戴琪（Katherine C. Tai）在演讲前对CRCEA80发起委会委员张小彦博士的介绍表示由衷的感激和感谢，张小彦博强调了戴琪大使作为目前总统拜登内阁中唯一的华裔的角色，作为华人而感到自豪。
戴琪（Katherine C. Tai）然后深入探讨了《排华法案》的历史，该法案由切斯特·A·阿瑟Chester Alan Arthur总统于1882年签署成为法律。她回顾了这一法案所代表的不公正，明确地歧视了华人社区，并将他们排除在美国象征的自由、平等和正义的承诺之外。她提到了一封来自1885年的一封感人的来信，该信指出了自由女神像的火炬的讽刺，火炬象征着自由，但对华人却例外。该法案实施了六十多年，标志着美国对移民和有色人种的歧视政策的开端。
之后，戴琪（Katherine C. Tai）讲到自《排华法案》废除以来取得的进展，并强调了在争取一个更公正和包容的美国中发挥关键作用的英雄人物。她提到了像黄柳霜（Anna May Wong）、李益和（Lee Yick）、黄金德（Wong Kim Ark）、余江月桂（March Fong Eu）等在推动亚裔移民赴美的事业中发挥了关键作用。
戴琪（Katherine C. Tai）是一名第二代移民华裔，也是一名二代公务员，她分享了自己的个人经历以及1960年代肯尼迪总统的移民改革政策对她家庭的影响，使她的父母得以赴美攻读研究生课程。她自豪地提到了自己作为白宫在美亚裔、夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民倡议委员会 (WHIAANHPI)的共同主席的角色，该委员会致力于解决系统性种族歧视问题并促进平等。
戴琪（Katherine C. Tai）承认了当今亚裔美国社区面临的挑战，包括歧视和暴力。她引用了最近的调查和数据，显示种族歧视和反亚裔仇恨事件不断增加。
最后，戴琪（Katherine C. Tai）表达了对人民应对挑战的希望和信心。她确认了为一个更加完美的美国而奋斗的重要性，一个美国，秉持平等、自由和正义的理念，面向所有人。
废除《1882排华法》80周年纪念大会有八个发起人Xiaoyan Zhang 张小彦、Heping Xu 徐和平、Lewis Yingxi Liu 刘迎曦、Qian Huang 黄倩、Zhida Song-James 宋智达、Mingtao Jiang 姜铭涛、Wenbin Yuan 原文彬、Steve Xiaofu Si 斯晓夫
及七个联合主办组织：Asian American Leadership Council (AALC) – Steven Hugh (丘超辉）、American Chinese United Association (ACUA) – Jacky Xie (谢峰）、Chinese American Alliance (CAA) – Chuck Li (李春贵)、Chinese American Political Action Committee (IAPAC) – Charley Lu (卢春雨)、Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities (MHACC) – Elaine Peng （彭一玲)、National Council of Chinese Americans (NCCA) – Ji Su (苏汲)、United Chinese Americans (UCA) – Haipei Shue (薛海培)及以来自全美的社团组织和个人参加。
本次大会汇集了诸多民间组织，倡导平等权利和社会正义，旨在防止历史倒退，促进所有公民的公民权利。
美国国务院转载
美国贸易代表办公室发布
2023年12月6日
华盛顿——美国贸易代表戴琪（Katherine Tai）今天在美国国会大厦举行的《排华法案》（(The Chinese Exclusion Act)）废除80周年纪念活动上发表讲话。戴琪大使在讲话中重申了拜登和哈里斯政府为亚裔美国人、夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民争取平等和社会公正的承诺，并强调了所有美国人在完善国家的建国理想方面所发挥的作用。
戴琪大使的发言稿如下：
谢谢张小彦对我的热情介绍。
大家好，今天能在这里见到这么多朋友，我感到非常荣幸。
1882年5月6日。从纽约市的麦迪逊广场，人们可以看到尚未完工的自由女神像，其巨大的手臂高举着火炬。而同一天，切斯特·阿瑟（Chester A. Arthur）总统签署了一项法律，它不同于合众国成立以来制定的任何法律——明确将一个特定的民族——“华人”——列为不受欢迎的民族。
三年后的1885年，在为自由女神像基座筹款的活动中，刚刚大学毕业的中国移民邵崧波（Saum Song Bo）给《太阳报》写了一封公开信，他在信中说：
“‘自由’这个词让我想到这样一个事实：这个国家是所有国家、所有人的自由之地，但华人除外。那座雕像代表着自由，手持一把照亮道路的火炬。但华人可以来这里吗？”
[阿瑟总统]大笔一挥之下，这个国家变成了并非人人享有自由、平等和公正的国度，而只是部分人享有自由、平等和公正的国度。
而在《独立宣言》中奉为圭臬的这个国家的立国原则——即人生而平等并被赋予不可剥夺的权利——变得晦暗不明。
但我们的力量绝不仅仅体现在我们的经济或军事实力上，而是我们认识到现实与理想之间存在差距的能力，以及为实现一个更加完美的联邦而献身的精神。
《排华法案》实施长达60多年。在很多方面，这项法律是针对美国各地移民和有色人种的更具歧视性和仇恨性政策的开端。
今天，我们庆祝废除该法案 80 周年，并向那些为此而奋斗的人致敬。但我们也知道，社会进步并不是直线的。
我们的《独立宣言》只是一个理念；只有当这些理念体现于人民的生活时它才成为我们的特质。
我们国家的历史正是如此——来自不同背景、不同肤色、不同信仰的人们聚集在一起，实现平等、自由和社会公正的理想。
