奥运会使美籍华人倍感自豪_英语文库
olympics bring pride to chinese americans
-- for the last 27 years, bryant fong has made an annual trek to beijing, and every year the scenery changes. the highways spiral outward, the buildings grow taller, the hotels get fancier. on his last trip eight months ago, the san francisco martial arts teacher needed only to venture outdoors to find modernization operating at olympic speed.
"you'd find guys sleeping right next to the job site in the middle of the day," fong said. "they'd work four or five hours, eat, sleep, and get up and start working again, just so they can try to finish redoing the sidewalks."
beijing is a city hurtling toward a deadline as china readies for its first-ever olympic games. the opening ceremonies are only 11 days away, and the out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new mantra goes deeper than construction.
for the thousands of chinese americans in san francisco, most of whom are first- or second-generation immigrants like fong, the olympics represent a coming-out party for their homeland.
the old one-way migration out of china has become a swirling network as the country grows into an economic force, and the words "proud" and "honor" are repeatedly used to describe its hosting duties.
"the people of china have changed," said joyce lee, who emigrated 15 years ago. "the olympics are the biggest event in the world, and it's a good start to show people what china can do."
like most of the city's chinese immigrants, both fong and lee hail from the cantonese-speaking province of guangdong in southern china.
fong, who was born in oakland and raised all over the bay area, is the sifu, or teacher, of the san francisco wushu team. he took his first group of martial arts students to china in 1980 and returns yearly to the shichahai sports school, home of the beijing wushu team, which boasts actor jet li among its alumni. once a modest outpost, the school has become a symbol of china's growing stature with three sprawling floors of gymnasiums, an underground parking lot and its own four-star hotel.
rapid advancement
the hefty upgrade doesn't surprise zhang ming liang, who emigrated with his wife more than 20 years ago. on a recent afternoon, the retired couple watched their grandson play at portsmouth square in the heart of chinatown.
zhang joked about getting lost in beijing, with all its high-rise towers, when he visits nowadays. he says relatives there boast about the latest advancements in cable television and other technology.
"the olympics are guaranteed to be a success," zhang said. "china has plenty of money now, people, manpower, resources. there's no fear of failure. it won't happen."
zhang's confidence stems not from any unbridled nationalism, but from having experienced the power and pitfalls of the chinese government.
pollution?
cars in beijing have begun operating on an alternate-day basis, with license plates ending with even numbers allowed to drive one day, odd numbers the next.
protests?
when the olympic torch came through san francisco in april for its only north american stop, fong and his wushu students were invited to perform at justin herman plaza. the show was supposed to be a backdrop for the torch relay as it moved along the embarcadero. instead, their demonstration was demonstrated against by protesters assailing china's human rights record. the torch itself was a no-show, having been rerouted.
'we're all for china'
"a lot of protesters, they have no idea how to deal with the chinese. they look at us as being homogenous," fong said. "yes, we're all for china. but we're also aware that china has many difficulties, like with tibet and burma.
"you have to look at the history of china. you have to distinguish between the chinese people and the government. a lot of chinese americans here are sympathetic to tibetans. but we're also proud of having the olympics."
beverly yip, who grew up on sacramento street in chinatown, agrees. she was in hong kong the day before the torch returned to chinese soil after its troublesome journey overseas.
as part of the festivities, a replica torch was on display at the langham place hotel. yip was among the throngs who excitedly waited more than 30 minutes to get pictures taken with the torch.
"for the shortest time, i was so proud," yip said. "i felt like a little child, and just the adrenaline rush. i was proud to be chinese american, a hybrid of both cultures. i felt like i was that much closer to the olympics."
lee might be the quintessential mix, having lived almost exactly half her life in china and half in san francisco. in her mid-30s now, lee owns a clothing boutique in the sunset district, and as customers filtered in on a recent sunday afternoon, she switched seamlessly among mandarin, cantonese, taishanese (a dialect spoken in guangdong province) and english.
'it's my homeland'
"i was really lucky," lee said. "i came when i was 17 so i got to go to high school and learn two different cultures. my friends tell me i've completely changed because i can compare now, i have my own judgment.
"but i still care about china. it's my homeland. the people are really kind, and if they have the equal chance, equal rights, they'll be better."
mei yang left the zhongshan prefecture more than 20 years ago with her husband, king. the couple opened a chinese restaurant on hayes street within a year of arriving and now work 18-hour days at the java source coffee house they own on clement street.
expensive endeavor
among her usual customers are richmond district locals who congregate for some fresh coffee, chinese chess and gossip. they wonder what it would be like to experience the olympics firsthand, but finances have made the exercise moot. plane tickets top $1,500 per person, and even the most modest accommodations will be double and triple their regular price.
"then you have the business," yang said. "if we stay open, then we have to hire help. if we close, then we're still paying the rent. it's just too expensive to leave. we can't afford it."
instead, they'll watch their old home from their newest home, hoping that the olympics can bring china respect and advancement on all fronts.
