The Differences Between The Native Taiwanese And Mainlander In Taiwan

Asian-American author, Amy Tan, reflects in her personal essay, Mother Tongue (1991), her perception of language and ethnic identity through an employment of anecdotes and repetition. The history of Asian-Americans goes back to the nineteenth century when thousands of men left their families and homes in China, as well as other Asian countries, to seek their fortunes in the United States (Huntley 21). The Chinese, forming the largest Asian immigrant group, “became the first Asians to experience institutionalized discrimination when the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed by Congress, barring the majority of Chinese from entering the United States” (Huntley 21). International and domestic factors during the Cold War finally prompted the abolition of the quota system and the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act (Lee 3). Amy was born in California in 1952 to parents who had emigrated from China several years earlier (Huntley 1). As a second generation American, Tan’s parents wanted her to have “American circumstances and Chinese character” (Huntley 2); to her traditional Chinese parents’ dismay, she fully embraced the dominant American culture outside her home. Through the dual lenses of her American identity and her ethnic roots, Tan creatively shares her own experiences with language and emigration, while exploring the many facets of biculturalism and the challenges of integrating two distinct cultures.

First, by looking at the way Henry’s ethnicity played a large role in getting him bullied in school. Henry’s parents decided that it would be better off if Henry would go to an all-white school rather than a Chinese school. In the hope that, Henry would become accustomed to American culture. However, this resulted in Henry being bullied in school by all the white children and even the other Chinese in his neighborhood. Before going to school he would pass by his neighborhood where all the Chinese kids that were once his friends called him “white devil” and Then he would get to school and the white kids would call him “yellow” (Ford 39). Once they started to get all the Japanese and take them to the internment camps. Henry started to get bullied even more since several of his classmates thought he was Japanese American. Likewise, to Henrys ethnicity playing a large role for getting him bullied in school, his ethnicity also cost him the distant relationship with his parents.

What this novel does not touch on is the harsh levels of discrimination that some Asian-American families faced during the 20th centuries, some people telling at them to go back to Vietnam, Korea, or wherever they came from, some refusing service, perhaps throwing them out for being different, similarly to how African-Americans were treated during that time, and similar to how some Muslims are being treated today. However, more insidious than moments of outright hostility, and maybe more powerful, are the constant weak reminders that you’re different, that you’re not one of them. The “sign at the Peking Express” (Ng 193), the “little boys on the playground, stretching their eyes to slits with their fingers” (Ng 193), you even “saw it when waitresses and policemen and bus drivers spoke slowly to you, in simple words, as if you might not understand” (Ng 193). All these tiny things, these little reminders that you’re not the same as everyone else around you, may have more impact on the people being discriminated against than blatant in-your-face

“America the land of opportunity, to all” has always been a driving force for many people from poor, undeveloped societies far away from America. This simple saying has brought over millions and millions of people from they’re native countries, leaving behind families and friends. Some never to return. Once in America, reality sets in for most of these groups as that suffer thought unequal treatment, racism and discrimination. One such group involved similar treatments were the Chinese- Americans, in the documentary “Becoming American- the Chinese Experience” we are given a first hand looks and descriptions of the hate that Chinese- American suffered in America. This paper will discuss these events including the documentary and class notes, further it will also describe the difference treatment that Chinese- American face in present day compared to the past.

Another question arises: what is a “narrative of ethnicity” in diasporic context? Choy explains how immigrants are to preserve their ethinic identity, yet they adapt to their social context. The children feel the same resentment and distaste for Chinese. Jook-Liang forces herself to speak English at home in her efforts to be more like Shirley Temple. She speaks to herself in English while practicing her dance routine (Choy, 36) and uses it as a tool to feel less Chinese. The children have jarring associations to learning and speaking

Her perspective and personal experiences can help to drive in the point that there are two different generations of Chinese people and how one looks down on the other because of their birth place. Liu’s article is reliable because it is a personal experience of growing up Chinese American and shows the different perspective on how growing up with two different generations of Chinese shaped her life. Maria Liu is also a reliable source because she is a student and writer for the

After conducting my interview, I found out the family dynamic issue between first generation Asian American and second generation Asian American is actually significant in different aspects.

