The Parasol Times

Step onto the mainland.

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    New-fangled feminism.

    Above is an article published last spring on the Economist blog. It delves into the modern state of women in China, from calls for girls to wear more “modest dress” in public to avoid harassment to the dilemma of surface-level equality with women comprising 46% of a workforce still largely influenced by patriarchal management.

    The Chinese generation growing up around the time of our baby-boomers faced a slightly different society than exists for women in China today. No small number of families required their daughters to give most if not all of their salary to the family, which could then be passed on to the sons of the family as needed. Indeed, having a son was considered to be good fortune to the extent that he was better able to provide for his parents and need not worry about things like marrying into a wealthier family. Thus, throughout Chinese history, giving birth to a son secured a woman more respect and support from her husband’s family. Announce that you are having a daughter, however, and you may as well announce the beginning of your doom.

    Now, it may be surprising to hear that Mao Zedong, the infamous man who the West holds responsible for initiating mass starvation during the Cultural Revolution, was somewhat of a feminist. Mao once said that women “hold up half the sky”. During the May Fourth Movement, which refers to a social, political, and cultural movement that began on May 4th, 1919 when 5,000 students from Beijing University took to the streets to protest the Chinese government’s weak response to the Versailles Treaty, Mao joined the body of youth advocating modernization and an end to “Confucianism”— the philosophy that had governed Chinese society for thousands of years (and still underlies Chinese mentality today). Throughout the May Fourth Movement and New Culture Movement, the call for gender equality was consistently at play. Along with modern ideas of “freedom in marriage and love”, the notion that women deserved new clout in Chinese society and in the family was discussed in dozens of articles and journals, the most famous being the New Youth journal. Mao Zedong himself wrote a number of essays promoting the rights of women in his youth. Strongly opposed to Confucianism, a philosophy whose teachings were often compatible with a bourgeois and elitist society, Mao joined the New Culture Movement before going on to establish the Communist Party, where he succeeded as an extremely gifted and intelligent orator.

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    Many scholars write that Chinese experienced a period of quasi gender equality throughout the 1950s and 1960s under the rule of Mao Zedong. The poster above, however, which depicts China’s support for North Vietnam during the war with the United States, proves that the status of women at that time was perhaps not without its limitations. Female “red guards” were undoubtedly given important roles during Mao’s era, cutting their hair short and dressing more or less the same as men, but some argue that they were still being forced to adapt to a “superior image”— i.e., the male. Take a look at the poster above, for example. Replace the woman’s hair with a hat and roughen up her facial features and she is essentially a man. Sexual relationships were highly discouraged among red guards during the Cultural Revolution— romantic love was seen as infringing on one’s love for the country. Women were thus essentially de-sexualized and then embraced as “equals”. The debate about whether this period in Chinese history represents true progress for women is still active among academics today.

    At the same time Mao’s country was desexualizing women, Mao had a number of intimate relationships with highly influential, intelligent women throughout his life. He is known for being a romantic, writing poetry to brilliant women who inspired him with their courageous spirit. His second wife and first true love, Yang Kaihui, was so taken with Mao that she gave her life in 1930 after being captured by the KMT (Nationalist Party, opposed to the Communists), saying “Even if the seas run dry and the rocks crumble, I would never break off relations with Mao Zedong… I prefer to die for the success of Mao’s revolution career”. Mao’s fourth wife, actress Jiang Qing, also took up Mao’s cause, forming the “Gang of Four” and playing a crucial role in the CPC Propaganda Department throughout the Cultural Revolution.

    After Mao’s death, the country welcomed in a new leader, Deng Xiaoping, who opened the country to economic development, complete with western ideas of female elegance and grace. Today, China embraces femininity to the Nth degree— there are more shops selling cutesy bows, stockings, scarves, fake eyelashes, and short skirts than there are gas stations (okay, I admit that’s my own statistic). Really though, China has gone from foot-binding to red guards to girly headbands in one 100-year block of time. It is precisely this rapidity of social transformation that makes the role of women in modern Chinese society a crap shoot, at best, depending on who you talk to.

