華人要求美為排華法案道歉 等了128年 美眾議院終於受理

來自台灣、中國大陸、香港等地的華人代表27日向美國國會遞交請願書，希望國會為128年前的惡法《排華法案》（Chinese Exclusion Act）道歉。眾議院外交委員會亞太小組主席法里歐馬維嘉、首位華裔女性眾議員趙美心等人皆予受理，整件事成功踏出第一步。

直到今天，很多老華僑仍不能平撫那一段血淚辛酸史。在《排華法案》施行的61年中，華人在美國是不折不扣的次等民族。儘管華人勤儉、刻苦、好學、忍耐，堪稱貨真價實的模範公民，可是卻成為在美國唯一被點名排斥的民族。

排華 造成歷史傷痕

排華有經濟因素，也有文化因素。前者，華人肯吃苦，什麼活都幹，遭美國人敵視為「搶飯碗」，尤其美國在1870年代出現經濟蕭條，華人更成為美國人的眼中釘。同時，華人賺的辛苦錢，省吃儉用，絕大部分都寄回國了，沒有在美國消費，引起美國人不滿。

文化因素牽涉更廣，諸如宗教信仰、生活習慣等。例如當時美國已有頗具規模的工會組織，可是華人沒有工會，也很少加入美國的工會。美國人罷工時，華人成為資方的救火隊，隨時待命上工，以至於華人成了美國工會眼裡的害群之馬。當時愛爾蘭裔的工會力量最強，集體對華人施暴的情事也最多。

美國國會在1882年通過《排華法案》，禁止華人入境美國。原本法案以10年為期，沒想到10年期滿，該法修得更為嚴苛，不但不得入境（只有官員、教師、學生、旅行例外），已經入境者也不准取得美國籍，哪怕娶了美國人也不能成為美國公民。華人在美國幾乎沒有法定權利可言，在某些地方，例如華人最多的加州，華人子女不得進入公立學校就讀，除非校中的白人家長同意；不准上法院出庭；也不許擁有房地產。

排華法案 助長歧視風

這種種不公、不義的限制，助長了歧視華人的歪風，使華人備受屈辱與苦難。而且既然有聯邦法律帶頭，所以很多城鎮有樣學樣，有的訂頒規定驅逐華人（只能住在唐人街），有的規定華人必須隨身攜帶證件，隨時隨地接受查驗，否則立即關押。

這個情況持續了40、50年才逐漸改善。1943年，也就是中國對日抗戰期間，中美兩國成為反侵略的盟友，宋美齡女士在美國演講時也呼籲美國改正，美國國會終於廢止了惡名昭彰的《排華法案》。

加拿大政府率先道歉

27日，大陸出生的「美國華人全國委員會」主席薛海培、台灣出生的「美華協會大華府分會」共同會長蔡德樑等人帶著100多個華人團體的簽名請願書，拜訪趙美心、法里歐馬維嘉等人，盼望國會通過決議案為128年前的惡法道歉。兩位議員都表示願意推動此事，也促請更多華人、華裔公開表達意見。

薛海培告訴新聞界，1988年，美國政府就二戰期間把日裔集中管理一事向日裔移民道歉，並對每位受害人賠償2萬美元；2008年，美國政府就當年的奴隸制度向非洲裔美國人正式道歉；2006年，加拿大政府就其排華政策及向華人徵「人頭稅」等事，向加國華人正式道歉；去年加州州議會通過議案，對當年加州的《排華法案》表達道歉之意；舊金山市議會也通過類似道歉案。

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Chinese pressure Congress for apology
By Tan Yingzi China Daily
Published:5/28/2010

WASHINGTON – After 100 Chinese American organizations issued a letter Thursday calling for Congress to apologize for the Chinese Exclusion Act, it might not be far-fetched to think that Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke may well be one of the letter’s firm supporters.

Locke, the first Chinese American governor in the US, admitted that his family is still very nervous about how his grandfather entered the states, according to a New York Times column last year.

Locke’s grandfather first arrived in the US from Guangdong province in China. He traded house chores for English lessons in a home in Olympia, Wash.

The letter was delivered to Judy Chu, the first Chinese American woman to be elected to Congress, calling for legislators on Capitol Hill to pass a resolution of apology to Chinese Americans for the act, the first major restriction on free immigration into the US.

Over 4 million Chinese Americans live in the US.

“It remains as a dark stain of racial prejudice and wanton violation of constitutional rights against a specific nationality or ethnic group in the history of this great democracy,” the petition letter stated. “The US Congress has a moral obligation to recognize and face the fundamental injustices of its past laws and policies and to provide meaningful redress for its consequences.”

Haipei Xue, president of the National Council of Chinese Americans and one of the main backers of the campaign, said no one is in a better position to pressure Congress for an apology than than Judy Chu.

A second-generation Chinese American, Chu serves as a House representative of California, which boasts the largest population of Chinese Americans.

“I would like to introduce this resolution,” she said. “We are at the point of our history that we can put something like this forward and really mobilize all the groups to work on this.”

After introducing the resolution to Congress, the congresswoman called for strong support from the Chinese communities all over the country.

“I believe that this will not be successful unless every Chinese in each of the cities meet their congressmen and get commitments from them,” she added.

The act, made into law in 1882 and repealed in 1943, barred most Chinese immigrants from entering the US. Federal law prohibited Chinese residents, no matter how long they had legally worked in the US from becoming naturalized citizens.

Those who managed to get in were often called “paper sons,” using elaborate ruses about lost documentation to enter the country.

The Geary Act, passed in 1892, required Chinese aliens to carry a residence certificate with them at all times with a penalty of deportation.

Congressman Eni F. H. Faleomavaega, chairman of the East Asian Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee, showed his support for the petition letter.

“What we hope to achieve is not just an apology for Chinese and their descendents here but other Asian communities that were included in other expansions or redefinition of Chinese Exclusion Act,” said Ted Gong of the Chinese American Citizen Alliance.

He said Japanese and Filipinos were also affected by the act. “An apology will remind people today and in the future that this kind of law is destructive to the United States,” he said.

Chu said the most urgent matter now is to educate Chinese Americans about this chapter in US history.

“I can guarantee you that most people don’t know what the law is, even the Chinese,” she said.

Peter Kwong, an expert in Asian American studies and a sociology professor from the City University of New York, said that Asian Americans often regard themselves in a positive way as model minority and ignore their racially discriminated past.

“It is time for Chinese to get educated about the past. We should mobilize all the communities to make sure people know it and remember it before we rush the bill to the Congress,” he said. “Bearing in mind what has happened in Arizona (in regards to the state’s new and often criticized immigration law), the past is still relevant to us now.”