Legal Permanent Resident or US Citizen?

[Guest Se_Lang]

poor tony the rock, what is he going to do when Bush is re-elected?  If he understood what it means to be an American,

From the way I read Tony's post I dont think he was slamming Bush, You might want to reread or maybe I need to........... Just a thought.

 

This is why

 

I had to give up my license in China.(Bad thing)

On the other hand, George Bush was running for presidency. (I read as a good)

 

and being an American means being able to dislike our Pres and saying it!!!!

[Mick]

I think that loyalty to our country entails being critical of our leaders when we feel they have made mistakes. If one reads the writings of Jefferson, Madison, Franklin and many others who framed our country, the right to loyal dissent is more than a right, it is a duty. Yet "running down" a leader is not necessariy a good thing. Criticism should be couched in reasonable terms, rather than the vitriolic. With that said, I will also say that I am not a supporter of the Bush administration. I feel he has made many mistakes that will take our country years to rectify. But do I respect him? Yes I do. Am I loyal to him? Yes, I am loyal because I am loyal to the office of the Presidency no matter who resides there.

 

Earlier someone stated they would not live in China, even if they were the President. I lived in China for five years and, most likely, will live there again in the future. It is a great country but certainly different from ours. The form of government is not one that we are used to. But the Chinese government grew out of a different cultural milieu than did ours. Do they make mistakes? Of course they do. Do I wish the average Joe in China had the right to criticize their goverment as we do? Of course I do and further, I see that in the not to distant future, that right may increasingly be a reality. China is changing rapidly. The China I left in March of this year is much different than the one where I arrived in 1998. Would I live there again? Yes, without a doubt. Does that make me less of an American. I think not.

 

Increasingly we live in a global world where the boundaries between nations and people are falling. I see myself more as a world citizen rather than a U.S. citizen. Now before someone starts railing against me for not being patriotic, let me say that patriotism can take many forms. One can be patriotic by taking a broader view of things and seeing issues from many sides. Over a hundred years ago the great Persian philosopher Baha,u,llah stated:

 

"The earth is one country, and mankind its citizens"

 

As the twenty-first century unfolds, I think we must see the wisdom in these words and strive for peace, accord, and unity in diversity. That means embracing those who we disagree with in a spirit of dialogue whenever possible. Otherwise, the consequences may be too dire to imagine.

 

Sorry, I'll get off the soap box now. I usually avoid these political debates and probably should have done so this time....

[Guest bbridges51]

Well done, Mick.

 

Q: While i wish Mia will become a citizen when the time comes, i wonder how american citizenship will change her status in China. Will she be allowed extended visits? May we buy property there?

 

Brian

[Mick]

Well done, Mick.

 

Q: While i wish Mia will become a citizen when the time comes, i wonder how american citizenship will change her status in China. Will she be allowed extended visits? May we buy property there?

 

Brian

You raise a very good point Brian. I know that when I lived in China I could have bought property there, at a somewhat inflated price and would have also needed to go through quite a bit of red tape. If a former Chinese citizen, who is now an American citizen, wants to buy property, I would suspect they would have to go through the same hoops as any other foreigner. Again, this is a good point and pertinent to those who may plan to return to China to live in the future. As far as extended visits are concerned, again I would expect they would be subject to the same laws as a natural born American. I could be wrong, however.

 

Charlotte, any ideas on this?

 

How about you Owen?

[Dave G.]

We bought a 270 sq. meter house (i.e. condo) two months ago. It's in her name...as a Chinese citizen. If you really want property, get it before they get here. No red tape and no inflated prices.

[Charlotte]

TO BE OR NOT TO BE a US citizen– this is my personal experience

How difficult was it to swear allegiance to the US (basically denying your country of origin)? I can't imagine how difficult that would be regardless of the circumstances.

