Vancouver Courier: Contract with China

– a story about the 1887 anti-Chinese riot in Vancouver

Check out this story from the Vancouver Courier
http://www.vancourier.com/issues07/042107/news/042107nn1.html

Read more at
http://www.vancourier.com/issues07/042107/news/042107nn1.html

Mrs. Der, oldest living head tax spouse, dies without head tax refund

Mrs Quon Chung Shee Der
(謝關仲樹), 102, died last Friday,  Daniel Lee, fellow head tax
activist told me on Sunday morning.  Daniel and his wife Cynthia
were family friends and had visited her earlier in the week.  Mrs. Der
had by default, become the oldest living head tax spouse.  She had
been an active senior in the redress campaign.

I remember when Mrs. Der came to the November 20, 2005 meeting. 
Everybody applauded when she was introduced.  She climbed 2
flights of stairs, with two men helping her because she WANTED to be at
the meeting.  She was more than just feisty.  She kept asking
“When is the government going give me my husband's money back?” 
Okay… she said it in Chinese.

This was at the planning and information meeting prior to our historic Nov 27 Chinese Head Tax: Protest in Vancouver Chinatown. 
Mrs. Der and many other people vocalized the pent-up frustration of
having justice denied for generations.  It's more than just a
simple wrongful but legal at the time monetary issue.  Mrs.
Der  really understood the issue as moral too.  The Canadian
government made an unfair tax.  It was a racially motivated tax against
only people of Chinese ancestry, and meant to deter Chinese immigration
to Canada..  In 1923, they changed it to an act of outright
exclusion.  But in 1947, they recognized it was wrong and
recanted.  They should give the money back.

Sid
Chow Tan, CCNC National Chairperson issued the following statement of the
passing of Mrs. Quon Chung Shee Der:

“On Saturday,
I learned of the passing of Mrs. Quon Chung Shee Der, who at 102 was one of the
oldest surviving matriarchs of the head tax families. On behalf of the Chinese
Canadian National Council, the Head Tax Families Society of Canada and the
Chinese Canadian community, I extend our deep condolences to Mrs. Der's family
and friends.”

“Quon
Chung Shee Der was one feisty and tenacious advocate for redress of the
Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act and we will miss her greatly.”

“My
colleagues and I will always remember Mrs. Der climbing up two flights of
stairs to attend a community meeting held on November 20, 2005. It was at this
pivotal community meeting that head tax families decided to mobilize the
community to protest the former Liberal Government's efforts to impose the
ill-fated Agreement-in-Principle. Mrs. Der stirred all of us with her simple
question: “When will the Government give me back my husband's head tax
money? She became an instant media star on that day.”

“Mrs.
Der made an effort to involve herself in the redress campaign. There she was on
May 25, 2006 sitting beside Prime Minister Harper when he visited with our
seniors to discuss the redress issue. The Prime Minister and Hon. Jason Kenney
pledged that she and others would not have to wait too long for redress.
However, while Mrs. Der did submit her redress application in early December
2006, unfortunately, she was unable to hang on any longer and passed away last
Friday.”

“The
Government has lost the opportunity to complete the redress apology with Mrs.
Der and about a dozen others who have now passed away since June 22, 2006. To
date, none of the more than 400 head tax spouses who applied have received
their redress payments. We pledge to redouble our efforts to achieve a complete
the apology for Mrs. Der and others like her. We will never forget her.”

“May
she rest in peace.”

History books have continued to write about the “black mark” in
the racist history of Canada.  But the government still wouldn't
apologize, or give a refund, as they do for other “tax mistakes.” 
The government did not want to have to pay for the $23 Million with interest.

But now with an acceptable “symbolic refund” and apology by Prime
Minister Stephen Harper, why is his Conservative government so
S-L-O-W?  No spouses have yet been offered ex-gratia 
payments.  Thank God, they finally gave head tax payer 
Ralph Lee,
his cheque on March 10, before Lee passed away 5 days later at age
107.  But why wasn't Lee presented with his cheque 5 months ago
when head tax payer Charlie Quon received his?

The government has been confused and quagmired in it's definition of
“spouse” and it's refusal to acknowledge descendants as legal heirs to
head tax refunds.  

Make it simple.  One payment per certificate.  Recognize each
and every certificate.  Please do it before any more surviving
head tax payers, spouses, sons or daughters go empty handed to meet
their ancestors.

This is what the CCNC had proposed to the Conservative government when
they asked for suggestions for redress.  First stage proposals was
to Give immediate apology for Chinese Head Tax, give immediate
“symbolic” monetary redress payment to living head tax payers and
spouses.  Stage Two was to develop a plan to address “symbolic”
monetary redress payment to descendants where original head tax payers
or spouses are pre-deceased.”  To date, the Conservative govt has
not acknowledged the Stage Two proposal.

