michelle envoy in sinagpore jan 9-15
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http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/01/154059.htm
To post a link, just copy the link from your address bar while you are at the site, then paste it into the Golden Skate dialogue box. The GS software will do the rest automatically.
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- Jan 23, 2004
Video interview with Michelle in Singapore. They ask her about dating. As usual she gives us no details other than she
is single. lol
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ptm/interviews/index.htm
is single. lol
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ptm/interviews/index.htm
I like a person who manages to keep private life private!
It will be fun to hear more about the visit next week. Isn't there a large ethnic Chinese population in Singapore? Do they speak Mandarin or Cantonese, I wonder? Michelle could address them in both languages by now.
It will be fun to hear more about the visit next week. Isn't there a large ethnic Chinese population in Singapore? Do they speak Mandarin or Cantonese, I wonder? Michelle could address them in both languages by now.
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There are four official languages in Singapore including English which is very commomly used. The official Chinese is Mandarin which is encouraged by the government for "street" use as well in place of many Chinese dialects, including Cantonese which is not as dominent as in N America. (Mandarin is the language learned and used in Chinese schools.) The other official languages are to appease the Malay and Indian populations but they are more localized.
Olympia, the Chinese make up the majority of the population in Singapore so they are not ethnic.
Olympia, the Chinese make up the majority of the population in Singapore so they are not ethnic.
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Wait. They are an ethnic group, just not a minority. Right?
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- Nov 19, 2010
If you would call White Christians in the US or the Han people in China ethnic, then I suppose the Chinese can be called ethnic in Singapore.
Do you quite automatically consider White Americans in Sudan or Taiwan ethnic?
A dictionary defines ethnic as belonging to a cultural group, in which case everybody is ethnic. But I feel that a mainstream culture in a particular society or nation is generally not considered ethnic .
Do you quite automatically consider White Americans in Sudan or Taiwan ethnic?
A dictionary defines ethnic as belonging to a cultural group, in which case everybody is ethnic. But I feel that a mainstream culture in a particular society or nation is generally not considered ethnic .
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- Jun 21, 2003
An interesting question. If everyone is the same, then the question of ethnicity wouldn't come up. But in a multicultural society, I think it would be quite appropriate use of language to ask, for instance, "What is the largest ethic group in Singapore?" -- really wanting to know.
Answer: the Chinese.
In fact, I can't think of any other way to ask that question.
On the other hand, to ask, "who lives in China?" "The Chinese." Yeah, that's kind of "duh!"
Thanks for the info, SkateFiguring. My apologies if I used the word ethnic in a way that seems impolite. I didn't mean to imply a minority. I did mean, as Mathman says, a group that lives in a multicultural country.
I knew that English is one of the major languages but thought that because a large part of the population is Chinese, Michelle might out of courtesy address a gathering by making a few remarks in one of the two Chinese languages that she speaks (I think she spoke Cantonese at home as a child and has learned Mandarin), as well as addressing them in English.
I do hope that we'll hear more about Michelle's visit there! Maybe there will be a write-up on the State Dept. site that Fairly linked to.
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The U.S. is a multicultural society. What is the largest ethnic group in the U.S.?
How about "what is the largest racial group in Singapore?" or "what is the majority race in Singapore?"
I think many people use "ethnic" as a PC substitute for "race" except I feel "ethnic" is more discriminating than "race" which to me is neutral.
Ethnic is not a word with equivalence in every language. For those with this word in the vocabulary, "ethnic" usually means non-English minority groups whereas "ethnique" would mean non-French. It may sound more PC to question and identify someone's "cultural background", but it is still race about which people's curiosity lies. Race is more of a common identity whereas culture can be quite varied within a race and melded in a multicultural society. "Ethnic" is not inclusive and denotes being socially marginal IMO.
The Chinese is the largest and least ethnic group of people in the world. Caucasians, the ones with the word "ethnic" in their languages, though, probably have a hard time identifying with being ethnic themselves even though they are a minority race.
