Not many people obsess over word choices the way Yu-Shan Chou does. In her third year as a Language Access and Engagement Specialist for the City Commissioners office, Chou meticulously studies every character in Chinese language election materials to ensure they’re accurate, accessible and culturally appropriate.

It’s a cause that’s especially important to her as an immigrant for whom English is a second language.

“When I moved here, even [though] I had all the help from the community and from my friends, sometimes I still feel like I was left out,” Chou says. “No one [should] feel excluded from having their voice heard simply because of limited English proficiency.”

For the past five years, Chou has been helping other Chinese-speaking Philadelphians feel included in the conversation. Her dedication to this work began in 2020 when she started volunteering to support new immigrants at The Welcoming Center. Her work continued when she spent a year building trust between the Asian community and the city as the AAPI Coalition Organizer for Philly Counts, which helms community engagement for the City. And her commitment endures in her current role at the Commissioners office, where she provides culturally competent translations of ballots and other materials.

“The barrier of language access goes far beyond just words on a page,” says Chou. “[Language access] empowers people to participate in democracy. And it reminds them that their voice is important.”

For her deep commitment to making sure communities that are far too often overlooked have a voice in our democracy, Chou is one of this year’s Integrity Icon Award winners. Integrity Icon is a program The Citizen has run in partnership with the nonprofit Accountability Lab since 2020. The goal of the program is to shine a spotlight on city workers who uphold the highest standards of integrity — helping to inspire others to do the same. The Citizen will be honoring Chou, along with this year’s four other winners, at a party on May 22 at Fitler Club Ballroom. (All are welcome, but you must RSVP in advance here.)

Breaking down the language barrier

Born and raised in Taiwan, Chou’s first language is Mandarin Chinese. She was already proficient in English when she moved to Philadelphia in 2018 after having lived in Toronto for several years, but she took classes at the library to improve her skills, build community and become better acquainted with the city. When she graduated to a place of language fluency, one of Chou’s instructors recommended she support newer immigrants by volunteering at The Welcoming Center, a nonprofit that provides newly arrived immigrants with courses in language, work readiness, entrepreneurship and wellness.

At The Welcoming Center, Chou found friends and purpose when she joined the Immigrant Leadership Institute, a program that helps foreign-born Philadelphians better engage in civic life. “We had to explore what kind of barriers we want to focus on, and [find] solutions … and there are so many barriers [for immigrants], like the social barrier, isolation barrier and cultural barrier,” Chou says. “I think it was natural that my team chose the language barrier.” In an effort to find a solution, Chou co-founded an immigrant-led conversation circle called Let’s Talk Philly in 2020.

“City workers have to accept a million calls, and sometimes they get tired and don’t follow up … she’s different. She will call people back to give them information, [and] checks in multiple times.” — Wei Chen, Asian Americans United

Chou spent the next year working for Philly Counts, through the city’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity. The program was established to encourage participation in the 2020 census and, after the pandemic hit, re-focused to provide information on getting the Covid vaccine. As the program’s AAPI Coalition Organizer, it was Chou’s job to build trust between the Asian community and the city. “I would share information and reduce misinformation. Especially at that time, a lot of people didn’t trust vaccination,” Chou explains. “It was during my time at Philly Counts that I realized how deeply language access shapes peoples’ ability to engage with city services and make an informed decision.”

Chou’s commitment was so deep that she also spent time outside of work volunteering at vaccination clinics — just to have another opportunity to speak with community members and provide guidance they might need.

“I’m so grateful someone like her was there during Covid,” says Esther Castillo, who met Chou while she was working at the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. “She was the bridge between public health in the city and AAPI communities. She created a channel to help folks understand city policy.”

Getting every single character right

Chou relished the opportunity to further increase language access when, in 2022, the Commissioners office sent a message to city employees seeking someone who was fluent in Chinese (read and write traditional Chinese characters). Based upon the 2020 census results, which showed a growing Asian population in the city, the office decided to add a Chinese language translation to ballot materials in the 2022 primary election. No one at the Commissioners office was fluent in Chinese, and they wanted to ensure that translations were accurate. The office requested someone who reads and writes traditional Chinese characters to support the translation and proofreading.

So, while still working full time at Philly Counts, Chou also began spending 5 to 10 hours each week proofreading the ballot translations. After the election was over, she was offered a full-time job with the office.

Chou has since spent the last three years as the office’s Language Access and Engagement Specialist. Her role includes registering Chinese speakers to vote; teaching them how to use the voting machines; clearing up misinformation; and proofreading all the office’s voting information that is translated into Chinese, a job that she does not do quickly, or take lightly. To achieve maximum accuracy, Chou surveys community leaders on dialect to make sure that, across cultures, there is no confusion.

“The barrier of language access goes far beyond just words on a page… It empowers people to participate in democracy. And it reminds them that their voice is important.” — Yu-Shan Chou

“I will first make sure I didn’t just translate [to] mirror the English version, but also [consider] cultural competency,” Chou explains. “I’m from Taiwan [but there is a] Chinese community in Philadelphia from mainland China, where the terminology might differ. We also have people who are from Malaysia, Macau, Hong Kong. They also use Chinese characters, but sometimes the terminology can be different.” Chou makes sure to use phrases that are more universal, that all populations will understand.

As the lone Chinese-speaking person in her role, serving over 10,000 Philadelphians, she puts tremendous effort into making sure that her translations are universally understood. “If you follow the news, you know that [people] try to influence people with limited English proficiency’s votes, and so that really teaches me that I have to hold myself accountable to a high ethics standard,” she says. “The [voting] system can feel intimidating even for native English speakers. I wanted to help bridge the gap.”

That gap can feel especially wide for Chinese immigrants. Because China is governed by one political party, and only limited democratic activity is allowed, the concept of voting is new to a lot of Chinese people. “That doesn’t mean they don’t care about elections or won’t vote” Chou says. “It often just takes time to engage them, guide them through the process, and help them become familiar with the system so they feel confident participating. Language access is one of the key first steps to getting them involved.”

“She is very patient,” says Wei Chen, civic engagement director at Asian Americans United,. “We know that city workers have to accept a million calls, and sometimes they get tired and don’t follow up the case. But she’s different. She will call people back to give them information, [and] checks in multiple times.”

Changing the whole system

As part of her job, Chou provides nonpartisan interpretation services to Mandarin-speaking voters in-person at satellite elections offices and constantly reminds voters of their right to request a translator at polling locations.

It’s important to her, above all, that members of the Asian community know their voices matter. “Every election, everyone we choose does have an impact and consequences in the community,” she says. “I always tell them, if you don’t use your voice and tell people how many Chinese, how many Koreans, or how many Cambodians are in the city, no one will make the policies that benefit your community.”

Chou firmly believes voting is a fundamental right that should be practiced by everyone, and she is passionate about increasing voting literacy and frequency within the city’s Chinese-speaking community. “It takes a long time to change the whole system,” Chen says. “[Chou] is a model to show all other city workers how we can better serve our AAPI community in Philadelphia.”

“It always makes my day every time a voter tells me Oh, I finally understand how to vote, or Thank you for making this easier, or simply saying Thank you for reminding me of the effects,” Chou says. “If they are first-generation, maybe it’s very difficult to change them or to have an impact on them, but I always tell them, Think about your children. Think about your next generation. Think about what kind of city or what kind of country you want to create for them. Because it does have consequences! It does have an impact.”

Corrections: A previous version of this post misstated the number of years Yu-Shan Chou has worked for the City Commissioners. The correct number of years is three. It also misstated the name of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation.

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