Chinese America: History and Perspectives Annual 2007 p219(3)
The Canadian Chinese Exclusion Act and the veterans who overcame it.(3H Paper)
-- Wong, Larry
Full Text:COPYRIGHT 2007 Chinese Historical Society
(Original title: Comparing Chinese exclusion and the veterans who overcame it)
The 1923 Immigration Act, often referred to as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was an accumulation
of the Canadian government's attempt to frustrate the migration of the Chinese to Canada. Unlike
the United States, which imposed the Exclusion Act in 1882, the Canadian government in the
year 1885 levied a head tax of $50 for each Chinese entering the country. This policy was
initiated by the province of British Columbia where many of the Chinese arrived from China and
the United States.
The provincial government of the day was dismayed by the number of Chinese who came for the
Fraser River gold rush in 1858 and the Cariboo Gold Rush in 1861 and again during the building
of the transcontinental railroad from 1881 to 1885. When the railroad was completed, some
14,000 Chinese found themselves unemployed, much to the consternation of the white
population. Most of the Chinese turned to low-paying jobs, for example, working as houseboys,
laundrymen, and general laborers, but nonetheless they were perceived as a threat to the general
economy, and the provincial government forced Ottawa to take action.
The solution was simple. The federal government was persuaded by the British Columbian
government to impose a $50 head tax on each Chinese entering Canada as a means to discourage
further migration from China. The Chinese however, much to the chagrin of everyone, kept
coming, and in 1901, the tax was increased to $100. Again, the Chinese were able to finance the
head tax. In response, the government increased the tax to a whopping $500 in 1903.
The Chinese Exclusion Act came into effect on the first of July, 1923. The Act was the only act
in Canadian Parliament aimed specifically at a particular race. In the Chinese communities
across Canada, no Chinese joined in the festivities of Dominion Day, no business was open, no
Canadian flags were flown. The Chinese called it the Day of Humiliation.
There were exceptions to the Exclusion Act. Chinese students and ministers of the cloth were
allowed and, of course, diplomatic staff and Chinese born in Canada. However, the Chinese born
in Canada were never considered citizens; they were classified as aliens. The Chinese had been
listed on electoral lists as far back as 1867 but lost the right to vote in 1874.
The Chinese communities across Canada were mainly a bachelor society and more so after 1923,
being cut off from friends and families in China. The Chinese reacted by a letter-writing
campaign to protest the racist act. The protest was ignored.
Chinatowns across Canada became stagnant, and in the 1930s, some Chinese returned to China,
including sixty-five mental patients whom the provincial government of British Columbia did
not care to look after. In the depression years, unemployment rose; some Chinese lost their
homes, and some ultimately, in a despondent state, committed suicide. There were however,
some means of getting around the Act, such as the buying and selling of genuine Canadian birth
certificates to persons wanting to assume such identity to come to Canada.
By the 1930s, the Sino-Japanese War was uppermost in the minds of the Chinese. Fundraising
efforts to help China fight the Japanese came in the form of special performances of local
Chinese opera companies, banquets, bazaars, tag days, and campaigns to sell Chinese war bonds.
When the Second World War was declared by Canada in 1939, loyalty to Canada was fiercely
debated in Chinatown. One side of the community wanted to fight the war for Canada while
others questioned the need to fight for a country that did not want them. They argued that the
Chinese were not welcomed in Canada, so why should they fight for a country that discriminated
against them, first with the head tax and now the Exclusion Act, to say nothing of the blatant
discrimination in everyday life. Even the job opportunities were closed to them; a universitytrained person was denied professional memberships, for example, to accounting, law, and
pharmacy groups, on the grounds they were not Canadian citizens. But the young men and
women wanted to fight for Canada to prove that they were as worthy as anyone else and by
doing so, earn the right to citizenship. They were tired of being treated as second-class citizens.
In the early years of the war, the Chinese volunteered their services. Those who wanted to enlist
with the navy and air force were in for a shock. Both the navy and the air force's regulations
specified that a recruit must be a British subject and of the white race. In British Columbia,
racism was acute, and the Chinese were rarely accepted by the recruiting offices. There were
exceptions of course. Victor Louie from Vancouver, for example, on his own, went to China to
fight the Japanese in the 1930s. He returned to Canada to join the Canadian Army after 1939 and
fought again in Japanese-occupied territories.
Besides the soldiers, there were civilians such as nurses, doctors, and pilots who went to China. I
can think of two pilots, who were brothers, who were refused by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
They went on to become instructors for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan but were
offered jobs with the China National Air Corporation (CNAC), which was half-owned by the
Chinese government and Pan American Airways. The two Canadian pilots flew from their base
in northern India, over the "hump" of the Himalayas to destinations in China delivering fuel,
supplies, weapons, and food.
In contrast, the Chinese in the United States were readily accepted into the armed forces. They
were American-born of Chinese immigrants with full rights as compared to their Canadian
counterparts. In Canada, some 600 Chinese Canadians served their country while 13,000 Chinese
Americans served in the American armed forces. There were enough Chinese American men and
women to form full divisions while in the Canadian forces, a single Chinese face was common in
a group of Caucasian soldiers.