People are interested in easily identifiable differences which usually means firstly visible differences such as skin colours, facial features and dress, generally race related (though not dress). Aural differences, experienced via spoken languages, are the next to be noticed, relating to culture. We don't usually smell and taste other people so we do their foods, and we also often object to strong and different body scents. Touch OTOH does not help differentiate people.
However, besides appearances such as race, genders, body types, hair and eye colours, etc, it is possible and no less justifiable to differentiate people by not so visible criteria such as blood types, or even ear wax - waxy or flaky, just two kinds of people in this world. I suspect a racist in need of a blood transfusion would be more interested in another person's blood type than his outward appearance. There are real differences that actually matter, n'est-ce pas?
Olympia, there was nothing impolite in your post, nor was there in Mathman's. I was just providing some facts I knew and here I'm just expressing my opinion.
eta: I forgot to mention that the national language of Singapore is Malay even though the Malay people are a minority. It was a very friendly gesture due to the political climate at the time of independence. English language and bureacracy are used because of the colonial background. Singaporeans are a very pragmatic people.
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I think you just put your finger on something, SkateFiguring. As you say, in the U.S., "racial group" is considered more discriminatory, while "ethnic group" is considered more neutral! As this proves, even when people all speak the same language, we can run into obstacles, depending on our local assumptions!
This is why venturing out into the global village is so important, I think. Sure, there are momentary awkwardnesses, but it pays off in the long run, with better understanding of people who are "not us." International outreach is one of the great benefits of the Olympic movement. Up until recently, though, the Winter Olympics were less successful at this than the Summer Games, mostly because very few countries outside North America and Europe had a tradition of or facilities for winter sports. Now that imbalance is adjusting, and the sport we all love best, figure skating, is becoming more truly international.
This is why venturing out into the global village is so important, I think. Sure, there are momentary awkwardnesses, but it pays off in the long run, with better understanding of people who are "not us." International outreach is one of the great benefits of the Olympic movement. Up until recently, though, the Winter Olympics were less successful at this than the Summer Games, mostly because very few countries outside North America and Europe had a tradition of or facilities for winter sports. Now that imbalance is adjusting, and the sport we all love best, figure skating, is becoming more truly international.
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That is certainly true in the United States. No-one had ever heard of the word "ethnic" until race relations in the United States grew fragile to the point that even mentioning the word "race" was asking for trouble. (By the way, I don't have any problem with being "politically correct" Better to be politcally correct than to hurt peoples' feelings.)
Would you say that Chinese and Japanese, for instance, are different races? Or Norwegians and Italians? Spoux and Cherokee?
That's a good question. I just Googled it to see what people in general think that question means. Many of the references said things like, the largest ethnic group comprises the Germans, followed by the Irish, English, African-American, and so on. I don't think there is much cultural or racial difference among the first three (and not much cultural difference among any of them.)
I guess I don't understand how you are using the word "ethnic" here. If it means, belonging to an identifiable culture, speaking the same language, inheriting a common history, etc., then I would take note that the Chinese have the longest continuous civilization in the world, with many common traditions reaching back centuries.
I just looked up the root word "ethnos" ("the people") and found, "People of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture."
Edited to add: Here is an interesting site that purports to list the "ethnic groups" in each country.
http://siakhenn.tripod.com/ethnic.html
For the United States it says (as of 1992) white (83.5%). black (12.4%, Asian (3.3%), "Amerind" (0.8%) It does not list "Hispanic" because a person of Latin American origin can be of any race. (So here race is more important than language or place of origin).
For China it lists Han Chinese (91.9%), "Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%."
It is interesting how they can't seem to make up their mind as to what features they should be looking for. "Muslim," for instance, is an "ethnic group" (not a religion) in some countries, while others are classified by language.
Congo has over 200 "ethnic groups," the majority of therm Bantu-speaking.
I guess "ethnic" is not a very well defined term.
I am very surprised, though, to discover that people in Canada have a negative reaction to this word.
