每日評論0401 我們不容歷史重演

我們不容歷史重演

1848加州淘金潮及1860年代太平洋鐵路建設期間，大量來自廣東福建之華工進入美國承擔低薪及危險之工作，到1870年代，美國華人超過10萬人佔加州人口近百分之十，到了1882年代因美國經濟面臨衰退，華人被指搶走了白人之工作而被視為黃禍，因而宣佈排華法案，禁止華人入境及歸化為美公民，並於1888年推動斯科特法案，進一步限制已離開美國的華人返美。

1943年二次大戰中美同盟,美國國會宣佈廢除排華法案，並在2012年對排華案表達深切遺憾但無賠償。

今天我們在美國德州再度面對德州參眾議院之HS17法案，要禁止来自中國大陸之華人購買土地和住宅，我們對此表示強烈反對，這已經嚴重影響到華人社區之經濟及我們之尊嚴，它代表了一部分人對我們的歧視,否定了華裔美人對國家之貢獻。

這項惡法是對排華法案之復活，我們大家一定要團結起來反對到底。

     We Will Not Allow History To Be Repeated

During the California gold rush in 1848 and during the construction of the Pacific railroad in the 1860s, a large number of Chinese workers from Fujian, Guangdong entered the United States to take low-paying and dangerous jobs. By the 1870s, more than 100,000 Chinese Americans accounted for nearly 10% of California’s population.

In 1882, the U.S. economy faced a recession. The Chinese were accused of stealing white people’s jobs and it was was regarded as a a scourge. The U.S. government announced a bill prohibiting Chinese from entering the country. In 1888, the law further restricted the return of Chinese who had left the Unites States from coming back into the country.

In 1943, during the Sino- American Alliance in World War II, the Congress of the United States announced the repeal of Chinese Exlusion Act and expressed deep regret, but no compensation for the Chinese exclusion case in 2012 was forthcoming.

Today, we are once again facing the HS 17 Bill of the Texas House of Representatives to prohibit Chinese from Mainland China from buying land in Texas. We strongly oppose this law which has serious affects on the economy of our state. It represents discrimination against us as Chinese - Americans. This evil law is the resurrection of the anti-Chinese law of the past and we must all unite to oppose it to the end.