Passage to Promise Land: Voices of Chinese Immigrant Women to Canada

by Vivienne Poy

Spanning more than six decades, Passage to Promise Land is a revealing study of Chinese immigration to Canada from the end of the Second World War to the present day. Tracing the evolution of immigration policy through the stories of Chinese immigrant women, Vivienne Poy captures the social, political, and ethnic tensions of the period. Although the narratives included here represent women of all ages and educational backgrounds, they share a common sense of determination and spirited resilience in the face of hardship. Through their stories we learn about Chinese settlement experience, how the Chinese community developed alongside changes in immigration regulations, and why the immigration of Chinese families to Canada became commonplace in the 1970s. The women address experiences of patriarchy and discrimination in both China and Canada, revive memories of the turbulent years in China at the end of the Pacific War, and speak of their uncertainties about the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. From the very first mention of Chinese women's immigration in Canada's Parliament in 1879, to the end of the twentieth century - when a Chinese woman was appointed Governor General - the road to equality has been long and arduous. Passage to Promise Land details the important events along the way through the voices of the women themselves.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since hearing her speak in person at the inauguration of an Asian minor program at the University of Toronto, I have admired Vivienne Poy for her spirit, charisma, work ethic and immense contributions as a "double minority" to Canada. In addition, as a first generation Chinese Canadian immigrant woman, this book has special relevance to me as I can hear personal herstories of over ten Chinese women who came to Canada 20-50 years before I did. Through Poy's compilation of stories that span half a century and thorough research of the historical literature, I experienced the Canadian and Chinese governments' attempts to prevent these women from exercising their agency and also the ways these women have circumvented obstacles to attain self-fulfillment for themselves and better lives for their children. I found the different phases of women immigration from first, wives joining their husbands in Canada to "paper brides and daughters" to educated women wanting to expand their horizons to wealthy investors interesting and telling, especially in view of Canada's changing immigration policy following the same period.

However, I wish that Poy shared more on her methodology of finding her informants in this book because given the small sample size, bias may unfortunately prevent any meaningful conclusions. She mentioned that she had encountered some of them through her PhD dissertation but no mention of how and why they were chosen, how large was her potential sample pool etc. A few were her personal acquaintances and thus are likely to be around the same high social status as her. I point this out only because most of the woman had "successful" immigration stories but given contemporary accounts, such as Judy Fong-Bates' "The Year of Finding Memory," we know that this is not reflective of all immigrant herstories.

Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable and eye-opening book! Recommend to anyone who is trying to find their personal and cultural identity in the Canadian cultural mosaic. Now someone needs to write a sequel on the voices of the Mandarin-speaking Chinese women! ;)