My uncle Daniel Lee, wants an apology from the Canadian Government for the Chinese Head Tax

My Uncle Dan is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet.  He is the grandson of Reverend Chan Yu Tan who arrived in Canada in 1896.  He is also a tireless volunteer for the Veterans Unit Pacific Unit 280.  He is a World War 2 veteran, helps organize the Victory Square Cenotaph Ceremonies, sells poppies in the cold November months, and is the only Chinese-Canadian to recieve the Veterans Award of Merit.  I am proud of my Uncle Dan, and glad to support him in a quest to have the Canadian Government follow through on an issue that the United Nations has asked Canada to make reparations for.

For more information on the Chinese Head Tax - check out the Chinese Canadian National Council's web page for Head Tax Redress

Check out the Vancouver Courier website and story by Mike Howell.
http://www.vancourier.com/issues05/022205/news/022205nn9.html

War veteran Daniel Lee is sending off another round of letters to federal government ministers asking for an apology for imposing a head tax on his father. Photo-Dan Toulgoet

Chinese senior says apology long overdue

By Mike Howell-Staff writer

At 84, Daniel Lee knows he doesn't have a lot of time left.

But while he's still alive, the Second World War veteran would like to receive one thing from the federal government-an apology for imposing a head tax on his father and grandfather when they arrived from China.

"I'm not asking for money, or any compensation, just an apology," said Lee, a longtime East Side resident, who was born in an apartment at Main and Pender. "How hard can that be?"

Since the 1980s, Lee has sent letters to various federal government ministers in Ottawa asking for an apology. So far, he's received no indication an apology will be forthcoming.

On Monday, he showed the Courier another 11 letters he was sending to the government's new crop of ministers, including Minister of State for Multiculturalism Raymond Chan and Minister of Veteran Affairs Albina Guarnieri.

This year, more than any year, would be the time to make an apology, said Lee, noting the government has proclaimed 2005 "Year of the Veteran." In his letter, he noted he and more than 600 Canadians from Chinese backgrounds served as Canadian soldiers in the Second World War.

At the time, the 600 were not recognized as citizens, but were prepared to make "the ultimate sacrifice" for the country. That fact alone should be reason enough for an apology for the financial harm done to Chinese families, he said.

When Lee's grandfather and father immigrated to Canada at the beginning of the 20th century, they each had to pay a $500 head tax. Lee's father was a poor watchmaker who had to support Lee and his 13 siblings.

In Vancouver at the time, Chinese were forced to attend segregated schools, sit in Chinese-only sections in movie theatres and were barred from city-owned swimming pools.

A 1902 Royal Commission described Chinese and Japanese immigrants as "unfit for full citizenship... obnoxious to a free community and dangerous to the state."

Lee's father died in 1927, and his mother died in the late 1980s, Lee recalled. As the years pass, he said many of his fellow veterans have died, including Wing Wong, a sergeant in the Canadian army.

Lee pointed out a quote from Wong in an old newspaper article, which captures what many Chinese were feeling in the early part of the 20th century in Vancouver: "You can't imagine the struggle of an 11-year-old Chinese boy in that do-or-die situation in Canada... trying to grow up in a society that valued their horses and dogs far above any Chinese."

During the war, Lee was an aircraft mechanic with the 168th Heavy Transport Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Lee said his fellow non-Chinese soldiers treated him with respect, unlike today's government.

Janice Summerby, a spokesperson for Veteran Affairs Canada, said she couldn't comment on the head tax issue, saying it was "completely outside our mandate."

"It would be very hard to comment on something we wouldn't have been involved in or have much background about," Summerby told the Courier.

A spokesperson for Guarnieri's office, who wouldn't give her name, echoed Summerby's comments and added that she didn't know which government ministry would be able to comment.

In May, Lee plans to be in Holland for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Holland. He'll be there with other Canadian veterans, and expects to receive a warm welcome.

"Over there, we get a lot more respect."

posted on 02/09/2005