"in the end, we're chinese," zhang said. "right or wrong, good or bad, it's your own people."
-- for the last 27 years, bryant fong has made an annual trek to beijing, and every year the scenery changes. the highways spiral outward, the buildings grow taller, the hotels get fancier. on his last trip eight months ago, the san francisco martial arts teacher needed only to venture outdoors to find modernization operating at olympic speed.
"you'd find guys sleeping right next to the job site in the middle of the day," fong said. "they'd work four or five hours, eat, sleep, and get up and start working again, just so they can try to finish redoing the sidewalks."
beijing is a city hurtling toward a deadline as china readies for its first-ever olympic games. the opening ceremonies are only 11 days away, and the out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new mantra goes deeper than construction.
for the thousands of chinese americans in san francisco, most of whom are first- or second-generation immigrants like fong, the olympics represent a coming-out party for their homeland.
the old one-way migration out of china has become a swirling network as the country grows into an economic force, and the words "proud" and "honor" are repeatedly used to describe its hosting duties.
"the people of china have changed," said joyce lee, who emigrated 15 years ago. "the olympics are the biggest event in the world, and it's a good start to show people what china can do."
like most of the city's chinese immigrants, both fong and lee hail from the cantonese-speaking province of guangdong in southern china.
fong, who was born in oakland and raised all over the bay area, is the sifu, or teacher, of the san francisco wushu team. he took his first group of martial arts students to china in 1980 and returns yearly to the shichahai sports school, home of the beijing wushu team, which boasts actor jet li among its alumni. once a modest outpost, the school has become a symbol of china's growing stature with three sprawling floors of gymnasiums, an underground parking lot and its own four-star hotel.
rapid advancement
the hefty upgrade doesn't surprise zhang ming liang, who emigrated with his wife more than 20 years ago. on a recent afternoon, the retired couple watched their grandson play at portsmouth square in the heart of chinatown.
zhang joked about getting lost in beijing, with all its high-rise towers, when he visits nowadays. he says relatives there boast about the latest advancements in cable television and other technology.
"the olympics are guaranteed to be a success," zhang said. "china has plenty of money now, people, manpower, resources. there's no fear of failure. it won't happen."
zhang's confidence stems not from any unbridled nationalism, but from having experienced the power and pitfalls of the chinese government.
pollution?
cars in beijing have begun operating on an alternate-day basis, with license plates ending with even numbers allowed to drive one day, odd numbers the next.
protests?
when the olympic torch came through san francisco in april for its only north american stop, fong and his wushu students were invited to perform at justin herman plaza. the show was supposed to be a backdrop for the torch relay as it moved along the embarcadero. instead, their demonstration was demonstrated against by protesters assailing china's human rights record. the torch itself was a no-show, having been rerouted.
'we're all for china'
"a lot of protesters, they have no idea how to deal with the chinese. they look at us as being homogenous," fong said. "yes, we're all for china. but we're also aware that china has many difficulties, like with tibet and burma.
"you have to look at the history of china. you have to distinguish between the chinese people and the government. a lot of chinese americans here are sympathetic to tibetans. but we're also proud of having the olympics."
beverly yip, who grew up on sacramento street in chinatown, agrees. she was in hong kong the day before the torch returned to chinese soil after its troublesome journey overseas.
as part of the festivities, a replica torch was on display at the langham place hotel. yip was among the throngs who excitedly waited more than 30 minutes to get pictures taken with the torch.
"for the shortest time, i was so proud," yip said. "i felt like a little child, and just the adrenaline rush. i was proud to be chinese american, a hybrid of both cultures. i felt like i was that much closer to the olympics."
lee might be the quintessential mix, having lived almost exactly half her life in china and half in san francisco. in her mid-30s now, lee owns a clothing boutique in the sunset district, and as customers filtered in on a recent sunday afternoon, she switched seamlessly among mandarin, cantonese, taishanese (a dialect spoken in guangdong province) and english.
'it's my homeland'
"i was really lucky," lee said. "i came when i was 17 so i got to go to high school and learn two different cultures. my friends tell me i've completely changed because i can compare now, i have my own judgment.
"but i still care about china. it's my homeland. the people are really kind, and if they have the equal chance, equal rights, they'll be better."
mei yang left the zhongshan prefecture more than 20 years ago with her husband, king. the couple opened a chinese restaurant on hayes street within a year of arriving and now work 18-hour days at the java source coffee house they own on clement street.
expensive endeavor
among her usual customers are richmond district locals who congregate for some fresh coffee, chinese chess and gossip. they wonder what it would be like to experience the olympics firsthand, but finances have made the exercise moot. plane tickets top $1,500 per person, and even the most modest accommodations will be double and triple their regular price.
"then you have the business," yang said. "if we stay open, then we have to hire help. if we close, then we're still paying the rent. it's just too expensive to leave. we can't afford it."
instead, they'll watch their old home from their newest home, hoping that the olympics can bring china respect and advancement on all fronts.
"in the end, we're chinese," zhang said. "right or wrong, good or bad, it's your own people."