Chinatown comes downtown

THE RAISING of an arch designating Charlotte Street Chinatown has stirred strong emotions. Instead of seeing the new structure as an act of urban renewal or an acknowledgment of the fact that Chinese culture has long been wedded to our society, some have wrongly interpreted the decoration as the ceding of patrimony: some kind of surrender to a foreign force and race. We think the opposite. The arch should be welcomed.

For sure, there are valid concerns about the aesthetics of Mayor Joel Martinez’s project. From a design perspective, the chance to incorporate references to the local Chinese community and iconic Chinese-Trinidadians was perhaps sidelined in favour of more generic considerations. There is, at least for now, no supporting signage or contextualisation. But such are the details that often bedevil any project of this nature.

In all the uproar what is missing is the fact that this project is hardly news. It was announced almost a year ago. Further, a two-day public consultation event was organised by City Hall. That’s rare. Consultation can always be wider and better but in this case the virulent opposition expressed by some has little to do with Martinez’s style of governance and more to do with parochial considerations.

It’s one thing to roil against cultural appropriation (which nobody has mentioned), it is another thing to be blinded by outmoded racial considerations. The undercurrent of race in our society has boiled to the surface in the various reactions which have ranged from: “Chinese people are taking over” to “our race is being pushed out.” Truly, we live in the era of Trump. You would think somebody had banned non-Chinese from the street!

Chinese-owned and controlled businesses do not make up the entirety of the street, but they have a substantial presence there. And have had so for generations. The history of Trinidad is replete with notable citizens of Chinese origin such as the great dancer Dai Ailian to the recently deceased Raymond Choo Kong, whose shocking murder remains unsolved.

Aside from this, Chinese workers have built some of our most iconic buildings. NAPA, the Government Campus Plaza, several hospitals and even the official residence of the prime minister.

It is an act of willful ignorance and xenophobia to oppose this project without acknowledging both the fact that the world is deeply interconnected, and Chinese culture is universal. Just as there is a Trini in every major city of the world, so too is there a Chinatown.

We welcome this move as part of an impressive plan by City Hall to make Charlotte Street a tourist attraction. It’s potentially the start of what could be a great adrenaline shot to the heart of the capital, a place which the entire country has a say in, incidentally, not just vendors.