It may look like China (and, indeed, Betty and I took pictures like this in Suzhou earlier this year), but this was in fact taken in San Marino, California at the new Chinese garden exhibit at the Huntington Library.

I recently came across two very interesting news articles that highlight the question of national pride for ethnic Chinese in countries outside of China:

• LA Times article about the celebration of the founding of communist China in Southern California.
• CBC article about the Chinese government funding a Chinese language course in the Greater Vancouver area of BC, Canada.

The question that I want to pose is: is it unpatriotic to the US (which I am a citizen) if I were to be proud of China (which is where my ethnic origins are) and its latest accomplishments?  This is something that seems to come up quite a bit (esp. if you read the seemingly racist comments by some readers of the CBC article).

In discussions about postmodernity, some people have talked about how we should recognise the fact that many of us have a “hyphenated identity.”  Meaning, not only am I an American, but I am a “Chinese-American.”  Or, perhaps, since my parents were born and raised in Burma, I am a “Chinese-Burmese-American.”  There seems to be some warrant to celebrating this “fragmentation” since there are multiple stories that inform who I am (and, sometimes, also confuses who I am).

Then in religious studies, there has been an ongoing discussion about the possibility of dual or multiple religious affiliation.  Some would say that I should not consider myself as a “Christian” but as having a multiple allegiance to Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism since all of these are part of who I am, whether I agree with it or not.

To be clear, I disagree with this second idea.  John Stackhouse has an interesting discussion on this in defining terms like “inclusivism,” but basically I believe the Bible is quite clear that God wants to have our full allegiance and does not like us mixing and matching to our liking.

So I return to the original question.  Can I be faithful to multiple nations at the same time?  I mean, China has done some pretty great things in the recent past (hey, let’s see London top the open ceremonies of the 2008 olympics!).  But there are also plenty of rotten things they have done too.  The same, of course, can be said of any nation like the US or the UK — no nation is perfect.  There’s the classic question: if the US and China were to go to war with one another, which side would you support?  Sure, there’s something to be said about a case-by-case scenario.  But blindly taking that question, I really don’t know how I would respond.

BBC reports that many in the UK also want this ban, claiming that it is “not British.” There is obviously a racist underpinning to such a statement, but I’m not even going to go there for now. What really unnerved me was what the journalist was implying about freedom of religion: “In a country [France] where the separation of state and religion is enshrined in law, a parliamentary committee report ruled the veil as “contrary to the values of the republic’…” [2]

And now begins my rant.

My first issue is with how the BBC journalist defines separation of state and church religion (incidentally, is this also “enshrined as law” in the USA?). Freedom of religion assumes that everybody should have their own freedom to choose and follow any religion. It also assumes that no one religion should be exalted above any other. But if a government claims that any religious practice is “contrary” to its society’s values, then it should be outlawed (so, if your religion believes in cannibalism, the government can and must outlaw it). Effectively, there is an equating of this “doctrine” with a totalitarian system — one that assumes the one god to be worshipped is atheism. If what I believe and practice is contrary to what somebody else believes and practices, and this is true across the board, the only true answer is no belief or practice. All religions cancel each other out resulting in atheism.

My other big issue is with the fact that many Christians love this notion of freedom of religion and have a hatred for any society that does not practice it (e.g., China). First off, freedom of religion never existed before the founding of the USA. The British settlers who first traveled to the Americas were the Puritans — a group of Protestants that were fleeing religious persecution from the Church of England. So, when the country was formed, the doctrine of separation of church and state was established to mean the separation of denominationalism and state — the founding fathers did not want the government to have a state denomination. Secondly, Christianity is a religion that was birthed and grew out of a state of persecution. That’s why so many New Testament letters challenge the early Christians to not compromise their faiths in light of their suffering. Freedom of religion was never taught in the Bible. Thirdly, when many Christians argue for freedom of religion, what is actually desired is freedom of Christianity. Very few Christians fight for the “rights” of other religions. Unless they convert, of course.

So, how is the government to deal with religious pluralism? For starters, not by banning head coverings. That’s just ridiculous. Might as well outlaw any religious practice. But honestly, I have no clear answer.

8-8-08 at 8:08:08pm. This most lucky number of Chinese culture was the precise moment when China again has become the Middle Kingdom. I have yet to see the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but plan to later this afternoon with some friends. I just saw some of the most magnificent photos from the celebrations at Gizomodo. The Chinese really know how to put on a show.  I mean, my Americanized palate says it is sometimes a little corny, but really, they know how to celebrate.  And celebrate they should — all eyes are on them.

China, of course, has a major self-esteem complex — she has lived through centuries of suppression by foreign powers.  Known in the Chinese language as the “Middle Kingdom,” for millennia, China has claimed its status as the center of the world.  But the Age of Imperialism changed this.

The Opium Wars of the 1800s were more about foreign powers gaining territories rather than opium.  Their “unequal treaties” gave names like “Peking,” “Shanghai,” and “Canton” household status on foreign lips.  Christian missionaries saw this as God’s providence and took advantage of protection under extraterritoriality.  By 1890, there were over 1,296 missionaries in China representing more than forty denominations.  Missionaries, like their imperialist sending countries, would chop up the country and divide regions by denominations. Christianity would therein always be considered an arm of imperialism.

In the turn of the 20th century, the Chinese were fed up with the impotence of the Qing Dynasty and, under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, would establish a new republic in 1912.  Now China could modernize and advance itself militarily, economically, and culturally.  Joining on the side of the Allies in WWI, China show foreign powers it was “one of the boys.”  But they got a slap in the face when the Treaty of Versailles turned over the German-occupied area of Shandong to China’s age-old enemy, Japan.  Then there was the Japanese occupation during World War II and the infamous Rape of Nanjing.  Again and again, those foreign devils have done nothing but attack China.

But now, times have changed.  ”Made in China” is printed on most household goods.  Trillions of dollars in US debt is owed to China.  And of course, who better to lead the lighting of the olympic torch than Yang Liwei, China’s first astronaut.  Nevermind centuries of foreign suppression.  Sure, the Beijing olympics slogan is “One World, One Dream.”  But the center of this one world, today at least, is the Middle Kingdom.

An illiteracy rate in China in the last 50 years has dropped from 80% to 10%.  In this fascinating 4 minute interview in February, 102 year old Zhou Youguang remembers being told by the Communist government to create the pinyin romanization system in the 1950s.  Pinyin has become the standard mechanism for learning how to pronounce Chinese characters, both inside and outside of China.  To Zhou and his system, I am greatly indebted.  Now if I can only memorize several hundred more characters…

My CEO explains in his blog the very essence of Liferay’s existence: bless others as we too are blessed.  That is what I want all non-Christian institutions to embrace.  It is the gospel message.  It is the Abrahamic calling.  In fact, it really lies at the core of why us humans were made.

This reminds me of the parable of the good Samaritan.  Aside from religious and cultural status, what makes the Samaritan different from the others?  The others were too busy with other things.  The others were too much in love with their own lives to sacrifice some of their precious time to love one who was in need.  The others are me.