Chinatown as home base

Abstract

During the recent U.S.-China friendship celebrations in San Francisco there was a struggle between the pro-China groups in Chinatown and the Chinese Six Companies over the use of Portsmouth Square, a key locale in Longtime Californ’. The old establishment of Chinatown succeeded in preventing a celebration in the historic park on the twenty-fourth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and on the eve of October First the Square was encircled with strings of Kuomintang flags while on the same day a pro-China rally was held at St. Mary's Square several blocks away. Despite the recent developments in U.S.-China relations, the friction of past years between two political Chinatown factions continues as before.