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April 24, 2018

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Vancouver apologizes for decades of bias against ethnic Chinese citizens

HUNDREDS of Vancouver citizens crammed into the city’s Chinese Cultural Center on Sunday to witness the city government’s apology for decades of history of racism against Canadian citizens of Chinese descent.

The audience was so large that it overflowed the building and a live feed had to be screened outside the center to accommodate those who couldn’t squeeze in.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson issued the apology at a special City Council session at the cultural center in Chinatown.

He acknowledged the discrimination by the City of Vancouver that inflicted harm against Chinese residents for decades and asked for forgiveness.

In the ensuing 60 years or so from 1886, various policies blocked Chinese residents from voting, holding certain jobs and living in particular parts of the city. City bylaws enforced segregation and restricted business opportunities.

Vancouver’s government successfully lobbied the Canadian government to wage a head tax against Chinese immigrants that lasted from 1885 to 1923.

It wasn’t until World War II when young Chinese Canadians, many born in Vancouver, earned their right to vote and to receive better treatment by volunteering to fight for Canada — a country that didn’t seem to want them.

The apology was read in both English and Chinese.

The English version was read by Robertson, and the Chinese version by former city councilors Bill Yee and Maggie Ip.

“On this day, on behalf of City Council and the City of Vancouver, I sincerely apologize for these past injustices and their cruel effects on individuals and their families, and commit to ensuring that similar unjust practices are never again allowed to fall on any group or community,” Robertson said.

A steady stream of applause transformed into a standing ovation from the audience as Roberston said those words.

“The historical wrongs of Vancouver City Council need to be addressed, particularly as the city is focused now on being a city of reconciliation, and that extends beyond our First Nations to people of other cultures who faced racism and discrimination in the past,” Robertson said.

“This is an important step to address that historic travesty and move forward.”

He said delivering the apology within the community at a public place rather than at a government building would help to convey the city’s intention to make sure Chinese culture is embraced.

Jenny Kwan, a member of the Canadian parliament, said: “To make an apology today I think it is very significant.” She said it shows that the city acknowledges that what it did was wrong and it will lay the foundation for mutual respect and equality.

“We must remember this history (not only) to see how far we have come, but also to say that we must never repeat this kind of discrimination; this kind of racist attitude towards any community as we move forward.”

Canadian Senator Yuen Pau Woo said: “Chinese couldn’t become lawyers, they couldn’t shop in certain places, they couldn’t enter certain establishments.

“There is a very long list of really shameful rules and regulations that were ... put in place by the city that made life unfair for Chinese people.”

He added that the past history shouldn’t be forgiven and urged no more discrimination against others because of their ethnic origin or home country.

Also at the session, Vancouver city councilor Raymond Louie, in his remarks, emotionally reflected on racism his own ancestors experienced after relocating to Vancouver decades ago.

“Today is a celebration,” he said. “It’s a turning of the page for us to move forward, and I think there is some positive road ahead of us to make that happen.”

Melody Choi, a fifth-generation Chinese Canadian, was among those who joined the ceremony to officially accept the apology from the city.

The 17-year-old said her relatives faced various types of discrimination in life and business, and that she’s thankful that she now lives in a city free from unfair treatment.

“Knowing now that I can grow up ... in a society where diversity and acceptance is just first nature is an incredible thing,” she said. “When I go to school or with my community, I feel completely safe and I feel completely accepted to be who I want to be, no matter what culture I come from.”

Vancouver’s apology follows similar apologies issued earlier to Chinese residents and citizens by the Canadian government and the provincial government of British Columbia.

In 2006, then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered an apology in parliament for the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants and included C$20,000 (US$15,600) in compensation for families or surviving people who paid the tax.

Thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived in Canada during the 1880s to help to build the country’s railway from Vancouver to Montreal, but from 1885, the federal government imposed a head tax of C$50, which rose to C$500 in the early 1900s.

At that time, C$500 was worth about two years of a Canadian Chinese worker’s salary.

According to the 1924 Yearbook of Canada, Canadian Chinese paid a total head tax of C$24 million, which hit the appropriation fund by then Canadian government for the construction of so-called Pacific railway.

In 2015, on behalf of the British Columbia provincial government, then Premier Christy Clark made an formal apology to Canadian Chinese for more than 100 racist laws, regulations and policies of past provincial governments.

Clark pointed out the contribution of Chinese in building the national railway system, noting that one Chinese worker died for every mile of track laid between Vancouver and Calgary. It was reported that at least 1,000 Canadian Chinese died building the railway.

Robertson said more work is needed, though, to turn the apology into a lasting legacy through education and heritage programs.

City Council says attention will now turn toward seeking a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage designation for Vancouver’s Chinatown.




 

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