"I've written enough now to figure out I have a recurring tendency, which is that a lot of my characters are outsiders", Ong told a reporter after the debut of his second book.
"[3] Han Ong was born on February 5, 1968,[citation needed] to ethnic Chinese parents in Manila, the Philippines.
Ong did not share a close relationship with his four siblings, and he struggled with a sense of alienation in his new homeland as well as with his experience with adolescence.
He collaborated with fellow Filipino American writer Jessica Hagedorn in 1993 to write a performance piece, "Airport Music", for the Los Angeles Festival.
"Fixer Chao" was named a Los Angeles Times "Best Book of the Year" and nominated for a Stephen Crane First Fiction Award.
[citation needed] Ong has recently focused on novels and hopes to revisit the Philippines after more than 20 years of separation from his homeland.
His plays can be divided into two groups: those exploring issues related to immigration and those that examine the lives of non-stereotypical Asian Americans.