If you are a freshman, chances are, you belong to one of the following four groups. The first group is the “definite” group which consists of those who are definite about pledging for a greek organization (fraternities and sororities with greek letters). You do not know who to pledge for, but you feel that college life is only four years (or five or six depending on how much fun you want to have) and it would not be complete without joining one.

The next group is the “curious” group. Those who belong in this group are curious as to what fraternities and sororities are all about, but aren’t totally hooked on the idea of pledging. I personally believe this to be the largest group, but unfortunately, most that belong here usually wind up deciding not to pledge. This is mostly due to the fact that they were never really sure why they should undergo with the pledging process or the concept of being a part of these organizations.

The next group is the “definitely NOT!” group. If you belong in this group, you do not understand why anyone would want to be in one of these organizations. You do not believe there is such a thing as brotherhood/sisterhood that can be developed in a semester worth of pledging. The idea of pledging is also preposterous. Why would anyone have to go through that abuse to “prove” themselves worthy? Chances are, they are harassed and hazed and you want no part of it. You believe yourself to be social enough to make your own friends and not have to do any of those things to make friends. If you belong to this group, I hope this article bumps you up to the “curious” group.

The last group is the smallest. This group is known as the “already decided” group, meaning they already know which organization to pledge for. This usually occurs when they have a close friend or relative who belongs to the organization and, after hearing so much about it, they began to desire the same experience. If you belong in this group, I hope this article pushes you to the “definite” group.

Why shouldn’t those in the last group pledge for the organization they are already sure about? It is for the simple reason that despite all the similarities between those who are interested and the friend or family member who is already in the organization, everyone is different. They should be not be pledging for any particular organization, but instead, check out each group and see which one offers them what they are looking for.

So how should you begin to choose which organization to pledge for? The best way is to attend rush events. “Rush” are a series of events where you get to meet the members of the various fraternities. It gives you the chance for them to get to know you and for you to get to know them. Even though rush events are catered to get you more interested in pledging for them, you should be skeptical with an open mind. Understand that there is a whole process and as much as you have the power to choose which organization to pledge for, they also have the power to decide whether or not they want you as a pledge.

The best thing to do is to attend a variety of these events, most importantly, their general interest meetings (GIMs). This is where they introduce themselves to you, talk about their organization and tell you what they can offer you. For some people, all these organizations appear to be the same on the outside. However, if you analyze each one, you will be able to see huge differences.

Here are a few things you should look for:

Size of organization. There are large organizations with an extraordinary amount of chapters and members. There are also those who only have a few chapters with a lot less members. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Large organizations tend to be well-known. The chance of networking is greater. Smaller organizations have the advantage of being more close-knit. Thus, there is a greater chance that the members get to know each other more intimately.

Type of organization. There are many different kinds to choose from. The major categories are social, academic, professional, cultural and community service. There are others as well. Some are a combination of a few categories.

List of events. It’s a good idea to find out what type of events the organization participates in. Doing community service for example, might be something you are interested in doing.

Length of pledging. Though most will not tell you how long or what pledging consists of, I can tell you that it can take anywhere between 6-14 weeks. However, it is possible to get a good idea of how long the pledging process is by asking some of the members to give you a ballpark figure. Average would be about 8-12 weeks.

Dues and fees. Make sure you know how much dues and fees are before you do anything. You need to be willing to pay, and afford, them. Some organizations also have pledge dues/fees which means you will need to pay in order to pledge. Usually, these dues are to cover your pledging expenses. After you cross (become a member), you will most likely have to pay a membership fee every semester. It is a good idea to know how much it is and what would be the money used for. Dues can range anywhere from $30 to $2000 a semester.

These are just some of the things to look for. Ask questions if you have any. Don’t be shy and be as informed as possible. After rush, there will no chance to ask questions. This may be the organization you pledge for and it’s for life. Once you become a member, it is too late for regrets so find out as much as you can before making a decision.

I never really understood why someone who in my opinion was ethnically Chinese felt that they weren’t. Even though not all people from Taiwan are from the Han race (ethnically Chinese), most are. A very small percentage of the people can trace their ancestry back to the ancient aborigines of Taiwan. There were settlements during the Ming Dynasty (1386-1644), but they didn’t develop until the 16th century and the settlements weren’t Chinese. They were European—Dutch to be exact. Since then, there was a slow, but steady migration of Chinese workers who settled there.

