President Obama Meets with the Dalai Lama at the White House

On Friday, February 21st, President Barack Obama met with the 14th Dalai Lama in the Map Room of the White House, despite fervent protest from Beijing. This was not the first encounter between President Obama and the Dalai Lama, who already met twice: in February 2010 and July 2011. Both times, the Chinese government rebuked President Obama’s involvement in the Tibetan issue, claiming such meetings with the Dalai Lama gravely jeopardized Sino-America relations.

Dalai Lama tossing snow at reporters in D.C., 2010

Outside the People’s Republic of China, the 14th Dalai Lama is acknowledged as the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. In 1951, after ratifying the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama worked briefly with the Chinese government; he was even elected as a delegate in the National People’s Congress and met Mao Zedong in Beijing. After the failure of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising, the Dalai Lama fled Potala Palace in Lhasa with his supporters for India, where he established the government of Tibet in exile in Dharamsala.

In recent years, many world leaders – the late Czech President Vaclav Havel, the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofsadt, German Chancellor Angela Merkel – have met with the Dalai Lama, all to angry opposition from Beijing.

Sometimes, the exchange of diplomatic disapprobation resulted in punishment: the Chinese government canceled the EU-China Summit planned in December 2008 in Lyon, France. The reason? Then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in Poland at the 25th-anniversary commemoration of the Dalai Lama’s Nobel Peace Prize.

The Dalai Lama with Carla Bruni, Sarkozy’s surprise of a third wife

France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had rebuffed the warning of the Chinese government, saying that even “[France] cannot have foreign policies dictated, even by our friends.”

Compared to France’s approach, the White House’s attitude towards the Tibetan issue during the Friday meeting was more cautious and ambivalent. A carefully worded announcement read,

“The United States supports the Dalai Lama’s ‘middle way’ approach of neither assimilation nor independence for Tibetans in China. The United States recognizes Tibet to be a part of the People’s Republic of China and we do not support Tibetan independence. The United States strongly supports human rights and religious freedom in China.”

In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry described the Dalai Lama as a “separatist” and claimed that the “‘middle way’ approach is deceptive, and in nature is a political guideline for ‘Tibet independence’, which the Chinese government will absolutely not tolerate.” Beijing interpreted President Obama’s encounter with Dalai Lama as a “gross interference” into Chinese internal affairs; pundits saw this as Washington’s reaction against China’s establishment of an Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea, which escalated the already high tensions with Japan over disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.

China is a trading partner with many EU countries, and possess enormous holdings in the American market. With deepening Chinese-U.S. political and economic links, the White House managed – this time – to kept the meeting low-key (the event wasn’t even announced until Thursday) and to sidestep from the central Tibetan question by denouncing Tibetan independence. But every action demands a reaction – the issue, at this point, is still outstanding.

Laowai Comics: The Chinese Urban Decibel Scale

The Chinese Urban Decibel Scale. Click to enlarge.

This week from our friend, Laowai Comics. Only in China – keep it crazy!

Category, People: He Hacked “Jeopardy”

Who is Arthur Chu?

A 30-year-old compliance analyst and voice-over performer from Cleveland, Ohio, Chu’s four-day winning streak on Jeopardy (total: $102,800) has brought trivia fans and game theorists into the same room – but, like a junior high school dance, at opposite sides.

He returns today for his 5th appearance.

Chu’s tactics on the show includes a hovering thumb over the buzzer (pressing before Alex Trebek completed the sentence) and the “Forrest bounce”, first executed by Chuck Forrest on Jeopardy in 1985, which forgoes the established method of following through with one category from top-to-bottom and instead hunts around the board to find and clear Daily Doubles. (Chu wagered the minimum of $5 in categories he did not know.)

The Jeopardy “game board”

The carpal-tunnel buzzer-blitz is to prevent the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire chit-chat drag: to get through as many questions, and as much monetary winnings, as possible. The “Forrest bounce”, as noted in a Slate article by Ken Jennings (the Jeopardy champion only defeated on his 75th appearance), has been used a few times between Chuck Forrest and Arthur Chu: by David Madden (2005), Roger Craig (2010-2011), and IBM supercomputer Watson (2011).

And, even more so than how Chu is smashing what the viewers expect of the game itself in his “unsportsmanlike” behavior, he’s also targeted for his rumpled, nerdy looks. The Jeopardy “villain” is easily targeted for the lowest common denominator of racial epithets: his haircut, his “chinky” eyes, his size, his clothes, his masculinity. What, nothing about his celebratory dinner of dog meat?

