Chinese-Americans taken at face value

• Source: Global Times
• [08:30 November 06 2009]
• Comments

By Rong Xiaoqing 
 
For American-born Chinese, it really doesn't matter how white their heart is and how much they have adopted Western values – when they deal with their "motherland," China, their yellow skin always defines them.

In an era when China is becoming such an important global force, this can be a big advantage, but there are also some downsides.

For the positives, you just have to see how US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, both ethnic Chinese born in the US, have been treated on recent trips to China.

When they were in China together in July, they were treated like rock stars. There is a lot of pride among Chinese to see two of their own at the top of the administration of the superpower.

They didn't give them a completely free pass. Chu's speech at Tsinghua University was considered too scientific and not much fun. And Locke has been described as too serious and not interested in "small talk." There is also disappointment that neither can speak much Chinese.

Indeed, in some ways their being Chinese opens them up more to such "family" criticism.

But it didn't stop Locke from wrapping up a highly successful second trip to China in late October that resulted in both countries vowing to loosen restrictions on importing – a pretty big deal at a time when the rest of the world worries about some kind of trade war breaking out.

Caucasian politicians who speak fluent Chinese, such as Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd or US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, may get a lot of respect as friendly guests, but they can never quite be embraced in the way that Chu and Locke are.

Of course, in the US it has often been a struggle for American- born Chinese.

Both Chu and Locke have publicly stated their pride in being ethnic Chinese. But if they are reflective of the average American-born Chinese, the pride may not have been there in the early stages of their life because bearing a Chinese face could at time be a burden.

It may be politically incorrect to base judgments and preferences on facial characters in the US, but this doesn't mean it doesn't frequently happen.

When kids are teased or trashed by peers only due to the way they look, when they are told to "go back to their own country" while the US is their country, and when they are forced to study a second language and culture at weekends while other kids play games, it's understandable that the Asian country they may never have visited seems more like a source of bitterness. This was even more the case when China was close to the bottom of the world's social pyramid.

While the US domestic environment hasn't changed much in the past few decades, China has rapidly moved to the center of the world. And that has struck a chord with Americanborn Chinese. They seem to be more willing to be associated with China than ever. I've even met young people who refer to China as "my country" despite their American nationality.