About 4,000 Chinese immigrants and their descendents had made their home in Alberta when the Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1923. Many Chinese immigrants were separated from their wives and loved ones for many years, if not forever. Charlie Chew, for example, was married in China in 1925. In 1930, as he recounted, “I wrote to Ottawa requesting that my wife be allowed to enter Canada. Ottawa refused, so I had to travel all the way to China to have a child.” Not until 1988 would Mr. Chew again see his wife. After a fifty-eight year separation, she was finally permitted to join him. For the first half of the century, there were only a dozen Chinese families in Calgary amid several hundred married bachelors.
1923年《排華法案》通過後，約有4,000名華人在艾伯塔省安家。當時， 很多華人都和他們的妻子和家人分隔兩地。例如，查理·趙（Charlie Chew）於1925年在中國結婚。他回憶說，1930年，“我寫信給渥太華要求申請我的妻子來加拿大。渥太華拒絕了，為了傳宗接代，我只能多次返中國與妻子相聚。直到1988年，趙先生的妻子獲批准來加團聚。在分離了58年之後，她終於准被獲批。在排華法案通過的半個世紀，卡城大約只有十二個華人家庭，其他大部分是“已婚的單身漢”。
During the period between World War One and Two, there was definite job discrimination against Chinese Canadians in Alberta. Mrs. Helen Mock completed high school in Calgary and then sought employment. Although she had taken a business course in high school, she could not obtain an office job. She believed that there was definitely discrimination at that time against Chinese Canadians who were looking for jobs. Finally she got a job in a knitting factory - working for Chinese people.
Mrs. Alice Louie-Byne was born in Canada. One of her sisters received training in nursing. But she said that no one in Calgary would employ her sister in nursing because she was Chinese. She had to leave Calgary and go to work in a small town. Referring to her own bitter experience, Mrs. Louse-Byne said that nobody could get good jobs in those days if you were Chinese. She wanted to write a civil service examination to try to secure a government job but they would not let her do so. All doors were closed.
The first generation of Chinese Canadians who grew up in the city’s Chinatown faced a grim future, as racial discrimination made it literally impossible for them to work in mainstream businesses outside Chinatown. Many looked to China for work. The ones that were of school age often were sent to China for education in the hope of getting away from the discriminatory environment.
在第一次世界大戰和第二次世界大戰之間，華人在艾伯塔省求職遭受到明顯的種族歧視。海倫·莫克（Helen Mock）夫人在卡爾加里（Calgary）讀完高中，然後求職。儘管她曾在高中上過商科課程，但無法找到辦公室工作。
她相信這是因為當時中國人求職受到歧視。最終，她在一家華人經營的針織工廠找到了一份工作。
愛麗絲·路易·貝恩夫人（Alice Louie-Byne）生於加拿大。她的一個姐妹接受了護理培訓。但她說，卡爾加里沒有人會僱用姐姐從事護理工作，因為她是中國人。她不得不離開卡爾加里，去一個小鎮上班。談到自己的痛苦經歷，勞斯·貝恩夫人說，如果你是中國人，那段日子沒人能找到好工作。她想投考公務員考試以試圖獲得政府工作，但他們不允許她這樣做。他們把門都關上了。
早期的華人面對著一個非常暗淡的前景，因為種族歧視使他們實際上無法在唐人街以外的主流企業工作。許多人回中國求職。那些處於學齡的孩子經常被送到中國接受教育，以期擺脫歧視性的環境。
1968-1994
Part 4
1968-1994
Part 2
1968-1994 Part 3
Discrimination and Racism
種族歧視
Dr. Sun Yat Sen’s Visit to Calgary
重要事件 孫中山先生 到訪卡加利
在卡爾加里，居民偶爾試圖說服該市採取並實施針對華人社區的限制性措施。例如，在1913年，一群公民建議對所有中國居民進行指紋識別和拍照，以備識別。激怒華人的社區舉行了會議，並譴責該計劃是不民主的。該提案才被取消。
1916年，中國居民購買了唐人街郊區的一個車庫，並將其改建成了中國劇院。卡爾加里公民的遊說者反對劇院的計劃，並要求市議會通過禁止該劇院存在的附則
In Calgary, residents occasionally attempted to persuade the city to introduce and enforce restrictive measures directed against the Chinese community. In 1913 for instance, a group of citizens suggested that all Chinese residents be finger-printed and photographed for ready identification. The incensed Chinese community held meetings and denounced the scheme as undemocratic. The proposal was dropped.
In 1916, a garage on the outskirts of Chinatown was purchased by Chinese residents, who converted it into a Chinese theatre. A lobby of Calgary citizens opposed the location of the theatre and demanded that the city council pass a by-law prohibiting the theatre’s existence, but the council voted down the proposal.
In April 1911, Calgary and Vancouver were the only two Canadian cities visited by Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Chinese National League, during his third visit to Canada. Supported by the Chi Gong Tong, Sun was raising funds for his revolution to overthrow the Ching Dynasty.
