Overseas Chinese Web Guide

Author: Ken Chan

  • Better to Be Good, Than Authentic

    Los Angeles Times: California Rolls Drive Them to Distraction. Ever wonder whether the negi toro you ordered at that sushi place on Wilshire was the real deal? Well, the Japanese government does. Officials in Tokyo, concerned that diners around the globe are getting a less-than-genuine taste of their nation’s cuisine, are devising a sort of bureaucratic Zagat guide that will confer a stamp of authenticity on restaurants that meet the government’s standards.

    Some bureaucrats with too much time on their hands? Actually, I’m a bit jealous. Some government worker will probably get to travel the world on the taxpayer’s dime trying out different restaurants. However, the true test of a restaurant isn’t whether it is authentic or not, but whether the food appeals enough to their clientele’s tastes. That’s why you won’t find “authentic” Chinese restaurants in some parts of America. If the customers want sweet and sour pork instead of braised chicken feet, you prepare the dishes that pays the bills. It’s that simple.

    As much as I like “authentic” Chinese food, I’ll take orange chicken any day from Panda Express over stinky tofu at your local Chinese diner.

  • Chinese School

    Not too long ago, selecting a Chinese school that was appropriate for your child was much simpler. You sent them to the school closest to your home. Now, with the growing influx of Chinese immigrants, some parents may find several different schools in their neighborhood to choose from. Here are some important factors to consider when selecting a school:

    • Dialect. Most schools offer instruction in either Mandarin or Cantonese, with some schools offering instruction in both. If you speak Mandarin at home, you will be more readily able to assist and reinforce your child’s language lessons if they were also learning Mandarin. The same is true if you speak Cantonese and your child is attending Cantonese classes. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and Guangdong (Canton), while Mandarin is spoken in the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan.
    • Phonetics. Mandarin is usually taught in either Pinyin (拼音) or Zhuyin (注音符號), which is also known as BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ). These two systems of Chinese phonetics associate a particular sound with a symbol. For example, the b sound in Mandarin is represented by a “b” in Pinyin and a “ㄅ” in Zhuyin. Pinyin is the current system of romanization used in the People’s Republic of China, and is also the standard used by the United States as well as the United Nations.
    • Characters. Chinese characters may either be written in the simplified style (简体) or the traditional style (繁体). The simplified style is used in the People’s Republic of China, while the traditional style is used in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
    • SAT II – Chinese. Some Chinese schools offer specific preparation for the SAT II – Chinese with Listening examination. This high school-level examination tests reading and listening comprehension, as well as sentence completion. The listening portions are spoken in Mandarin Chinese, while the reading passages are in both traditional and simplifed Chinese. The sentence completion portion is administered in traditional and simplified Chinese, as well as Pinyin and BoPoMoFo.

    More Resources

    California

    Colorado

    Connecticut

    Maryland

    • Hope Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Bethesda, College Park, Fairfax, Germantown and Rockville, MD as well as Herndon, VA.
    • Potomac Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Potomac, MD.

    Michigan

    New Jersey

    New York

    Oregon

    Pennsylvania

    Texas

    Virginia

    • Hope Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Bethesda, College Park, Fairfax, Germantown and Rockville, MD as well as Herndon, VA.
    • Tidewater Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Norfolk, VA.

    Washington

    Washington DC

    • Hope Chinese School Provides Chinese language classes in Bethesda, College Park, Fairfax, Germantown and Rockville, MD as well as Herndon, VA.

    Canada

    Associations

    Note: All updates will be made to this Chinese School page.

  • Following the Route to Gold Mountain

    When the first Chinese arrived in America, they were literally searching for gold. Today, the goal is no different. However, instead of gold, the rush is for cash, real estate, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. With new financial options available to the modern Chinese, the age old challenge remains. So long as you have a piece of gold in one hand, someone will try to charm, sucker or connive it away from you.

    Learn how to protect what you earn, then learn how to grow and invest it. If you do use credit cards, learn how to spot the pitfalls of different accounts. Find credit cards that charge you low interest rates and fees if you maintain a revolving balance. And, while you are using your credit card, why not find one that either pays you money back or offers frequent flyer miles you can use for your next trip.

    If you invest in stocks or mutual funds, study the different investment options available to you. Learn how to reduce your investment costs and, if you have an investment advisor, understand how his interest may conflict with yours. Only then can your investments grow instead of being anchored down by constant, heavy fees whether or not your investments are doing well.

  • Stock Market Secrets

    While the dot.com meltdown may have sobered up investor expectations as well as lightened up brokerage account balances, the interest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds remain. However, the one thing that has not changed is determining what the best approach is to investing. Should an investor just buy an index fund? Or, would selecting individual stocks or offer a more profitable path?

    To evaluate individual stocks, you can read Value Line at your local library. Or, your brokerage might offer complimentary Standard and Poor’s Stock Reports. You may also consider one of the many investment newsletters available. Regardless of which approach you take, and you don’t have to abide by one approach only, track your results.