The reason that "race" is a bad word in the U.S. is because "racists" think that their race is superior to others -- and indeed that people of other races are automatically stupid, lazy, immoral, etc. (After all, if you were smart, hard-working and upright, you would be a member of my race, like decent people.)
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National economies and personal finances play a big part in sport participation. Africa produces the world's best runners because it requires no equipment, often not even shoes, to run and run. In warm climate, the runners don't need facilities either. OTOH, this continent does not have many swimmers. Even in the U.S. black swimmers are glaringly few, like Jamaican bobsledders. The poor simply don't have access to pools. A few decades back, there were just three swimming pools in China! But China is a country that produces whatever talents and results they put their mind into. In no time at all they shocked the world of diving by dominating the sport and they still do.
Winter sports are generally very expensive, requiring facilities, costly equipments and often means of transport. And snow and ice of course. These climatic and financial factors really limited winter sports to wealthy northern nations. Indoor winter sports however are not so dependent on the climate which is why various sorts of skating have been spreading and becoming popular in many nations, especially in Asia, potentially including tropical countries like Singapore. Quebecers have excelled in several winter sports such as aerial skiing and short track speed skating mainly because they originated here. However, soon enough other nations, especially in Asia such as Korea, started challenging Quebecers. Once a skating rink is built, skaters just have to have skates and they can skate and skate, round and round in the case of speed skating. The beauty of figure skating is very appealing to Asian girls and even the boys are not so obliged to be constantly exhibiting outward masculinity like in the U.S. I believe the popularity of figure skating will continue to rise with the wealth of many nations.
Famous skaters like Michelle Kwan and Patrick Chan, who was in Singapore and other Asian countries last summer, can really help popularize the sport in unlikely nations. I wonder how big a difference Stojko and Cranston have made in Mexico. :think:
Winter sports are generally very expensive, requiring facilities, costly equipments and often means of transport. And snow and ice of course. These climatic and financial factors really limited winter sports to wealthy northern nations. Indoor winter sports however are not so dependent on the climate which is why various sorts of skating have been spreading and becoming popular in many nations, especially in Asia, potentially including tropical countries like Singapore. Quebecers have excelled in several winter sports such as aerial skiing and short track speed skating mainly because they originated here. However, soon enough other nations, especially in Asia such as Korea, started challenging Quebecers. Once a skating rink is built, skaters just have to have skates and they can skate and skate, round and round in the case of speed skating. The beauty of figure skating is very appealing to Asian girls and even the boys are not so obliged to be constantly exhibiting outward masculinity like in the U.S. I believe the popularity of figure skating will continue to rise with the wealth of many nations.
Famous skaters like Michelle Kwan and Patrick Chan, who was in Singapore and other Asian countries last summer, can really help popularize the sport in unlikely nations. I wonder how big a difference Stojko and Cranston have made in Mexico. :think:
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What exactly is an envoy? I know Michelle is a diplomat or ambassador or something, but I'm not sure what her job description is. Is she one of those pretty ladies you see at those ribbon cutting ceremonies?
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I think the main thing is that her job is one-of-a-kind. There wasn't an existing post that Michelle was chosen to fill, and I'm sure her position doesn't have any established rank. Someone just had a good imagination and figured out that it would be a great idea to send out a young person who already had accomplished a lot in her life. I can't think of many young people who would be better representatives of their country.
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- Nov 19, 2010
From http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/01/154059.htm
So the position isn't unique and Michelle has been a US sports envoy since 2006 and this is the 6th trip.
I'm curious why Singapore? Unlike UNICEF which has "Ambassadors", state sponsored visits always have a purpose serving the sponsoring state. Obviously the U.S. wants to further a good relationship with Singapore. I just wonder in what specific way is Singapore considered important. It is an important financial centre in Asia but it is also very small and not much of a direct trading partner of the U.S. It is an inderict link. Has Michelle gone on an official mission to China or Taiwan before? She is also very well known in S Korea because of Yuna connection.
