I found this reading to be extremely interesting—especially chapter 5. Chinatown is a very revealing social case. Peter Kwong gives such a clear and truthful description of the political structure rigidly imposed upon this detached society of Chinese immigrants and their descendants. Simply put, Chinatown is a geographically bound area in New York City run by an elite, wealthy, and powerful class—one that has control over virtually every aspect of the society, from the business sector to the armed forces to the media. And through this lens, I argue, Chinatown is a microcosm of the American political structure as a whole.
As I was reading chapter 5, I couldn’t help but feel astonished at how closely the operation of Chinatown resembled that of the larger national society. Many analogies can be drawn between these two worlds (worlds which, ultimately, are driven by the same ancient devil: greed). The most significant analogy that I will draw here is one comparing the CCBA to the U.S. government. I will start off by quoting from Kwong’s book: “The CCBA is clearly not representative of the community, nor is it a mediating force among associations. It is a body created by the largest associations, it is nondemocratic, and it exists to enable a self-appointed elite to maintain control of Chinatown.” Now replace “CCBA” with “U.S. government,” “associations” with “corporations,” and “Chinatown” with “the United States.” Wonderful.
As Kwong gives us a further account of Chinatown and the various tools by which the elite class manipulates the elements of society, we can draw even further comparisons. Using the same rules as above, we can analyze the following statement that sheds light on the psychological tools of power: “Although indifferent to the problems of the poor, Chinatown’s elite promotes an official ideology of the community . . . the ideology is proclaimed during labor/management disputes. ‘We are all immigrants in this country, trying to make a living. If we fight, we will lose our businesses to the whites and all of us will suffer.’” In the same way, the ruling American class has imposed a similar view upon the average man: “We’re all patriotic Americans, right? You don’t wanna stir up any trouble, do ya? If you do, we could lose our freedoms to the terrorists.” Interestingly, these ideologies are thrown about at a time when civil unrest, disillusionment, and revolutionary inclinations are starting to penetrate the minds of more citizens.
Finally, two very interesting analogies can be made concerning the KMT and the tongs. The KMT is like the U.S. foreign sector; the tongs are like the U.S. military forces. However, both were serving the same head: the CCBA (or the U.S. government). Taking this into consideration, let us analyze another statement: “This alliance of the CCBA, the traditional associations, and the KMT was an alliance of shared ideology and politics. Each represented the interests of an elite against labor militancy, liberal sentiments, and mass movements.” Now, the last branch of the political structure is the media—this is tacitly understood. “One important tool used by the CCBA and the KMT to dominate Chinatown is the Chinese-language press.” Just like the Chinatown newspapers were monopolized to serve the self-interests of the wealthy, elite class members of Chinatown, the U.S. media outlets—from newspapers to corporate news networks to prime time television and radio programs—function to serve a powerful, wealthy, and self-interested elite, ultimately perpetuating a type of society that is detrimental to its very own people.
