Blog – Chinese Voices In Canada

（Red Maple/Xiaoming Guo）On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the promulgation of Canada’s “Chinese Exclusion Act”, nearly 3,000 Chinese from several major cities in Canada gathered in Ottawa, the capital, and held a large gathering on Parliament Hill Square to review and reflect on this dark history of Canada. Together with representatives of the three levels of Canadian government present at the meeting, they voiced the voice of the Chinese: History must not be forgotten, and history must not repeat itself! The general organizers of this event are Zhang Jian, and leaders of some associations such as Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Representatives of the three levels of government in Canada who attended this event included Canadian Senators Victor Oh and Yuen Pau Woo, who were also the initiators of this series of national “Chinese Exclusion Act” commemorative activities. Other dignitaries include members of Congress Shaun Chen, Chandra Arya, Senator Mary Jane McCallum, Ontario Provincial Member Vincent Ke, Deputy Mayor of Markham, Ontario, Michael Chan, City Councilor of Richmond Hill, Ontario Simon Cui et al.

Senator Mary Jane McCallum

MP Chandra Arya (right)

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau pointed out in a written speech to this rally that the Chinese community in Canada should be treated better, but the reality is not the case, That’s why the fight against anti-Asian racism, violence, and hatred must continue. This event provides an opportunity for all to reflect on the important contributions Chinese Canadians have made to Canada’s history and prosperity, and to renew understanding of past mistakes in order to build a stronger, more inclusive, more just Canada for the benefit of the future and offspring.

Senator Victor Oh said in his speech that the promulgation and implementation of this unfair act in 1923 caused serious harm to Chinese Canadians and their families at that time, and it was the darkest page in the history of Chinese immigration in Canada.

He pointed out that 100 years later, brothers and sisters from various cities and regions in Canada gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to participate in the reflection and commemoration activities, which fully demonstrated that unity is strength, and unity will lead to change. He hopes to defend his rights through everyone’s efforts, and build a Canada that is more inclusive and diverse, equal and happy, free from discrimination.

Senator Yuen Pau Woo pointed out that yesterday was the day of remembrance, and today is the day of speaking out. The Chinese will speak out and exclusion will never happen again. Tomorrow and every day that follows, we all must act to ensure that Chinese Canadians, Asian Canadians, and all minority Canadians are not excluded in any modern form.

Federal MP Shaun Chen said: “You are here today, and I congratulate you because you are standing up, you are fighting for a better Canada, and fighting for a country where all people can belong. So let us never forget this shameful and humiliating part of Canadian history and let us continue to work together with all Canadians to build a better Canada. I thank you for being here today and it is something we all should remember Today, let us unite with all Canadians and stand together for a better country.”

Vincent Ke said: “I am like everyone else today, I signed up in the group early, and then took the bus to Ottawa. I would like to thank all the Chinese Canadians present here to participate in this event, for a more inclusive, tolerant, peaceful, and friendly Canada in the future. So thank you, thank you.”

Michael Chan, Deputy Mayor of Markham said: “I would like to thank the two current senators in particular. The first one is surnamed Hu(Oh), and the second one is also surnamed Hu(Woo). When you add two Hu and Hu together, it becomes powerful. Today is also a day to celebrate the success, tenacity, and perseverance of our Chinese community and their many contributions to Canada. They make Canada the best place in the world to live and raise a family. Let us continue to protect, protect our basic Rights, our freedom and dignity, so that Canada will continue to be a model country of harmony and peace, thank you all.”

Chinese associations from Toronto and Ottawa performed Chinese martial arts, drums, waist drums, and other Chinese folk arts during the rally. The chorus of the Canadian song “Red River Valley”, the popular Canadian song, opened the prelude to the mighty parade of thousands of people.

Holding up signs and Canadian flags, they were proud of their identities and proud of their culture.

The main slogans include: Chinese Canadians are Canadians, No to Racism, No Stigmatization, No Discrimination, My Vote is My Choice, Respect for David Johnston, etc.

Mr. Weng Guoning, Chairman of the Federation of Chinese Associations in Toronto, took a group photo with the leaders of the Fuqing Business Association.

Senator Victor Oh took a group photo with fellow folks from Shandong.

