A flight across seven time zones does not pass without a trace. Dead tired during the flight from Moscow to Toronto, I couldn't sleep for a long time, and I woke up, as they say, at the crack of dawn, when dawn broke on the streets of Canada's largest city. So I went for a walk along the streets closest to the hotel.

The nearest was the famous Young Street. They say it is the longest, if not in the world, then in Canada. In the early hours of the morning, it was deserted, and no one interfered with its leisurely viewing. The first sign that caught my eye was "Made in China" with a background of Chinese portraits, one of which I immediately recognized as Mao Zedong. It was quite unexpected - Canada's Yang Street and China's leader Mao. Then, looking around, and the city began to wake up, I saw more and more new features of the Chinese presence: here is a Chinese family-a father, mother and daughter are engaged in qigong breathing exercises to music in Queen's Park, here is a Chinese restaurant advertising a set meal at very reasonable prices, and here is a Chinese doctor offering traditional medicine treatment.

In Toronto's Chinatown, I saw the ruins of clothing and shoes, vegetables and medicines, which were sold by the Chinese as they sell everywhere-intrusive, cheap and democratic.

A few days later, I purchased a stamped envelope issued by the Canadian Post Office that marked the beginning of the Chinese year 2007, the year of the Pig. The issue of such postage signs has become a tradition. Maybe Canada already lives by the Chinese calendar?

Later, in Moscow, when I was analyzing photographs taken on the streets of Toronto, I found that every second one had a Chinese face on it. And I was not surprised - I knew that there are about 700 thousand Chinese in Toronto (with a city population of 4 million people). And in general, today every twentieth inhabitant of this country is Chinese (one and a half out of 32 million), and Chinese is the third most common language in Canada after the state - English and French.

Until recently, it was believed that the first Chinese to reach the Maple Leaf Country were 70 carpenters who came from Macau to work in Vancouver in 1788. But a few years ago, an exhibition was organized in Singapore that tells how in 1421 (that is, seven decades before Columbus discovered America), a Chinese squadron under the command of Admiral Zheng He, allegedly making a trip around the world, reached the west coast of modern Canada*. At the same time, no one dared to claim that any of the Chinese sailors then remained in the New World.

A real wave of Chinese immigration hit Canada in the mid-19th century. Poor residents of the southern provinces of China went overseas to earn money and immediately found them. Not to mention the gold mines in North America, which gave rise to the "gold rush" at that time, the Chinese got a job building the Canadian Pacific Railway. Admittedly, they worked well, but they were exploited mercilessly - not only were they paid less than the workers of European origin, but since 1885 they have been taxed (the only immigrants!)by the government. the poll tax. At first, the tax was $ 50, and then, at the beginning of the XX century, it was increased to $ 500.

In 2006, the Canadian government admitted that it was wrong in its approach to the Chinese, who made a huge contribution to the construction of the most important magiste for the country's economic development.-

* Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He made a series of expeditions to Southeast Asia, India, and the east coast of Africa.

Raleigh. And not only did they confess to the crimes committed against 81 thousand people (so many Chinese paid poll tax), but also promised compensation of 20 thousand dollars to each of the surviving Chinese who suffered from unfair taxation, or their widows. However, to date, there are only 300 such people. But the fact is important: how often do those in power repent of what they have done?

The Chinese tax was collected until 1923, and then the children of the Middle Empire were not allowed to enter Canada at all - so white Canadians were afraid of competition in jobs from hardworking and unassuming Asians. And those Chinese who remained in Canada after that (some, and a very significant part, Huaqiao, left, so their number in the country decreased from 46,500 people to 32,500 between 1931 and 1951) continued to be discriminated against. They were often denied employment, but this did not prevent the Canadian government from sending its citizens of Chinese origin to fight against Hitlerism.

This continued until the end of World War II, or rather, until the adoption of the UN Charter of Human Rights. As a member of the United Nations, Canada could no longer discriminate against any of its citizens. In addition, Canadians were more eager than ever to become a model of democracy for the whole world. In 1947, Chinese immigrants were again granted voting rights as Canadian citizens. But it was another 20 years before the Chinese were fully equal in rights with other citizens of the Maple Leaf Country.

