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    Megan MokJul 18, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    An important point for CORRECTION: Chinatown is much, much older than the misleading date 1960 posted in this article. According to the book from the Chinese Historical Society of America, ‘Images of America — San Francisco’s Chinatown’, authored by Judy Yung, “Chinatown dates back to the 1850s, when 30,000 Chincese from Guangdong Province came for the California gold rush…and {stayed} to build the railorads…and {work} in agriculture and manufacturing.” “By 1882, when Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting the further immigration of Chincese laborers to this country, Chinatown had grown to 15,000 people, occupying the 12-block area that remains its core today.” Chinatown is extremely old and has evolved in its demographic mix over time, as each new successive wave of immigrants from various regions of China replaces the last one.

    The translation of some of the Cantonese quotes to English is poor, and borderline in stereotype. For someone whose primary language is Cantonese and was responding to your questions in Cantonese, I would have found the Cantonese-to-English translation offensive. I am sure that the Cantonese was not spoken in a ‘broken way’ as its English counterpart (translation). What was the author thinking of. If I were quoted this way, I would have found the article offensive and downright patronizing.

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The student news site of Convent of the Sacred Heart High School
San Francisco Chinatown faces decline in youth interest and authenticity