I admit to all of you, as well as the NSA & Dick Cheney reading this post, that despite my pro-Taiwan leanings (which has been such a great cover), that I am indeed a sleeper agent for Communist China. I’ve been secretly networking in Silicon Valley all these years to steal and sell commercial and military secrets to China. My Democratic Party political activism as well has been an elaborate scheme for me to fool everyone of my treacherous nature (well, being a Democratic is to hate America, right?)
Chinese Sleeper Agent John 8Asian infiltrating
the highest levels of government.
I also confess that my four years at an aerospace/defense giant in Connecticut as a design engineer were all a ruse for my most lucrative years as a traitor to the United States. Why do you think I was really into the Internet, Mosaic and Netscape, advance Sun and Silicon Graphics workstations - installing PointCast on all the PC’s at my co-workers’ request (as well as installing Chinese spyware) and getting my departments into virtual mockups and prototyping tools and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) during my years from 1993 - 1997? Stealing secrets is a whole lot easier if everything is in electronic form that can be copied onto CD’s rather than photocopying stacks of paper!
And you ask what of my two years in business school? I was paying it forward and awakening and recruiting the next generation of Chinese and Taiwanese American spies on-campus and scouting out graduate students to see what their latest research and labs were doing and what would be useful to China. And my four undergraduate years at former Taiwanese president Lee-Tung Hui’s alma mater was no coincidence either, since I was initially a spy for Taiwan before becoming a double agent and spying for China against Taiwan and the United States.
Despite being born-and-raised in Massachusetts, why did I betray America? Well, there is my ethnic Han Chinese pride as well as the shear fact that I am an unpatriotic, greedy bastard. Also, I’ve always tried to live up to the example of heroes such as Wen Ho Lee (the brother of my mother’s friend) in providing the latest and greatest nuclear secrets to China. Unfortunately, I had a mind and interest for mechanical engineering and business rather than nuclear physics.
Unfortunately, my cover has been blown and the FBI and Homeland Security will be taking me into custody soon. All I can say is that, please forgive me for my actions and forgive The New York Times, despite its flaws, a newspaper I still love.
Gotcha - I am of course being satirical , except for Cheney and the NSA reading my electronic correspondences :-). In today’s New York Times, the newspaper reports on “Spy Cases Raise Concern on China’s Intentions” and goes on to describe several cases regarding how naturalized or American-born-and-raised Chinese and Taiwanese-Americans, along with other willing and possibly clueless Americans, have been systematically recruited by China, either relying on Chinese ethnic pride or out of greed, to obtain military or commercial secrets for China:
“In interviews, current and former intelligence and law enforcement officials demonstrated uncertainty as to the precise scope of the problem of Chinese espionage. But many officials offered a similar description of the pattern of the cases: Chinese government and state-sponsored industries have relied on the Chinese diaspora — using immigrants, students and people of second- and third-generation Chinese heritage — and regular commercial relations to operate a system in which some people wittingly or unwittingly participate… Chi Mak, a Chinese-born engineer who was sentenced in March to more than 24 years in prison for selling naval secrets to China. The information was not classified, Mr. Mak’s lawyers argued at trial, although it was illegal to provide it to China… [The intelligence community's top counterintelligence official] Mr. Brenner noted testimony showing that Mr. Mak was a “sleeper agent” who worked his way up in the military contracting industry, an ascent he said “bespeaks a patience that the Chinese are especially good at.”
Now, I know it only takes a few bad apples to perpetuate a stereotype. I’ve outlined how I could easily be painted as a sleeper agent in my faux confession. Obviously, any American - whether they be Asian, white, black, Hispanic or whatever creed, race or ethnicity, who steals military and commercial secrets for any foreign government is a traitor to the United States.
However, we are no longer living in the Cold War, and the newly emerging economic, political and military perceived threat today is China. There are and will be ethnic Chinese spying for China, just as I am sure that there are American spies in China and throughout the world. The question of Taiwanese or Chinese Americans, or Asian Americans in general, being loyal to the United States will inadvertently (or perhaps sometimes blatantly) be asked. But let us not forget from the recent history of World War II, Executive Order 9066 and Japanese American internment, that with such disloyal stereotypes can materialize real and harmful consequences to all Asian Americans, but to all Americans as well.
Go figure. I suppose the TMZ staff never had a normal life outside of work. Or school. Or just normal.
At least, that seems to be the implication if you take a look at the latest on Elyse Umemoto, Miss Washington 2007. TMZ shows her giving the camera the bird, and making sexual type signs with her friends but all in all mild mannered photos when you consider that probably most of MySpace and Facebook photos are of similar acts. No nudity, and no sex video. Nothing illegal either.
For a woman in her twenties out with her friends, it’s nothing if not obvious to see photographs such as these. Maybe it’s just me, but I find it kind of moronic that TMZ would even bother with this. Oh wait. It’s TMZ.