The heavy rain in the weather forecast started almost at the same time as the parade. Feeling the good and bad of Canada,

they chanted slogans to express their hearts: “We are proud to be Chinese, Say No False Media Reporting, Stop Smearing Chinese Canadian Politicians, Stop Slandering Chinese Canadians” and other slogans echoed on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, A reminder that there are dark times in the sun.

The organizer of this event — — [Reflection on Chinese Exclusion Act Centennial] Capitol Hill Rally Organizing Committee is composed of people from various Chinese communities. They don’t pay for fame and fortune, they contribute and serve silently to the community. The feat was made possible after months of meticulous preparation. We sincerely thank all the friends who contributed their hard work to this event!

Chairman Zhang Jian, chief planner, general convener, and chief commander of the event, said: “Dear friends! After more than three months of preparation, under the leadership of the two senators, in the “Organizing Committee of the Centennial Reflection on the Chinese Exclusion Act” With the joint efforts of everyone, the 6.24 Capitol Hill rally was successfully held!

These Chinese Canadians fought for the same equal rights as all ethnic groups in the country! To make their own voices in society! To show that the Chinese are not a mess! More than 3,000 people from different places in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and some thousands of miles away, came to Capitol Square, reflecting the unprecedented unity of the Chinese!

Everyone has put in a lot of hard work and effort for this event!

Special thanks to the sponsors who have dedicated themselves to this event! Hundreds of Donors! Especially the happy donation of the retired old people!

Thanks to each working group of our organizing committee! Special thanks to those voluntary workers and volunteers who don’t care about fame and fortune, earnestly, and work hard!

Thank you to all the friends who worked around and supported silently for the success of this event! There is no sign of you! No photos of you! But the “Organizing Committee” will not forget you! History will never forget you!

friends! Comrades! The 6.24 event is over. But promote Chinese unity! The fight for the legal rights of Chinese Canadians has just begun!

Our series of activities are still going on! The work of promoting the active participation, integration, and joint enrichment of Canadian multiculturalism by Chinese people has only just begun!

We still need to keep working hard! To achieve a better political and living environment in the wonderful land of Canada! Go mainstream for your own voice! Let more people know about us Chinese! Support us! There is more work to be done! There is a long way to go! Learn from the older generation of Chinese! Inspire a new generation and learn from other ethnic activists in society!

Learn from righteous, selfless, and brave civil rights activists of Chinese Canadians! Build a more united Chinese community and a positive Chinese image!

Once again, I would like to say to everyone: You have worked hard! You are so beautiful under the hot sun and in the rain!

The organizing committee calls on the awareness of the whole society of the positive contributions made by the Chinese to Canada’s economy, science and technology, and multiculturalism. It calls on Chinese Canadians to use their own actions to promote Canada’s continuous progress and development, and calls on everyone to oppose any illegal and ugly activity of attacking the Chinese by fabricating stories without evidence to smear the Chinese.

Attachment: The cause and effect of the introduction of the “Chinese Exclusion Act”

In 1881, the population of British Columbia in western Canada was about 35,000. At that time, about 9,000 Chinese laborers built the last section of the Canadian Pacific Railway here. The Canadian government decided to impose a head tax on the Chinese in order to restrict the entry of Chinese. The Canadian government forcibly imposed a head tax of 500 Canadian dollars per person on these Chinese, which was equivalent to their two-year salary at that time. Moreover, this tax is only levied on Chinese immigrants from various countries entering Canada. From 1886 to 1923, the Canadian government made a profit of 23 million Canadian dollars, equivalent to 1.2 billion Canadian dollars in 2006 currency. Those who are taxed need to work for three to five years to pay back.

In 1923, the Canadian federal government decided to abolish the head tax and passed the new “1923 Chinese Immigration Act”, which was implemented on July 1 of the same year. The law stipulates that all Chinese are not allowed to enter Canada except for the following examples. The Chinese allowed to enter Canada in the “1923 Chinese Immigration Act” are: businessmen, diplomatic officials, overseas students and special cases.

The law is not limited to Chinese citizens, and British Chinese are also prohibited from entering Canada. After the decree took effect, almost all Chinese could not enter Canada, including the relatives of Chinese laborers who had already lived in Canada. During the 24 years since the Act was implemented, only more than 20 Chinese entered Canada. In 1931, there were about 46,000 Chinese in Canada, with a male-to-female ratio of 13 to 1.

Because the “1923 Chinese Immigration Act” was implemented on the same date as Canada’s National Day, the Chinese in Canada at that time called the National Day a “shame day” and refused to celebrate Canada National Day.