The Manchu government had a price on his head, but it couldn’t stop him from addressing a rally at the downtown Orpheum Theatre (formerly at 703 Centre Street, S.), attending banquets in his honour where the Ho Won Restaurant is now (210 Centre Street, S.), and speaking at Louie Kheong’s grocery, now the Gee Gong Restaurant (206C Centre St. S.). The Chinese community raised over a thousand dollars for Sun’s cause and today Chinese Calgarians can see Calgary’s name on a monument in Canton that commemorates the last daring uprising before the final overthrow of the Manchus. Dr. Sun’s visit was publicised in the local newspaper - "Alberta Morning” dated January 25, 1912.
Two years after Sun's visit, the Chinese National League was founded in Calgary.
1911 年 4 月 ，中國國民黨創立人孫中山先生訪問加拿大的兩個城市 - 卡加利和溫哥華。孫先生的訪問得到致公堂的支持 ， 希望爲他的革命事業籌款用以推翻滿清政府 。
當時 ， 滿清政府雖已懸紅加害孫中山先生 ， 卻並未能阻止他在奧芬劇場位於703中央街南對廣大群衆呼籲推翻滿清 ； 孫先生又先後在好運酒樓( 210中央街南） 及珠江酒樓（ 206(：中央街南 、 前雷強雜貨店 ） 發表言論 。 卡城華人社團曾爲孫先生的革命事業籌得超過一千元 。 直至今天 ，「 卡加利」的名字仍刻在廣東省的革命紀念碑上。 孫先生這歷史之行在本地報章 1" 亞省早報』 上亦有照片和報導 ， 日期爲九一二年一月廿五曰 。孫先生訪卡加利之後兩年 ， 中國國民黨便在此正式成立
Social Acceptance
社會的接納
As the Great Depression worsened in the 1930s, many Chinese people in Calgary lost their jobs. Chinatown's various associations could not cope with the demands upon them. By 1931 there were about 1,000 Chinese in Calgary, making it the largest Chinese community in the province.
Late in 1931 Chinese began applying for relief. Unemployed single Chinese people were granted an allowance of only $1.12 per week, but single non-Chinese people received $2.50 per week. The Chinese community’s dissatisfaction with discrimination directed to them grew. Their protests were totally ignored.
In 1937, about 80 unemployed Chinese community members staged a lie-down protest on streetcar tracks, demanding $2.50 per week. Nothing resulted from this. Peaceful sit-down protests continued throughout January. In February a similar protest turned violent and 13 Chinese community members were arrested.
The Chinese community’s cause garnered support from other groups, such as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. They pressed the case for justice and finally the government raised the relief payments to $2.12 per week, still less than that of non-Chinese recipients.
A substantial change in the general public attitude towards the Chinese community developed during the Second World War. China and Canada were Allied powers, and Canadians were sympathetic to the suffering of the Chinese population under Japanese occupation and aggression. From 1937 to 1945, Calgary's Chinese community members alone raised over $200,000 for China relief.
After the war, attitudes towards Chinese Canadians were much improved. Overt racism had become extremely unpopular because of the Nazis' racial doctrines, and in 1947 the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed. Many Chinese families in Calgary were reunited.
Increasing acceptance and appreciation of the Chinese community members was demonstrated, for example, in a Calgary Herald editorial in 1952. "The extent to which the citizens of Chinese ancestry have been assimilated into [our] society accepting many of its forms while never losing touch with the greatness of their own culture is a pattern of successful immigration…" Because of previous attitudes, such an editorial would not have appeared before the Second World War.
Wartime cooperation was not the only influence on white Canadian attitudes. The emergence of family life and higher living standards among Canadian-born Chinese and Chinese immigrants were also a powerful force.
1930年經濟大衰退峙，很多在卡加利的華人都失去工作,華人社團亦未能應付華人在各方面的需求。1931 年，卡城華人人口已達一千多人，成為亞伯達省華人聚居最多之地。
1931 年底，華人開始申請政府援助。一般而言單身人士每星期可得津贴二元五角，而華人卻只得一元一角二仙。對這種不平等的待遇，華人極表不滿，但政府對他們的抗議卻充耳不聞。
1937年，八十多名失業華人躺在街道上抗議示威，要求每星期二元五角的津貼。這和平示威持續了一個多月，直至二月，原來是和平的示威演變成暴力，有十三名華人被拘捕。
這件事件引来各界的關注，英聯邦共同合作社更就此事提出質詢。最後政府讓步，把津贴提高至每星期二元一角二仙，仍低於其他種族人士。
在第二次世界大戰期間，公眾對華人的態度起了很大的轉變。中國和加拿大是盟國，而加拿大人對於中國被日本侵略的慘况深表同情。1937 年，亞省反日聯盟會正式成立，總部設於卡加利。由1937至1945年間，卡加利的華人為中国籌得救濟善款二十多萬元。
大戰之後，一般人對中國人的態度都普遍改善，由於不滿納粹黨的種族政策，公開的種族歧視極不受歡迎。加拿大排華政策於1947年亦正式廢除，卡城很多華人家庭因此而得以團聚。
對華人的接受與重視程度逐漸提升。例如，1952年的本地報章有以下記載：【華人在僑居海外的的過程中不斷吸取本地文化並融入我們的社區中，卻不忘祖裔文化的優良傳統實是難能可貴... 】 這段社論在戰前是絕對不會出現的。
大戰期間，由於中加的緊密合作改善了雙方的關係，而新一代土生華裔與新移民的家庭觀念及更高的生活質素，皆有助於改變本地人對華人的看法。
During the period between World War One and Two, there was definite job discrimination against Chinese Canadians in Alberta. Mrs. Helen Mock completed high school in Calgary and then sought employment. Although she had taken a business course in high school, she could not obtain an office job. She believed that there was definitely discrimination at that time against Chinese Canadians who were looking for jobs. Finally she got a job in a knitting factory - working for Chinese people.