    My conclusion: China is still decades behind the U.S. in terms of how it considers women. While many Chinese women are emerging as leading intellectuals, proving their ability on standardized tests, in the workplace, and in society, there is still an underlying sense that women do not have the same responsibilities of men, that somehow their lives are not as difficult. This is what I see as most dangerous. There is a recent trend in China where girls expect men to provide them with houses, cars, and designer bags before agreeing to date them. The Internet is overflowing with frustrated statements from males who are fed up with all the responsibility— they’re attempting to court selfish, materialistic girls who abandoned the idea of “love” long ago to secure their financial futures. So yeah, girls, there’s no way you’ll be equal in society with that attitude. Toughen up, find yourself a clear-thinking mind and then we’ll see how the world views us.

  • Apologies for the lack of blog posts lately– this week will feature adventures from the past two weeks and I’ll do my best not to do or see anything noteworthy in the next couple days to get back on track ;). I had the chance to explore Shenzhen’s largest bookstore in Citizen Square two weeks ago (after Wenbo kindly recommended it in a comment) and enjoyed an afternoon with the company of coffee and modern Chinese poetry (or with the few comprehensible phrases I managed to extract from stanzas of indecipherable characters). Our office had the day off that Wednesday due to typhoon threats, though the brunt of the storm missed our location completely (southern China fared much better than Beijing, which suffered from deadly 100-year floods).

    China’s bookstores are quite a riot for the same reason China’s IKEAs are able to steal headlines year after year–namely, they’re “occupied”. When I say occupied, I mean it’s difficult to maneuver between the hundreds of people sitting against bookshelves, heads buried in the latest mystery novel or SAT prep book. Within moments I had collected a handful of books that interested me and rejoiced at the fact that they sold for almost half the price of those in the U.S. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a sting of self-consciousness as I stepped over countless rows of delirious book-lovers on my way to the checkout line. It was suddenly an oddity to be purchasing books when I could just join the masses and surrender my afternoon to the fresh scent of newly turned pages.

    The book featured in the photo above caught my eye for the sole reason that it translates “Bad Democracy”. The text contains reflections from an author who spent time in the United States and apparently decided it wasn’t his cup of tea. I had a brief urge to buy “坏民主” for the same reason I almost bought Bush’s “Decision Points”– to understand exactly how the “other side” uses evidence to string together what they consider a logical argument . Still, I imagine this book’s far from mainstream even by Chinese standards, given the comparatively liberal political stances of many Chinese I’ve chatted with and the fact that “坏民主” was sold next to titles like “In Defense of China” and “God Knows China: Let’s Talk About Politics”.

    Stay tuned for later posts this week and learn the background story behind many of China’s Olympic athletes…

  • Roll up those taxi windows, drag your bags through security… this only comes every ten years. Beijing’s bitter wind welcomed 2270 delegates yesterday to shine their shoes and take their seats in a room booked for the “18th National Congress”. While the U.S. lets out its breath to enjoy another four years under Obama’s leadership, China prepares itself for a new president and premier (7 of the 9 current Politburo Standing Committee members are retiring this year). Xi Jinping, the likely candidate to replace President Hu Jintao, emphasized four main questions to be addressed at this year’s conference, namely: What flag will we wave? What path will we follow? And in what state of mind? To continue advancing towards what kind of goals? (我们党将举什么旗、走什么路、以什么样的精神状态、朝着什么样的目标继续前进) Specific, I know. Citizens wait eagerly to see what solutions the committee generates for problems like insufficient health care, inflated real estate, and the growing gap between the rich and poor. As news stations flash snippets of animated discussions over round mahogany tables, the mysterious lure of the national government grows in the eyes of the people. Local and provincial governments may be corrupt or unfair, but loyalty towards the national government is a tradition that stretches back thousands of years, born from the people’s innocent dependency and undying hope in a power that remains faceless. Just as religion presses followers to have faith in what they cannot see, a government too can round up millions of supporters if only by providing a mirage of hope.

  • I sit on my bed at around 8:30 pm, wondering why, after devouring my nightly dark chocolate, there is still a nagging restlessness tugging somewhere deep within my stomach. And then it hits me— that old blog I used to write.
    The thing is, this post was meant to be published right after the Mid-Autumn Festival last week, when I took a stroll from my apartment down to the oceanfront to snap a few photographs of the full moon. The walk turned out to be much longer than expected, and on the way, I had plenty of time to ponder just how ridiculous China would appear in the eyes of sane aliens. I say aliens because well, humans are exposed to far too many headlines related to China’s “booming economy and development” that we are essentially numb to the idea that construction in China is at all noteworthy. Yet perhaps the following account will cause some to stop and see the reality that is currently striking China as we speak, and striking hard.

