Letters

Dealing with Chinese relations in Cupertino

Reference your article of May 9th regarding Chinese-American relations and perception by the public, I believe that the results were primarily fuelled by political influence peddling during the Clinton administration, the Lee (Alamagordo) affair and lately by the spy plane incident.

Here in Cupertino with 44% of the population of Chinese descent, the situation is somewhat unique. The majority are immigrants from Taiwan and Hong Kong (prior to its incorporation into the PRC) who felt threatened by Mainland China and who are generally well off financially and hold management positions in local companies. There are however some sore points in local racial relations in spite of the 5C's meeting, which called for tolerance by the majority but do not seem to address their concerns. One item is the sudden appearance of a giant Chinese Shopping Center at Cupertino Village, which appears to cater exclusively to a Chinese clientele and appears not to be interested in merging with the neighborhood. As far as I can remember this project was never brought up for discussion by the local population, although the council seems to spend an inordinate time discussing gas stations locations.

One other incident was the strident demand for teaching Mandarin at school, which can be equated, to cultural fascism.

There is no doubt that the local Chinese population is making major financial and technical contributions to this area for which they are to be commended, but a bit of sensitivity training on their part may go a long way.

Jan Black
Cupertino

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