I haven’t been to China so I don’t think I’ve faced what you have. I’ve seen the flip side in Taiwan where they ask me what I consider myself and I say Chinese and they all go bonkers. I’ve learned my lesson, I just say chinese-taiwanese. They can’t argue with that. I wouldn’t have any problem with Mainland Chinese insisting I am Chinese because really my grandparents all fled to Taiwan from China.. So sure, generations of my ancestors are from China and that should make me Chinese. I just hope they still feel that way in 30 years when China is the next superpower.. Still, even if I put myself in their shoes, why would the average joe even care about Taiwan reunification or independence? There should be more pleasant things to talk about..

I speak English all the time in Taiwan and no one ever stared. Maybe you were in a smaller city with little or no foreigners and it’s just not everyday that they hear English? In fact, I commonly hear English being spoken.. Maybe it has something to do with the kind of places I go. But I don’t think it’d be that different if you were living in some hick farm town in Iowa and some New Yorkers come into town with their designer clothes and Long Island accent, people would look but I don’t think they would think they’re being rude and flaunting their status.

That’s totally not true. If you’re white, everybody looks at you funny ALL the time, regardless of what you’re speaking.

Chinese are “tolerant” but extremely condescending to caucasians, who they assume are all rich but kinda dim. For those of us who’ve spent much of our lives in China and are fluent in Mandarin, it’s just as bad to have our fluent Mandarin answered by incomprensible Chinglish. And some, even after registering, will make crude jokes about us right in front of our faces.

Not all, but a substantial enough few; most Chinese are well-intentioned but just ignorant.

i really dont want to get into any political debate

u know what is the different between hua ren and zhong guo ren (cantonese: wah yean and jhon gok yean)?

I wouldn't say this idea is “ignorance” at all. In pretty much most of the world outside North America, Australia and other immigrant nations, nationality is pretty much synonymous with ethnicity. Chinese (and others) equate “being American” with being of European descent because that's the model they know and understand. I believe it has absolutely nothing to do with America exporting this idea through its media representations.

I'm an American of Euro descent, or “white.” If I had been born in China and grew up like any other Chinese person, would the Chinese ever consider me “really Chinese?” Not in a million years! Yet, they would consider someone of Chinese descent born and raised outside of China, who can't even speak the Chinese language, “Chinese.” This isn't wrong, it's just natural — most people naturally equate ethnicity with nationality because, in the vast majority of the world that's the way it is.

America, Canada and a handful of other immigrant countries are exceptions to the rule. Historically, the vast majority of Americans have been of Euro descent. The idea of being American is tied to belonging to a certain ethnicity in many Americans' minds and certainly in foreigners' minds because that is the model they know.

This is changing as the ethnic makeup of America changes. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, America experienced huge waves of immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe and Ireland. The mostly English-descended Americans at the time really looked down upon the newcomers and didn't consider them “authentic” Americans. For example, at that time “Italian-Americans” were considered not really American and suffered real discrimination. That changed as those ethnicities assimilated into general American culture. Now the same thing is happening with Americans of Asian descent, one of the newer immigrant groups to arrive on American shores.

I know of no other country (well, Canada maybe) that is as welcoming of people from all ethnicities and backgrounds as the USA. Yes, sometimes people say “Where are you from, really?” I know this is offensive, but I believe it's human. I've heard the same thing asked of naturalized white Americans who have funny accents. This will continue to happen for people who are noticeably “different” from the majority until ethnicities are mixed evenly throughout all countries of the world.

Just my $.02.

charvey

“Why would you expect the Chinese to be more aware of the nuances of American society than Americans themselves?”

jozjozjoz – as I had mentioned before, Chinese can be used in two different ways – ethnic (Han) Chinese and Chinese, as a citizen of China / People's Republic of China. I think most Taiwanese would say that they are ethnic (Han) Chinese.