I think I’ve finally figured it out. Beijing’s secret plan to win the most gold medals in the outdoor sports.
The smog there is so thick there that it makes Los Angeles look like it went green. And it definitely wasn’t this bad when I went to visit back in 1999 or so. Things have changed. A lot.
In any case, the idea is that Chinese athletes have a tremendous advantage in both training and living in the smog itself. Even if it clears up to the point that they could see a little bit during the 2008 Olympics, I personally doubt that stopping all vehicles in and out of the city during the outdoor events will produce significant results, but maybe so. Either way though, the entire oxygen intake for cyclists, triathletes and track and field is definitely hampered for those that are not accustomed to the smog. It’s like living in L.A. and visiting L.A. from Aspen. An air quality change will definitely effect your performance.
Who knows what will be done about the smog and how it will effect the international teams competing. But I won’t hold my breath if China starts pulling those medals like taking candy from a baby.
Photo Credit: (rytc)
I had first heard about Ted Koppel’s Discovery Channel special, The People’s Republic of Capitalism, when Koppel appeared on The Daily Show a few weeks ago to promote the special. If you don’t recall, Koppel is most famous for his decades of reporting on ABC’s Nightline. The 4-part mini-series documentary starts today, Wednesday, July 9th thru Saturday, July 12th airing at 10 PM EST/PT. The New York Times summarizes the series in the article, “Ted Koppel Tours a China Brimming With Dreams and Consumerism“:
“…“The U.S. relationship to China is so intricate and so deep that Americans need to know that it’s more than cheap labor at Wal-Mart or tainted toys,” Mr. Koppel said. “We’d have a hard time extricating ourselves from it.” “The People’s Republic of Capitalism,” shown over four consecutive nights, is being broadcast on the eve of the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing, at a time when human rights advocates have been urging a boycott of the Games to protest China’s crackdown on antigovernment protests in Tibet and its support of the government in Sudan… Mr. Koppel contends that the story of China is as entertaining and dramatic as any novel: 300 million people have escaped poverty in less than a generation, and millions are migrating from the countryside to places like Chongqing, where the juggernaut of capitalism is powering a rapid transformation.”
I’ve already set my DVR to record the series. Having been to Shenzen, Shanghai, and Beijing, I’m always interested to see how China is portrayed on American television and in the media. As I have commented on this blog before, a lot of the alarmist views on China are quite reminiscent of the “Japan-is-going-to-takeover-America” scare of the late Eighties and early Nineties.
Although I’d have to say that concerns of China’s long-term impact on America is probably going to be a lot greater, especially as China’s economy will eventually surpasses the size of the U.S. economy (some estimate in the year 2035) - which would return China to being the largest economy in the world (as it almost has been for the history of the world, until the 20th century)
Have you ever been to Din Tau Fung in Arcadia, California (in Los Angeles)? Well, this dumpling restaurant just expanded - in the same location, according to this article in the Pasadena Star News in June, titled “Din Tai Fung Dumpling House: Dumpling heaven“:
“There are dumpling houses scattered throughout the San Gabriel Valley, some hardly larger than a walk-in closet, almost all of them good, and every last one of them costing less than you can imagine possible. (When the bill comes, it’s hard not to believe a mistake has been made. The reasonableness of a feed at a dumpling house is the near side of shocking. Not that I’m complaining.) Despite this abundance of dumpling shops, there’s nothing that quite approaches the Din Tai Fung Phenomenon. Din Tai Fung isn’t so much a restaurant, as it is an institution. And now it’s an institution with a second branch, which somewhat curiously opened right next to the original Din Tai Fung. Indeed, if it weren’t for a very narrow air shaft between the two restaurants, they’d share a common wall. Now, you have a choice of dining at Din Tai Fung One and Din Tai Fung Two - which are exactly the same restaurant. Except that they’re not. Which I’ll get to in a moment.”
Din Tai Fung was started in Taipei, Taiwan and has franchises all over Asia. I’ve been lucky enough to try Din Tai Fung in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing and also in Arcadia. Overall, I would have to say that the Shanghai Din Tai Fung has the best decor, then maybe Beijing’s. I heard that the only reason why Din Tai Fung had a restaurant in Los Angeles was because the son of the owner wanted to live in Southern California. Ever so often, I will write via the web site to Din Tai Fung that they should open a franchise in the Bay Area. The place would make gazllions if they had a restaurant in Milipitas, Cupertino, Palo Alto or along the Embarcadero / Ferry Building in San Francisco. At least that is my opinion.
