France, U.K., USA, Chinese and the Statue of Liberty: The Connection

Laurentians, 29th June 2014

Summer had finally come. The sun bathe the asphalt car park and the concrete roads with a nice 32 deg C heat. The surrounding river, streams and ponds emits its humidity making it an oppressive 39 deg C on a humidex factor.

This is the height of summer in the French Canadian city of Montreal. Weeks ago was the Grand Prix where the rich and truly mechanically obsessed worldwide descended upon this city and spend a few millions Dollars into the hospitality trade that needed a life support from the ravages of the economic downturn brought about by a small yet disruptive brand of nationalists who wanted Quebec as an independent nation from Canada. This is despite the Constitution that granted rights to First Nation who possess a large swatch of land within Quebec but were not consulted. The recent Supreme Court ruling of British Columbia that ruled in favour of the sovereign rights of the First Nations there would further strengthen The First Nation elsewhere in Canada their grip of being an active participants of determining their future.

The Parti Quebecoise headed by Pauline Marois sponsored a series of legislation aimed to uphold and secure the interest of French Canadians but ended up enraging the same French Canadians with irrational further tax on the already burden middle class of All colors and genres. Her language police unleashed a witch hunt on all businesses with inappropriate French signage. A restaurant owner was fined for describing his Italian pasta as pasta which was not considered French enough and thus in violation of the language law. A Christian Cross is upheld in the halls of the Parliament to preserve it Christian heritage while wearing a Jewish skullcap, Sikhs headbands, the traditional headdress of Islamic women are considered unlawful, a clear violation of Canadian constitution of freedom of expression and religious freedom. The death blow is their declared intention to seek independence prior to the schedule Spring 2014 election that resulted with them voting out of office and into a minority government.

In this supposedly multi-linguals and ethnic Montreal, this week sees the start of the North American Jazz Fest and the Comedy Fest thereafter. These carries heavy English footprints. I wonder if the sovereignists welcomed its Dollars but despised their presence? One cannot always bite on the hands that feeds you.

It was true that the French built and settle in Quebec City into a demographical mass to stake its claim as a distinct nation and its unquestionable contribution to the formation of Canada as a country. It was also true that the British who coveted North America and having lost it to the rebels headed by Washington, turned Her attention to occupying North of the border by default. U.K.’s dream of eventually seizing control of the entire Eastern Seaboard was based on Her control of this vast North and Southern Mississippi City of New Orleans. With Her strong Naval presence along this mighty river, the USA rebels was to be harassed between the Mississippi and the Atlantic into submission by U.K..

History has it that France helped Washington won a major Naval victory in Virginia that was decisive in bringing about the birth of the U.S.A. Democracy as first spoused by France became the theme of France’s gift to the USA with the Statue of Liberty that now stands at the harbour entrance to New York City. France eventually sold Lousiana whose vital New Orleans port controls the commerce from South to North was a move design to deny the British any commercial advantages that would have strengthen them in their constant struggle for hegemony in Western Europe with France.

Meanwhile, The British dug in and settled in the North. The demographically larger French population in Arcadia and elsewhere were corralled into where the present day Quebec is. By then U.K. was an Imperial Power and ruled by a body of conquistador peers in the British courts. The native French population of Quebec were exploited and felt mistreated. Many now considers and reacts to this century of mistreatment with civil disobedience such as resisting enlistment to the 1st and the 2nd World Wars on the side of the British and more in recent times as the Parti Quebecoise demonstrate.

The U.S.A. emboldened by rapid economic expansion after gaining independence from the British further looked into expanding westward onto the Pacific Ocean. They had bought Louisiana from France.

Alaska was purchased from Czarist Russia. They rip Texas and California from the Mexican and much of the territories between them. Financed mostly by the Rothschilds of Europe, the Vanderbilts and the Carnegie build the TransContinental railroads making the present day footprint of USA as a continental power.

Meanwhile, in the North, The Canadians did the same by connecting Montreal in the East to Vancouver in the West by Canadian National. The poor Irish immigrants and the Chinese serfs who were neither French nor British died in the thousands building TransCanada.

The British now had resource rich Canada, people rich India, strategic real estate of Suez, Gibraltar, Malta, Cape of Good Hope and Singapore. U.K. was also in the process of converting South Africa, Kenya. Malaysia, Myanmar and China into colonies. By sending their felons into Australia and ethnically cleansing its aborigines, Australia became the only predominantly Caucasian White nation in Asia.

As the only empire where the sun never sets, its British Silver Sterling also became the world standard currency at that time.

It is the rapidly diminishing Silver Sterling that U K Paid China for its tea, porcelain, silk and other goods that prompted its colonialization of China. China did not have needs of anything that U K had to offer at that time. The Chinese find wool uncomfortable, cotton was plentiful, none of the farming implements were suitable to Chinese agronomics. There were only war materials and opium UK on Her hands that they can balance its trade with China. The rest is history.

THE HUAREN CONNECTION

The patchwork of the Chinese immigrants in Canada mirrors China’s history.

There are in my view five (5) Chinese genre in many Canadian cities.

(1) Were mostly Chinese from southern regions of Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan and Guangxi. They were the indentured serfs who worked in railroads, mines, stevedores in harbours, cooks and laundrymen. They made up the first generation of Chinese immigrants and live in traditional Chinatown of East Hastings Vancouver; Downtown Toronto; Clark Maisoneuve of Montreal. They invented dishes like General Tao Chicken, and Chopsuey that one cannot find anywhere in China nor Taiwan;

(2) Mostly overseas Chinese from Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia whose parents placed them in the mainstreams of education that made many of them professional such as accountants, financial advisers, lawyers, newscasters, and physicians or health care workers. These genre would patronize the local establishment and are mainly well integrated into the milieu. Their children tends to date or accept dating with locals. They would enjoy orchestra, symphonies and plays and local arts in places like West Vancouver BC, Strattford, Ontario or St. Sauveur Quebec. Most of them are well versed in several languages and have influential social status.

(3) The economic immigrant prior to 1998 Return of Hong Kong to China. These are wealthy middleclass that are at least millionaire in Canadian currencies. They were extracted by Canada and Australia for their supposedly ingrained business acumen, discipline and trolled for their expected contribution to the host economies. They made today’s enclave such as Richmond in BC; Scarborough, Markham, Richmond Hill in Ontario, and Brossard in Quebec.

Places like No 3 Road of Richmond, the 1st Markham Place of Ontario, Tachereau West of Brossard typify this genre.

(4) The ultra wealthy China immigrants. The only qualification they have would be money and investments. Many left their wives and children while they go back to China or elsewhere to continue their business activities. These genre are on its own and would demand services in the language they feel comfortable with and do generally gets it. They are generally envied and despised by the locals. They may not know how to use the utensils nor sequence of food serve but the most expensive menu and wines would be in their hit list whether they enjoyed them or not. Real Estate agents, car salesmen in dealerships, Maitre d’ in restaurant obliged them and treat them as valued clients over the head of locals.

(5) The displaced Chinese from Kampuchea, Vietnam, Laos, Mauritius and Madagascar as political refugees.

They are truly displaced from their normal comfort zones. Having French linguistic background, combative civil war trajectories are mostly divisive and fatalistic in their world views. No wonder they hold menials jobs as dishwashers, janitors, laundrymen, and tends to gamble their life savings away. They made up for most of the crime committed by Chinese Canadians.

Adversity still abounds in present day North America for overseas Chinese, stoic determination and struggle for survival is still needed to maintain its respectable place in that society.

...........to be continued