The ‘Z’ stands for Zhisheng, 治胜, my Chinese name. Loosely translated, it means ‘to govern victoriously’ in Mandarin. My parents sought out a Chinese soothsayer to pick the name. They must have wanted me to become president.
My English name was christened when my dad’s side of the family, being more anglicized, couldn’t master the Chinese pronunciation. With a bit of imagination, Jason sounds pretty much like 治胜.
Alas, the attempt to tinker with my fate didn’t work, at least not totally, because I’ve absolutely no intention of going into government. It may explain, though, why politics and current events have always enthralled me. Mom and Dad have come to terms with it, I think.
A student of International Relations at Trinity College, at the University of Toronto, I’m currently doing a year-long exchange program at UCL, London.
Thank you for taking the picture and writing about our campaign!
Hopefully we’ll run into you again.
Claudia