The only way for the Chinese workers to settle there was by marrying the female aborigines and buying land. Though there wasn’t a huge population, the Manchu rulers of China who took over a couple of decades after the Dutch, tried to prevent mass migration to the island. The Chinese then governed the island for another two hundred years before losing it to the Japanese in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). After the war, Taiwan was freed of Japanese rule. This is where the lines are hazy and confusing. As of now, the debate is that we cannot determine whether Taiwan or the Republic of China is legitimately a country as they claimed or in fact, a province in rebellion as China claims.

The Republic of China (ROC) was created in 1912 after the overthrow of the Qing dynasty. In 1949 when the Communists won the Civil War against the Kuomingtang (KMT) or the Nationalist Party, the whole ROC government fled to Taiwan and established the capital in Taipei. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) now claims that Taiwan is in fact part of the mainland and that the ROC is a group of rebels. No real fighting has occurred between the two governments, but China recently enacted a law stating that it is illegal for Taiwan to declare independence and military forces would be mobilized to “stop the rebellion.”

Who is right? It’s hard to say. It is one of those controversial issues that plague world peace. The answer varies depending on the person you ask. In my opinion, both are wrong and at the same time, both are right. I look at it like this; if a bunch of robbers were to rob you and take away your money, they may claim ownership of the money, but whatever they have not taken away is still yours. The Communist may have driven out the ROC (or Kuomingtang for those who are more/less PC), but the ROC has secured themselves in their own property, which is present day Taiwan. Until this piece of property is taken away as well, this property STILL belongs to the ROC.

Another way to look at the situation is by comparing it to other instances of history, like the situation in America pre-Revolutionary War. The Americans were British and they were legitimately British citizens. The Taiwanese are in fact ethnically Chinese as the Americans were ethnically British. However, once the Americans declared their independence from Britain, they were Americans and no longer recognized themselves as British. It is the same situation as the Taiwanese. They no longer recognize themselves as being Chinese because these identifiers are not race or ethnicity related, but nationality related.

The Communist Party labels the Taiwanese government as rebels who are guilty of rebelling against the PRC by legitimatizing their sovereign rule over the island of Taiwan and some of the neighboring islands. If we logically analyze the whole situation, we can conclude that the Taiwanese aren’t the rebels, the Communists are. They were the ones who rebelled against the established ROC. It is the Communists who are the rebels and since they did not completely wipe out the ROC and forced them to recognize their sovereignty, the complete takeover should not be legitimate.

Currently, there are many people in Taiwan who feel that they should permanently become part of China. Though great in number, they are believed to be an overwhelmingly small percentage of the population. Like Revolutionary America, Taiwan is split on opinions for its future. In America, there were substantial amounts (approximately a third) of colonists who were loyal to King George III of England and supported the British troops when they landed. This is not to say the Taiwanese who feel that Taiwan should become a part of China once again are loyal to the Communist government, but they feel that they are Chinese and that it is the only peaceful way of approaching the matter.

Like Revolutionary America, there exists another group—the group that is neutral, neither for nor against the cause of permanent independence. These people do not really care about who is in government as long as they are left in peace. During the Revolutionary War, they just sat back to see who was winning, neither contributing nor taking sides. Some would eventually take a side when they were harassed by troops from the opposing side. Taiwan has a significantly large population of these people. They recognize themselves as either Taiwanese or Chinese, but to them, it doesn’t really matter. They just wish to live in peace and hope that whatever happens, doesn’t affect them or their way of life.

Regardless of the first two groups, many believe in their existence of freedom from China. Though China has proposed a “one country, two system” policy like their special regions of Macau and Hong Kong, many do not want to accept it. The policy will allow Taiwan to have their own system of government like Hong Kong and Macau, but will ultimately belong to China. Officials in China often try to demonstrate the success of these two special regions. However, many are not fooled. Though Macau does seem to be successful under this new system, Hong Kong is far from it. With an economy in recession for the past seven years and low wages, Hong Kong has been struggling to pick itself back up.