(Compiled by Angry Asian Man)

Chu has been giving as good as he’s gotten on Twitter.

He’s also refreshingly self-aware in interviews:

“The unspoken rule is that if you’re on Jeopardy, you should be in a suit and tie, you should be genteel, and here I am, I’m poorly dressed, I have a bad haircut, I’m intense,” he says. “Well, the fact is it’s ludicrous: I’m an out of shape, nerdy Asian guy who’s become a ‘sports legend’ because I’m good at a trivia game. What do I have to apologize for? This is the only time in my life I’m going to get to do something like this. Of course I’m going to milk it! If I don’t, it’s back to a life of office jobs and being a nerdy Asian guy.”

Here’s a question: Why go on game shows, if not to win?

Damn if you do, and damn if you don’t. But I know which one I’d rather choose.

14 Signs that You’re a “Twinkie”

Ever been called a “twinkie”? “Banana”? A “white-washed” Asian? These names connote that an Asian individual is “yellow on the outside, white on the inside,” having lost touch with his or her “original culture”. Asian-Americans who achieve a high degree of assimilation into dominant culture may identify with the labels; however, used derogatorily, the monikers misunderstand the complexity immigrants undertake to negotiate between identities: creating a new life in a foreign land inevitably entails a cultural tug-of-war, with casualties on both sides. Further, the assimilation experience varies across ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and economic status.

This list doesn’t define you, but it offers some markers of your degree of assimilation. Politically correct enough for you?

1. Your high school friends were all white.

The only Asian person to ever walk the halls of Bayside – going, going, gone…

2. You speak your ethnic language at an elementary-school level, or less. You can’t read the characters, but you know your food names.

And sometimes you only know one, not even in your own dialect

3. You weren’t spanked as a child. (While disciplining children physically is controversial in the West, it’s traditional in many Asian countries.)

Second place is the first loser!

4. You prefer using forks to chopsticks.

It’s really simple…

5. Your mother’s a bad cook.

Awkward

6. You play the drums or the guitar, not the violin or the piano.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing

7. You’re uncomfortable talking about your Asian-American identity, preferring your “colorblind” perspective.

8. Tiger Balm isn’t your immediate solution for mosquito bites.

9. You say that you only date white girls/guys.

We’ve covered some of that here and here

10. Your parents just encouraged you to “do your best” in school without regard to your grades.

While others might be more familiar with the “Asian dad” meme

11. You’ve watched two, maybe three animes, in total, including Pokemon or Sailor Moon.

Well, Pikachu is yellow… on the outside…

12. You’ve never gone to karaoke.

Once again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing

13. You have a low tolerance for spicy foods. You go light on the wasabi, tteokbokki, and Szechuan anything.

Yikes! Feel the burn!

14. You’re adopted.

Ah, well

14 Signs that You’re a “Twinkie”

Ever been called a “twinkie”? “Banana”? A “white-washed” Asian? These names connote that an Asian individual is “yellow on the outside, white on the inside,” having lost touch with his or her “original culture”. Asian-Americans who achieve a high degree of assimilation into dominant culture may identify with the labels; however, used derogatorily, the monikers misunderstand the complexity immigrants undertake to negotiate between identities: creating a new life in a foreign land inevitably entails a cultural tug-of-war, with casualties on both sides. Further, the assimilation experience varies across ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and economic status.

This list doesn’t define you, but it offers some markers of your degree of assimilation. Politically correct enough for you?

1. Your high school friends were all white.

The only Asian person to ever walk the halls of Bayside – going, going, gone…

2. You speak your ethnic language at an elementary-school level, or less. You can’t read the characters, but you know your food names.

And sometimes you only know one, not even in your own dialect

3. You weren’t spanked as a child. (While disciplining children physically is controversial in the West, it’s traditional in many Asian countries.)

Second place is the first loser!

4. You prefer using forks to chopsticks.

It’s really simple…

5. Your mother’s a bad cook.

Awkward

6. You play the drums or the guitar, not the violin or the piano.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing

7. You’re uncomfortable talking about your Asian-American identity, preferring your “colorblind” perspective.

8. Tiger Balm isn’t your immediate solution for mosquito bites.

9. You say that you only date white girls/guys.

We’ve covered some of that here and here

10. Your parents just encouraged you to “do your best” in school without regard to your grades.

While others might be more familiar with the “Asian dad” meme

11. You’ve watched two, maybe three animes, in total, including Pokemon or Sailor Moon.

Well, Pikachu is yellow… on the outside…

12. You’ve never gone to karaoke.

Once again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing

13. You have a low tolerance for spicy foods. You go light on the wasabi, tteokbokki, and Szechuan anything.

Yikes! Feel the burn!