During World War II, many Chinese joined the army and donated money to fund the war against Axis. In view of the contribution of the Chinese Canadians to Canada in the Second World War and the constraints of the United Nations Charter, the Canadian Parliament abolished the “Chinese Immigration Act 1923” on May 14, 1947. However, Canada only opened its immigration policy in 1967, allowing Chinese to enter Canada as “independent immigrants”.

Kevin Charach

CTV News Vancouver Multi-Media Journalist

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/kevin-charach-1.5918283

A Richmond, B.C., couple facing mischief charges in relation to an incident at a coffee shop that was condemned as an act of anti-Asian hate entered a surprise guilty plea Tuesday.

Astrid Maria Secreve and Michel Jean-Jacque Berthume opened court proceedings by announcing they’ve switched their plea from not guilty, putting an immediate halt to the trial underway.

“We want this nightmare to be done,” Berthume said to the provincial court judge.

Berthume and his ex-wife Secreve, both representing themselves, pleaded guilty to one count of mischief under $5,000.

The charges stemmed from an incident in Rocanini Coffee Roasters in March 2021. At the time, Mounties announced they were investigating but did not identify the business. The media release from police came after video began circulating online.

The security video showed drinks being poured on the floor and something being thrown as the couple exited. There was also cellphone video showing a couple getting into a vehicle, and racial slurs could be heard.

In court Tuesday, the two admitted to using racial slurs targeted towards Asian employees during an altercation that started when they were asked to move as part of the coffee shop’s COVID-19 social distancing policy.

The Crown is seeking a suspended sentence for both Berthume and Secreve, which includes a criminal record and 18 months probation. The accused are seeking an absolute discharge.

Berthume told the court that his comments and actions were out of frustration and were the result of a poor decision in a stressful situation, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a trigger.

Both Berthume and Secreve said they regretted their actions.

However, Secreve also told the judge she “finds the Chinese community in Richmond very challenging.”

Around a dozen anti-racism advocates attended the proceedings.

“We need justice,” said Ally Wang, co-founder of Stop Asian Hate Crimes Advocacy Group. “I think that will educate the suspects.”

Berthume, 74, and Secreve, 76, also told the judge they’ve been alienated by their friends, family and community, and the whole experience has made them depressed. Both told the judge they plan on leaving the province.

Sentencing is scheduled to continue Wednesday afternoon.

“The Chinese population … has overcome a lot of barriers in order to be able to work in professions and to be elected politicians and to reach the highest goals that many of the Chinese population reached,” an event organizer said.

Kimmy Yam

Kimmy Yam is a reporter for NBC Asian America.

https://www.nbcnews.com/author/kimmy-yam-ncpn1063966

People march on the centennial of the Chinese community’s pushback against segregation in Victoria, Canada, on Sept. 5, 2022. Dana Hutchings

A century later, residents of Victoria, British Columbia, are commemorating the Chinese community’s 1922 successful protest against the city’s school segregation.

Locals paid tribute this week to the Sept. 5 boycott, in which some 200 Chinese students walked out and refused to attend the “Chinese-only” schools that were designated for them by the board amid rampant anti-Chinese sentiment at the time.

The yearlong boycott eventually forced the board to reverse its decision. On the 100th anniversary marked on Monday, community members retraced the steps of the protesters, honoring their fight against racism.

“What we’ve experienced in the past, especially with Covid and the anti Asian sentiment, brings back some of the discrimination that our forefathers and ancestors had to endure,” Alan Lowe, chair of the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society, which spearheaded the event, told NBC News. “The Chinese population … has overcome a lot of barriers in order to be able to work in professions and to be elected politicians and to reach the highest goals that many of the Chinese population reached.”

Several community leaders commemorated the anniversary, too, including Ryan Painter, chair of the Greater Victoria Board of Education, who during a speech issued an apology.

Lowe explained that more than a century ago, the Chinese community in Victoria were generally perceived as an economic threat. Local businesses attempted to get the area’s politicians and school board of trustees to “suppress” the Chinese population, Lowe said.

“There was the Victorian Chamber of Commerce as well that wanted to undermine whatever the Chinese population was trying to do,” Lowe, also a former mayor of the city, said. “They were concerned that the Chinese population was working a lot longer in jobs and other businesses [that] were open a lot longer, which was an ‘unfair’ disadvantage to the white people within the society.”

