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Full-Text Articles in Asian Studies

Register Of Chironomids (Diptera, Chironomidae) Of The Lake Khubsugul In Mongolia, E. A. Erbaeva, G. P. Safronov Jan 2016

Register Of Chironomids (Diptera, Chironomidae) Of The Lake Khubsugul In Mongolia, E. A. Erbaeva, G. P. Safronov

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

This list presents 107 species and forms of Chironomidae larvae from the lake Khubsugul, which belonging to 5 subfamilies of Chironomidae: Tanypodinae (11 species), Diamesinae (7), Prodiamesinae (1), Orthocladiinae (48), Chironomiinae (40).


Current Status And Conservation Of Mountain Ungulates In Mongolia, Badamjav Lkhagvasuren, Yansanjav Adiya, Garam Tsogtjargal, Garam Amgalanbaatar, Rich Harris Jan 2016

Current Status And Conservation Of Mountain Ungulates In Mongolia, Badamjav Lkhagvasuren, Yansanjav Adiya, Garam Tsogtjargal, Garam Amgalanbaatar, Rich Harris

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

In November 2009, we conducted a countrywide survey for wild sheep or argali and Siberian ibex. Field survey teams sampled in total 134 argali distribution units within Mongolia, which are estimated to occupy approximately 46,603 km² of the whole area of 60,237 km² that been previously mapped as populated by argali. They observed 385 groups of argali, totaling 3.373 individuals. Our point estimate of argali is 18,140 with a lower 95% confidence limit of 9,193 and an upper 95% confidence limit of 43,135.

At the same time the authors observed 162 groups of ibex, totaling 2,541 individuals and our point …


New Data On Small Mammals Of Neolithic Sites And Burial Grounds In Mongolia, Fedora Khenzykhenova, Nataly Schepina, Dashzeveg Tumen, Myagmar Erdene, Nataly Tsydenova, D. Khatanbaatar Jan 2016

New Data On Small Mammals Of Neolithic Sites And Burial Grounds In Mongolia, Fedora Khenzykhenova, Nataly Schepina, Dashzeveg Tumen, Myagmar Erdene, Nataly Tsydenova, D. Khatanbaatar

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

New data about animals obtained by Mongolian paleoanthropologists, National University of Mongolia and Russian archaeologist, Institute of Mongolian, Buddist and Tibetan studies, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences were obtained under the direction of Professors Dashzeveg Tumen and Myagmar Erdene. The faunistic materials were excavated from localities of different origins including burial grounds, old cities, and Neolithic sites in different areas of Mongolia. Species composition of the large mammal fauna included two species and, the small mammal fauna was represented by two species of lagomorphs, and six species of rodents which are also components of the recent fauna of Mongolia.


How Could Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas) Be Used For Ecohydrological And Ecosystem Research? Experiences Of First Operations With Uas In River Flood Plains Of Northern Mongolia, Jürgen Hofmann, Martin Oczipka, Thomas Rutz, Hauke Dämpfling Jan 2016

How Could Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas) Be Used For Ecohydrological And Ecosystem Research? Experiences Of First Operations With Uas In River Flood Plains Of Northern Mongolia, Jürgen Hofmann, Martin Oczipka, Thomas Rutz, Hauke Dämpfling

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

This paper proposes the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) as a method for monitoring biotic resources and ecohydrological systems in river floodplains.

Small scale mapping based on LANDSAT and SRTM or ASTER data is of limited applicability since a spatial resolution of 30 to 90 m is not sufficient to meet the demands of habitat mapping and large scale 3D -modelling. Newer satellites like WorldView2 and SENTINEL (space mission from European Space Agency within the Copernicus Programme) could be an option to gain a 0.5 m resolution, but the availability of image data is limited.

