What historical events embody America’s confidence and courage to admit mistakes?

On June 18, with the unanimous vote of the House of Representatives and the unanimous vote of the Senate last October, the United States officially apologized in the form of legislation for the Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1882. The Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1882 was the only immigrant exclusion act in American history that targeted a certain ethnic group. It was not repealed until 1943. This law, along with other discriminatory bills, prohibited Chinese from owning real estate in the United States, prohibiting intermarriage between Chinese and whites, prohibiting Chinese wives and children from immigrating to the United States, prohibiting Chinese from working in the government, prohibiting Chinese from going to court with whites, etc.

In fact, public apologies and reconciliations have been happening around the world for more than half a century. Apologies made in the name of the country, an organization, an individual or even a legal name include specific ethnic groups and indigenous peoples or social groups in various places. In 2008, Australia's then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to the Aboriginal people in Australia on behalf of the Australian government. In his apology, Kevin Rudd said: "This is done now so that the country can turn a new page. Only by clarifying the rights and wrongs of Australia's history can we have the confidence to move into the future. Therefore, here, I would like to express my gratitude to all previous parliaments and We are sorry for the pain that our government's laws and policies have caused, and for the suffering we have caused our fellow citizens, especially when we have moved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to settle the gap between them and the immigrant community. We want to say sorry for the generations that were stolen from us, for the pain, suffering and harm caused to their descendants and their families. , we say sorry for the broken families whose children are separated from their parents. We say sorry for the shame we have caused to a nation that is proud of its own culture, and for the degradation of this unique culture. I represent it. The Australian Parliament respectfully asks for your forgiveness and hopes that this apology will allow the country's wounds to partially heal."

In the past 25 years, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have only passed three apology bills, and the U.S. House of Representatives has enacted legislation. The apology to those who once excluded Chinese people became the fourth apology issued by the two houses of Congress in 25 years. Listed in the picture are some of the more important apology events in history since 1950.

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