It's only been since 1984, since MP Margaret Mitchell stood in
Parliament to ask the govt for head tax redress… 23 short but long
years ago.

The following story if from Chineseinvancouver.blogspot.com

Head tax payer's spouse dies with regret

An
icon in the fight for redressing the head tax, Mrs Quon Chung Shee Der
(謝關仲樹), died at the age of 102 with the regret that the final
compensation cheque didn't reach her in time.

“My
colleagues and I will always remember Mrs. Der climbing up two flights
of stairs to attend a community meeting held on November 20, 2005. It
was at this pivotal community meeting that head tax
families decided to mobilize the community to protest the former
Liberal Government's efforts to impose the ill-fated
Agreement-in-Principle. Mrs. Der stirred all of us with her simple
question: “When will the Government give me back my husband's head tax
money? She became an instant media star on that day,” said CCNC's
national chair Sid Chow Tan.

Cynthia Lee
was Mrs Der's friend who helped her fill out the redress application
form last year when Heritage Canada announced head tax payers' spouses could apply for compensation. Mrs Der's husband paid the head tax. To her, getting the tax refund was all about having justice done.

Ever
since, Mrs Der kept asking if her application had been approved. Lee
said Mrs Der had been in anxiety for the last few months. Her health
deteriorated rapidly at the same time. She broke her arm and was
admitted to a long term care facility towards the end of last year.

Lee
questioned why the government needed so long to process applications
filed by head tax payers' spouses. It only took one month for the
payers themselves to get the checque. However, spouses have waited for
over four months and so far none have got the compensation yet.

Tan
said Mrs Der was one feisty and tenacious advocate for redress of the
Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act. “We will miss her greatly.”

Last
year when PM Stephen Harper met with head tax survivors in Vancouver's
Chinatown, Mrs Der sat beside Harper, so did another head tax payer
Charlie Quan (關祥國) of 99 years old.

Quan became the country's first head tax payer compensated last October.

“Mrs.
Der made an effort to involve herself in the redress campaign. There
she was on May 25, 2006 sitting beside Prime Minister Harper when he
visited with our seniors to discuss the redress issue. The Prime
Minister and Hon. Jason Kenney pledged that she and others would not
have to wait too long for redress. However, while Mrs. Der did submit
her redress application in early December 2006, unfortunately, she was
unable to hang on any longer and passed away last Friday,” Tan said in
a statement.

Tan blasts the Tory government for having lost the
opportunity to complete the redress apology with Mrs. Der and about a
dozen others who have now passed away since June 22, 2006.

Ralph Lee, 107, was oldest to pay head tax – passes away 5 days after receiving cheque

Ralph Kung Kee Lee
passed away only five days after receiving his ex-gratia payment from
the Canadian government.  In 2006, Lee was the oldest activist
asking the government to make a sympbolic return of head tax money
charged only to immigrants of Chinese ancestry.  It seemed like
only days ago, that the Conservative government had a photo op with Mr.
Lee.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Mrs. Der – the
oldest living head tax spouse who passed away in Vancouver on Friday
evening.  Back in December 2005, the 101-year old Mrs. Der climbed
2 flights of stairs to attend a meeting organized by the BC Coalition
of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Families.  In early 2006, Mrs. Der
met with both MP Jason Kenney, and Prime Minister Steven Harper – who
both promised her  quick action for giving immediate symbolic
repayment for surviving head tax payers and spouses.

Due to poor heath on June 22, 2006. Mrs. Der was unable to attend the
ceremonies at the Vancouver Hotel, for the simulcast apology
announcement by Prime Minister Harper.  Mrs. Der was also unable
to attend the Oct ceremony of the first head tax ex-gratia payment
given to Charlie Quon in Vancouver.

Below are stories about Ralph Lee from the media.

Chinese immigrant, 107, was oldest to pay head tax

Last Updated: Monday, March 19, 2007 | 5:29 PM ET

CBC News

Three generations of Ralph Lung Kee Lee's family gathered
for a memorial in Toronto Monday to say goodbye to the oldest member of
the Chinese-Canadian community to have paid the head tax.

Lee died at his residence in Pickering, Ont., on
Thursday, five days after celebrating his 107th birthday.

Ralph Lee, at 106, carrying the symbolic 'last spike'
used in the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, arrives in
Ottawa aboard the 'Redress
Express' in 2006.
(Canadian Press)

“I'll miss him being around in terms of honouring
our ancestors, having the traditions passed down through the community,”
his granddaughter Lindy Anderson
said, fighting back tears.

Born March 10, 1900 in China's Guangdong province, he
immigrated to Canada at the age of 12 and moved to the northern Ontario
community then known as Fort William, now the city of Thunder Bay.
 
