China Law Blog

Part of why this discussion even arises may be because of how Chinese people look. How is this different from, say, someone of German origin? German may mean someone who descended from the Germanic tribes, or a legal German citizen. But when they become American, it's not questioned because they're white. The response of the Chinese person on MITBBS may be due to his reaction to how people in the states treat him, or it may be partly ethnic pride, but it does seem non-Chinese foreigners are more willing to accept Chinese are Americans than either Americans or Chinese from China. There are a few countries where the concept of "tribal origin" doesn't really apply - namely, the United States, Canada, Mexico, even Israel.

Andy,

But don't Americans and Europeans in general still find themselves questioning "Who is a Jew?"

That's a topic we discussed on that thread as well. What is it that makes the Jewish community last? Is it because they aren't "accepted" in their host countries, or because they simply want to maintain their Jewish identity?

Thanks Dan for the link!