Category: Chinese

Stereotypes are implicit biases that affect the way people perceive others. It’s important to understand that all ethnicities, races, and cultures have good and bad stereotypes. Chinese children have stereotypes that classify them as extremely intelligent, but without their parents, that stereotype wouldn’t exist. Demanding parenting is a tactic used amongst many ethnic groups, but the following essay takes a look at rather Chinese moms are superior or not. Amy Chua’s article ‘Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior’ expresses why demanding parenting is a tactic for generating successful children. Children of demanding parents usually suffer from mental health issues due to the amount of pressure that they’re under but learn lifelong lessons such as confidence and dedication. They can miss out on expected childhood activities. Having a Chinese mother has pros and cons.

Amy Chua, an example of a demanding mother, takes pride in the stereotype of Chinese mothers and children. In her article ‘Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior’, she explains the difference between Chinese and American parental mindsets. “In other words, Western parents are concerned about their children’s psyches. Chinese parents aren’t” (Chua, 2). The rate of mental health issues among Chinese children continues to rise. Children raised under ‘tiger parenting’ can have ADHD, emotional problems, and behavioral problems that are noxious enough to augment into chronic mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Chinese mothers aren’t concerned about their children’s psyche because they expect an erudite child. Therefore, Chinese kids and other children under demanding parenting are disadvantaged because they’re more likely to attempt suicide due to mental illness and pressure.

On the other hand, children with demanding parents learn to have confidence while under pressure. Lulu, Amy Chua’s daughter, is an example of a child with confidence after being trained by a demanding mother. Lulu tried to give up on playing a difficult piano piece at the age of seven, but “[Amy Chua] used every weapon and tactic [she] could think of” (Chua, 4) and Lulu finally played with confidence after an arduous practice, while shouting “Mommy, look – it’s easy!” (Chua, 4). Thus, demanding parents are beneficial because their children earn confidence, making them capable of succeeding without the thought of failure.

In addition, demanding parents teach their children dedication. Being committed to a task or purpose results in achieving goals. Although they are taught in a controlling way, children of demanding parents continue to succeed because dedication becomes natural: once you begin a task, it has to be finished.

However, the children excluded from childhood activities or any passions, tend to be children of demanding parents. For example, Amy Chua’s children couldn’t attend sleepovers, play dates, school plays, sports, etc. (Chua, 1). Children express their individuality through activities and without activities they mature very quickly. Maturing quickly is pernicious because they’re isolated from leisure activities as a child, and can’t socialize with people their age. On the other hand, being mature at a young age avoids common mistakes and prepares them for their future success. Therefore, demanding parents give their children an advantage because while most children are learning life strategies, their children have learned.

As a result, demanding parents should consider their children’s passion and mental state while continuing to teach them confidence and dedication. Their parenting should consist of incentives where rewards are given for achieving the objectives that are given to them. With incentives, their children can continue the task that is given, while chronic mental health issues decrease. Adding an incentive can teach children how to multitask their priorities and other tasks. As far as being isolated from childhood activities, demanding parents should find an alternative that meets the parent’s standards but is still for a child.

When my parents first migrated to Australia, we lived in an area which was largely populated by Chinese immigrants. Naturally, I was influenced by Chinese culture and grew to enjoy their, food, culture and social interactions. Many Chinese migrants opened shops which displayed Chinese writing and symbolisms. I was fascinated by these writings and the unique symbols and would try to replicate them as a child creating secret meanings for different patterns only I understood. Not only did I practice Chinese calligraphy as a youngster but also Arabic calligraphy, the letters of which, had been taught to me by my father. I would scribble calligraphic art away on my school books, to which I would be admonished by teachers. As my interest for history grew I would again rekindle a deep interest for Chinese calligraphy and culture when I read about a Chinese Muslim general who sailed the world on a great Chinese treasure fleet meeting and demanding the respect of all who gazed upon his fleet. He’s name was Zeng He and through reading about him, I was able to relate to the Chinese culture more than ever as this Chinese hero was someone who shared my faith and beliefs. Zeng He was a patron of the arts. Large parts of his journey was and is still to this day being documented through traditional Chinese art forms ranging from calligraphic writings to Chinese paintings. So when I received my art project, I saw it as an opportunity to learn more about one of the oldest artistic culture of all time…

[image: https://www.christineeisl.com/mediatypes/srcsetvar_large/christine-eisl-terra-mater-zheng-he-grey-1.jpg] (A modern Chinese art piece showcasing the grandeur of Zeng He’s fleet.)

What is Chinese painting and calligraphy?

Traditional Chinese painting (Gouhua) is an oriental form of art that is distinctively different from other oriental art forms. The term generally refers to Painting with a brush on rice paper or other materials. Painters are able to create a rich variation of images with a soft brush that uses ink or paint used on paper or other surfaces with work well this absorbing water. Chinese calligraphy and painting come from the same origins. Disciples of both arts use the same tools and surfaces to paint on, specifically brushes and paper and create artistic appeal by varying the thickness and direction of strokes. These two art forms are a fundamental aspect of traditional Chinese culture and are now becoming recognized worldwide for their merit. Both locals to the traditions and foreigners are now studying and learning to appreciate these ancient, respected arts.

Step One

The first step I took during this learning journey was to observe Chinese artwork and figure out what I wanted to do. I went to the library borrowed a heap of books on Chinese painting and calligraphy. One of the core questions I had during this period was if I was going to do an art piece that featured painting only or calligraphy only and if there was a possibility that they could both be featured. Through my observations I learned that both Chinese painting and calligraphy were connected and intertwined and featured together in many art works. Some of the paintings that I enjoyed were the following:

(Picture one: An artwork called, Integrity, Vitality and Purity: Referring to the three durable plants of winter: Pine, bamboo and plum blossom trees. These three plants are referred to as the three friends because of their graceful durability even through the harsh winters. The motif highlights the constructive companionship of the three plants: The pine tree looks quirky but is supposed to be elaborate, the bamboo is lean but has a long lifespan, and the beautiful plum blossoms thrive under the winter chill. The trees symbolise 4 noble characters which are cherished in traditional Chinese culture: purity, righteousness, graceful aging and vitality.)

(Picture two: An Artwork called, Radiance of Joy: The meaning of which is: Having smiley eyes under raised eyebrows upon receiving great news. A magpie is a beloved animal in Chinese traditions. It is believed to be the bearer of great and wonderful news. (Plum blossoms) and (eyebrows) are both pronounced as “mei” in Chinese. The meaning is therefore communicated with two or more magpies sitting on plum branches.

After my initial research I was intrigued by the powerful subtlety of messages communicated through traditional Chinese artwork. I decided that since I was creating an artwork, it had to be an idea that was unique but did not stray too far from fundamental traditional values. My research helped me understand that Chinese calligraphy helped reinforce the meaning a painting was trying to portray. For this reason I decided to create an artwork that featured a plum tree, (not for the meaning behind it, but rather the visual fascination by it) and also include the word ‘Spring’ written in calligraphic font.

Step Two

After gaining an understanding of which direction I wanted to take with my art work I turned my attention to the tools and materials I would require to start my project. Though my research I came across the phrase that relates to the tools required by an artist or calligraphist they are referred to as the: “The Four Treasures of Study”. This concept is used by Chinese artists and shows the importance they attach to these implements. They include paper, brush, ink, and Inkstone. These are not only tools for a process but a crystallization of the time-honoured Chinese culture.

Paper: I didn’t know Chinese use a special paper for painting called (Xuanzhi). The paper made of natural materials including wingceltis bark, straw, mulberry timber and bamboo. The paper is quiet thin, light and durable. Ink and water produce a rich variety of images on its surface thus making it indispensable in traditional Chinese paints and calligraphy. Producing this paper is a strenuous process which requires many procedures taking up to a year to create. Xuanzhi paper is categorized into raw, half ripe and ripe. Raw paper absorbs ink and water far more effectively than ripe paper making it far more difficult to control. As a beginner I decided to work with a ripe form of the paper as there is greater control over the ink and it does not disperse in an uncontrollable way. The only drawback to this form of paper as I found out later on is that it is susceptible to cracking and cannot be stored for a long time. Due to the price tag of the paper I decided to buy 2 pieces from the Chinese teacher at my placement school and was encouraged to practice on absorbent towels.

Picture: A Xuanzhi paper that I was able to purchase from the school I taught at Brush: Chinese Artist also have an array of brushes in different sizes made from the hair of various animals such as rabbits, goat, weasel and wolf. Brushes made from the hair of Rabbits and goats are referred to as ‘soft’ brushes while brushes made from the fur of wolves and weasels (now substituted with dog fur) is referred to as a ‘tough’ brush. I was able to purchase a medium-sized brush made from a mix of rabbit and goat fur which was advertised as a beginners brush.

It is important to not here that there is an etiquette to using the brush. Teachers and professionals in the field encourage learners to stay upright with an erect back with elbows resting gently on the table. Learners should hold the brush by pinching with thumb and index finger one third the length from above, curling the middle finger and leaning it against the ring finger. The brushes movements should be guided by the strength and movement of the elbow and wrist. This was extremely difficult to implement as movement felt unnatural and the brush was not completely in my control.

Ink and inkstone: Major ingredients of traditional ink include lampblack and binders that come in the form of ink sticks. These inksticks must be rubbed with water on an Inkstone to make writing or painting ink. Thankfully I was able to bypass this tiring process and buy bottled ink at an art shop.

Step 3

When I had assembled all the tools I required for the task, I fell into a predicament that plagues pre-service teachers when it comes to applying art skills in their classroom. I lost belief in my ability to replicate or create a satisfactory art piece. It was at this moment where I started talking like a madman claiming that I was wasting my time and that I was going to change my project to something easier. After some thought and hindrance, I decided that since I had already purchased all the tools, I was going to tackle the project head-on and put my abilities to the test. Self- efficacy, which is the belief a person has in their abilities to perform a task is a fundamental aspect of creating, applying and teaching art. The lack of one’s ability should not deter them from practicing art. (Roy. D et al, 2019)

I started of my project by practicing some basic strokes and trying to get a feel for the brush. Below are some examples of the strokes I emulated. (Picture of basic strokes)

I then started to write the word spring documented in the following photos. These were some of my first attempts. (Picture of the word spring)

An aspect of using the brush that I found very difficult was controlling the power with which I pressed down. Due to the method with which I was holding the brush, I was unable to maintain complete control over its movements often pushing down too hard on the paper, creating a very thick ugly symbol as seen above. I forsook the traditional method of holding the brush and changed it to a method more comforting and natural to me, but was surprised when I still had the same problem. I was able to bypass this issue when a Chinese teacher from my placement school suggested that the towel paper was possibly an absorbent material.

Step 4

When I was happy with the way my Chinese symbol representing the word “spring” had turned out, I moved onto thinking about how I would approach the plumtree. Below are a few attempts at a plum tree.

I finally had an idea of where and how I wanted to draw the plum tree. Because I’m left handed it was only natural for me to start the branches of the tree from the right-hand side of the page. I derived that this way it would be easier for me to control the swipes of my brush. It was time to put my idea onto the (Xuanzhi) paper.

(Picture. Tree branches coming out of the right and spring written on bottom left)

My final product was good, but I realized I didn’t have much meaning. The plum tree was not a representation of spring as it flowered all year around and the metaphoric meaning to spring which we mentioned earlier on; raised eyebrows, didn’t help my case either.

My painting finally has a name. It is called: Radiance of Spring After a lot of deep thought about how I could give my painting some meaning, I made a breakthrough. I added two magpies to the painting.. As mentioned before the magpies are the bearer of great and wonderful news. (Plum blossoms) and (eyebrows) are both pronounced as “mei” in Chinese. So the drawing of the plum tree takes on the meaning of raised eyebrows. And the calligraphic symbol meaning spring clarifies the good news. The painting means: Having smiley eyes under raised eyebrows upon receiving the news of spring.

I am really contempt that I came to this meaning as it is how I truly feel. I’m sick of winter and looking forward to the coming of spring.

To conclude, I added some red petals to the trees to give the painting a little bit more colour (Picture of coloured plant.)

References

1. Leitner, A, Report about Admiral Zheng He, Ming Emperor and Seafarer, Red Bull Mediahouse accessed on 16/09/2019 https://www.christineeisl.com/editorial-design/tmm-zheng-he-s-last-voyage/
2. Roy. D, Baker. W, Hamilton. A, 2019, Teaching the Arts: Early Childhood and Primary Education, 3rd Edition, Cambridge University Press p.25
3. Rui. C, Zhonghua. Z, Yanan. J, Yu. Z, 2014, Guide to Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, Cypi Press

No matter how effective conventional safety devices are, there is a form of accident that is inevitable’,(Perrow, 1999) Perrow warned in his book against high-risk technologies which raised many arguments against it. However, there are forms of accident which the society cannot avoid and must face together, for example earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfire and epidemic outbreak. There are plenty of such disasters throughout the global history, different governments or authorities respond these disasters in different ways, thus lead to different outcomes. One thing is for sure, to manage these incidents, solely organization or agency is definitely not enough, a network governance which involves all necessary agencies, departments, organization and individuals is required. There are different structural configurations in the network governance which in many cases become a dominant factor of the incident management effect. There is significant debate about the appropriate governance structure in disaster response(Norwell, Steelman, Velez& Yang, 2018), some even wonder, if there is a perfect network mechanism to deal with all these disasters. However, as is a common sense, no one can summarize a perfect structural configuration in any kinds of network governance, what we can do and is also meaningful is to analyze and evaluate the performance of each network structure in different incident response cases by adopting a common evaluating standard, hoping to find out some structural advantages and disadvantages to enlighten the future incident management and further study related.

This paper specifically focuses on the sudden outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in Wuhan, China which has raised the world’s attention in the past month. Apparently, virus spread is an inevitable natural disaster which contains a lot of complexities requiring a high-performing incident response network. What is the network structure Chinese authority using in this incident management? Is it a well-performing network? What are its advantages and disadvantages we can find out in this case?

How to address the analysis of the case and which theoretical tools to be applied will be explicitly explained in the following chapters method and theory. The analysis part will be right after these two sessions and a wrap up conclusion which mainly represent the findings of the analysis will be at the end of the paper.

Theory

The case study is to analyze the incident response performance of Chinese authority from the network perspective. Here network refers to a group of organizations connected in ways to facilitate the accomplishment of a common goal (Provan et al., 2007). To answer the first research question, what is the network structure Chinese authority using in this incident management, we need to first know what kinds of network structure are there in general. Fortunately, there are plenty of network typology researches done by network experts. Here I will select the three most prominent types of network structures to illustrate, mainly based on the literature from Norwell, Steelman, Velez& Yang (2018).

Three network structure types

Among so many different types network structure, the centralized networks and the closed networks raise the most attention and debates(Norwell, Steelman, Velez& Yang, 2018). The most highly centralized network links its sub-organizations exclusively through the single centralized actor in a hierarchical linear form. On the contrary, the most extreme closed network refers to a network in which there is a high level of connectivity across all actors in the network without a central actor. (Figures see below)

The centralized model of network is the most common design in incident response system, because from the structural logic perspective, the single incident command can best deliver the resources, information and orders to the various agencies and organizations so that guarantee the most important factor in incident response-efficiency. However, the appropriateness of centralized network structure in dynamic contexts has also received a significant degree of criticism (Norwell, Steelman, Velez& Yang, 2018). If a disaster concerns too many issues and arouses a great deal of complexity which in the end exceed the capacity the central incident command, the whole centralized network will collapse. This assumption indicates the vulnerability of centralized networks, thus decentralized or brokered networks are created, in which subgroups are orderly connected together through a series of brokers. All actors inside one broker form a highly connected closed small network. Meanwhile on the brokers level, all the brokers forms a platform in which all the brokers can communicate and exchange information and ideas. (Figure see below) The second criterion for a well-performed incident response system is well-distributed information management. In the coronavirus case, it refers to a rapid valid information flow about coronavirus following the hierarchical line within the multidimensional centralization network structure . It also refers to a horizontal information flow among same level actors and information exchange arenas. Significant disasters like the coronavirus case are coupled with potentially rapid condition change. (Norwell, Steelman, Velez& Yang, 2018) When the right time come, letting the information disperse across the border line of network and integrating the formerly peripheral or uninvolved actors into the network is also crucial to the performance of incident response.

In the first phase of incident response, the incident response system for epidemic disease was basically the established NNDRS. Valid report about the unknown respiratory virus took less than one week to flow from the lowest level of hospital to the national level health information exchange arena. Some people criticized that the multidimensional lineal information flow from bottom to top within the NNDRS was too slow in the coronavirus case. The system was designed in the procedure that at each level of the alerting system, the report must be carefully reviewed and supplemented with more details and then handed in to the higher level. These people argued that such design only works for normal epidemic disease but cannot cope with the acute virus spread like coronavirus.(Chai, K., 2020) What’s more, they also believe that the multidimensional report design also increase the chance of information stagnation. Huge responsibility and stress is on the shoulder of every doctor and reviewer who decide to report the information to a higher dimension, because misreporting of infectious diseases can have a significant impact on the local economy and social stability. Therefore, it is very likely to be affected by government and human intervention, concealment and delay in reporting. We don’t know if there was such kind of interference factor played a big role from outside or periphery of the network in the coronavirus case because many truth still remains unrevealed. However, facticity of the information in the incident response is really important. Spread of fake information could cause no less harm than the delay of information flow. Such consideration of the multidimensional review from this perspective is necessary for the successful management of incident response. Besides, in the coronavirus case, the information flowed to the national level information arena within one week in fact is not slow. The Chinese health authority sent first group of experts to Wuhan to investigate the new virus on 30th December, 2019, in the same day, Wuhan disease control center also conveyed urgent notifications to all the Wuhan hospitals. At this time the situation was far from out of control. So it is proper to say the lineal information flow within the multidimensional network functioned normally in the first phase of incident response. What really missed was the horizontal information flow between the same level public health information exchange arenas. For example, there was no horizontal information sharing to other city disease control centers inside Hubei province. Wuhan disease control center has no such autonomy and authority to share the information of the unknown virus to alert the same level organizations in advance. Reminders and early warnings to other horizontal actors within the network can only rely on the information distribution of NNDRS. However, the truth is, the NNDRS itself failed in information distribution as it should have done. Reasons behind is that the real center of the Chinese incident response system is almost always the central government due to its polity and political culture. Without the final decision from the central government, NNDRS network itself as a whole cannot automatically distribute unclear information about the virus to its sub-dimensions. Meanwhile decision-makers from the central government still didn’t realize the seriousness of the potential consequence at the end of first phase, they tended to constrain the information of the virus within the vertical line of network before they got more verified and certain information. Their consideration was similar to the local government, not let the news of unknown virus influence the economy and social stability. Such consideration could also explain why the Wuhan government deliberately blocked the information flow from inside the incident response network to the peripheral societal domain at the end of December 2019, when a Chinese doctor Wenliang Li from Wuhan Central Hospital privately warned his fellow colleagues about new coronavirus through his personal social media and his warning were later shared publicly. On 3 January 2020, Wuhan police summoned and admonished him for ‘spreading fake news’. So it’s fair to conclude that the centralization model of incident response network Chinese government applied severely hindered the normal information flow in the first phase of the coronavirus case, which must take an inescapable blame for the massive coronavirus outbreak.

