This week marks my favourite holiday of the whole year — Chinese New Year. What’s not to like about a celebration that includes the colour red, lots of it, money in bright little envelopes, food galore and, best of all, a noisy dragon?
Like many Canadians, I haven’t been marking this occasion for very long. Indeed, I suspect there may have been times in our not-too-distant past when it was frowned upon for even people of Chinese descent to celebrate anything that didn’t rate observation in jolly old England. (If you doubt that, cast your thoughts back to the hullabaloo that occurred when Canada had the nerve to create its own flag with no part of the Union Jack in the new form.)
In the 19th century, many Chinese immigrated to Canada. Then, as now, many Asian immigrants were looked on as a cheap and plentiful source of labour. In order to build a better life for their families, men were willing to come and work as virtual slaves. Ironically, this meant years away from their families. The great Canadian railway, billed as a way to connect our shining country sea to sea, has the blood of many a Chinese worker in its bedrock.
In many ways, Western countries continue to exploit the Chinese people. We are a lucrative market for cheap (as in cost, not necessarily quality) goods. The huge population provides ready labour at a fraction of the cost of Canadian or American workers.
I recently read a book, Overdressed by Elizabeth L. Cline, that documents the high cost developing nations such as China pay to provide our insatiable desire for the latest fashion at the lowest rates. One reviewer said the book does for T-shirts and leggings what Fast Food Nation did for burgers and fries. And she is so right.
The Chinese people pay a huge price environmentally, too. One has only to look at the ugly haze surrounding most of the country’s largest cities to realize what the scale of manufacturing has done to their air shed. It’s hard not to gulp when the pictures are shown.
Of the 43 per cent of the population of Metro Vancouver identified as Asian, 17 per cent are Chinese, second only in size to San Francisco. This has led to tension in some places such as Richmond where Chinese-only signs have created a backlash against the population. Regardless of the arguments stressing that signage should contain at least one of Canada’s official languages, one has to wonder at the level of civility of some of those campaigning the most stridently for English. Considering that immigrants brought both languages — English and French — to this country, it makes the vehemence of the no-Chinese side laughable.
Chinese-Canadians enrich our country in so many ways. This weekend is a perfect time to acknowledge that. Gung Hay Fat Choy.
