But ... You're not Chinese

Stupid Ch!n3s3 Great F!r3w@ll.  Making me type stuff like this just so I don't get censored. *grumble*

Anyway.  In the United States, once you become a citizen of the United States, everyone considers you to be American.  This is your right no matter what color, race, religion, mentality or ethnicity you belong to.  Anyone calling a passport holder not American is occupying the fringes (or extremes) of American society.  People may complain about immigrants (legal and illegal) but citizens?  Not so much.

Why is this important?  Let's take the current situation in China with SinJyang (yes, I do know how to spell it correctly!).  The native Wegers (again...) are passport holders of the PRC but they are not treated like full citizens.  In Beijing, I met a lot of people who you could consider moderates or progressives who would say things like,"Well, you know they're not really Chinese."  I heard this enough that I think this could defensibly be called a mainstream view about Wegers in China.  What these people are really saying is, "These people are not Han Chinese."  Convenient way to confuse the concepts of nationality and ethnicity.

The US is fixated on finding ways to make sure that new citizens want to call themselves American.  In fact, many immigrants will start calling themselves American far before they get the passport because they want it so badly and they know that they will eventually be Americans.  China seems fixated on finding ways to let the Wegers know that they are not Chinese.  The problem is that by also teaching this to the general Han Chinese population, they've now convinced the Wegers that they will never be Chinese.

A country that keeps a significant population inside its borders from whom it witholds full citizenship has two options:

1. Kill them (e.g. Native Americans in the US) or
2. Lose the country/territory (e.g. Israel, various western colonies).

I'm not sure China has decided on a course of action but they'd better start planning...

Really Love Your Peaches (Wanna Shake Your ... )

Tao Zi (桃子) - peach

The peach is an amazing bundle of joy that never fails to bring a smile to a child's (or an adult's) face. Actually, that's not true. Your average westerner buying a peach for the first time in China will definitely not be smiling after that first bite. Peaches in China are have a crispy texture that would make an apple grower proud.

It took me a while, but I eventually learned to appreciate the crisp, tart flavor of chinese peaches. I also appreciated that I could eat a peach without having the juicy contents invariably dribble down my chin if I was lucky (or down my shirt if I was unlucky). I finally asked some locals about this and they said that they were aware of "American Peaches" and how juicy they were.

On woman mentioned that she had once, at great expense, bought a juicy peach for her daughter to try. While her daughter loved it, she thought it was horrible! The next time you're after peaches, please be careful about which tree you shake.

A Mother Gives Up

Question: What, exactly are these photos of?
Some people may say, "Oooh! Someone took a normal screen door and painted some pretty flowers on it." That is what it looks like but that's not what it is.
These are pictures of what happens when a mother abandons all hope regarding her son's intelligence. I am referring to a son who has walked through the screen door one too many times (the latest time while carrying a set of dishes; not all of which survived the encounter).
I can only say one thing to this mother, "I'm sorry for the screen door and for your deep disappointment."