UAS allow the collection …


Der Mönchsgeier Aegypius Monachus (L., 1766) Und Seine Mallophagen (Insecta, Phthiraptera) In Der Mongolei = Cinereous Vulture Aegypius Monachus (L., 1766) And Its Chewing Lice (Insecta, Phthiraptera) In Mongolia, Eberhard Mey, Michael Stubbe, Davaa Lchagvasuren, Annegret Stubbe Jan 2016

Der Mönchsgeier Aegypius Monachus (L., 1766) Und Seine Mallophagen (Insecta, Phthiraptera) In Der Mongolei = Cinereous Vulture Aegypius Monachus (L., 1766) And Its Chewing Lice (Insecta, Phthiraptera) In Mongolia, Eberhard Mey, Michael Stubbe, Davaa Lchagvasuren, Annegret Stubbe

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

During a series of studies on the population, ecology, and biology of the Cinereous Vulture in Mongolia, fully feathered nestlings of the species from 9 nests were examined, without the use of chemical methods, for Mallophaga infestation from 2010 to 2015. The collection resulted in several first records for Mongolia of three species: Laemobothrion vulturis (J. C. FABRICIUS, 1775) sensu lato (Amblycera, Laemobothriidae), Neocolpocephalum aegypii (TENDEIRO, 1989) (Amblycera, Menoponidae s. l.) sp. inq., and Falcolipeurus quadripustulatus (BURMEISTER, 1838) (Ischnocera, Philopteridae s. l.). Despite being expected, there has still been no record of Agypoecus brevicollis (BURMEISTER, 1838) in Mongolia.

Chewing louse …


Key To The Bat Fleas Of Mongolia, Ingo Scheffler Jan 2016

Key To The Bat Fleas Of Mongolia, Ingo Scheffler

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Fleas of the family Ischnopsyllidae belong to the common bat ectoparasites. The current taxonomic status of these insects in Mongolia includes seven species for which we provide a determination key.


Bat Ectoparasites Of Mongolia, Part 3, Ingo Scheffler, Ariunbold Jargalsaikhan, Idertsogt Bolorchimeg, Annegret Stubbe, Michael Stubbe, Andreas Abraham, K. Thiele Jan 2016

Bat Ectoparasites Of Mongolia, Part 3, Ingo Scheffler, Ariunbold Jargalsaikhan, Idertsogt Bolorchimeg, Annegret Stubbe, Michael Stubbe, Andreas Abraham, K. Thiele

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The fauna of Mongolian bats and their ectoparasites is not yet fully documented. This study analyzes ectoparasite samples of 15 bat species from diverse taiga, steppe, and desert locations. We recorded 27 parasite species in total and report their abundance, host preference, and occurrence herein. In describing a new bat fly species (Basilia dolchii n. spec.), reporting six parasite species never before recorded in Mongolia, and examining rare host species such as Myotis frater and Murina hilgendorfi, this work expands present knowledge in this research area. To assess respective individual and species-specific parasite loads comprised of different insects …


Religiosity And Social Problems Among Muslim Adolescents In Southern Thailand, Suhaimee Sateemae, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Mahsoom Sateemae Jan 2015

Religiosity And Social Problems Among Muslim Adolescents In Southern Thailand, Suhaimee Sateemae, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Mahsoom Sateemae

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Substantial commentary has been written about the historical context of the Malay-Muslim minority in the deep south of Thailand. Much of the recent scholarship on the Malay-Muslim minority of Thailand has focused on the ongoing ethnic insurgency in southern Thailand, the region’s troubled history of annexation, and its relevance to Thailand’s political landscape. However, there is little empirical research on the Malay-Muslim population itself, although it is assumed that expressions of their religious identity are a fundamental aspect of collective identity formation. In an effort to fill this gap, this study explored perceptions of religiosity and risk behavior among Muslim …


Parenting Behaviors, Adolescent Depressive Symptoms, And Problem Behavior: The Role Of Self-Esteem And School Adjustment Difficulties Among Chinese Adolescents, Cixin Wang, Yan Ruth Xia, Wenzhen Li, Stephan M. Wilson, Kevin Bush, Gary Peterson Jul 2014

