Asian Outlook Spring 2010 Issue #2

The pressing need for immigration reform Taiwanese Independence Rising Asian-American Baseball Star

Volume XXIII Issue 4

T

able of Contents Featured o Where is the Love?

- Will To The American Dream Deferred - Calvin Prashad U.S. Treasury Bills - Yinzi Liang Useless Japanese Inventions - Diane Wong & Eve Zhang Beauty is Pain - Momokun

Editorial o Civil War: Behind the Curtains - Miray Kaymakcioglu A Country in Everything But Name - Richard Chu Taiwan, China - Diane Wong Confucian Feminism - Diane Wong

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18 20 21 22

Sports o

Shen and Zhao - Brendan Lu Short Track Speed Skating - Simon Wong Recap: Short Track Speed Skating - Cheri Cheng Cover: Kim Yu-na - Clara Kittrell Asians in Baseball: Kurt Suzuki - Jeff Hwang

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Entertainment o

At the Movies With Eve: Virgin Snow & Ninja Assassin - Eve Zhang Final Fantasy: the Thirteenth Installment - Jeff Hwang

Columns o

Beyond the Hyphen: the Asian-American Experience - Jonathan Yee My Rejection Letter From Stonybrook - Samual Pickwick

Food o

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Cuisine From the Philippines: Turon - Meladel Busante

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Conscience o Featuring the works of: - Yinzi Liang - Kelvin Chan - Alyssa Alimurung - Jeff Hwang - Tracy Chiu - MDI

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Asian Outlook Executive Board Spring 2010 Editors-in-Chief Calvin Prashad Jeff Hwang Assistant Editors Diane Wong Fiz Ramdhani Jonathan Yee Meladel Busante Business Manager Ivan Yeung

Secretary Jing Gao Layout Editors Olivia Cheng Sha Lisa Liu Sophia Lin Publicity Managers Deborah Hwang Heidi Chang Conscience Editor Kelvin Chan

Drawing by Amy Sun

Interested in contributing?

E-mail articles to: ao.editor@gmail.com E-mail artwork to: aoconscience@gmail.com

From the Editor/ Why politics and education should never mix.

I

any society, mixing politics with education is a slippery slope to indoctrination. In Japan, many officials scrubbed wartime atrocities, such the Nanjing Massacre and the use of comfort women, or sex slaves, from high school textbooks while elementary schools go as far as to paint Japan as the “innocent victim” of a nuclear attack. This textbook revisionism took place during the rule of the conservative LDP party. This party frequently seeks to neuter and glorify Japan’s history while eliminating any trace of unpleasant or atrocious acts by the government.

Present day, the Texas Board of Education approved several changes to the school curriculum.

Among these changes, the new curriculum included new material that questions the Founding Father’s “secular ideals,” stresses the supremacy of American capitalism and minimizes the roles of minorities in the shaping of America.

One of these revisions caught my eye. This new provision required textbooks to redefine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II as not “racially based” as Germans and Italians were also interned during the war. Anyone that has studied Asian-American history knows that this is a gross distortion. Classifying internment in this manner allowed for the justification of the internment ethnic group in the name of “national security.”

The vast majority of Germans and Italians living the U.S. during the war were above suspicion. In fact, an American of German ancestry, Dwight D. Eisenhower led Allied forces in Europe toward the end of the war.

One can only imagine the potential outrage if a general with a Japanese last name led Allied forces in the Pacific. Of the few hundred Germans and Italians interned, the government suspected only a few fascists, anarchists and n

socialists of “5th column” espionage activities.

Japanese-Americans, on the other hand, were widely discriminated against completely on a racial basis. Every single Japanese living on the West Coast, almost 120,000 people, faced possible detention and forcible relocation to internment camps by the government. The entire Hawaiian territory, with almost a third of the people of Japanese ancestry went under martial law. This happened in spite of no evidence of disloyalty by Japanese-Americans.

Even Ronald Reagan himself signed legislation that acknowledged the internment had its root in “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.”

Regardless of the political motives of the Texas officials—many of which self identify as conservatives with an agenda—the use of textbooks as a means of spreading political ideology is perhaps the most sinister means of brainwashing. I will not pretend that there aren’t also liberal biases in K-12 education.

However, breaking the wall between church and state, and trying to recast past events to suit a modern political agenda, and glorifying greed and excess has the potential to greatly damage the future generation. To force politics on young students before they are able to form their own personal political beliefs, be they left or right is disingenuous.

If textbooks were truly as “left-wing” as critics claim, then Christopher Columbus would be cast a rabid, genocidal maniac, the repeated failures of American capitalism, as well as its effect on poorer nations would be analyzed at a deeper level and the hypocrisy of the Puritans—and their subsequent influence on America society—would be greatly diminished. Instead, the textbooks teach children that Columbus was the greatest explorer ever; the Puritans were peaceful, Native-American loving, turkey-eating innocents fleeing the “draconian” restraints

Contact Policy Uninvited contact with writers and contributors is forbidden under punishment of pain. Please direct all questions, comments and complaints to ao.editor@gmail.com.

Editorial Policy Asian Outlook is the art, literary and news magazine of the Asian Student Union of SUNY’s Binghamton University.

Originally conceived and created to challenge, redefine, re-imagine and revolutionize images and perceptions associated with Asians and Asian-Americans, Asian Outlook also serves to protect the voice of those in the minority, whether by ethnicity, gender, and/or political orientation. All matter contained within these beautiful pages do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.

Asian Outlook reserves the right to edit submissions and publish work as deemed appropriate. Prospective contributors are encouraged to discuss their work with the editors prior to submissions. Articles may be submitted as an e-mail attachment to ao.editor@gmail. com. All artistic and literary pieces may be submitted to aoconscience@gmail.com.

Written by Calvin Prashad Edited by Jeff Hwang of Enlightenment England, and that American capitalism is the ultimate force for peace and prosperity on Earth.

I, however, have no inclination to force children to comprehend my complicated views on American history, nor should any adult.

Unless we enable the children to think for themselves and draw their own conclusions, then we will raise a generation of sheep rather than informed citizens.

Furthermore, on the topic of internment, activists such as Daniel Pipes and Michelle Malkin repeatedly make the case for the internment of Muslim-Americans. The logic being that every Muslim male of a certain age has the “potential” to sympathize with radical Islamic jihadists. Although I am sure that this day will never come, consider the parallels between this proposed plan, and the internment of the Japanese. 68 percent of the interned Japanese-Americans were citizens.

They owned business, went to American schools, played baseball, joined the boy scouts.

They were Americans until the Pearl Harbor attack. After that day, they were “dangerous aliens, Japs and servants of the emperor.”

Discrimination against Japanese-Americans did not begin on that day, but it certainly came out into the open.

Although the group in question is a diverse religious group, rather than a single ethnic group, the implications remain the same.

Do we cast out our fellow Americans due to the actions of a foreign entity? Do we judge every one of them because we lack basic understanding of them? How can anyone consider American apartheid as a righteous solution to the threat of terrorism? The day we send another group to internment is the day that America ceases to be a beacon of freedom of liberty.

Many thanks to all the contributors who made this magazine possible.

A notice from the XCEL Center This year XCEL is hosting the 12th Annual XCELsior Awards. The XCELsior Awards is an annual awards ceremony that was created to recognize and honor the work and acheivements of SA-Chartered and Greek-Affiliated organizations as well as individual student leaders within those organizations. Such awards include Outstanding Multicultural Program of the Year, Outstanding Greek-Affiliated Community Service of the Year, and Outstanding Emerging Leader of the Year. The XCELsior Awards will be held on Thursday, April 29th at 6:00 pm in the Anderson Center Chamber Hall with a dessert reception to follow. Tickets are free and will be available a week before the event. Students, faculty, and staff associated with the organizations nominated or any organization on campus are encouraged to attend, as well as friends, family, and staff to help support leadership and excellence at Binghamton University

where

lov THE STORY OF LOU JING & MIXED

W

hen

6

it

comes

to

personal

tastes, Lou Jing is not very different than any other 20-year-old Chinese girl; she likes to shop, she likes listening to hip-hop and rap (specifically Jay-Z), she worries about putting on weight, and, like any other resident of Shanghai, she speaks both Mandarin and Shanghainese (the local dialect) fluently. Additionally, Lou Jing also has a pleasant voice (though it is admittedly off-key); as a result, she was selected, along with four other girls, to represent Shanghai on “Lets Go! Oriental Angels,” a talent show-contest program not unlike American Idol or America’s Got Talent.

However, unlike most other native residents of the bustling, cosmopolitan

port city that is Shanghai, Lou Jing is of mixed race ancestry—born to a father who is a black American and a mother who is Chinese. To complicate matters (at least in the eyes of conservatives across the nation), it was later revealed that Lou Jing was conceived in an extra-marital affair; Mrs. Lou, was married to another man at the time, and she later divorced her husband to raise her child on her own, as a single mother. According to both Lou Jing and Mrs. Lou, Lou Jing’s father later returned to the United States without having met his daughter; indeed, it is very likely that the man has not a clue that he has a biological daughter living in China.

As a result, Lou Jing’s appearances on Oriental Angels stirred up a frenzied, vitriolic debate on teahouses, newspapers,

and internet forums across the nation—a discussion that was a strange, offensive mix of misguided nationalism, outright racism, and even nosiness, plain and simple. At the core of this dialogue was the question of identity: what did it mean to “be Chinese?”

Was Lou Jing “less” Chinese because of her mixed blood? Was she somehow “tainted” because of the fact that she was conceived out of wedlock, with a foreigner?

The vast majority of the scathingly racist comments took place on internet forums throughout China—doubtless a testament to the personal anonymity such places offer. Certainly the bitterness of online discussions were a significant contrast to the generally polite coverage offered by Oriental Angels, where the hosts played a video montage featuring pictures of

is the

ve?

RACE CHILDREN IN CHINA TODAY

By Will To

Lou Jing as a child as well as an interview with her mother. The key focus of the presentation, as well as the questions of the hosts, was less about Lou Jing’s mixed race and more about the plight of a Mrs. Lou as a single mother, as well as the strong relationship between the two; indeed, Mrs. Lou later took the stage and shared an emotional embrace with her daughter to a positive reception. To be sure, there were some gaffes; throughout the episode, Lou Jing was referred to as a “chocolate girl,” as well as a “black pearl.” While the latter was likely meant as a compliment, the former was, at best, insensitive, and would never have passed censors elsewhere.

At any rate, netizens across China treated Lou Jing considerably worse than the television show. While many of the more

offensive discussion threads—especially one on Chinese site Tianya—have been removed by now (thanks to the threat of legal action from Lou Jing and her mother), the comments on such threads were incredibly intolerant, hurtful, and prejudiced—disgustingly so. A cursory examination of the many hateful comments reprinted on blogspots and websites throughout the internet reveals that such posts fall into two broad categories: in the first one, bloggers criticize Mrs. Lou for cheating on her husband and ridicule Lou Jing as the byproduct of such a “shameless” union; in the second category, netizens express sympathy for Lou Jing herself but deride her mother for her affair. The worst of the lot, in my opinion, was likely the following one, written by “Kao” and

reprinted on website ChinaSmack: “fucked by a black… how come a zebra wasn’t born?”

