US Senate apologizes for laws against Chinese immigrants

(People's Daily Online)

08:48, October 09, 2011

The U.S. Senate approved a resolution Thursday night apologizing for its past discriminatory laws that exclusively targeted Chinese immigrants, such as the notorious Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

The bill was approved by unanimous consent on the Senate floor.

Republican Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts, a leading sponsor of the resolution, said: “ Though it cannot undo the hurt caused by past discriminations against Chinese immigrants, it is important that we acknowledge the wrongs that were committed many years ago by this country." 

A similar resolution, sponsored by Representative Judy Chu from El Monte, the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress, is pending in the House. It is backed by members of both parties.

For Chu, the effort to get Congress to acknowledge the discrimination is personal; her grandfather had faced the hostile laws.

"He decided to make something of his life anyway. He opened up a small Chinese restaurant in Watts, and worked day and night and he was finally able to make ends meet," Chu said on Friday. "The thousands of Chinese Americans around this country with similar family histories will celebrate the passage of this Senate resolution."

The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act halted Chinese immigration to the U.S. for a decade and denied U.S. citizenship to Chinese immigrants in the country. The law was repealed in 1943 after China became a U.S. ally in World War II.

But Chu said that Congress has never apologized for the injustice.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a cosponsor of the U.S. Senate resolution, said Friday she hopes the resolution will serve to "enlighten those who may not be aware of this regrettable chapter in our history and bring closure to the families whose loved ones live through this difficult time.”

In 1988, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed legislation providing $1.25 billion, or $20,000 each, in reparations and a formal apology for Japanese Americans interned during World War II. And, in 2008, the House issued an apology to African Americans "on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them.”

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