Hi Joyce welcome back! How was your trip?
What a lovely history lesson your latest post (A Tale of Two Cities) is. You must have spent many minutes researching it. But after all that research the the most modern piece of factual infomation that you could come up with was THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT OF 1965. Forgive me if I am wrong but wasn't that 42 YEARS ago? I, for one, have been posting about the situation here in China NOW. TODAY. 2007.
You quote Joseph Kahn's article " Can China Reform Itself"? From earlier this month, where he states that "Chinese exporters sold nearly $1 trillion worth of goods overseas last year. Fakes and shoddy goods, by most measures,made up no more than a tiny fraction of that total " That's true 99% of the goods were, apparently ok! I am sure that comes as a great comfort to the families of the people that have DIED here in China through their use of FAKE and CONTAMINATED medicines. Or the families of the 13 - 50 BABIES that died because of FAKE milk powder. As I am sure you know there are many, many more incidences that I could refer to but I will not in order to keep this post as short as possible. ( If you need more information just search for it in the China Daily or Peoples Daily there are many reports there).
You then go on to talk about PREJUDICE,BIAS AND RACISM. I believe that Racism is a curse on every country in the world and should be faught until it no longer exists. To discriminate against a person because of their ethnic background is both ignorant and apalling. However you seem to be advancing the notion that Chinese people who emigrate face a worse situation than others and that they themselves are not racist. Ask ANY Chinese person what they think about the Japanese and you will encounter RACISM at its very worst!
The so called "Bamboo ( or glass ) Ceiling" you refer to exists for ALL people, be they minorities or not. Black, Asian, Hispanic,White, Female,etc. Don't you think it's a little rich for you, on the one hand, to vigorously defend China,Where, I believe, NOBODY can deny that there is a very firm " FOREIGNER Ceiling" but seem to complain when it ( Supposedly ) happens in another country. Surely if this is happening then BOTH are WRONG.
On Social Discrimination you ( via, the wrong link, to the article titled Understanding Discrimination Against Asian Americans ) complain that " There are no clubs, organizations or civic groups for Asian Americans. Who's fault is that? Surely, if they wanted to set up one of these they are perfectly free to do so! Or would you like a NON Asian American to do it for them?
Moreover you DISPROOVE that arguement very effectively yourself by using a link later in your posting which leads to a qoute in the Christian Science Monitor by Lydia Lowe, Executive Director of the CHINESE Progressive Association ( in Boston ),or is that NOT a club, organization or civic group? It also refers to Chinatown activists, I wonder if such " Activists " would be tolerated here in China?
You talk about gangs and crime in Asian American communities. The article mentions "....organized groups like the Tong and Triad...." Where did these " groups " originate? In the States or China?
And are their members NOT Asian Americans? It goes on to state ..."The language barrier is also a problem in some communities..... "Yes" sometimes means "No"...." It does NOT in ENGLISH.
Later,when reffering to ESLers, you state that you " HAVE NO SYMPATHY FOR ANY OF YOU" And that they are "...beyond ignorant..trending toward stupid". and accuse them of only making "..a token effort to assimilate yourselves within the Chinese community and learn the customs,the people ( How do you learn people? )their way of life, feelings etc...."
Would you apply those feelings to ASIAN AMERICANS to whom, as the article states quite clearly, "...the American law enforcement system remains a mystery" ?
Are these Asian Americans " Beyond ignorant"? are they "..trending toward stupid"? Do they suffer from an inability to understand the country,the culture and the people...."? ( Just for your information, " To cry wolf " is to raise a FALSE alarm, and not really appropriate within the context of your peice )
At this point I must ask, how many weeks have you been here in China? As I am sure you would have learnt more than " only a few words of Chinese " if you had been here for any length of time, or have you only made a token effort to assimilate yourself with the Chinese community?
And so, Dear Joyce, I will leave you with a saying that is popular with the original USMC " Last to know, first to go ". Maybe you should dwell on that for a while.

Kisses xxxx and a big one for your effort X
'til next time sweety
eng.teacher.