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    Alright, this first photo’s no big deal, right, just more construction of a building that will soon block my once heavenly-like view of the Hong Kong mountains. Every morning at 6 am, the buzz from this construction project reminds me that all good things must slowly come to an end, level by level, beam by beam. It’s actually been one of the slowest, most dramatic experiences I can remember, but moving on…

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    Three BMWs sitting in a row; would be more, but my camera lack flo’. Truth is, this whole complex is wealthier than one can fathom. If not BMW then we have Rolls-Royce or Mercedes-Benz. Toyotas put their tails between their legs and called it a day long ago in this town. Saving on gas? Pshhh, c’mon, it’s showtime.

    SAMSUNG CSCHere is a lovely real estate advertisement for a property in this area. 11,500,000 Chinese Yuan for a four bedroom, two living room, 176 square meter apartment. That’s one million, 800 thousand US dollars. (1,879,330.00 USD) 
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    Here it is, folks: the waterway leading to the ocean that lures all the big shots into wasting their money on mounds of concrete in exchange for a place to call home. Something like an Erie Canal equivalent, but here, it’s worth more than gold.SAMSUNG CSC

    The above is another view of the walkway leading to the ocean, with Hong Kong mountains in the distance. I usually run along this path in the mornings, whenever I get around to it. You know.
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    A’ight. So modern China is all about liberal economic policies and “socialism with Chinese characteristics” (a phrase that is so overused and misunderstood it makes me sick). Front page news today was that Shanghai announced plans of allowing Facebook access in the hope of “making foreigners feel more at home”. Well that’s nice. One thing China can’t seem to give up, however, is its obsession with “be-good” signs. I invented this term while writing the previous sentence, but I think it’s a great catch-all translation. See, since the founding of the PRC on October 1st, 1949 (remember to celebrate National Day next Tuesday!) promotional, inspirational, and instructional slogans or banners have worked to unify and harmonize the 56 ethnic groups that make up the enormous, diverse country of China. Hung in schools, offices, dance studios, construction sites, subways, bus stops, and even on crumbling brick walls in the middle of God-knows-where (like what I saw in Ningxia), these colorful “be-good” signs are relentless. Whenever I raise my head above my personal headphone-cell phone-thought consumed bubble to read the signs and actually register their meanings, I’m struck with immense guilt at my failure to, well, “be-good”. The phrases on the signs relate to everything: one’s study habits, family relationship, personal hygiene, work ethic, moral behavior, citizenship, and even environmentally-friendly habits, which I’ll get to in a moment. The sign in the photograph above reads, “劳动” or “labor”. The side characters translate: “Chinese energy; Chinese image, Chinese culture; Chinese expression”. The bottom line, “最美的旋律” translates “the most beautiful melody”. In a sense, China is encouraging its people to believe that “labor” is a uniquely Chinese cultural element to be proud of. As I walked by the sign, situated perfectly in front of a massive construction site, I couldn’t help but wonder how labor could make China proud when most citizens I speak with can’t wait for factories to move OUT of China— to less-developed countries with even lower costs of labor. Sure, China’s 劳动力 or “labor power” is huge because of its large population, making it difficult for the country to progress from a primarily industrial economy to a service-oriented economy, yet apparently, Chinese should be proud of this fact… or at least learn to accept the reality while it’s happening.