In the second phase of incident response, when the central government finally realized the seriousness of the coronavirus and paid unprecedent attention to it, it mobilized countless domains and actors joined in the network structure and played important roles in it. Not only the both way information distribution following the hierarchical order but also the information flow among these actors from all involved domains were relatively quick and smooth. At this period, the former centralized network model gradually possessed some decentralized characteristics of closure model network in which sub-groups had certain level connection with each other orderly or disorderly. It was achieved not only through formal information exchange level like cooperation in information sharing among hospitals, but also through social media among all actors of the society. However, when all the channels of information flow was suddenly opened, the validity of information could be a problem for the success of collaborative cooperation. For example there was a fake information related to the prevention of coronavirus widely spread in Chinese social media that a certain brand of Chinese medicine had special effect. But when the actors inside the network have a common goal and willing to collaborate and trust the central actor, the validity of information could be well guaranteed by the state -owned media like how it was done in China. Thus it is appropriate to claim that in the case of coronavirus, after the central actor fully take good advantage of its centralized power to mobilize and absorb all necessary actors into the incident response network, the centralized model network did a good job in structural adaption and upgrade, hence benefit rapid information flow.

Evaluation of the bilateral coordination and collective action performance of the network

Well performance of bilateral coordination and collective action among actors inside the network requires high density of interdependent interest and goal intertwinement. However, not like other networks solving complexities like public infrastructure building in which actors have many different goals and interests that joint image building is very difficult to reach, actors within incident response network have in most cases common goal as long as they are all aware of what kind of disaster they are facing. So for incident response network, transparent and free information flow is the premise of goal intertwinement and joint image building which lead to the success of bilateral coordination and collective performance.

As analyzed above, the information flow appeared total different states in the first phase and second phase of the incident response of coronavirus. In the first phase, information and knowledge about coronavirus was strictly constrained inside the vertical path of NNDRS and a few other domains because subdimensions of the centralized model network have barely no autonomy to decide and act. So at this period when other cities and provinces or departments hadn’t even heard of coronavirus, there was of course very little bilateral coordination and collective action of the incident response. For example, there wasn’t any population mobility control which is considered as the most important approach to suppress the spread of coronavirus before 23rd January.

In the second period when the whole country was under the level one emergency state to respond the coronavirus outbreak, due to the extremely powerful central government and its uncontestable administrative order, bilateral to multilateral coordination along with collective action among all kinds of departments is proceeding all over the country under the leadership of local administrative authorities. For example, to prevent further massive virus spread between human to human, unnecessary human contact with anyone who do not live with you could be potentially dangerous. A full-coverage network structure of population mobility control based on grassroots communities was hence rapidly established nationwide. Each neighborhood or community has set up specific department to examine and record people who enter in and get out of the community in cooperation with the local police office and public health center. If someone disobeys the urgent temporary rule of getting temperature check before enter in the community, the security guard from the control department has the right to call the police. When someone from the community has suspected symptom of coronavirus, the person will be immediately sent to hospital for further examination. When the test result is positive, the epidemic prevention department of the community also has to call the health center to impose compulsory lockdown to the neighbors who live in the same building and also do test against each of them.

Such operational approach has raised huge criticism especially in western world that the legitimacy of these executive orders like city lockdown and transportation constriction itself was problematic. The central government shouldn’t have such great power to give such executive order which relates to tens of millions people’s life and basic human rights without a widespread debate among society and a proper legitimation process. Assuming in a closure model incident response network or a brokerage one when there is no strong central management, decisions like city lockdown definitely cannot be approved by the parliament or the supreme court in such short time. However, the independent variable of analysis of incident response network structure is its performance in managing the disaster, procedural justice is not the main focus here. As Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Emergencies Program at media briefing on Coronavirus remarked, ‘We would like to see well-thought, evident-based public health method that pay due respect to people’s individual liberty and human rights. But finding that balance is very difficult. And right now the strategic and tactic approach in China is correct.’ For the particular case of coronavirus outbreak, only in a highly centralized model network in which the executive as central actor with absolute power over legislative and jurisdictional can rapidly clear away all the possible obstacles to promote coordination and cooperation among all the actors within network.

Conclusion

The dependent variable of the case study is the performance of Chinese incident response system in the coronavirus case. The independent variable is the type of network structure of Chinese incident response system. The focus of the research is what kind of impact network structure have on the performance of incident response system.

In the analysis part, I first identified the multidimensional centralization model of network structure China applied in the coronavirus case. Then I have analyzed the performance of Chinese incident response system from the network structure perspective. The evaluation is based on four criteria of a well-functioning incident response system which include rapid adapt

Word of a great nation of wealth arose. A land where lives can be turned in the opposite direction. A prosperous nation with electrifying cities, accepting soon-to-be families from around the globe. The US is seen as the world renowned land of opportunity. Since the end of WWI, our nation has been regarded as a world power. Immigrants, those who leave their home country in search of a more suitable place to reside, give America its image as a cultural melting pot. In the early 1900s, the United States experienced huge waves of immigrants. Push factors such as “crop failure, land and job shortages, rising taxes, and famine” and the pull factor of America’s economic opportunity allowed for this boom of immigrants. Unfortunately, America’s citizens welcomed these new people with disdain and prejudice. Chinese immigrants, especially, fell victim to discrimination, prejudice, and racially induced violence. To combat this, organizations such as the Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance were formed in order to preserve the rights of overseas Chinese.

The first significant large influx of overseas Chinese happened in the early to mid 1800s. These people made their mark on American soil, hoping to get rich from the famous Gold Rush. With a lack of English skills and knowledge on European culture, many found it hard to assimilate. Tensions rose as white miners demanded for an advantage in the competition. In 1852, a special miner’s tax was implemented, targeting foreigners who knew little English. Furthermore, the fact that it was common to get swindled by a fake tax collector made life rough for these Chinese immigrants. Even after the Gold Rush, many Chinese saw great opportunity in participating in the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. However, Americans only saw them as cheap and expendable. Those who worked on the railroad were primarily Chinese, since they were willing to work for the least price. To their dismay, the project was very treacherous. They would have to build over rivers, canyons, and ultimately, through the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Many laborers died due to horrible weather conditions and through the use of nitroglycerin, an unstable explosive that can detonate in the slightest of jolts. Only 2 years after the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, the Chinese Massacre of 1871 killed 20 innocents when a mob of 500 non-Chinese raided a Chinatown. Even after all of this hardship, the United States still had a negative sentiment towards these immigrants. Into the 1900s, numerous acts were passed to restrict the rights of Chinese immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act was placed in order to prohibit all Chinese immigration into the United States. Taking action to protect the rights of their fellow Chinese, organizations were established to encourage the resistance against sinophobia in the United States.

The Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance, or CHLA, was formed in 1933 and served to protect the civil rights of Chinese immigrants. Being a laundry worker was a common stereotype for Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s. The CHLA embraced this fact and turned it into a community where they could support each other. Their slogan was “To Save China, To Save Ourselves” indicating in their communal bond despite all the troubles in the past and still to come. A formation of such organization alludes to their faith and determination to fulfill a safe and prosperous livelihood for generations to come. The fact that early Chinese launderers would typically work up to 16 hours a day further proves their efforts for a better life. The unfair circumstances them and their predecessors experienced only fueled their will even further. In contrast to the many gangs and crime-filled organizations that had formed in the Chinese community consequently from anti-Chinese sentiment, CHLA worked as a peaceful labor organization, strictly advocating for Chinese civil rights.

Their first success was when the New York City Board of Alderman targeted these laundry workers, in an effort to put them out of business. Under the influence of white laundry workers who wanted less competition, a law was passed which required a 1000$ security bond and a US citizenship in order to operate a laundry. By funding for an attorney, The CHLA successfully lowered the security bond to 100$ and exempted “orientals” from the prohibition. This success was widespread in the Chinese community, and many decided to opt in donations to further promote the advocacy for Chinese civil rights.

The CHLA worked to make the American Dream possible for Chinese immigrants. Their representation of such a despised ethnic group highlights the valor and determination many of these immigrants held. Their efforts would then influence the Asian American movement, which sparked social and political change in American society. Though bearing the name of a humble and small profession, the CHLA made a large leap in the advancement towards Asian American civil liberty.

Throughout the history of the world, powerful kingdoms have existed. These kingdoms included the Chinese dynasties. Within the history of the Chinese dynasties, including the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang, and Song, many created significant cultural markers such as calligraphy and oracle bones under the direction of ruling families, both good and bad. Together, the emperors, inventions, and conflicts are the basic structure of China’s dynasties. The Chinese dynasties are some of the most influential dynasties through their inventions, religion, contributions, and power of their emperors.

Within the history of China, the dynasties mark separate time periods. The first dynasty, the Xia, lasted from 2205 to 1575 BC, and the last dynasty, the Qing, remained from 1644 to 1911. The Xia dynasty is one of the longest lasting and can be considered the basis of Chinese culture. Unfortunately, “The existence of Xia has never been fully proven” (Stentiford). The Shang Dynasty overthrew the Xia empire and were driven to rid all existence of the Xia, if it had existed. With the new dynasty formed, population began to expand in greatly. “Late texts say that at the time of the annihilation of the Shang dynasty, some 3.2 million free men and 1.1 million serfs were captured by the conquerors; this would indicate a population of at least some 4-5 millions” (Eberhard 28). This commodious population resulted from and allowed for success in agricultural techniques and the creation of one of the first recorded writing systems. (cite) The Shang Dynasty prospered with the invention of ink, being the first to do so.

With the development of ink, some of the earliest documents were created and later found. “As early as the Shang period, a water-based soot and gum ink was used across Asia. Also in the Shang period, official seals and stamps used to authenticate documents were made by carving bronze, jade, ivory, gold, and stone in a reverse direction” ( Kagan 252). To the Shang dynasty, texts were considered sacred. At the time, paper had yet to be invented and instead, people wrote on turtle shells, oracle bones, and flat cattle bones. Ancestors were also considered in high regard, so much of the ink created was used by the royals for tablets for their graves. “Tablets bearing the ancestors’ names were kept in front of temples, and every royal event was announced aloud in the temples to inform the ancestors. These tablets were thought to contain the souls of the ancestors” (Xiao). The honoring of these ancestors was an important component of their religion.

