[Fengcheng Historical Association] The earliest document of the Chinese ancestors of Alberta (2)

[Fengcheng Historical Association] The earliest document of the Chinese ancestors of Alberta (2) Phoenix Zhang ZhaohongThe earliest statement…

Phoenix Zhang Zhaohong The earliest statements made by Arizona’s Chinese-American found.

As the earliest historical document with photos of the Chinese ancestors in Phoenix, who is the character Sing Kewong in it? Why was it possible to obtain the so-called "Reentry Permit" after the U.S. Congress enacted the stringent Chinese Exclusion Act? Let us look at the "Chinese Exclusion Act" passed by the U.S. Congress in 1882: 1882 was an unforgettable year of humiliation for the Chinese in the United States. This year, the U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, an epoch-making landmark in immigration history, for the first time. The law stipulates that (1) Chinese workers will be stopped from entering the United States for 10 years starting from this year; (2) Chinese who have already arrived in the United States will not be allowed to naturalize as U.S. citizens. Once the Chinese return to China to visit relatives, they will not be able to return to the United States; (3) Chinese workers who have resided in the United States before November 17, 1880 and have obtained customs certification documents will be allowed to re-enter the United States after temporarily leaving the country. country; (4) Chinese (non-Chinese workers) who hold Chinese government documents in English stating that they have the right to enter the United States under the contract will be allowed to enter the United States; (5) Chinese who enter the United States without legal channels will be deported according to the judgment of the U.S. court after the passage of this law; (6) After that, no state or federal court will allow Chinese to naturalize as U.S. citizens. After this law was signed, many Chinese workers had to live in foreign lands for the rest of their lives. It can be seen from the law that what can allow Chinese people to return to the United States is Article 3 of the law, "Chinese workers who have resided in the United States before November 17, 1880 and have obtained customs certification documents will be allowed to re-enter the United States after temporarily leaving the country." I found that in the 1880s, the official population in Phoenix was 1,708, of which 101 were Chinese. Only Kuang Sheng or one of them could be eligible to obtain a "reentry permit." Calculated in this way, in 1882, Kuang Sheng was only 27 years old, young and strong. The railway had been built to Phoenix that year. The most likely reason for staying was as a road construction worker. However, if Kuang Sheng was a Chinese laborer who lived in the United States before November 17, 1880, but did not obtain customs certification documents, and he only applied to return to China in 1894, what other laws could help him? The "Chinese Exclusion Act" in 1882 was just the beginning. In 1884, the U.S. Supplementary Chinese Exclusion Act made new provisions. Chinese people and their descendants from all over the world will always be treated as Chinese. Regardless of whether they have become citizens of other countries (such as British or French nationality), if they want to come to the United States, they must be restricted by the U.S. Supplementary Chinese Exclusion Act, and they must return to the country they came from. Since then, anti-Chinese actions have become more and more intense. In 1888, the U.S. government enacted the "Scott Act", which stipulated that after Chinese workers left the United States, they were not allowed to return to the United States regardless of whether they had documents or not. As a result, more than 20,000 Chinese workers who are currently returning to China to visit relatives cannot return to the United States. During this period, "Chinese exclusion" became a fashionable slogan for American political parties to win votes. (It can be seen from this that some American politicians have had deep prejudices against Chinese people for a long time, and this has been implanted in American thinking, so it has become a fashionable slogan for American political parties to win votes. Incidents of racial discrimination against Chinese people still occur.) At this point, the number of Chinese people going to the United States dropped sharply, and by 1887 it was at its lowest, only 10 people. In May 1892, Congress passed the "Geary Act", a "habeas corpus law" that deprived the Chinese. Provisions were made to extend the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited the entry of Chinese laborers, for 10 years. Cancel the habeas corpus order for Chinese people, and Chinese people are not allowed to apply for bail. This eucalyptus deprived the Chinese of their right to personal protection (habeas corpus) and completely lost their basic judicial rights. Moreover, within one year of the passing of this law, all Chinese workers in the United States must apply for a residence permit. Those who still do not have a residence permit after one year will be arrested and deported. Anyone who enters the country illegally will be imprisoned for five years and will be deported after serving the sentence. On May 15, 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in its decision "Kwong Yiu Ting v. the Government of the United States" that the right of the United States (through its Congress) to exclude and expel aliens, either absolutely or conditionally, "is an inherent and inalienable right of every sovereign and independent nation."

Only in May 1892, the U.S. Congress passed the "Guillory Act", which included "Within one year of the passage of this law, all Chinese workers in the United States must apply for a residence permit. Those who still do not have a residence permit after one year will be arrested and deported." If Kuang Sheng had applied for a residence permit during this period, he could have applied to return to China in 1894 and then returned to the United States. What are the requirements for Kuang Sheng to apply to return to China? Or is there any other purpose? We will continue in the next issue.

Sing Kewong, the earliest Chinese ancestor with documented photos in Phoenix