在1858年7月的一次演讲中，林肯总统曾有过一句名言：随着时间的推移，越来越多的美国人可能与撰写《独立宣言》的人没有任何血缘关系。但我们每个人都通过爱国主义和对理想的执着追求而与那些不朽的文字相连，就像一根电缆使我们一脉相通。
我们永远与这些理想联系在一起，因为我们沿着先辈的足迹向前，他们的血泪化作我们前进的动力，使我们更接近实现美国的承诺——对所有人的承诺。
这就是我们众多须眉和巾帼英雄们为之奋斗的目标。
这就是黄柳霜（Anna May Wong）、李益和（Lee Yick）、黄金德（Wong Kim Ark）、余江月桂（March Fong Eu）等人为之奋斗的目标。
他们为更公正和更包容的美国而奋斗，为更多亚洲人来这里打开了新的大门。如果没有他们，我今天就不会与各位在一起，从事我的工作，为美国人民服务。
我于1974年生于康涅狄格州，是家中第一个美国人。由于肯尼迪总统在1960年代推行的移民改革，我的父母得以来到美国攻读理科研究生学位，成为美国公民，并投身于公共服务事业。
事实上，我既是第二代美国人，也是第二代公务员。
记得在我担任美国贸易代表办公室律师的职业生涯早期，我在世界贸易组织辩诉第一起案件。当时有一位美国贸易代表办公室的律师与我共同办案，她的父母是来自印度的移民。
当我们通报代表美利坚合众国办理此案时，我们脸上洋溢着自豪的笑容，因为我们知道，我们是亚洲移民的两个女儿，在为“我们人民”（we, the people）而奋战。
这才是我所了解和热爱的美利坚。无论你的长相如何，你都会受到欢迎，成为美国社会中受到珍视的一员。
今天，这个故事仍在继续，它是由普通美国人撰写的。他们不甘于接受现状，不甘于将其视为必然结果。不愿在压迫和无知面前变得愤世嫉俗。相反，他们站起来，直面打压和咒骂，勇敢地生活，供养亲人，服务社区，热爱邻里。
不仅华裔美国人或亚裔美国人如此，所有与我们的国家命运息息相关的美国人都是如此——这个我们称之为美国的尝试值得完善，这个家园值得建设，这个纽带值得捍卫。
就像今天在座的许多男女朋友一样，他们不愿意接受已经发生或可能发生的事情，而是拿起笔，为我们的故事撰写新篇章。
感谢拉贾·克里希纳莫提（Raja Krishnamoorthi）国会议员帮助安排在国会大厦游客中心举办这次活动。
当然，也感谢我们国会亚太裔核心小组无惧无畏的领袖赵美心(Judy Chu) 国会议员。
感谢你们所做的一切。 本届美国政府很荣幸能成为你们在这项工作中的合作伙伴。
从上任第一天起，拜登总统和我们的整个团队就一直在为你们而战，与你们并肩奋斗。拜登总统上任后采取的首批行动之一是签署《关于通过联邦政府促进种族平等和支持服务不足社区的行政命令》（Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government）。
今年一月，本届政府发布了有史以来第一份《促进亚裔美国人、夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民社区公平、公正和机会的国家战略》（National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities）。
拜登总统还对“白宫倡议”和总统促进亚裔美国人、夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民社区咨询委员会（the President’s Advisory Commission on AA and NHPI.）进行了改革。
我很荣幸担任这两项举措的共同主席，我们一直在为你们努力工作。努力消除我们政策和项目中的系统性种族主义。增加非英语语言服务和细分数据。增强小企业主和劳动人民的权能。
然而，我们知道还有很多工作要做。我们的社区仍然面临偏见和遭受暴力。
哥伦比亚大学和百人会（Committee of 100）最近进行了一项关于美国华裔的调查，发现近75%的受访者在过去的12个月中经历了种族歧视，或与种族主义相关的暴力行为。半数以上的人担心自己的安全。
根据停止歧视亚太裔组织（Stop AAPI Hate）的统计，2020年3月至2022年3 月期间，美国发生了11,000多起仇恨亚裔的事件。
我们的社区继续为我们的家庭成员、长辈和孩子们感到担忧。我们明确无误地听到了你们的声音，我们不会容忍造成这种担忧的状况。
美国与中华人民共和国之间的紧张关系可能会使情况变得更糟。我们的双边关系既复杂又重要，并且存在切实的挑战。但我们需要严谨地界定挑战是什么、不是什么。
我们需要清楚地表明，我们关切的是中华人民共和国政府的政策和做法，而不是中国人民或美国的华人。我们可以坚决捍卫我们的经济利益和国家安全，同时坚决维护我们的多元性——我们必须做到两者兼顾。
这是我和美国贸易代表办公室工作人员的首要任务。我们正在制定更加公正和包容的贸易政策。就像对待美国各地的工人、小企业主和小农户一样，我们将与身为亚裔美国人、夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民的工人、企业家及其社区密切联系，满足其需求，直接听取他们的意见，并将他们关心的问题纳入我们的工作。
我们将确保我们的政策能够反映整个经济体系中所有美国人的需求和愿望，特别是那些被边缘化的人们，而不仅仅是那些雇得起华盛顿游说客的人。
我们将面临来自新旧两个方向的阻力。但因为有你们，因为有我们，我充满希望。因为我知道，我们会以同样的决心、同样的毅力和同样的勇气作出回应，无论有多少艰难险阻，我们的豪情锐不可当，我们的团结坚不可破，我们的希望纯洁无污。
这样，当子孙后代在八十年后回首往事时，当他们仰望自由女神手中的火炬时，他们也会通过林肯所说的电缆感受到这种联系，这种不可分割的纽带，并且说：”是的，这个理想值得我们奋斗，这个家园值得我们建设”。
谢谢各位。
WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today delivered remarks at an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act at the U.S. Capitol. In her remarks, Ambassador Tai affirmed the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to fight for equality and justice for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders, and emphasized the role of all Americans in perfecting our nation’s founding ideals.
Ambassador Tai’s remarks as prepared for delivery are below:
Thank you, Xiaoyan Zhang, for your kind introduction.
Hello, everyone. It is a great honor for me to be here today and to see so many friends.
It was May 6, 1882. In New York City, in Madison Square, you could see the giant arm of the unfinished Statue of Liberty, holding a torch. And on that same day, President Chester A. Arthur signed into law something unlike any other law since the founding of the republic—one that explicitly singled out a specific race and nationality—“Chinese”—as undesirable.
Three years later, in 1885, as a fundraising campaign was underway to pay for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, Saum Song Bo, a Chinese immigrant and recent college graduate, wrote an open letter to The Sun newspaper, in which he said:
“The word Liberty makes me think of the fact that this country is the land of liberty for all men of all nations, except the Chinese. That statue represents Liberty holding a torch which lights the passage. But are the Chinese allowed to come?”
With one stroke of a pen, this country became a land of liberty, equality, and justice not for all, but only for some.
And the founding principles of this nation enshrined in the Declaration of Independence—that all are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights—became less self-evident.
But our strength has never been just our economic or military might—it is our ability to recognize when our reality falls short of our ideals and the devotion to achieving a more perfect Union.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect for over sixty years. And in many ways, that law was the beginning of more discriminatory and hateful policies directed at immigrants and people of color across the United States.
Today, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of its repeal and honor those who fought so hard to do so. But we also know that progress is not linear.
Our Declaration is just an idea; only when its ideals are lived out through our people does it become our identity.
The story of our country is precisely that—people from all backgrounds, all colors, all creeds, coming together to live out those ideals of equality, freedom, and justice.