The belief in polytheism characterized the main religion of the time period. The Shang dynasty existed in a time prior to the development of Buddhism and Hinduism or were not popular enough to have been spread. Instead, the Shang celebrated many deities, mainly in connection to nature. “The Chinese had spirit gods that represented things found in nature, from specific mountains and streams to stars in the sky. There were also two gods of the earth, “the God of Soil,” and “Sovereign Earth”…who served under Ti. Ti was in charge of all gods and spirits…” (McGill). With these deities came sacrifices. The Shang made both human and food sacrifices, which sometime depended on the god being celebrated. Most human sacrifices were not people living within the Shang Dynasty; instead they were often enemies from other lands. “Consequently, in the Shang realm and the regions surrounding it, there were many sorts of human sacrifices; often the victims were prisoners of war” (Eberhard 30).

War was a constant fixture in ancient time periods, even for China, which had a time period of constant battles dubbed “The Warring States Era.” Throughout the Shang Dynasty, thirty emperors reigned until the end of the dynasty in 1050 B.C., and each were able to win most of the wars. Though many of the emperors brought great achievements to the military, the first emperor, Cheng Tang, did the most during his reign. Not only was he the first emperor of Shang, he also was the conqueror of the last emperor of the Xia dynasty and created the basis of Chinese civilization. “The Shang people built China’s first cities. Among their many accomplishments was the production of some of the finest bronze work of ancient China”(Jacobs et. al 141). As a result of Cheng Tang’s firm foundation, his successors made the Shang dynasty prosper until their fall to the Zhou, six hundred years later. Around 1,369 years after the Shang dynasty’s fall, the Han dynasty began in 206 B.C.

The Han dynasty is one of the most well-known and contributional of the all dynasties. “In fact, the Han dynasty’s influence on Chinese civilization was so great, to this day, the main population of China still calls itself the Han people” (Ramírez et. al 224). During this time period, China’s trade with other countries prospered as silk became more in demand and ultimately prompted the Silk Road. The Silk Road introduced foreign products which would assist in China’s new inventions. “The Han Chinese are also credited with many inventions , including paper, the sundial, the ship’s rudder, and the seismograph to measure earthquake tremors” (M.P.). Another Han creation was the wheelbarrow, and with the majority of China’s trade relying on silk, this invention helped immensely. Unlike the Shang dynasty, the Han dynasty no longer followed a simple animistic religion of celebrating that all things in nature had souls. Instead, the Han, having acquired power after the rise of Confucianism. focused not on the souls of beings but on teachings regarding society and the proper treatment of others. “In many of his teachings he [Confucius] tried to persuade rulers to reform. He also hoped to bring peace, stability, and prosperity to China’s kingdoms” (Jacobs et. al 148). This could be one reason why the Han dynasty had many great rulers. Under Confucius’ teachings, the Han people prospered in social structure especially, as stated before, in trade. Other than trade, the Mandate of Heaven was at its peak of use throughout the dynasty. “The Mandate of Heaven supported a leader’s right to rule his people.” (Jacobs et. al 141).

The Mandate of Heaven was the belief that fate decided who the emperor was and determined the level of greatness. At the time, priests were mediators between sacred beings and humans, and the Han believed in the priests to reveal the choice of the sacred beings.Under the belief of Confucianism, many prominent emperors rose into power in the Han dynasty. The most notable Han emperor, Wudi ruled from 141 to 87 BC and made the dynasty reach its height of success. “To strengthen China, Wudi promoted economic growth. . . to raise money, Wudi set up monopolies on salt, iron, and alcohol” (Ramírez et. al 226). Wudi also improved the state of towns and cities by creating better roads and bridges. Along with government based advancements, he also expanded the Chinese empire. “Wudi expanded the Chinese empire through warfare. As a result, he became known as the Martial Emperor”(Ramírez et. al 226). As a result of his successful reign, Wudi set the precedent for the other emperors who followed. The dynastic era sparked numerous advancements by the Chinese. Even though these developments occurred in various dynasties, they are a source of pride for the Chinese overall.

The Han Dynasty had many achievements in art, science, and technology. “One of the most important Han inventions was an item still used every day-paper” (Ramírez et. al 232). Other than the Han or Shang dynasties, the Qin dynasty started the creation of the Great Wall under the ruler, Shi Huangdi. Though the wall was unable to prevent the invasion of the Mongols, it is known as one of the most iconic landmarks today. Also under Shi Huangdi’s command, the Terracotta soldiers were formed to protect him in the afterlife. “With his underground army, Shi Huangdi had planned to rule a second empire in the afterlife” (Jacobs et. al 151). Huangdi’s grave had many other items from his era which helped archaeologists to understand more about ancient China’s developments. Overall, China’s vast dynastic periods are arguably among the most influential and prosperous. Chinese inventions, military strength, and territorial expansions were some of the the most dominant in the world prior to the mid-1800s A.D., especially in the Eastern hemisphere. Over the course of time, many emperors have risen and fallen during their reigns, yet many of their contributions have been timeless, laying the foundation for today’s Chinese communist government. Each emperor and family may have had a specific, personal agenda; however, their collective accomplishments left a legacy of pride and accomplishments for all Chinese people.

Works Cited

1. Eberhard, Wolfram. A History of China. Project Gutenberg E-book #11367. 28 Feb. 2004. http://library.umac.mo/ebooks/b30863582.pdf. Accessed 29 April 2019.
2. Jacobs, Heidi H, et al. World Studies: The Ancient World . Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Accessed 2 May 2019.
3. Kagan, Donald, et al. The Western Heritage. Tenth ed., vol. 1, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010.
4. M. P. “The Han Dynasty.” Dig, vol. 13, no. 9, Nov. 2011, p. 14. EBSCOhost, Accessed 25 April 2019.
5. McGill, Sara Ann. “Ancient Chinese Religion.” Ancient Chinese Religion, Aug. 2017, p. 1. EBSCOhost, Accessed 25 April 2019.
6. Ramírez Susan E., et al. World History: Human Legacy. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston,2008. Accessed 2 May 2019.
7. Stentiford, Barry M. “Xia Dynasty.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2018. EBSCOhost, Accessed 25 April 2019.
8. Xiao, Hong. “Shang Dynasty.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2016. EBSCOhost, Accessed 25 April 2019.

The rapid growth in Chinese population since World War II has created many social problems in the country. While the growth may have decreased after the one-child policy, the effects of such a swift increase in population has strained Chinese educational opportunities. Due to high competition and unfair test policies, many Chinese adolescents emigrate to America for educational opportunity (Zong). In addition, the free market reforms in 1979 have made China into one of the world’s fastest growing economies. This has led the majority of modern Chinese immigrants to be predominantly skilled. As these individuals assimilate into a predominantly white middle class society, they will be forced to adapt to a new culture in order to achieve social and economic success. In this essay, I will examine how Chinese values, family structure, behavior, and religion affect the assimilation of immigrants as they attempt to adopt American social, cultural, and ideological norms. I will also draw from the experience of a family member who immigrated from China to give a personal view on what struggles she felt most detrimental in her attempts to assimilate in American society.

Due to the differences in culture, many Chinese immigrants have trouble holding on to Chinese values when they see that their old way of life is not common in American society. Eastern culture and values are based on Confucian values, with a strong focus on social cohesion and familial relations (Li 2001). In contrast, Americans place a strong value on independence and free will. One of the strongest differences between immigrant Chinese families and American families can be seen in their child-rearing practices. Confucius beliefs emphasizes that elders are to be respected for their wisdom, therefore Chinese parents are usually more controlling than their American counterparts. The foundation of American lifestyle is the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. This is often reflected upon American parenting practices, where the happiness of the child is put before their educational or economic success. This directly counters the Chinese belief that the good of the family comes first and because of this educational and economic success is the priority. Another new challenge that many immigrants face is a lack of a strong community. While Chinese immigrants in the past often lived ethnic enclaves, many more wealthy immigrants have chosen to live in more diverse neighborhoods. In Chinese culture, ethical principles are shared in a community, and an upstanding family name is often one way to attain social status. In America and especially in affluent neighborhoods, there often is little to no interaction between neighbors, so moral character can only be enforced by the parents. Because America does not follow the same shame/honor ideology or moral values as the Chinese, Chinese immigrant children often rebel in order to fit in with their peers(Lin). Without a community in the United States, studies show that Chinese Americans often turn to organizations, such as churches, in order to fulfill their sense of belonging and to surround their children with like minded individuals.(Xia 2013). By creating new ties with others from their home country while still living in America, immigrants become bicultural, integrating their old beliefs with their new American ones. However, many anthropologists believe that similar traits may be valued in all cultures. Kagitcibasi reinforces this idea in his paper on Chinese immigrant autonomy. Chinese culture expects youth to be able to make responsible decisions at a young age, while the immigrant lifestyle forces many youth to balance their social and family lives (Kagitcibasi 2005) .

As Chinese families immigrate to the United States, the traditional familial roles held in Asia become less defined. In Chinese families, the father took the disciplinary role while the mother focused on fostering a relationship with the children (Chao and Tseng 2002). However, because children and adolescents learn English faster than parents, they are often forced to make important decisions about finance and health that early in their childhood. Because both parents often work, the older siblings would take the place of the father in disciplining the younger siblings and teaching them life skills . However, not only do the roles of family change, but also the behavior of the children. Due to peer pressure present at early ages, many Chinese students will adopt American values and goals that conflict with their parents’ goals for their children (Xia 2013). All these changes to the normal Chinese family dynamics can cause stress on the family as they adjust to the American way of life.

