Chinese Exclusion Act There are a many references to this law, in our history. A few, regarding procedures that had to be followed in accordance with this act, but especially, how to work the system around this act. This was a landmark law passed in 1882, 15 years before Chow King's immigration, excluding Chinese laborers and undesirables. There were legitimate exceptions to this law, however, and one of them was referred to as Section 6, which allowed students, merchants, and travelers, but it also required a certificate of proof or you could be denied entry and/or deported. Chinese businesses filed a list of owners, partners, and stockholders with the department of immigration. Travelers of Chinese descent were required to submit these documents as proof they were merchants, and hence, exempt under Section 6 of the Chinese Exclusion Act. This is the paper name that Chow King purchased and used to enter the US. Section 6 also applied to spouses and children of Section 6 entrants, and it was this clause that was used in the immigration hearings of Lau Shee and the paper son they brought with them in 1909. Asian ship passengers were extensively interviewed, sometimes for months, and even years, before being allowed to leave the Angel Island Interrogation Station (The station opened in 1910, after Lau Shee's entry, so she was interviewed at the wharf in San Francisco) and step foot on US soil, or worse, be deported back to China. In the case of Lau Shee, in 1909, the official finding was that Lau Shee was "a bound-footed woman and has all the appearance of respectability." In other words, she is not a slave being sold into prostitution. See Apendix A Lau Shee Entry Papers 1909 This is also the reason Chow King's other two brothers ended up with different names, resulting in one generation of Chows with the last names of Leong, Lum, and Lai. Another provision of this law was that you were required to establish your legality prior to any travel, lest you not be allowed back in, upon your return. These historical documents, while racist, discriminatory, and a violation of human rights, are a great source of information on our history. Appendix B Leong Exit Interviews 1930 are the exit interviews and applications the family had to go through, over the course of a few days, to establish citizenship and residency, prior to any travel. They even had to post a bond of two thousand dollars. Businesses had to provide lists of principals, as proof of Section 6 qualification. H. William has a long record of these lists going back to 1903. See Appendix C H William Partner List There are no entry papers for Lee and Andrew in 1932, as somehow, Chow King greased the political rails enough that they were not subjected to that procedure. Leongs or Jows? The suspicion of Chow King having something fishy going on with his name, was very serious, and documented. See the immigration records of this investigation as Appendix D Jow Investigation 1930 He entered America under a paper name of Leong Moon, but as many did, in Chinese circles he was known by his Chinese name of Jow Ging. In 1930, Chow King was very influential and a man of some power, at least in Chinatown, and maybe with the Chinese interpreters at immigration. I suspect this had something to do with how we escaped exposure and possible deportation. Chow King had many names, as was typical of Chinese in those days. There is an American name, with various attempts at spelling, there was a Chinese given name, married name, etc. In fact Lau Shee means "wife of" so most wives lost their given names, and there are many Lau Shees in the record books. Chow King, at various times also used Leong Moon, Jow Gang, Leong Jow Ging, Chow Gang, Leung Moon, etc. When he became naturalized, his official name became Chow King Leong.
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