In a speech in July of 1858, President Lincoln famously said, more and more Americans over time may not have any blood relation to the men who wrote our Declaration. But each of us are linked to those immortal words by an electric cord through the patriotism and devotion to our ideals.
We are forever tied to those ideals because we walk in the shoes of so many that have come before us, those that bled and shed tears to push us forward, closer toward fulfilling the promise of America, for all people.
That is what so many of our heroes and heroines fought for.
That is what Anna May Wong fought for. That is what Yick Wo fought for. And Wong Kim Ark. And March Fong Eu. And so many more.
Their fight for a more just and inclusive America opened new doors for more people to come here from Asia, and I would not be here today with all of you, in my job serving the American people, without them.
I was born in Connecticut in 1974, the very first American in my family. Because of President Kennedy’s immigration reforms in the 1960s, my parents were able to come to the United States to pursue graduate studies in the sciences, become Americans, and devote their careers to public service.
In fact, I am both a second-generation American and a second-generation public servant.
I remember, earlier in my career as a USTR lawyer, one of the first cases I argued at the World Trade Organization. I was there with my USTR co-counsel, whose parents moved here from India.
As we stated that we were presenting the case on behalf of the United States of America, we beamed with pride knowing that, here we were, two daughters of immigrants from Asia, fighting for “we, the people.”
That is the America I know and love. That no matter what you look like, you are welcomed as a treasured character in our American story.
This story lives on today. It is being written by everyday Americans. Not willing to accept the status quo as a forgone conclusion. Not willing to grow cynical in the face of oppression and ignorance. But willing to stand up to the beating and cursing, living out their lives, providing for their loved ones, serving their communities, loving their neighbors.
And it is not just Chinese Americans or Asian Americans, but all Americans who have a stake in our nation’s story—that this experiment we call America is worth perfecting, this home worth building, and this bond worth defending.
Men and women like many of you here today. Not willing to settle for what was or could have been, but to pick up the pen and write a new chapter in our story.
I want to recognize the important group of Chinese American and Asian American organizations here this morning.
Thank you to Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi for sponsoring this event here in the Capitol Visitors Center.
And, of course, Congresswoman Judy Chu, our fearless leader of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Thank you for all that what you do. Our Administration is proud to be your partner in this work.
Since day one, President Biden and our entire team has been fighting for you and with you. One of the first actions President Biden took after taking office was to sign an Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.
And this past January, our Administration issued the first-ever National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities.
President Biden also revamped the White House Initiative and the President’s Advisory Commission on AA and NHPIs.
It is an honor for me to serve as a co-chair of both, and we have been working hard on your behalf. To address systemic racism in our policies and programs. To improve language access and disaggregate data. To empower our small business owners and workers.
Yes, we know there is much more to do. Our communities are still experiencing bigotry and violence.
Columbia University and the Committee of 100 recently conducted a survey of Chinese Americans, and it found that nearly 75 percent of respondents experienced racial discrimination or racism-related violence in the last twelve months. And more than half worry about their safety.
According to the organization STOP AAPI Hate, between March 2020 and March 2022, there were over 11,000 incidents of anti-Asian hate in America.
Our communities continue to fear for our family members, our elders, and our children. We hear your concerns loud and clear, and this is not okay.
Tensions between the United States and the People’s Republic of China can make things worse. Our bilateral relationship is complex and consequential, and there are real challenges. But we need to be disciplined in defining what the challenge is and what it is not.
We need to be crystal clear that our concerns are with the PRC government’s policies and practices—not with the Chinese people or those of Chinese descent. We can fiercely defend our economic interests and national security and fiercely embrace our diversity at the same time—we must do both.
This is a big priority for me and my staff at USTR. We are crafting trade policies that are more just and inclusive. Meeting AA and NHPI workers and entrepreneurs and their communities where they are, to hear directly from them and to incorporate their concerns into our work—just as we do with workers, small business owners, family farmers across America.
We are making sure our policies reflect the needs and desires of all Americans across our economy—especially those that have been marginalized—not just the ones that can afford Washington lobbyists.
We will face old and new headwinds. But I am hopeful because of you—because of us. Because I know we will respond with the same resolve, the same determination, and the same courage—so that in the midst of our trials, our joy will be unhindered, our unity unbroken, and our hope untainted.
So that, as future generations look back eighty years from now—as they glance up at that torch in the hands of Liberty—they too will feel the connection through the electric cord Lincoln was talking about, that inseparable bond, and say, “Yes, this story is worth fighting for, this home is worth building.”
Thank you.
