Olympics a sweet, complex homecoming for Chinese diaspora

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Every time I’m on the bus, I’m just looking out and studying the city and just imagining my roots are here, my ancestors are here," says Chock, whose father is Chinese-Hawaiian, with family ties to rural China “And it’s a very cool sense of belonging in a way, to just be on the same soil that your ancestors grew up on and spent their lives on.” She adds: “It’s really special, and China holds a really special place in my heart.” At the Beijing Winter Games, opening Friday, it’s a homecoming of sorts for one of the world’s most sprawling diasporas — often sweet and sometimes complicated, but always a reflection of who they are, where they come from and the Olympic spirit itself. “There’s no one kind of Chinese identity because each country has a unique kind of history.” The question of ethnic Chinese identity is an especially delicate one for athletes with roots in Hong Kong and Taiwan U.S. women’s singles figure skater Karen Chen, whose parents immigrated from Taiwan, says she identifies as both Taiwanese and Chinese, and uses those labels loosely and interchangeably. That’s the case for U.S. women’s singles figure skater Alysa Liu, whose father Arthur Liu also longs to visit China. “I’m super happy the Chinese people welcome her and think highly of her,” Arthur Liu says.