On a personal note, this outright racism is tragic and unnecessary, but not exactly surprising. In China, mixed-race children are not as common a sight as in places like the United States; one possible reason may be due to the fact that many Chinese women who marry foreigners tend to leave China with their husbands and settle elsewhere.

For the most part, mixed-race children live in big cities with large populations of foreign expatriates (Shanghai amongst them). Yet even in such areas, mixed-race children are not very numerous, nor are they very visible; except for Lou Jing, the only other prominent, mixed-race person (that I can think of, at least) is Deng Hui, a champion volleyball player who is rumored

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“...there is a

double standard

as well as a great deal of

hypocrisy

at play here.”

to be playing in the 2012 Olympics.

Contrast this with the United States, where the population of mixed-race people is considerably higher, and where such people have been prominent in areas from network news to Hollywood.

Further, as readers may have realized by now, there is a sort of racial hierarchy for mixed-race children and foreigners alike.

Some of our more astute and observant readers may have noticed that Asian standards of beauty stress lighter skin and fairer complexions—hence the explosive success of products such as skinwhitening creams and umbrellas on sunny days. Perhaps this has to do with the timehonored explanation of darker skin being associated with laborers who spent their time in the sun, and whiter skin with the nobility who spent their time in the shade— or perhaps it was because of the economic and political power of European nations as opposed to the apparent weakness of African nations, as one nameless blogger theorized on Tianya. Still, whatever the reasoning behind this may be, this dynamic has proven to be a very durable one and is not confined to East Asia alone. On a sidenote, however, President Obama, himself a mixed-race person, is incredibly popular in China—at least until recently, when he and his administration came under fire for several foreign policy decisions.

Possibly as a result of the importance attached to lighter skin, most mixed race children in China usually have a Caucasian parent and an Asian one—and such children are the object of curiosity and interest. When I studied abroad in China in 2008, one of my lighter-skinned friends (born to a Filipino father and a Caucasian mother in Australia) found himself the

object of much positive attention, which often took the form of requests for group photos, dates, phone numbers, and the like. Conversely, one of my darker skinned friends, a girl who was the daughter of Sudanese diplomats, encountered a more mixed reactions; while she too was showered with much interest and positive attention—she also encountered a considerable amount of racism, especially one tense situation where several people called her a “darkie” and both sides nearly came to blows. Clearly there is a double standard as well as a great deal of hypocrisy at play here.

In the end, Lou Jing did not make it past the preliminary elimination rounds and onto the final segments of Oriental Angels; whether this was due to Lou Jing’s off-key singing or negative publicity is debatable.

Nonetheless, in one recent interview with British newspaper The Guardian, Lou Jing did not seem at all deterred by her experience. Perhaps the only outward indication of her dissatisfaction was her admission that she was very interested in studying for a journalism degree in the United States or Britain. Filipino father and a Caucasian mother in Australia) found himself the object of much positive attention, which often took the form of requests for group photos, dates, phone numbers, and the like. Conversely, one of my darker skinned friends, a girl who was the daughter of Sudanese diplomats, encountered a more mixed reaction; while

she too was showered with much interest and positive attention—she also encountered a considerable amount of racism, especially one tense situation where several people called her a “darkie” and both sides nearly came to blows. Clearly there is a double standard—as well as a great deal of hypocrisy—at play here.

In the end, Lou Jing did not make it past the preliminary elimination rounds and onto the final segments of Oriental Angels; whether this was due to Lou Jing’s off-key singing or negative publicity is debatable.

Nonetheless, in one recent interview with British newspaper “The Guardian,” Lou Jing did not seem at all deterred by her experience. Perhaps the only outward indication of her dissatisfaction was her admission that she was very interested in studying for a journalism degree in the United States or Britain.

Image Sources Shanghainese Black Girl Lou Jing with Mother. http:// alybabafaye. files.wordpress.com Black girl Lou Jing. http:// zebraisfood.files.wordpress. com/2009/11/ Bird Cage. http://www. chinasmack. com

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The American Dream Deferred: Our Immigration System and its Failures

By Calvin Prashad

The story of Qing Hong Wu is a typical story of redemption. Immigrating to New York from China at the age of five, his mother worked in sweatshops while his father worked in a Chinese restaurant out of state. Meanwhile, he went to school and excelled, scoring in the 96th percentile in mathematics.

H

owever, there were underlying problems in Wu’s life.

He lacked parental supervision and stayed out until late at night. At the age of 15, Wu joined a street gang in New York’s Chinatown that he hoped would protect him from bullying. Of course, as is the case with many gangs, they themselves turned into the aggressors and committed a string of muggings. At his hearing, Judge Michael Corriero sentenced Wu to three to six years in juvenile correction and warned Wu to use his time in correction to reform himself and work to help his family. If he could do that, then the judge promised to “stand behind him” later in life.

Today Wu is 29 years old. He earned his release after three years due to good behavior and became the sole provider for his mother. He worked his way from a data entry clerk, to vice president of internet technologies at Centerline Capital group. Qing Hong Wu is a model from rehabilitation and self-improvement. Yet, when Mr. Wu, 15 years after his crimes, applied for US citizenship, he disclosed his criminal record.

Shockingly, the authorities responded to Mr. Wu with a choice. Either meet with them, or be labeled as a fugitive. With no other options, he met with Immigration authorities and they arrested him, without hesitation as a “criminal alien” in the spot and interned him in a corrections institute in New Jersey.

Authorities began procedures to deport him to China, in spite of the fact that he had no

family or friends there. Everyone that knew Wu described him as an upstanding and hardworking man.

The United States’ immigration policy is a direct reflection of an eternal mistrust of foreigners. Any excuse to keep more immigrants from entering the country or finding creative ways to deport the ones already here transcends several presidential administrations and political party lines. After all, the upper crust loves to shift blame on the immigrants for the inherent social and economic inequalities in the American system. The system of detention against innocent immigrants (not even the ones that have committed crimes) operates in a legal grey area that gives detainees next to no rights or legal recourse to plead their case. In addition, the system denies their friends and family contact with the prisoner, placing countless families in limbo. It matters not if they are married or with children, immigration authorities are merciless in the enforcement of the law, even if it means deporting an individual for crimes committed as a juvenile. Although the vast majority of immigrants that commit crimes in this country actually deserve deportation, the absolute nature of the laws enables the authorities to operate prisons with virtually no oversight. Additionally, when the system discovers youth offenders, such as Wu, without any reason or logic the authorities hold the power to uproot his entire life, move him from prison to prison and finally to send him back to a country where he does not belong.

The system, in short needs humanity and accountability.

Immigration authorities have no qualms about tearing families with young children apart. If an incompetent immigration attorney misfiles the necessary paperwork, the alien will be detained without warning leaving the remaining family to appeal to their nearest congressional representative for intervention.

I have seen a tired mother, with a sick, premature infant pleading for someone, anyone, to help her find her detained husband. I have seen a veteran, born and raised in the United States, trying in vain to find his detained wife. All he knew was that she has held somewhere in a New Jersey detention center, far from her home and with no contact with the outside world. He was ready to start a life with her, and now, he may never see her again.

While there are forms and procedures that allow illegal aliens to remain in the United States if they marry a citizen, complacent or predatory immigration attorneys can mishandle even the simplest of these forms. In any given ethnic neighborhood in the United States, countless immigration attorneys make money by providing legal advice to confused and desperate immigrants. These attorneys may be immigrants or children of immigrants themselves and they use that to add to their appeal. Strangers in a new land find the idea of an attorney that looks like them and understands their language appealing. However, too often,

“This is an American story, and Qing is a model of what America can do.”

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Qing Wu and his Mother, Fiancé and Sister

the mentality of “I look like you so you can trust me” backfires, with disastrous results. These immigration attorneys, with full knowledge that scared immigrants will not hold them accountable for their service, fill out the requisite paperwork carelessly, or sometimes not at all. They also charge exorbitant fees and in some extreme cases, threaten to call the authorities if they refuse to pay said fees. This predatory system only works because of the tremendous fear immigrants have of the immigration bogeyman. This fear allows exploitation by callous sweatshop owners and other slave drivers. It is this same fear that inhibits them from seeking essential services such as education and healthcare.

Most anti-immigration activists complain (and I will agree), that allowing some illegals that do not have a taxable income to seek services is a drain on these essential services. However, this number is minuscule compared to the massive amount of wasteful state, federal, and local government spending in other sectors. It is obvious that illegals do not intend to live in the shadows forever. Their children, educated in the American system will grow up as well adjusted members of society and will pay taxes and contribute to American society. To attempt to force them back into the shadows only exacerbates the problem.

After four months of detention, the Monmouth Correctional Facility released Wu. His family, with the aid of the Organization of Chinese in America (OCANY) secured a pardon from Governor David Patterson. At the time of his release however, immigration authorities did not attempt to inform him of his pardon but instead, told him to gather his things, and subsequently put him out on the street. He

knew nothing of the pardon and thought that the system made a mistake. In reality, the pardon was four days old, yet such was the isolation he was no aware of that fact until much later on. Therefore, in the middle of the night, with no friends or family in sight, Wu walked with other released inmates to a bus stop a half-mile away, and then took a bus to the port authority terminal in Manhattan, then walked for an hour to his Spring Street apartment. The entire trip took nearly three hours. This underscores another injustice done to detainees. The prisons keep them in abject isolation, away from the outside world. In spite of Wu’s family attempting to reach him, to tell him that they would pick him up, the prison ignored the calls. By the time Wu’s mother, fiancé and sister arrived at the facility; he had already departed on his two and a half hour odyssey to the city.

Concurrently, the federal government announced a plan to move all immigrant detainees from Varick Detention center in New York City to a New Jersey facility.

In addition to moving them farther away from their homes, this move made calling the detainees by phone 800 times more expensive (to 89 cents a minute) and required a credit card.

By contrast, with a $3.99 calling plan from AT&T wireless, to call a landline in South Korea costs 9 cents a minute. To call the People’s Republic of China, 15 cents.

India? 32 cents a minute.

These exorbitant domestic rates are because a private contractor manages the system. Therefore, while it costs a fraction of the amount they charge to call a foreign country, no oversight on the private contractor enables them to gouge the family members here in the United

States. Lawyers will not accept these calls and families without a credit card have no chance of reaching their loved ones.

Further ensuring their isolation from the world, access to newspapers or television to detainees is severely restricted.

The detainees receive barely a shred of human dignity and their questionable legal status enables their keepers to crush and suppress their every request. The Varick detainees staged a hunger strike prior to the move to New Jersey. The response was on a scale a police state or authoritarian system.

Immigration agents in riot gear stormed the prison, ended the strike and sent the organizers to distant facilities in Texas, where it is unlikely that their families will ever see them again. Aside from the phone system, detainees also filed complaints about poor healthcare and the confiscation of their legal documents. While there is much political upheaval about the illegal prison at Guantanamo Bay, there is an even greater travesty on our shores. Not far from our homes are individuals that have not killed, stole, or defrauded anyone end up suffering in silence, hidden from our eyes by the paternal autocratic government.

