Found an interesting article in the Times this morning about the recent passing of a very successful smuggler of illegal Chinese immigrants, Chen Chui Ping.
What fascinated me was Chen’s dual reputation: some (the Justice Department) consider her a viscous criminal responsible for the deaths of a number of immigrants (and for the harassment of many more), but others–in particular, the Chinese whom she helped–see her almost like a saint, since she rescued them from poverty and helped them get on their feet after arriving in the USA.
What does everyone think? How can we reconcile the two totally opposite images of Ms. Chen–if we can reconcile them at all?
This story is absolutely fascinating. Can we believe the Justice Department in their dark, cold depiction of Ms. Chen? Can we believe the Chinese immigrants whom she helped with their warm, saint-like depiction of Ms. Chen?
There is an obvious bias on both sides. The Justice Department is trying not to glorify criminal acts while the Chinese immigrants who praise her like a saint may forgive or even refuse to acknowledge some of her shadier acts. Ms. Chen’s reasons for smuggling immigrants may have been many, of which one had to be profit. I have to agree with Patrick Radden Keefe in that she was somewhere in between good and bad (vague terms I know, but fitting).
I agree with William. There is a bias on both sides. I believe that at heart she was a businesswoman. She saw an opportunity to make profit while allowing many Chinese immigrant to come to New York and she took it, even though it was unsafe and illegal. This brings me to a question. Are all those people who used her services to get to New York undocumented immigrants? Or can they apply for a US Visa after reaching New York. Her desire for profit caused her to use faulty ships that sunk and killed people often, but her desire to help Chinese people escape impoverished situations back home, possibly driven by her own experience, caused her to overcrowd the ships and bring as many immigrant as she could to the US. Its hard to guess at her true intentions given so many opinions about her. Its very interesting
Thanks for all these smart and insightful comments. When she first surfaced on the scene, as I remember, she was seen as a terrifying and evil figure, really larger than life in a sort of awful way, and someone who epitomized how immigrants in need could be ferociously taken advantage of. I’m surprised she never became the subject of a movie, tho there is, I believe, a book about her. cr