As a Chinese and Korean American visiting China for the first time to study abroad the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of frustration, discovery and reflection.
Finding my way around Beijing is an adventure, to say the least. Since I only have a conversational command of Mandarin, the language barrier has put me in a number of uncomfortable—and at times even painful—situations during my first few weeks in the city. I felt clumsy and frustrated trying to understand and get my point across …

Li Na’s dream journey to the Australian Open final ended with a hard-fought, heartbreaking 3-6 6-3 6-3 loss to Kim Clijsters. While many tennis analysts predicted that Li wouldn’t even win a set against the unstoppable Clijsters, Li started off as the stronger player and produced some amazing shots to take the first set 6-3. Unfortunately, Li’s nerves, in addition to distracting photographer flashes and calls from Chinese fans in the crowd, got the better of her in the middle of the …

The history books were rewritten last night in a tense, nail-biter of a tennis match that left me elated and cheering out loud. Li Na, 28, of China, currently ranked number 11 in the world, defeated world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals of the Australian Open to become the very first Chinese player—and in fact, the very first Asian woman—to make it to the finals of a Grand Slam event.
Coming from a set and match point down, Li dug deep and rallied …

Most of us have likely grown up with strict Asian parenting—you know, the parents who made us start learning the piano or violin at age 5, refused to accept grades less than an A, and gave us curfews hours earlier than any of our friends. But what causes our parents to be that way? And is the strict Asian way of parenting truly superior to the Western way, which is known to be more forgiving?
A recent Wall Street Journal book excerpt, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” by Amy Chua, sought …

On Wednesday, Tina Tchen was promoted to Chief of Staff to the First Lady and Assistant to the President. Tchen, who is Chinese American, most recently served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement, in addition to serving as Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls.
Said President Obama in an official statement, “Tina’s success leading the Office of Public Engagement, reaching out to people across the country and encouraging Americans from all walks of life to feel connected to …