Minutes of the symposium commemorating the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act (Part 1)

Arizona Chinese Historical Association Zhang Zhaohong This year marks the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act by the US Congress. On June 17, the Arizona Chinese Historical Association held...

Arizona Chinese Historical Association Zhang Zhaohong

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act by the U.S. Congress. On June 17, the Arizona Chinese Historical Association held a symposium to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the abolition of the Chinese Exclusion Act. 20 directors, members and scholars of the historical association attended the meeting. Participants spoke enthusiastically and expressed their views from different levels and angles. Through this event, they deepened their understanding of relevant history and improved the dimension of their thoughts. The scale of this symposium was small, but it was of far-reaching significance. Members attending the symposium took a group photo as a souvenir. Front row from left: Feng Jianhua, Zhou Yanfei, Lin Jian, Wen Linglin, Zhang Huafang, Zhuang Shuhua, Wang Yahong, Wang Zhenmei, Liang Yueyuan. Back row from left: Yu Minxin, Li Jiang, Zhang Wanbo, Wang Yicheng, Zhang Zhaohong, Deng Chaoju, Tang Xiaoxian, Gu Jufang, Hui Ru, Xu Qiang. Photography: Yuan Shujuan, Sean. Cotton.

The Arizona Chinese Historical Association made adequate preparations before the meeting. President Zhang Zhaohong organized speakers on different topics in order to have a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of history and the current situation. and tasks, and also specially invited Mr. Xue Haipei, the first person to initiate and promote the U.S. Congress’ apology campaign for the Chinese Exclusion Act and the founder of the United Chinese in America (UCA), to make a speech on the phone, and Mr. Xu Heping, the author of "Goodbye Pearl Buck", to make a recording. Teacher Tang Xiaoxian (left) presented "American History" to Zhang Zhaohong, President of the Chinese Historical Association

The symposium was divided into four topics for discussion. The first part: the historical background of the emergence of the "Chinese Exclusion Act" and the cases of racist discrimination and persecution of Chinese before and after the passage of the bill. This part was lectured by Teacher Tang Xiaoxian, vice president of the Chinese Historical Association. Before the introduction of the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States in 1882, nearly 200 expulsions of Chinese had occurred from 1859 to 1906, and 302 lynchings were officially recorded in Los Angeles between 1849 and 1902. In the case, 200 victims were Asian. In 1852, the Chinese were driven out of the mining shop in Shasta. In 1853, more than 3,000 Chinese who were mining for gold in Shasta were expelled. By the end of the 1950s, there were only 1 local Chinese left. 60 people. In 1885, riots to deport and kill Chinese swept across the western United States. Thousands of mobs besieged and burned Chinatown and threatened more than 300 Chinese in Wyoming. In Spring City, at least 38 Chinese miners were killed, dozens more were seriously injured or missing, and Chinese houses were burned down. In November of the same year, the mayor of Tacoma, Washington, and more than 500 armed men drove out Chinese residents and burned Chinatown. Teacher Tang Xiaoxian President Zhang Zhaohong added the following when editing the manuscript: Anti-Chinese anti-Chinese in the United States evolved from mob-style attacks, robberies, and murders in the early days to an organized, institutional, and comprehensive action carried out by the government. The main anti-Chinese elements were also originally limited to the working class. Extending to the Congress, city halls, state capitals, and finally Congress, politicians sacrificed the interests of the Chinese to gain favor in order to win workers' votes. The driving force behind this entire action was racial discrimination. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the most significant restriction on immigration from a single country in the history of the United States. After the passage of the Anti-China Act, stricter restrictions were imposed on Chinese who applied to enter the United States. The most obvious example is the Angel Station in San Francisco Bay. From 1910 to 1940, this immigration station processed approximately 175,000 Chinese. Among them, 56,113 recorded Chinese were not allowed to enter the United States for various reasons, accounting for one-third of the total number of people who applied for entry. The bed frame of the Angel Island detention room is narrow, and six people are accommodated on the upper, middle and lower floors. The place where 50 people were originally accommodated is now occupied by 200 to 600 people at any time. In comparison, immigrants from other European countries are much more lenient. After the implementation of the "China Anti-China Act", there are countless cases of such discrimination against Chinese people.

