William Yukon Chang

William Yukon Chang (; January 1, 1916 – September 4, 2019) was a Chinese-American newspaper publisher and community leader who advocated for the Chinese American communities in New York City. He was the founder of the Chinese-American Times newspaper, which operated from 1955 to 1972.

Early life and education Chang was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 1, 1916. His grandparents immigrated from China to Hawaii, making a living raising coffee and running a grocery store. His father, William Sang Chang, was a merchant seaman while his mother, Kui Kyau Lee, was a homemaker. He graduated from McKinley High School in Honolulu and went on to earn a B.A. in journalism from St. John's University in Shanghai, China.

Career After the Second Sino–Japanese War broke out in Shanghai in 1937, he sailed back to Hawaii and enrolled briefly at the University of Hawai'i in the teacher education program. In 1941, he returned to Shanghai as he found it more stimulating, and the daily English-language newspaper The China Press hired him as a sportswriter.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese forces invaded and occupied Shanghai and shut the paper down. Chang had to wear an armband to identify himself as an enemy alien. In 1964, the newspaper had about 3,000 subscribers.

Political and community activities According to The New York Times, he was a "sought-after translator, a confidant to old-school Chinese familial associations, a go-between in landlord-tenant disputes and a voice on the neighborhood’s community board."

Awards In 2000, Chang received the Museum of Chinese in America's Legacy Award.

Personal life In 1952, Chang married then-SMC exchange student Tang Kou Mei (湯國梅), the first daughter of Nationalist general Tang Enbo (湯恩伯). They raised three daughters, Dallas, Marina and Priscilla.

Chang died on September 4, 2019, at the age of 103 in New York City.

An archive of his work, The William Yukon Chang Papers, are held by the Columbia University Libraries.