14. You’re adopted.

Ah, well

A View on Chinese Politics, from a Chinese National

There are more than a dozen Chinese women in my college studying Chinese history and Politics, which have become a more and more popular subjects among Chinese overseas students. Once, I thought it absurd to study one’s national politics or literature in a foreign country, but my views has long been challenged since I came to the United States.

The prestigious Chinese scholar Qian Zhongshu once satirized the situation of Chinese people studying Chinese in American universities in his well-known novel Fortress Besieged (Wei Cheng/围城). Yet, the era of Dr. Qian’s bias on “American-wrought” Asian Studies majors is over: prominent studies have been done in the U.S. on Chinese literature, history, and politics. The college education offered in these subjects are very attractive to many Chinese students, who may be said to have advantage in their background, but who long for a new perspective of looking at their own cultures.

On the outside, looking in

(Vi Jia Designs)

In my Chinese Politics course, there were twenty people in the class, with four from China. The professor had asked each person to introduce him/herself and speak about why they were interested in studying Chinese politics. The American women, many of whom were taking Chinese language classes concurrently, talked about their passion in Eastern culture and their researching interests in the Chinese political environment. The Chinese women were the last to speak, partly due to shyness and partly due to “saving the best for last”.

Their opening sentences often were, “I was born and grew up in China, so I know a lot about…”, or “As a Chinese student, I’m very familiar with…” Their introductions were mini-lessons in themselves, overshadowing what was said a few minutes ago. They continued to speak about their interests – all very complicated, all very professional.

Please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not knocking or judging these Chinese students. They’re all smart and well-accomplished, and they’ve added many great topics to the discussion that we could never think of, otherwise. But, I didn’t end up talking at the end; suddenly, I felt like I didn’t have the confidence to talk about my interest in Chinese politics as a Chinese national. I don’t know as much as I’d thought.

Last week, I interviewed a professor studying African social history. She learned I was from China; she became excited and said, “I’ve just come back from a trip to Beijing!”

I grinned. “How was the air pollution there?”

“Actually, not as terrible as they’ve reported in the newspapers.”

(Yes; New York Times always selects the most striking pictures for the front page, so to attract views. It’s an old trick, but why don’t I question it so much when these photographs are about China?)

“Also,” the professor continued, “the subway wasn’t as bad as what I’ve read. And I don’t understand why they never mention that people in Beijing are so nice? American newspapers will criticize a foreign culture as long as it’s different from theirs, but they forget there are so many differences in the world.”

“What do you see in these differences?” I asked.

“I see similarities. I see that longing for a just society is a human trait.”

I was quiet for a while: I’ve been so judgmental to my own culture, paying so much attention to the negatives of China. Wasn’t I judging it by an “American standard”? What my professors, classmates, and friends have impressed me on was not just their knowledge about China, but their inclusive views. Compared to me, they hold such an optimistic opinion on Chinese democracy and enthusiasm for the culture. Their views may be a little idealized, but are more critical – daring to demand more, press for better – and less cynical then mine.

That day, I learned a new way to study Chinese politics and culture.

Laowai Comics: Self-Help for Chinese Holiday Travel

Step Guide to holiday travel. Click to enlarge.

This week from our friend Laowai Comics. Only in China. Keep it crazy.

One Picture = 1,000 Words? Here’s 5,000 (and Change)

In my week trawling the web for images, there are some pictures I come across – which, I always hope, TWP could use to illustrate articles, but most of the time, it’s just a cousin to the Wiki wormhole. Here they are, and a bonus if you’re stuck inside due to the snow like we are: guess for which of this week’s articles they were culled.

Clever Bart Simpson graffiti in Spain

I know it’s Photoshopped (right? right?), but yowza! Jay Chou

Naked couple duvet: a different sort of conversation in bed

The most awesome “tiger mom”

Unbelievably Vivid Photos of an Underwater City in China

An ancient city, known as Shi Cheng or Lion City, has been buried beneath the water for 53 years. Like many lost cities of the past, it was “rediscovered” and seem to be well-preserved. Lion City is now located about 85 to 131 feet beneath Qiandao Lake (千島湖), or, literally, A Lake of Thousand Island, a man-made lake located in Chun’an County, Zhejiang, China, formed since the completion of the Xinanjiang hydroelectric station. It could be a great location for your next adventure dive.