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    “A drop of sweat is worth a piece of grain.” There is also a short poem by the bottom right, written by someone with the same name as one of my coworkers: “一日不吃饿得慌, 一季不收饿断肠。手拍胸膛想一想,节约粮食理应当。” The poem in Chinese rhymes quite cleverly, but the English is intriguing enough without rhyme: “Don’t eat for a day and you’ll be nervously hungry; don’t harvest for a season and you’ll be devastated by hunger. Beat your chest and think for a moment; economize food as you should.”
    SAMSUNG CSCAnd the last one (well, last “be-good” sign featured here, there are over 20 different slogans along that particular road): “地球只有一个:There is only one Earth.” The bottom part reads: “Protect the environment; it starts with me”. I really like this sign. I think it’s great that China tries to spread positive behavior via reminders on large billboard-like signs. It’s better than private advertising, right? Just a bit contradictory, again, given all the construction in the background.
    6923037077_e4a4c47629_zThe above is a photograph of construction workers’ temporary dorms set up during the duration of a project. Most are required to live in close proximity to construction sites, as the work day usually spans from 6am-10pm and doesn’t pay well enough to enable workers to afford transportation for a daily commute. These workers toil under the hot Shenzhen sun every single day (save the holiday last week, though I did catch one man climbing the rafters in the afternoon). I sometimes watch them from my window, moving back and forth like little lemmings on a mission. During my morning runs, I always find a group of construction workers having breakfast together on the street— fried egg tortillas and cartons of soy milk. They chat happily, and I always look forward to running past that corner, letting the rich aroma of freshly-cooked eggs and hot sauce overwhelm my morning senses.
    On my walk to the ocean shore during the Mid-Autumn Festival, I noticed some construction workers walking along too, sharing the night with coworkers and friends, unable to make a trip home.
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    SAMSUNG CSC “Expect Sunny Seaside”. Still under construction, one shouldn’t only expect sun but should look forward to apartments sold for over 2 million US dollars. I really wonder what the construction workers think when they walk by Shenzhen’s real estate price advertisements. I mean, an Ivy-League college grad is doing well to buy a house for $300,000, right? But 2 million? What the hell is the world coming to? These are not mansions, these are 175 square-meter APARTMENTS. This is a world that seems functional only in dream.
    The next photos show the “irresistible” oceanfront view that is supposedly the cause of such high housing prices— I’ll let readers decide whether China’s facing a real-estate bubble or not.

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    Whew, finally made it to the full moon pics. Here’s Shenzhen Bay Park at dusk, when dozens of families came to enjoy the night together under the round, warm light of the moon. The bridge in the photo above leads straight to Hong Kong, and the view of the mountains (not visible in this photo) is incredible.
    SAMSUNG CSCSAMSUNG CSCThat night, walking back home, everything felt a bit jumbled. The full moon seemed to be creating a kind of “eye of the storm” optical illusion, in which the pure insanity of China’s development stopped for 24 hours while everyone enjoyed the holiday break together. At Shenzhen Bay Park, I watched as the families living in million-dollar high-rises stood side by side with construction workers under one full moon, looking up. The tradition weaved into a country hanging by the threads of a unifying nationalism may be fading under the spotlights of construction sites while modernity, materialism, and money flash like disco lights on the horizon, but on that night by the waterfront, watching a sea of dark heads bob together in unified awe, it sure felt like the moon shone brightest of all.

  • From the PRC’s official law on gun regulation: (中华人民共和国枪支管理法)

    国家严格管制枪支。禁止任何单位或者个人违反法律规定持有、制造(包括变造、装配)、买卖、运输、出租、出借枪支。

    The country strictly regulates firearms— an individual is in violation of the law if he or she possesses, manufactures (including alteration and assembly) trades, transports, rents, or lends a firearm.

    I guess this little guy missed the memo 😉

  • The photograph above depicts a series of stone tablets in Shawan Ancient Village (沙湾古镇) erected during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The 9-foot monuments were placed in the town square to commemorate the high marks of local citizens who participated in the Imperial Examination. With its first debut during the Sui Dynasty around 605, the Chinese Imperial Exam became the primary means by which administrative officials were elected to serve in the state bureaucracy. For those who may have lacked an interest in politics, the exam was also a way to improve one’s status in society— no matter how poor of a background a man came from, his level of intellect as demonstrated by his performance on the examination could win him respect and honor within his local community or even the nation at large. The Imperial Examination witnessed various alterations throughout each dynastic period but remained the primary means for social mobility until its termination in 1905.

    By the time of the Ming Dynasty, the tests generally lasted between 24 and 72 hours. Test-takers sat in isolated examination rooms where they re-wrote entire ancient texts and poems from memory. The content of the test initially included the “Six Arts”– arts, music, arithmetic, writing, and knowledge of the rituals and ceremonies in both public and private life— before expanding to include the “5 Studies”— military strategy, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture and geography, and the Confucian classics. The examination content did not vary across regions and thus served to reinforce a nationwide consensus on Chinese cultural values and promoted a harmonious, unified empire. 

    On average, no more than 5% of test takers scored well enough to receive titles of merit. Some men spent their entire lives in preparation only to return home time and again without a trace of recognition. The Chinese Imperial Exam is credited by historians as being the first standardized testing system in the world based solely on merit. The exam has also contributed to China’s consistent emphasis on education, which remains strikingly evident in the unparalleled respect granted to teachers in Chinese society today.

