City to apologize to Chinese for past discrimination
City officials will deliver a formal apology next month for the historic discrimination of Vancouver’s Chinese community.
The apology will be read in English and Chinese during a special council meeting hosted in Chinatown during Chinatown Culture Day on April 22.
“This is an important day for council to come together in recognition of the historic discrimination that took place against Chinese residents,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson in a prepared statement.
“In order to move forward, we must first acknowledge the harm that was committed and how this unfortunate chapter in Vancouver’s history continues to impact the lives of Chinese Canadians. I’d
like to encourage all Vancouverites to come on down to Chinatown to be a part of this historic day and join in a celebration of Chinese culture.”
The apology comes following consultations in 2016 and 2017 with an
advisory group of community leaders from the Chinese and non-Chinese communities.
Chinese immigration to B.C. dates back to the late 1700s, when men from southern China arrived as ship’s crew alongside British explorers.
While the Chinese population had helped to establish much of B.C.’s economy during the province’s early years, 1871 saw the formation of a provincial government that passed legislation to strip the Chinese community of the right to vote and deny access to various professions such as law, pharmacy and dentistry.
“The disenfranchisement of Chinese Canadians and the building of legalized racism and exclusion at multiple levels of government continued for the next 75 years (half of Canada’s history at its 150th anniversary this year),” read a city report that explained the treatment of Chinese people in Vancouver.
“After a long struggle lasting three-quarters of a century, the franchise was finally and completely reinstated to Chinese Canadians in 1947, with the last franchise, the municipal one, granted by the City of Vancouver in 1949.”
The apology will be read in English by Robertson and in Chinese by former city councillors Bill Yee and Maggie Ip. A number of guests will speak to the past, present and future of Vancouver’s Chinese community.
Chinatown Culture Day takes place on April 22 from 1-4 p.m. The apology will be read at 2 p.m. at the Chinese Cultural Centre (50 East Pender St.).
Events also include historical walking tours, tai chi demonstrations, calligraphy demonstrations, traditional lion dance lessons, street food stalls, free admission to the Dr. Sun Yet Sen Garden and Chinese Cultural Centre museum, and more.