The Communist Party chose Tung Chi-hwa as their Chief Executive to oversee the affairs of Hong Kong, but he has been proven unsuccessful with a very low approval rating from the population. He has been labeled a puppet leader and that is precisely what Taiwan is afraid of. They are afraid of falling into a trap set by the PRC. Once China gets hold of Taiwan, there will be no letting go and it will be too late for regrets.

As of today, there has been constant debate within Taiwan. However, many who believe that Taiwan should be independent do not feel they need any other reason other than that they are legitimately free. Most of the Taiwanese people I know are very offended to be called Chinese. Many become defensive and will debate till the very end. Some go as far as to claim that all Taiwanese are ethnically Taiwanese. The entity of being Taiwanese is already a set point of view for many and it is what they truly view themselves as.

Most, if not all the Chinese people I know believe that Taiwanese people are Chinese and that they are going through some sort of identity crisis. I used to take that view as well. However, now I believe that we all have the right to identify ourselves the way we want. If someone tells me they are Taiwanese, I am not going to think otherwise. The British colonists in America denounced their British roots and became Americans. I do not see why the Taiwanese cannot do the same about their Chinese roots.

Ray Lee is the Halfway Production Manager

My dad often spoke of his struggles which often included the type of things he had to eat to survive. Delicacies would range from plants, like banana tree roots, to insects, like beetles, to animals, like rats. These unfortunate times were often retold with such a passion and weird sense of pride that neither of us would remind our parents that we heard it many times before. Sometimes, my dad would talk about the joys of his childhood and he would reminisce about the things he used to enjoy doing. One thing he would always talk about was eating dog meat.

He would often claim that dog meat was, “the best tasting meat ever.” Growing up in the western side of the world surely didn’t help me understand his enthusiasm. We often hear that, “dogs are a man’s best friend.” They are lovable and cute. Why would anyone want to eat them? As a kid, I thought that eating dog was the most insane thing to do. If you could look at a dog and call it your friend, how can you eat a friend? As naïve as I was, I thought dogs were one of the few animals that people would not think of eating. However, as I got older and less ignorant, I came to realize that there really isn’t any kind of animal that people do not eat.

I never really questioned my dad about it as a kid. As the Chinese saying goes, “he has eaten more salt than I have eaten rice” (though I doubt that since he was too poor to eat much salt as a kid). Every time he spoke about it, I would imagine him eating a dog that looked like Lassie. Watching Lassie reruns everyday surely didn’t help that image. The truth was, if he said it was good, who was I to say otherwise?

After a few more years of hearing how good dog meat was, I grew more curious than horrified. I was used to hearing my parent’s stories about eating weird things and began to understand that it was part of who they were. They did what they had to do. When you are starving, you have to eat what you can to survive and growing up in a poverty stricken place like where my dad was from, they didn’t have a choice as to what they wanted to eat. Everyday, they were looking for a full meal and not too many of those came by during the course of an entire year.

One day I asked my dad if he thought it was cruel to eat dog and his answer surprised me. He said that he in fact did think it was cruel, but technically not any crueler than eating pork or beef. I replied it was different and he asked me how. I thought long and hard to find the answer to this question. Why is it okay to eat pork, but not okay to eat dog meat? I replied because dogs were smart and that they were pets. He replied that it wasn’t a custom for Chinese people to have pets, nor was it economically feasible. They did have a cat, but they never took care of it. It was just something that was attached to their family, but they never had to feed it or bathe it. He said that if they were hungry and had to eat it, they would’ve, though it would be a last resort since cat meat wasn’t tasty (but that’s another story for another day). He explained that in China, dogs were bred to be eaten like how cows are bred in the US. They served no other purpose. They couldn’t plow land like an ox, nor lay eggs like chickens. It was safe to sleep with your door open because there were no thieves and there was just nothing to steal because everyone was so poor.

So why is it wrong to eat dog meat? Why am I too embarrassed to tell my friends that my dad has eaten it before and loves it? That is the crux of the whole issue. There isn’t really a substantial reason as to why you can’t eat dogs. It is merely a western idea that eating it is considered taboo because they have a connection with them. Right before the 2002 World Cup when Japan and Corea co-hosted the event, there were threats of a world-wide (more like western-wide) boycott of Corea because, “Corean people ate dog meat.” It was later discovered that in fact, only a fraction (approximate 10%) of the population ate dog meat, but nonetheless, organizations applied pressure on the country as well as to FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, to force Corea to pass legislation to outlaw dog meat. The real questions here are why and how. Why should Corea have to pass such a law and if they do agree to, how would they do it?

Will China be the most powerful nation in the world in less than fifty years? My personal opinion is No. It is true that China has the fastest growing economy in the world. It has cheap labor and the close-to-a-billion people in the labor force that make China such a powerful country. Its exports continue to grow every year, and will probably not stop growing for another decade or two. So with that on her side, how can China not become the world’s most powerful national? Two reasons—corruption and pollution.

When it boils down to it, the laws in China are very strict and flexible at the same time. It is strict in that they have severe penalties with very little or no loopholes. However, it is flexible because the one of the few loopholes around it is corruption. Since everything is run by the government, officials have a great amount of power, even when it goes all the way down to the leader of a village or the mayor of a city. Corruption could go as far down as the clerk at the administration building who is helping you push your paperwork faster. Since China is so big, everything is about connections and the best or fastest way to develop these connections is to buy it with money.

As much as China has been dealing with corruption for the past decade, it has not been putting all of its efforts into this. How can it? There are too many people and too many other things to worry about. It is a tradition to offer a banquet to meet someone who has more power than you. In these banquets, gifts or money are often offered. For thousands of years, this practice has continued. It was viewed as offering respect and when you offer respect, you will be rewarded. Times have changed, but this practice has not. I did not find it surprising when I read in Time that Wal-Mart supervisors have to make it known that they will not receive any kinds of money or gifts or even banquets. What was once viewed as offering respect is now considered offering a bribe.

Corruption has been the basics of doing business in China. If you are not willing to offer money, someone else will. If you are not willing to take the money, someone else will. However, the corruption does not help the country at all. For example, if everyone in China paid an income tax of just 1%, would the country be poor? Even if everyone made 100RMB a month,, the government would receive 12RMB a year per person. You multiply that by one billion people who work and you already have twelve billion dollars and that is only assuming that everyone made that much.

China Brief

Capital: Beijing
Population: 1,306,313,812 (July 2005 est.)
Ethnic mix: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), more …
SOURCE: CIA Factbook

It is possible that a couple of hundred million people make that much (or that little), but most do not. In cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, the average salary is about $500-1000 RMB (about $65-130USD) a month. It’s not much money, but it’s sufficient to survive. Then, you have everyone else; those who are really poor or really rich. The gap between the lower class and the upper class is too wide and through time, it will only continue to expand. The middle class is very small and it is not growing. Without a large middle class, the economy is playing heavy favorites to those who are wealthy, leaving everyone else behind.

Real estate in cities like Shanghai (the most populated city in the world with fourteen million people and still growing) have skyrocketed. Apartments are running on an average of $5000 RMB per square meter and that’s just for low-end housing! Who can afford such housing? The average person definitely cannot.

On the whole, living standards aren’t terrible and they are picking up, but what about the government? It is losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars a year, due to corruption, that could’ve been spent on other investments and improving the country. Without the proper handling of funds, everyone, both top and bottom, is affected. It is only making the corrupt wealthy and those who offer the bribes, wealthier. The point is, tax is not at 1% and people are not making $100 RMB a month. The government should have plenty of money at its disposal.

A strong economy needs a strong middle class. As of now, the lower-class is inching their way up, while those in the upper class are taking huge strides. It is not to say that every person who is rich is corrupt, but when everyone is skeptical of every rich person in country, you have a problem. It is a fact in everyone’s mind that if you are rich, you did not achieve it legally.

Another indirect effect of corruption is dumping. Businesses are hit with huge fees for their garbage and wastes. As a result, they are dumping waste in places where it is more convenient for them. By paying off officials to turn a blind eye, lakes and rivers, along with other natural habitats are being destroyed. Combine the destruction with the smog that was created from the factories in a place with no environmental codes; the environment is paying a heavy toll from this rapid growth.

Many of the major cities in China are heavily polluted. Beijing is one of the most (if not the most) polluted cities in the world where the smog just sits over the population. It has been reported that during certain times, there is zero visibility of the city from the neighboring hills. The air is so congested and polluted that it is uncomfortable to breathe. Respiratory diseases are on the rise in major cities and all industrial areas.

As a result of the large number of factories and lack of reform to improve work conditions, it has been reported by the Health Ministry of China that as many as 200 million people are threatened by occupational diseases. These diseases, such as pneumoconiosis, which is caused by long-term inhalation of dust, mineral, or metallic dust “could be over one million,” reported Su Zhi, a senior official of the ministry. These poor working conditions not only affect those who work there, but also their families. All too often, these workers become too sick to work and whatever compensation they receive (if they are lucky enough to receive any) is not enough to support their medical bills or their families.

Those who do not work in such conditions are also affected by the great amount of pollution that is in the air and water. In many parts of China, water is pumped from other surrounding sources because the water in those areas is no longer usable. In other places, where the water is usable, there is so much chlorine that you can often smell it coming out of the tap.

In time, when the water is not drinkable because of the excessive dumping, and the air is not breathable because of the pollution, China will become a place that is uninhabitable and will need to invest hundreds of billions of dollars to correct these errors. However, by that time, it may be too late. They may not be able to fix the problems that are the result of decades of polluting. All the economic power that they have acquired by that time would not matter to a country where a billion and a half people cannot live.

China has the potential of becoming the greatest country of the 21st century. Economically, none may be able to compete with their productivity. Filled with an abundance of resources and man-power, if governed correctly, China will surpass every other country. However, corruption stunts growth. Everyday, there are more and more opportunities for corruption and if the government does not take a real initiative to combat it, corruption will be the cancer that will destroy the country like opium in the 19th century.

Until China recognizes these two threats, these bumps will swell to become hills and one day will become virtually unconquerable mountains.

Ray Lee is the Halfway Production Manager

However, in regards to the comments, the reader commented that we were global citizens and we should not let ethnicity blind us from ignoring that fact. I agree with her. We are humans before anything. We are more or less just different in skin color and culture. If you see a dog, you would acknowledge it as a dog, despite the differences in color, size, texture of fur, etc. It should be the same way when you see a person; you would acknowledge them to be a human, despite color, size, texture of hair, culture, religion, gender, etc.

Part of his/her criticism was that we are Americans and we should not segregate ourselves by being Asian in America. Being American is part of who we are and we should not ignore this aspect of our identity. I believe very strongly with that as well. It’s up to the point where I do not even check off “Asian/Pacific Islander” in any forms or applications because I do not want to be judged or risked being judged in anyway because of my ethnic background. If you read my blog without looking at my profile picture, you may find very little indication of what my ethnic background is. I rarely label myself as Asian and depending on the circumstance, probably more often as American than anything. So if I agree with him/her, why am I associating myself with an Asian magazine?

As I explained to him/her in my response back, Halfway isn’t just made up of just Americans. Half of our staff members are Asians from the United States, but the other half are from all around the world, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Those that are in Asia reside and work from their homeland, so there is a mixture of purpose in our writings.

He/she points out that we have “a tendency to see one’s ancestral home/s (in Asia) through rose-tinted glasses, while criticizing the ‘foreign’ country that one chooses to call home.” I do not believe that we as writers or Asians in America believe that the United States is a foreign country. However, it is more the point that some white Americans choose to view us as foreigners. It is also the case when we travel abroad back to our ancestral homes and the locals there view us as foreigners. Neither here nor there, we are halfway, still trying to figure out who we are.

As writers of Halfway, we try to use it as a medium to express our thoughts and establish our identity. It is very important to me to know where my ancestors are from, to speak the language that my parents speak, to try to comprehend the traditions that they hold. It is important to me as a person to know who I am. It is also important for me to fight ignorance against my culture and the only way to fight ignorance is by promoting awareness. You cannot promote awareness by being ignorant yourself.

For over a century, the Asians here (in America), have been trying to assimilate into the American culture. It took the Jews, Italians, Irish, and the Dutch only a generation (twenty or so years) to be viewed as both American and their own identity of preference. It took the Blacks (both African and African American) two centuries of slavery and another century of fighting to gain equality (though still not totally equal) and the Latinos have been riding the same train as the blacks and have established a hold in the American culture. However, even in this day and age, the Asians are still shunned upon by the white Americans and the other minorities. Asians receive more racial slander and remarks than another other race or ethnicity. The chance of hearing someone say, “ching-chong-ching,” or “go back to your country,” or even “chink/gook,” is very common.

