本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛1885 tax becomes an issue in 2006
Brian Hutchinson
National Post
1098 words
15 December 2005
National Post
Toronto / Late
A1 / Front
English
(c) 2005 National Post . All Rights Reserved.
RICHMOND, B.C. - Raymond Chan is an emotional fellow. Canada's minister of state for multiculturalism has been known to cry in front of constituents in his suburban Vancouver riding. Sometimes he cries out of gratitude, and sometimes in anger. His eyes teared up when our discussion this week touched on human rights.
He likens himself to a crusader, a defender of democracy; he is quick to mention he was once jailed in China, for leading a protest against that country's authoritarian regime.
It might seem odd, then, that Mr. Chan is so firmly opposed to a measure of reconciliation here at home, especially one that appeals to many residents of his Richmond riding. Half of the riding's eligible voters are, like him, of Chinese origin.
The issue is the long-discarded head tax, a racist duty imposed on Chinese immigrants to Canada between 1885 and 1923. It's estimated Ottawa collected $23-million from Chinese newcomers in those years; those who are still alive, and many of their descendants, want the money back.
They would also like a formal apology.
Mr. Chan once heartily supported their requests for compensation and redress.
But no longer. And he's not alone; indeed, half a dozen large Chinese-Canadian organizations that represent hundreds more Chinese groups have sided with Mr. Chan and his new, cautious approach to the head tax question.
The issue has suddenly become an election hot button for Chinese-Canadians across the country.
It could cost Mr. Chan his job, and the Liberals some important seats in Parliament.
The Chinese Canadian National Council says there are only four head tax survivors in Canada. But there are an estimated 80,000 descendants and thousands more Chinese-Canadians who feel compensation and an apology are due.
Mr. Chan took up their cause and ran with the issue in Richmond during the 1993 federal election campaign, his first. He was elected and made a junior minister in Jean Chretien's Cabinet. A year later, he recommended to Cabinet some form of redress and an apology to survivors of the head tax. "I was shot down," he recalled.
He says an apology and compensation are never going to happen, at least as long as the Liberals are in power.
The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois have already called for a formal apology, and last week Conservative leader Stephen Harper unexpectedly jumped on the bandwagon.
The Tories, Mr. Harper noted in a statement, have "long recognized the terrible historical wrong of the Chinese head tax. It is time for Parliament and the Government of Canada to recognize this grave injustice and to apologize for it."
The statement-- and the timing of its release, in an election campaign -- smacked of political opportunism. But it pleased those Conservative candidates locked in close battles with Liberals in B.C.'s crucial Lower Mainland.
Darrel Reid is facing off against Raymond Chan in Richmond. "The head tax issue is huge," said Mr. Reid, sitting in his Conservative war room, a few blocks from Mr. Chan's own election headquarters. "It was the only tax ever collected from a specific ethnic group in Canada. It was wrong, and that has to be recognized."
Mr. Chan counters that making an official apology to head tax survivors and their families will "open the floodgates" to "countless lawsuits and financial responsibilities for other historical wrongs."
Besides, he says, the federal government has already figured a way to address the issue without assuming unrestricted financial liabilities. In February, Ottawa announced the $25-million Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Education Program, aimed at recognizing "the historical experiences of [all] ethnocultural communities impacted by wartime measures and immigration experiences."
The money is to be shared among various Chinese-Canadian groups, along with organizations representing other ethnic and cultural minorities.
"The ACE program is for the Italians, the Ukrainians, the Germans, the Jews, the Sikhs," Mr. Chan explained. "Now the Croatians have asked to participate. The blacks have come to participate. Everybody wants to be part of it now."
The National Congress of Chinese Canadians is among the largest groups in support of the ACE program. "The Chinese community stands united in the cause of educating all Canadians about this tragic period in our history," noted Ping Tan, the NCCC's executive co-chair.
But the program's one-size-fits-all approach doesn't sit well with thousands of Chinese-Canadians affected by the head tax.
"Mr. Chan used to support us, and now he has turned his back on us," said Sid Tan, a Vancouver resident and spokesman for the Chinese Canadian National Council, which says it represents half of all head tax survivors and their relatives. "It really sickens me. The money is just going to go to Liberal friends. It's like a Chinese-Canadian sponsorship scandal."
He says Chinese groups that supported the ACE program have already submitted proposals for things such as commemorative rock gardens and museums. His members, meanwhile, have asked for grant information but have been ignored.
"There is a lot of anger over this," he said. "The Liberals bungled the whole issue of redress and they have basically divided the Chinese community."
It's an opening opposition parties are keen to exploit, and it has Liberals in B.C. on the defensive.
"I don't buy their little apology [demands] at all," Hedy Fry, the Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre, told a local newspaper this week.
As for Mr. Chan, he'd rather discuss other issues, such as same-sex marriage. His opponent, Darrel Reid, opposes it. A Mennonite, Mr. Chan used to oppose gay marriage, too. Not anymore.
THE HEAD TAX
REDRESS
Before election was called, government and 11 Chinese-Canadian groups agreed to $2.5-million deal to set up educational and commemorative projects related to the tax.
HISTORY
Ottawa imposed a $50 tax on all Chinese immigrants in 1885, after completion of the Canadian Pacific railway. Tax was raised to $100, then $500 in 1903 -- the equivalent of two years' pay. In 1923 a new law effectively banned Chinese immigration. It was repealed in 1947.
OBJECTIONS
Chinese community says agreement bypassed some community groups and does not include an apology or compensation.
bhutchinson@nationalpost.com; Ran with fact box "The Head Tax" which has been appended to the story.