Parenting Behaviors, Adolescent Depressive Symptoms, And Problem Behavior: The Role Of Self-Esteem And School Adjustment Difficulties Among Chinese Adolescents, Cixin Wang, Yan Ruth Xia, Wenzhen Li, Stephan M. Wilson, Kevin Bush, Gary Peterson

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Cross-sectional data from 589 Chinese adolescents were used to investigate whether parenting behaviors are directly or indirectly (through self-esteem and school adjustment difficulties) associated with adolescent depressive symptoms and problem behavior. Structural equation modeling results showed that school adjustment difficulties fully mediated the relations between two parenting behaviors (parental punitiveness and paternal monitoring) and adolescent problem behavior and partially mediated the relation between maternal monitoring and adolescent problem behavior. Adolescent self-esteem partially mediated the relations between maternal punitiveness and adolescent depressive symptoms and fully mediated the relations between parental support and adolescent depressive symptoms. Parental love withdrawal was not significantly …


The Influences Of The American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions On Chinese Higher Education, Xiaojuan Zhou May 2014

The Influences Of The American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions On Chinese Higher Education, Xiaojuan Zhou

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to consider the influences of the American Boxer Indemnity Reparations Remissions (ABIRR) on Chinese higher education. These remissions were used to establish two universities, to establish the American Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program (ABISP) to support Chinese students’ studying in America, and to support other higher education- related projects.

This study focused on higher education considering ABISP as an individual case. The ABISP students were selected from all the students who studied in America in the corresponding period in part because of the inconsistencies of research before 1949.

Through tracking 1,152 ABISP students of Type …


The Changes In Mainland Chinese Families During The Social Transition: A Critical Analysis, Anqi Xu, Yan Ruth Xia Jan 2014

The Changes In Mainland Chinese Families During The Social Transition: A Critical Analysis, Anqi Xu, Yan Ruth Xia

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Modernization theory offers possible explanations for family changes related to advances in science and technology, and socio-economic development in industrial societies. Modernization impacts family structure, relationship, values and beliefs. Families become nuclear while people become mobile and the society becomes urban. Economic development provides employment opportunities outside the birthplace. Away from kinship network, a nuclear family is less influenced and controlled by elder members in the extended family in fulfilling its traditional roles and obligations (Parsons, 1943). The changes occur in all societies although they may vary in pace across societies (Goode, 1982). Modernization theory is criticized for valuing Western …


Deterring The Democratic People’S Republic Of Korea: The Role Of Japan’S Ballistic Missile Defense, Jonathan Trexel May 2013

Deterring The Democratic People’S Republic Of Korea: The Role Of Japan’S Ballistic Missile Defense, Jonathan Trexel

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation explores the role of Japan’s ballistic missile defense (BMD) program and its deterrent effect upon North Korean behavior. A mixed-methods approach is employed to analyze the topic. Empirical quantitative data included tabulated monthly cooperative-conflictual behavioral interaction between Japan and North Korea spanning a 22-year timeframe (1990-2011). In addition, a strategic profile developed from deterrence theory provided essential qualitative background to compliment the quantitative analysis. Japan’s BMD program was divided into four periods reflecting decision points or phases of program development. Results indicated varied BMD deterrence effectiveness, with two periods indicating Japan’s BMD program strengthened deterrence, one period indicating …


All Good Things Must Come To An End: China Beat’S 1,000th Post, Maura Cunningham, Kate Merkel-Hess, Ken Pomeranz, Jeff Wasserstrom Jul 2012

All Good Things Must Come To An End: China Beat’S 1,000th Post, Maura Cunningham, Kate Merkel-Hess, Ken Pomeranz, Jeff Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

With much gratitude, the China Beat editors say goodbye.

