排華法案的黑暗歷史 - 羅伯特·張：英語精讀講義

After 12 years living in California, 文法

在加州生活了12年之後，

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

中國公民遲步平準備回國探親。

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

他辦理了離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. 片語搭配

然後乘船前往中國，在接下來的一年裡與親友團聚。

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

但當他在1888年10月8日返回舊金山時，

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

遲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

就在幾天前，格羅佛·克里夫蘭總統簽署了《史考特法案》，

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

宣布允許他們重新進入美國的合法文件無效。

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

這項政策有可能拆散家庭，並剝奪華人移民的家園和生計。

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

遲步平對此裁決提出質疑，開啟了一場為成千上萬華人移民爭取權利的法律戰。

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

但他的案件卻催生了一項更具爭議的政策，至今仍在影響全球的移民。

Discrimination against Chinese immigrants had begun decades earlier, 文法

對華人移民的歧視早在幾十年前就開始了，

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

當時加州淘金熱創造了對勞動力的巨大需求。

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

最初，華人移民被視為可靠的工人而受到歡迎，並成為邊疆社區的重要組成部分。

Many built railroads and worked in the mines,

許多人修建鐵路、在礦山工作，

while others operated laundries, restaurants, and general stores.

還有些人經營洗衣店、餐館和雜貨店。

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《蒲安臣條約》甚至給予中國對美貿易最惠國待遇，並允許兩國之間自由移民。

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

但隨著大量華人移民取得成功，

American workers began to see them as a threat. 文法

美國工人開始將他們視為威脅。

Politicians and labor leaders denounced them for driving down wages 用詞

政客和勞工領袖譴責他們壓低了工資，

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

針對華人的暴力事件變得日益普遍。

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

這種反華情緒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，在一次謀殺案審判中，一名白人男子因謀殺一名華人男子而被定罪，

the California Supreme Court overturned the conviction, 用詞

加州最高法院隨後推翻了這項定罪，

holding that Chinese eyewitness testimony was inadmissible. 用詞

裁定華人目擊者的證詞不予採納。

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

法院宣布，中國公民不能作證指控白人被告，

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證的類似先例。

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

這一決定實際上使針對加州華人的暴力行為合法化，

inspiring mob attacks and campaigns for segregation. 文化背景

煽動了暴徒襲擊和隔離運動。

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

不久之後，反華情緒蔓延到了聯邦層面。

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

1882年，國會通過了《排華法案》，

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

這是第一部明確基於國籍限制移民的聯邦法律。

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

實際上，該法案禁止除外交官以外的所有華裔移民入境，

and prohibited existing immigrants from obtaining citizenship. 文法

並禁止現有的移民獲得公民身份。

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

這也意味著華人不能離開美國

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

然後在沒有事先申請重新入境證明的情況下返回。

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

這項政策一直實施到1888年10月1日，

when the Scott Act prohibited re-entry altogether, 用詞

直到《史考特法案》徹底禁止了重新入境，

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

使得遲步平和成千上萬的其他華人移民滯留海外。

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

在法庭上，遲步平辯稱，他遵循了獲取重新入境證明的正當程序，

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

而政府沒有承認他合法獲得的文件。

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

這一論點十分有力，將他的案件一直打到了最高法院，

but the justices ruled against Ping, 用詞

但法官們做出了對遲步平不利的裁決，

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

一下子作廢了數以千計的合法重新入境證明。

The decision led to Ping's deportation 片語搭配

這一決定導致遲步平被驅逐出境，

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

並導致多達兩萬名華人移民無法返回美國。

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

但可以說，比法院的種族主義裁決更重要的是他們用來支持該裁決的邏輯。

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

傳統上，最高法院被視為對美國政府其他兩個分支的制衡，

offering judgment on policies passed by Congress and the President.

負責對國會和總統通過的政策進行裁決。

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

然而在這個案件中，法院聲稱他們無權對《史考特法案》做出裁決，

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

因為國會已宣布該移民政策是國家安全問題。

This decision set a unique precedent. 用詞

這個決定開創了一個獨特的先例。

Unless Ping's case was overturned, 文法

除非遲步平的案件被推翻，

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

否則國會和行政部門就可以藉口國家安全通過任何他們想要的移民法律。

Throughout the 20th century,

整個20世紀，

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

排外的政府官員利用這種權力肆意歧視移民群體。

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

1917年的《亞洲禁區法》禁止所有南亞人入境，

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

20世紀20年代的一系列移民法擴大了限制範圍，涵蓋了整個亞洲、

Eastern Europe, and Southern Europe.

東歐和南歐。

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

其中許多限制在二戰後被取消，

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

《排華法案》本身終於在1943年被廢除，

over 60 years after it was enacted.

距其頒布已經過了60多年。

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

但美國政府至今仍在使用這個先例，突然且大規模地實施移民政策，

targeting journalists and dissidents, 用詞

以記者和異議人士，

as well as ethnic groups.

以及特定的族裔群體為目標。

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

遲步平被驅逐出境後的遭遇鮮為人知，

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

但他和成千上萬其他華裔美國人所遭受的不公，

continue to impact immigrant rights and liberties.

仍在繼續影響著移民的權利與自由。

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

《排華法案》不會是美國最後一次以歸屬的名義

and its own principles in the name of belonging. 慣用語

侵犯人權及其自身原則。

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

透過這個影片，了解更多關於二戰時期日裔美國人拘留營的歷史。