The "golden period" of Chinese immigration to Canada has begun.

The Chinese began to arrive from various places, primarily from "hot spots", which gave reason to the Canadian authorities to consider them as refugees. When a wave of anti-Chinese pogroms swept through Indonesia and Malaysia in the mid-60s, refugees from these countries began to arrive in Canada. During the Second Indochina War, the Huaqiao fled cities in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Before Hong Kong joined the PRC, Canada was flooded with immigrants from this former English colony (by the way, these were the richest and most educated Huaqiao). Chinese people came to Canada even from Latin America, for example, from Nicaragua, fleeing the dictatorial Somoza regime. An important factor that helped the Chinese choose a new place of residence in favor of Canada was the easier visa regime established by the authorities of this country, compared, for example, with the United States.

Today, the Chinese can rightly be called an integral part of Canadian society. It's not just their numbers. Since 1957, the Chinese have been sitting in the Canadian Parliament, since 1998-in the Senate, in 1988, the first Chinese became the governor of a Canadian province (British Columbia). From October 1999 to September 2005, the Governor-General of Canada (the formal head of state) was Adrienne Clarkson, who comes from a Chinese family that came to Canada in the 1930s.

Thus, there is no question of any political discrimination against Huaqiao in Canada. It is hardly possible to talk about the economic disadvantage of the Chinese: 20% of them are employed in financial and administrative bodies, 16% - in natural and applied sciences, 13% - in management, 11% - in the processing industry, and only 20% - in trade and services-areas where, according to ordinary people, usually Chinese people work. Most Chinese immigs-

Rantov is part of Canada's middle class, and a third of Chinese people have a university degree (compared to the national average of 18%).

The official media of Canada sets an example to other citizens of hardworking and disciplined Chinese. The press comes across touching stories of their successful entry into Canadian life.

Here is a story about Rita Zhang, a young, early widower who heads the Tour East agency. The Agency has an annual revenue of $ 200 million. But it has earned praise not only for organizing trips of Canadian tourists to China and Chinese to Canada, but also for promoting cultural exchange between the two countries. An entire website is dedicated to the founder of one of Vancouver's most influential retail houses, Wing Sang.

At the end of the XIX century. Sang appeared in a New Light. He started working as a dishwasher, then got a job on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Over time, he correctly assessed the market situation and succeeded in export-import operations between the two countries. Sang's biography highlights his efforts to strengthen ties within the Chinese community, his concern for teaching his compatriots their native language - the merchant invited Chinese language teachers from Hong Kong to Vancouver.

People say that real estate prices are going up in urban areas where Huaqiao live, and that Chinese restaurants are not harmless-they have a lot of salt and too many calories. And a couple of years ago, one of the Canadian government ministers publicly stated that about a thousand Chinese living in Canada are engaged in industrial espionage.

However, this does not mean that in the foreseeable future there may be any aggravation of relations between Canadians and China and the Chinese. Canada is quite closely connected with China economically. Both countries are stable trading partners: in 2006, Canadian exports to China totaled $ 7.66 billion, while imports from China to Canada reached $ 34.49 billion. The meaning of the last digit is understood very quickly by everyone who comes to Canada. If you go to the souvenir shops, you will not find a single item with Canadian symbols, be it badges, keychains, mugs, plates, etc., without the stamp "Made in China". Even Canadian flags - large and small-are sewn in China today. But few people in Canada care. Canada's ruling circles are interested in maintaining broad contacts with China. They see this as a great benefit for themselves.

Recently, on one of the government websites, you could read the following conclusion of Canadian experts: "There is no market for Canadian exports like China... China is a key link in important global networks, becoming a hub for processing production and research and development centers." And Canadians will continue to use the huge potential of China and the Chinese, including within their multinational society.

Moscow-Toronto-Ottawa - Moscow

Permanent link to this publication: