Bloganuary Day 9

I laughed when I saw the prompt. Because I’m an Asian communicating in a Western environment, the assumptions about me can be quite comical.

First, I did not bomb Pearl Harbour. I wasn’t even born then; in fact, I’m not even Japanese. I’m Chinese, my birthplace is Singapore, a British colony then. Now Singapore is an independent country, 4000 km away from China (look up Google maps). In other words, it’s not in China.

And yes, I speak English fluently. I know many Chinese people don’t, but I do. In fact, many Singaporeans speak English fluently because it’s the country’s working language.

No, I don’t speak Chinese, unfortunately. In school, I had an option to choose Chinese or Malay, I chose Malay as it was anglicised and much easier to learn. In later years, it was made compulsory for students to study a second language in their mother tongue, and it is to their advantage as many Singaporeans have found it easy to get around in China and even work there.

And yes, I do speak up. There are many decent people out there, and I won’t know who they are unless I stand up and speak out — or in this case, write a blog. I know many Chinese people don’t, especially those of the older generation because of centuries of oppression. But I am different because I am walking in the freedom that Jesus Christ has bought for me.