Early life and education Jack Chiang was born in
Guangzhou,
China, and grew up in
Macau,
Hong Kong, and
Taiwan. He graduated with a B.A. in Foreign Languages and Literature (French) from the
National Taiwan University, and a master's degree in journalism from
Marquette University in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Chiang was a journalist, editor, columnist, and a newsroom manager for more than 25 years. Chiang has received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from both
Queen's University and the
Royal Military College of Canada. He also has received an honorary diploma from
St. Lawrence College. He speaks fluent
Cantonese,
Mandarin,
English and
French.
Career Chiang began his career as a court reporter for the
Orillia Packet and Times daily. He was a member of the newsroom management team of the
Kingston Whig-Standard daily newspaper between 1980 and 2007. Earlier in his career, he was sent on assignments in
Pakistan,
Afghanistan,
Romania,
Ethiopia, the
Amazon River, the
Caribbean Islands,
England, and other European and African countries. His work has been featured in every major newspaper in Canada, as well as the
International Herald-Tribune,
The New York Times and the
Moscow News. He has been interviewed by all three Canadian national TV networks, as well as
CBC Radio One shows
As It Happens,
Radio Noon, and
Ontario Morning. Chiang was the
city editor of the
Kingston Whig-Standard from 1994 to 1995 and 1998 as well as a daily columnist from 1995 to 2007. He joined the
Ontario Court of Justice in May 2007.
Aerobatic aircraft An aviation enthusiast, he has flown 15 times with some of the world’s top aerobatic-flying teams: the
Snowbirds, the
Smoke Squadron,
French Connection, the Northern Lights, the Ray Ban Gold Aerobatic Team, and the Bill Carter aerobatics.
Volunteer work Chiang was the chair or honorary chair of more than 50 successful charitable campaigns for such organizations as the
United Way, the Boys and Girls Club, Kingston Literacy, the
Alzheimer's Society, and the
Salvation Army. He was a member of the board of directors of both the
Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ontario, and is a governor of
Kingston General Hospital. Chiang is currently chair of the advisory committee of Immigrant Services Kingston-area (ISKA) and a member of the board of directors of
L’Association française-canadienne de l’Ontario (AFCO) for the
Thousand Islands region since June 2010. He is an active member of the local francophone community. In 2008, he was chosen by
Governor-General of Canada Michaëlle Jean to be one of the 20 national mentors who each guided one of Canada’s 20 most promising young people. ==Awards==