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Special Issue: ASIAN AMERICA Bulletin oI Goncerned Asian Scholars -"F' ?s$?? tTATES sF d&s*r_ ._{$,st '-'iq{* 14qd *t$\ qe \)' ecrtiiic;rtc cf ifte*ib*rcc. fss*.ed fc f&f,nes* itn,it.iiit',*.,,'isior;: {f*e ,{rf oJ Kx,y1$, JS$-?. 'J&ISGt . Aa t. ? JE t8 U9ffil{V :,,'., i9. i:o r:r fr:.r a. C*rtiiiraie rf li..:ts,e;,r* -;1,11,. ihe prcvisi*rs lf th* :lci lf " ; r 'ro'a --rr:-reir ..pp.:cari;,n tha'.:a.r' .ot i:':' I ;*l..*#i' f*;"4 ;;* *;*r;, ,r.,t r.m'rsu: il:c +': .\' t. :,','i ..: s lit:;, :t'tii:rtr- t.i '; " 1.o*r*r" 1t '"f, ;rnd:i:;:t l:* was:Ll rhai t!:::e 1:nvlir.llr'"eni:itleil t.ti Lt':r;rl..ir: in lh* llniled Srates, anil that the fo11r:lving i*;r ilesripii.,'e '. risr of sai,l L h inese '.1 .lif};fi't, a \.r"..-. ,.'i,.d,;:,r,*--r,.a, ,"fii}*..{.* dlr-',{i &,-".. l- ,-f t-{ *r ;-at a."f*-*#.-""*. t/'{y' '' i..,-.ia.r,--r: &q-r4 irr,.ur {f ,'" ,''}y '.ri,: ,1.',r..: .f:rr"o'-*- \ And as a frrtle:' rfreang rf identi$catian. I,,l'r;rre a$xeiL ''/ '. ..,,t.nt., i,j.aicl .-,'{.:, ; i . ,: f irt" ''J -r-.,-.l ". .-i:i,. I ljti ratr,t i ..' .t riltr '.r:l ! \r. ,r*t,, .a, --.1 t ltl { ,1a) r:l -. ..-.*.. ,lls idr,- ". -." $tate tf Special Issue: ASIAN AMERICA 9r Yol. 4 , No. 3 Foll 1972 I A Historical Survey of Otganizations of the Left Among the Chinese in America H. M. Lai Introduction The history of the left among the Chinese in America is At the turn of the century, China wab greatly dependent a neglected chapter in the history of the Chinese community. upon Japanese sources for information on Western culture, This is a preliminary survey of the left movements until the and the introduction of socialism was no exception.l It was end of the 1950's; most of the emphasis in the present essay is through Japanese writings that Chinese students and on activities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is the author's intellectuals were first exposed to the doctrines of Marx. hope that this initial sketch, superficial as it may be, will Engels, and others. Beginning in 1903, books, pamphlets and inspire others to probe to greater depths into this little articles on socialism also were published in Chinese. Man,v investigated but significant phase in the history of the Chinese articles on this subject appeared in the newspapers and in this country. periodicals established at the time by both the Chinese Empire There were two factors entering into the causation of Reform Association (Zhongguo Weixinhui) led by Kang left-wing activities among the Chinese in America-one, from Youwei and Liang Qichao, and the revolutionary Zhongguo China, was inspired by national salvation and national Tongmenghui, led by Sun Yat-sen. Drawing much of their revolution, while the other, arising from the exploitation and support from the overseas Chinese, both organization's discrimination in America, was motivated by a desire for publications had broad reading audiences in the overseas .betterment of their own lot. These two factors were present Chinese communities, and as a result had wide circulation throughout the history of the left among the Chinese in abroad. Certainly, in an age when most Chinese readers were America, although one or the other predominated at times. not familiar with Western languages, these pubiications were important sources for those Chinese interested in socialist The Introduction of Socialist Doctrines to the Chinese doctrines. Initially the brand of socialism from the West espoused The latter half of the 19th Century was a time of travail by the Chinese writers was generally that advocared by- for the Chinese people. After the bayonets and cannons of the social-democrats of the Se cond International. Ideological West had battered down China's wall of isolation, the ancient limitations of most of these intellectual socialists, derived as empire fourid herself unable to cope with the aggressive they were mainly from the genrry classes, led to great hostility Westerners as her traditional social structure and seif-sufficient toward violent revolutionary methods. Paralleling this economy crumbled before their thrusts, and ter-ritories and development, however, was a growing interest in anarchism concessions were yielded to the pugnacious occidentals. and nihiiism among some of the younger revolutionaries.2 Toward the end of the century, parritioning of China by the By middecade, articles advocating anarchism as the powers and submittal to colonial sratus appeared inevitable. guide for revolution began to predominate in Chinese socialist This was a time of peril for the narion. Concerned writings. The doctrines of Proudhon, Bakunin and Kropotkin Chinese began quests for ways toward nationai salvation. became the fad in Chinese revolutionary circles. A{any young, Among these were a number of intellectuals who examined impatient, romantic petit bourgious intellectuals became and accepted socialism as the goal toward eventual attracted to the simple solution of committing individuat regeneratiorr of the Chinese nation. heroic acts of terrorism to pull down and destroy the old order 10 as represented by the Manchu dynasty. 