The end of the year is near! If you’re looking for a few great reads, why not peruse my roundup of the best posts from 2019 on Speaking of China?
The Top 5 Posts by Views:
Velma Demerson, Arrested for Having Chinese Boyfriend in Canada
Loving a Chinese man and expecting his child shouldn’t be a crime. But white Canadian Velma Demerson got arrested in Canada in May 1939 because she was pregnant at 18 with the child of her fiancee Harry Yip.
A Trip Backwards: How People Thought of Interracial Marriages With Asian Men in the Past
As I compiled this post, I found it disconcerting (but not surprising) that a number of the opinions described below still endure, including in dark corners of the internet. A lot of people still believe interracial love is wrong.
Are Dating Apps Best for Chinese, Foreigners to Pair Up?
What dating apps or websites should I use? That’s the question a young Chinese man, who was looking to meet women from Western countries, posed to me recently.
But it’s also worth asking, are dating apps the best way for Chinese and foreigners to find love together?
‘How I Became Russian’ Movie Pits Shanghainese Man Against Future Russian Father-in-Law
Years ago, when Philip Wong of Wongfu Productions cited Meet the Parents as a movie that should have starred Asians in one of the major roles, the universe must have heard his plea. That’s because a new Sino-Russian collaboration How I Became Russian (Как я стал русским), which hit the theaters in China on Jan 25, stands as a perfect example of a Meet the Parents-style tale, with a Sino-Russian twist.
Chinese Bass Player, American Woman Start Lifelong ‘Duet’ in Guangzhou
Girl sees boy performing at a concert, longs to meet him, and somehow destiny helps kickstart a lifelong duet. That’s the heart of this story from a US woman living in Guangzhou.
My 5 Personal Favorites (in Order of Appearance in 2019):
My 5 Personal Favorites (in Order of Appearance in 2019):Should Foreigners Who Marry Chinese Also Learn the Language?
If you’re a foreigner with a Chinese spouse or loved one, should you learn some Chinese? Even just at a conversational level? Do we have an obligation to do so because we’re intimately connected to this country and culture?
Are Highly Sensitive People More Accepted in Chinese Culture? One Study Says Yes
Over the years, I’ve found myself more at ease in China, and I would often attribute it to a number of things, including this sense that I felt my personality was more accepted in the culture. Imagine my surprise to read Elaine Aron’s The Highly Sensitive Person and discover a study that actually revealed that Chinese culture appears more welcoming to sensitive individuals.
‘African Jasmine Flower’: Ruth Njeri Finds Success, Love on Chinese Stage
Among the many talented foreign women who happened to marry Chinese men, there’s Kenyan Ruth Njeri, who rose to fame – and found love – on the stage in China.
The Unglamorous Reality of Citizenship in Chinese-Foreign Marriages
The clunky reality of how citizenship actually works — especially when Chinese and foreigners wed — is nothing like all of those gossamer hopes and dreams you might have had about international marriages.
Intercultural Love Leads to More Creativity? Study by MIT Prof Says Yes
Creativity doesn’t usually come to mind when we think of intercultural love — but it should, thanks to a 2017 study from MIT assistant professor Jackson G. Lu.
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!