China is a communist state. Therefore, it is interesting to find out that Chinese immigrants had a role to play in building American democracy. Of particular interest should be the story of Mabel Ping-Hua Lee who fought for the rights of women on two sides of the world. This story by Michael Lee is published on the History channel website. Here is an excerpt:

In 1900, at a time when the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned most Chinese immigration and reflected a climate of deep anti-Asian prejudice, 9-year-old Mabel Ping-Hua Lee came to America from China on a scholarship to attend school. At 16, she would cement her place in women’s suffrage history, helping to lead a storied New York City march.

But while she fought for women’s voting rights, she herself would not be eligible to cast a ballot for decades after the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. That’s because the Exclusion Act prohibited Chinese immigrants from obtaining any rights of American citizenship.

Still, Lee continued to fight—not only for suffrage, but for education and equality—for women on both sides of the world, while working locally to raise up her own Chinatown community.

Read the full story here.