I have known and lived with Chinese people all over Asia and in the US. Amy Chua got her publishing start with her book on overseas Chinese, which is very good indeed. This is not a new theme for her at all.
In Asia you see the proof of her thesis. In places like Malaysia the Chinese dominate the useful roles in society through sheer superior competence in spite of discrimination against them. They don’t do this by being sweet, they are tough, hard, focused. Get over your annoyance. This emotional reaction to them is a losers response.
I doubt cloudmountain is a loser or is having a loser response. You like Chinese people - good for you. We’ve had other experiences. That’s what makes Free Republic a loser-free zone. We bring vastly different experiences to this site and it’s exciting to read about them. No need to put anyone down.
The Chinese have been thrown out of many places in Asia because they work so hard and make lots of money, putting the work ethic of locals to shame.
What makes them unpopular, I was told, is there unwillingness to share that wealth with any non-Chinese.
I admire Chua's work. I read all the Amy Tang books too. Loved them.
China had so many emigrants because they preferred moving to unknown places to starving to death. They brought their culture here...and sometimes despair when their own children reject the Chinese culture and WANT to be 100% American. It seems a no-win for some Chinese mothers.
I am ALLOWED, you know, to BE annoyed. Who are YOU to TELL me to get over it? You sound JUST like a Chinese mother scolding her offspring. :o)
RE: In places like Malaysia the Chinese dominate the useful roles in society through sheer superior competence in spite of discrimination against them.
Yep... that happens in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand as well.
In fact, if you dig deeper, you will discover that a significant number of those “Vietnamese” (Note the quotes) who were able to pay in GOLD to escape the communists ( many becoming boat refugees) when the South fell were ethnic Chinese.
“In Asia you see the proof of her thesis. In places like Malaysia the Chinese dominate the useful roles in society through sheer superior competence in spite of discrimination against them. They don’t do this by being sweet, they are tough, hard, focused. Get over your annoyance. This emotional reaction to them is a losers response.’
You are right. Members of my family are Chinese from the Philippines. Their parents, similar story. From Fujian south China to Philippines in 20s-30s. Built business, survived Japanese occupation and slaughter. Came to US as well-educated medical professionals and outperformed everyone, including other immigrants. They are tough and tough on children. They also love their children immensely and wouldn’t allow behavior that is common among American children and other immigrant children. Their political views are confused in part because they are too busy working and taking care of family to think about politics and they only know that gov’t is corrupt. That is all they have ever known. If the gov’t promises to give the people some help, that is viewed favorably. Otherwise gov’t is a threat. That is why they can get suckered by Dems. They don’t know much about the other wacky cultural insanity of the Dem party or much care, it seems, because corrupt and gov’t are hand-in-hand in their experience. Just my observations.
Look at Singapore and the Philippines and see who is in the upper tier of society. It is the Chinese minority. And, there is no PC way to explain it.