联邦参议员胡子修参院庆亚裔月致辞发声明

今天（5月14日），联邦参议员胡子修在参议院致辞庆祝亚裔文化遗产月，并向 4 月 27 日去世的华裔作家崔维新致敬。崔维新被誉为“加拿大最有讲故事天赋的人”，其着作《玉牡丹》等刻画了华裔身份认同，强调接纳包容，成为加国文坛的里程碑。今天亦是“排华法案”废除72 周年纪念。这是加拿大历史上唯一禁止特定人种入境加拿大的法律。正是通过各族裔

人民为维护自身权利而进行的不懈抗争，加拿大才成为最成功的多元文化社会之一。

声明全文如下：

Honourable Senators, it is with great pride that I rise today to mark Asian Heritage Month. As stated in the

declaration 17 years ago, “Diversity represents one of Canada’s greatest strengths, and we strive to ensure that all

Canadians have the opportunity to reach their full potential and participate in Canada’s civic life.”

One Chinese-Canadian – who did just that – was celebrated author, Wayson Choy, considered to be a pioneer of

Asian literature here in Canada. His most lauded works The Jade Peony and Paper Shadows: A Chinatown

Childhood explored the difficult issues of identity politics and the challenges of growing up in an immigrant

community in Vancouver in the 1950s.

This courageous and enduring author, who recently passed away, had his remarkable accomplishments fittingly

recognized in 2005 when he received the Order of Canada.

Choy’s resolve to lean into adversity was remarkable and serves as a prime example of how one can find success

even when confronted with great struggle.

Today, we are fortunate to live in a country that welcomes and embraces diversity. However, this has not always

been the case, for our history includes many sad examples of systematic discrimination against cultural minorities.

For example, on this day, May 14th, we mark the 72nd anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of

1923. This law not only imposed a head tax but restricted nearly all Chinese immigrants to Canada.

In the late 1940’s, Kew Dock Yip, Canada’s first lawyer of Chinese descent, along with a group of lawyers andactivists, successfully lobbied for the repeal of the Act.