中新社旧金山1月28日电 题：海归女教授推动美国国会就排华法案道歉
中新社记者：刘丹

即将回中国清华大学和苏州大学担任客座教授的董洁林博士，临行前放不下的一件心事，就是她参与创办并任主席的华美社Chinese American Society在推动美国国会就1882年排华法案道歉的立法进程。

广州中山大学电子工程系毕业的董洁林，1982年通过李政道主持的中美联合培养物理类研究生计划CUSPEA来到美国，从卡内基 梅隆大学获得物理学博士后，她先后在金融界和高科技行业工作，并在中美两地创办公司从事投资和咨询。今年春天，董洁林将再次回到中国内地，担任清华大学公共管理学院国家科技政策和企业全球化客座研究员，同时她还接受苏州大学邀请，担任商学院企业发展和创新研究中心主任及特聘教授。

董洁林和华美社的朋友们有着相同的移民背景：来美多年，事业有成，生活无忧，在相当一段时间里自认为是社会精英。一个偶然的机会，董洁林接触到华侨 移民美国历史和1882年美国排华法案，才恍悟“美国历史上发生了那么多影响华裔移民的事件，我们居然一无所知或知之甚少。我为先辈移民经历了那么多艰辛 和磨难，受了那么多屈辱和迫害深感震撼。”

2009年11月，董洁林和几位志同道合者在加州硅谷创办了华美社，旨在提高在美华人的社会和政治地位。华美社的第一个行动就是研究1882年排华法案，并推动美国国会就此法案向华裔社区道歉。

排华法案是美国历史上第一个也是唯一一个排斥某特定种族的法案。这个在1882年通过的法案禁止华工移民10年，以后被一再延长，直至1943年废除。排华法案执行期间，华人不得入籍，不得和白人通婚，不得购买土地房产，华人的妻儿不得进入美国团聚。

上个世纪80年代来美留学的董洁林说，“我们这代人来美国时，美国已经是世界自由民主的模范和灯塔，研究华侨移民史我们才了解美国也有那么黑暗的过去。”

董洁林和她的同伴们发现，美国政府在1988年就二战时期将日裔美国人关进集中营道歉并每人赔偿2万美元，1993年对夏威夷土著道歉，2009年 6月对黑奴制度向非裔美国人道歉，2010年5月再次对印第安人的不公正对待道歉。但对华裔移民的歧视和迫害，却从来没有一个正式的结论。唯有加州政府在 2009年7月20日通过了华裔众议员方文忠提出的议案，承认150多年前华裔移民因为不公正的法律和不公平的对待而遭受迫害并为此道歉。

董洁林和她的同伴们开始思考应该做些力所能及的事情。“早期中国移民应该得到一个道歉，美国政府过去的错误应该以国会的正式道歉划上一个完整的句 号。”董洁林与同是海归的中国科技大学数学系教授胡森花费了几个月的时间，编著了一本中英文版的《通往自由的坎坷之路》。内容包括华裔移民历史简介、19 世纪美国政府对华工政策的演变、1882年排华法案、数宗暴力排华及反华案件的法庭案例、政治人物的主张以及报刊杂志对华人社区的报道等。华美社的律师陈 英对相关版权进行了审查，加州众议员方文忠做了序言，美国大部份联邦参议员和国会众议员都收到了这本书。

与此同时，华美社的成员开始联合更多华人社区组织在美国东西两岸进行草根宣传，要求美国国会就排华法案向华裔社区道歉。选自南加州的华裔国会众议员赵美心最终成为这个提案的主要提起人，她曾在多个公共场合表示，提案的准备已经进入最后阶段。

回顾华美社一年多来的默默耕耘和坚持不懈，即将踏上回国路的董洁林欣慰看到不同族裔的人士和组织参与华美社的草根活动，期待着这个提案早日摆上国会 议事日程。她说，“排华法案道歉并不是华美社追求的终极目标，籍此希望更多人了解华人移民史，认可华人对美国社会的巨大贡献，各族裔相互尊重并和谐相处。”

By Eddie Wong, Executive Director of Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Dr. Jielin Dong is the Founder and President of Javvin Technologies, Inc, a technical publishing company. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a Ph.D degree in Physics, she came to the U.S. in 1982 after receiving her B.S. degree from Sun Yat-Sen University. She is the President of the Chinese American Society.

Q: Please tell our readers about the Chinese American Society? What are your goals?

JD: Chinese American Society (CAS), formed in Nov. 2009 by a group of new immigrants from mainland China, is a non-profit organization to inspire Chinese Americans’ social and political participation and contribution; to foster Chinese cultural heritage; to promote Chinese Americans’ social, political and economic well-being; to enhance understanding among all peoples, and to advocate world peace.

Q: What led the group to publish The Rocky Road to Liberty?

JD: For new immigrants, integration with the society is one of the greatest challenges. Learning history, especially the history of Chinese Americans, is a very important part of this integration. During the studies, we found lots of shocking materials that presented a dark past in the Chinese immigration history, which is very different with the democracy, equality and human rights that we are enjoying now. This dark past is rooted in the Chinese Exclusion Act.

