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Rise of the At-Risk Chinatown
(photos: police officer; Goddess of Democracy statue; Comfort Women statues)
In the 1970s, non-profits were empowering Chinatown residents to speak up. It was a crucial time. Self-Help for the Elderly, On Lok senior services, the Youth Services Center, and the Chinatown Community Development Center, still thriving today, mobilized and educated its citizens. The ensuing decades saw the end of the Chinese gangs as law enforcement stepped up with the Gang Task Force. When the gangs dissipated, thieves (not of Asian descent) from adjacent neighborhoods started attacking elderly grandmothers also referred to as “walking ATMS.” Thugs would follow an old woman exiting from a bank and demand the cash from her purse. The San Francisco Police Department intervened and wisely added a few bilingual Chinese officers on the force. Over time, the SFPD built relationships and trust with the locals so they would not feel hesitant to report such crimes.
In the 1980s and until the close of the 20th century, this historic enclave would weather more trials. Newer and trendier Asian shopping centers around the Bay Area gave local Chinese fewer reasons to visit. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 collapsed the Embarcadero freeway artery that spilled into the community. The loss of this central route made it horribly inconvenient for customers to drive into the neighborhood, so they went elsewhere. Various merchants reported plummeting sales of 30 to 50 percent and higher. To make matters worse, the popularity of the Internet meant that anything offered in a Chinatown souvenir shop could be purchased online.
Newspapers labelled the area no longer relevant, but Chinatown soldiered on. Restaurants changed hands. Children of elderly shop owners took the reins out of paternal obligation. Landlords, retirement-ready, sold Chinatown’s commercial and residential interests to the highest bidder. Although family associations, politicians, and non-profits chimed in with different plans on what to do next, one thing was certain: Chinatown had to change to survive.
In the next decade, Chinatown boldly asserted itself. Chinatown sculptures would take social-political stands. At Portsmouth Square, the torch-wielding Goddess of Democracy looks oddly familiar. Dedicated in 1994, the bronze replica is based on the statue created during the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protest in China. At St. Mary’s Square, the Comfort Women memorial shows three young women, representing the Philippines, Korea, and China, holding hands as an elderly Asian woman helplessly looks on. The statue honors the tens of thousands of women forced into sex slavery to serve the Japanese soldiers before and during WWII.
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Rise of the At-Risk Chinatown
(photos: police officer; Goddess of Democracy statue; Comfort Women statues)
In the 1970s, non-profits were empowering Chinatown residents to speak up. It was a crucial time. Self-Help for the Elderly, On Lok senior services, the Youth Services Center, and the Chinatown Community Development Center, still thriving today, mobilized and educated its citizens. The ensuing decades saw the end of the Chinese gangs as law enforcement stepped up with the Gang Task Force. When the gangs dissipated, thieves (not of Asian descent) from adjacent neighborhoods started attacking elderly grandmothers also referred to as “walking ATMS.” Thugs would follow an old woman exiting from a bank and demand the cash from her purse. The San Francisco Police Department intervened and wisely added a few bilingual Chinese officers on the force. Over time, the SFPD built relationships and trust with the locals so they would not feel hesitant to report such crimes.
In the 1980s and until the close of the 20th century, this historic enclave would weather more trials. Newer and trendier Asian shopping centers around the Bay Area gave local Chinese fewer reasons to visit. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 collapsed the Embarcadero freeway artery that spilled into the community. The loss of this central route made it horribly inconvenient for customers to drive into the neighborhood, so they went elsewhere. Various merchants reported plummeting sales of 30 to 50 percent and higher. To make matters worse, the popularity of the Internet meant that anything offered in a Chinatown souvenir shop could be purchased online.
Newspapers labelled the area no longer relevant, but Chinatown soldiered on. Restaurants changed hands. Children of elderly shop owners took the reins out of paternal obligation. Landlords, retirement-ready, sold Chinatown’s commercial and residential interests to the highest bidder. Although family associations, politicians, and non-profits chimed in with different plans on what to do next, one thing was certain: Chinatown had to change to survive.
In the next decade, Chinatown boldly asserted itself. Chinatown sculptures would take social-political stands. At Portsmouth Square, the torch-wielding Goddess of Democracy looks oddly familiar. Dedicated in 1994, the bronze replica is based on the statue created during the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protest in China. At St. Mary’s Square, the Comfort Women memorial shows three young women, representing the Philippines, Korea, and China, holding hands as an elderly Asian woman helplessly looks on. The statue honors the tens of thousands of women forced into sex slavery to serve the Japanese soldiers before and during WWII.
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Rise of the American Born Chinese
(photos: Grant Avenue follies dancers; Sun Yat-sen statue)
Freely embracing American culture, Chinese entered the entertainment business. Chinese American nightclubs sprang up in Chinatown and on the outskirts with Chinese crooners whose voices reminded guests of Frank Sinatra. The most illustrious, the Forbidden City, boasted dancing and variety shows until the wee hours. Hollywood’s top stars, including comedian Bob Hope and movie star Ronald Reagan, flocked to see tuxedo-ed singers, costumed dancers, female impersonators, and comics who entertained in perfect English.
Shows mirrored the American stage and Silver Screen -- Larry Chan was billed as the Chinese Bing Crosby; dance team Dorothy Toy and Paul Wing were the equivalent of an Asian Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; Colleen Li Tei Ming sang Irish ballads. The Forbidden City was so popular that non-Chinese clamored to showcase their talents by taking on Chinese stage names. The glory days, from the 1930s to 1960s, delivered four decades of rare memories for artists and patrons.