    Quicken is an outstanding product that helps you manage your personal finances. One outstanding feature is the ability to group your stocks into goals. Instead of grouping stocks by growth or income, you can set up some new categories such as where you obtained your stock tip. If the tip came from a television program, a web site, a friend or through your own research, assign that stock to the source of the tip. Then, when you view your portfolio by goals, you can see whether you are a better stock picker than your favorite financial program or the writers of whichever newsletter you subscribe to.

    More Resources

    • Fool.com Offers stock market news, investor advice, and subscription newsletters.
    • MSN Money – Investing Offers stock quotes and market reports.
    • NASDAQ Offers stock quotes and market data.
    • NYSE Offers stock quotes and market data.
    • SEC EDGAR Offers securities filings.
    • Yahoo! Finance Offers stock quotes, company profiles, and stock screeners.

  • Real Estate Bubble

    After the Internet bubble collapsed, many investors pulled out what money remained in their stock portfolios and tried their hands in real estate investment. The theory goes that unlike stocks, real estate is a real asset — a piece of land or a ranch-style house in the suburbs — which can been seen and touched. And a house certainly feels more solid, reliable and dependable than an intangible share of stock.

    However, the important lesson from the Internet bubble isn’t that one asset class is superior to another, because you can lose money as easily in real estate as in the stock market. Instead, investors should focus on the issue of valuation. What is a particular house worth?

    The calculus for a homeowner and real estate investor is different. Besides looking at the sales price of comparable homes, investors also need to consider how much rent they can collect as well as whether they will be cash flow positive or negative. This is really important. While no one likes to see their assets depreciate, the real estate investor with a positive or neutral cash flow will ride out any market fluctuations more comfortably than the investor with a negative cash flow. No one likes to be chipping in money every month for a house that is continuously declining in value.

  • Real Estate Investment

    One of the basic concepts of economics is scarcity. And, one of the scarcest assets is land, especially in the coastal communities of California. Through outsourcing and international trade, we are now able to tap into an international distribution network of manufactured goods. A factory in China can produce more clothes, more shoes, more computers and more flat screen televisions, each better and cheaper than the generation before it. But, that same factory cannot produce more land for Californians. As a result, construction companies are building new housing further from existing communities, or finding infill in urban areas to repurpose existing buildings or lands for new houses.

    For areas rich in job opportunities, the housing market has proven to be extremely challenging – especially for buyers – in the past few years as median home prices have climbed upwards often seemingly at an astronomical pace. Sometimes, so much so as to evoke the “bubble” term reminiscent of the dot.com heydays. But, real estate is different. Sure, housing prices are governed by supply and demand just like stocks, but while you can issue new stocks, you cannot produce more land. That is the fundamental difference.

    For those seeking to invest in real estate, the Vanguard REIT Index Fund offers investors a low-cost means (i.e., 0.24% expense ratio as of Jan 31, 2004) to participate in the real estate market without the hassles of managing the property itself. For those who are able to provide a larger commitment in terms of time and effort, buying a second condo, home or even an apartment complex offers the next step up. Alternatively, if you can afford it, when you are ready to move into a new house, rent out your existing condo or home instead of selling it. This offers you the advantage of renting out a place with which you are familiar.

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  • Megan’s Law

    Megan’s Law is named after Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old child who was raped and murdered by a convicted child molester who lived in her neighborhood. At the time, law enforcement officials were prohibited from disclosing the presence of this child molester in the neighborhood. After this incident, the federal and state governments enacted versions of Megan’s Law to allow the release of this type of information to the public.

    By accessing the Megan’s Law database in your state, you can see whether a convicted child molester lives in your neighborhood.

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  • Location, Location, Location

    A home is more than just a place to live. Purchased wisely, a new home offers its owners a path to financial security. For those wise – or fortunate – enough to own some real estate that has appreciated significantly in value, the benefits of homeownership are self-evident. However, if you’re still hunting for your first house, how can you tell a hidden gem from a disaster waiting to happen?

    The first step before making this – or any other significant financial investment – is to get educated. If you’ve already interviewed some real estate agents, attended real estate classes at the local community center or read some real estate investment books, you’ve likely come across the cardinal rules for evaluating your next home: “location, location and location.”

    Why is location so important? Because location is the one thing that cannot be changed. Kitchens and bathrooms may be updated. Walls may be re-painted. Older windows may be replaced with newer dual-pane windows. Even a second story or another room may potentially be added. However, if a house sits on a busy street or next to an industrial area, your options are limited. Inevitably, all houses require certain compromises – whether it’s the location, layout or even the purchase price. Just make sure that you can live with any problems or that you can affordably fix those that you cannot live with.

    More Resources

    • Real Estate – Resource Center. From Nolo Press
    • Buying a Home Offers information for first-time homebuyers. From the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
    • REALTOR.com Search for homes, condos, townhouses and land in the multiple listing service (MLS).
    • MLSlistings Search for residential and commercial property in the Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties.
    • mls.ca Search for Canadian property listings and data.