Voices
the local beach with us professors
as special guests. Once we were
there, after the barbecue, they
wanted to build a fire near the
water and gather to play games
and sing songs.
But although they knew an
assortment of Western pop tunes
and were mourning the passing
of Michael Jackson, what they
wanted the group to belt out under the stars were patriotic
Chinese Communist Party songs.
Needless to say, I did not know
even a single line.
I gave them several reasons for
why I would have to pass up their
invitation, but first and foremost, I’m from Detroit. That’s
the wrong part of the world to be
learning patriotic Chinese songs.
And my family was on the other
side of the Communist Revolution. If I knew any patriotic Chinese songs, they probably would
not be Communist Party songs.
In the weeks I spent with them,
my students overcame their curiosity—and their confusion.
One of them eventually said,
“You’re American. You just
look Chinese.”
In their conception, you had to
be one or the other. Unlike in Taiwan or Hong Kong, where everyone
FRANK H. WU
HUFFINGTON
10.14.12
has a cousin or two in the United
States, Australia or Canada, most
mainland Chinese have not encountered someone who claims to
be both Chinese and American.
In their newfound nationalism,
that is an absurd assertion. There
is no distinction between culture
and politics. To be Chinese is to be
Chinese through and through.
Sometimes my friends who are
not of Asian descent say to me,
“If China beats the United States,
you’ll be all set.”
It’s just the opposite.
If China becomes the dominant
superpower and the United States
is relegated to secondary status, then it
means every decision
One
my family has made
of them
for three generations
eventually
turns out to be wrong.
said, ‘You’re
My grandparents fled
American.
China for Taiwan, my
You just look
parents emigrated
Chinese.’”
from Taiwan to America and I assimilated
as best as I could. I’ve placed almost
all of my bets on my homeland.
I’d have a slight advantage, I
suppose, in recognizing what to
order at dim sum.
Otherwise, an ascendant China
means I would have to scramble