The Story of C

C: It's interesting to see how different the world can be between cultures. My lecturer had this anecdote about the war in Iraq. When some Japanese and Italians were held hostage, the reactions back home were worlds apart. The Italians went into a panic and were trying their best to get their people home. The Japanese refused to negotiate, even after threats and deadlines looming.

E: Why so?

C: It was all in the mentality of the whole versus individuality. As a generalisation, western culture values the individual. Personal life is sacred. On the other hand, the Japanese place greater emphasis on the whole, on the wellbeing of society in general. The action of one doesn't affect the individual but the whole. When the Italians were released, they were hailed as heroes. The Japanese however, were plastered across the papers as recklessly endangering the nation. Those released hostages were getting threats from their own countrymen in the mail.

E: I don't think there's a right or wrong way to look at it. It's just that our social and political mentality are inextricably linked with the way we were brought up in the society we come from. It's always shocking sometimes to live in a different land and realise that it's not just cultural norms, climate and food that we have to adapt to, but a whole different way of thinking.

C: When I first came here, it was the first time I had Taiwanese friends. In one class I had a couple of friends from China, and another from Taiwan. When it came to introducing ourselves, after the latter told the class that she was from Taiwan, one of the Chinese girls stood up, smacked the desk and shouted, "You mean China! Why is Taiwan separate?" It was quite an outburst, although I have to admit that for a long time whenever someone said they were from Taiwan I had that same urge too.

E: You don't now?

C: Not really. It's only when you realise that the Taiwanese grew up knowing they were right, and I was brought up knowing that I was right, that this underlying contradiction makes a bit more sense. It must be quite a struggle trying to find your identity in the world when no one wants to admit you exist.

E: Yes, I've realised that. It's only when you go somewhere else do you start to see your own country in a neutral light, with all its flaws, things you knew but somehow didn't see before.

C: It's a bit like seeing some of the kids here who were sent here by their rich Shanghai parents. The wantonness of their lives here can sometimes be a bit disturbing, especially when there are still many living sub-standardly back home. Progress will be the answer - only when everyone reaches that same level of living.

E: Isn't understanding the answer instead? Look at us - we don't fit into that stereotype, but we are far from the minority where we come from. I just hope that things will be better a couple generations from now, maybe when our grandchildren are a different shade of yellow, or maybe when the world turns a faded sort of brown. After everything you've seen, do you still want go home?

C: Of course, I'd never give it up for the world. For all its flaws, that's where family is. I find it difficult to give up something I've believed in for so long.

E: I suppose then, that some things are worth fighting for.