late wrote:I had no idea you were Chinese.
I don't sound like one, but it is a technical fact.
In fact, this Chinese self-recognition issue is often taken to the extremes.
One side (mainly pro-independence Hongkongers and Taiwanese) are eager to deny their Chinese ancestry (or in some cases, denounce the Northern Chinese as polluted by even more Northern tribes, e.g. Mongol / Manchu / Russian, etc.)
while the other side (Commies) force themselves, as well as others of the same (or sometimes
different) ethnicity, to be "proud" of
their heritage and culture (with Commie agenda mixed in, of course).
It is the manifestation of Newton's Third Law of Motion in a very sad way.
I believe bodies with more power (i.e. nations / regimes / governments) bear more responsibility, so I place the blame of the above problem on the CCP rather than whoever opposing them, but it doesn't mean I agree with everything the other side does.
My main concern is that the Chinese system and mindset suck in administrating a modern society (CCP is more a phenomenon than the source -- some historical dynasties like Qin and Ming had been similar to the current regime). It's not the ethnicity that matters, it's the
mindset which matters, and in this case, I only trust Anglicized or Americanized ones.
In some sense, but
different ways, Singapore and Taiwan are both successfully Westernized Chinese countries, although they are not without their own shortcomings (Taiwan has mature Western democracy but with a sometimes laughable pastoral society, while Singapore employs a Chinese dictatorship but more strictly bounded by a British system than Hong Kong. Hong Kong's fall is very much linked to the strength difference brought upon by its accessibility to CCP itself)
late wrote:I suck at the game, but I love playing it. I have a free Go program called Leela, and play a few games a day. It is very, very strong, so I have wound up playing with a large handicap on a 17x17 board.
The "standard" is 19x19, while 9x9 and 13x13 variants are preferable for those wanting a fast game. My father is a keen player of 13x13.
late wrote:They say, when you get old, you should keep your mind active. That kinda does the trick.
This is very true, although the Chinese also have other means to achieve that. Actual mahjong (not those simplistic matching, the real deal involving 4 participants), for example.