Segregation in schools began as a gradual process. White parents in the area first petitioned to separate the Chinese students in 1901, accusing them of being “unclean, untidy, depraved, ill-mannered,” and having a demoralizing influence on their children, according to the museum society. Though the petition didn’t result in immediate action, mounting pressures from the Trade and Labour Council caused the board to create a committee to determine whether they had the power to establish a separate school. And by January 1903, more than a dozen junior Chinese students were placed in an isolated classroom.

Four years later, the board mandated that Chinese-born students pass an English exam to attend schools in the district. And not long afterward, all students of Chinese descent from grade one to four were segregated from public schools.

The most drastic measure came in July 1922, when the board passed another resolution to segregate all Chinese students up to grade seven for the upcoming school year, effectively cutting off Chinese children’s access to any interaction with other students, Lowe said.

“We have to also understand at that time, the students only went to school up to about grade eight,” he said. “So it was very, very detrimental to the Chinese population to not be integrated into the school system at that time.”

Three local organizations – the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese Canadian Club – organized the Sept. 5 boycott, so that on that first day of school, when principals removed Chinese students from two of the elementary schools and prepared to march them into the Chinese-only school, a Chinese student gave the group a signal in Cantonese and the kids quickly dispersed. For a year, more than 200 Chinese students continued their studies under two teachers from the U.S. hired by the Chinese Canadian community.

The yearlong boycott prevented the board from advancing further segregation policies. However, it wasn’t until decades later that the Chinese students would be fully integrated into the area’s public education system.

Painter, who presented a plaque in commemoration of the protest, said in a statement that “among a long list of historic wrongs perpetrated against the Chinese community,” the segregation was a particularly “dark” incident in the school district’s past.

“The racist discrimination that led to this act is unacceptable and viewed with regret,” Painter said.

While the apology comes 100 years later, Lowe said it’s necessary to bring “closure” to the Chinese community in Victoria.

“By bringing closure, we can continue to work together in this multicultural mosaic that we have in society,” Lowe said.

Jason Herring

https://calgaryherald.com/author/jherringpostmedia/

I live and work in Calgary, Alberta. I am a general-assignment reporter for the Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun. You can find my work at this link.

Members of Calgary’s Chinese community are demanding a public apology from Premier Jason Kenney for what they describe as racist comments made in a recent media interview.

More than 60 people gathered outside of McDougall Centre on a frigid New Year’s Day morning to condemn Kenney’s comments, in which he told Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell in a year-end interview, “What’s the next bat soup thing out of Wuhan? I don’t know.”

Attendees held signs with lines like “Racism is a disgrace to Alberta” and “Zero tolerance for anti-Asian hate” as a series of speakers took to the mic with concerns the premier’s comments will worsen discrimination against Chinese Canadians, a group which faced an increase in vitriol following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We gather here to voice concern on Jason Kenney’s irresponsible and toxic comments,” said Jiannong Wu during the rally. “(This type of language) has provoked a significant increase in hate crimes against Asian people in general and Chinese in particular.”

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was first identified in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. A viral video which circulated shortly afterwards purported bat soup in a Wuhan wet market was the origin of the virus, but that claim was quickly debunked.

Kenney’s press secretary Justin Brattinga said Kenney gave an apology for the comments in a Dec. 24 interview with LifeCalgary, a local Chinese-language outlet which publishes on the Chinese WeChat social media platform. Their interview with Kenney was published Wednesday.

“I do want say that by the way, if anybody did take offence, that I apologize to them, if they took offence, certainly none was intended,” said Kenney in the interview, quotes from which were provided by Brattinga.

“I’m sorry if people felt offended by what I said, that was not my intention. And I certainly want to thank the Chinese Canadian community in Alberta for the tremendous care that it has shown in being responsible during COVID.”

In an earlier statement to CTV, the premier’s office had defended Kenney’s comments, saying it was “obviously ridiculous” to call his words racist.

Wu works at the Foothills Medical Centre as a medical technologist. He said he’s faced racism as a front-line worker since the start of the pandemic, including from one patient who demanded he speak English when he was already speaking the language, and from another who refused his care altogether.

He said he fears Kenney’s comments will provoke further hatred, and said a broad public-facing apology is necessary.

