A noted broadcaster. Der Hoi-Yin was born in Hong Kong in 1954. and immigrated to Canada with her family in December 1956. She is the great-granddaughter of Mah Bon Quen.
After arriving in Prince Rupert. Der became quite close to her maternal grandfather. Gee, or Edward. Mah. She was Mah’s eldest grandchild, and he taught her how to drive, and bought her first camera. It seems as if Der’s first interest in the media was sparked by her grandfather. ‘He loved the news, she remembered in 1992. ‘the CHC News. Even as a child. I can remember him always tuned in to the CBC. or reading the Vancouver Sun. He was one of the few people in Prince Rupert who subscribed to a Vancouver paper. He loved talking about world affairs.
Der’s education did not stop with her schooling in Prince Rupert When she was 14 years old she became the first Chinese girl accepted at Queen Margaret’s, a private girls’ school on Vancouver Island which Der remembered as ‘very British.” She had been playing piano since she was very young, and now studied in Victoria with Robin Wood. head of the Victoria Conservatory of Music. At Queen Margaret’s. in addition to a rigorous academic program (she graduated with the scholarship trophy), there was a well-rounded sporting program. She went frow there to Queen’s University at Kingston. and graduated in two years. majoring in history.
Der Hoi-Yin eased into the world of journalism. The summer that she~ graduated from Queen Margaret’s she worked as a reporter at thE Prince Rupert Daily News. and through her time at Queen’s she freelanced for the student newspaper and the Kingston Whig-Standard Choosing this as the path of her life she became a court reporter at the~ Victoria Times after graduating from Queen’s. and just under a year late began a ten-year stint at the Vancouver Sun. “When I went to the Sun. I worked graveyard” she remembered in 1992. “again doing lot of the crime reporting and the kinds of things all young reporter~ did in those days to cut their teeth,, I was sent out on a lot of shoot out~ and rough and tough assignments since I had a reputation for being~ fearless and they knew I would always deliver. One of my most memorable stories during this period was the so-called case of the Five Dragons, five Hong Kong police officers who had fled to Canada after it was learned they had been on the take in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government was trying to have them extradited. My assignment was to track them down and interview them. I managed to find two of them. interviewed none of them. and almost got my photographer assaulted in the process. But I did deliver a story on the hunt.
In 1978 Der moved to the business pages. and after that time covered business and economics exclusively. In 1984. during a strike at the Vancouver Sun. she moonlighted on the local CBC tv supper hour show and was offered a full-time job which she declined. She accepted.however, when she was offered a new position on The National. as the premier business and economics reporter in the country.’ She joined The National in August 1985. She won a National Business writing award for Top Financial Columnist in 1985. and was the first Chinese Canadian to become a national network correspondent.
In the 1992 interview. Der Hoi-Yin (who now lives in Hong Kong), was reflective about the meaning of being a Chinese Canadian. and fondly remembered Prince Rupert. “It was a wonderful town.” she said, not too small, not too big. a friendly place with lots of friendly people... When I think of Prince Rupert. I always remember the bright pinkish-red sunsets over the ocean, one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.”