SCCLD/CHCP Talk: Two Waves of Chinese Immigrants and the Salmon Canning Industry

This Santa Clara County Library District (SCCLD) program is presented in celebration of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month and is co-sponsored with the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) based in Santa Clara County.

James Chiao (a CHCP Advisory Board member) and his twin brother Philip Chiao will describe two waves of Chinese immigrants that worked in the salmon canneries of the Pacific Northwest. The first wave began in the 1850s, driven by the 1849 Gold Rush and the building of the transcontinental railroad. The second wave came after World War II and the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

James Chiao is an Electrical Engineer by profession. He is a co-founder and co-chair of a non-profit organization Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN), and an advisory board member of Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP). He is a publisher of the 2021 book Friends of Children with Special Needs – building a Dream Community.

Philip C. Chiao is an Architect by profession. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington, and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois. He retired from his profession in 2016. He is currently a member of the Design Review Committee for the City of Pasadena.

Since retirement, the Chiao brothers have studied the history of the Chinese Americans in the salmon canning industry. They created a website that carries stories of Chinese workers, contractors, and related canning history. They published their book, The Price of Salmon, a collection of newspaper articles by Max Stern, in the summer of 2022. The Chiao brothers were also featured panelists in CHCP's 10/10/20 Speaker Series webinar: "Chinese Cannery Workers in the 19th & 20th Centuries."