Whoa, Yap, real mad here. Didn't expect you to be THAT mad. Yeah, Wiz bit, you shouldn't change the reason we play badminton you know! I play it for fun, not to beat others! Expecially others I think are better than me in something else!
wow wiz, you must have an English Major. Though i can't agree with everything you've said, you have proven your point very well. Actually, ATI (graphics card company based 15 mins from my house) is run by a Taiwanese, but thats because he started it
... TOmike: Not sure what you mean about majoring in English, but am glad that you take my point. Adel: That is untrue to an extent. Ask any true competitor and they will tell you it is not about the taking part. I have seen far too many people take badminton too seriously (refer to other post; things I hate...). FYI, I didn't twist the reason why we play badminton at all. We all play for a number of different reasons, whether it be just socially, for exercise or competitiely. My original point was one of observation. I have observed that 9/10 sports, you will not see a Chinese person playing or representing them (at professional level at least). In UK, the main sports that interest the public are: (in no order apart from football as no. 1) *1. Football (Soccer) 2. Rugby 3. Cricket 4. Tennis 5. Snooker 6. Darts 7. Athletics 8. Curling 9. Hockey 10. Basketball 11. Golf 12. Badminton Apart from sports like badminton and ping pong there are hardly any others where Chinese do participate in, or to be precise, EXCEL in or stand a chance of being WORLD CLASS. There have been exceptions such as Tennis, Michael Chang who reached no.2 in the world. Marco Fu, Hong Kong #1 snooker player is in top 50 in the world (I think) and a handful of others. I am not looking down on my roots, to do so would be looking down on myself! No I am not 6.0 ft tall or anything, I am just an average size for a person of Chinese descent. FYI Chinese is spelt with a capital C, as should others from other countries, such as English and French. The fact is we as a whole do not physically compare to people of Western origin. They are usually taller and bigger, which is why we have the advantage in speed. That seems to be the general consensus. You can defend Chinese people all you like from your cosy home in Malaysia. Do not forget, Malaysia is inhabited by a lot of Chinese people. More percentage than *foreign countries, so you are looking through a smaller lens, when you should be looking at the wider picture. I do not know the percentage of Chinese that inhabit Malaysia but say 50% of overall population is so. In UK, you could be representing 1% of your town's population. Were you born in such and raised in such an environment? When talking about Chinese it is best to be a bit more specific, i.e. Malaysian Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, British born Chinese or whatever. In modern times, generally Chinese is used to describe a person from China. I KNOW this is deemed technically wrong but I am not going to preach every person I come across and drill it into them like some people I can think of... Joanne: Yes badminton is fun, but where is the fun in losing every time?
haha! he's gettin better and better too! at the beginning of the season, he wasn't impressive... but he's progressing~~
Hmm, diverging from topic. Anyway, here's the 2nd part of the question..... Why do people regard overseas chinese as ...errr.... not chinese? It cannot be defined on culture or language. HK, M'sian and probably S'pore observe some very chinese special days (i.e. religious festivals) which are not officially recognised in China! I go up to my ancestors grave at certain times of the year to go and clear away the plants and tidy things up. That is a very Chinese thing to do yet not many "Chinese" people get the opportunity or take the effort to do so.
Not so according to the Chinese government. Overseas Chinese are considered as Chinese. The question is whether we, Overseas Chineses, considered ourselves to be "Chinese" . I think we do consider ourselves as "Chinese" in the cultural sense but not "Chinese" in the sense of nationals of China.
The Chinese government assumes ethnic chinese to be 'chinese'. Overseas Chinese consider themselves chinese if they are ethnically chinese. Nobody can deny their genetic material but the affiliation to culture is of varying degrees. The Nigerian man example is not racially/ethnic chinese. He might be more culturally chinese though. OK, so I should rephrase my question a bit better... Why do SOME Ethnic Chinese living in China consider Overseas Chinese as not Chinese (though calling them 'wah qiu' in the same sentence)? PS Wizbit, One's nationality and one's ethnic origin are seperate issues. Somebody who is British may have come from India....
HKer's are Chinese but not for the reason you say. Some Chinese don't celebrate CNY. I used to have to study or go to work on CNY until coming out to HK. Being a "Chinese Person" doesn't mean you have to practice any cultural traditions.