How much longer can the people endure governments, both Democratic and Republican that curtail the liberties of many for the “security” of the majority?

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/ nyregion/17detain.html?ref=nyregion http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/ nyregion/11release.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/ nyregion/19judge.html?ref=nyregion http://freehold.injersey.com/files/2009/12/ asb-55m0zrb40ysuim4hnta_layout.jpg

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are

U.S. Treasury Bills

still

Safe Investments?

By Yinzi Liang The Year 2009 was not an easy year for the global economy. To name a few, Citigroup debt rose to record levels, banking scandals were uncovered in Europe and the States, and the U.S. unemployment rate rose to double-digits in December. When most of the countries are still trying to heal from economic downfalls, China stood out with an annual GDP growth rate of 8.7 percent. This growth is what some countries can only dream of, and it implies an increasingly important and engaging role that China plays in the global economy.

W

hen Beijing declined holdings of the U.S. Treasury Bills (T-Bills), the issue became a focal point for both domestic and international media. Are U.S. Treasury Bills still safe investments? Why did China decrease its holdings? What are the alternative investment options China could consider?

By definition, “U.S. Treasury Bills is a short-term debt obligation backed by the U.S. government with a maturity of less than one year. T-bills are sold in denominations of $1,000 up to a maximum purchase of $5 million and commonly have maturities of one month (four weeks), three months (13 weeks) or six months (26 weeks). What makes T-bills special is that rather than paying fixed interest payments like conventional bonds, the appreciation of the bond provides the return to the holder.” In short, T-bill is a relatively safe and profitable investment option, and is favored by many countries.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, China holds U.S. treasury bills worth $755.4 billion in total by December 2009, a $34 billion decline in the holdings compared to that in November.

For the first time since August 2008, it’s the sharpest decline in Chinese purchases, and Japan took over the top position. Japan currently holds a possession of $768.8 billion worthy T-bills.

Based on the U.S. government’s investigation on whether China was dumping industrial products on American territory, Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama and the arms sales with Taiwan, Kyodo News from Japan implied that the decrease in T-bill purchases was a series of Chinese revenge. However, this report is considered biased, while the decreasing of holdings in T-Bills is a pure commercial operation, rather than political retaliation.

First of all, China is not the only buyer of U.S. Treasury Bills; Japan and Great Britain are major and regular investors of T-bills as well. The fact that Japan and Great Britain are continuously buying demonstrates that the T-Bills are still considered as a favorable investment. However, even though the confidence of U.S. T-Bills does not decrease as the market fluctuates, China could also seek other investments.

Since the U.S. is deficit is continuously skyrocketing, it is the right time for the Chinese government to reduce its T-bill investment.

The U.S. government budget deficit will skyrocket to $1.56 trillion in the near future, which accounts for 10.6 percent of its GDP.

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Presently, the U.S. bears a total debt of $12 trillion, which is close to 90 percent of the country’s GDP. In other words, each American has a $45,000 debt. As a result, the federal government will print more money and inflation will be expected, which will devalue the dollar and bring risks and financial losses to the debt holder, i.e.

China and other countries.

China should seek alternate opportunities to reduce its investment risks. Jim Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Holdings, told CNBC that China should use its foreign exchange reserve to invest solid assets, such as cotton, zinc, oil, etc., which are more stable and profitable investment options.

Meanwhile, the fact that Japan is taking over the top holdings position demonstrates that Japanese exports are larger than its imports. This is good news for Chinese exports as China has become Japan’s number one trade partner.

At the same time, it is Washington’s responsibility to secure the safety and value of its T-Bills in order to ease the minds of its foreign investors.

China will not dump U.S. T-Bills and U.S. assets because the two economies are currently closely tied together, and each action requires serious consideration. Nevertheless, despite the fact that Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC that U.S. treasuries are still trustful investments, China should gradually hold fewer U.S. Treasuries for its own benefits.

Only by gradually buying fewer U.S. Treasury Bills, making substantial progress in economic growth and investing more in domestic infrastructure constructions can China efficiently tap into its huge foreign exchange reserve.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasury_bills#Treasury_bill http://ifeng.com/ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487048042045750691722 69719754.html?KEYWORDS=national+bonds+china http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/treasurybill.asp http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/01/20/china.GDP.annual/index. html http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/287734

[useless] japanese inventions

By Eve Zhang & Diane Wong This article is dedicated to all those Japanese inventions that just didn’t make it.

Personal Rain Saver Let’s be honest. Water is a valuable natural resource, yet all of us watch hundreds of gallons of water rushing off our umbrellas and into the gutters every so often. With this device, you can collect your share of natural water in a shoulder-harnessed tank while staying dry. Every drop that falls is yours to keep!

Grass Toilet Seat Be in touch with nature. Sometimes, we lose sight of our connection to our natural environment. The grass toilet helps us reconnect with nature. The toilet seat is not portable, so it’s better to save your time in the bathroom for when you get home. This way, you’ll be in contact with nature... at least once a day.

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Noodle Hair Guard Eating noodles can get messy, but there is a solution: a noodle eater’s hair guard!

Before you sit down to eat noodles, take a second to put the hair guard around your face. You’ll know it’s worn right when you resemble a dandelion. With this hair guard, you can slurp as many noodles as you’d like and not get food in your hair. Also, this stylish pink molded plastic device fits neatly into a briefcase or handbag. Genius!

Full Body Umbrella Sick of regular umbrellas and their inability to prevent horizontal rain? Behold—the full body umbrella, an umbrella conjoined with a body length plastic sheet that can prevent rain coming from all 360 degrees. These sheets of clear vinyl keep the body safe and dry from even those sneaky, horizontal raindrops.

Back Scratcher’s T-Shirt

Hydrophobe's Bath Body Suit

Noodle Fan

Isn’t it frustrating when you or your scratchee can’t locate the maddening itch on your back? For those who are tired of saying, “To the right... up a bit... up a bit more... more to the right... damn it!” this T-shirt is for you. The t-shirt is brilliantly designed with the Battleship grid on the backside which serves as an itch locater.

The scratchee is equipped with a miniature corresponding grid-map, for accurate communication. Next time the scratcher says, “I’m scratching E5” you can just say, “Try E7.”

You can take a bath... without getting wet! This enormous clear plastic body bag was designed for those who have a fear of water. Baths are usually taken for hygienic reasons or for relaxation. By being in this clear body suit, you get the joy of having heat around you without getting wet at all.

This hydrophobe’s bath body suit is then obviously counter-productive.

Have you ever burned yourself while eating a bowl of noodles? Naturally, after the first incident, you start blowing on the noodles before putting it in your mouth. The noodle fan does the blowing for you. It’s basically a small battery operated fan attached to one of your chopsticks. Tough luck for those using a fork then! However, there doesn’t seem to be a low, medium or high setting for the fan. Imagine using one of these on your next bowl of ramen!

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Baby Mop Babies crawl on the floor, then walk, and finally they run. Why not make the baby mop the floor while he or she is crawling all over it? Of course, the use of any chemicals is highly advised against, so the most this baby mop will do is keep dust off the floor.

While this invention was intended to be economic, most mothers would probably not want their baby to be reduced to a household object.

Heavy Smoker’s Mask

Hay Fever Hat

A heavy smoker would love this mask but it is also highly unnecessary. Imagine how much tar would accumulate in their lungs with each and every puff. Chain smokers smoke their cigarettes one after another, not all at once. The sudden intake of all this nicotine would have even more adverse effects on their health. Anyone caught in public with this mask would also probably be subject to ridicule.

Having tissues around when you’re sneezing and wheezing every minute or so is extremely convenient. This Hay Fever Hat essentially looks like a toilet paper roll fixated on top of your head. It looks utterly ridiculous. A simple package of tissues in your pocket cannot be that hard. If one is truly desperate, why not stick a whole roll of toilet paper in a giant purse? At least you can hide the roll and save your reputation.

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Beauty is PAIN

By Momokun As media portrays the typical western beauty as the perfect woman, women are finding alternatives to keep up with this superficial beauty. Asian women feel more pressure and carry a heavier burden because their physical features are a little different from the ideal image. The latest trend that has been spreading like wild fire in Asia is special contact lens called circle lens. What is so special about them is they are a little bigger than regular contact lens. Normal contact lenses are around 12 mm to 14 mm, while the circle lens is a little bigger and thicker than regular contact lens. Using the advantage that it is slightly larger than regular contact lens, it has a big black ring circling around it that makes the eyes look bigger. Due to the black ring on the circle lens, the iris appears enlarged.

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any Asian celebrities wear them to assimilate with the western standards and thus by wearing them, they are the image and role models, which easily influences younger girls. What attracts them more to the younger generation is that the circle lenses are cheaper than regular contacts and a pair can last up to one year. These lenses are also made popular by ulzzangs (얼짱), which means “best face.” They are usually made up of net idols, celebrities, and just people who are famous for their doll-like faces.

Because of the heavy influence to look like a doll, many Asian girls use the circle lens on an everyday basis and plus heavy whitening makeup to achieve this look. This is why many people characterize Asian girls as cute because they are typically very tiny and usually looks like a doll. The Asian girls have found a way to show off their attractive features, and like many other girls, they rather suffer and let their bodies take its own toll to look pretty.

Recently, the trend has spread to all Asian girls worldwide. They have assimilated to the culture of looking cute and using circle lens to make up for their different physical traits from other races. It has now become a common identity for Asian girls to look cute and by all means, most will try to achieve this look by using various methods such as whitening makeup, plastic surgery, or the most efficient non-plastic surgery way to go: circle lens. I know after reading this article, many girls will research about circle lens and where to get them. Sadly, circle lens are not FDA approved in America due to health hazards and the harms that does to your eyes. But if you’re interested in buying “special lens,” most of the reliable brands are the Korean companies such as G&G, Bescon, and etc. because circle lens originated from Korea. There are other circle lens companies from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia but most of them are not FDA or CE approved. You can purchase them through online sites and companies. However, ladies, please take this in consideration: People say that eyes are the windows to the soul, but what soul is there when the eyes that people see are basic deceptions?

Editors Note: I’m not sure who this is a picture of, but this girl has the “Ulzzang” look. High nose bridge, pale skin, doll-like eyes. We apologize for using you as an example, random creepy Korean girl.

“People say that eyes are the windows to the soul, but what soul is there when the eyes that people see are basic deceptions?”

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Civil War: Behind the Curtains The Students of the Turkish Dual Diploma Program/ Global And International Relations examine the Xinjiang conflict and the underlying grievances in the region.

What does “history” mean to you? Have you ever considered the root of your origins? Have you ever imagined the lives of your ancestors?

You do not usually consider these issues, but in our globalized world, with all events intertwining with others, we have lived our lives without the noticing our roots in the war and peace. While you are reading this article, you should compare your experiences between these people in some part of the world and your daily life.

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ivil wars are one of the fundamental elements of our history and when searching for its definition there are 99,400,000 results for “Civil Wars” in Google search. Thus, each result shows that there are many conflicts in many parts of the world. Throughout history, there are many conflicts, some of raised from ideological reasons and others from greed and inevitable grievances. However, the recent civil wars have been more brutal and uncontrollably violent, with devastating long-term effects. In many recent cases, violence can clearly exist but, in the case of China and Uighur people, soaring, intense conflict makes us wonder that after such a deep and long history together, why does this conflict arise between Han Chinese and Uighurs in its present form?