He spent five years working as a dishwasher there in order to pay off the $500
head tax he was forced to pay upon entering
Canada .

All Chinese immigrants entering
Canada from 1885 to 1923 had a head
tax imposed on them, with the intention of deterring Chinese immigration after
Chinese workers helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885.

A symbol of community's history

Lee later worked at maintaining the railway a previous
generation of Chinese labourers had helped to build.

To many in the Chinese-Canadian
community, Lee represents the history of Chinese immigration to this
country, said Colleen Hua, president of the Chinese Canadian National Council.

“What they see him as symbolizing is a person who,
although excluded, still persevered and worked through it and lived to the very
end to make sure that he saw an end to the exclusion and the redress,” Hua
said.

Lee returned to China
and found a wife before returning to
Canada .

But because the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited Chinese
immigrants from bringing their families to
Canada , Lee's wife and son were
unable to join him. By the time the act was lifted in 1947, his son had died
during the Second World War.

Eventually, his wife and two daughters were brought to
Canada
to live with him.

Lee later started his own business importing and exporting
goods from China .

Joined 'Redress Express' journey

He participated in another historic chapter for the
Chinese-Canadian community when he was one of several head-taxpayers who
travelled to Ottawa from
Vancouver  in 2006 on a train dubbed the
“Redress Express.”

At the end of the journey on June 21, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper formally apologized for the fact that the head tax had been
imposed and promised symbolic payments to those who were affected.

Lee, who was 106 at the time, carried the symbolic
“last spike” given to the Chinese community by author Pierre Berton
in recognition of work done by immigrants to build the railway.

He is survived by two daughters, seven grandchildren and
12 great-grandchildren.

Of an estimated 80,000 Chinese immigrants who paid the
tax, about 30 remain alive, as well as several hundred widows of men who paid
the tax.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/03/19/headtax-obit.html

Family hopes memory and legacy of centenarian
head-tax payer lives on

Monday, March 19, 2007

TORONTO (CP) –
Ralph Lung Kee Lee has earned a place in Canadian history books as the oldest
Chinese head-tax payer to accept the government's official apology and redress,
and his family said Monday at his memorial service they hope his story lives on
long after his death.

Lee
received his $20,000 redress cheque from Ottawa
on March 10, his 107th birthday – just five days before he died.

“It
was almost like, 'I waited this long, here I am. I'm going to stay alive to get
it,”' Lee's daughter Linda Ing said of her father, who received his
apology and compensation 94 years after coming to Canada.

Born
in 1900, Lee came to Canada
when he was 12 and paid the $500 head tax imposed on all Chinese immigrants
between 1885 and 1923.

He
returned to China to marry
and fathered three children, but the Exclusion Act prevented him from bringing
his family to Canada .

After
the Exclusion Act was lifted in 1947, Lee was finally able to reunite with his
family in Canada .
For Ing, who was then 12, it was the first time she had ever laid eyes on her
father.

On
June 22, Lee was the oldest of six surviving head-tax payers who saw Prime
Minister Stephen Harper deliver the government's official apology.

Lee
had a fun and loving personality, Ing said, and he was quite tickled when he
finally received his redress cheque.

“I
said, 'You're going to be 107,”' Ing recalled telling her father the day
before his birthday.

“He
said, 'Me?' I said, 'You,”' Ing said in mock wide-eyed amazement.
“'You're going to get your cheque.' And he just laughed.”

Ing
said when she was younger, she didn't appreciate the sacrifices her father
made.

“It
was in one ear and out the other,” she said.

Ing's
son Leo said now that Lee is gone, it's important for those who remember his
story to pass it on so his legacy never dies.

“As
we move on, the younger generation has to look back and to look at people like
grandpa and think (about) why we came here, what we've accomplished here,”
he said.

“One
day I won't be here to speak, so I want to make sure that grandpa has passed
the torch on to the younger generation. I want the younger generation to
realize where they came from, to be proud to be Chinese.”

Lee's
granddaughter Landy Anderson said she is extremely proud to tell people about
her grandfather and her connection to Canadian history.

“It's
really hard to talk about grandpa without referring to the head tax, since my
entire family history revolves around this event,” she said, adding even
though Lee had to overcome years of adversity and racism, he was a loving soul
who doted on his family.

Lee
is survived by two daughters, seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

© The
Canadian Press 2007

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=4b839cd4-e837-4ecf-89e9-8b999df7d253&k=66676

******************************

Victor Wong

CCNC Executive Director

national@ccnc.ca

(416) 977-9871 (tel)

(416) 977-1630 (fax)

CCNC: www.ccnc.ca

PanAsian Network: www.ccnc.ca/panasian

Health Equity Network: www.ccnc.ca/health

“Remembering the contributions of the Head
Tax payers, Chinese railway workers and their families.”