Tong

"earth"

- That's why we call it justice. Because it's “just us.” Hahaha!

Tong was the mayor of an Earth Kingdom town called Chin Village. The Mayor loved to glorify his town's former leader Chin The Great almost as much as he loved to denounce the Avatar. He used his own brand of justice ("just-us"), which severely disadvantages any defendants as he alone acted as Judge and Jury. The Mayor was arrogant, delusional, ignorant but also cowardly, evidenced by his behavior in his only appearance.

History
During an Avatar Day festival, Aang revealed himself as the Avatar, only to be arrested. While in his jail cell, Mayor Tong explained to him that "Avatar Day" was formed after Avatar Kyoshi killed the village's leader, Chin The Great.

To prove Aang's (or rather, Kyoshi's) innocence, Sokka and Katara searched the village and return to Kyoshi Island to find evidence that proved otherwise. Unfortunately, the evidence was useless because in these trials, the opposing sides only told what they believed happened. Using only the two stories, the jury decided who was innocent and who was guilty; unfortunately, as mayor Tong served as both prosecution and jury which meant that convincing him that Aang was innocent would be next to impossible.

During Aang's trial, after hearing Tong's story and Aang's vague version, Aang was found guilty. Refusing to give up, Sokka and Katara had Aang dress up in Kyoshi's old uniform. Kyoshi manifested herself through Aang's body (as Avatar Roku did previously). She announced to the village that she had indeed killed Chin the Great (or "Conqueror," as she called him), but in defense of her home. Once Kyoshi's spirit disappeared, the village brought out a wheel for Aang to spin to determine his punishment. It landed on "boiled in oil," but before the sentence can be carried out, the Rough Rhinos arrived to take over the village.



Fearing for his safety, the Mayor Tong quickly changed the punishment to community service, and pleaded with Aang to defeat the warriors and save the village. In an act of thanks, Tong decided that in the future, Avatars will be honored on "Avatar Day". Since Aang had not been boiled in oil on this day, the celebration would involve eating effigies of the Avatar made from uncooked dough.

His ultimate fate after the War is unknown, although it is likely that he lived happily and prosperously.

Trivia

 * He shared many similarities with Chi Fu from Disney's Mulan. He was also voiced by the same actor.
 * In the Philippines, a "tong" is a euphemism for a bribe, typically associated with bribes given to policemen. It comes from the word "patong" which means "on top" (as in put something on top).