If you live in Southern California, you should check out Din Fai Fung as soon as you can:
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
1108 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; (626) 574-7068
1088 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; (626) 446-8588
When you typically think of Asian Americans settling down, you probably think the West Coast (California, Washington State) , the Northeast, or possibly Chicago. Well, demographic trends show that more and more Asian Americans are moving away from the traditional hubs, as reported in USA Today’s article, “In a twist, USA’s Asians are heading to the Mountain West“:
“In a surprising twist to historical settlement patterns, growing numbers of Asian Americans are beginning to bail from the places that have long been their main gateways to the West: California and Washington. Wearied by the same crushing home prices, poor schools, jammed freeways and persistent crime that have sent millions of other Californians packing, Asian Americans are moving to spots in the West they hope will produce better lifestyles — namely Las Vegas and Phoenix. The Asian migration is fueling ethnic diversity in places that have been overwhelmingly white. Since 1990, Nevada has had the most rapid growth of any state in the number of Asians and Pacific Islanders. The number jumped 174% in the 1990s and 67% so far this decade to about 211,000, according to 2007 Census Bureau estimates. Asians now make up about 8.2% of Nevada’s 2.6 million people — a higher percentage than the national share of 5.4%. Arizona also is registering significant growth among Asians, a trend fueled largely by an exodus from California and Washington.”
The article goes on to describe a lot of growth in the areas of Asian focused grocery stores, restaurants and even banks cantered towards Asian Americans. Washington state’s cost of living seems pretty cheap to me compared to San Francisco Bay Area, so I can only imagine how inexpensive housing is in Nevada and Arizona - especially given the number of foreclosures going on in those overbuilt cities during the housing boom.
The article also notes that there is going to be a new national “glossy” Asian American magazine launched in Las Vegas, titled AsianAm , which will sell for $4.50 and aim for an initial circulation of 700,000. 700,000 sounds HUGE… If you know the history of Asian American magazines (such as A Magazine, TransPacific, etc.), none have ever been able to survive long-term. Maybe AsianAm will?
(Yuqing Zhang will be a freshman at Thomas Jefferson in the fall. With him are his father, Ronald Zhang, and mother, Yehong Zhou. (By Michael Alison Chandler — The Washington Post)
Early in June, New York University and the College Board had published a study about Asian Americans attempts to dismantle the stereotype that Asian-Americans are all a bunch of math & science geeks focused on nothing but academic achievement and without legitimate needs, titled “Facts, Not Fiction: Setting the Record Straight.“ 8Asians’ blogger Bo blogged about it in her post, “Breaking News: We’re not homogenous!” To possibly reinforce the stereotype and possibly suggest a rising yellow peril, today’s Washington Post, the newspaper reports on its front page, “At Magnet School, An Asian Plurality.”
“At Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the Alexandria area this year, more than 2,500 applicants vied for 485 seats. Asian American students got 219, or 45 percent of the total, while white students got 205, or 42 percent… A plurality of Asian American students in a high school class would be an anomaly in the Washington region, where fewer than one in 10 residents is Asian American. In Fairfax, which supplies most of the school’s students, people of Asian descent account for 16 percent of the population, census data show. That percentage has doubled since 1990 and is the highest in the area…The rising concentration of Asian Americans at T.J. mirrors demographic trends in other elite math and science magnet schools. In New York, the selective and specialized Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School have Asian American majorities, although about 10 percent of the metropolitan population is of Asian descent. In San Francisco, Asian Americans make up more than 60 percent of the students at selective Lowell High School and about a third of the city’s population.”
There are more Asian Americans than whites in Thomas Jefferson - it must be news! And of course, Asian Americans are good at math and science and are filling up all the science & math magnet schools across the country! Perhaps there will be a “New White Flight” in Fairfax County? Well, I am being a bit sarcastic - if you read the whole article, it really isn’t being too alarmist and raises the typical Asian American “model minority” stories and questions issues around affirmative action and college admissions.
The newspaper also references Jenny Tsai, “a recent Harvard graduate” who wrote her senior college thesis on “‘Too Many Asians at this School’: Racialized Perceptions and Identity Formation” which I blogged about earlier this year.
Do you think the Washington Post is simply reporting the news? How do you feel about articles like these - proud? awkward? ashamed? or apathetic?
(Source: Flickr, Kurt Dietrich)
San Jose-native Joey Chestnut wins again in the 93rd annual Nathan’s International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest - defeating rival Takeru Kobayashi, as reported in “San Jose’s Joey Chestnut stuffs rival in OT of hot-dog eating contest“:
“After 10 minutes of super-human overindulgence, Chestnut and arch-rival and six-time world champ Takeru Kobayashi had each inhaled 59 Nathan’s hot dogs. So before a live ESPN audience and thousands more watching the contest in person at Coney Island, Chestnut and Kobayashi went stomach-to-stomach in what a commentator called a “dog-off.” Each was given five hot dogs and buns to eat in overtime. First one to finish would win. Chestnut wolfed them down in 50 seconds, seven seconds faster than Kobayashi.”
Now this being July 4th weekend, I went to a few BBQ’s, and I cannot imagine eating 59 hot dogs over a 10 hour period, let alone ten minutes! Eating 59 hot dogs is crazy! (and definitely not healthy). I will never understand the world of competitive eating…
Blog RSS Blog Comments RSS
