Since the story of the Chinese in Haiti is intimately linked to transnational networks of Chinese families and businesses across the US, Cuba, and Haiti, a brief look at the story of the Chinese in the Dominican Republic is enlightening. While the Chinese presence in the DR dates to the 1860s, coming from Cuba, the growth of Chinese businesses in various towns across the nation seems to be more of an early 20th century phenomenon. Instead of descending from contracted laborers, akin to mid-19th century Cuba, these migrants appear more akin to the later migration patterns into the Americas to establish restaurants, laundries, and similar shops. Like the Chinese in Haiti, they were also linked to the Cuban Chinese community.
Various articles from Listin Diario indicate that by the 1920s and 1930s, their numbers and economic clout was significant enough to warrant visits from Chinese representatives in Havana. Moreover, they established formal clubs, associations, and were often mentioned in the Dominican press for donating to various causes, such as erecting a statue of Trujillo in 1935. Like the case of Haiti, it is difficult to estimate the total numbers of the population in the Dominican Republic, but one article suggested approximately 500 in 1936. With transnational ties to Cuba and formal organizations, including a centralized association based in Santo Domingo, the Chinese colony were sufficiently organized and prosperous to demand attention from the Dominican government as well as Cuban-based Chinese officialdom.
Consequently, what is discussed here is a tiny ethnic minority with a presence in various towns, including San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo, La Romana, La Vega, and other areas. If the Chinese population by the 1950s or early 1960s was slightly over 1000, their population did double from 1930s estimates, but remained miniscule compared to Cuba. While not great, this is certainly higher than estimates of around 200 for Haiti by the 1960s. Moreover, unlike the case of Haiti, where articles criticizing the Chinese presence can be found in Le Matin, Le Nouvelliste, and Le Temps, the Dominican press seems to be full of praise for la colonia china.
They established restaurants, laundries, groceries, organized to celebrate Chinese holidays or visits from their minister based in Havana, and, in some cases, formed families through unions with Dominican women. Unlike Port-au-Prince papers, Santo Domingo's Listin Diario did not attack the Chinese on racial grounds (indeed, they often referred to the wisdom and antiquity of Chinese civilization and their laborious enterprises) or accuse them of taking over petite industrie that should have remained in Dominican hands. Perhaps this may be due to Dominican preference for non-black immigrants or the class biases of contributors to Dominican newspapers, as they were less likely to be pushed out of a market. Furthermore, since the majority of the Dominican population lived in rural areas and likely saw few if any Chinese unless traveling to towns, the Santo Domingo press took the liberty of speaking for them.
Moreover, the rise of Trujillo and anti-Communist support for the Chinese nationalists may have shaped elite discourse on their presence. Increasingly anti-Haitian official discourse did not target the Chinese communities, and they likely benefited from political stability of the Trujillo regime and the degree to which industrialization reshaped the Dominican economy. In 1931, immigration restrictions on Chinese nationals were dropped, further attesting to the willingness of the Dominican government to develop relations with China. Unfortunately, it is possible that records of the formal Chinese organizations of the 1930s onward may be lost. Surely, such records and a thorough examination of the Dominican press, government reports, and testimonies would shed light on the relationship of this community and the Trujillo regime. If the Syrian-Lebanese community provides any indication, they likely supported the Trujillo regime.
As for Haiti, it is undoubtedly the case that some of the Chinese families in the Dominican Republic were also operating in Haiti. This indicates that the economic presence of the Chinese in Haiti, conspicuous by the 1910s if not 1920s, was likely occurring through families that established branches in the Dominican Republic or had mutual relations in the US and Cuba. For instance, the Wah family in Haiti, operating businesses in both Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, are probably related to the Joa of the Dominican Republic. Indeed, a Josan Joa appears in Dominican newspapers in the 1920s, who could very well be the father of famous Haitian painter Bernard Wah, Wosan Wah. Without access to oral histories, it is difficult to say with certainty, but it does suggest that many Dominican Chinese were related by blood or marriage to those on the other side of the border. Another name that appears frequently among this community is Fung, who are likely related to the Fong in Haiti. Additional surnames in the Dominican Republic during the 1920s and 1930s include Lee, Chong, Chang, Woo, San, and Jos. Norman Lee was prominent as the head of the Fraternidad China, which appears to have coexisted with the Centro Chino in Santo Domingo.
As for why the Chinese in Haiti, to the writer's knowledge, never established formal community organizations or a casino, perhaps their smaller numbers made informal associations sufficient for supporting their colonia. Perhaps their smaller size also explains why the Chinese colonie in Port-au-Prince did not raise funds for community projects, or public charity, which distinguishes them from the Club Commercial Syrien. In addition, there remains a chance that the Chinese in Haitian cities, such as Cap-Haitien, Port-au-Prince, and Les Cayes, retained links with the formal organizations among their counterparts in the Dominican Republic. In a sense, perhaps this relationship mirrored the uneven incorporation of both Haiti and the DR into the world system, with the former as partly peripheral to the latter.
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