Jack Eng assumed the two-year presidency of the New York Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) , an umbrella organization comprising 60 Chinese American associations in New York, the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission New York office reported that same day. The CCBA president is often referred to as the 'mayor of Chinatown.' New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Comptroller John Liu, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and many city council members attended the handover ceremony, which was also witnessed by Kao Jen-chuan, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York. The 60-year-old Eng, an accountant, is a senior advisor of the Republic of China's Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission. He originally came from Toishan County in Canton, China and has served as president of the Chinatown Republican Party. Eng is concurrently president of the 158-year-old Hoy Sun Ning Yung Association, an amity association of overseas Chinese from Toishan, which is known as the 'home of overseas Chinese' because more than half of all overseas Chinese who came to North America before the mid-20th century claim their origin in the area. Founded in 1883, the CCBA represents a cross-section of New York's Chinese community, including kinship, professional and trade groups as well as civic organizations. In recent years, as Chinese Americans have become more eager to integrate with mainstream American society, the CCBA has redoubled its efforts to promote interaction and encourage Chinese American seeking political participation. In 2004, the CCBA formed the Chinese Voters Association to encourage qualified Chinese American citizens to register and vote. As more Chinese American voters cast their votes, politicians running for public office or seeking re-election, including Hillary Clinton in 2005 and Bloomberg in 2009, tend to visit Chinatown in lower Manhattan to seek support. Upon assuming his new functions, Eng said he will continue to help Chinese Americans to assimilate into mainstream America. 