  • This past week we took a few days off from class and ventured to Xi’an (西安), a 13 hour train ride west of Beijing. Most people recognize this city for its Terracotta Army (兵马俑), an array of stone soldiers and horses built for the first Qin emperor of China around 200 BC.

    Skipping ahead though- because you know I’m never as interested in museums as one would expect– this vaca was insanely, crazy good for other reasons. Today I have room for story number one of two:

    Hopefully you’ve heard a little about the recent feud between China and Japan which started on Sept. 8th when Japan detained a Chinese fishing-boat captain near a set of disputed islands in the East China Sea. Since then, the historic tension between the two countries has worsened, both heightening Chinese nationalism and making our time abroad infinitely more interesting. On Saturday we were lucky enough to stumble across one of many anti-Japanese protests erupting around the country. We had been leisurely wandering the streets to find a park and get in a round of mahjong when a wave of marching chaos descended upon us. Three hours later, there were more people crowding the main roads than vehicles, and the bus that had previously held the intention to drop us off at the train station by 7 pm was completely out of options. Instead, the whole lot of us– 60 ACC students with luggage draped across every limb of our bodies– maneuvered 2 miles on foot through infamous China traffic to catch our ride home.

    article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/world/asia/19briefs-PROTESTS.html?_r=1&ref=china

    Definitely check out the video below. But also notice that while protesting Japan was important to most of these young people, taking photos of foreigners was a close second… if not obvious first.

  • Sun Yang, 20, broke the world record in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle by 3 seconds.

    So….how’s China nabbing all the golds? It’s what the world wants to know. First of all, Chinese are hard-core athletes. Second, China has what you would call a lot of people. I mean, out of 1,344,130,000, I would expect at least 40 to be gold medalists. Sure, great athletes are few and far between, but if you can’t even train 0.00003% of the population to be good as gold, you may want to rethink your strategy. Thirdly, China has a badass training program for talented young athletes. Actually, badass is an understatement– if you’re considered to be a child prodigy in a particular sport, you’ll be taken out of the regular academic curriculum as early as elementary school and placed in a special athletic development school with professional coaches to train you in that sport. Oh, and as a nice perk, the Chinese government will pick up the bill. Not surprisingly, many of the Chinese athletes you see on screen come from extremely poor villages in rural China. If the talent is there, many rural families will choose to prime their child for athletic competition in order to receive financial support from the state.

    No matter where you are in China today, making a decent living is difficult even if a prestigious diploma happens to hang in your office. Buying a car, much less a house, for example, is still only a dream for many. The Olympics offers a way out for some. Consider the following from an article posted on china.org.cn a few days ago (and be sure to scroll to the end!):

    “China rewards athletes who won the first gold medals at Olympic Games”:

    Shooter Xu Haifeng got a national reward of 12,000 yuan at the 23rd Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984.

    Diver Xu Yanmei got a national reward of 15,000 yuan at the 24th Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988.

    Swimmer Zhuang Yong got a national reward of 80,000 yuan at the 25th Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992.

    Judo player Sun Fuming got a national reward of 80,000 yuan at the 26th Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.

    Shooter Tao Luna received a national reward and various other rewards, amounting to a total worth of 2 million yuan , and in addition was assigned an apartment worth one million yuan after the 27th Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000.

    Weight Lifter Chen Xiexia got a national reward of 350,000 yuan,received an additional 700,000 yuan from Guangdong province and another 160,000 yuan from the town government. In addition, Chen received various other rewards amounting to a total worth of 5 million yuan plus an Audi Q7. All this was presented to Chen after winning gold at the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

    Following the London Olympics, shooter Yi Siling will receive a national reward of 500,000 yuan (US$78,436), an additional 800,000 yuan and an apartment from Guangdong Province, another 800,000 yuan from Zhuhai City and various other rewards worth a total of 4 million yuan. Yi shall also become the proud owner of a luxury car, an Audi A6L 30 FSI, worth 750,000 yuan provided by the FAW – Audi Sales Division.

  • The farther I verge beyond the warm waters of academia, the more evident the importance of blogs– and cultural blogs, in particular– becomes. After spending four years at Brown University, one of the most open-minded 143 acre plots of land in the world, my attitude towards unknown cultures or stereotypes changed from being naturally judgmental to honestly curious. Rhode Island, after all, maintains a kind of quirky love for individual freedom after going down in history as the first state to declare independence from Britain and the first center of religious and political tolerance in the 17th century.

