News
On Names and Religion – The New York Times
New York World – Kirk Semple
Besides covering broader stories like immigration policy and the 2010 census, New York’s ethnic newspapers also run items more particular to their individual readership. In the past month, a Chinese newspaper looked at a debate swirling around the name of a play, a Mexican newspaper reported on the confusion caused when illegal immigrants give fake names upon arrest, and a Bangladeshi paper explored the younger generation’s drift away from religion. Here are excerpts, translated with help from the New York Community Media Alliance:
‘Ching Chong’ Debated
“Ching Chong Chinaman,” a newly launched play by the Pan Asian Repertory Theater in New York, caused controversy in the Asian community. Some community members said the title of the show reminded them of the sad memories of being mocked as Asian. They are even more furious this time because the production team of the play is entirely Asian.
But Tisa Chang, executive director of the Pan Asian Repertory Theater, said it was unfair for the naysayers to point fingers before they saw the show, because the play, despite its satirical style, intends only to empower Asian-Americans. …
The main character in the play is a Chinese boy just arrived from China, called Jinqiang. His host, the Wong family, has been so Americanized that the family members cannot even pronounce the boy’s name.
So they call him “Ching Chong.” But it is this boy who prompts the Wongs to think what it means to be Asian-Americans. …
“The title alienates Asian-Americans and also sends a message to the general public that it’s O.K. to utter this racist slur,” said Margaret Fung, executive director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, in an e-mail message to Chang. …
Chang, a Chinese-American actress herself, said racial equality had been a theme of the productions of the theater. “I knew the title might be a little sensitive,” she said. “But a play has to be provocative.”
RONG XIAOQING, April 1 The Sing Tao Daily, based in SoHo, has a circulation of 50,000 in the New York area.