Social challenges the Chinese experienced ranged from how they were treated in their jobs to how they would marry. Along with the occurrence of the coolie trade, the workers are upset at the employers’ abuse and how they cannot regulate the laws within their job. When the Chinese came over, the Americans were discriminating against them and their manner. The way Americans described Chinese revolved about how China’s culture is not “normal” because it is being compared to their American culture and racialized comments. When you move into a new town or city, it is harder to get comfortable when the ones that already resides in area are judgmental and puts down the newer people. The Americans called the Chinese hurtful and unkind words like: “cowardly”, “submissive”, “silly grunts”, and “menaces”. Interracial marriages were shunned and disapproved by many, it created problems in racial and family order. An example of how a Chinese man with a White woman relationship was ruined when Elise Sigel was murdered and Leon Ling was called out for the murder because there was a rumor that they were in an affiliation with one another. From this incident and others, there were laws that were created to separate whites and Asian individuals from getting into any sort of relationship or contact.

June May is a 36-year-old woman of Chinese decent. She grew up in San Francisco, California and has never known what it is to be Chinese. She has denied any sympathy to the culture and it has a lot to do with the relationship she had with her now gone mother. Her mother believed that “Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese.” She also told June May, “Someday you will see, it’s in your blood waiting to be let go.” June May simply did not understand what her mother meant when she said, “I saw myself transforming like a werewolf, a mutant tag of DNA suddenly triggered, replicating itself insidiously into a syndrome, a cluster of telltale Chinese behaviors, all those things my mother did to embarrass me-haggling with store owners, pecking her mouth with a toothpick in public, being color-blind to the fact that lemon yellow and pale pink are not good combinations for winter.” This shows that June May’s perception on what it is to be Chinese is greatly isolated to the things she saw her mother do. She has never been submerged in the Chinese culture and does not understand how she could become Chinese. More importantly, she does not understand the true desire of her mother’s heart in reuniting

This quote reveals Tan’s lack of pride in her heritage, by her incessant repetition of the diction “Chinese” with negative connotations such as “shabby” and “noisy” (1). Not only is she embarrassed by the

The most alarming similarity between Nazi Germany and Modern China is that they both featured/feature an overtly racist government policy towards its minorities, most notably Jews, in the case of Nazi Germany, and Uighurs, in the case of China. Uighurs are a non-Han (Chinese majority) indigenous population of the Xinjiang Province of China. Since coming under Communist rule in 1949, they have claimed autonomy from the Chinese government and distinction from its people. They are distantly related to the Turks and most practice Islam. In fact, Uighurs constitute half the entire Muslim population in China. They have their own Turkic based language, with the written portion based on Arabic letters. The word “Uighur” means “unity” or “alliance”

Tan and her mother came out of different cultural and linguistic background, by which shaped their identities differently in terms of fundamental perceptions, personalities, and conceptually believes; no common language is shared between them other than English, which makes their daily communication fairly awkward. For this reason, Tan, who was born in the US and spoke English as mother language, could not adapt her mother well in the early stage and was even racist to her mother too, as Tan acknowledged ‘I was ashamed of her English’ and ‘she expressed them imperfectly, her thoughts were imperfect.’ In fact, these of Tan’s early thoughts definitely indicates to what extent Tan identified herself as an American over Chinese, in line with the

In the personal essay “My Mothers Tongue” (1990), Amy Tan, widely known author explains her insights on language and culture identity using details and memories from her own life experiences. Tan conceals that the language in which her mother used with her “was the language that helped shape the way [she] saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world” (1208) and in the process it made her who she is today as an author. Tan illuminates the euro centricity of the Master Narrative by retelling stories of her mother being treated poorly because of her “broken” or “limited” English. She recalls many past experiences where her mother suffered from bad service and treatment from restaurants, stockbrokers, and even hospitals. Using examples from her personal life Tan gets her point across about language and culture characteristics in order to show how Chinese culture is affected by the master narrative and also encourages others to include a variety of cultures in order to overcome bias opinions. Tan’s apparent audience can be ranged from the child of an immigrant to a doctor and offers an authentic and rich portrayal of Chinese history through her conflicting experience of her Chinese and American cultures.

Politically, Taiwan was under the control of the Kuomingtang(KMT) after world war II. Kuomingtang(KMT) is the Nationalist Party which ruled both mainland China and Taiwan.

Political interference by mainland China has also served to increase Hong Kongers’ distrust of the Chinese government. Recent events have seen direct threats to Hong Kong’s autonomy, such as forthright intrusion in elections and promotion of an anti-democratization agenda that includes the promotion of Mandarin in schools. In response, resentment in Hong Kong has resulted in rising nationalism and movements that support increased autonomy to full sovereignty. These sentiments are especially prevalent in young people, displayed through numerous demonstrations and protests. Additionally, these common positions suggest that Hong Kongers and Chinese do not share the same national identity. As a result,“ One country, two systems” will inevitably fail.