The Chinese idea of identity varies greatly from its American counterpart as Chinese identity is strongly rooted in one’s relationship with others. The Chinese attempt to see how they integrate into society as a whole while Americans attempt to see how they are unique from others. Because of this, Chinese people have a strong sense of honor and shame which is often a strong psychological factor in their behavior and decision making. The Chinese language has three words for the concept of shame, each with its own meaning. In his journal on Chinese shame and guilt, Bedford explains one Chinese word for shame, diu lian, is shame directly tied to society’s opinion of an individual. However, because different ideals are present in each culture, what one culture considers shameful the other may consider desired. Take for example the idea of just rebellion, which was how America was started and continues to be a desired quality for many Americans. This shift in what is considered socially desirable and a limited way to express one’s shameful feelings (one word instead of three unique ones) causes many immigrants who adjust to the American culture, especially those traveling alone, to unconsciously lose many aspects of their traditional shame and morality. As they learn from others around them, they will be less responsible to others and start thinking morality comes from the individual. However, many first generation immigrants are unable to give up their beliefs, and will choose to remain in the Chinese community instead (Bedford).

Oftentimes, the assimilation of one group into a new host group is considered a social transition. However, many behavioral and psychological changes also accompany this social change that many occur unconsciously in the mind of the immigrants. One such change in the interpretation of body language and emotions. For example, in Chinese culture it is considered ill mannered for women to smile or show discontentment. On the other hand, American culture often focuses on the liberation of women from a patriarchal society and promotes individualism. Many of these traditional behaviors can be misinterpreted by Americans, and lead to stereotypes such as the shy Chinese women. On the other hand, many Chinese immigrants will find outgoing Americans to be rude or obnoxious (Stanley). Non verbal expressions seem to be a very strong factor in recognizing whether an Asian immigrant has assimilated to American society. While many immigrants speak English and adopt the American dress and etiquette, behavioral changes often come slowly. In his study on Asian assimilation, Fong shows that as Asian immigrants begin to identify more with their host country and less with home country, they “perceive the social gestures of others as Americans do.” While Chinese women are stereotyped as shy, many Chinese men are considered “inscrutable” and often come off as unfriendly to Americans. Although this is a courtesy in China, these different interpretations of emotional interpretation can lead to a sense of isolation between the Asian American and Chinese immigrant communities due to the difference in behavior from those who have already adapted to these behavior and those who follow traditional Chinese behaviors. This gives Chinese immigrants a great disadvantage in their professional career and social lives when they are unable to read the atmosphere of a room and act accordingly.

When Chinese immigrants move to America, they are often conflicted by their new identity. A bicultural identity is a very important factor in the assimilation of Chinese immigrants. Some Chinese families who come to America choose to live in Chinatowns, where they have no influence from American culture. This group of Chinese immigrants are known as the separated group, who usually are split into two camps: those who are confused about American culture and those who put no effort into assimilating into American culture. One of the strongest reasons that Chinese immigrants refuse to join American culture are the differences in religious beliefs. Although China is politically atheist, eighty percent follow some form of religious tradition. The two most popular religions in China are Buddhism and Taoism. Buddhism teaches that suffering is an essential part of life, and the law of cause and effect. It is believed that all unfortunate events are just justice for previous actions. Similarly, Taoism teaches that the idea of “yin-yang ”, where the positive and negative aspects of a person’s life must be balanced. These teachings create problems for immigrating individuals, who often refuse to seek help from those around them because their pain or struggle to adjust to American society is thought to be suffered through silently. Taoism teaches that health is based on a balance in life, and often these traditional beliefs prevent immigrants from finding the psychological help they need from professionals as they seek to become socially accepted within their community(Chan).

Although Chinese behavior, ideology, religion and identity may differ greatly, the greatest struggle that Chinese immigrants face when they come to America are the language barrier and differences in mannerism. Because immigrants lack cultural intelligence, they often act out the negative stereotypes attributed to them by the American public. The language barrier affects every part of Chinese immigrants daily life and prevents them from being able to learn the new ideologies and cultural norms of their new host country. In order to better explore the effects of such a language barrier, I bring in the experience of a family member, Mei. She immigrated from China alone in her early twenties and went to Santa Monica community college. She explains, “While I was still learning English, I had problems expressing myself and often felt ignored by others. I was frustrated with myself when I could not do simple tasks like eat at a restaurant.” Her inability to speak English also prevented her from making any close American friends her first year of college because she did not feel confident enough to approach anyone. The few times she did speak with her classmates, she was unable to interpret English idioms and subtleties and couldn’t tell if people were making an innocent joke or mocking her. Even within the Chinese community, she explains “I was unable to assimilate even with Asian Americans because their humor and dialects were different than mine.” The Americanization of Chinese Americans that grew up in the United States led many to look down on her as different from themselves. Because of the language barrier, many Chinese immigrants are unable to learn one of the most important aspects of American socialization: customs, habits and etiquette. “In China, we are not taught to cover our mouths when we cough, or to eat with our mouths closed.” Similar to how Chinese immigrants will interpret behavior differently than Americans, Chinese manners are often the opposite of what is acceptable in America. Take the idea of chewing loudly, which although often signifies that food tastes good in China, comes off as distasteful in America. Mei adds, “Although many Chinese immigrants may be culturally ignorant, due to the economic growth many wealthy immigrants are so proud of themselves they refuse to conform to etiquette.” China’s class system is strongly based on economic status more so than America’s, but while the wealthy in America are seen as the gold standard for what is good etiquette, the rich in China believe they are above shame and reproach. Because of this, it is often the case that all Chinese immigrants come off as rude regardless of economic status. Oftentimes, these manners are ingrained into the immigrant minds they don’t even notice anything. Mei describes it as such: “Sometimes I get rude looks from people who I pass on the street and I don’t even realize what I did wrong.” Although a part of a diverse culture, Americans still have trouble understanding the differences between cultures and often cause immigrants to feel unwelcome in this country.

As more and more Chinese immigrate to the United States for employment and education, it is important to understand that Chinese immigrants are different, and oftentimes American presumptions about Chinese immigrants can do a disservice to their ability to assimilate. Because of the many challenges Chinese immigrants face as they learn to change their lifestyle, language, and way of thinking, they often feel left out from their host country and lack the convictions to stand up for themselves and seek help. Many Chinese immigrants find themselves struggling to adapt to a new community dynamic and meeting peers with such different ideologies and religions. Although Chinese are only two percent of the national population, they are the majority minority on the West coast and thus have a strong influence on the multicultural diversity of American lifestyle. Because of their often seemingly contradictory beliefs, it is important to understand the struggles they face and find ways to be accommodating to their unique culture in order to create a multiethnic society.

The ideology and term of suicide or killing oneself to get out of life is turning into a trend in this modern society. Most of the ones that expresses the idea meant it as a joke and do not mean to actually conduct a self-harm activity. Many memes and jokes regarding killing themselves because they’ve succumb to a difficult task, seeing something ‘stupid that it hurts their brains’ and even merely wanting to get out of life can be seen on Facebook, 9Gag, Twitter and other social medias. However, this piece focuses on actual suicide ideation and behaviour, specifically the youths in the Chinese population in the city of Kuala Lumpur. It is being defined by the United Nations that ‘youths’ ranges age between 15 and 24. Hence, only this particular group is to be discussed. This study aims to investigate the thoughts and behaviours among the Chinese youths that resides in Kuala Lumpur and finding what motivates these individuals to have suicide ideation and what are the subtle traits of suicidal behaviours. This may help to identify the level of risk of certain individuals that might actually perform self-harm tasks.

It is no shock that suicide cases are a major cause of death in many countries. Many research has been conducted in the United States and Europe, but not many research has been done in Asia. The volume of research does not reflect the distribution of suicide globally, with Asia accounting for up to 60% of all suicides (C.J Armitage, M. Panagioti, W.A. Rahim, R. Rowe, & R.C.O’Connor, 2015). Same findings were manifested according to the article written by X.Y Foo and M.N. Mohm. Alwi. 60% of all suicides comes from the continent with the largest population and affects 60 million people a year (X.Y Foo, M.N.M. Alwi, S.I.F. Ismail, N. Ibrahim, & Z.J. Osman, 2012). It is not a surprise that South Korea and Japan has an alarming rate of suicide cases. In South Korea, suicide method such as bridge jumping is really common and this is usually taken place at the Mapo Bridge. The bridge also earned its nickname, ‘Suicide Bridge’, as it is frequently used by people to commit suicide. In Japan, there is the infamous ‘Suicide Forest’, where many goes there for the purpose for ending their lives. It is suggested that dead bodies are possibly easily found in the forest in the infamous and controversial vlog by Logan Paul that was posted in January 2018. It does not take long for the crew to spot a corpse that was hanging by a tree. The video was taken down shortly after due to sensitive graphic. Fortunately, there are no solid evidence of infamous places for suicide in Malaysia. In Malaysia, it was reported that 16.2% of all suicide cases in the year 2009 were among those aged 15 to 24 years (N.A Ahmad, S.M. Cheong, N. Ibrahim, & A. Rosman, 2014).

Suicidal behaviour and ideation is a growing cause for concern as suicide rates have increased by 60% over the past 45 years (S. Aishvarya, T. Maniam, H. Sidi, & T.P.S. Oei, 2014). X.Y. Foo and M.N.M. Alwi’s 2012 paper suggests that there are some significance of suicidal ideation from different ethnic groups. Religion and race may have some significance in these suicidal ideation and attempts. It is stated that the discrepancies in ethnic ratios and the shift in suicide trend may imply that other than individual factors, sociocultural factors may play a role in the difference in suicidal behaviours across ethnic groups (X.Y Foo, M.N.M. Alwi, S.I.F. Ismail, N. Ibrahim, & Z.J. Osman, 2012).