What a difference four years can make—for a blog, a country, and a planet. (“Blog, country, planet” might have made a nice coat of arms if we’d thought of it…) When China Beat launched early in 2008, blogs seemed like relatively new kids on the block, at least to academics. Four years later, the genre is old hat, sharing a landscape with newcomers like Tumblr, Twitter, and other microblogging platforms, and we’re increasingly catching up on China news not on computers but on devices that fit in our palms.

The blog …


Book Review: A Passion For Facts By Tong Lam, Maggie Clinton Jun 2012

Book Review: A Passion For Facts By Tong Lam, Maggie Clinton

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Tong Lam’s engaging new study A Passion for Facts analyzes the processes by which modern modes of apprehending and ordering the social world were forced upon and ultimately embraced by Chinese political and intellectual elites during the late Qing and Republican periods. Lam focuses on the rise of the “social survey” (shehui diaocha) as a means of knowing and constituting a new object called “society” (shehui), as well as the epistemological violence of imperialism that rendered the social survey a seemingly natural way of investigating the world. By the time the Nationalists assumed state power in 1927, Lam argues, “seeking …


Book Review: Superstitious Regimes By Rebecca Nedostup, Stefania Travagnin Jun 2012

Book Review: Superstitious Regimes By Rebecca Nedostup, Stefania Travagnin

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Superstitious Regimes is an interdisciplinary work that sheds new light on the interaction between the state-body and the religion-body in early twentieth-century China, with a focus on the Nanjing Decade (1927-1937). Nedostup develops her analysis from both a diachronic and synchronic perspective. The author underlines shifts and continuities between a few historical periods: Sun Yat-sen’s time, the early years of the Nanjing Decade, the late years of the Nanjing Decade, and the post-Nanjing Decade.

Nedostup’s interdisciplinary study is of interest for a large readership: students and scholars of Chinese studies, Chinese politics, Chinese religions, and Chinese history would all benefit …


Book Review: Dream Of Ding Village By Yan Lianke, Mike Frick May 2012

Book Review: Dream Of Ding Village By Yan Lianke, Mike Frick

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Unsurprisingly, the Chinese government levied a “three nos” ban—no sales, no distribution, and no promotion—against Dream of Ding Village after its publication in 2005. Though the storytelling relies heavily on dream sequences, Yan takes little poetic license when exposing the depth of the state’s culpability in spreading HIV among poor, medically-naïve farmers. He is just as uncompromising when detailing how officials denied responsibility for the ensuing AIDS epidemic, even as they profited from its human tragedy. No one in Ding Village receives medical care, mental health counseling, food assistance, or a chance to hold the blood heads legally accountable. Cast …


Changsha: Photographs By Rian Dundon, Rian Dundon Apr 2012

Changsha: Photographs By Rian Dundon, Rian Dundon

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Rian Dundon, whose photographs have previously appeared at China Beat, will soon be releasing a new book of photography on China, Changsha. Dundon’s book will feature a forward written by friend of the blog Gail Hershatter and includes his photos of and essays on the Hunan province city of Changsha. For more information, and to pre-order a copy of the book, see the book’s website (pre-sales of the book are part of a crowd-funding campaign raising funds for its first run with the publisher, Emphas.is). Below is a special teaser of Changsha material that Dundon has prepared for China Beat …


The Taiwan Elections In Historical Perspective, Sebastian Veg Jan 2012

The Taiwan Elections In Historical Perspective, Sebastian Veg

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

During a recent trip to Taipei to observe the January presidential and legislative elections, like many people with little first-hand knowledge of Taiwan, I was struck by the unique traits of Taiwan’s democracy. The elections also seemed relevant to many debates in China, not only because they were closely followed and tweeted by critical voices on the mainland, but also because of their significance against the broader historical and geographical context of the history of modern China, a connection which holds true even if one subscribes to the view that Taiwan had no previous connection with this history before 1945 …