    My Chinese coworkers often ask what sets Brown apart from other Ivies or colleges in the U.S., and above all, I say, that its students, professors, and campus culture is one of the most “宽容” or accepting. I’m not claiming a lack of social cliques– exclusive groups of likeminded people arise no matter what the environment– I’m talking about an overall vibe, whether it be the diverse perspectives covered in lectures, the ridiculous traditions (naked donut run, SPG), or even the way kids dress around campus, that vitalizes a spirit of individuality and in turn reinforces a necessary acceptance of that which is different, foreign, or initially unsettling. Once upon a time, religions used to encourage acceptance among all people, but somewhere along the road, that ideal was lost amidst petty political fights over abortion, marriage law, and immigration.

    I came to China in 2012 with a straightforward goal: to do whatever I can to increase understanding between China and the U.S. People call me crazy. Literally. An elderly neighbor once asked, kindly, if I had a mental illness and thus decided to move to China. Friends, coworkers, and general acquaintances of my parents constantly give them grief about their daughter’s decision to move to China and date a Chinese man. They say things like, “Chinese students only come to the U.S. to steal our ideas, bring them back to the mainland and COPY, COPY, COPY. Why would your daughter work to help Chinese steal spots in our most prestigious academic institutions?” Even my own friends poke fun, asking how my Chinese lover is possibly “capable” or if I “throw fortune cookies” in large crowds so that Chinese scatter and clear a path for me to walk. These jokes are cruel, overflowing with stereotypes, and frankly, racist. It’s 2014, and yet to me, many Americans’ vision of China is no better than it was towards Japan in the ’70’s and ’80s, when counterpart businesses in Japan were making major inroads into U.S. markets.

    Yeah, the New York Times has a PhD in reporting on China’s negative air quality, human rights abuses, corruption, underdeveloped legal system– the works. Yet I challenge that politicized company to explain the bizarre happiness that persists among those who are worst off in Chinese society, or to understand the incredibly complex tapestry that lies behind some of the world’s most loyal, unshakable relationships in China. See, a culture isn’t like an app that you spend 15 minutes to “get the hang of”. A culture is something that you spend a lifetime trying desperately to understand, and then some. Heck, it wasn’t until after moving to China that I started to see my own culture in a new light. We are continually blinded by conflicting information, a perpetually transformative present, and an infinite sea of perspectives. The key, then, is to go out and experience the world for yourself.

    Humans are imperfect. Our pursuit to objectively transmit information is inherently restricted by the fact that we have natural opinions, agendas, and, well, jobs to uphold. There’s no need to point fingers, yet we cannot keep tricking ourselves into assuming we know it all. We need to be more willing to identify and admit the knowledge that we still lack. It’s just as impossible to describe something as complex as “culture” in words, for example, as it is to capture a complete moment in time, what with sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and feelings. Thus, the “resources” that we use to understand the world– whether they be newspapers, magazines, documentaries, or even academic research– are helpful but incomplete representations of reality.

    To me, then, the only way to form true opinions of the world is through personal experience, and even then, those opinions almost instantly expire, as the present is merely a flash in time.

    First-hand experiences that allow us to interact with other cultures offer the best opportunities for untainted informational exchange. This includes extended travel, frequent conversations with classmates, coworkers, or friends from diverse backgrounds, and, most importantly, a persistent desire to listen.

    In the name of one of Lu Xun’s greatest literary works, I’d like to take up a second “call to arms”– a call to listen, to think, and to accept.

  • It’s Sunday morning near Hong Kong’s Central Station. Hundreds of Filipino women gather on cardboard boxes and blankets to enjoy brunch together on their only day off from work. Shoes thrust aside, the women devour homemade flavors and reminisce moments with their own children who wait anxiously for their return thousands of miles away.

    China has become one of the most popular destinations for Filipino maids seeking work overseas as Chinese families are willing to employ them for better household services and for their fluency in English. These women are often the primary breadwinners for their families and send most of their earnings back home to their husbands and children. There are around 200,000 Filipinos living in Hong Kong today.

    For those interested, be sure to check out the documentary (Money and Honey, 2011) filmed and directed by the talented Lee Ching-hui. The film explores the lives of Filipino women working in a retirement home in Taiwan and dividing their time between speaking broken Mandarin, caring for elderly Taiwanese, and exchanging silly home videos with their loving husbands overseas. 

  • Step onto the Mainland ~ 步入中国大陆

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