Author: Debbie Cheng
Northwest Asia Weekly
Leading the walk to the waterfront are (from left) Bellevue City Councilman Janice Zahn, Dr. Shaw Ming, Bellevue Mayor Lynn Robinson, Michael Chen, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Edmonds City Councilman Will Chen. (Photo by Tony O)
On February 12, 2022, nearly 1,000 people gathered around Xinghai Park in Seattle’s Chinatown International District (CID) to commemorate the 136th anniversary of the deportation of the Chinese.
The rally – meandering to the waterfront and back to CID – was the brainchild of Winston Lee and quickly gained the support of more than 20 Chinese community organisations.
Winston Lee (Photo by Assunta Ng)
“I see a very divided community,” Lee said. “This rally brings together left and right, new and old immigrants.”
It also unites people against hate crimes against Asian Americans.
Photo by Tony O
In his comments at the event’s opening, former Washington Governor Gary Locke said the gathering was important to share memories of experiences and ensure history is told from the perspective of affected communities.
“As Chinese Americans and Asian Americans, we have every right to take responsibility and be active members of our community because we care about our community and our future,” he said.
Locke is a third-generation Chinese American. Born in the Seattle area, he began his political career in the Washington State House of Representatives in 1982.
“136 years ago, we were kicked out of Seattle. We said it wouldn’t happen again,” Locke said. “But it happened again. It happened again when they said ‘Kung Fu virus’, ‘China virus’, ‘Wuhan virus’ and ‘You all need to go home’.”
“This is our home!” Locke shouted, and the crowd erupted into continuous applause.
The Chinese were rounded up in 1886, taken to the docks, and driven out of Seattle. According to HistoryLink.org, as America struggled with economic hardship in the 1870s and 1880s, white workers began to view Chinese immigration as a threat to the few available jobs. Violence broke out in Seattle on February 7, 1886. Citizens forcibly expelled most of the Chinese in the city, killing 1 and injuring 4 Chinese Americans. It took 20 years for Seattle’s Chinese population to return to 1885 levels.
King County Executive Dow Constantine said that over the past two years of the global pandemic, the country’s Asian and Pacific Islander community has been singled out by racists and those who want to blame people who look different.
“We’re here to say no. We’re not going to support it in our community.
We will stop Asian hatred and will continue to stand against racism, ignorance and violence in our communities,” Constantine said. “King County must be a place where all newcomers are welcomed fully and equally. “
According to the Seattle Police Department, there were 38 hate crimes against Asian Americans last year and 49 in 2020. Still significantly higher than the 21 Asia-related hate crime count in 2019.
When COVID arrived in 2020, small businesses in Chinatown were vandalized and looted. Yanwen Su, a Seattle resident who attended the event, said she no longer felt safe.
“Look at all the restaurants and windows. Everything is broken and many people are afraid to come here,” Wen said. “Before the pandemic, I came here a lot and enjoyed walking here. After COVID, I was very scared, especially at night and at night.”
Win brought her husband, Frank Grabner, to the event.
“It’s unbelievable to me to hear that something like this (the expulsion of the Chinese) is allowed to happen,” Grabner said.
For Lily Yin, Newport PTSA Co-President and Bellevue PTSA Council Board Member, her participation marks the culmination of a long-term effort to provide corporate support for education and social justice issues. Before the march, Yin had lobbied her firm, BPM Accounting and Consulting, to allow her to represent 900 of her colleagues at the event. She and a colleague held up placards representing the company.
“I am very grateful that the company really cares about the AAPI committee. At the same time, we hope that the Chinese community can feel the support from other communities during the event. I am very happy to take a small step forward and have great support from the company and other communities. We are not alone,” Yin said.
Mou Yufan, a third-year Chinese-American student at the University of Washington, was invited by his father, a representative of the Olympia Regional Chinese Association, to participate in the event. She is a second generation Asian American.
Mou had never heard of the expulsion of Chinese from the school.
“It was really great to learn about the culture and history of the event, because as a young Chinese American, I definitely didn’t have much exposure to that history,” she said.
Living in such a diverse community as Seattle, Mou believes this memorial, and events of this type, are important to create more exposure and awareness for the local community when anti-Asian hate crimes occur.
“Asian-Americans standing up for themselves is the most powerful way to give themselves a voice. So I think in situations like these, we need to make sure we stand up and make changes,” Mou said.
Angelis Munoz is visiting her sister Isabella Munoz, who currently lives in the greater Seattle area, and taking her on a tour of Chinatown. The two of them don’t know what expelling Chinese is.
After introducing the evictions directly to the sisters, they believe that people at the time made a terrible decision that the community today can learn from.
“It’s really unfortunate that people have such a closed mind. I think there’s always room for different cultures in our community,” Angeles Muñoz said. Isabella Muñoz added: “Just cutting ties with others is not the right way, because we can be open to learning about so many cultures.”
It’s not just the sisters who come to experience the atmosphere of the Chinese community. Chinese-American Jack Woo attended the event with his two 7-year-old sons, Evan and Jayden, as he heard there would be a traditional Chinese lion dance.
After arriving, Woo learned the purpose of the event.
“I hope this event will bring about a better change or impact,” Woo said. “As Asians, we are trying to help. We are not a threat.”
This is the third time in 35 years that the local Chinese community has organized a walk and rally to commemorate the Chinese Expulsion Act.
When asked what would happen next, Winston Lee said: “We wanted to see if we could make a statue on the waterfront to honor this history.”
Debbie is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