't'he League aimed its first action at Chinese shirt The Russian Revolution of 1905 gave further impetus to manufacturing factories in San Francisco and Oakland. On the growth of popularity of anarchism, and by 1907 anarchist May 18, 1919, the new workers'organization presented nine groups formed among students in Japan and France. Within a demands to factory o*ners.e After strike threats and several short time the doctrine spread to China and to the overseas negotiating sessions at the Young Wo Association in San Chinese.3 Francisco, they finally signed agreements with 32 factories. Following this initial success the league soon created two The American Milieu and Development of the Irft among the additional departments, one for agriculture and one for Chinese in America miscellaneous occupations. In September 1919 a branch was established among Chinese agricultural workers in Suisun, had hoped Chinese peasants ernigrating to America to California. The League then changed its name to Meizhou found not find a better life. Instead, in the land of liberty they Gongyi Tongmeng Zonghui (Worker s League of America, freedom and intolerance, and prosperity, but discrimination WLA) to suit the new situation. and finally suffered the dubious distinction of being the first In the meantime, the owners had organized to singled exclusion from the U.S. in ethnic group to be out for counter-attack. During the next few years, by presenting a 1882. The great majority of Chinese who lived and worked in united front against the workers, the employers defeated America were exploited by employers, merchants and labor several strikes led by the WLA. The WLA's fortunes contractors both within and without their own community. declined as they were unable to rally worker support and it Although Chinese iabor had been characterized as being docile disappeared from the Chinatown scene around 1927. and tractable, the not so infrequent strikes and sometimes At its height the WLA claimed a nominal membership of violent reactions of Chinese labor to exploitation showed that atrout a thousand. It was the high point of anarcho-syndicalist they did not take their miserable lot as passively and activity among Chinese workers in America. This peak was fatalistically as some Western historians had put it. never to be approached again. The demise of the WLA, Contemporary accounts show that they fought back when however, demonstrated the difficulty Chinese workers would expected given the proper leadership and organization.a It was have in achieving lasting gains in a situation where they were as that world that the socialist doctrines the way toward better going it alone without much fraternal support from workers in at least some of the would strike sympathetic chords among the larger society. Chinese in America. Following the disappearance of the WLA, the anarchist At this time, many members of the American working movement in San Francisco's Chinese community was class were strongly influenced by the socialist doctrines. sustained by the Ping Sheh (Equality Society), a political club. Worker solidarity was one of the basic tenets of socialism, Occasional police harassmentlo and lack of community whether Marxist or ,\narchist. However, during the early years support made it difficult for this small group to accomplish of the 2oth Century, this was a myth as far as Chinese workers much except to publish pamphlets and a monthly magazine are concerned, because the American labor movement in Pingdeng (Equality) from 1926 to around 1931,1i and general was extremely hostile to Chinese labor. Even the infrequently to distribute leaflets in support of workers' so-called Marxist Socialists, in spite of their professed belief in struggles in Chinatown.t2 ln lg34another group of anarchists the brotherhood of the working man, supported the organized the Wuzhengfu Gongchanzhuyizhe Lianmeng "uneonditional exculsion of Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and (Alliance of Anarcho-Communists) and issued another Hindus. ," from this councry.t Ottly the anarcho-syndicalist monthly publication, the Wuzhengfu Gongcban Yuekan Industrial Workers of the World (MW) held true to the belief (Anarcho-Communist Montbly).13 But this, however, that fraternal bonds existed among all wage earners regardiess represented the efforts of only a few zealots without much of racial lines, and set about to enroll Asian workers, including mass foilowing. Chinese, into the unions on an equal basis with workers of Times continued to be difficult for the anarchists in the other racial groups. The I.W.W.
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