Immigrants come and AP works because the U.S. is a rich country of resources easily affording plenty of opportunities for immigrants to make a decent living. AP perhaps can be related to a notion or an inducing agent – ‘American Exceptionalism’(AE). AE binds Americans together and makes them feel exceptional, righteous and patriotic which unites Americans towards other nations. Americans feel exceptional and unite together when they believe that their government and their country are being exceptional. On the other hand, Americans become rebellious when they are deceived and confused by their government or the mass media in a way casting their exceptionalism away. This nation building process (Americanization) is unique and yet different for every immigrant group because AE may be felt differently (on social, economic, national and international issues) by different immigrants. However, one thing is certain that AP is motivated and enhanced by AE and it is also a process making the U.S. strong and Americans feeling exceptional. Hence, if the U.S. government is doing an exceptional job, for example, in handling the US-China relation, Americans especially Chinese Americans will feel exceptional and will support the government whole-heartedly.
Chinese Americans have a stronger cultural inheritance bonded with a long Chinese history and the historical world status of China. Chinese Americans would pay more attention to what the media report and what the government is doing regarding the U.S.-China relation than other Americans. Chinese Americans understand (better) the Chinese people, Chinese history and intrinsic Chinese culture; they are understandably more sensitive and critical to the U.S. foreign policy towards China. Since Chinese Americans are a minority in the American population (~4 Million 5 years ago), the mass media pay less attention to their feelings, sensitivities and criticisms of the Chinese Americans towards the U.S.-China policy. This phenomenon may occur similarly with other minority groups such as Greek Americans, Hungarian Americans, etc., but not so with Jewish Americans (~6 Million 5 years ago). Perhaps due to the fact that the State of Israel and the Middle East are oil-rich, geopolitically important to the U.S., thus dictates more media attention. However, China’s rise is making Asia Pacific to be an important geopolitical region; hence the U.S. is initiating a Pivot to Asia Pacific policy. Consequently, the US-China relation is rising to be the most important US foreign relation deserving media’s full attention.
While the mass media is devoting more pages to the news (more negatively spun news by the way) and the US official policy statements about China, however, there are little coverage of Chinese Americans’ opinions and emotions towards the China issue. This shouldn’t be the case for two good reasons. First, the above ‘AE - AP’ doctrine applies and works for all immigrant groups in the U.S., the Chinese Americans deserve and want to have a fair chance to engage in the dialogue shaping the US China policy. In fact, the government and the mass media should seek out the Chinese Americans’ opinions. Second, the four million Chinese Americans is a significant group not only having unique heritage background but also possessing highest education level. As of 2012[update], Asian Americans had the highest educational attainment level and median household income of any racial demographic in the U.S. Chinese Americans are more than 25% of the Asian Americans in the high end spectra of both education and household income. On US-China relation, it is necessary to engage an intellectual discourse with Chinese Americans. Any US China policy must be well explained to and accepted by the American public including not excluding the Chinese Americans. The internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WW II was a mistake and shutting off the voice of 4 million Chinese Americans on China issue would be unthinkable. This column raises this issue simply because the topic of US-China relation seems to be orchestrated deliberately without Chinese Americans’ input or involvement.
In my earlier writing, I have pointed out that there are two prevailing themes driving or defining the U.S.-China policy/relation in the U.S., neither one seem to be well grounded with facts and theories. Most troublesome, the mass media seem to ignore how the Chinese Americans feel and believe. The first theme is the "China Threat" which basically targets China as the principal enemy of the United States. A strategy calls to align everyone possible in the world, especially China's neighbors, most deviously and viciously Japan, as military allies to contain China's rise as a developing nation. Japan, with a heavy baggage of imperialism committed atrocious war crimes against China for decades, was knowingly encouraged by the U.S. to beat the drums of ‘China Threat’ and to rearm the Japanese defense force with liberty to attack, despite of Japanese citizens’ protest. The second theme is the "Dooms Day" which claims that a degenerate and mal-functioning Chinese government is doomed to collapse due to her housing-infrastructure bubble, failing economic policies and her internal racial issues. A phenomenon prescribes an inevitable disaster or dooms day for China in a decade or two. China’s reform and desire to find her own development model is ignored and scoffed to fail miserably. These two themes contradict each other in that if China's government were doing so badly how could she pose any threat to her neighbors never mind the U.S. thousands of miles away? If China were to collapse in a decade or so why should the U.S. go through such trouble to align half the world economy to contain China? No wonder that the schemes such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which the U.S. purposely trying to exclude China’s participation took years to negotiate. Why should the U.S. line up all countries in the region with the exception of China that happens to be the largest and most important trading partner to all these countries?
These illogical themes sure bother any right-minded US citizen, especially, Chinese Americans. The more serious and fundamental issue is that these illogical themes destroy the above discussed AE-AP doctrine which bonds American immigrants to be exceptional Americans.
China, an ally of the U.S. during WW II, walked out of the Soviet Union and its style of communism. China was forced into the Korean War with either accepting Russia placing troops at her border in North Korea or facing the U.S. establishing military bases in the entire Korea Peninsular choking China. China wanted a real independent Korea all along. China was instrumental in terminating the Vietnam War between the U.S. and Vietcong-Russia when the U.S. was warming up to China. After the U.S. recognized China, China played the ‘leverage’ role the U,S, so desired which eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ending of Cold War. The Soviet was the targeted enemy of the United States and still is, why must China be treated as a targeted enemy by the U.S. setting up a new Cold War (even warm or hot war)?
In the past decade, there is no shortage of news, analysis, comments and opinions about China and U.S. China policy, but the above illogical themes prevail with no honest debate reviewing the historical facts (war crimes, territorial disputes and international relations) and no voices of Chinese Americans. Most older Chinese Americans lived through WW II, Korean War, Vietnam War and witnessed the struggle of China’s ‘yet to complete’ revolution to establish her own republic nation and her latest rapid economic development to raise her people’s standard of living. Where is the debate? Who is causing a threat? And who is driving an arms race? The U.S., Russia, Japan or China? Is it really a zero-sum game? One nation must be destroyed for another to be superior? Will the world be better off with the U.S., Russia, Japan or China to be no. 1? Why can’t we have collaborative treaties instead of military alliances? What for? A nuclear war? Or real benefits for citizens and world economy?!