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Discrimination In The Chinese In Canada By Peter Li

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The Chinese in Canada
In his book “The Chinese in Canada,” Peter Li gives an account of how the Chinese faced discrimination in virtually all the sectors of the society. Due to differences in race and culture as well as the fear of the Canadians regarding racial minority, the Chinese had to suffer from formal institutionalization in terms of retraction of citizenship rights, omission from immigration and restrictions in various occupations due to competition. The discrimination against the Chinese was not only systematic, but also legal and rationalized by white superiority over non-whites. Individual racism is different from institutional racism as it involves social institutions, which disqualify the individuals from equal participation on …show more content…

The physical features and stereotypes of the Chinese, such as the skin color also became grounds for their discrimination and segregation. Even the Chinese who were Canadians by naturalization or birth in Canada were no exempt from the anti-Chinese laws. The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 also disregarded the Chinese irrespective of their origin. However, not many Chinese challenged the anti-Chinese laws. A few cases that went to the court to fight against the discriminatory laws saw little success. In order to eliminate occupational competition, the Canadians limited the Chinese to menial jobs and ventured into high-paying jobs. Institutional racism was also present among merchants who denied the Chinese from hiring white women, with the fear that they might become the competitors of while …show more content…

The Chinese exclusion from every institution became a criterion for integrating union organizations as well as gaining political support. Various politicians, such as Noah Shakespeare, Arthur Bunster and John Robson made use of Chinese exclusion and anti-Chinese sentiment in order to advance their careers in politics. Racial inequality spread all across the nation of Canada treating the Chinese as morally corrupt and culturally deficient people. The Chinese in Canada faced inferior treatment not only politically, but also socially and economically. The Canadians considered the exclusion of the Chinese from civil rights and various other social institutions as well as their entry into Canada as an essential task in order to make sure that the Chinese undesirable habits and culture would not contaminate the values of institutions of Canada, which the Canadians considered

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