My name is Li Ling Ai. I want to help China through the war so I learned how to fly planes so I could offer my services.

Hawaii, 1940

However, I got a call from a photographer named Rey Scott about the bombing of Shanghai. I knew that this was my way to help! He had to go and get the real story of China and its people!

So, I funded and sent Rey to China three different times. My relatives met him and introduced him to many people he needed to know, including the president and first lady of China!

Bye, and thank you Li Ling Ai! See you soon!

I sent Rey to cover the story of the war in China but I also wanted to be able to use this opportunity to improve the image of Chinese people in America. I'm sick of people being racist to Asians and saying slurs and chants! I told Rey that I want the real struggle of Chinese people shown not those sing song clubs! The story of China must be told through people of China.

Rey Scott in China under Japanese siege

These scenes were then edited into my film Kukan, which won academy awards. Kukan in Chinese means to persevere through the hardest circumstances which is what Chinese people did during the war.

Rey Scott came home to New York with many scenes of Chinese people in China enduring and living bravely through the war. These scenes were very effective in my plight of making America sympathize with the situation in China.

Upon completion of the movie, the first lady of the United States even invited me, Li Ling Ai, to the white house to show the president the movie! I, of course, brought the photographer, Rey Scott.

However, to get Kukan into theaters, I had to give up the label of director as Kukan would have been otherwise doubted because I'm a woman or even classified as propaganda since I'm Chinese!

Kukan was extremely well received and received an Academy Award in February 1942. But the honor mostly went to my photographer, Rey.