We decided to put together the book The Rocky Road to Liberty to educate the new immigrants, to raise awareness of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and to prevent similar things from happening again to our and all ethnic communities.

Q: This is probably one of the first bilingual books to cover the issue of Chinese American Exclusion laws. Is there much interest in this topic among more recent Chinese immigrants?

JD: The initial response is very positive from the new Chinese immigrants.

Q: As the editor, what surprised you the most about the history of Chinese exclusion?

JD: There are many Caucasian people, such as U.S. Senator George Frisbie Hoar, U.S. Congressman E. Morse and the writer Mark Twain, who had fought hard for Chinese immigrants based on their conscience. The root causes of racial discrimination are actually financial reasons, such as jobs, wages, etc. Other reasons such religion and cultural habits are only secondary. Over history Chinese immigrants did not fight as a group as much as other ethnic groups. Most people fought their cases individually by filing a law suit in court.

Q: The last section of the book focuses on examples of governmental apologies for acts of injustice perpetrated on other ethnic groups. What does CAS advocate in terms of redress?

JD: We are considering the following possible redress for the apology:
• Establish a monument to remember the contributions of the early generations of Chinese immigrants.

• Make sure the Chinese Exclusion Act, the final apology and the contributions of the early Chinese immigrants are included in history text book of schools.

The Chinese American Society’s Book Launch Party
Co-sponsored by AIISF and other community organizations

Date: 3-5PM March 27, 2010
Location: California Historical Center (Near Flint Center in De Anza College)
21250 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014
Ticket price: $60 for cocktail and Book or $20 for Cocktail only

Mail a check:
Chinese American Society
180 Golf Club Road, No. 139
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523-1526 USA

Written by Gerrye Wong · AsianWeek (Filed Under Arts-Entertainment, Books)

Chinese American Society (CAS) will premiere its book “The Rocky Road to Liberty: A Documented History of Chinese Immigration and Exclusion” at its March 27th 3-5pm fundraising cocktail luncheon event at the California History Center, next to Flint Center in DeAnza College, located at 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino.

CAS is a new non-profit organization set to inspire Chinese Americans’ social and political participation and contribution; to foster Chinese cultural heritage; to promote Chinese Americans’ social, political and economic well-being; to enhance understanding among all peoples, and to advocate world peace.

As president, Jielin Dong, and Partnership Development Director Kelly Zhang explained, “CAS was officially formed in November, 2009 with 13 founders in different states. Board members include Jielin Dong, Dongping Deng, Sen Hu, Tao Ni, Ming Chen, and Yungui Ding. Authored by Jielin Dong and Dr. Sen Hu, the book is a vast study of population statistics and explores the growth of the Chinese population due to immigration spurts from once Taiwan, and now Mainland China.

The goal of the book, said Dong, is to give copies to leading politicians as educational material for them to understand the history of Chinese American immigration. I think it is a treasure chest of information on the time periods of immigration and would be a good reference book for young people interested in history. Tickets for luncheon and book are $60. For more information contact Dong Jiang, dongjiangdj@gmail.com or (510) 585-8376.

President and mover behind the book project, Jielin Dong came to the US in 1982 via the CUSPEA (China-US Physics Examination and Application) program and has authored 5 books in the technical and business areas. An active speaker in business, tech, and social communities, she has served on the Boards of Monte Jade Sciene and Technology Association and the Chinese Information and Networking Association (CINA) in Silicon Valley. Although a new organization, the enthusiasm and fervor of its leaders promises that it will make an impact on Chinese American issues and projects in the future.

Recently, CAS has sent a petition letter to the Asian Caucus members of the congress to urge them to introduce a congressional resolution of apology to Chinese Americans for the racist Chinese Exclusion Act.

CAS encourages anyone who share the same position to take the following actions:
2. Join CAS and work in our team to push this bill through in house and senator.
3. Ask your local organizations and your friends to support us.

A sample letter sent by CAS is displayed below.

———–

Dear Representative:

Chinese American Society is a organization with mission to inspire Chinese Americans’ social and political participation and contribution. We urge you to introduce a congressional resolution of apology to Chinese Americans for the racist Chinese Exclusion Act.

The Chinese Exclusion Act (CEA) enacted by the U.S. congress in 1882 and amended many times thereafter, excluded Chinese from immigrating to the U.S. and restricted the rights and activities of Chinese residents in America. By singling out one ethnic group for discriminatory treatment, the CEA constituted a clear and significant violation of the US Constitution and denial of fundamental civil rights to these immigrants. Later, the Immigration Act of 1924 would restrict immigration even further, excluding all classes of Chinese immigrants and extending the restrictions to other Asian immigrant groups. Although the CEA was repealed in 1943, the law prevented Chinese Americans from assimilating into the U.S. society for a long period of time and its negative effect are still evident today.

