Arthur and Gavin were warmly received by the Canadian government. Gavin finally got to ride the dog sled that he had longed for, and also learned to skate on the Rideau Canal in the city center.
In winter, the Rideau Canal will enter the ice-free period and become the largest natural ice field in the world.
If Canada's ice hockey and curling were not so developed, they would also be natural advantageous sports.
What surprised Arthur and Gavin was that there were actually Chinese people in Ottawa.
In 1788, the rebellious British captain James Meares hired about 70 Chinese from Macau and settled them on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, which was then a European outpost on the Pacific coast. This was the earliest record of Chinese in Canada.
It is a pity that no relevant documents and information about the whereabouts and possible descendants of this group of early Chinese have survived, and now there is nowhere to search for them.
In 1858, a group of formal immigrants came to Canada as laborers. After the gold rush and the construction of the Pacific Railway (Canadian Pacific Railway), more and more Chinese came to settle in Canada.
However, the situation of Chinese Canadians was not very good. The passage of the Chinese Immigration Act in 1885 authorized the Canadian government to begin collecting a head tax from Chinese immigrants to Canada, making the Chinese the only ethnic minority forced to pay the tax.
Now the Canadian government is considering a bill to completely ban Chinese immigration. Once passed, the Chinese will become the only ethnic group in Canada that is completely rejected.
The Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States only restricted the import of Chinese immigrants.
Canada this——
hmm——
If Roque knew about it, he would probably reconsider whether to send troops to help Canada deal with the pressure from the United States.
When Arthur and Gavin learned the news, they were visiting the Chinese area in Ottawa.
In Europe and the United States, the Chinese gathering area is also called Chinatown. Ottawa's Chinatown is built in a garbage dump on the outskirts of Ottawa. The health and security conditions are very bad. Garbage is everywhere, sewage is overflowing, and there is not even a decent road. These Chinese
Living in a dilapidated house where some windows don’t even have glass but are covered with boards is not necessarily for economic reasons.
If glass is installed, it may be smashed, and the Ottawa police will probably not be responsible for the security of Chinatown.
When Arthur and Gavin were in Chinatown, they witnessed a robbery. An American robbed a Chinese lady of the food she had just purchased. The Ottawa police responsible for protecting Arthur and Gavin turned a blind eye and did nothing. Arthur and Gavin were still the same.
Wen's bodyguard helped the Chinese lady recover the stolen food.
"Ottawa is the seat of Canadian self-government. How could something like this happen in broad daylight?" Arthur spoke bluntly and expressed his dissatisfaction directly to the Canadian government officials accompanying him.
Peter Valentine looked embarrassed. He was a liaison officer sent by the Canadian autonomous government and was responsible for Arthur and Gavin's safety and liaison matters while they were in Canada.
Pitt's official position is Second Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.
"This is normal in Canada. Who makes the Chinese the only ethnic group in Canada who are forced to pay the head tax? The Chinese in Canada can only live in Chinatown, which has a harsh environment, and cannot buy houses in communities outside Chinatown. Shops established by Chinese
Or in factories, white people could not be hired to work, and their wives and children could not even immigrate, and were forced to be separated from their families for a long time. During the World War, the relief benefits received by Chinese Americans were less than half of those of other ethnic groups." Southern African stationed in
Wei Xing, the attaché of the embassy in Ottawa, sneered. As a Chinese, Wei Xing was very dissatisfied with the living conditions of Chinese in Ottawa and had already submitted a report to the federal government of Southern Africa.
After the establishment of the Commonwealth, Southern Africa was eligible to send embassies and consulates to other countries, and it was not a formal diplomatic relationship, probably similar to an organization like a liaison office.
It is precisely because of the reports of these foreign officials that the federal government of Southern Africa knows the living conditions of Chinese people around the world. Previously, the federal government of Southern Africa did not have enough influence and was unable to provide help to Chinese people around the world. Now the federal government of Southern Africa has
Start working on solving this problem.
"Help me contact Mr. Arthur Meen——" Arthur went directly to the current Prime Minister of Canada.
"Mr. Arthur Mean is in London now -" Pitt looked embarrassed. The Imperial Conference was being held in London, and the person representing Southern Africa attending the Imperial Conference was Speaker Buck.
"Then help me contact the Governor-General." Arthur perfectly inherited Rock's deep connections. The current Governor-General of Canada is Julian Bean. During the World War, Julian Bean served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and accepted Rock's command.
"Okay." Pete was convinced. Looking at his connections, he was always the Prime Minister and Governor-General. This starting point was really irritating.
As a result, the Governor did not meet. In the evening, Arthur and Gavin first met former Prime Minister Bowden.
Well, this is Rock's friend again. During the naval meeting, Rock and Bowden established a good relationship. Now that Rock's children are traveling around the world, Bowden should be the landlord.