Not only these aspects play a role but the idea accepting suicide significantly affects the suicidal behaviour as well. Individuals who endorse suicide are more likely to develop suicidal ideation and behaviours (Zemaitene & Zaborskis, 2005, as cited in X.Y Foo, M.N.M. Alwi, S.I.F. Ismail, N. Ibrahim, & Z.J. Osman, 2012). Their finding suggests that their acceptance towards killing oneself may potentially put them at risk of acting on it as well. It is also believed that media exposure could be a motivating factor. For example, celebrity suicides. Well known celebrities that ended their lives are Robin Williams (comedian and actor), Chester Bennington (lead singer, Linkin Park), Kim Jong-hyun (K-pop singer, Shinee), Kate Spade (designer), Anthony Bourdain (celebrity chef), Leslie Cheung (Hong Kong singer and actor), and many more. A research has been made regarding experiencing suicide ideation of being influenced by a Leslie Cheung’s death. 38% (767) of 2,016 people responded and about 43.4% (460/1061) of women and 32.1% (307/955) had been influenced (K.W Fu, P.S.F. Yip, 2007). A recent similar study published in 2018 investigates expected number of suicide during the month of Robin Williams’s death. Reports have shown that there were excess of approximately 1,841 suicides in the United States from August to December 2017 compared to what would be expected (D.S. Fink, J.S Tenorio, K.M. Keyes, 2018). These suicides are potentially known as ‘copycat suicides’ or has been long described as ‘Werther Effect’, named after a 1774 novel by Johan Wolfgang von Goethe. It is also suggested that there is no current studies validated this possibility of the long-term effects of celebrity suicide on suicide ideation (K.W Fu, P.S.F. Yip, 2007). There were no study on how this has affected the Malaysian population.

H.D. Maharajh and P.S. Abdool did a research on cultural aspects of suicide. In their study, they seek to investigate the effects of culture on suicide. They discuss that suicidal behaviours may be linked to certain cultures or geographical region. For example, they mentioned that it is acceptable to commit suicide for the Japanese if one is humiliated. They mentioned that culture-bound syndromes have abnormal behaviour patterns and these behaviours express core cultural themes and have a wide range of symbolic meanings such as social, moral and psychological (S. Dein 1997 as quoted in H.D. Maharajh & P.S. Abdool). They state that the incidence of suicide in Malaysia is relatively low, 49% of all suicides were ethnic Indians who constituted only 8% of the Malaysian population, 38% suicide rates were among Chinese who formed 26% of the population and 3.6% were Malay that represented 59% of the population. However this finding is relatively old as they were extracted from a 1997 journal article by Nadesan. The later findings was conducted by the National Suicide Registry Malaysia in 2018. NSRM (2018) revealed that Chinese compromised the largest group of suicide cases (53.5%), followed by the Indians(27.3%) and Malays (13.9%), although the ratio of ethnic population in the country remained consistent (X.Y Foo, M.N.M. Alwi, S.I.F. Ismail, N. Ibrahim, & Z.J. Osman, 2012). It is also worth noting that the NSRM data relies on medically-certified suicides that approximately 50% of all deaths in Malaysia are not medically certified (C.J Armitage, M. Panagioti, W.A. Rahim, R. Rowe, & R.C.O’Connor, 2015). J.K. Kok, C.C. Gan, and L.Y. Goh conducted a survey in 2011. A total of 270 youths aged 15 – 24 were sampled from different schools, colleges and hospitals in West Malaysia. It was found that the Chinese expresses school work as the main cause for suicide.

Suicidologist Adan Omar, who is the head of the Counselling and Psychological Service Centre of Taylor’s University believes that the suicide trend among the young in Malaysia is getting more serious, and is fast catching up with Japan that has a rate of above 30 per 100,000 people (Wong, 2011 as cited in J.K. Kok, C.C. Gan, & L.Y. Goh, 2011). They also mentioned that at least 60 people plan to suicide everyday. A survey was conducted and it was revealed that the ‘at-risk’ individuals are female of Chinese and Indian ethnicity, and from broken families (N.A Ahmad, S.M Cheong, N. Ibrahim, and A. Rosman, 2014). The survey also found that suicide ideation was significantly higher among individuals with mental problems, abuse, and substance usage. Mental problems, particularly depression, being bullied, and family violence are associated in suicide ideation are found in various studies. Reasons for suicidal behaviour included depression, wanting to relieve themselves of pain or discomfort or problems related to substance abuse (S. Aishvarya, T. Maniam, H. Sidi, & T.P.S. Oei, 2014). In addition, there are two major risk factors that are highlighted: poor coping mechanism for the stresses of school life and the lack of a program to promote good mental health in the country. Young people nowadays are growing up in an increasingly competitive, globalised society, insecurity and risk taking are some of the characteristics of postmodern globalisation. (J.K. Kok, C.C. Gan, & L.Y. Goh, 2011).

Traditional Chinese families tend to emphasise and value the importance of education. Many Malaysian Chinese parents expect academic achievements from their children. Most Chinese students holds the concept of filial piety towards their parents and therefore not wanting to disappoint their parents. Thus, ultimately most Chinese stated that school work to be the contributing factor that leads to suicide. Other possible causes for suicide for the young were boy-girl relationships and family issues. Findings show that boy-girl relationships ranked the highest for the possible reasons for suicide for both male and female students. According to Durkheim’s suicide theory which depicted male as always more vulnerable and their risk of suicide is considerably higher. The findings seem to confirm that Durkheim’s postulation as the male students are more emotionally vulnerable, as most of them cited a broken relationship as a reason for suicide (J.K. Kok, C.C. Gan, & L.Y. Goh, 2011).

It is essential to note that Malaysian Chinese tend to be unhappy. There are two phenomenon that affects the negativity among the Chinese’s happiness. First, they face more economic advancement although they are the biggest taxpayers among other ethnic group in Malaysia. Second, due to unequal privileges, Malaysian Chinese are forced to cope with hectic working life in order to adapt to the high cost living. It is found that Malaysian Chinese women tend to have unhappier feelings (Y.K. Cheah & C.F. Tang, 2013 ). Thus, data shows that young female have a higher tendency of inflicting self-harm (C.J Armitage, M. Panagioti, W.A. Rahim, R. Rowe, & R.C.O’Connor, 2015). This may be due to the gender role inequality in the community as they hold the housewife concept. Malaysian Chinese women are expected to handle household activities despite being fully employed. In contrast, young men are more likely to die by suicide. The data shows that men contributed 60% – 76% of suicide (C.J Armitage, M. Panagioti, W.A. Rahim, R. Rowe, & R.C.O’Connor, 2015).

Suicide methods that are commonly used in Malaysia are hanging, poisoning, jumping from heights and drowning. Hanging is most commonly used in Kuala Lumpur. The construction of high-rise buildings may have contributed to the increasing number of commiting suicide by jumping from height (C.J Armitage, M. Panagioti, W.A. Rahim, R. Rowe, & R.C.O’Connor, 2015). Between the year 2000 and 2005 showed that hanging was the primary suicide method for both gender, followed by jumping from height and firearm for young male, and poisoning by drugs and jumping from height for females. The methods used subjects to the availability (K Kõlves, D.D Leo, 2016). Firearm in Malaysia is not available. Thus, hanging and jumping from height is the more prefered method in Kuala Lumpur.

Suicide ideation manifests in many youths today and sometimes even committing to it. It is needed to study why are these youths so unhappy. One theory suggests that it could possibly be connected to the relationship and closeness to the parents. Past studies suggests that lack of closeness with their parents is linked to suicidal thoughts. Therefore, maintaining a close relationship with parents is crucial to prevent suicidal thoughts among adolescents (S.L. Wu & S.N. Yaacob, 2017). Other theories may suggest that these youngsters may not have their definition of ‘meaning of life’, this a study was conducted in questioning these youths ‘what is the meaning of life’.

270 participants throughout urbanised Peninsular Malaysia were recruited by purposive sampling. A qualitative data was collected from the question “If you can choose, how would you live, in order to make life meaningful?” (J.K. Kok, L.Y Goh, and C.C Gan 2014). ‘Happiness’ receives the most votes, consisting of 108 voters, followed by ‘Goals and Values Orientated’ 106 voters, which has a small gap to the ‘Happiness’, and lastly ‘No Meaning’, having only 9 votes. The findings suggests that many Malaysian youths in Malaysia found meaning in life, or at least fighting to pursue for a happier life.

Although suicide ideation and behaviours may be invisible, it is important to raise awareness regarding this issue and eliminate these social stigmas in order to have these youths to visit a counsellor or psychiatrist for help. Therefore, this will aid in deleting suicide ideation not turning into completed suicide.

Although I grew up with both Chinese and Vietnamese parents, my life is heavily influenced by Chinese culture and traditions. I always take off my shoes before walking into someone’s home, and I go to every Chinese New Year dinner expecting to eat the traditional Peking duck and roasted pig. I am very fortunate to have grown up in the San Gabriel Valley, which boasts one of the largest arrays of authentic Chinese restaurants in the United States. A variety of places, such as Luscious Dumplings in San Gabriel, or Atlantic Seafood in Monterey Park, are just a few examples of the many restaurants that serve authentic Chinese food. Chinese food is available everywhere, with over 45,000 Chinese restaurants currently operating within the United States—more than all the McDonald’s, KFCs, and Burger Kings combined. Although most of these Chinese restaurants are independently owned, they share similar menus that bear little resemblance to the food available in the San Gabriel Valley. After all, for many Americans, a typical Chinese meal means a plateful of orange chicken, chow-mein from the takeaway down the street, or even dining at P.F. Chang’s. How did a food culture with more than 5,000 named dishes, one of the richest and most diverse food heritages in the world, blend into a homogenous brand of American-Chinese fusion? The choices that immigrant restaurant owners were forced to make to stay in business changed the way Chinese food is made. These changes represent the marginalization of Chinese culture as American societies see Chinese food as convenient and inexpensive, rather than as an appreciation of China’s long and rich culinary traditions, which is crucial to their identity. However, over time, Chinese food has evolved into dishes that incorporate new flavors and techniques that are influential towards the popularity of Chinese cuisine today, and for the future.

