SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- San Francisco will likely have the first metro station named after a famous Chinese community leader after the city's transportation authorities made the decision with a 4-3 vote on Tuesday.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency held a meeting that lasted for nearly six hours over public comments from representatives of the city's various Chinese communities, groups and organizations.
More than 300 people spoke at the public testimony on the naming of the central subway's Chinatown station currently under construction after Rose Pak, a well-known Chinese community leader in San Francisco Chinatown.
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin proposed in 2016 to name the metro station after Pak to honor her outstanding contribution to Chinatown and the largest Chinese community in the United States.
Norman Fong, a San Francisco native and director of the non-profit Chinatown Community Development Center, said his family have lived in San Francisco Chinatown for more than 100 years.
"All we want to do was to honor her because she was one of the few strong Chinese women that fought for the rights of the Chinese community," said Fong.
Cindy Wu, deputy director of the Chinatown Community Development Center, also said naming the station after Pak is about honoring someone that gave everything for this neighborhood.
"Pak has devoted everything to the community to ensure that the low income people in Chinatown were seen to make sure that they mattered and that this is a place that can be a real place where everyone can live their lives freely. It's about claiming this place for Chinese people," Wu said.
Pak had served as an executive director of the China Overseas Exchange Association and a consultant for the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
She was a key organizer of the world-renowned Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco. She died on Sept. 18, 2016 at the age of 68.