Book Review: Developmental Fairy Tales, Nicole Kwoh Jan 2012

Book Review: Developmental Fairy Tales, Nicole Kwoh

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

At the 1996 APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, Jiang Zemin concluded his speech on economic development with a quote from Lu Xun: “For actually the earth had no road to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made” (1921). This quote highlights the important role played by the first generation of modern Chinese literature in shaping the current rhetoric of building a road to progress. In Developmental Fairy Tales: Evolutionary Thinking and Modern Chinese Culture, Andrew F. Jones explains the construction of this ubiquitous concept of cultural and historical progress. With a focus on Lu …


Salvaging Memories From The Ruins Of The Three Gorges, Daisy Yan Du Jan 2012

Salvaging Memories From The Ruins Of The Three Gorges, Daisy Yan Du

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydro-electric power station in the world. The construction of the dam began in 1994 and was completed in 2009. Proponents bill it as a symbol of China’s rise on the global stage, while critics worldwide see it as a huge humanitarian crisis that has the potential to worsen in years to come. The biggest controversy of this project concerns the forced migration of around two million people, who, due to the rising water, have been displaced from their hometowns along the upper reaches of the Yangzi River in Chongqing and Sichuan and Hubei …


Digital Chinese Whispers: Death Threats And Rumors Inside China’S Online Marketplace Of Ideas, James Leibold Jan 2012

Digital Chinese Whispers: Death Threats And Rumors Inside China’S Online Marketplace Of Ideas, James Leibold

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The Chinese internet is a wonderfully raucous and interesting place. It has greatly expanded the scope of public discourse and activity, despite the party-state’s extensive censorship regime. Not surprisingly, the world’s largest cyber-community exhibits tremendous depth and diversity: progressive cyber-activists and professional agitators; navel-gazing starlets and steam-venting gamers; mundane infotainment and the banal waxing of quotidian life; and, sadly, dark corners of fear, hatred and paranoia. It’s all there; it simply depends on where one looks. Like other technologies before it, the internet is normatively neutral, and thus can be put to good, bad and anodyne uses: individuals—not tools—shape the …


Behind Bo Xilai’S Halo, Xujun Eberlein Jan 2012

Behind Bo Xilai’S Halo, Xujun Eberlein

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In the wake of Bo Xilai’s sudden downfall, shortly after what could be called an online carnival among China watchers—probably more in celebration of a rare, real-life political drama than anything else—international media is changing its tune and beginning to paint a more sympathetic image of Bo than previously reported, by focusing on Chinese people’s love of him. Reuters, for example, has a report titled “In China’s Chongqing, dismay over downfall of Bo Xilai” that quotes a working “stick man” (棒棒军, a porter-for-hire) who praises Bo as “a good man” that “made life a lot better here.” The Telegraph‘s Malcolm …


Book Review: Chiang Kai-Shek’S Interpersonal Relationships: Perspectives Across The Strait, Sherman Lai Jan 2012

Book Review: Chiang Kai-Shek’S Interpersonal Relationships: Perspectives Across The Strait, Sherman Lai

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This book brings together papers and panel discussions of a conference on Chiang Kai-shek held in Taipei in January 2011 with the joint participation of historians from both the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan. It reflects new scholarship on Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese-speaking world and showcases the approaches that historians in the PRC adopt in handling challenges that their Western colleagues do not encounter. While Chinese historians have enormous audiences, they do not share the academic freedom enjoyed by their colleagues in the West and Taiwan. Because their careers and livelihood are dependent on the Chinese Communist …


Republican China, Kate Merkel-Hess Jan 2012

Republican China, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Several years ago, I gave a talk on my research to a community group. My first slide included the words “Republican China” and as I waited to begin I heard a woman in the front row lean over and whisper to her neighbor, “I had no idea they have Republicans in China too!”

