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Letter to Prime Minister Chifley advocating for Chinese immigrants

Letter to Prime Minister JB 'Ben' Chifley

Letter to Prime Minister JB 'Ben' Chifley.

Details

Learning resource record

Creator:

Samuel Wong and Prime Minister JB Chifley

Date:

1948

Citation:

M1455, 341

Keywords:

  • migration
  • China
  • White Australia policy
  • Ben Chifley

Transcript

6 Gillies Avenue

Haberfield, N.S.W.

28th February, 1948

To The Right Hon. J. B. Chifley,

Prime Minister of Australia,

Parliament House,

CANBERRA: [underlined]

Dear Sir,

Enclosed herewith two copies of Pamphlet entitled “Arrogant White Australia, Etc.” This pamphlet will speak for itself, but in it I mentioned a letter that I wrote to your late Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin in 1942, suggesting that now only a few thousand Chinese live in Australia if you would allow each of them to bring a relative or representative to take their place, In this way you will always have some Chinese in Australia. Otherwise, under your White Australia law, the Chinese will become extinct. I may point out to you that your sister Dominion, Canada, recently repealed the Anti-Chinese law and now allows a certain number of Chinese citizens to enter Canada. Also another sister Dominion, New Zealand did not want the total extinction of the Chinese race there, so they liberalized restrictions and purposely allowed a few thousand Chinese to enter there a few years ago.

I wish to also point out that according to all jail records, my countrymen are the most peaceful and law abiding citizens in the Commonwealth. I honestly believe that if a referendum is taken by all White Citizens in Australia they would vote in favour always of having a few thousand Chinese here. Seeing that you will always have some coloured people here and it is impossible for you to keep this continent pure snow white, having a few Chinese here should not affect your main White Australian Policy.

If your government can see its way clear to modify the immigration law regarding the Chinese, as I have suggested this will ease the great tension caused and created by your government’s Anti-Asiatic Policy. It will be a great gesture to the people of China, who have done so much to help the allies to defeat the Japs.

Yours faithfully,

[Handwritten signature:] Samuel Wong

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