Often, what you see in the media is driven by economic forces.

If the conditions were right there could be great acceptance. Often it is only when they pose an economic or political threat that it turns really ugly.

Racism is always there underneath, but usually it is exploited in these times of economic crisis, and it's hard to find out when one slides into another.

It's a wonderful thing to see a segment of our population that is open and eager to learn more about Chinese culture. It has filtered into the mainstream. You see credit-card ads on TV with white couples and Chinese babies.

For some reason, I seem to be bothered whenever I see acts of injustice and assaults on people's civil liberties. I imagine what I write in the future will follow in that vein. Whether it's fiction or non-fiction.

Your first duty as a writer is to write to please yourself. And you have no duty towards anyone else.