In recent years, the U.S. government has apologized to Japanese Americans, African Americans and Native Americans for injustice done to them in the past. The state legislature of California has also passed a resolution in July 2009 to apologize to Chinese Americans for its racist laws against Chinese Americans in history. Those undertakings have brought positive results to the communities and the entire country at large, which helped bonding people together rather than tearing them apart.

It is time for this US congress to take a leadership to pass a resolution of apology to Chinese Americans for the infamous CEA. Such a resolution will help the Chinese American community heal their wounded hearts, restore their honor, and formally close a painful chapter of racial discrimination in the U.S. history. This resolution will further encourage new immigrants to better integrate into the American society and to make greater contributions to this country.

We believe that the resolution should recognize the contributions of Chinese Americans to this country.  To remember this history, we also suggest building a monument, and revising the history curriculum in public schools to discuss the injustices against Chinese Americans in this country’s history.

I have attached a few related documents for your reference. Thank you for your attention. I would appreciate discussing with you on the subject.

Sincerely,

Jielin Dong, Ph.D.

President

Chinese American Society

This week, CAS sends letters to a few congressional members to support the “Accept Chinese Talent Now Act” (HR3532). This bill amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the offset in per country numerical level required under that Act. In other words, it will increase the annual immigration quota from the Mainland China to the US from 19,000 to 20,000.

CAS encourages anyone who have the same position to take the following actions:
1. Send a letter to your local congress member and urge them to support this bill.
2. Join CAS and work in our team to push this bill through in house and senator.
3. Ask your local organizations and your friends to do the same.

A sample letter sent by CAS is displayed below.

On behalf of Chinese American Society, I am writing to you in support of the “Accept Chinese Talent Now Act” (HR3532), which amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the offset in per country numerical level required under that Act.

Chinese American Society is an organization with mission to inspire Chinese Americans’ social and political participation and contribution. We are pleased to support “Accept Chinese Talent Now Act” (HR3532). We will support a grass-roots campaign by sending petition letters to members of the house and senate for a rapid adoption of this act.

This act not only provides 1000 more opportunities to the immigrants from the mainland China, more importantly, it would provide the urgently needed talent for the United States to move to the next stage. We believe, in today’s world, leadership of a country depends on its ability to attract talent.

Sincerely,
Jielin Dong, Ph.D.
President
Chinese American Society

(To see this letter in PDF format, please click here.)

On Jan. 20, 2010, CAS members visited the local district office of the congressman Mike Honda. Mr. Mike Hoa Nguyen, the congressional Aide of the congressman met with the group. The parties discussed many issues, including introducing a bill of apology to Chinese Americans for the Chinese Exclusion Act (ACEA).

Mr. Mike Hoa Nguyen told CAS that ACEA is a right thing to do for the US congress, but concerned about the timing of introducing such a bill while the democrat party is busy with its heated fight on the heath care reform for the time being. CAS urges the office of the congressman Mike Honda to take a leadership on this issue.

CAS also presented a supporting letter for the “Accept Chinese Talent Now Act”, which was sponsored by the congressman David Wu and co-sponsored by the congressman Mike Honda. The parties then discussed the progress of the immigration reform.  Mr. Mike Hoa Nguyen provided CAS a brief regarding the current situation on this issue in the congress and the Obama administration. CAS  is willing to offer its help by engaging grass-roots support on this issue.

Both parties are grateful for this introduction meeting and see opportunities to collaborate on many issues in future.

CAS has decided to support the initiative of the “December 17 Day of Inclusion” proposed by Mike Eng, the California State Assembly Member in the state legislation ARC 76. On December 17 1943， the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed by the Magnuson Act. For more details about this initiative, please click here. A letter was sent to Mike Eng on Dec. 29 to show the support and the letter is shown below:

Mr. Mike Eng
C/O Annie V. Lam, Legislative Director
Office of Assembly Member Mike Eng, 49th A.D.
State Capitol, Room 4140
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Support for ACR 76- December 17 as Day of Inclusion

Dear Assembly Member Mike Eng:

On behalf of Chinese American Society, I am writing in support of ACR 76, which establishes December 17th as a Day of Inclusion.

Chinese American Society is an organization with mission to inspire Chinese Americans’ social and political participation and contribution. We support a grass-root campaign for a congressional resolution of apology to Chinese Americans for the Chinese Exclusion Act, a historical legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 1882, and the violations experienced by Chinese immigrants caused by the adoption of the legislation.

We are pleased to support ACR 76. We believe that this initiative would recognize the contributions of new immigrates and enhance harmony among all ethnic groups. It will also acknowledge our immigrant heritage in California, and serve to shed light on the ignorance that leads to acts of hate and violence.

Sincerely,
Jielin Dong
President
Chinese American Society
jielindong@ca-soc.org

(To see this letter in PDF format, please click here.)

Dec. 21, 2009, CAS members in Silicon Valley met with Mr. Paul Fong, the California State assembly member who led the state legislature of California to pass a resolution in July 2009 to apologize to Chinese Americans for its racist laws against Chinese Americans in history.

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