It is a law that is considered “discriminatory against Chinese” by both China and the United States, but a Chinese wants to “whitewash” it

Speaking of the infamous "Chinese Exclusion Act" passed by the United States in 1882, whether they are Chinese Americans or white Americans, the vast majority of them will agree that this was the most racist act in American history. One of the color bills is a vicious product of the overwhelming racism against the Chinese in the United States.

However, a Chinese-American deputy mayor recently made some remarks that shocked American society. She actually claimed that this bill, which clearly includes the word "Chinese Exclusion" in the name of the bill, is not racist... …

The Chinese deputy mayor is named Zhao Liangfang. He was born in Taiwan Province of China. He came to the United States in 1999 and settled in Cupertino, California, where he became the mayor in 2018. The city's deputy mayor.

(The picture shows Zhao Liangfang, the picture comes from a screenshot of an online post from her social account in 2018)

However, this Chinese-American deputy mayor, who was not a "newsmaker" before, has recently caused an uproar in the United States because of an email.

According to a report by the US news website Patch.com, Zhao Liangfang claimed in an email sent to a local parent online community that the "Chinese Exclusion Act" passed by the United States in 1882 was not racist in nature.

Her reason is that judging from the original text of the bill, the bill "only excludes Chinese workers" because the arrival of the Chinese at that time "depressed" the value of white workers. The bill "does not exclude all Chinese", "let alone Exclusion of other Asians.” She also claimed that the "Chinese Exclusion Act" is a "labor issue" and its nature is the same as "the United States now prevents people who will take away American jobs from coming to the United States and imposes visa restrictions on these people", and " It’s not a racism issue.”

In addition, she also asked people not to be "offended" because she raised this point of view, saying that she just wanted to discuss history "rationally".

(The picture shows Zhao Liangfang’s email claiming that the “Chinese Exclusion Act” is not racist)

However, her remarks quickly aroused rebuke from many Chinese Americans, Asian Americans, people of color, and many white Americans.

For example, a Chinese-American netizen said that she felt ashamed that such an act of forgetting one's origins had happened in her hometown, and said that some people like Zhao Liangfang obviously have no memory of what the ancestors of Asian immigrants have done in order to live a good life in the United States. And the sacrifices made.

Some Chinese netizens also complained that the word "Chinese Exclusion" was clearly written in the "Chinese Exclusion Act."

A white American netizen who exposed the content of her email was even more surprised and said that he had never heard of anyone trying to undermine the Chinese Exclusion Act.

In addition, according to reports on Patch.com, Zhao Liangfang's colleagues also disagreed with her remarks, saying that the "Chinese Exclusion Act" was racist, and some even asked Zhao Liangfang to apologize to the public.

The reason why these Americans all oppose Zhao Liangfang’s statement is because although the text of the 1882 “Chinese Exclusion Act” seems to target “only Chinese workers,” the introduction of this bill is not only based on the It is based on vicious racial discrimination and demonization, and the impact of this bill, including the subsequent introduction of a series of related laws, has caused the entire Chinese community to encounter worse discrimination at the policy level and social level. and restrictions, and even directly affected other Asian immigrants in the United States. Therefore, although Zhao Liangfang claims to discuss history "rationally", her understanding of the "Chinese Exclusion Act" is actually completely divorced from the historical environment at that time.

If we use another analogy that is more understandable to us Chinese, then Zhao Liangfang’s mistake is like taking the slogans and photos of “East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” and “China-Japan Goodwill” displayed by the Japanese invaders. , then said that the Japanese invaded China for the purpose of "co-prosperity" and "amity" with China.

This is why the mainstream media, academia, and the U.S. government all recognize that the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first federal law in U.S. history to impose discriminatory restrictions on a person because of his or her race, is racist and Incorrect.

(The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed resolutions in 2011 and 2012 to apologize for the "Chinese Exclusion Act" of 1882)

However, it is not surprising that Zhao Liangfang would say something that many Chinese Americans consider "unworthy of their ancestors." Because there are also a group of Chinese in the United States who highly admire the right-wing conservative understanding of "race relations" represented by former U.S. President Trump, that is, they believe that racial issues in the United States are "exaggerated by people with ulterior political motives." ".

Of course, this kind of Chinese people’s understanding of the issue of racism in the United States is actually the same as Zhao Liangfang’s understanding of the “Chinese Exclusion Act”, which is “half-informed” and “indifferent”. However, a series of complex personal interest factors caused these Chinese to eventually come together with right-wing conservatives who hope to cover up the seriousness of the problem of racism in the United States, and became their "mouthpiece" to deceive the Chinese community.

Public information on the Internet shows that in an interview with a Chinese-language media last year, Zhao Liangfang made some remarks on race relations that were in line with the values ​​of right-wing conservatives in the United States. At that time, she expressed her opposition to teaching the history of American racism and oppression to primary and secondary school students in American campuses, saying that this was dividing the United States and creating racial conflicts. She also claimed that any race will discriminate against other races and said that the capitalist system in the United States is not the root of the problem of racism.

Now that Zhao Liangfang has been widely criticized for her remarks that undermined the Chinese Exclusion Act, some people from these Chinese groups who are closely related to the American right wing have also jumped out to defend her.

As shown in the picture below, a woman who claimed to be Zhao Liangfang's friend posted a post saying that Zhao Liangfang was attacked in this way because he was against the tendency to "constantly describe all issues as racism."

At present, Zhao Liangfang herself has responded to this matter, saying that she "never said that the Chinese Exclusion Act was not racist." What she meant was that the emergence of the "Chinese Exclusion Act" was "not just because of racism," but Her words were "distorted by people with political ulterior motives."

It seems that Zhao Liangfang not only cannot see the word "Exclusion" in the "Chinese Exclusion Act", but also the content she wrote in the email.

Column editor: Zhang Wu Text editor: Song Hui Source of title picture: Tuchong Creative Picture editor: Yong Kai

Source: Author: Global Times