LiterASIAN 2025 -- The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act

The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act explores a dark yet largely forgotten chapter in Canadian history. The unprecedented law, which targeted only the Chinese community, was in place for a quarter of a century and remains among the most tragic episodes in the country’s history. Yet this story, which profoundly affected the individuals and families it touched, has been steeped in silence. Almost nothing about this period was shared by those who lived through it. Consequently, within a single generation, the trauma of exclusion was forgotten. This is the first book to explore the human experience of exclusion as revealed through the stories of the lives it touched. The stories in this book reveal haunting tales of tragedy, loss, and despair, as well as powerful examples of courage, perseverance, and resilience. They chronicle the lives of ordinary people caught in extraordinary times. Many of these stories are being shared publicly for the first time. This event took place at the Chinese Canadian Museum on Saturday, June 28, 2025. Speaker: Catherine Clement is an award-winning Chinese Canadian community historian, curator and author. She is known for her extensive, crowdsourced community history projects that help uncover, share and preserve the experiences of ordinary people in extraordinary times. Her books have been extensions of her history projects. Catherine first drew acclaim for her 10-year search, uncovering the hidden works of Yucho Chow, Vancouver’s first and most prolific Chinese photographer. At the end of that project, she published the award-winning book Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow. Catherine’s latest book, The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, documents a monumental yet largely forgotten chapter in Canadian history. The pages of this book delve into the human experience of Chinese exclusion, as revealed through the stories of individuals who lived through this dark period. Despite encountering silence and a lack of community knowledge of this history when she began her research, Catherine has excavated haunting tales of tragedy, loss, despair, and powerful examples of courage, perseverance, and resilience. Many stories are being shared publicly for the first time. Based on a landmark national exhibition of collective remembrance, this book takes an unflinching look at a shameful chapter in Canada’s origin story.