unbelievably to me, driving through the heart of Chinatown in Philly today, we passed under an English language banner stretched across the street most prominently, celebrating the 59 th anniversary of the founding of the “Peoples’ Republic” of China.
I live in Philly too and I noticed that banner has been up since the Olympics. I can understand the pride in having the Olympics, but I don’t get the People’s Republic part. For one thing, most ethnic Chinese in Chinatown, AFAIK, are “colonial” Chinese and never lived in China, or if they did, they came from Hong Kong or Taiwan. Those that do come from China hardly have any love lost for the Commies—otherwise they wouldn’t be here.
There are a few Chinese from China, but if you think about it, it’s not all that easy to immigrate to the US (in fact, it’s nearly impossible—most who do are students who overstay their visas in order to not have to go back). I personally think the banner was put up by the Chinese consulate or perhaps there are some Chinese agents here.