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In her latest book, noted author Iris Chang narrates a meticulous history of the Chinese experience in America. Some of the most compelling and thought-provoking moments of her book come when she explains why Chinese Americans, despite their 150-year history in this country, continue to be a marginalized group whose allegiance is still questioned and whose "foreignness" is assumed.
Much of it, Chang argues in The Chinese in America, is due to the cultural traits of immigrants who arrive from China: hard work, thriftiness, reverence for education, entrepreneurship and family loyalty. That has both helped and hurt this group. In being so preoccupied with the idea that a high income means success, the Chinese have failed to cultivate political and social power. Historically, they have done...