排华法案的黑暗历史 - 罗伯特·张：英语精读讲义

After 12 years living in California, 語法

在加利福尼亚州生活了12年之后，

Chinese citizen Chae Chan Ping was ready for a visit home.

中国公民迟步平准备回国探亲。

He procured the necessary documents for his departure and return journey 用詞

他办理了离境和返回所需的所有文件，

and set sail for China, where he spent the next year reconnecting with friends and family. 短語搭配

然后乘船前往中国，在接下来的一年里与亲友团聚。

But when he returned to San Francisco on October 8th, 1888,

但当他在1888年10月8日返回旧金山时，

Ping and his fellow immigrant passengers were forbidden to disembark. 用詞

迟步平及其他同行的移民乘客被禁止下船。

Just days earlier, President Grover Cleveland had signed the Scott Act, 文化背景

就在几天前，格罗弗·克利夫兰总统签署了《斯科特法案》，

which invalidated the legal documents allowing their re-entry to the United States. 用詞

宣布允许他们重新进入美国的合法文件无效。

This policy threatened to separate families and deprive Chinese immigrants of their homes and livelihoods. 講解

这项政策有可能拆散家庭，并剥夺华人移民的家园和生计。

Ping challenged the ruling, beginning a legal battle for the rights of thousands of Chinese immigrants. 講解

迟步平对此裁决提出质疑，开启了一场为成千上万华人移民争取权利的法律战。

But his case inspired an even more controversial policy that continues to impact immigrants around the globe. 表達脈絡

但他的案件却催生了一项更具争议的政策，至今仍在影响全球的移民。

Discrimination against Chinese immigrants had begun decades earlier, 語法

对华人移民的歧视早在几十年前就开始了，

when the California Gold Rush created a massive demand for labor. 講解

当时加州淘金热创造了对劳动力的巨大需求。

Initially, Chinese immigrants were welcomed as reliable workers and became essential parts of frontier communities. 語法

最初，华人移民被视为可靠的工人而受到欢迎，并成为边疆社区的重要组成部分。

Many built railroads and worked in the mines,

许多人修建铁路、在矿山工作，

while others operated laundries, restaurants, and general stores.

还有些人经营洗衣店、餐馆和杂货店。

The 1868 Burlingame Treaty even granted China favored trading status with the US and allowed unrestricted migration between the two countries. 用詞

1868年的《蒲安臣条约》甚至给予中国对美贸易最惠国待遇，并允许两国之间自由移民。

But as large numbers of Chinese immigrants found success, 短語搭配

但随着大量华人移民取得成功，

American workers began to see them as a threat. 語法

美国工人开始将他们视为威胁。

Politicians and labor leaders denounced them for driving down wages 用詞

政治家和劳工领袖谴责他们拉低了工资，

and violence against Chinese individuals became increasingly common. 短語搭配

针对华人的暴力事件变得日益普遍。

This anti-Chinese sentiment soon found its way into California's courts. 習語

这种反华情绪很快波及到了加州的法院。

In 1854, following a murder trial where a white man was convicted of murdering a Chinese man,

1854年，在一次谋杀案审判中，一名白人男子因谋杀一名华人男子而被定罪，

the California Supreme Court overturned the conviction, 用詞

加州最高法院随后推翻了这项定罪，

holding that Chinese eyewitness testimony was inadmissible. 用詞

裁定华人目击者的证词不予采纳。

The court declared that Chinese citizens could not testify against white defendants, 用詞

法院宣布，中国公民不能作证指控白人被告，

citing similar precedents forbidding testimony by black and Native American individuals. 用詞

理由是存在禁止黑人和美洲原住民作证的类似先例。

This decision effectively legalized violence against California's Chinese population, 用詞

这一决定实际上使针对加州华人的暴力行为合法化，

inspiring mob attacks and campaigns for segregation. 文化背景

煽动了暴徒袭击和隔离运动。

Before long, anti-Chinese sentiment reached the federal level.