To me, this is more of a personal choice than any kind political rights since I never went out to vote for any of those presidents or government officers. (Please do not elaborate on this --it is a free country.) China does not recognize the dual citizenship; neither does USA. For some, it may be hard to give up their homeland citizenship, but for me this was the choice I made when I decided to apply for a green card. To this day, I do not regret being a US citizen for many obvious reasons (that I don’t want to get into). This does not preclude me from loving my home country. I am as much a US citizen as a native Chinese (this does not change my origin), who is very proud of our Chinese culture and heritage. For all practical purposes, becoming a US citizen does not change who you are, but rather, what you believe in. As Mick stated earlier, I don’t have to agree with what our president says or does, but AS A CITIZEN, I have to support the decisions our commander-in-chief makes under any circumstances – which is what I pledged at the swear-in ceremony and which I will stand by as long as I am a US citizen.

[Charlotte]

Well done, Mick.

 

Q: While i wish Mia will become a citizen when the time comes, i wonder how american citizenship will change her status in China. Will she be allowed extended visits? May we buy property there?

 

Brian

You raise a very good point Brian. I know that when I lived in China I could have bought property there, at a somewhat inflated price and would have also needed to go through quite a bit of red tape. If a former Chinese citizen, who is now an American citizen, wants to buy property, I would suspect they would have to go through the same hoops as any other foreigner. Again, this is a good point and pertinent to those who may plan to return to China to live in the future. As far as extended visits are concerned, again I would expect they would be subject to the same laws as a natural born American. I could be wrong, however.

 

Charlotte, any ideas on this?

 

How about you Owen?

There used to 2 prices for Chinese and foreigners. But this has all changed since 2002, I believe, or later. I don't know about other places, but in Shanghai, there is one price now - regardless of who is buying. Of course this ONE price has made housing price more unaffordable to average Chinese citizens. Nevertheless, with this transitional market economy, no one is for sure what is going one behind the scene; there is enough briberies and corruptions that could make your head spin. I would not recommend using a American passport to purchase property in China if you have Chinese relatives help you out in China. I personally would only buy property for my parents and this way it is in their name, just my money.

[warpedbored]

poor tony the rock, what is he going to do when Bush is re-elected?  If he understood what it means to be an American, he would know that we do not pick and choose our feeling for this country by which party is in the White House.  I was loyal even when Clinton was in the House. I will NOT, REPEAT NOT,  remain quiet whn the President of  the United States of America is run down on this board.

I just returned from 2 weeks in China.  I would not live there if  I was the President!

return tickets to China are readily available Tony.  Ever wonder why no one is clammoring to go to China?

Joe

Tony is an american citizen. He has every right to criticize the president if he wants to. Since you won't be quiet when the president is run down you may want to prepare to be noisy since I for one think the man is a blithering idiot and hope like hell the people of this country boot him out of office in 2004.

Here are some points.

1. The man doesn't even use proper grammar. I heard him say "don't got" myself when he was refering to WMD.

2. Where are the weapons of mass destruction? We invaded Irag on trumped up evidence, why?

3. We are spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year to occupy a country where our soldiers are killed daily and the people don't want us there.

4. He inherited the largest buget surplus in the history of the US and in less than a year had us in a recession.

5. With unemployment at an all time high he continues to increase the federal deficeit by spending money on a war effort not even supported by most of our allies. This spending does nothing to support the infrastructure or ease unemployment or boost the economy.

6. His tax cuts benifit mainly the wealthiest 1% doing little to help the working poor. I don't know about you but if I don't have enough money to pay my bills the last thing I need is a pay cut.

 

 

I could go on and on. You have the right to support the idiot if you like. It is your right as an american citizen. Just as it is my right and Tony's right or Micks right to criticize him if we don't agree with his policies.

[Mick]

Carl, you must be telepathic. You took the words right out of my mouth. B)

[tonyontherock]

Joe, as far as going back to China is concerned, I can only smile and say nothing. We had a third generation Asian American running for office here and he was told the same by his political opponent. Oh ya, remember Judge Ito, back a few years ago and comments made by Alfonse DiMato? As a practical matter though, I would have to go through the same immigration process to go live in China and maybe even more red tape because of my past views and actions towards that government.