Good to know about the program. I knew that Michelle had been an envoy for a few years (the process was set in motion by Condi Rice, the then-Secretary of State and a former figure skater, so it had to have occurred before 2009.) But I wasn't aware of the number of other athletes involved in the program.
I'm fairly sure she's traveled to China; I think she's written about it. She's also been to one South American country: I think Argentina. Taiwan is tricky because of the fuss China would raise. As for Singapore, hmm. Why not? The U.S. should build ties with every country possible, it seems to me. Singapore is a sizable economic power that has links both with China and with the English-speaking world. Seems like a natural move to me.
I'm fairly sure she's traveled to China; I think she's written about it. She's also been to one South American country: I think Argentina. Taiwan is tricky because of the fuss China would raise. As for Singapore, hmm. Why not? The U.S. should build ties with every country possible, it seems to me. Singapore is a sizable economic power that has links both with China and with the English-speaking world. Seems like a natural move to me.
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SkateFiguring said:
That sentence caught my eye, too. To tell the truth, I have never heard of SportsUnited.
The structure of this two-paragraph announcement is kind of strange anyway. The first paragraph is about Michelle Kwan and her trip to Singapore, without mentioning SportsUnited. The second paragraph is about SportUnited and does not mention Michelle. I think someone at the State Department is trying to invent a program retrospectively.
What actually happened was this. President Hu Jintau of China came to the U.S. on an official state visit in the sprng of 2006. President George Bush wanted to snub him, but not too much. So he held a luncheon in his honor, but not a state dinner. The Chinese delegation protested, because the Japanese Prime Minister had just come for a state visit and not only got a dinner out of it but was even invited to Bush's ranch.
So anyway, President Hu came to lunch. Naturally Bush needed to come up with a lovely and accomplished Chinese American girl -- a credit to her race -- to spruce up the dour affair, so he asked around and his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said how about Michelle Kwan? (Ms. Rice had skated fairly seriously as a teenager and college student at the University of Denver.)
So Michelle came to the luncheon and much to her astonishment was escorted to the head table and plunked down with the two presidents.
http://www.asianbite.com/AsianAmericanImages/Michelle_Kwan_guan_yingshan_4.jpg
The first thing she did was call up her mom to say, guess who I am sitting next to right now!
Anyway, she did her job of chatting up President Hu. (The week before, Kristi Yamaguchi had been invited to the receptiuon for the Japanese PM) Michelle also got a chance to talk with Secretary Rice, and said something polite along the lines of, if there is ever anything I can do for my country please call.The next week, Secretary Rice did! So they invented a title ("public diplomacy envoy") for this unpaid position and sent Michelle off to China, Russia, Argentina and a couple of other places to spread good vibes about the good old U.S. of A. Her duties were mostly to visit schools and give a speech about dreaming big dreams, working hard, etc., etc., and to put on little skating clinics.
Later the State Department expanded the program to include a few other such "envoys." I think baseball player Cal Ripkin Jr. was the second. Ironically, another was comedian Fran Dresser (ironic because Dresser had notoriously dissed Michelle on the Rosie O'Oonnel show in 1998.)
When President Obama took office this program was kind of put on the back burner for a time. It's good to see that Michelle is still involved, though.
As far as i can tell, Michelle's activities have nothing to do with SportsUnited (if such a program exists except as State Department propaganda.) On their official site they have a picture of Michelle and a link to a story about her Singapore visit, but they are carefdul never to say that Michelle is part of this program.)
By the way, China got revenge on Bush for slighting their President. When the 2008 Olympics rolled around there was a movement (led by Britain and others) to boycott the Peking games on the basis that China is bad and we are good. China lowered the boom on Bush and told him, you better come to the opening ceremonies or else! "Or else" meant, or else we will call in some of the debt that the U.S. Treasury owes to China.
So Bush went to the opening ceremonies -- but saved face by stopping on the way to give a blistering anti-China speech in Taiwan.
So Michelle wants to go into politics, eh?
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