At this time of bruising primary battles, though, the China that the Republicans have seems more relevant—as China, imagined and real, has played a recurring role in the raucous Republican primaries. Here’s a rundown of some of the ways China has popped up on the campaign trail …


Hong Kong Identity And Democratic Values, Sebastian Veg Jan 2012

Hong Kong Identity And Democratic Values, Sebastian Veg

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

When Peking University Professor Kong Qingdong’s diatribe on Hongkongers and their lingering colonial infatuation swept over the Internet in late January, the widespread and growing uneasiness about mainland Chinese in Hong Kong suddenly had a face. Triggered by a viral video of a Hongkonger telling off a mainland family in the subway because their daughter was eating dry instant noodles, Kong’s interview sparked a wave of predictable but nonetheless justified outrage in Hong Kong. It took place against the background of the annual mainland shopping spree over Chinese New Year (in a previous episode, Dolce and Gabbana staff in Tsim …


Workplace Dignity In A Total Institution: Examining The Experiences Of Foxconn’S Migrant Workforce, Kristen Lucas, Dongjing Kang, Zhou Li Jan 2012

Workplace Dignity In A Total Institution: Examining The Experiences Of Foxconn’S Migrant Workforce, Kristen Lucas, Dongjing Kang, Zhou Li

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

In 2010, a cluster of suicides at the electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group sparked worldwide outcry about working conditions at its factories in China. Within a few short months, 14 young migrant workers jumped to their deaths from buildings on the Foxconn campus, an all-encompassing compound where they had worked, eaten, and slept. Even though the language of workplace dignity was invoked in official responses from Foxconn and its business partner Apple, neither of these parties directly examined workers’ dignity in their ensuing audits. Based on our analysis of media accounts of life at Foxconn, we argue that its …


Excerpt: Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes, James Palmer Jan 2012

Excerpt: Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes, James Palmer

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

When the Tangshan Earthquake hit northern China on July 28, 1976, the country was in the midst of a tumultuous year that would grow even more chaotic with Mao’s death less than two months later. In retrospect, the massive earthquake has been viewed as a sign of trouble to come and a signal that major changes were on the horizon. In his new book, Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes: The Tangshan Earthquake and the Death of Mao’s China, James Palmer delves into the history of 1976, tracing the developments of that pivotal year for all in China, from the leaders residing …


How Chongqing People View Bo Xilai, Xujun Eberlein Jan 2012

How Chongqing People View Bo Xilai, Xujun Eberlein

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One April day in my birth city of Chongqing, I encountered a rare quarrel in People’s Park. The park is one of several places in downtown Chongqing that offer low-cost “baba cha” (open-space tea), where retirees and others with time on their hands lounge under leafy banyan trees with their teacups and bird cages for a good part of the day. Two fiftyish men sat at a plastic table drinking tea and chatting about Bo Xilai, their city’s ousted leader. One of the men said that Bo’s promotion of “people’s livelihood” had been a fake show, because during his four-year …


Whither The "Year Of China"?, Denise Ho, Jared Flanery Jan 2012

Whither The "Year Of China"?, Denise Ho, Jared Flanery

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

To conclude my Chinese history lecture course at the University of Kentucky, I introduce my undergraduates to the concept of “soft power” and suggest that Confucius Institutes are emblematic of China’s cultural diplomacy, which aims to project a peaceful image abroad. Confucius Institutes are centers for teaching Chinese language and culture overseas; they are organized by an office known as Hanban in the Ministry of Education, though their funding comes directly from the Chinese government’s treasury. There are now over 350 Confucius Institutes in the world, and two of these are in the state of Kentucky.


Literacy And Development Within China’S Minorities, Alexandra Grey Jan 2012

Literacy And Development Within China’S Minorities, Alexandra Grey

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Outside of China, people are agape at the prospect of learning to write Chinese: “So hard! Too hard.” Back in Australia, I know first generation migrants who speak Chinese at home but have never learnt to write; they gape along with everyone else. But for all the jaw-dropping, these people can read and write the national language of their home (for the Aussie-Chinese, that’s English). What about the people inside China for whom ‘Chinese’ is a foreign language? They are a significant minority, and, on the Chinese scale, a minority still means millions of people. ‘Chinese’ is usually loosely used …