Also as practical advice, the go home comment does not bother me, but will definitely hurt your relationship with the Chinese woman that you are with.

As a natualized immigrants, we have mixed feelings towards the country where we were born. I am sure your great grandparents had the same issues when they came over on the boat.

I will not elaborate on my political views. Despite the fact that I benefited from Bush's tax cuts, I still would vote to oust him from the office. What baffles me is why there was so many blue collar supporter of the far right. My issue with Bush is not his party affiliation but the fact that he still seems to have issues emotionally, always trying to prove to his dad that he can do things better, some times at the expense of the taxpayers. Because of what I perceive as the result of what happened to him over the years, I stopped calling my own son an idiot. Who knows, he may ran for presidency one day or governor. Who knows, maybe when he reaches that age, there will be enough naturalized Asians in California who refuse to move back to China or Japan or some other country.

[warpedbored]

You have thicker skin than I do Tony. I found the "go back to China" remark extremely offensive. One thing that amazes me is how so many people automatically label people of asian decent as foreign regardless of where they were born or whether or not they are naturalized citizens.

[Guest Se_Lang]

As Mick stated earlier, I don’t have to agree with what our president says or does, but AS A CITIZEN, I have to support the decisions our commander-in-chief makes under any circumstances

Hi

I will have to disagree with this, as it is not our duty or responsibility to support the office or the decisions our commander-in-chief makes!!!!!

 

It is HIS duty and responsibility to do the will of the American people not his own, remember this is "supposed" to be a government OF the people and FOR the people, They are all there to do our will not us support theirs.

[owenkrout]

Well done, Mick.

 

Q: While i wish Mia will become a citizen when the time comes, i wonder how american citizenship will change her status in China. Will she be allowed extended visits? May we buy property there?

 

Brian

You raise a very good point Brian. I know that when I lived in China I could have bought property there, at a somewhat inflated price and would have also needed to go through quite a bit of red tape. If a former Chinese citizen, who is now an American citizen, wants to buy property, I would suspect they would have to go through the same hoops as any other foreigner. Again, this is a good point and pertinent to those who may plan to return to China to live in the future. As far as extended visits are concerned, again I would expect they would be subject to the same laws as a natural born American. I could be wrong, however.

 

Charlotte, any ideas on this?

 

How about you Owen?

The question of "ownership" of property in China is one point that might be of importance to some. First of all, no one really "owns" property in China. The government technically owns everything and you only lease it. (30 year lease last time I heard) The lease is supposed to be renewable, but who knows? Most buildings are torn down and something new rebuilt long before 30 years are up nowdays anyway. My wife was discussing that today and pointed out that many people in China are suspicious that if there is a change in leadership, the private ownership could go away again. Her family lost a large fortune and much property to the Communists.

 

BTW, about the dual prices. Those of us Americans who have lived there can testify to there still being multiple prices for the same thing. The local Chinese price is the lowest, and the American price is the highest. The Russian price was only slightly more than Chinese as they are regarded as the poor laowei. Being mistaken for a Russian had some good consequences! We looked at apartments and if I was along it was up to four times the price of what they would quote our daughter if she checked later by herself. Except at the more and more common fixed price stores, the same held true when shopping. After being around enough, we had found vendors that would sell to me at the local price because they knew me and my wife.

 

One word of caution is that even with being naturalized to US citizenship the Chinese government has a marked tendancy to consider them as Chinese and ignore the citizenship issue.

[Guest sanfranciscojoe]

anyone can disagree with me, but please read correctly. I never told tony or anyone to go back to China.

[AZwolfman]

Becoming a citizen is definately the best route.  Changes in the way the political wind blows can always endanger the permanent residents with officials looking for excuses to deport them.

Becoming a citizen is definitely the best route, especially considering the changing political climate of today's world. Look to history for a lesson. When we were drawn into WWII by Japan, how did our government treat Japanese who were already legal residents in this country?