As the reader pointed out, “it is important to emphasize the ‘sameness,’ if you live in a multicultural society.” We try to do that everyday. We are doctors and lawyers, accountants and investment bankers, teachers and students, all in the same place as the other Americans. We live like them, eat what they eat, speak what they speak, and wear what they wear. We learn the same values, to the extent that we are known as Americans everywhere we go. We are them; we are American.

Here at Halfway, we aren’t trying to promote segregation through our writings or by establishing the identity of being Asian. Being Asian is who we are. We live in a multicultural society, which means a tossed salad, not like a mixing pot. We are similar in just as many ways as we are different and Halfway is just a place for us to be who we are. If someone can identify me as being Asian-American, I have gotten my point across because this reader sees me as being both Asian and American.

I hope Halfway Magazine will be able to interpret that point more as we go along. I feel very strongly about our goals. Maybe with our first edition, our intentions were misunderstood or misinterpreted, but surely, we will strive to be better with every issue. We are certainly indebted to your responses and sincerely hope that you continue to express your opinions to us.

To the reader who left the comments that sparked this article, I hope I have conveyed your arguments correctly. Your point is very well taken and I hope I have not butchered it or misinterpreted it in this article. If so, please accept my sincere apologies and I will make more of an effort the next time around. And in response to your reply, I am not offended at all and I hope that you will continue to read our work every month and be critical of it.

Ray Lee is the Halfway Production Manager

When I first listened to Beyond, I didn’t think it was possible to have a Chinese rock band. Rock music, in my mind, was a Western thing. It couldn’t possibly sound right in Chinese. Thinking back, I remember realizing how stupid, ignorant and narrow-minded I was—doubting the talents of this band who call themselves Beyond.

One of the problems for me was not being able to understand exactly what they were singing. I enjoyed listening to Chinese music, especially a lot of Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau and even Grasshoppers. As fluent as I am with colloquial Cantonese, the grammar of written Chinese is totally different. It is more formal and poetic, often consisting of deep and profound phrases to express certain points and ideas. Not being educated in the language, I was only able to understand the words, but not the meanings. How can you enjoy something you don’t understand?

It didn’t make sense to me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless because it sounded good. One day, I saw an interview with Wong Ka-kui, the lead singer of Beyond. He said, “Music is heard by the ear and understood by the heart.” I was about ten or eleven years old, but it made perfect sense to me. I began having a different kind of respect for him and his band. I began admiring their style and unique sound. I began listening to all their music and even begged my mother to translate the meanings of the lyrics. I began to hear the music with my ears and understand it with my heart.

Beyond was a band formed by lead singer Wong Ka-kui, drummer Yip Sai-wing and some friends. They were soon joined by Ka-kui’s younger brother, Steve Wong Ka-keung. Through time, some people joined and left. A few years later, Paul Wong Koon-chung joined and formed the final makeup of the band. Together, this group worked their way through gigs big and small to achieve eventual recognition as one of the most famous Asian bands ever.

There is so much I remember about them. The most vivid memory I have was when my mother told me that the lead singer, Wong Ka-kui died. I was at a loss for words. I asked her how he died and reading from the newspaper, she told me that he was playing a game on stage and fell. He had passed away at the hospital in Japan on June 30th, 1993. I remember choking up in tears. He was my idol. Even for a twelve year old, I was a fanatic often replaying songs over and over to familiarize myself with the lyrics and the notes of every instrument played.

At the time of his death, Beyond was taking off. They had a huge following since the late 80’s and played their first concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum in 1991. It was an experience that people could not forget. The people sang every song and screamed every moment they could while standing and waving their arms. It wasn’t like any other concert where people just sat there and listened, applauding and cheering only after each number. It was like a rock concert of the West, where the band fed off the energy of the audience and vice-versa.

Beyond had a vision and pushed for their music to reach international recognition. They decided to record their next album in Japan. They realized that the bands in Japan were just as serious and as good as they were. Ka-kui once said that he felt a bit intimidated by all the talent in Japan, but it was a great learning experience and helped to motivate them to be better and to work harder. They did not want to let their fans down, and only wanted to produce the best music possible.