But does it mean not practising these cultural traditions means you are not Chinese? I do understand the differences regarding nationality and ethniticity. Even though a caucasian is born and raised in China, does that make him any more Chinese or less "gwai lo" in any way? To me it's not all appearances. But to some, it seems that if you look the part and seem to be able to act the part, then you are Chinese and you have to abode by the rules that govern Chinese people. If you do not agree and practise all the customs relating to that ethniticity then you are not Chinese. Hong Kong chinese has evolved a lot compared to traditional Chinese from China, in my opinion and therefore you cannot talk about them under the same breath. You argue about the celebration of CNY but how western celebrations like christmas? Without crossing into religion, why do people in China celebrate Xmas? and how much of the population does this? I never said Hong Kong people are not Chinese. I just believe that they are a sub branch. To say Hong Kong people are not Chinese, is like saying Geroge Bush is not a silly @ss. Regarding the wording of Chinese. In Chinese language, an overseas chinese is generally regarded as "wa Kiu" (cantonese) no? and what they mean of "Chung Kwok yan" is Chinese people of China no? I'm getting confused now. Are we talking about one's identity? or the identity of an overseas chinese person? On the other hand, if we are all from the same mould and are all Chinese, then where has all the prejudice/prejustice and name calling come from? Is the fact that being called a "jook sing jai" because one is born in a foreign country? does that make one less Chinese then? because they are not as pure? Take cars for example. Honda is a japanese company. Honda is synonymous with Japanese and Cars. However there are some mainstream models which are built and assembled in UK. It may look like a Honda and sports a Honda badge, BUT it was designed and built in UK with parts and engine from Rover (UK company). We have no doubt that it is a car and a Honda. BUT is it a Japanese Car???
To me, a person who doesn't practice chinese traditions but is ethnically chinese is chinese! The example of the car is not so good because cars don't have genetic material.
Seems everyone.. This is probably the best topic I've read on BC. The best topic but also the most confusing topic. Seems like everyone is confused about the word "Chinese." There is no concrete answer on whether or not you are Chinese. Keep the topic going everybody.
Miss Toronto is very beautiful. So are the other 2. Are they badminton players? Huh topic? What topic!?
Guessed it will be a career of show biz in HK for her. Didn't stars like Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Reis, Maggie Cheung, etc. got their start as winners of beauty pagents? Viver! Aren't these ladies a little too young for you???
Hey WWC, we sports people are always young, at least in heart. Remember that 80+ guy who married the Playboy centerfold. You're never too old but I am just not a billionaire like him (Good my wife is not around, otherwise...) Sorry guys, go back to the topic I digressed off because Bbn made me so.
Viver, i believe it was the other way around, she married him. Don't worry, you're in topic. I saw the word 'badminton' mentioned in your previous post so you're safe . I think most chinese (and non chinese too) have played badminton before one time in their life. It is us fanatics that play more than others. On a similar topic, at the restaurant (after badminton, with my badminton bag beside me), one player show me a large personally autographed photo of 2003 Miss Rodeo. She actually had played badminton in one our club once or twice before.
Hahah, speaking of beauty pagent, I was at my in-laws and they had the Fairchild station on (a few months ago). The programme was the Ms. Toronto Chinatown pagent. I remembered that it was quite dorky as they have the contestants in bikinis with their hair all done up in some weird fashion involved in a game quiz contest. Well, the game itself took a while as the winner has to answer 3 correct questions. As for the topic, ABC, etc. well, I am a zero-generation Chinese Canadian (came over when I was 17 years from Brunei); full-blooded Chinese (both parents are Chinese) but don't read or write Chinese and barely speak passable Mandarin; English-educated. So am I Chinese? Well, yeah! although I can tell you that I have Chinese friends who considered me to be a banana. Maybe it is just different shades of Chineseness. Is a non-Chinese person who is born and raised in China considered Chinese (ethically no but culturally yes)? I think when you refer to this person as Chinese, you are referring to his nationality but if you say that he is not Chinese (you mean ethically). Both my daughters are Chinese (full blooded) but do not speak or write Chinese and I hope that they will pick up the Chinese culture (e.g. understand some of the stories, folk lores, festivals, etc).
