Having Tea with China

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

Photo: Edmund Lo

I feel like I know you, yet I do not.

We share the same bloodline, but I was raised under colonial rule, for better and for worse.

I jokingly tell others that my Chinese friends think I am too western, whereas my western friends think I am very Chinese. This is who I am, but I want to know more about my roots. I am not a Sinophile, because I do not come to you as a foreigner; you are already a part of me. I just want to know you more. I have longed for such an opportunity, and it finally happened.

The Forgotten Ones

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

Chinese Refugee Family, Martha Sawyers (1902-88)

An acquaintance of mine recently asked me, “what was the best book that you have read in 2012?” Since this enquiry took place in a group setting, I did not have a chance to give him an adequate answer. At any rate, the first book that came to mind was a Chinese one called Da Jiang Da Hai 1949 (English: Big River, Big Sea – Untold Stories of 1949) by the current Minister of Culture of Taiwan, Lung Yingtai. Lung's original intention was to paint the cultural backdrop from which she came to her son, who is half Chinese and half German. This history is the chaotic times of war in China during the forties, with the Japanese invasion in the Second World War, and the subsequent civil war between the Communists and the Nationalists.

How Much Does it Cost?

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

June has been quite an interesting month for China. In addition to the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre on June 4th, there was also the death of the Chinese dissident, Li Wangyang, which the local government officials hastily labelled a “suicide”. The case of Li, however, leaves behind so many suspicious traces that media outlets in Hong Kong have cheekily reported that Li did not commit suicide, but rather, he was “suicided”. Although China's economical boom in recent years have allowed her to flex her muscles on the international scene and to have a similar calling power as the United States, social critics are now asking the question: at what cost is this economic prosperity is taking place, especially highlighted by the case of Li.