Ka-kui was once asked what would he do if he won the lottery and he responded by saying he would use the money to build a studio to help the unknown musicians. He clearly emphasized that it was for musicians and not singers. Ka-kui understood the difference, especially in Hong Kong. All bands struggled. There was never a big demand for rock music and even now, there are no bands in the Hong Kong music industry.

After the death of Ka-kui, tens of thousands of fans were in mourning. The future of the band was in jeopardy. No one knew what was going to happen, not even those who were involved in the daily affairs of the band. However, in the mind of the members, there was no doubt that they would continue. They wanted to carry on the mission of their fallen brother. They wanted their music to be heard and they knew that Ka-kui would want that as well.

They got to work right away and picked up where they left off. Ka-keung was now the new lead singer. They all worked on writing new music and practicing. In 1996, they geared up for the second concert. Ka-kui was missed at this concert, but it didn’t stop everyone from having a great time. The band members took their usual position with Ka-keung the bassist on the left, Paul the lead guitarist on the right and Sai-wing on the drums in the back. The middle was always Ka-Kui’s spot. Everything went smoothly until the last show where Ka-Keung wanted to dedicate the song 祝您愉快 (Wishing You Happiness) to his brother whom he missed dearly. He sang it a cappella with the audience singing along. While singing, he began crying and without finishing the song, expressed his pain. The concert ended emotionally with the famous song Ka-kui wrote, but never performed, 海闊天空 (Sea as Wide as the Sky).

China Night 2005 at Binghamton University—that was the night. We couldn’t get our introduction video clip to work, but that didn’t stop us from showing them a good time. We, the Hi-Low band were ready to rock and ready to show everyone the beauty of music. We were ready to show the audience what Chinese rock music was all about. We were ready to show who Beyond were.

When the curtains finally went up, I saw hundreds of people in front of me. With the lights blaring in my eyes, I was able to feel the excitement. Everyone was gathered there together to witness a show of a common heritage—a show of the Chinese culture. For thousands of years, the Chinese culture flourished in the Asian continent and now, halfway around the world, people gathered to put take part in such a show.

At the end of the show, I had many thoughts. Was it a good show? It was supposed to be a cultural show, but what did any of these things have to do with the Chinese culture? How was our culture represented? In my opinion, the show didn’t accomplish its goal. As much as it was a culture show, a good portion of it was dedicated to fashion segments and modern dance pieces. I could not see the cultural relevance of such performances. The more I thought about it, I realized that our band performance also did not have much cultural relevance. Rock music is from the west.

The question is where do we draw the line and decide exactly what the Chinese culture is all about? I suppose it would depend on who was watching the show. From mainland Chinese point-of-view, this show probably had very little relevance to Chinese culture. The only connection would probably be the Chinese songs and the Chinese people performing in the show.

From a non-Chinese person’s standpoint, these kinds of shows may be some real exposure. A Corean friend of mine was surprised that there was such a thing as “Chinese rock music,” when I told her. She told me that she pictured Chinese music to be mostly Pop and traditional sounding. Maybe is a bit ignorant, but is she really wrong? Modern day China and other Asian countries have been adopting many different styles of music and forms of entertainment from the west. However, if you take modern styles of music from the west and put in Chinese lyrics, is the end product Chinese?

I was puzzled by this concept. I was wondering all the possibilities in my mind. I think everyone would agree that the end product would be considered Chinese. Maybe we have our own concept of what the Chinese culture is. A hundred years ago, a Chinese song was a song that “sounded Chinese,” with the style of music and the instruments that played it. A hundred years later, a Chinese song is now any song with Chinese lyrics. Because of the changing times, we have loosened our interpretation.

Globalization is the reason for this change. With all kinds of different things and cultures influencing one another, things aren’t so black and white anymore. The entertainment industry is affected by capitalism; therefore, the entertainment industry is where we point the finger to. Their portrayals are our mediums of influences. What they show us becomes what we understand to be a part of culture. They want to make money and they must adapt to modern times.

We have movies like Hero, or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but are those movies the proper portrayal of Chinese values or history? Though these movies examine many cultural aspects and themes of the culture, they are often misinterpreted or misunderstood. How many people who are ignorant of the Chinese culture will understand the cultural importance of martial arts and instead, reaffirmed their stereotypes of what martial arts really is in relevance to the Chinese?