In a span of three hundred years, the

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separation between Uighurs and Han Chinese occurred during the Qing Dynasty’s first colonization in Xinjiang area in the mid eighteenth century. But in the recent history, the starting point of this intensive conflict

Han Chinese and with that, long historical grievances emerge. The area of Xinjiang has a major importance for China because there are enormous oil wells that are much bigger than the size of Texas and located at

Why does this conflict arise between Han Chinese and Uighurs in its present form? emerged in 1949, when China occupied East Turkestan, the lands of Uighurs, and renamed it as Sinciang (Xinjiang) which refers to “new dominion.” The fact is clear; minorities at China desire an autonomous structure, free from Beijing. Uighurs, who are Turkic-speaking Muslims do not share similar physical characteristics with Han Chinese. These traits divide them from the

a strategic location to important countries like Russia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Therefore, when almost twenty million Han Chinese settled to Xinjiang, the repression started on the Uighurs in social practices as well as in political and economic life.

Analyzing these facts explain the brutality of the unrest. In a recent incident on June 26, 2009, the deaths of two Uighurs caused massive clashes and with the intervention of Chinese People Liberation Army. It is said officially that there were one hundred and forty deaths and more than eight hundred injured Uighurs. However, the World Uighur Congress claimed that there were over eight hundred deaths not injured people. The Chinese government also tried to prevent communication between protestors and with the censorship wanted to keep evidences inside. Before the Olympics it is known that, Chinese police have arrested more than ten thousand Uighurs.

Furthermore, following September 11, 2001, the Chinese government claimed that Uighurs politically contributed to global terror and carried the seriousness of events

in another level. On the side of Uighurs, there are also elements that trigger the conflict.

Absence of deeper political organization and leadership leads to different agendas among the Uighur people.

In such an intense situation, China claimed these clashes as a civil war between two ethnic groups and instigated more conflicts. In addition, analyzing all events such as an incident of minorities is showing the approach of China clearly.

The repression and restrictions of Chinese Army over Uighurs cannot be ignored and long historical facts show that this conflict between Uighurs and Han Chinese is not just a simple civil war. What happens behind the curtains are more than we know and the absence of knowledge constitutes continuing warfare.

When all grievances are ruled out, the hope for peace between Uighurs and Han Chinese lie in efforts of both sides. There are officially fifty six ethnic groups in China and in such a diverse population without provocative incentives, people may live

in peace with just tolerance and respect to their characteristics, cultures, traditions and borders. It is essential to know that without discrimination and greed, occurrence of peace will be inevitable for the Uighurs and Han Chinese.

Works Cited: Hareyan, A. (2009, July 7). China’s Ethnic Conflict: Uighurs Against Han Chinese.

Retrieved March 20, 2010, from Huliq . http://www.huliq.com/1/83171/chinasethnic-conflict-uighurs-against-hanchinese Roberts, S. (2009, July 8). Ethnic Clashes in China: Uighurs vs. Han Chinese.

Retrieved March 19, 2010, from The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wpdyn/content/discussion/2009/07/07/ DI2009070701491.html Loorey, S. ( 2009, July 24 ). Understanding Uighur-Han conflict in China’s Xinjiang Province. Retrieved March 20, 2010, from Missorian. http://www.columbiamissourian.com/

Editors note: International students are always welcome to write for Asian Outlook. We will help you with spelling and grammar if necessary. Please direct all inquires to ao.editor@gmail.com

stories/2009/07/24/understandinguighur-han-conflict-chinas-xinjiangprovince/ `Sui, C. ( 2009, August 17 ). ANALYSIS: Attacks show China-Uighur conflict deepening: experts. Retrieved March 21, 2010 from M&C. http://www.monstersandcritics. com/sport/olympics2008/news/ article_1424632.php/ANALYSIS_Attacks_ show_China-Uighur_conflict_deepening_ experts Picture Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:China_ Xinjiang.svg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:%C3%9Cr%C3%BCmqi_2008.png

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A Country in Everything But Name By Richard Chu 20

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rom the perspective of outsiders, the question of

Taiwan independence is largely an unentertaining topic; after a few minutes of trivial debate, apathy reaches critical mass and discussion turns to something more productive, like whether or not Taylor Swift should quit acting. However, for some people in this world, the status of Taiwan as a country generates arguments as fierce as health care reform policies and global warming in America. I, for one used to help populate the apathetic crowd. Personally, Taiwan’s independence was obvious: the country of Taiwan is a country. However, after studying abroad in China, it became more and more apparent that several people in this world feel differently. By “several,” I mean a billion.

With such a magnitude of overwhelming force corrupting my beliefs, it seemed perilous that I should fall into the world of groupthink and renounce the truths that I held to be self-evident. However, after much deliberate research it led me to realize that Taiwan is everything an independent nation should be, save having the universally acknowledged title of “a country”. Let’s review.

In terms of Gross Domestic Product, Taiwan ranks as #40 in the world by the International Monetary Fund.

This means that the GDP/total number of people in the country is higher than that of Poland, Russia, Chile, Mexico, and mainland China just to name a few. Moreover, the population of Taiwan is 23 million people, which makes it slightly smaller than North Korea but larger than Australia. Therefore, economically and socially, they certainly seem to have the capability to be their own country (and then some).

Taiwan has their own military force of almost 400,000 active personnel and spends about 15% of its budget on defense.

Currently the United States sells weapons to Taiwan, but China has approved an anti-secession law against the island.

The political tension runs thick seeing as how China continues to aim hundreds of missiles at the island, a number that increases daily. At last estimate, there is one Chinese missile for every 23 kilometers of Taiwanese land. Moreover, China has also demanded that the United States discontinue sales of arms to Taiwan. At the moment China’s public policy is that they will use force if Taiwan declares independence, but demands that the world recognize it as an internal political matter rather than an act of aggression.

Taiwan has maintained control over the island since 1949.

While China still claims control over Taiwan, Taiwan has had no political connections with the mainland.

The island has its own governmental system, organized economy, and pays no taxes or tribute to China.

Taiwan issues globally recognized passports and sends its own team to the Olympic Games The Chinese government does not recognize the Taiwanese passport as a legal passport since they do not believe it constitutes international travel. However, Taiwanese citizens are still required to show a Taiwan Compatriot Pass along with the passport when they enter the mainland.

Essentially the Chinese government is in denial. They refuse to allow Taiwan to seek independence when in fact it has already occurred. As the only place in the world that still retains the traditional Chinese alphabet and characters, Taiwan has already proved that it has a culture of its own. In terms of population and economic strength, Taiwan is not only on par with most of the world’s developed countries, but in fact ahead of many of them.

Paying tribute to no one and retaining their own monetary system, an official succession of Taiwan from China would require no restructuring. The only consequence from officially declaring Taiwan a country would be depletion in special interests regarding missile and other military production/purchase for the two nations; this money that could easily be allocated to more worthwhile expansionary projects.

With China attempting to change the world views on their nation through the World Expo, one would believe that they would realize that admitting Taiwan into their proper place would most certainly increase their reputation even further.

It seems pretty obvious that Taiwan does not intend to pretend to reintegrate itself into mainland China anytime soon.

A full military attack on Taiwan would destroy the people China wishes to covet, and thus such an action would simply be brutishly childish on China’s part. With such a stalemate in place, the world is simply waiting on China to step up and admit defeat; such a defeat would not deplete the honor of the great nation. Rather, it would become apparent to the world that perhaps China has finally grown up.

However, should China continue to chase this hopeless dream of manifest destiny, it seems that Taiwan may be the catalyst for the next World War, throwing this planet into a regressive curve wrought with primitive ideals.

Is Taiwan an independent nation...

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Asian foreign policy issue currently faced by the U.S. is the Taiwan question. With ever-increasing tension between China and Taiwan for unification, there is an increasing feeling among the Chinese populace that Taiwan should be a part of China and not an independent and autonomous government. I stand by my convictions that Taiwan remains, and will continue to remain, a part of China. I will present to you reasons as to why Taiwan is not, and will never be independent from China. he most pressing

“Taiwan’s own military capabilities provide a substantial deterrent against a Chinese invasion” False. China has consistently maintained that if Taiwan declares independence it will declare war. Remember when President Lee suggested having ‘state to state’ relations with China? China fired three missiles into the Taiwan Straits, close to Taiwan’s two largest ports. I don’t see why this can’t happen again, especially when China has been modernizing at such alarming rates. Last year during China’s military parade in Beijing, the People’s Liberation Army displayed 52 weapons systems including nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, drones, attack helicopters and long-range missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads. Also, consider this, China has several hundreds of ICBMs ready and aimed at Taiwan. Taiwan has no nuclear deterrence capabilities, thus one wrong move from Taiwan could potentially trigger an Eastern Arms Race.

Additionally, Taiwan can’t compare to China’s military capabilities. Taiwan’s military spending hardly compares to the Chinese military’s USD $12.608 billion budget. It’s almost impossible to imagine Taiwan surviving an attack from the largest army in the world.

“Independence is more politically possible in modern Taiwan” False. Taiwan’s independence agenda is much less appealing today than it was a decade ago. This is because over the past several years, leaders of more and more countries have spoken out against Taiwan independence, which makes Taiwan’s independence less appealing to the international community. The 1971 UN decision to “restore China’s rights to the People’s Republic of China, and to recognize the representatives of its government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the UN” has not changed.

The “Taiwan independence movement” is in danger of becoming obsolete, and politicians who once identified with it are scrambling

or is it a part of China?

to find a more populist platform. Polls show that less than one in five of Taiwan’s 21 million people want to pursue a final divorce from China and about half prefer things the way they are in the status quo. People in Taiwan, like people anywhere, want stability and prosperity.

Taiwanese citizens realize the cost outweighs, and that it is more feasible to remain dependent to China.

“Taiwan has its own culture, history and values, separate from mainland China” False. “Mainlanders” are of the same race as the Taiwanese. The languages, cultural roots are the same.

Records of Chinese people developing Taiwan in earlier periods are found in annals dating back more than 1,750 years. On one hand, they argue that Taiwan should resist the mainlanders on the ground that they are “racially and culturally” different from the Taiwanese. On the other hand, they seek to associate with the Japanese and the Americans who are even more “racially and culturally” different. It’s impossible to argue that the Japanese are more “racially and culturally” closely related to the Taiwanese than the mainlanders are related to the Taiwanese. It simply makes no sense to resist unification with the mainland on racial and cultural grounds.

Looking at the situation from China’s point of view, there is no way that China will give Taiwan up without a fight. The “Taiwanese independence movement” has direct and pressing relevance to China’s autonomous regions, precisely because if China were to allow Taiwan become independent, then other autonomous provinces would likely to seek independence from China as well.

Other provinces, particularly the five autonomous regions in China: Tibet, Guanxi, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia could very well choose to pursue their own independence movements. Let’s be honest, China’s fight over Taiwan is not about controlling resources, it’s about setting a precedent, so that other provinces wouldn’t dare do the same in the future. Land is power, and China will not give up pieces of its territory without a fight.

