Chinese American Experience, Part 6: World War II and the End of Exclusion

It is a bitter irony that the end of Chinese Exclusion arrived along with the beginning of Japanese internment. The pliable, cynically-shifting nature of modern racism was densely displayed when, overnight, US society ostensibly lifted its anti-Asian hatred from one ethnic group in order to bring it crashing down on another. Suddenly, the Chinese were friends (who had to wear buttons identifying them as such) and the Japanese were enemies.

In the early 1930s, in the wake of the Meiji restoration and under the spell of industrial imperialism, Japan had initiated a series of military incursions into China, snatching up chunks of northeastern territory while a weakened China reeled under Western colonialism and civil war. As the Japanese invasion escalated with notorious cruelty in the late 1930s, the two sides of the Chinese civil war — Communists and Nationalists — worked out a temporary alliance in order to fight in unison against Japan. When the US declared war on Japan in 1941, China became an invaluable US ally. China waged a crucial, costly, and unheralded land war while the US took on the naval front.

Like so many marginalized groups, Chinese Americans went above and beyond any reasonable call of duty in order to prove their loyalty, putting their lives on the line for a country which denied them basic rights and joining the domestic wartime mobilization in force. In 1943, Chinese Exclusion laws were repealed without fanfare.

And that's our series, folks. Of course there's plenty missing from these glimpses into the Exclusion era. And even after Exclusion laws were lifted, immigration from China remained severely limited to 105 persons per year. It wasn't until the 1960s that US immigration policy opened enough of a crack in the door to enable a new wave of academics and professionals from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, giving birth to the "model minority" myth and the stereotype of the Asian nerd. But that's another story, isn't it? For now, I hope you enjoyed this look at a largely-ignored phase of Chinese American history — of US history — which continues to echo in the shape of our world and to burn in the hearts of those of us who inherit its legacy.

Comments

[Theriomorph]

Thanks so much for posting this series, Kai [just moved to a side of the mountain that can get high-speed (phew), so I could watch at last]. These episodes introduced me to some awesome people and a whole lot of details I didn't know about the exclusion period - thank you for putting these up!

[Arcturus]

Enjoyed reading the series, Kai. Since you're into jazz - do you know Jon Jang's work? His Paper Son, Paper Songs (Asian Improv Records 0069, 2006)is particularly apt here, though you'd probably find most of his recordings of interest if you're not already familiar w/ 'em.

take good care in Denver . . .