Below is an excerpt from a press release from Honorable Betty Tom Chu, Honorable Dr. Sophie C. Wong, John Wong, and John Gee.
Senate
Joint Resolution 23, as amended, and
Senate Concurrent Resolution 122, was passed unanimously by the California
State Senate on June 5, 2014.
The
Apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act Committee, a grassroots organization
formed by Hon. Betty Tom Chu, former Mayor of City of Monterey Park;
Hon. Dr. Sophie C. Wong, former President/Board of Education, Alhambra Unified
School District; John Wong, founder of Chinese-American Citizens
Alliance/Greater
San Gabriel Valley Lodge, Immediate Past CACA Grand Vice-President
(National); and John Gee, CACA Grand Representative (National)
and Immediate Past President, are working to obtain formal apologies
to be issued to Chinese Americans for the enactment of the Chinese
Exclusion
Act of 1882 and similar laws. That Act was the only time U.S.federal
law was passed to exclude immigration rights based solely on race. The
results tore many Chinese-American families apart. The affects of the Chinese
Exclusion Act prohibited voting, naturalization, and served as a national
narrative tone for discrimination against the Chinese. Senator
Bob Huff (R-29th Dist) introduced SJR 23 on April 10, 2014,
following
the request from the Chinese-American Citizens Alliance/Greater
San
Gabriel Valley Lodge (CACA/GSGVL) in Monterey Park.
SJR
23, as amended, is a request by the California Legislature to the U.S. Congress
for the adoption of resolutions of apology to the Chinese-American community
for enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and other similar
Chinese Exclusion Laws. The
apology of the California State Legislature for the enactment of past discriminatory
laws and constitutional provisions that resulted in the persecution
of Chinese living in California, in SJR 23 as introduced, is now separated
into SCR 122.
Previous
efforts to attain an official apology from the U.S. Congress resulted
in the passage of a Resolution of Regret in 2012. But as Senator Huff
explained, "An expression of 'regret' is different from an actual
apology.
Regret is ambiguous and may or may not imply guilt. An apology is clear,
expressing both regret and responsibility." Indeed,
this was the cornerstone of rationale taken by the Apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act Committee.