Furthermore, looking at the situation from a strategic standpoint, Taiwan acts as a direct barrier between China and the United States. Since Taiwan is a relatively weak military power, if it gains independence, the country would undoubtedly be placed under the US umbrella, such as South Korea and Japan are currently.

If this is the case, then the US army and navy could use the Taiwanese territory as bases and ports. This places China at a huge military disadvantage, since if there were to be tensions between the two countries, the US would just have to cross the Taiwan Strait to attack China’s largest cities.

Just consider these reasons I’ve listed above as to why Taiwan is not, and will not be, independent from China.

Taiwan, China. By Diane Wong

“Taiwan has a strong economy, and is capable of sustaining itself.”

False. A move to independence would cause China to punish Taiwan’s economy severely. Currently, China is Taiwan’s largest import and export partner, back in 2006, the PRC accounted for 22.5% and 11.9% of Taiwan’s exports and imports respectively. One could imagine these figures would have grown even more rapidly as both economies remain to grow exponentially. Yes, Taiwan might have a strong economy now, but the real question is whether they will be able to maintain this economy in the face of an attack from China. An attack from China in economic form could severely harm Taiwan’s economy.

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By Diane Wong

Confucian Feminism 22

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onfucius was a man of words. As one of China’s

most prominent political figures, Confucius is most famously known for his speculation on the education and comportment of the ideal gentleman.

He is also known for his views on how human beings should live and interact with others and how an ideal government should be ruled. Although Confucius is revered today as a philosopher who dealt with morals and ethics, he must also be remembered for subtly paving the way to the early ideals of feminism.

It is astounding that such a scholar during his time would even include women in his philosophies and teachings. Although according to the Confucian structure of society, women at every level were to occupy a lower position than men, his philosophies about women offer traditional insight to help raise awareness of women’s historic participation and status in their societies. Although ideology is one thing and the reality of women’s lives is another, the long shadow of basic beliefs about the nature and role of women had far-reaching effects.

Confucius talks about heaven-father and earthmother as well as yin-yang, harmony and unity.

Heaven is the source of the universe’s creation while earth is life’s undertaker. Confucianism speaks about the different roles of husband and wife, but not equally. This means man and woman each have a particular role in the social and family order, and

each should realize his or her value of existence.

Since there is an underlying idea of gender differences under an orderly heaven-earth unity, Confucian feminism is based on the principle of ren (humanness), the notion of rights as fen (share) and duty-based ethics.

Eurocentric feminism is fed upon the idea of equality between men and women. These feminists view women as individuals endowed with inalienable rights and advocate for the establishment of a gender-blind society with equal opportunities for both men and women. Some have argued that Western feminists traditionally adopt a male value system in order to realize women’s own values.

On the contrary, Confucian feminism revolves around the idea that absolute equality is not possible and does not exist. Confucian feminism also states that differences are natural. The idea of gaining female power solely based upon the male value system completely disregards the importance of “difference” and “independence”. To Confucian feminists, women are able to achieve self-potential by realizing their own unique feminine value rather than aim at the abstract idea of “equality” that imitates male values.

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics 24

Shen and Zhao

By Brendan Lu

Zhao Hongbo (left) and Shen Xue (right) with their medals at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics

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Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, Feb. 14, 2010 was more than just a Valentine’s Day and the first day of Chinese New Year. Of course, it was the time of the year to celebrate the New Year and to rejoice in their two-year marriage, but the title of “olympics medalists” lured them out of their cozy life.

As three-time pair-skating world champions, Shen and Zhao retired in 2008, got married and settled into a comfortable life.

However, this bliss was disturbed by the idea that they had participated in the past four Olympics and achieved only two bronze medals. Thus, they decided to return to the ice the past May. Having been partners for over 15 years, Shen and Zhao claim their most coveted medals of their career at the Winter Olympics at Vancouver.

Their splendid performance on Feb. 14 enabled them to finish the competition with a record score to defeat Germany’s two-time world champion pair Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. Even though it was not the best skate of their career—Shen tumbled onto Zhao’s back during a lift—overall it was still a dazzling performance that grabbed the audience’s attention.

They successfully completed side-by-side triple or

toe loops, double Axels and hit both throws: a triple loop and triple Salchow. Despite being rather aged athletes—Shen and Zhao at 31 and 36, respectively— they still skated along the choreography of Giazotti’s “Adagio in G Minor,” perfectly in tune with the music.

When they realized they were the gold medalists, they appeared overwhelmed with emotion. “This is a dream come true,” Zhao said through an interpreter. “We have had this dream for many, many, many years!”

This amazing performance Shen and Zhao delivered was, of course, a wonderful Valentine’s Day gift for all the people who have stood by their skating career. Back in China, many families gathered in front of their televisions on Chinese New Year to watch the performances. The moment after Shen and Zhao claimed the championship, fans rushed online to post their congratulations.

“This is a dream come true,” Zhao said through an interpreter. “We have had this dream for many, many, many years!”

Image Source: Oregon Live http://media.oregonlive.com/olympics_impact/ photo/shenjpg-0df2b74c90d048d3_large.jpg

Asian Dominance in Short Track Speed Skating

By Simon Wong Meng Wang (middle) in Short Track Speed Skating at Vancouver 2010

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s we all know,

Asians are not known for being very fast. Aside from Chinese sprinter Liu Xiang, there haven’t been many medal winning Asian sprinters. However once Asians put on a pair of skates and start racing, they are as dominant as Jamaicans are at sprinting. This event is short track speed skating, has been part of the Olympics since 1992 at Albertville, France. After the 2010 Winter Olympics there have been a total of 40 events in short track skating.

One Asian country that dominates this sport is South Korea. Out of 120 medals, South Korea has won 37 medals in these games. Even more astonishing South Korea has won 19 out of 40 gold medals, this is an amazing 47.5 percent of all gold medals awarded.

Even though speed skating is a relatively new sport it has become immensely poplar in South Korea.

In the minds of many South Koreans, the gold medal count should be 20 out of 40 because of the events of the 2002 Salt Lake City games. Many South Koreans felt that Kim Dong-Sung would have been the winner if he had not been disqualified.

Another sign that South Koreans excel in speed skating is by looking at the world records for this sport. Out of the five main events in men’s speed skating: 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m and 5000m relays, four out of those five records are held by South Koreans. In the women’s side, South Korea has one out of five world records, but the other four world record holders come from China.

Like almost every other Winter Olympics, South Korea was the winner in

overall medals for this year’s Olympics with a total count of eight. The team was led by Lee Jung-Su who won a gold medal in both the 1000m and 1500m. Lee Ho-Suk and Sung Si-Bak captured the silver medals in the 1000m and 500m respectively. South Korea’s relay team in the 5000m placed second behind Canada. On the women’s side, South Korea won the silver medal in

medal in the 1500m. Likewise, both women were part of the 3000m relay team that not only won the gold medal but set the world record.

Meng Wang is also the second most decorated Olympian in this sport with 6 total medals from the 2006 and 2010 Olympics. At the age of 24, I can only suspect that she will participle in many more Olympics and one day will surpass Apolo Anton Ohno as the most decorated Olympian in this sport. Similar to Meng, Zhou Yang is 18 years old. She is also the record holder for both the 1000m and 1500m events. With both speed skaters in their youth, China will probably head into the 2014 Olympics as favorites.

As you can see, South Korea and China together won a total of 12 out of 24 medals in this year’s short track speed skating events.

We can clearly say that this year’s short track speed skating was dominated by Asian countries. Short track speed skating has the potential to become even more popular in these two countries because of the many success stories they have. I can only assume that in 2014 in Sochi, Russia that there will probably be a repeat with these two countries winning most of the medals as usual.

“Even more astonishing South Korea has won 19 out of 40 gold medals, this is an amazing 47.5 percent of all gold medals awarded.” the 1500m by Lee Eun-Byul. While Park Seung-Hi won the bronze medal in the 1000m.

Aside from South Korea, China is also showing a lot of promise in short track speed skating. China has won a total of 24 medals in this sport with seven of them being gold. This year China won four medals. Even though four many seem as little, all four of these medals are gold.

These four medals also all came from the women’s side of speed skating, which also means that they swept all four women’s events in short track speed skating. This was possible because of Meng Wang, who received a gold medal in both the 500m and 1000m. While Zhou Yang won a gold

Image Source: Zimbio http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/vc 911lQnYQC/2010+ISU+World+Cup+ Short+Track+Speedskating/6xvraf6T wX3/Meng+Wang

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Recap:

Short Track Clearly an Asian Specialty

Apolo Anton Ohno in Short Track Speed Skating in Vancouver 2010 Olympics

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inning gold in the last two

events, the 500m and the 5000m relay, the Canadians finished Short Track Speed Skating with a bang. Once Canadian skater, Charles Hamelin passed the finish line in first place, all the hometown fans in Pacific Coliseum erupted in cheers. Another gold placed Canada further more in the lead with the most golds in this Olympics. However, this gold did not come easily as the South Koreans and Americans, who have been dominating this sport, trailed closely behind. The 5000m closed out two eventful weeks of speed skating, where records were shattered and rivalries heated.

The first event, the 1500m, proved to be quite an opening to the Olympic Games. With the time winding down, the South Koreans appeared to have swept the 1500m short track finals, a sport that they have consistently dominated in during the Olympics. Skating into the final lap as the Koreans start to break ahead with the lead, the unexpected happened. Korean Lee Ho-Suk, in an attempt to go on the inside, slipped and brought fellow teammate, Sung Si-Back down along with him, allowing Americans Apolo Anton Ohno and J.R. Celski to secure the silver and bronze positions respectively. The Americans have pulled the surprising win. This race brought back memories of the rivalry that stemmed all the way back to the 2002 Salt

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Lake City Olympics between America and South Korea. During the 1500m in the 02 Olympics, Ohno won the gold due to a disqualification call on Korean skater Kim Dong-Sung, who had crossed the finish line first. This one incident started a rivalry that can still be seen eight years later with

This win was AsianAmerican Apolo Anton Ohno’s sixth Olympic medal, with two golds, one silver and two bronzes already under his belt.

Korean fans holding a sign that read “I know what Ono did last winter.”

This win was Asian-American Apolo Anton Ohno’s sixth Olympic medal, with two golds, one silver and two bronzes already under his belt. For fellow 19 year old Asian-American J.R. Celski, this was his first medal, which held more significance than anything else. A mere five months ago, Celski’s Olympic dreams almost died when he crashed during the trials. Celski had already qualified safely into the Olympics and was on his final lap of the day when a gruesome slip caused his right skate blade to tear into his left thigh, an injury that

By Cheri Cheng

could have cost him his career. After going through a 6-week rehabilitation regime, Celski was back with an even larger drive to win.

Although Celski was disqualified in the 1500m, fellow American Ohno made U.S. history by winning the bronze in that final.

