The Asian Diaspora

Context: Yesterday, I went to a movie theater for the first time in my life at age 23 with my parents. This is like a "new thing" for us...

I look back at my childhood and felt a bit sad I didn't do a lot of "Normal Childhood" things... the fun stuff I mean...

They weren't that stereotypical... but like 50% didnt do too many of the "tiger parent" stuff but also didnt really have much fun family moments...

Writer Caroline Cao dives into how the millennium-old art form of Vietnam’s bygone agrarian days continues to ripple out today.

While Western media often stereotypes Asian men, Asian content portrays them as multifaceted people in touch with their emotions.

My take away is basically:

1. Language schools don't work... your kids will hate it...

2. Immersion is good... like maybe move to your ancestor's country... (no thanks fam, I don't like this)

3. Only speak your heritage language to your children... And you need to know enough to fully express yourself so you don't revert back to English (or whatever your new country's language is)

Yeah... Cantonese and Mandarin might die with me... I don't even know it enough to be teaching my (future) children... too much emotional trauma from my parents 😭

From Margaret Cho to Ivy Le, this Women's History Month, we're celebrating comedians making us laugh all the time.

So this is like a table my parent put right by the door, then they get the fake money stuff and hold it in between the palm of their hands, do some prayer thing, then burn the "fake money", so the ancestors in the heavens can... checks notes ...get money to spend? Idk I'm so confused, as a 1.5 gen I don't even understand my own heritage either.

(Also why is Heaven run under capitalism? lmfao, but hey, at least we can relate to our "ancestors in the heavens", money struggles both in coporeal and non-corporeal forms 😆 (meant as a joke, pls don't bring the seriousness of politics here lol))

Honestly idk if I'd even do this stuff with my future chosen-family... I'm just very leaning towards atheism and, no offense to my ancestors, but this just seems kinda silly to me IMO.

I feel too Americanized already and doing this now makes me feel like I'm a "phoney" (as if I'm a "pretender to Chinese Culture"... like idk my mind doesn't feel very "Chinese" exactly... I haven't participated in the prayer thing ever since like teenage years and I read about atheism)

Also now its new years and I'm not allowed to mention "bad words" like... "death" and like no yelling allowed

Oh yea mom maybe can you do the "no scolding your children" thing 365 days a year? thanks xD

Bonus:

So anyways: Enjoy your Lunar New Years! (enjoy the few days of being immune from getting a scolding xD cuz it's bad luck to scold your children on New Years apparantly)

2026 - Year of the Horse! Here’s to strength, momentum, and success. If you’re celebrating, hope you’re eating well tonight😆

Writer Clara Wang reminisces about the snacks she grew up eating and asks some notable Asian diasporic cooks about their favorites as well.

From having a safety plan in place, to learning the difference between types of warrants, here's how to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Chloe Zhao's "Hamnet" locks in eight nominations and "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters" becomes the first K-pop song nominated for an Oscar.

Vang is using food to tell his family's story at his fine-dining restaurant, which was named after the Thai refugee where he was born.

The United States is a big country and it’s easy to forget that stories from the middle of the country are just as important.

The Chinese Canadian's latest film is a clumsy comedy-drama about a South Korean mother and comatose daughter.

Filipino Canadian filmmaker Kent Donguines' latest documentary also features 107-year-old tattoo artist Maria “Apo Whang-Od” Oggay.

As the year comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite songs by Asian diasporic artists from 2025.

Light, silky custard topped with rich caramel, this Vietnamese-style flan is made with simple ingredients and whole eggs for a soft, delicate texture. It’s baked in the oven using a bain-marie (water bath), but it can also be steamed if you prefer.

Four years after Shang-Chi, Simu Liu has his first lead role in The Copenhagen Test — and he thinks it would probably be a different story if he were white.

Archived Link: https://archive.ph/PoyjC

A father and his 6-year-old son who were separated by immigration officials in New York City have been deported to China, weeks after their case drew outrage.

The child, Yuanxin Zheng, is among the youngest migrants in New York to be taken from a parent by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials during a routine check-in. He and his father, Fei Zheng, who lived in Queens, were detained on Nov. 26; President Trump’s deportation crackdown has swept up increasing numbers of migrant families and children.

“We are happy to report we were able to remove the family back to their home country,” Ms. McLaughlin wrote in an email.

(okay pause wtf. "happy" someone getting sent to a country they fled? the fuck?)

“It is quite sad,” Ms. Spector said on Friday. “He came here wanting to give his son a different and better life than he might have had in China. That’s what they were coming for. And they had a lot to offer.”

Mr. Zheng told federal agents that he had come to America because he was afraid of being tortured in his native China.

Mr. Zheng does not have a criminal history, according to government records.

What a depressing story...

Shih-Ching Tsou’s "Left-Handed Girl" tells the story of a Taiwanese girl confronting shame, family secrets, and societal expectations.

Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan voices Gary De'Snake, a reptile freedom fighter who wants his family to return home.

A quick and easy Vietnamese vegetable soup made with mustard greens and calamari. It is light, warm, and filling with rice. It's the perfect side dish for busy weeknights.

By "fit in" I mean... do you feel like you are actually part of the society there, or do they treat you like a foreigner. Do you feel comfortable there?

I know my experience as a 1st gen (or some call it "1.5 gen" since I arrived during childhood) is probably different from a 2nd gen or a 3rd gen, or maybe even different from those 1st gens that were born in their ancestral country but emigrated before they had formed any memories of their ancestral country; but personally, I can't help but wonder what my life would've been like had my family not emigrated. Like... I'm talking about alternate timelines sort of stuff, I get obsessed about the thought of it... well... I mean I do get obsessed about just the concept of time travel all the time... xD Just me?

My answer, as to fitting in: Meh... sort of yes but sort of no... I'm probably just introverted, and I had to juggle between family-related trauma (emotional abuse and fighting with my older brother) and the alienation in the US during my first few years since I didn't speak English at the time... having to deal with both at the same time probably fucked up my self-esteem and just made me more introverted.

As for my ancestral country, which is also my birth country: Meh... society is too conservative for my liking, particulary when it come to government and authoritarianism. From memory, I didn't like the 8 years of my life I spend there before leaving.

Now? I probably would not fit in as of now even if I tried, since... Language Barrier... I wouldn't really understand the colloquial sayings and like how to word things properly, I'd struggle to hold a conversation... I mean I struggle having a deep conversation with my parents right now lol, I'd probably do worse if its a Mandarin speaker from outside of Guangdong Province (Cantonese is spoken at home, not Mandarin). I mean I can understand most of it, but I'd struggle. A white dude would get judged less, but ethnic Chinese, even if foreign born, would still get judged as if they are a local that didn't go to school. It would be even more alienating compared to an immigrant being alienated in a immigration county.

As for, the alt-timeline where I never left in the first place: I think about all the great TV Shows and Movies that I might've missed out on, had I remained in China... because domestic media gets very boring.... well, unless you just just have poor tastes like some people do (ahem like my parents ahem).

Bakery-style Hong Kong egg tarts in about 30 minutes with store-bought tart shells. Flaky crust, smooth custard, lightly sweet, these are the perfect desserts to enjoy with coffee or tea.