When the war shifted to Asia, it was recognized that Asians were needed, particularly for
undercover work. There was a specially trained unit called Operation Oblivion. A select group of
Chinese was chosen for their abilities and skills. The thirteen candidates were recruited by
military intelligence from across Canada and met together at a secret base in the Okanogan
Valley in British Columbia. The base was remote, at a lake called Goose Bay, far from prying
eyes and the nearest town. This was where the Chinese recruits were trained in the art of
sabotage using, for example, weapons, unarmed combat, demolition, guerrilla tactics, survival,
and wireless communications. They were given Chinese language lessons as most of the
Canadian-born spoke little or no Chinese. The group was transported to Australia where they
learned parachute jumping before shipping off to India for their final training. They were being
trained for a particular operation called Operation Oblivion. It was a dangerous assignment to
frustrate the Japanese in Hong Kong, and they were told not to expect to return from their
mission. If captured, they would use a cyanide pill. They were to operate in cells of no more than
four men. Each cell worked independently, not knowing what the others were doing. This was so
that, in the event that they were captured by the enemy, they would not give away valuable
information. The mission however, was cancelled at the last minute.
Operation Oblivion was disbanded, but Force 136 was born. It was also known as Special
Operations Executive. Like Operation Oblivion, the men worked in cells of four. Four men of the
original group found themselves in the headhunting country of Borneo. The mission of the four
Chinese was to seek out the anti-Japanese forces and train them in the art of sabotage. In return,
they were shown how to use blow pipes and survive in the jungle. The war ended in August of
1945, but in the jungle, many of the Japanese refused to surrender, let alone admit the defeat of
their empire. For the remainder of the calendar year, the four Chinese sought out the Japanese
soldiers and eventually persuaded them to repatriate. For their efforts and duty, the four were
awarded the highest military medal in the field.
There are other war stories. Frank Wong from Vancouver enlisted in 1942 and took part in the
Normandy Invasion at Juno Beach. His unit later moved through Europe and liberated the
Netherlands. Richard Mar from Victoria was the only Chinese Canadian to serve in the First
Canadian Parachute Battalion and took part in the drop for the Rhine crossing in 1945. Quan
Louie enlisted in the RCAF in 1942 and received his bomber aimer's wings. On a mission just
short of his thirtieth, his bomber was shot down over Germany He was twenty-three years old. In
1996, the province of British Columbia proudly named a lake after him. Roy Mah, Harry Con,
and Bill Chow were three Chinese sergeants who led the first all-Chinese contingent overseas
from England to India, ready to spring into action. After the war, both Roy and Harry were active
community leaders in Vancouver's Chinatown. Douglas Sam was rejected by the RCAF but tried
again when the new regulations were issued in 1942. He flew in bombers that took part in the
raids against Germany. On his final run over France, his bomber was shot down, but he managed
to parachute to safety where he was picked up by the French Resistance. He worked with the
Resistance and took part in the liberation of Paris. For his services to France, he was awarded the
Silver Cross.
Bill Chong was in a unique position. Born in Vancouver, he became a secret agent in China for
the intelligence unit of the British Army. He was visiting Hong Kong when he was caught in the
Japanese take-over of that city He volunteered to serve the British Army by gathering
intelligence on the Japanese and escorting downed airmen and families from Japanese-occupied
China to the relative safety of Macau. One family he helped was the Kwan family who had a
five-year-old girl. Bill adopted the girl who eventually moved to Los Angeles with her parents.
In 1960, she appeared in a movie called The World of Suzie Wong. The girl's name was Nancy
Kwan.
In all, some 600 Chinese Canadians fought. Those who did join found something interesting-once in the King's uniform, they were treated as equals outside of Chinatown. The uniform gave
them the respect and recognition not possible in Chinatown. In fact, they were allowed to vote
because of the uniform. The military regulations were that everyone who wore the uniform had
all rights, regardless of their status. During the war, because China was fighting the Japanese, it
brought the white Canadians closer to the Chinese communities because of the patriotism being
shown.
At war's end, the Chinese veterans and the community leaders continued to press for the rights to
vote and citizenship. Finally in 1947, the infamous Exclusion Act was repealed and the franchise
restored. The right to vote changed forever the social landscape of Chinatown. Not only were
they now Canadian citizens, but professional societies welcomed them, allowing opportunities
far beyond their dreams. For example, a young war vet named Douglas Jung, who was one of the
original thirteen I spoke of earlier, attended law school and became one of the first Chinese
Canadian lawyers. By 1957, he joined a political party and ran for a seat representing Vancouver
Centre, which included Chinatown. He was successful in his bid and became the first Chinese
Canadian elected to Parliament. Jung was appointed by the government to represent Canada at
the United Nations Headquarters. Of his experience there, he was fond of telling the story of
sitting at his appointed desk only to have an usher tell him, "I'm sorry, Sir, but this is for the
Canadian delegate."
"I am the Canadian delegate," he told the embarrassed usher.
That moment in history saw Canada come Of age and the Chinese become proud citizens.
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