Ohno, who started off the race at a good position, lost his spot in second when he made a minor slip and fell back to last place during the third lap. With roughly two laps to go and Koreans, Lee Jung-Su and Lee Ho-Suk with the lead, Ohno appeared to have lost the race. Being the experienced veteran that he is, Ohno quickly scrambled past the two Canadian brothers and secured a podium finish just in the nick of time. Ohno is now the United States’ most decorated winter Olympian with seven medals in total, beating Bonnie Blair’s previous record of six. Ohno had another chance to extend his record in the 500m finals only to be disqualified for pushing Canadian skater, Francois-Louis Tremblay.

This disqualification gave Korean, Sung, Si-Bak the silver and Tremblay, the bronze, with Canadian Hamelin already securing the gold.

On the women’s side of the track, a rivalry between Korea and China seem to be brewing. An early dispute between Korea’s coach, Choi Guang-Bok and Chinese trainers who were taping Korea’s practice, created more tension between these two nations. With China’s surge in women’s Short Track in the past years, the Korean women have been unable to find the same success that their male counterparts have.

China’s best skater, Wang Meng ended the Vancouver Olympics with three golds in the 500m, 1000m, and 3000m relay, whereas the Koreans were unable to secure any golds, leaving with one silver and two bronzes.

Despite America’s new record, attained

by Ohno, here in Vancouver, the Koreans really took it home with eight total short track medals combined. With Americans and Koreans dominating the podium on the men’s side, the rivalry between these two nations will surely grow in the years to come, whether or not Ohno chooses to come back for the 2016 Sochi Olympics.

Sources: NBC Universal. NBC Sports Vancouver 2010.

2010. 28 Feb 2010 <nbcolympics.com>.

Image Source: Zimbio http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Short+Tra ck+Speed+Skating+Day+2+TrlZ2oMEpsZl.jpg

Kim Yu-na

Dazzled the world with her stunning performance

By Clara Kittrell

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I am not the only one who watched with bated breath and a pounding heart as Kim Yu-na completed a stunning long program at the final night of Women’s Figure Skating at the Vancouver Olympics.

Nearly flawless in her movements, Kim Yuna had even the ex-figure skaters analyzing her performance in awe as she went through the routine. After the music ended, the onlooking crowd went into an uproar cheering for the bright, charismatic 19-yearold from South Korea who has stolen the hearts of not only her own countrymen, but of many people across the globe.

Kim Yu-na had an impressive and even somewhat intimidating performance during the Vancouver Olympics. Her score of 78.50 in the short program actually broke her previous world record, and that can say with confidence that

Kim Yu-na at Vancouver 2010 Olympics

combined with a crushing 150.06 in the long program brought her final, gold-medal winning score up to 228.56. In comparison, the silver medalist Mao Asada placed with

Now, the question is, where does she go from here? She has won all that there is to win, and does not even have a true rival in the world of figure skating. a score of 205.50, a full 23 points below Yuna’s score. Anyone who watched the medal

event for figure skating that night saw that even Yu-na and her coach were surprised when her scores were announced, their jaws dropping for a moment before reality set in and they began to celebrate.

Kim Yu-na’s awarding of a gold medal at the Olympics this year was significant in several ways. Besides solidifying her status as a megastar in figure skating and making her one of the biggest personalities ever in the sport, she was the first Korean to win any medal—let alone the gold—in figure skating. She is also the first figure skater to win the World Grand Prix Final, Four Continents Championships, World Championships and the Winter Olympics gold medal. Kim Yu-Na has brought a sense of fame and pride to her country in the same way that Apollo Ohno or Michael Phelps have done for America. Besides being one of the top figure skaters in the world, Kim Yu-na has also become one of the richest Winter Olympians, second only to Shawn White. Already a popular athlete for endorsements with Korean companies before the Olympics, companies throughout Korea are now lining up to try and sign her for their products now. Sales of products already endorsed by Yu-na have increased immensely.

Now, the question is, where does she go from here? She has won all that there is to win, and does not even have a true rival in the world of figure skating. During the Vancouver Olympics, her biggest competition was Asada, and if her biggest competition fell behind by 23 points, then who can challenge her? With such a perfect performance during the Olympics, will her coach be able to find anything to improve?

It could be that from this point on, Kim Yu-na’s biggest rival will not be another figure skater but simply herself. With no competition to worry about, there is really no challenge left in the sport. She could start to train for the next Winter Olympics, but even that is still four years from now.

There is no doubt that Kim Yu-na truly shined during the Vancouver Olympics.

She brought pride not only to her home country, South Korea, but to the sport of figure skating itself. She competed with a sense of grace and humility that captured the hearts of audiences everywhere, and the world would be hard pressed to find a person who felt that she did not deserve her gold medal. Since she is only 19, Kim Yu-na is sure to be dominating the ice rink for a long time coming, and I for one am looking forward to seeing all else this amazing skater can do.

Image Source: New York Daily News http://assets.nydailynews.com/ img/2009/03/28/alg_yu-na.jpg

27

Asians in Baseball Kurt Suzuki

By Jeff Hwang

He is a young catcher. He is on a team that finished with a losing record in the past three seasons. But he is an up-and-coming player. He is improving.

And he is Asian.

I

t was only the first inning. Oakland Athletics’ Ryan Sweeney was inching off first base. Two men were out and the count stood at a ball and a strike. The man at the plate was the cleanup hitter—and the catcher.

At that point in time, he was 25 years old and had 28 career home runs through three seasons.

A prototypical cleanup hitter can dish out 28 round-trippers in a single season. This young catcher was only 5 feet 11 inches tall. Power was definitely not his best-known attribute.

However, that was the case prior to the 2009 baseball season.

Los Angeles Angels’ ace pitcher John Lackey wound back his arm in preparation for one of his trademark curveballs. The batter, Kurt Suzuki, twists his torso back, taps his foot down once, charges and launches the baseball far into left field, high into the sunset. Angels’ left fielder, Juan Rivera, jogs back toward the warning track and briefly glances up at the soaring ball.

In moments, it lands several yards away from him, bouncing in the Angels’ bullpen. It was Suzuki’s 29th career long ball.

The home run put the Athletics up 2-0, but by the end of the fourth inning, the Angels have scored nine times. It appeared to be yet another blowout game.

Fast-forwarding to the top of the eighth inning, the game had become a dogfight. After chipping the Angels’ lead down to 10-9, the Athletics were running out of chances. They had a runner on first and third, but there were already two outs.

It was a familiar situation. The man at the plate was again their cleanup hitter; the man that was nicknamed “Kurt Klutch” during his college years. By now, Angels’ ace Lackey had departed the mound, leaving reliever Kevin Jepsen to handle Suzuki. Soon, the count was again at a ball and a strike.

A 96-mph fastball blazes toward home plate and Suzuki had his eyes locked onto the spinning ball. With a quick stroke, he launches the baseball to the opposite direction into right

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of “ In terms offense,

he was among the ranks of catching stars Mauer, McCann...

field for a base hit. Cliff Pennington easily jogged off from third base to score on Suzuki’s single. That tied the game at 10-10.

Eventually, Oakland moved on to defeat Los Angeles 15-10. Amidst all of it was catcher Kurt Suzuki, who racked up three hits and four RBIs, and scored three runs in the day’s work.

A native of Hawaii, Kurt Kiyoshi Suzuki is a Japanese-American. He is not from Japan, but from the United States. He can speak English, a trait that is missing from the bigger Japanese stars in the U.S. Mariner Ichiro Suzuki, who is of no familial affiliations, opts to speak through a personal interpreter. Ex-New York Yankee and current Angel Hideki Matsui speaks through a personal interpreter. The same applies for Boston Red Sox Daisuke Matsuzaka, Takashi Saito of the Atlanta Braves and so on.

Suzuki is certainly not a star, at least not quite yet. Most MLB players achieve stardom from their seasonal statistics.

Ichiro consistently pumps out an average of 200 hits, 100 runs scored and 40 stolen bases per season. Hideki Matsui, when healthy, can fire off 25 home runs and rack up 100 RBIs per season. In comparison, what can Kurt Suzuki offer his team?

So far, for the three seasons, that Suzuki

”

has played in his career—all in Oakland—the Athletics have not achieved much success.

By baseball standards, a .279 batting average is nothing special. However, Suzuki was second in batting average on the subpar Athletics team in 2008 (bested only

by Ryan Sweeney’s slightly higher average of .286) when the overall team ranked at a league-low .242 batting average.

In his first two seasons from 2007 to 2008, Suzuki hit a combined 14 home runs, at seven per season. However, many can consider 2009 a breakout season for this young catcher. He more than doubled his home run output, from seven to 15. He more than doubled his RBI count, from 42 to 88. In fact, Suzuki actually led the Athletics in RBIs in 2009. He also stole eight bases, a rarity amongst regular MLB catchers. Out of all major league catchers, Suzuki was first in doubles with 37, even beating out perennial catching All-Stars Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins and Brian McCann of the Braves.

Consider that Suzuki is now 26 years old and just about to enter his prime professional baseball years. Doubling his home run output again may seem like a long shot, but it is entirely possible. If not for the presence of Mauer, the coming 2010 baseball season may see Suzuki as a

potential All-Star candidate.

What does this all mean? Simply speaking, Kurt Suzuki is a budding star.

He is a potential high-caliber player in the making. In terms of offense, he was among the ranks of catching stars Mauer, McCann, Boston’s Victor Martinez and Yankees’ Jorge Posada. If he continues to excel in the coming years and consistently play for another 15 seasons, who knows where he may end up in MLB history? It will certainly make the 2010 baseball season an interesting one to watch.

Sources: baseball-reference.com mlb.com athletics.mlb.com espn.com

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Movie Reviews/

Virgin Snow &

Heartwarmingly sappy, “Virgin Snow,” a.k.a. “Cheounun” (첫눈), a.k.a. “Hatsuyuki no Koi” (初雪の恋), is beautifully shot, well-acted and a must see for dates.

M

Korean movies tend to start off with a comedic side that gradually becomes more serious. This movie is no different from the rest. “Virgin Snow” is a 2007 South Korean film directed by Han Sang Hee. Min Kim, played by Lee Jin-Ki, is a Korean who falls in love with the Japanese Nanae Sasaki, played by Aoi Miyazaki. Min Kim is a transfer student from Korea whose father is a ceramics professor in Japan. He meets Nanae Sasaki one fateful day when he falls off his bike. Ever since, he can’t stop thinking about her. He stops at nothing to try to win her attention. We see Min rescues Nanae’s art supplies and jumps up and down like a lunatic outside her classroom window.

It is interesting to see how Min and Nanae’s relationship would develop though there is language barrier. Their communication actually consists of broken English and hand signals at first. The beginning half of the movie is cute. It is fun to watch how Min eventually woos Nanae’s heart. The later half of the film is more emotionally driven and we see a source of conflict due to their language barrier. Nanae’s character reinforces the stereotypes of Japanese girls: extremely shy, conservative, and quiet. In contrast, Min’s stereotypical character is assertive, confident, and quite impatient. I also wonder why Nanae seems to be more willing to try to speak Korean than Min is with Japanese. But, of course, in the end, their love overcomes their conflict and they share a hug—yes, just a hug.

Aesthetically, this film is nice to look at. The natural scenery is beautiful. I am especially fond of the temple scenes. I wish the director inserted subtitles in some scenes. It is difficult at times to discern whether they were in Korea or Japan. It may have been fairly obvious, but some audiences still find it hard to tell in which

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any

country the characters are.