Chinese food made its way to America during the first wave of Chinese immigration in the mid-nineteenth century when more than 2.3 million Chinese laborers and skilled workers settled in the Pacific United States, mostly in California. Most of these workers, also known as the Chinese 49ers, came during the Gold Rush era. These Chinese 49ers came to America by way of San Francisco, and nearly all of them were men and from a single province in China, Guangdong. To these laborers, traditional food was “important not only because of its familiar tastes but also because of the memories it carried.” The idea of food “carrying memories,” or acting as a transporter of culture, is a theme that is frequently repeated throughout the history of Chinese immigrants to America. Chinese people insisted on bringing their food to the New World not because they wanted to share their cuisine with the Westerners or adapt it to Western tastes, but because food played a crucial role in defining their community and was a hub connecting many elements of Chinese culture, including aesthetic beauty, family culture, gender roles, and crucially, the ancient system of Chinese medicine.

The long hours worked by many Chinese laborers meant that they would not have the time to cook their food, quickly making restaurants a daily necessity in Chinese communities. Furthermore, there was an imbalance in the gender ratio amongst the immigrant communities who came to the United States. For example, in 1852, only 19 out of 2,954 Chinese people who lived in San Francisco were female, and in Chinese culture, the females had the traditional role of cooking. This meant that very few males had the opportunity to have home cooking as part of their daily lives, so they sought restaurants instead. In cities in California, such as Sacramento and San Francisco, these restaurants became a major representation of the growing Chinese “ethnic economy.” Also important were the numerous Chinese grocery stores, which sold everything from bamboo shoots, conch, Sichuan peppers, and sea cucumbers, all of which were imported directly from China to ensure authentic Chinese cuisine in the New World. In San Francisco in 1856, the “thirty-three Chinese grocery stores, five restaurants, and five meat shops represented almost half of all the businesses in San Francisco’s Chinese community.” The availability of these ingredients allowed for the expansion of authentic restaurants, which often marked the beginnings of a community. Chinese food rapidly attracted a growing non-Chinese population of clientele, which led to the creation of Chinese communities in major cities across the nation by the end of the 19th century.

The growing Chinese population coincided with a growth in people who despised the Chinese laborers and saw them as competition in the job market. The laborers were willing to work for longer hours and cheaper pay. Anti-Chinese violence intensified during the 1870s, destroying many Chinese communities and starting the trend of driving people from smaller settlements into urban centers. For example, in 1880, Chinese communities with at least 100,000 people represented 21.6 percent of Chinese Americans, but in 1940, that same number represented 70 percent. These tensions led to the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which restricted immigration from China and prevented immigrants already in the United States from becoming citizens. Many Chinese people lost their jobs and moved to the East Coast, where they rebuilt their lives, frequently around the presence of a restaurant and a grocery store. Desperate to make a living, more and more people resorted to running restaurants, which marked the beginning of an expansion of Chinese culture in the United States.

Chinese food during the early 1900s was still largely unpopular in America. Chinese immigrants were continually marginalized by society because they were foreign. Authentic Chinese establishments depended on native Chinese clientele and were offered lavish foods such as shark fin soup and bird’s nests. However, there were differences between the Chinese food that was served in restaurants in Chinese communities and non-Chinese neighborhoods. These other Chinese restaurants served food that appealed to a new type of customer—Americans who were on the “margins of society,” such as African Americans, bohemians, the working class, and immigrants, all dined at Chinese restaurants out of necessity, due to their low cost. A newspaper from the New York Tribune in 1901 discussed Chinese food’s popularity among the less fortunate by noting, “So many, who, while possessed of a small share of this world’s goods, still affect ‘sportiness’ frequent the restaurant for its cheapness and grow to enjoy.” This new urge for the “highly flavored dishes” available in America’s Chinatowns soon led to the creation of popular dishes such as crab rangoons, chop suey, and kung pao chicken, none of which are found in China. The dishes are examples of how “Chinese” cuisine became sweeter, boneless, and more heavily deep-fried.

Despite many cultural setbacks, the popularity of Chinese food began to rise, hitting a new peak after World War II, when “going for Chinese” became a weekly ritual of people within American communities. After World War II, prejudice against Asians began to decrease, and Chinese immigrants were able to share their culinary foods more freely through restaurants. During this same period, America saw a growth in middle-class and suburban families, who regularly used Chinese restaurants as a source of fast food, that was both affordable and convenient for them. Chefs recognized that to stay in business, appealing to the general American population was the only way to make a living. Among all the dishes that became popular during the mid-1900s, the invention of chop suey, which means “of odds and ends” was a clear representation of an invented Chinese dish. Most people believed that chop suey was China’s national dish, and to them, it was exotic and unique. But in fact, chop suey is just scraps of ingredients tossed together that were created because Chinese chefs knew authentic dishes like chicken feet and pig’s ear could not be served to the American population. Since then, Chinese chefs made dishes that consist the sweet and sour elements like the famous kung pao chicken.

Another important time during the 20th century that changed the course of Chinese cuisine was President Nixon’s visit to Beijing, China in 1972. This, in addition to the 1965 immigration reform, which abolished the Immigration Act of 1924 and allowed immigrants to become citizens, drastically increased the Chinese population and caused the restaurant business to grow exponentially. Instead of the Chinese-American foods that people were normally used to, Americans wanted to eat the authentic Chinese delicacies, such as dim sum and Peking duck, that they had seen the President eating on television. The media coverage of Nixon’s visit to Beijing led Americans to emulate his culinary adventures, including popularizing the Chinese famous Peking duck. Peking duck in the United States is seen as an exotic dish that only Chinese people desire to eat. But after the world witnessed Nixon eating Peking Duck for the first time, Chinese restaurants across the nation began serving it and people started expanding their horizons in trying new foods. Michael Tong, the owner of a restaurant called, Shun Lee Palace in Manhattan, New York, used the menu from Nixon’s Beijing visit in his menu. In less than 24 hours after the historic visit, Tong recreated that exact menu in his restaurant and customers poured in. Tong’s restaurant is just one of the many Chinese restaurants that thrived from Nixon’s visit. His visit represented a shift in the perception of what authentic Chinese food means to America.

In the last few decades, Chinese food began to evolve in the United States as people’s taste in the cuisine also began to change. Chinese food in the United States is stimulating new appetites, with more emphasis on taste and preparation to please, and tease the palate. Food connoisseurs are exploring what “authentic” Chinese food means, and whether Chinese food in non-Chinese neighborhoods is authentic. Andrew Coe, in his book, Chop Suey, A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States, argues that even in Chinese communities, like Chinatown in Los Angeles, authentic Chinese food is still very difficult to find. This can be said the same for many other Chinese communities across the United States. However, it would be a “historical and gastronomical mistake to deny that American Chinese food has been deeply rooted in China’s long gastronomical tradition.” For example, when looking at chop suey, is widely regarded as a Chinese-American invention by both Chinese and non-Chinese people. But the method of cooking the dish is called chao or “stir-fry,” which is deeply rooted in China.

Chinese culture will always be a crucial part of my identity, defining who I am through its traditions, family, culture, and especially cuisine. Chinese cuisine is unique in itself where each dish is made from an array of spices and ingredients, different cooking techniques, and ways they are presented. Over the years, Chinese cuisine has played a huge role in bringing my family together where we learn to cook together and enjoy delicacies from a culture that we have all come to appreciate. However, my experience with Chinese cuisine and the impact it has on my life is not the same for many people. Most never come to appreciate Chinese food, and this has shown within America through its many years of marginalizing Chinese immigrants. The marginalization of Chinese food does not simply just mean changing cooking styles or using ingredients that make dishes more Westernized, but it cuts deeper into how poorly Chinese people were treated in the past, which forced them to make these drastic changes in their foods. The cultural aspect that food has on the Chinese culture is so much more than how it is made, it delves deeper into which region it derives from and which communities it serves. Taking that aspect away from Chinese immigrants is equivalent to erasing memories of their origin and rooted traditions. However, I do admire how people are developing an appreciation for a new style of Chinese food, whether it is authentic or not.

Chinese restaurants now are trying to redefine Chinese cuisine by implementing new flavors and fusions inspired by their homeland. Tong Chen, a professor from the University of California-Irvine says that “more professionally trained chefs and more affluent and more informed diners in Chinese restaurants’ are helping drive the trend. Chinese companies and wealthy individuals from overseas are pouring money into buying properties around the world and developing restaurants and plazas that turn into heavily Chinese-influenced communities. California is known for its authentic, diverse Chinese food because the city is mainly driven by the Chinese immigrant population. In places like Highland Park, the San Gabriel Valley, Arcadia, and Diamond Bar- all of which are Asian-dominant communities, you easily can find restaurants from any of China’s regions. Even in caucasian dominant communities such as Beverly Hills and Hollywood, you do not see a great variety of Asian restaurants, but that is changing as Chinese chefs are aiming to open restaurants that make Chinese food seem fun and appealing to Westerners. Meizhou Dongpo is a famous Chinese restaurant that recently opened in the Westfield Century Mall and when creating the menu, Chef Wang Gang said, “We decided that our rule was picking what Americans would like from our traditional Meizhou Dongpo dishes. That way, they would not sacrifice authenticity in making dishes appealing to Americans.” Soon, dishes like popping fiery Szechuan dumplings became extremely popular, and even though this dish is not served in China, the Chinese aspects are still present in its Szechuan flavors.