"The distinguished Mr. Gavin Locke, Lord Cyprus, welcome to Ottawa." Bowden prepared a sumptuous dinner for Arthur and Gavin at his home. Only Arthur, Gavin and Bowden's family attended.
.
"Uncle Bowden, just call me Arthur. When we came here, my father asked us to convey his greetings to you and wish you good health." Arthur was polite and thoughtful, and the gift he prepared was medicinal wine produced by the Johannesburg Pharmaceutical Group.
The medicinal wine produced in Johannesburg is carefully brewed using more than 20 precious Chinese medicinal materials, such as tiger bone, ginseng and so on. Don't worry about the effect, just supplement it.
"Thank you, and please also convey my greetings to your father. The time spent at the naval meeting with your father will become the best memory in my memory." Bowden was very enthusiastic, looking at young Arthur and Gavin, feeling in his heart
It’s also full of mixed flavors.
In 1914, Bowden was knighted and officially joined the aristocracy.
In the same year, Arthur, a minor middle school student, was awarded the title of Baronet of Cyprus. The title was two levels higher than that of Bowden, who was already 60 years old in 1914.
Do you think it's irritating or not?
Also attending the dinner were Bowden's two granddaughters, who were about the same age as Arthur Gavin. I don't know if it was a coincidence or if there was another deeper meaning.
However, Arthur's attention was obviously not on the two girls. After a sumptuous dinner, Arthur and Gavin followed Bowden to the study and immediately raised the issue of Chinese immigrants in Ottawa.
"Uncle Bowden, Gavin and I visited Ottawa's Chinatown in the afternoon. To be honest, I was very disappointed. If my father knew the situation of the Chinese in Ottawa, he would also be very disappointed." Arthur really didn't mean to bully others, he just made reasonable use of everything.
The favorable factors are that without Roark's relationship and the blessing of the title, to put it bluntly, Arthur and Gavin would not be qualified to be guests at Bowden's home.
This society is so realistic. The truth is only within the range of naval guns. If you are weak, you deserve it.
"I'm sorry Arthur, I just learned about the situation in Chinatown. To be honest, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be aware of this problem at all." Bowden said frankly that there are only more than 100 Chinese in Ottawa's population of more than 100,000, which is true.
It's a little bit less, and it's normal to not receive attention.
But this reason definitely doesn't make sense to Arthur and Gavin.
As a former prime minister, Bowden should be responsible to all Canadians. Chinese Canadians are also Canadians. Even if there is only one, as prime minister, he should be fair and just.
"Then this problem has arisen now. I think the health and security environment in Chinatown should be improved, and various restrictions on Chinese Americans should be lifted, so that Chinese Americans can obtain the same social status as white people. There is no preferential treatment, but it is not exclusive. It is just a matter of fairness.
That's all." Arthur's requirements are not high, but even this "fairness" cannot be achieved by most countries in the world.
"Arthur, I understand your feelings, but the situation in Canada is different. Most of the time, we have to ensure the interests of the majority of people." Bowden smiled bitterly. If things in the world can be explained clearly in a few words, then
Many conflicts will not occur.
In Canada, not only Chinese people, other ethnic groups sometimes also face injustice.
For example, after the outbreak of the World War, the current Prime Minister Arthur Mean, who was the Home Affairs Minister in the Bowdoin cabinet at the time, worked hard to have Parliament pass the Wartime Election Act to deprive the German and Austrian Canadians who became Canadian citizens in 1902 of their rights.
Before the Military Service Act was implemented in 1917, Arthur Mean called Quebecers who opposed conscription a "backward people."
The same is true of Hongguoguo's discrimination.
German and Austrian Canadians are still white, and even white people are discriminated against in Canada, not to mention the smaller number of Chinese people who are marginalized in society.
That is to say, Arthur and Gavin have special status, otherwise Bowden would not discuss this issue at all.
"Uncle Bowden, Canada is now facing a threat from the United States. My father is preparing to send reinforcements to Canada. The southern African army. Most of the soldiers are of Chinese descent. If those soldiers come to Canada and find that their ethnic groups are discriminated against and discriminated against in Canada,
The consequences of exclusion will be disastrous." Arthur didn't mince words. This matter is difficult to say and easy to solve. There are only more than a hundred people. If the Canadian self-government really wants to solve it, it can just change the place to provide it.
The key is that if you really do this, it will cause other more serious problems, which will be even harder to deal with.
"I know, I will remind Arthur and let him pay attention to this issue -" Bowden's expression was heavy, and he really didn't dare to make any promises: "-but you have to know that the person with the most fierce attitude towards Chinese Americans is the leader of the Liberal Party, William
Leon MacKenzie King, who has a good chance of becoming the next Prime Minister of Canada."
William Leon Mackenzie King is known as the greatest Prime Minister in Canadian history.
It was also during William Leon Mackenzie King's tenure as Prime Minister that the Canadian government passed a bill completely banning Chinese immigration.