The film is sweet, romantic, and beautiful to watch. Lee Junki and Aoi Miyazaki are gorgeous to look at, so I’ll overlook their subtle acting in this film. Their acting mainly comprised of basic facial expressions. However, there are three scenes that really touched me. I will not spoil the film, but these scenes are filled with emotions that moved me to tears. Aside from that, the plot isn’t anything too original. “Love overcomes all,” is the general message of the film—as if we haven’t heard of that before. There is also very little dialog in the movie. Two characters that can’t understand each other obviously can’t do a lot of talking. Therefore, most communications are in hand motions and facial expressions.

The soundtrack is very gentle and moving, just like the love between the characters. The tracks mainly have three instruments: guitar, piano, violin. Like most romance/drama movies, the music plays quietly in the background. The percussions rattle when something drastic happens. In this movie, it serves its purpose by increasing the pace at the right moments. There is also a track called “Rain in My Heart” by The One that is used as an insert song in the movie towards the end. Korean and English versions are available on the soundtrack.

I appreciate how the director explained certain traditions and superstitions about love. If you actually have the time to relax, then I suggest you watch this film. Oh, and one last thing, Lee Jun-Ki looks like a chick sometimes, a handsome chick.

Ninja Assassin

By Eve Zhang

Asian man + secret training + lots of death = “Ninja Assassin.” Because we’ve never seen that before.

At least Rain is shirtless for most of the movie...

W

hat did I just watch? All I got out of this film was blood,

flying limbs, and Bi Rain’s muscular body. There was no plot and the dialog was extremely cliché. This film felt like an expensive B-rated movie. I have no complaints for the action sequences since the choreography was well done and extremely fast paced with a few slow motions. But the gore that ensues was utterly ridiculous. Blood was spattered everywhere like water and I couldn’t help but laugh at times. This martial arts film was directed by James McTeigue and produced

by Joel Silver and the Wachowski Brothers. This was a huge disappointment considering how good “The Matrix” and “V for Vendetta” were.

The film opens with a gangster getting a tattoo from an old man. In less than 5 minutes, everything in that scene becomes a bloodbath. Body parts get plenty of airtime and all we see of the ninja as he massacres them all is a shadow that wipes across the screen. We see him in costume as he kills the old tattoo artist. The location for this film is in Berlin, Germany. Why is it located in Germany? Why is a mythical ninja clan there?

We are introduced to the primary female character, Mika Coretti, played by Naomi Harris, a Europol agent who is investigating a series of political murders that are associated with the mythical Ozunu Clan. As a consequence, she becomes a target of the clan.

Then, we meet the male lead, Raizo (Bi Rain), a former ninja of the Ozunu clan, in a laundromat. That scene ends with blood flowing generously out of a washing machine.

The film switches back and forth between flashbacks of Raizo’s youth (when training with the Ozunu Clan) and the present, where he is still training and sharpening his skills. Raizo’s training is extremely strict and painful. Failure results in being cut or whipped.

While the flashbacks are a bit interesting to watch, they seem to be edited oddly. They disrupt the flow of the “modern” story with Mika. They also seemingly emerge out of nowhere. The director clearly wanted us to see why Raizo opposes the Ozunu clan and the “Father,” although it makes sense after the emergence of a kind female character. Can you guess what happened to her? Can you guess what made Raizo leave the clan and seek vengeance? I found myself laughing inappropriately at a number of scenes. In fact, I ended up skipping some parts because I knew it would not matter.

This film is a waste of time! The only things worth watching are the action sequences. The plot is so weak and the transition is pretty bad. We have a ninja who goes against his clan because he doesn’t like their ideals. The clan then goes after him to eliminate him.

Then, we have Mika who learns too much, and the clan goes after her too. After a series of mishaps, Raizo ends up back at the Ozunu Clans’ secret training ground. It is in the countryside somewhere up in the mountains.

Raizo and the military band together, and with the use of modern technology, the Ozunu Clan gets wiped out. Raizo gets his revenge and the film ends with him smiling.

As the credits are rolling, I bury my face in my hands and chuckle...

The end.

Images: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/ninja_assassin01.jpg http://londonkoreanlinks.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/virginsnow.JPG

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FINAL THE THIRTEE

FANTASY NTH INSTALLMENT

By Jeff Hwang

FROM THE FIRST TITLE OVER 20 YEARS AGO TO THE 13TH TITLE JUST A MONTH AGO, THE FINAL FANTASY FRANCHISE IS SHOWING NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN.

W

hen analyzing an entertainment series, the

concept of success usually hovers around a sequel or so and nothing more. Trilogies are common, but that is usually as far as they go. However, when the Final Fantasy franchise announced they were going to release their 13th title, no one was really surprised. In fact, consumers were ecstatic.

It all started in 1987 when a lone role-playing game (RPG) titled “Final Fantasy” was released for the Famicom—the Japanese version of the first Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)—to save a small media company called Square Co. Back then, Square was suffering from heavy financial losses as a result of producing less-than-enjoyable video games.

Final Fantasy was meant to be original creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s “final” “fantasy” based work before quitting the game industry. Yet even with the success of “Final Fantasy,” the company could not imagine that they were going to make entertainment history.

That was 23 years ago. In 2003, Square had merged with the Enix Corporation, another media company, to form Square Enix. After that, Sakaguchi had left and founded his own studio. But in the two decades since the release of “Final Fantasy,” the role-playing game had spawned a myriad of sequels, spin-off titles, animations, films and other merchandise. When Square Enix is mentioned, the Final Fantasy franchise is usually tied into the conversation as well. The two names are nearly synonymous.

How or why the franchise became such a global phenomenon is a mystery.

Regardless, as new installments continue to arrive, fans around the world simply keep begging for more. The series is now up to 13 titles, with the 14th already in the works. But for the time being, the subject is “Final Fantasy XIII.” At a glance, one would have trouble determining whether “Final Fantasy XIII” is a video game or a feature CGI film. Truthfully, it is indeed a video game and that is it. Transitions between player-controlled scenarios and full-length cinematic sequences are virtually flawless.

No details go unnoticed. With artistic perfection atop another, the game can be appreciated even more if

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Final Fantasy Main Series Timeline Japan Release 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2006 2009

one considers how the main series of the franchise evolved in the last two decades.

In actuality, each Final Fantasy title is a separate entity. In other words, none of the storylines are canon with each other.

Because of this, players can expect a new plot upon each release.

The first six installments (“Final Fantasy” though “Final Fantasy VI”) made use of 2-D sprites based on the NES and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES or Super Famicom). With each passing series, players and fans grew more and more familiar with the franchise’s style: long hours of game-play, intricate storylines, engaging musical compositions and unique character designs.

When the Final Fantasy series moved away from the Nintendo systems and into the 3-D world of Sony’s Playstation, the world was taken by storm. The release of “Final Fantasy VII” in 1997 as the first 3-D Final Fantasy title jumpstarted a new generation of Final Fantasy games, as graphics became one of the enduring highlights of the franchise.

The eighth and ninth installments of Final

34

Final Fantasy Final Fantasy II Final Fantasy III Final Fantasy IV Final Fantasy V Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy VII Final Fantasy VIII Final Fantasy IX Final Fantasy X Final Fantasy XI Final Fantasy XII Final Fantasy XIII

Fantasy marked the end of an era. When the sixth-generation consoles emerged— Playstation 2, GameCube and XBox—the franchise was set to transform once again.

“Final Fantasy X” was the pioneer title in the series to use real voice actors. Previous installments relied on scrolling subtitles to progress storylines. From this point on, Final Fantasy games began to resemble CGI films.

“Final Fantasy XI” was released in 2002 and it offered a completely new concept to fans. The 11th Final Fantasy title was the first massively multiplayer online RPG (MMORPG). Standing alone, it was different in comparison to the other titles.

The familiar style returned upon the release of “Final Fantasy XII” in 2006, which marked the last title to appear on the sixthgeneration consoles.

With each series, it almost seems as if the worlds become grander, the music becomes more dynamic, the graphics become more realistic and the storylines become deeper and more complicated.

When “Final Fantasy XIII” was announced for seventhgeneration consoles Playstation 3 and Xbox

U.S. Release 1990 2006 1991 1999 1994 1997 1999 2000 2001 2004 2006 2010

360, only anticipation awaited. Many of the recurring Final Fantasy elements remain, but of course with improvements.

Bear in mind that the Final Fantasy games are originally in Japanese. Because of this, voice acting and lip-syncing do not work very well in English translations.

Square titles such as “Final Fantasy X” and the Kingdom Hearts series have subpar dubbing performances. However, scenes in the English version of “Final Fantasy XIII” have exceeded and raised the dubbing bar to a new level. It is not perfect, but it has improved immensely. In fact, it seems that every aspect of “Final Fantasy XIII”— aside from the storyline, which is always debatable—has set a new standard. It could be because of the new engine in the seventh-generation game consoles, but nonetheless, “epic” would be the proper term to summarize this game.

Many game-play aspects of “Final Fantasy XIII” have changed in comparison to older installments. As a result, there is a slight learning curve, even for players who are familiar with Final Fantasy titles. Other than that, the majority of the game is split

With each series, it almost seems as if the worlds become grander, the music becomes more dynamic, the graphics become more realistic and the storylines become deeper and more complicated. into two main parts: gaming and watching.

Brilliant cinematic sequences are inserted between every few minutes of game-play.

On a personal level, even my own father said this to me while I was playing the game: “Are you actually playing? Or are you watching a movie?”

As long as the cinematic sequences do not disrupt the game-play, it was fine. As mentioned before, the transitions are almost completely seamless. Nonetheless, the cinematic sequences are necessary. It comes as no surprise when Final Fantasy titles like “Final Fantasy XIII” touch upon matters like familial values and friendship, societal issues like anarchy and utopian

beliefs, human emotions such as love, guilt, hatred and sadness, and controversial topics involving science, morals and religion. In fact, I expected nothing less from “Final Fantasy XIII.” It is completely fictional; it is completely computergenerated. However, the game is still a very pleasing experience. As important as engaging gaming mechanics are, a video game nowadays can also be successful with a solid storyline.

It may be difficult to believe that the Final Fantasy franchise has existed for over 20 years already. Games, movies and other media merchandise have already been written into the entertainment history

books. With the release of “Final Fantasy XIII,” the pending releases of “Final Fantasy XIII” spin-off titles and a pending release of “Final Fantasy XIV,” it does not look like Square Enix will be slowing down anytime soon.

Sources _______ ign.com square-enix.com/jp/company/e/history jap-sai.com/Games/Square/Square

- Beyond the Hyphen -

The Asian-American Experience

By Jonathan Yee

Asian-Americans have a unique position in this world.

We are the in-between; a fusion of the East and West.

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ho are Asian-Americans?

Simply, people who have ancestry in Asia but currently reside in America.

There is a lot of debate about what or who constitutes an Asian-Americans. For some, being an Asian-Americans often involves an identity crisis. It almost seems like an inherent contradiction; Asian-Americans do not fit any predetermined categories.

