![]() ![]() The summertime row over the Diaoyu (NOT Senkaku) Islands and the ensuing outburst of ultra-nationalistic fervour was evidence of just how rigidly China still defines and defends its identity. ![]() But for Chinese people-those whose government papers match their face-race, language, culture, and nationality are inextricably intertwined. ![]() It had never occurred to me that holding a foreign passport disqualified me from that birthright. Before I came to China, I thought it was because I was Chinese. “ Oh,” they pause, hinting momentarily at comprehension. My parents are both from Taiwan, I try to explain, but I was born and raised in Canada. None of them seem able to fully wrap their heads around it. For the past year I have lived and studied in Beijing, China, and for the past year I have had this conversation, nearly verbatim, countless times. ![]()
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