Meanwhile, Chinese immigrants were keeping close tabs on their beloved homeland. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, founder of the Kuomintang political party with a pro-democracy platform, won supporters in Chinatown. He was so revered that the Chinese in San Francisco and many other U.S. cities freely gave funds to his cause to overthrow ancient dynastic rule. In honor of the first president of the Republic of China and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s visit to San Francisco, businesses commissioned a statue of him in 1938, which still stands today in St. Mary’s Square on California Street.
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Rise of the American Born Chinese
(photos: Grant Avenue follies dancers; Sun Yat-sen statue)
Freely embracing American culture, Chinese entered the entertainment business. Chinese American nightclubs sprang up in Chinatown and on the outskirts with Chinese crooners whose voices reminded guests of Frank Sinatra. The most illustrious, the Forbidden City, boasted dancing and variety shows until the wee hours. Hollywood’s top stars, including comedian Bob Hope and movie star Ronald Reagan, flocked to see tuxedo-ed singers, costumed dancers, female impersonators, and comics who entertained in perfect English.
Shows mirrored the American stage and Silver Screen -- Larry Chan was billed as the Chinese Bing Crosby; dance team Dorothy Toy and Paul Wing were the equivalent of an Asian Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; Colleen Li Tei Ming sang Irish ballads. The Forbidden City was so popular that non-Chinese clamored to showcase their talents by taking on Chinese stage names. The glory days, from the 1930s to 1960s, delivered four decades of rare memories for artists and patrons.
Meanwhile, Chinese immigrants were keeping close tabs on their beloved homeland. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, founder of the Kuomintang political party with a pro-democracy platform, won supporters in Chinatown. He was so revered that the Chinese in San Francisco and many other U.S. cities freely gave funds to his cause to overthrow ancient dynastic rule. In honor of the first president of the Republic of China and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s visit to San Francisco, businesses commissioned a statue of him in 1938, which still stands today in St. Mary’s Square on California Street.
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Chinese in the Military
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Elsie Seetoo finally got her due. On January 29, 2019, on the ceremonial podium at the Department of Veteran Affairs in Washington D.C., the 100-year-old former U.S. Army nurse was named as a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal. The honor signifies the highest award given to an American civilian by Congress. In 1944, the female, Chinese American first lieutenant trained medical orderlies for active duty during World War II. In a television interview, the Stockton, California native proclaimed, “I’ll wear it when I go out, or maybe just to impress the other folks that live in the retirement community.”
On that same day, four male Chinese American veterans stepped forward to claim well-deserved recognition alongside Elsie. The Congressional Gold Medal is awarded to eligible Chinese Americans who served in the military during World War II from December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946. Although less than a thousand servicemen and servicewomen are still alive, the medal extols Chinese Americans for their heroism and bravery that has been largely minimized and ignored.
The Chinese American Citizens Alliance (C.A.C.A.), based in Chinatown, launched a two-year campaign to grant the dedicated vets the Congressional Gold Medal. Both the House of Representatives and Senate unanimously supported the proposal, and on December 12, 2018, President Trump signed the Chinese American WWII Veterans Congressional Gold Medal Act into law. Following the Congressional Medal tradition, the first medal is cast and displayed at the Smithsonian. Veterans or their families subsequently apply for copies of the medal paid for by the C.A.C.A.
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WWII was not the first time Chinese Americans served in the American armed forces. During the Civil War, they fought for the Confederacy and Union armies. In WWI, Chinese Americans fought on the side of the Allies along with Vietnamese, Japanese, Koreans and Filipinos who also represented the United States.
However, WWII was the harbinger of a turning point for Chinese Americans still living under the shadows of the Chinese Exclusion Act. On December 7, 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor changed everything. Now the Japanese were the enemy, and the Chinese were regarded as friends. An estimated 13,311 Chinese males in the U.S., or 22 percent, were drafted, according to history professor Benson Tong in his book The Chinese Americans. Other sources say the combined number of draftees and volunteers adds up to 20,000. About 40 percent were not citizens, but the law granted them automatic eligibility for naturalization.
But other than free citizenship, why did others sign up for battle? Many were driven by patriotism for the United States and nationalism for the homeland of China. Feelings of bitterness were also lingering from Japan’s recent invasion of China, perhaps giving them more reason to fight and revenge their countrymen. Others wanted the chance to represent their race and prove that they were capable of loyalty and assimilation. And then there were those who saw the military as a means of travel and personal empowerment since local prejudice cut off job opportunities and advancement.
The majority of Chinese Americans were involved in the Army and Army Airforce, but they also served in other branches of the military including the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marines. These men and women were involved in every aspect of wartime service and some were even promoted to the upper ranks of colonel, admiral, and captain.
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“They had their worldview expanded and self-confidence boosted as a result of their wartime service,” writes author Benson Tong. Significant players of the era included the Flying Tigers, a Chinese-American group of pilots whose mission was to defend China under U.S. directives. Tactical victories during their tenure brought tremendous pride to Chinese around the country, especially in Chinatown.
Significant changes to the Chinese community occurred during this time, and the biggest and most welcome change for Chinese American men was Chinese women. During the war years, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943 to appease China. And the War Brides Act of 1945 followed by the 1946 Chinese Alien Wives of American Citizens Act (with a 1947 amendment) opened the female immigration floodgates. These new laws now allowed Chinese wives and dependents of war vets to freely immigrate to the United States. Whereas in 1900, the ratio was one Chinese woman for every 186 men, by 1960, the sex ratio was close to 1:1.