History of Discrimination Against the Chinese:

After the Chinese were no longer needed to build the railways, cities in Canada including Vancouver
and Victoria began to discriminate against the Chinese in numerous ways. Some of these were made
into laws and city bylaws.

1)After reading the articles about “Early Chinese Immigrants” and the handout whose front
page reads “Business Contracts and Employment”, list as many ways that the Chinese were
discriminated against as you can. What specific laws were made? Compare your list with a
partner’s. Bullet points are fine.

● 1. 1872 the newly founded BC disenfranchised the chinese.

● 2. 1886 the city council disqulifideed people of chinese descent
● 3. 1885 the chinese head tax
● 4.by the 1890 techniques for anti chinese were extending to all south asian
communities

2) How do you think these discriminatory laws and measures affected them? (Think: mentally,
socially, economically, professionally, educationally, and others that you can come up with.)
Discuss this with your partner and then list as many effects as you can below. Use examples to
support your claims.

● 1. The Chinese couldn't have their opinion on who's in power. It also made it so that
the couldn't vote out the people making these laws
● 2. Even people who are not fully chinese had no say in elections and could run for
office or study or do certain professions
● 3. The chinese head tax taxed newly migrated chinese people it made them loose all
there money so they couldn't afford things like food.
● 4. These unfair laws now affected all south asian people such as japanese and korean
people
●