"JOURNEY OF A PAPER SON" STUDY GUIDE

As a companion to the award-winning short film, “Journey of a Paper Son,” we’ve created this helpful Study Guide: 

What is a “paper son”?

What is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882? 

How long did the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 last?

Why was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 repealed?

What is Angel Island or the U.S. Immigration Station at Angel Island?

How was Angel Island different from Ellis Island?

How were Chinese immigrants interrogated at Angel Island? 

How did Chinese immigrants use “coaching books” to prepare for the interrogations at Angel Island?

Why did Chinese immigrants carve poems on the walls of their barracks at Angel Island?

How did the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 assist in illegal immigration?

What is the Confession Program?

What is the significance of the bill, ACR 42?

What is the Chinese Exclusion Resolution—S. Res. 201?

We’ve also created a Suggested Reading List:

http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwhuma09-20

In “Journey of a Paper Son,” an elderly Chinese man (Jack Ong), who’s dying from cancer, shocks his family when he reveals that he’s a “paper son” (one who illegally immigrated to the U.S., using fake documents and claiming he’s the son of an American citizen) and asks them for a final wish to change back his name.

His request threatens to tear apart his family (Patty Toy Chung, Angelina Cheng, Teddy Chen Culver), testing the limits of their love. He forces them to question who he really is and even their own identities. Meanwhile, his doctor (Mario Cortez) desperately tries to save him.

We discover that the dying man is just one of countless “paper sons” who were born from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first federal law to restrict immigration to the U.S. based on race or nationality.

On July 17, 2009, the California legislature approved ACR 42, a landmark bill to apologize to the state’s Chinese American community for racist laws, including the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Recently, the Senate unanimously passed S. Res. 201, the Chinese Exclusion Resolution that acknowledges and expresses deep regret for the Chinese Exclusion Laws. Most importantly, it “reaffirms its commitment to preserving the same civil rights and constitutional protections for people of Chinese or other Asian descent in the United States accorded to all others, regardless of their race or ethnicity” (“Congressional Record—Senate” October 6, 2011).

Hopefully, this Study Guide and Suggested Reading List can help provoke thought, spark discussion, and create change.

To learn more about the Chinese Exclusion Resolution, visit:

http://www.1882project.org/newspress/senate-passes-chinese-exclusion-resolution/

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2011-10-06/pdf/CREC-2011-10-06-pt1-PgS6352-2.pdf

"JOURNEY OF A PAPER SON" IS NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD

 "JOURNEY OF A PAPER SON" IS NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD. 

Buy online at CreateSpace and Amazon.  

In the award-winning short film, “Journey of a Paper Son,” an elderly Chinese man (Jack Ong), who's dying from cancer, shocks his family when he reveals that he’s a “paper son” (one who illegally immigrated to the U.S., using fake documents and claiming he’s the son of an American citizen) and asks them for a final wish to change back his name. His request threatens to tear apart his family (Patty Toy Chung, Angelina Cheng, Teddy Chen Culver), testing the limits of their love. Meanwhile, his doctor (Mario Cortez) desperately tries to save him. To learn more, visit: journeyofapaperson.com

Get a free Study Guide and check out a Suggested Reading List.

THE DISAPPEARING ISLAND

U.S. Immigration Station at Angel Island / Barracks

Cots in Barracks

Chinese Poetry on Barrack Walls

Can an entire island vanish before our very eyes? Can its rich history be erased from memory? It’s possible if not for the hard work of many individuals and organizations. The legacy of Angel Island would be forgotten without them.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Immigration Station at Angel Island. For this special occasion, I traveled to San Francisco and visited it for the first time. Before this trip, I had only read about this storied place and imagined the journey of so many immigrants to there.

It was a profound experience, seeing firsthand the immigration station located on a remote island, the wooden barracks that housed thousands of immigrants, and the countless Chinese poems that were carved into the wooden walls of the barracks. These poems seemed to whisper like ghosts from the past, conveying the pain and suffering of the Chinese immigrants who wrote them.

Also known as the “Guardian of the Western Gate,” the immigration station was built to carry out the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first federal law to restrict immigration to the U.S. based on race or nationality. This law lasted for 61 years and was finally repealed in 1943, when the U.S. needed to foster relations with China, who became an ally during WWII.

To bypass the discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Act, many Chinese people illegally immigrated to the U.S. as “paper sons” or “paper daughters,” using fake documents and claiming that they’re the children of American citizens. According to a CNN report, “one scholar estimates that 150,000 paper sons and paper daughters committed this crime.” Furthermore, “researchers suggest that one in three Chinese Americans are survivors or descendents of the paper son system.”

At first, it seems odd to celebrate a painful past. However, by remembering the past, we can help prevent it from happening again. That’s the premise of our short film, “Journey of a Paper Son,” which is about a Chinese paper son who asks his family for a dying wish to change back his name.

If more people learn about the Chinese Exclusion Act, Angel Island, and paper sons and daughters, then this important history won’t disappear. History doesn’t have to repeat itself. In fact, this vicious cycle can be broken.

On July 17, 2009, the California legislature passed a landmark bill that apologizes to the state’s Chinese American community for racist laws, including the Chinese Exclusion Act. President Barack Obama proclaimed January 21, 2010 as National Angel Island Day.

To honor the day in 1943 when the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed, December 17th has been designated as the “Day of Inclusion,” a day to “remember and learn about the sacrifices and contributions of those in our immigrant heritage.”

To learn more about the U.S. Immigration Station at Angel Island and donate to its preservation, visit the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation site: http://www.aiisf.org/