Black & White Photo: Jason Kryk, CanWest News Service / The late Wing Shu Hong's receipt for the $500 head tax he paid when he immigrated to Canada in 1918.更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Brian Hutchinson
National Post
1098 words
15 December 2005
National Post
Toronto / Late
A1 / Front
English
(c) 2005 National Post . All Rights Reserved.
RICHMOND, B.C. - Raymond Chan is an emotional fellow. Canada's minister of state for multiculturalism has been known to cry in front of constituents in his suburban Vancouver riding. Sometimes he cries out of gratitude, and sometimes in anger. His eyes teared up when our discussion this week touched on human rights.
He likens himself to a crusader, a defender of democracy; he is quick to mention he was once jailed in China, for leading a protest against that country's authoritarian regime.
It might seem odd, then, that Mr. Chan is so firmly opposed to a measure of reconciliation here at home, especially one that appeals to many residents of his Richmond riding. Half of the riding's eligible voters are, like him, of Chinese origin.
The issue is the long-discarded head tax, a racist duty imposed on Chinese immigrants to Canada between 1885 and 1923. It's estimated Ottawa collected $23-million from Chinese newcomers in those years; those who are still alive, and many of their descendants, want the money back.
They would also like a formal apology.
Mr. Chan once heartily supported their requests for compensation and redress.
But no longer. And he's not alone; indeed, half a dozen large Chinese-Canadian organizations that represent hundreds more Chinese groups have sided with Mr. Chan and his new, cautious approach to the head tax question.
The issue has suddenly become an election hot button for Chinese-Canadians across the country.
It could cost Mr. Chan his job, and the Liberals some important seats in Parliament.
The Chinese Canadian National Council says there are only four head tax survivors in Canada. But there are an estimated 80,000 descendants and thousands more Chinese-Canadians who feel compensation and an apology are due.
Mr. Chan took up their cause and ran with the issue in Richmond during the 1993 federal election campaign, his first. He was elected and made a junior minister in Jean Chretien's Cabinet. A year later, he recommended to Cabinet some form of redress and an apology to survivors of the head tax. "I was shot down," he recalled.
He says an apology and compensation are never going to happen, at least as long as the Liberals are in power.
The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois have already called for a formal apology, and last week Conservative leader Stephen Harper unexpectedly jumped on the bandwagon.
The Tories, Mr. Harper noted in a statement, have "long recognized the terrible historical wrong of the Chinese head tax. It is time for Parliament and the Government of Canada to recognize this grave injustice and to apologize for it."
The statement-- and the timing of its release, in an election campaign -- smacked of political opportunism. But it pleased those Conservative candidates locked in close battles with Liberals in B.C.'s crucial Lower Mainland.
Darrel Reid is facing off against Raymond Chan in Richmond. "The head tax issue is huge," said Mr. Reid, sitting in his Conservative war room, a few blocks from Mr. Chan's own election headquarters. "It was the only tax ever collected from a specific ethnic group in Canada. It was wrong, and that has to be recognized."
Mr. Chan counters that making an official apology to head tax survivors and their families will "open the floodgates" to "countless lawsuits and financial responsibilities for other historical wrongs."
Besides, he says, the federal government has already figured a way to address the issue without assuming unrestricted financial liabilities. In February, Ottawa announced the $25-million Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Education Program, aimed at recognizing "the historical experiences of [all] ethnocultural communities impacted by wartime measures and immigration experiences."
The money is to be shared among various Chinese-Canadian groups, along with organizations representing other ethnic and cultural minorities.
"The ACE program is for the Italians, the Ukrainians, the Germans, the Jews, the Sikhs," Mr. Chan explained. "Now the Croatians have asked to participate. The blacks have come to participate. Everybody wants to be part of it now."
The National Congress of Chinese Canadians is among the largest groups in support of the ACE program. "The Chinese community stands united in the cause of educating all Canadians about this tragic period in our history," noted Ping Tan, the NCCC's executive co-chair.
But the program's one-size-fits-all approach doesn't sit well with thousands of Chinese-Canadians affected by the head tax.
"Mr. Chan used to support us, and now he has turned his back on us," said Sid Tan, a Vancouver resident and spokesman for the Chinese Canadian National Council, which says it represents half of all head tax survivors and their relatives. "It really sickens me. The money is just going to go to Liberal friends. It's like a Chinese-Canadian sponsorship scandal."
He says Chinese groups that supported the ACE program have already submitted proposals for things such as commemorative rock gardens and museums. His members, meanwhile, have asked for grant information but have been ignored.
"There is a lot of anger over this," he said. "The Liberals bungled the whole issue of redress and they have basically divided the Chinese community."
It's an opening opposition parties are keen to exploit, and it has Liberals in B.C. on the defensive.
"I don't buy their little apology [demands] at all," Hedy Fry, the Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre, told a local newspaper this week.
As for Mr. Chan, he'd rather discuss other issues, such as same-sex marriage. His opponent, Darrel Reid, opposes it. A Mennonite, Mr. Chan used to oppose gay marriage, too. Not anymore.
THE HEAD TAX
REDRESS
Before election was called, government and 11 Chinese-Canadian groups agreed to $2.5-million deal to set up educational and commemorative projects related to the tax.
HISTORY
Ottawa imposed a $50 tax on all Chinese immigrants in 1885, after completion of the Canadian Pacific railway. Tax was raised to $100, then $500 in 1903 -- the equivalent of two years' pay. In 1923 a new law effectively banned Chinese immigration. It was repealed in 1947.
OBJECTIONS
Chinese community says agreement bypassed some community groups and does not include an apology or compensation.
bhutchinson@nationalpost.com; Ran with fact box "The Head Tax" which has been appended to the story.
Black & White Photo: Jason Kryk, CanWest News Service / The late Wing Shu Hong's receipt for the $500 head tax he paid when he immigrated to Canada in 1918.更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net