Daniel J. RoweCTV News Montreal Digital Reporter

MONTREAL — Since the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple reports have drawn attention to a rise in anti-Asian racism in Montreal and throughout Quebec.

Alleged crimes have included a person being pepper-sprayed, another being stabbed and many being harassed on the streets of the city, and a march against anti-Asian racism was held Sunday to attention to the issue.

The march began at Cabot Square at 1 p.m., and head through Montreal’s downtown core.

“We’ve come together to organize because our community is tired, is hurting and is angry,” said Karen Cho of the Progressive Chinese Quebecers. “We are a year into this pandemic and the Asian Quebecois community has confronted so much hate.”

READ MORE: Opaque policing: Two deaths, other attacks loom as Asian Montrealers fear unrecognized hate crimes

A vigil for the victims at Parc Sun Yat-Sen in Montreal’s Chinatown for the eight victims in Atlanta who were killed in three Asian massage parlours is also scheduled.

Organizers in Montreal are noting that anti-Asian racism is a local issue as well.

Cho added the vandalism of Buddhist statues in Cote des Neiges and on the historic Chinatown gates on St. Laurent Blvd., as well as the hit-and-run of two Asian residents in Brossard to the list of criminal acts against citizens in and around Montreal.

“These are just the most egregious examples of what our community has faced this year,” she said. “On a daily basis, from Costco to the pharmacy to just walking in the streets, people in our community have been told to go back to their country, blamed for causing the virus, spat on and called racial slurs. These are not a series of isolated cases, they are part of a larger system and larger culture that allows these attitudes to persist.”

Phil TsekourasMulti-Platform Writer, CTV News Toronto Published Sunday, March 28, 2021 2:20PM EDT

TORONTO — Members of Toronto’s Asian community and their allies held a rally at Nathan Phillips Square Sunday to raise awareness about anti-Asian racism following the fatal shooting of several Asian-American women in Atlanta earlier this month.

Organizers of the demonstration said they are “outraged and heartbroken” by the events that took place on March 16 when Robert Aaron Long allegedly killed four people inside two Atlanta spas and four others at a massage business roughly 50 kilometres away.

Of the eight people killed, six of them were women of Asian descent. While investigators have said that Long has confessed to the killings, he claims they were not racially motivated.

“We stand together with Asian-American and Asian-Canadian women who are traumatized by this ongoing misogyny, racism, and stand against the policing and abuse of massage parlour workers and sex workers who are criminalized by the state and face discrimination by society,” rally organizers said in a news release.

Sunday’s demonstration is also marked by the release of a report last week by the Chinese Canadian National Council, Toronto Chapter, one of the five groups behind the rally, which showed a “disturbing rise” in anti-Asian hate crimes across the country.

“These racist incidents have resulted in deep and long-lasting impacts on the Asian Canadian community as a whole,” Avvy Go, Clinic Director of the Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic said in a news release issued Tuesday. “We need the Prime Minister and all Parliamentarians to take a stand against Anti-Asian racism. Instead of empty rhetoric, we demand concrete actions.”

Authors of the report said that racist and false ideas about the spread of COVID-19 largely fuelled the spike in hate.

Just this week police found two instances of vandalism targeting the Asian community in downtown Toronto which they are investigating as hate crimes.

And while the attack in Atlanta happened more than 1,500 kilometres away, attendees at Sunday’s rally say it hits too close to home.

“When I saw those people being attacked I feel the same pain as if I was being attacked,” said Jessica Li.

“With all the terrible things happening we have to be here for our community, to let people know hate is not ok. Racism is not ok,” added Fane Tse.

Rally organizers are echoing Go’s call for political leadership in the face of growing racism against the Asian community by urging lawmakers to act against hate and condemn “scapegoating Chinese people for the COVID-19 pandemic.”

By Slav Kornik Global News Posted March 27, 2021 3:28 pm

The Building Bridges Against Hate walk was held in downtown Edmonton Saturday.

Dozens of people marched in the demonstration, which was spurred by the recent shootings of six Asian women near Atlanta, Georgia.

“There’s a lot of love in the community. In a few short days, the Black community, the Indigenous community, and Muslim and the LGBTQ community, along with the Asian community, banned together,” Act to End Racism spokesperson Serena Mah said.

“They came together, they sat in this space and they were peaceful and they said, ‘Racism is not OK, hate is not OK and neither is discrimination.”

Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man, is accused of killing four people inside two Atlanta spas and four others at a massage business about 50 kilometres away in suburban Cherokee County. Six of the eight people killed were women of Asian descent.

The shootings have sparked outrage among Asian communities, who viewed the attacks as racially motivated.

Hate crimes against Asian communities have skyrocketed by almost 150 per cent in the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, according to an analysis of police department statistics released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism (CSHE) earlier this month.

Mah said she and her family are among those who have been targets of hate against the Asian community.

“I have to tell you racism is not new for me, microaggressions are not new for me, slurs online are not new for me, but what’s new for me is that my young son is now being targeted; that is not OK,” Mah said.

“It hit me straight in my heart.”

There have been a series of racially motivated assaults against mostly Black Muslim women in Edmonton in recent months, as well.

In early December, two Somali women wearing hijabs were attacked outside a south Edmonton shopping centre in what police said was a “hate-motivated incident.”

Less than a week later, a 23-year-old Black woman wearing a hijab was at an Edmonton transit station when she was approached by a woman she didn’t know. Without being provoked, police said the suspect allegedly tried to hit the woman in the head with a shopping bag while yelling “racially-motivated obscenities at her.

In February, a woman wearing a hijab was waiting inside the University of Alberta transit centre when she was approached by a man she didn’t know. Police said he made racial comments and postured “as though he was about to assault her.”

In an unrelated incident on the same day, a woman wearing a burka was walking on the sidewalk when she was approached by an unknown man who stopped her, yelled and swore at her and pushed her to the ground.

“There’s something that’s very different that’s happening right now: it’s very explicit, it’s very violent, it’s very public, it’s very outright and lots of people are feeling that,” rally volunteer Keren Tang said.

“It’s time for action. We have our Muslim sisters being attacked just for going to the grocery store or the transit. These are everyday things.”

“Any kind of metrics is really important when it comes to racism and discrimination because if we don’t track incidents, we don’t exactly know what’s happening in the community,” Mah said.

“Why do we want to know what’s happening in the community? Because that drives policy, that drives policy in-regards to supports and it also gives us an accurate picture about what’s happening.”

Mah would also like the threshold to be lowered for a hate crime, for politicians to be more vocal against racism and more support for victims.

Organizers of Saturday’s march said they wanted to create a safe space where people of all ethnicities could empower one another.

Tyson Fedor CTV News Calgary Video Journalist. Published Sunday, March 28, 2021 2:06PM MDT

CALGARY — Members of Calgary’s Asian community joined together to fight anti-Asian hate in the U.S. and Canada.

This, following a string of mass shootings in Atlanta, Ga. nearly two weeks ago at three separate massage and spa parlours that killed eight people.

The deaths included six Asian women.

“A lot of people are just silent and not aware of how serious the problem is,” said Jun Lin, a Calgarian at the rally. “And most concerning, there is a trend.”

Police in Atlanta say the suspect told authorities he had a ‘sexual addiction’ and the shootings were a form of vengeance.

Officers did say they had not ruled out racial motivation behind the shootings, but say the man accused denied those allegations.

Protests and rallies have been held in both countries in support of asian communities.

Rallies also took place in Vancouver, Victoria, Montreal, Toronto and the Okanagan.

Organizers say much of the animosity towards Asian-Canadians has to do with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve seen incidences of that all throughout Calgary, albeit not as severe as Montreal and other places, but again, one incident is too many,” said Terry Wong with the Calgary Chinese business community.

A report by the Chinese-Canadian National Council in Toronto shows that between the start of the pandemic and the end of February 2021, there were 1,150 incidents of anti-Asian racism in Canada. That’s more per capita than the U.S.

People at the rally appeared to be staying physically distant from each other.

Travis PrasadMulti-media journalist, CTV News Vancouver

Published Sunday, March 28, 2021 7:10PM PDT

VANCOUVER — Hundreds of people gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday afternoon to rally against anti-Asian hate crimes.

The protest was organized by the Asian Canadian Equity Alliance.

“If we don’t take action and don’t start having our opinions get out, it’s going to get worse and worse,” says David Zhang, a member of the non-profit group.

The demonstration was held simultaneously with rallies in several other Canadian cities, including Coquitlam, Victoria, and Toronto.

