SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Community leaders in San Francisco Chinatown on Saturday ran a special session for Asian Americans on how they could learn from the history of Chinese Exclusion era in the United States and how to protect their rights in present-day circumstances.

A Chinese American town hall meeting, organized by San Francisco Lee Family Association, a non-profit group in Chinatown here, invited David Y. Lei, vice chairman of Chinese American Community Foundation, and Frank Wu, a distinguished professor of the University of California Hastings College of the Law, to educate Asian immigrants, Chinese Americans in particular, on the history of their ancestors and the best way they can protect their rights today.

Lei reviewed the dark era of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first law enacted by U.S. Congress in 1882 to target Chinese as a specified ethnic group and restrict Chinese immigration to the United States.

During more than 60 years of racist discrimination from the whites against Chinese immigrants, many Chinese and their descendants in the country were marginalized and treated unfairly in every aspect of their lives, Lei said.

However, Lei cited specific historical cases to show that Chinese Americans had never given in or given up, and they had been fighting unyieldingly for the end of the discriminatory law and the justice they deserved.

The town hall meeting was intended to enlighten Chinese Americans and encourage them to recognize their identity as Chinese descendants, which could help them defend their rights when U.S. President Donald Trump's administration recently unveiled a series of more restrictive policies against immigrants, including public charge rules that would make it more difficult for immigrants to obtain permanent residence in the United States.

"I'm very pro immigration for this country, and I studied what the Chinese have fought so hard to change America. I think we need to do that again," said Lei.

"We should step up today and do more like our ancestors in the past," who even knew hiring the best lawyer to fight for their own rights through the court, Lei said.

Wu told Xinhua that America has always been a nation of immigrants of newcomers and its comparative advantage has always been its ability to absorb people from the world over.

He voiced worries about the current administration's immigration policies that would impact Chinese Americans.

"We're living through a moment right now where there is very strong sentiment to close the doors and to say we won't let other people in," he said.

"This isn't just about civil rights. This is just about equality," Wu stressed, adding Chinese Americans can play a role by being advocates for ideals.