Peter Kwong (simplified Chinese: 邝治中; traditional Chinese: 鄺治中; 1941–2017) was a professor of Asian American studies and urban affairs and planning at Hunter College in New York City, as well as a professor of sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.^[1]

Biography

Born in Chungking, China,^[2] he was a pioneer in Asian American studies, a leading scholar of immigration, and an award-winning journalist and filmmaker of Chinese descent. He was widely recognized for his passionate commitment to human rights and social justice.^[3] His best known scholarly work is on Chinese Americans and on modern Chinese politics. His books include:

• Chinese America: The Untold Story of America’s Oldest New Community (ISBN 1565849620);
• Chinese Americans: An Immigrant Experience , co-authored with his wife, Chinese historian Dusanka Miscevic. (ISBN 0883631288);
• Forbidden Workers: Illegal Chinese Immigrants and American Labor (ISBN 156584355X);
• The New Chinatown (ISBN 0809015854);
• Chinatown, New York: Labor and Politics, 1930-1950 (ISBN 1565846400).

He was a frequent contributor to The Nation and the International Herald Tribune and wrote a bi-weekly column on Asia, syndicated worldwide by Agence Global. His exposés of Chinese drug syndicates and Los Angeles racial riots were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Kwong was also a documentary filmmaker, a recipient of a CINE Golden Eagle Award, and most recently a co-producer of China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province for HBO, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010. His 1980 television film, “Third Avenue: Only the Strong Survive,” won an Emmy Award.