Type: Exhibition section

Name: Lii Yuen Sooy and Jew Goon Jing

Detail: Chinese immigrants to the United States faced many hardships during the early-twentieth century. Many did not speak the language and faced prejudice and suspicion over whether they would be able to assimilate. The Chinese faced many unfair practices that restricted their ability to enter the country, or did not allow them to return if they left.

As merchants however, Lii Yuen Sooy and Jew Goon Jing could use their class position and connections with prominent white Americans in order to prove their permitted status. Lii, for example, provided a letter from James Seymour (see image below), the Mayor of Newark, stating that he was a “highly respected merchant and resident” of the city.

Prior to coming to Newark, Jew Goon Jing resided in Havana, Cuba. Many Chinese immigrants who ended up in the New York City area came from Cuba, where a large Chinese community existed. In the 1850s, sugar planters in Cuba brought Chinese “coolies” – contracted laborers indentured to plantations – to the island. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, a more economically diverse Chinese community had developed in Cuba, and Havana’s “El Barrio Chino” was one of the largest Chinatowns in Latin America.

Type: Exhibition caption

Name: Jew Goon Jing’s Form 431, filled out prior to leaving the United States.

Detail: Form 431 was a “preinvestigation” form that had to be filled out by Chinese merchants or students who were going to leave the country and wanted to return after a certain time. On the form, Jew indicated that he had a $1000 capital interest in the firm, therefore qualifying himself as a merchant. According to the Exclusion laws, Chinese immigrants had to name two “credible witnesses other than Chinese.” The American government did not trust Chinese witnesses to tell the truth in immigration cases, and therefore required non-Chinese witnesses. They were also required to note any physical marks or other bodily “peculiarities.” This was recorded in order to properly identify the Chinese upon their return.