Mrs. Alice Louie-Byne was born in Canada. One of her sisters received training in nursing. But she said that no one in Calgary would employ her sister in nursing because she was Chinese. She had to leave Calgary and go to work in a small town. Referring to her own bitter experience, Mrs. Louse-Byne said that nobody could get good jobs in those days if you were Chinese. She wanted to write a civil service examination to try to secure a government job but they would not let her do so. All doors were closed.
The first generation of Chinese Canadians who grew up in the city’s Chinatown faced a grim future, as racial discrimination made it literally impossible for them to work in mainstream businesses outside Chinatown. Many looked to China for work. The ones that were of school age often were sent to China for education in the hope of getting away from the discriminatory environment.
In Calgary, residents occasionally attempted to persuade the city to introduce and enforce restrictive measures directed against the Chinese community. In 1913 for instance, a group of citizens suggested that all Chinese residents be finger-printed and photographed for ready identification. The incensed Chinese community held meetings and denounced the scheme as undemocratic. The proposal was dropped.
In 1916, a garage on the outskirts of Chinatown was purchased by Chinese residents, who converted it into a Chinese theatre. A lobby of Calgary citizens opposed the location of the theatre and demanded that the city council pass a by-law prohibiting the theatre’s existence, but the council voted down the proposal.
In April 1911, Calgary and Vancouver were the only two Canadian cities visited by Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Chinese National League, during his third visit to Canada. Supported by the Chi Gong Tong, Sun was raising funds for his revolution to overthrow the Ching Dynasty.
The Manchu government had a price on his head, but it couldn’t stop him from addressing a rally at the downtown Orpheum Theatre (formerly at 703 Centre Street, S.), attending banquets in his honour where the Ho Won Restaurant is now (210 Centre Street, S.), and speaking at Louie Kheong’s grocery, now the Gee Gong Restaurant (206C Centre St. S.). The Chinese community raised over a thousand dollars for Sun’s cause and today Chinese Calgarians can see Calgary’s name on a monument in Canton that commemorates the last daring uprising before the final overthrow of the Manchus. Dr. Sun’s visit was publicised in the local newspaper - "Alberta Morning” dated January 25, 1912.
Two years after Sun's visit, the Chinese National League was founded in Calgary.
As the Great Depression worsened in the 1930s, many Chinese people in Calgary lost their jobs. Chinatown's various associations could not cope with the demands upon them. By 1931 there were about 1,000 Chinese in Calgary, making it the largest Chinese community in the province.
Late in 1931 Chinese began applying for relief. Unemployed single Chinese people were granted an allowance of only $1.12 per week, but single non-Chinese people received $2.50 per week. The Chinese community’s dissatisfaction with discrimination directed to them grew. Their protests were totally ignored.
In 1937, about 80 unemployed Chinese community members staged a lie-down protest on streetcar tracks, demanding $2.50 per week. Nothing resulted from this. Peaceful sit-down protests continued throughout January. In February a similar protest turned violent and 13 Chinese community members were arrested.
The Chinese community’s cause garnered support from other groups, such as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. They pressed the case for justice and finally the government raised the relief payments to $2.12 per week, still less than that of non-Chinese recipients.
A substantial change in the general public attitude towards the Chinese community developed during the Second World War. China and Canada were Allied powers, and Canadians were sympathetic to the suffering of the Chinese population under Japanese occupation and aggression. From 1937 to 1945, Calgary's Chinese community members alone raised over $200,000 for China relief.
After the war, attitudes towards Chinese Canadians were much improved. Overt racism had become extremely unpopular because of the Nazis' racial doctrines, and in 1947 the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed. Many Chinese families in Calgary were reunited.
Increasing acceptance and appreciation of the Chinese community members was demonstrated, for example, in a Calgary Herald editorial in 1952. "The extent to which the citizens of Chinese ancestry have been assimilated into [our] society accepting many of its forms while never losing touch with the greatness of their own culture is a pattern of successful immigration…" Because of previous attitudes, such an editorial would not have appeared before the Second World War.
Wartime cooperation was not the only influence on white Canadian attitudes. The emergence of family life and higher living standards among Canadian-born Chinese and Chinese immigrants were also a powerful force.