Tong

"earth"

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

Tong is the mayor of an Earth Kingdom town called Chin Village. The Mayor loves to glorify his town's former leader Chin The Great almost as much as he loves to denounce the Avatar. He uses his own brand of justice ("just-us"), which severely disadvantages any defendants. The Mayor is arrogant, but also cowardly, evidenced by his behavior in his only appearance, in the episode "Avatar Day".

History
During an Avatar Day festival, Aang reveals himself as the Avatar, only to be arrested. While in his jail cell, Mayor Tong explains 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 search the village and return to Kyoshi Island to find evidence that says otherwise. Unfortunately, the evidence is useless because in these trials, the opposing sides only tell what they believe happened. Using only the two stories, the jury decides who is innocent and who is guilty; for this case, Tong serves as both prosecution and jury.

During Aang's trial, after hearing Tong's story and Aang's vague version, he is found guilty. Refusing to give up, Sokka and Katara have Aang dress up in Kyoshi's old uniform. Kyoshi manifests herself through Aang's body (as Avatar Roku did previously). She announces to the village that she did indeed kill Chin the Great (or "Conqueror," as she calls him), but it was for a good cause. Once Kyoshi's spirit disappears, the village brings out a wheel for Aang to spin to determine his punishment. It lands on "boiled in oil," but before the sentence can be carried out, the Fire Nation bandits from earlier arrive to take over the village. Fearing for his safety, the Mayor Tong quickly changes the punishment to community service, and pleads with Aang to defeat the warriors and save the village. In an act of thanks, Tong decides that in the future, Avatars will be honored on "Avatar Day". Since Aang was not boiled in oil on this day, the celebration will involve eating effigies of the Avatar made from uncooked dough.

Trivia

 * In the United States, a tong is the term used for a type of secret society found among Chinese American immigrants. In the nineteenth century, when the tongs originated, few Chinese workers wished to emigrate to the USA.