不久之后，反华情绪蔓延到了联邦层面。

In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, 文化背景

1882年，国会通过了《排华法案》，

the first federal law that restricted immigration based explicitly on nationality. 文化背景

这是第一部明确基于国籍限制移民的联邦法律。

In practice, the act banned entry to all ethnically Chinese immigrants besides diplomats 講解

实际上，该法案禁止除外交官以外的所有华裔移民入境，

and prohibited existing immigrants from obtaining citizenship. 語法

并禁止现有的移民获得公民身份。

It also meant Chinese individuals couldn't leave the United States 語法

这也意味着华人不能离开美国

and return without first applying for a certificate of re-entry. 用詞

然后在没有事先申请重新入境证明的情况下返回。

This policy remained in place until October 1st, 1888, 短語搭配

这项政策一直实施到1888年10月1日，

when the Scott Act prohibited re-entry altogether, 用詞

直到《斯科特法案》彻底禁止了重新入境，

stranding Chae Chan Ping and thousands of other Chinese immigrants. 語法

使得迟步平和成千上万的其他华人移民滞留海外。

In court, Ping argued he had followed the proper protocol obtaining his re-entry certificate 短語搭配

在法庭上，迟步平辩称，他遵循了获取重新入境证明的正当程序，

and the government had not honored his legally issued document. 用詞

而政府没有承认他合法获得的文件。

This argument was strong enough to send his case all the way to the Supreme Court, 語法

这一论点十分有力，将他的案件一直打到了最高法院，

but the justices ruled against Ping, 用詞

但法官们做出了对迟步平不利的裁决，

invalidating thousands of legal re-entry certificates in one fell swoop. 習語

一下子作废了数以千计的合法重新入境证明。

The decision led to Ping's deportation 短語搭配

这一决定导致迟步平被驱逐出境，

and left up to 20,000 Chinese immigrants unable to return to the US. 語法

并导致多达两万名华人移民无法返回美国。

But arguably even more important than the court's racist ruling was the logic they used to support it. 表達脈絡

但可以说，比法院的种族主义裁决更重要的是他们用来支持该裁决的逻辑。

Traditionally, the Supreme Court is considered a check on the other two branches of American government, 文化背景

传统上，最高法院被视为对美国政府其他两个分支的制衡，

offering judgment on policies passed by Congress and the President.

负责对国会和总统通过的政策进行裁决。

In this case, however, the court stated they had no power to pass judgment on the Scott Act, 短語搭配

然而在这个案件中，法院声称他们无权对《斯科特法案》做出裁决，

since Congress had declared the immigration policy a matter of national security. 用詞

因为国会已宣布该移民政策是国家安全问题。

This decision set a unique precedent. 用詞

这个决定开创了一个独特的先例。

Unless Ping's case was overturned, 語法

除非迟步平的案件被推翻，

congressional and executive branches could claim national security concerns to pass whatever immigration laws they wanted. 講解

否则国会和行政部门就可以借口国家安全通过任何他们想要的移民法律。

Throughout the 20th century,

整个20世纪，

xenophobic government officials used this power to freely discriminate against immigrant groups. 講解

排外的政府官员利用这种权力肆意歧视移民群体。

The 1917 Asiatic Barred Zone Act prohibited the entry of all South Asians, 講解

1917年的《亚洲禁区法》禁止所有南亚人入境，

and a series of immigration acts in the 1920s expanded restrictions throughout Asia, 短語搭配

20世纪20年代的一系列移民法扩大了限制范围，涵盖了整个亚洲、

Eastern Europe, and Southern Europe.

东欧和南欧。

Many of these restrictions were lifted after World War II, 用詞

其中许多限制在二战后被取消，

and the Chinese Exclusion Act itself was finally repealed in 1943, 用詞

《排华法案》本身终于在1943年被废除，

over 60 years after it was enacted.

距其颁布已经过了60多年。

But the US government continues to use this precedent to deploy sudden and sweeping immigration policies 短語搭配

但美国政府至今仍在使用这个先例，突然且大规模地实施移民政策，

targeting journalists and dissidents, 用詞

以记者和异见人士，

as well as ethnic groups.

以及特定的族裔群体为目标。

Little is known about what became of Chae Chan Ping following his deportation, 語法

迟步平被驱逐出境后的遭遇鲜为人知，

but the injustices visited upon him and thousands of other Chinese Americans 用詞

但他和成千上万其他华裔美国人所遭受的不公，

continue to impact immigrant rights and liberties.

仍在继续影响着移民的权利与自由。

The Chinese Exclusion Act wouldn't be the last time America violated human rights 表達脈絡

《排华法案》不会是美国最后一次以归属的名义

and its own principles in the name of belonging. 習語

侵犯人权及其自身原则。

Learn about the Japanese-American incarceration camps of World War II with this video.

通过这个视频，了解更多关于二战时期日裔美国人拘留营的历史。