Chinese cuisine has always been changing since its introduction in the United States. From authentic food cooked by the Chinese 49ers to the rise of chop suey and egg foo young in the early 1900s, and Peking duck during the 1950s, Chinese food is rapidly evolving, but at the same time, it is growing in popularity. The presence of native foods has always been so prevalent amongst Chinese immigrants as it serves as a reminder of their home.

For my research project, I decided to study Chinese cuisine. I chose this because I love Chinese food, but know nothing about it. Chinese cuisine plays a tremendous role in Chinese culture. It is one of the richest and most diverse heritages on the planet. The cuisine started in various regions of China and soon migrated to other parts of the world, such as Southeast Asia, North America, and Western Europe.

China is made up of both lowlands and mountain ranges. The Yangtze River is the largest in all of China, running almost 4,000 miles long. Most of the people in China have access to safe drinking water, however, water pollution is a major problem. There are 1.4 billion people in China, and most of them live outside of city regions.

Throughout history, China has had problems with feeding its people due to its vastly growing population. The Chinese were constantly adapting new eating habits because of the scarcity of food. The meat was extremely scarce for a long period, so the Chinese had to figure out a way to bring more substance to their meals. They did this by creating stir-fry. Stir-fry was a quick and efficient way of cooking. It is made with meat, vegetables, and either rice or noodles. “Regional differences in cuisine became noticeable in the 1200s when invaders from neighboring Mongolia swept into China. Cooking styles and customs began to be exchanged between the two countries. As people traveled further from their homes, cooking methods and foods were shared among the different regions within China”(Food in Every Country).

We do not typically see foods like shark fins, seaweed, frogs, snakes, dog meat, and cat meat in North America. The Chinese use yin and yang as a way to keep their lives and their food balanced. China’s staple food is Rice. ‘Fan’ is the Chinese word for rice, which also means ‘meal’. “Rice may be served with any meal and is eaten several times a day. Scallions, bean sprouts, cabbage, and ginger root are other traditional foods. Soybean curd, called tofu, is an important source of protein for the Chinese. Although the Chinese generally do not eat a lot of meat, pork and chicken are the most commonly eaten meat. Vegetables play a central role in Chinese cooking, too” (Food in Every Country). There are four main types of Chinese cooking: Cantonese, Mandarin, Szechuan, and Hunan. Cantonese dishes typically have rice, stir-fry, wonton soup, egg rolls, and pork. Mandarin dishes usually consist of noodles, dumplings, pancakes, and ducks. In a Szechuan dish, you might find lots of seafood. Lastly, you might find chicken, pork, and green beans in a Hunan dish.

I have discovered a lot about Chinese cuisine through my research. I didn’t realize that Chinese food came mainly from four different regions, each having different dishes to offer. By researching, I also found some new dishes I would love to try that I have never heard of before.

In this essay, I want to inform people about U.S. law policy issues that are applied to migrants, undocumented people, and U.S. citizens. U.S. law policies became an issue for migrants when the United States immigration law enforcement which started with the Chinese Exclusion Act was based on race and was unjust to Chinese Laborers. Over time more policies were set in place to target people because of their race and ethnicity. Moreover, people today are targeted because of their documentation and are treated horribly by law enforcement.

Looking at the past, America’s deportation system was seen as rooted in racism and injustice. When the United States wanted to limit immigration, the first national law passed by Congress was the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. The first law prohibited a national, racial, and ethnic group. It was a time when the Chinese population increased in the U.S. In 1882, the Chinese were barred from immigration for ten years. When the Chinese Exclusion Act was about to expire, they passed another law the Geary Act in 1892. Geary Act extended it for another ten years. By chapter three City of Inmates, “in 1892, Geary Act required all Chinese laborers living in the United States to register with the federal government or be subject to arrest up to one-year imprisonment at hard labor and then deportation”(pg.64). The main reason for this act was to prohibit and limit the number of Chinese people entering the U.S.

It’s important to know that the Chinese Exclusion Act was a racist law to hide its economic agenda by abusing a specific ethnic group of people. When we look back from now on these laws it makes us feel disappointed and shocked because judging people by their race is treating them unequally. This immigration issue doesn’t just apply to the past but the present as well, U.S. policies are controlling people by their race and religion. The exclusion of Hispanics and Muslim immigrants becomes one bigger topic of the political conversation. When these laws/policies that the U.S. enforces target a specific race it becomes a “racist” policy. Excluding people from a specific country is telling us how the U.S. is trying to control immigration.

Law enforcement officers use excessive force against people, especially migrants and people of color. Thousands of cases across the U.S. have been reported where people have been abused by an officer illegally without any reason, as police brutality remains one of the most serious human rights violations. The evidence of unjustified police shootings, severe beatings, rough treatment, and mass incarceration rates among a certain race is outstanding.

Despite the tremendous amount of evidence, police misconduct towards migrants and people of color remains invisible. Not only is society ignoring the violence blacks experience at the hands of police officers, but we are also ignoring the racial profiling that happens within the courtroom. The role that race plays in the criminal justice system is crucial to understanding the disproportionate number of black people in prison compared to white people.

In today’s world where law enforcement agencies have a lot of impact on our society. Law enforcement agencies keep our society safe by providing patrolling, catching criminals, and cyber-watching through the internet. Criminals have a state of mind that they won’t commit any crime if a police officer is patrolling or is at the corner. Crime against people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion has increased in the United States. Law enforcement agencies should eliminate crime against people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion because people are being targeted based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion.

In recent times one of the most horrific incidents that occurred in the United States was the shooting of a black male Philando Castle who mentioned that he had a licensed weapon. This is one reason that law enforcement should be used to eliminate violence against people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion. Philando Castilo got pulled over by a cop then he mentioned that he was carrying a licensed arm but the police officer shot him in front of his girlfriend. The police officer denied the fact that he had been told about the gun he claimed that he thought that the black male was carrying a gun in his hands so in fear he opened fire, however, the girl denied the fact saying “ She said Castile had been shot while reaching for his ID after letting the officer know he had a firearm” (What the police officer who shot Philando Castile said about the shooting) this shows how the officer saw him as a threat because he is black and shot him. In the aftermath of this shooting, there have been a lot of debates going on in the United States about what would have been the result if the guy had been white; some people undoubtedly said that it would have been a lot different because the law agencies don’t see white people as a threat as they see other migrants.

Racism has been rooted in the people of the United States. People are getting targeted based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion. In recent times people have considered migrants as a threat and others such as white people as heroes. This shows how people are treated based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion. As law enforcement agencies their job is to keep all people safe regardless of their race, color, ethnicity, and religion and to see them all as equal but; that’s not happening as officers are being told to go hard on migrants evidence of this is “Multiple police officers in Brooklyn say they were told by a commander that white and Asian people should be left alone. At a police station tucked into an end-of-the-line subway terminal in South Brooklyn, the new commander instructed officers to think of white and Asian people as “soft targets” and urged them to instead go after blacks and Latinos for minor offenses like jumping the turnstile, a half-dozen officers said in sworn statements.” (‘I Got Tired of Hunting Black and Hispanic People’) This shows how unfair United States law agencies are getting as they are judging people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion. This is not permissible in a country in which the Declaration of Independence states that “All men are created equal” For this reason, law enforcement agencies should eliminate crime against people based on race, color, ethnicity, and religion.

Even the president of the United States is freely racist and discriminates against Latinos and Muslims. He put a “Muslim ban” on at least 7 countries, stating that no more people should come from those 7 countries for “national security.” There were riots and protests for days because this act was so horrendous and uncalled for. He targeted people of a specific religion and ethnicity and passed a law that targeted them. He shook the whole world with this act and caused chaos. Even today brown people are searched “extra” at the airports by law enforcement just because they might be “terrorists.” Racism is at an all-time high and hate crimes against Muslims, Latinos, and blacks are also on the rise. Law enforcement also contributes to this because of the lack of care.

Law enforcement such as ICE is terrorizing Latino families by “hunting down” illegals and putting them in what most people call modern-day “concentration camps.” This is not what America stands for, our forefathers came to America to escape a corrupt government, and now decades later the government is terrorizing people who are trying to better their lives by coming to the United States. Because the president is so against Latinos hate crimes have also increased against them. In the article “The ‘Forgotten’ History Of Anti-Latino Violence In The U.S.” it states “ The rate of hate crimes against Latinos in the U.S. is at its highest in nearly a decade, according to an annual report by the FBI. The report revealed 485 hate crimes against Latinos in 2018. That’s 58 more than reported the year before and surpassing those against Muslims and Arab Americans.” Hate crimes are at an all-time high and no one is talking about this and it is going on nationwide.

Many don’t see a problem in these acts that the president is passing because they believe it is justified. The president states that “we are protecting the freedoms of law-abiding Americans, and we are going after the criminal gangs and cartels that prey on our innocent citizens.” To the president and his followers, they are making America “great again” by kicking out illegal immigrants and banning Muslims until “they know what’s going on.” A study it shows that “in the first 100 days after President Trump signed executive orders on immigration enforcement, immigration and customs Enforcement and Removal Operations compared to the same time last year.” The president has arrested and thrown out illegal aliens and is still to this day planning on building a “Great Wall” that will keep the Mexicans out. Many say that migrants should come legally and that it’s their fault for being here illegally. And so no one sees or cares about how the illegals are treated in this country and even after so many protests ICE continues to destroy families. Trump’s supporters see nothing wrong with what’s going on because they believe it’s all justified by the president’s statements.

Throughout the United States’ history, there have always been controversial laws that have targeted people of specific races, religions, and ethnicities. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Muslim ban. The force that is used to target these people is horrendous and not much is being done to stop this. Our president is targeting people due to their ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs. Prisons are filled with African Americans and Latinos, Muslims are being banned and discriminated against and nothing is being done. The protests are being ignored and the president has divided the country more than ever. Even Latino/black citizens are being discriminated against no one is safe. The violence against the people of the United States by their own government and law enforcement must stop.