Part Two: The historical background and process of repealing the Chinese Exclusion Act. During the Second World War, due to the changes in the international environment and the promotion of the righteous forces of the United States, the Chinese ancestors rose up through a series of resistance movements, and the Chinese Exclusion Act was finally repealed, so that Chinese people in the United States could receive the minimum fair treatment, families could finally be reunited, Chinese people could participate in politics, and Chinese businessmen could be protected and developed. During this struggle, Pearl Buck was always a model who insisted on repealing the Chinese Exclusion Act. Regarding the story of Pearl Buck, especially her book "The Good Earth", Zhou Yanfei, director of the Chinese Historical Association, has read it thoroughly and done sufficient homework. This is the same understanding that teacher Xu Heping had in his book "Goodbye Pearl Buck". In this part of the symposium, Ms. Zhou Yanfei spoke first, and then the phone recording of Teacher Xu Heping was played. We excerpted the content for publication. Teacher Xu Heping Ms. Zhou Yanfei Pearl Buck is the daughter of an American pastor. When she was three months old, she came to Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China with her parents. She is an American girl who grew up in China. The first language she learned was Chinese and she received Confucianism. She did not go to Shanghai to attend middle school until she was 15 years old. Afterwards, she returned to the United States to attend college. After getting married, my husband and I returned to China again. She experienced rural life, accumulated materials, and taught English at Jinling University, Central University, and Southeast Asian University. In 1931, she published "The Earth" and the "Earth" trilogy, and later wrote more Chinese-themed novels and biographical works, for which she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938. The English version of the "The Good Earth" trilogy has been published in more than 70 editions and millions of copies. Her works have been translated into more than 140 languages, changing the world's understanding of China and increasing the West's sympathy for China, thus giving great solidarity and support to China's Anti-Japanese War during World War II. In the recording of Teacher Xu Heping, he specifically mentioned how Pearl Buck first initiated the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States: "At that time, the Japanese militarists and the Wang Puppet regime, in order to sow discord and alienate the Sino-US alliance, directly accused the US of the Chinese Exclusion Act and demonstrated the moral hypocrisy of the United States. The Japanese and puppets trumpeted the US government's discrimination against the Chinese: "Americans don't want you. They just want you to help them fight the war. Their "Chinese Exclusion Act" is aimed at you, saying that you are not qualified to be American citizens..." In February 1942, Pearl Buck spoke at a rally at the Astor Hotel in New York and strongly appealed: "If we do not give up the concept of white supremacy, the United States will lose this war. America must unite people of all colors and ethnicities. " Under the strong demands of the righteous forces of the United States and the strong pressure of public opinion, the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the abolition of the "Chinese Exclusion Act" in May 1943. Pearl Buck went to Congress to testify in person. She gave an impassioned speech to express the two main reasons for the abolition of the "Chinese Exclusion Act": 1. Democracy is a symbol of pride for Americans and is promoted everywhere. But democracy first requires human equality and fairness. The "Chinese Exclusion Act" is contrary to this and tarnishes the spirit of democracy and must be abolished. 2. The current need for a joint war of resistance. The Chinese nation is a great nation that is industrious, courageous and peace-loving. It is currently engaged in an arduous struggle against the invasion and occupation of Japanese imperialism. Whether the current war against German and Japanese fascism can be won depends on China's persistence and victory in the war of resistance, and whether the United States can win the trust and support of the Chinese people. Pearl Buck pointedly pointed out: "Every Chinese knows that the United States has the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese can no longer tolerate its existence. Her shocking speech made the American government and opposition parties feel that there was no reason for the Chinese Exclusion Act to continue to exist. (To be continued)