights lawyer and law school friend Irving Himel and other activists from across the country, was an important player in convincing the Government of Canada to, in 1947, repeal the ''Chinese Immigration Act'' of 1923, commonly known as the ''Chinese Exclusion Act'', thereby allowing immigration of Chinese people into Canada.<ref name="KDY" /><ref name="Gladstone" /> He remained focused on this issue, through 1958 to 1966 fighting to have Canada's immigration policies reformed to reduce the barriers Chinese immigrants faced trying to enter Canada.<ref name="Interviewees" /> From his work, Yip became an important community leader in Toronto's Chinatown.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

After achieving victory in his legal fight for Chinese-Canadian rights, Yip returned to his legal career serving Toronto's Chinese community. He maintained a private legal practice in Chinatown where he flourished, due to his fluency in three Chinese languages, the fact he was the only Chinese-speaking attorney in Toronto at the time, and because he was a man who "gave personal care and attention to his clients".<ref name=Gladstone /><ref name=Interviewees /> Yip was highly respected by other lawyers, recognized as a person of integrity and role model; he was also fondly remembered as a man with an encyclopedic knowledge, as comfortable discussing classical literature as he was debating intricacies of law.<ref name="Gladstone" /> In addition to his 47 years assisting Chinese residents with their legal needs, four decades of that spent working out of store-front offices in Chinatown, Yip served two terms as a Toronto Board of Education trustee for Ward 6 in the 1970s.<ref name=Gladstone /><ref name=Interviewees />

In 1985, he played the role of tong leader, Milton Bin, in the movie ''Year of the Dragon'' starring Mickey Rourke.<ref name=Gladstone /><ref name=AllMovie>{{cite web |title=Year of the Dragon {{resize|(1985)}} • Cast & Crew |url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/year-of-the-dragon-v55720/cast-crew |publisher=AllMovie |accessdate=November 26, 2015}}</ref> In 1991, he appeared in a Cyndi Lauper rock video.<ref name=Interviewees /> Yip continued to practice law until retiring in 1992.<ref name=video>{{cite web |title=Videos — Interview with sons of Dock Yip |url=http://www.roadtojustice.ca/video/interview-with-dock-yip |publisher=Road to Justice – {{resize|The legal struggle for equal rights of Chinese Canadians}}}}</ref>

In 1994, at the age of 87, Yip received special recognition from Ryerson University as the oldest student in their continuing education program, studying Shakespearean English by correspondence.<ref name="Gladstone" /><ref name=Interviewees /> In 1998 he was awarded the Law Society Medal by the Law Society of Upper Canada for outstanding service to the legal profession.<ref name=Interviewees /><ref name=LSUC>{{cite web |title=List of All Law Society Medal Recipients |url=http://www.lsuc.on.ca/with.aspx?id=766&langtype=1033 |publisher=Law Society of Upper Canada |accessdate=November 27, 2015}}</ref>

==Personal life== In 1942, Yip married Victoria Chow, his childhood sweetheart.<ref name=Gladstone /> They had three children and five grandchildren.<ref name=Gladstone /><ref name=Interviewees />

==Awards== * Law Society of Upper Canada Medal 1998<ref name=LSUC />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{imdb name|0948133}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yip, Kew Dock}} Category:1906 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Canadian people of Chinese descent Category:Lawyers in Ontario Category:Male actors from Toronto Category:Male actors from Vancouver Category:Osgoode Hall Law School alumni Category:Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Category:Sportspeople from Toronto Category:Sportspeople from Vancouver Category:Sports hall of fame inductees Category:University of British Columbia alumni Category:University of Michigan College of Pharmacy alumni Category:20th-century Canadian lawyers Category:Queen's Own Rifles of Canada officers Category:Canadian Army personnel of World War II Category:Military personnel from Vancouver