Seattle's Chinese Community Faces Forced Registration
Following a Supreme Court ruling, local merchants express fear, defiance, and uncertainty over the restrictive Chinese Exclusion Act.
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Now that the Chinese exclusion law has been declared constitutional by the United States supreme court, the Chinese residents of the city are waiting to learn what will be done next. The question now is whether any Chinese who are willing to register under the law can legally be allowed to do so, since the deadline has already passed while the law's constitutionality was being tested. Deputy Collector D. A. McKenzie suggests the reasonable solution is to allow registration subject to congressional approval. Leading merchants, including Bon Chone and Quong War Lung, expressed deep frustration; many fear that if they are deported, it will trigger an anti-American backlash in China. Others, like Quing Chong, expressed a willingness to comply if given the opportunity, despite the personal outrage felt by many in the community.
“I consider the whole matter an outrage. ... If we are driven out of the country, the Chinese government will not allow Americans to trade there after this law is put into effect.”
This reporting captures a moment of intense vulnerability for Seattle’s Chinese residents during the height of the Exclusion era. While the tone of the reporting reflects the prejudices of the 1893 press, it also provides a rare window into the individual voices and anxieties of Chinese business owners facing systemic state-sanctioned displacement.
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