"DO YOU LIKE CHINESE?"
I sent this email to Good Morning America this morning...
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This morning (October 6th), I watched Diane Sawyer's interview with Lucy Liu. I was impressed to hear she learned Japanese for the movie "Kill Bill." I appreciated knowing that Lucy engaged in a language foreign to her.

Unfortunately, Diane's following question, "Do you like Chinese?" was asked in a clueless manner. Lucy Liu is Chinese-American! In an Ally McBeal (she played a lawyer named Ling), Lucy showed she is fluent in her native tongue. To ask someone if they "like" it is ignorant and practically insulting.

Fortunately, Lucy's answer to "Do you like Chinese?" was gracious: "I speak with my mom, but it is a mixture of both Chinese and English." She pointed out that she is bi-lingual and capable of adapting to another language. Lucy wasn't ashamed as Diane's question suggested.

Diane is a very respectable journalist. Her question shocked me. Journalists should be culturally aware, even if the majority of the audience may not be. The media has so much responsibility in shaping public opinion - especially cultural and racial opinions. Journalists should not shy away from asking a more respectful question like, "Do you speak Cantonese or Mandarin as well?"
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This whole thing bothered me so much I had to say something. I even posted this email on the Media Action Network for Asian Americans Yahoo! group.