In Search of Gold Mountain: A live conversation from The Rooms with Gordon Jin
"Gold Mountain" is a term historically used by the Chinese to describe the potential wealth found in North America from mining gold and operating businesses.
Immigrants from China started arriving in Canada in the late 1700s in search of a better life but faced racism, hardship and deprivation, including within government policy.
From 1906 to 1949, the Newfoundland Chinese head tax, a discriminatory immigration policy, required Chinese immigrants to pay a $300 individual tax upon entry. More than 350 people paid the tax upon entry into Newfoundland and Labrador.
This discriminatory policy was similar to what was happening in the rest of Canada; the Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act were put in place to restrict immigration to Canada. More than 82,000 Chinese immigrants paid the tax across Canada.
Gordon Jin's father immigrated to Newfoundland in 1931 and paid the tax.
On Tuesday, Jin, one of the founders and president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Head Tax Redress Organization, will join Joy Barfoot, education and public programming officer with The Rooms, for a live conversation about the history of the head tax, the hardships and discrimination his family and others experienced, and the fight for redress.
Tune in live on the CBC Newfoundland and Labrador Facebook page on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. NT.
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