American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Christopher Marut yesterday acknowledged the contributions made by Chinese immigrants to the US since the 1850s, saying they “have helped make the US what it is today.”
At the opening ceremony of an exhibition titled “Immigrants Building America,” Marut said he hoped that visitors to the exhibit would “feel a sense of pride in how Chinese immigrants played a critical role in the American success story.”
What the Chinese immigrants have experienced in the US are all “inspiring stories” and they have contributed to the growth of the US, he said.
Chinese immigrants, known as “ethnic Chinese (華裔)” in Mandarin, are defined as people from Taiwan and China who immigrated to the US to help build US society, AIT spokesman Mark Zimmer said.
The AIT is hosting the exhibition in conjunction with the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission and National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to highlight the important contributions Chinese immigrants have made to the US over the decades.
Marut said he apologized if there were some people whom visitors consider important who were left out of the exhibition.
“The truth is, there are so many inspiring stories, we did not have time or space to include them all. And that is the point. These are inspiring stories. People like the ones we talk about in the exhibit and those we didn’t mention who have helped make the United States what it is today,” he said.
The three-week exhibition, which will run until Oct. 10 in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, gives visitors an overview of the history of Chinese immigration in the US, and shows the hardship the immigrants have endured and the perseverance they have shown.
Like so many other immigrants who came to the US to earn money and send it home, the lives of Chinese immigrants were filled with hard work and many difficulties, but they faced more difficulties than some other immigrant groups, Marut said.
In 1882, the US Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Acts to limit the number of Chinese who were able to come to the US. The law was not repealed until 1943.
When the law was in force, the only Chinese allowed to enter the US were merchants, diplomats, students and tourists, and neither the federal nor any state government could nationalize any Chinese.
On June 18, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution expressing regret for the restrictions that had been imposed on Chinese immigration, Marut said.
“It is only the fourth time in US history that the House has apologized for historical actions. In passing the resolution, the House acknowledged and applauded the important contributions that Chinese-Americans have made — and continue to make — to the success of the United States,” Marut said.
On Thursday next week, Arthur Dong (曾奕田), an Academy Award-nominated US documentary filmmaker whose films focus on topics such as Asian American history and identity, and gay rights, will be in Taipei talking about his documentaries and his life as an immigrant in the US.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
RSS