In Vancouver, the protest began with several speakers addressing the crowd from the steps of the Art Gallery. One of those speakers was Eileen Park Robertson, who faced an onslaught of racist and sexist comments earlier this month, when her marriage to former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson was made public.

“Historically, Asian voices like mine have been silenced, have been ridiculed, and, when we do speak out, we are shamed. We’re called opportunists. We’re called self-serving. But the time for our silence is up,” she said to a cheering crowd.

Also in attendance was Ujjal Dosanjh, the former premier of British Columbia. Dosanjh offered a challenge to politicians holding office across Canada.

“Politicians like to keep us in silos; in different communities,” he said. “They need to stand up and talk about multiculturalism, equality, and diversity, in every meeting they go to. That is how racism has to be stopped.”

According to the Vancouver Police Department, anti-Asian hate crimes jumped by 717 per cent in 2020. Incidents included racist taunts, spitting on people of Asian descent and physical assaults.

Rally attendee Steve Ding says he no longer allows his family to take public transit, and knows many others who have felt obliged to alter their daily routines for their personal safety.

“Some of my friends say they don’t feel safe walking down the street anymore, especially women and children,” said Ding.

The most tragic example of anti-Asian violence so far happened in the United States earlier this month. A gunman opened fire in Atlanta spas, killing eight people. Six of them were Asian-American women.

Rally organizers fear the hatred in Canada will turn deadly if action isn’t taken soon.

“We’ll work with our people, we’ll work with government, we’ll work with everyone trying to see if there’s something we can do stop this,” said Zhang.

He added speaking out publicly doesn’t come easily for much of the Asian-Canadian community, but said the situation is too dire to stay silent.

今天，埃德蒙顿的天气有些阴沉，零星下起了小雪。而一场“反对仇恨”的种族大游行，也在埃德蒙顿市中心拉开了帷幕.

现场约有数百名华人们参加，大家佩戴着口罩，在组织者的要求下保持着社交距离，平静却坚定地高举着标语：“Stop Asian Hate！”“No Violence in Canada !”

期间，也有原住民社区、非裔社区、穆斯林社区等加入了进来，不同肤色不同种族的人们汇合成同一股力量，穿越街道，用行动表达着我们共同的心愿：

“反对种族歧视！仇恨、暴力，在加拿大没有生存的土壤”

大家从埃德蒙顿市中心唐人街的“黄氏宗亲会”一直步行到了丘吉尔广场。Serena Mah曾是埃德蒙顿的一名广播新闻记者，她说自己亲身经历了自疫情以来，大家对埃德蒙顿亚裔社区的变化：“去年，我12岁的儿子在滑板公园玩，有人竟然对着年少的孩子吐口水，然后爆出了非常不雅的词汇！”随后天真的孩子问我：“妈妈，他们为什么要这样说？我做错了什么吗？”她说看到孩子的小脸，她的心都在滴血。

据加拿大全国委员会3月23日的调查，自疫情爆发以来，加拿大各地共报告了1,150例种族主义袭击事件。其中大部分案件发生在安省和BC省，所有报告的事件中，11％涉及暴力，约有10％案件涉及有人咳嗽或吐痰。

亚裔不是唯一遭受暴力袭击的对象，不久前的12月，在埃德蒙顿Southgate购物中心的停车场，就有几名穆斯林妇女遭到了袭击，之前不久，还发生过一些非裔被袭击的事件。

很多人在这场集会中，分享了自己所遭遇的种族仇恨事件：

“我的种族、肤色成为了仇恨的目标。”

“我奶奶去商店我很害怕，担心她被袭击。”

“我的姐妹们在等公交时遭到了殴打。”

“这就是为什么我们都在这里，分享我们的遭遇，我们不会再忍受这种情况了，我们必须马上制止种族主义和仇恨。

除了埃德蒙顿，今天在卡尔加里、温尼伯也都举行了类似活动。

明天（星期日）下午，加拿大全国各大城市的华人还將举行停止仇视亚裔联动抗议大型活动。

温哥华、維多利亚、多伦多、渥太华等地，也将同步进行。

如果不方便到现场，您也可以在社交平台上使用#StopAsianHateAlberta 标签来表达对活动的支持。

所以，同胞们是时候拿起武器捍卫自己的权利了！

我们不是任人拿捏的“哑裔”！是该表明我们的态度和决心的时候

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数百埃德蒙顿华人走上街头：不做哑裔！