What does this mean? For some people, we are not "American" enough. For others, we are not "Asian" enough. We struggle to use chopsticks properly. Some of us chose to watch anime as children while our American friends were watching Indiana Jones. Our relatives think we have forsaken our Asian roots while Americans perceive us as foreign and unfamiliar. In other words, we do not fit in anywhere. Or at least, thats the way it feels like for some people. At

times, we are rejected by our ancestors and rejected by our neighbors on the very land we share.

Therefore, being an Asian-Americans can be problematic. Should others treat us as Americans or as Asians? How should we identify ourselves?

Personally, my Asian-American experience has ended up being a question of my identity. Others pressure me to define myself. And a confused identity is uncomfortable to begin with.

Sometimes, I would get accusations that I’m “whitewashed.” That is, an Asian who has forsaken his heritage and embraced Western culture.

Some characteristics of a white-washed Asian include decent spoken English without any discernible accent, forgetting the language of your own culture, and efforts to be upwardly socially mobile. Some Asians are accused of being

“FOBs” who have not assimilated into American culture. Stereotypical FOBs are characterized as people who are traditional, archaic and on some levels unwilling to assimilate.

However, I am not here to talk about stereotypes—there are many more that can be discussed. Rather, I want us to observe these definitions that others construct for us, or definitions we even construct for ourselves. These labels are only human attempts to define identity. They are social constructions. The reality is, human beings are much more dynamic than the restricting labels we give ourselves and others. AsianAmericans are much more than just “Asian” or just “American.”

I can say I have found myself on both sides of the fence. In the search for myself, I have found myself to be one that does not understand American culture or

“...it is not enough to say that someone is ‘white-washed,’ or ‘Asian-American,’ or ‘African-American’ or ‘LatinoAmerican.’ That doesn’t tell the stories hidden behind the labels.”

36

Asian culture. I never watched Indiana Jones when I was a kid, and when I came to college, all of my friends found that somewhat strange. Harrison Ford? Didn’t know who he was or what he looked like.

But Harrison Ford is one of the archetypical male figures of American media. He’s the scruffy, tough man with a fedora, riding a horse and saving people all the time. In some sense, Harrison Ford symbolized American identity in a way I did not know of or understand.

On the other hand, I had difficulty understanding my parents as a child. This is common of most immigrant parents with their children. I didn’t understand why the tradition and customs I grew up with were so different from the ones my peers observed.

The food I ate was different. The values I was taught were different. I was constantly filtering out the things I was learning from two different worlds. At points, it led to self

rejection. I did not understand my parents and therefore they were wrong. I saw my parents as people who were unwilling to assimilate into a modern culture that they lived in.

However, I realized that it is unfair to judge my parents based on their ability to assimilate. They’re immigrants and they have a whole other story of hardship and sacrifice that requires a whole other discussion.

I have discovered that it is not enough to say that someone is “white-washed,” or “Asian-American,” or “African-American” or “Latino-American.” That doesn’t tell the stories hidden behind the labels. Yes, there are stories about the struggle of being a minority in America. However, we forget there are stories of triumph and joy in many lives of our ancestors. We fail to celebrate the diversity in our culture when we only see ourselves in one way. We are free to

choose who we want to be.

This discussion is important because before we can discuss our story, we need to come to an understanding of who AsianAmericans are. Let me say that I am excited that this column is being started in the Asian Outlook Magazine. There are many parts to the Asian-Americans experience. Part of this column’s purpose is to explore the many facets of the experience that revolve around Asian-Americans.

As I begin exploring these issues, it would be great if people can send in stories they would like to share pertaining to their own personal Asian-Americans experience. They can be stories of joy, stories of struggle, funny stories, stories from your distant past, or stories from your current life. Make it personal. The wide diaspora of personal stories are what constitute the AsianAmericans experience.

37

Column - Samual Pickwick/

My Rejection Letter from Stonybrook...

One man reflects on his rejection from a study abroad program based on his “country of origin.”

By Samual Pickwick Hi [Samual Pickwick], Thank you for applying [to] an overseas program. Unfortunately because you were born in China, we cannot send you to Tsinghua. We could send you to one of our programs in Hong Kong. Feel free to visit our website and let me know if you wish to change your application to another program. www.stonybrook.edu/iap.

Best, [Stony Brook Evaluation Committee] [name not included for privacy’s sake] Exchange Advisor International Academic Programs [Stupendous Beyond Belief] University E5340 [Moronic] Library Stony Brook, N.Y. 11794-3397

H

ow am I supposed to feel?

The content of the letter reeks of modern continuations of pre-modern ethnocentrism. Am I Chinese, American, or Chinese-American?

Chink or Yankee, or Yink-Chankee?

I harbor misgivings against all universities that reject me. Stonybrook and Tsinghua are now on my list, along with Princeton, Rice, Colgate and Boston College (the last waitlisted me).

In my vexation I decided to return my rejection letter with a rejection letter of my own. I’ve never felt so empowered. I plan to replicate this letter with Harvard, Yale and Stanford in the future.

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Column - Samual Pickwick/ “[Dear Stony Brook Evaluation Committee] [name not included for privacy’s sake] I guess if my rejection from the study abroad program is final, there should be no harm if I explain briefly why I am not “Chinese.” If I come off as slightly offensive, it is only because I am slightly vexed by the “nativity” rule in the selection process of study abroad applicants.

I am thoroughly American not only because I have an American citizenship.

I understand the English language better than most Americans understand English. I understand American politics better than most Americans understand their own country. I breathe federalism and ingest the Bill of Rights. I exercise my Freedom of Speech by monopolizing classroom debate, though in the end I agree to agree that we can all disagree—even if in the end I know I am always right.

And out of my bowel comes hatred for all the injustices and vulgarities in the violations of human rights. I believe the Founding Fathers were visionaries, even if some Americans are lacking in vision today. I enjoy McDonalds, and I plan to get fat off of it. I enjoy hip hop and r&b music so much so that I imagine myself a part-time professional rapper when I dream in deep sleep [Mos Def is my opening act]. In response to the American car industry’s crisis of confidence, I advocate “Buy American.” I support American trade protectionism. I pay my taxes and file my tax reports every January so that the American government may best use its resources to subsidize its farmers, so that they may trade dump undervalued American corn, chicken, and hearty beef steak around the world. If patriotic Americans like me didn’t grace this Earth, where would Ford, GM and Florida’s orange farmers be? Why should I care about developing countries’ developing markets when we graciously offer them uncompetitive food products, and high-end military equipment so that they may repress their citizens?

But I imagine, despite all of these reasons proving why I am American and not Chinese, I still cannot go to Tsinghua . . . .

However, I thank you for evaluating my application and seeing this process through to the end.

It is true that when the sun finally sets, the interests of Americans are best represented by other Americans. [Even those in the fill-in-theblank-American category].

[Samual Pickwick] [Tomorrow’s Hope in North Kansas - Co-President] [University of Intelligence Below The Southern Hemisphere - Class of 2011] Political Science Major, [Old School Hip Hop] Minor “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

- Elie Wiesel ...

Notes: * Everything included in brackets denotes where the writer modified the original letters for clarity and sarcasm. ** However, clarity is more important than sarcasm. If you think otherwise you are definitely wrong. I respect your right to be wrong, and therefore your right to be a more-wrong. *** Samual Pickwick (Not Samu(e)l Pickwick) is the nom de plume of an aspiring part-time professional rapper based in Shooter’s Hill, UK. This essay is culled from his personal collection of correspondences. He intended to use these letters as inspiration for his Imperial rap songs. Pickwick was born some time between April 1836 and November 1837. His progenitors include Twopack, Most Deaf, Notorious PIG, Ja Drool and Kanye West AKA KanYou Not’rap His mentors included Charles Dickens and Her Majesty. His current hip hop crew, the Pickwick Paper Crew, includes Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Winkle and Mr. Trundle. They are currently signed with the record label, UK Stand Up. As the reader may gather, Samual Pickwick is a cool lad and so are you’not. **** Since Sam Pickwick is from the UK, the contents of this article should be treated with utmost suspicion. Especially its virulent chauvinism for all things American—even if most things are outsourced to China these days. Some commentators have argued that Sam Pickwick’s intention for engaging in this correspondence was precisely to mock America. If these speculations are true, then all red-blooded shotgun-toting tobacco-chewing American patriots must boycott the Pickwick Paper Crew and their upcoming albums.

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recipe/ Cuisine from the Philippines Hungry? Busy schedule? On a budget?

Turon is a simple and easy to make Filipino treat that originated in Spain. The ingredients that you need to make this snack are few:

• Bananas • Spring roll wraps • Vegetable oil • Brown sugar • White sugar

Prepare the bananas by cutting them in half and cutting them lengthwise.

Dip each piece in water and cover with white sugar and brown sugar.

Wrap each piece of banana with a spring roll wrap, making sure to fold in the sides.

turon turon turon

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You can choose to sprinkle more brown sugar on top which will caramelize during the cooking process.

Deep fry on each side until spring rolls become crispy – be careful not to burn!

Drain on paper towels and serve.

And there you go, turon… a little twist on the spring roll!

AO Conscience

Cover by Yinzi Liang

42

by Yinzi Liang

We’re Content

by Kelvin Chan

We’re happy.

Not overly happy, But content in the heart.

Like your first snuggle into bed After a productive day.

Holding your hand That’s delicate and soft, Like the pillowcase That’s cool to the cheek.

Embracing you at the doorway, I am the blankets You pull to your neck On this cold night, Cozy and safe From the unforgiving weather.

And in each other’s heart, we are content.

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Civilized Contradiction noitcidartnoC deziliviC

by Alyssa Alimurung “Getting around is just so easy!”

Make up your mind, London Putting up signs that are supposed to direct me Keep left Keep right Keep right Keep left Zigzagging No one moves into the car Crowded trains “Everyone is just so polite and courteous! They’re just so willing to help you!”

Three weeks to get heat One week to get light bulbs Never getting recyclable bags “15 pounds 40 pence please” Glaring Trying to bag groceries Can’t get this stupid plastic bag open!

Trying to count out money Wait does that say 20 pence or 10 pence?

Ugh it’s so small!

Trying to bag groceries Glaring Crowded train Push my way through Glaring “It’s like any other big city!”

Step Step Step No elevators Crosswalk in the middle of the block Inconvenient I think it’s time for an upgrade, London Too civilized to realize They’re one big Contradiction

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Venice, Italy - Jeff Hwang

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My Promise

by Tracy Chiu

I can’t promise you that everything will be carefree in our lives Or that the future will bring us many joyous times I can’t promise you that tomorrow will be perfect Or that life will be uncomplicated BUT I can promise you My endless faith

loyalty

respect And my

unconditional love for a lifetime I can promise you that I’ll always be there for you

Whenever you need me to talk, to listen and to shower you with hugs

And I’ll always do my best to make you happy and make you feel loved I can promise that I’ll see you through any crisis and hope with you

Dream with you and always cheer you on and encourage you I can promise that I’ll share my thoughts and feelings, my world And every aspect of my life with you I’ll willingly be Your protector

Your guide

Your mentor

Your family

Your friend

Your love Your everything And I believe thats what love is

truly all about and thats how I feel about you!

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Spear Girl - MDI

Back cover by MDI

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