Kelvin Tse sworn in by Federal Judge Alex Tse as Presiding President of Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association

(SAN FRANCISCO) Hop Wo Benevolent Association President Kelvin Tse was sworn in by Federal Magistrate Judge Alex Tse on July 2 as the Presiding President of Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) for the months of July and August. Both Kelvin and Alex who are from the Tse family association are also the graduates of UC Berkeley.

Judge Tse set a new record as the first federal judge to administer an inauguration for a Presiding President in the 140-year history of CCBA.

According to the CCBA’s by-law, the presidents from seven major family Associations would rotate every two months to be the Presiding President of CCBA. Kelvin Tse, who represents the Hop Wo Association, took over the Presiding President position on July 2. Kelvin Tse invited Judge Tse to swear him in at the ceremony.

Kelvin Tse accepted the Seal Stamp from Yiu Ting Cheung, President of Sue Hing Benevolent Association and acting outgoing CCBA Presiding President, in the inauguration. Scott Lai, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, was invited to supervise the transition.

Judge Tse thanked for the opportunity to participate in the community event and share the pride of Kelvin Tse in outstanding community service.

Judge Tse was appointed as the second Chinese American judge in the history of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. He is a son of Hong Kong immigrants and grew up in Seattle. He came to the San Francisco Bay Area to enroll at UC Berkeley in college. Judge Tse later earned his law degree from UC Hastings School of Law.

Prior to the judgeship appointment, he was the federal prosecutor served in the U.S. Attorney's Office and deputy city attorney in San Francisco.

Kelvin Tse was born and raised in Hong Kong. At age 15, he came to the United States and settled in Oakland. He also enrolled at UC Berkeley and majored in chemical engineering. He first joined the U.S. Department of Defense as a chemical engineer serving in the Navy.

Kelvin Tse was promoted to a program manager in the U.S. Department of Defense for the Air-to-Air Missile System and Environmental Chemical Technology Development.

When the Department of Homeland Security was created in the 1990s, Kelvin Tse joined the department as a computer and network communication engineer. He later became a leader in emergency response and providing assistance to disaster areas and victims until he retired in 2018.

Kelvin Tse served as the chairman of the Tse Family Association of San Francisco for four consecutive terms, illustrating his commitment to preserving familial ties. He was the Chair of Chew Lun Benevolent Association of San Francisco.

Currently, he is the President of Hop Wo Benevolent Association, Vice President of Chew Lun Association, President of Chinese Cemetery, Vice President of Guong Fook Tong and the Honorary Chairman of the Tse Family Association.

Kelvin Tse is committed to serving the Chinese community with roots from his family’s ancestors. “It was during the gold rush in San Francisco that my great great grandfather made a life-altering decision to immigrate to the United States,” said Tse.