美国《旧金山纪事报》7月28日文章，原题：奥运会使美籍华人倍感自豪（Olympics bring pride to Chinese Americans，英语原文附后）

   近27年来，布莱恩特-方每年都要去北京，每次所见都不一样。高速路盘旋延伸，建筑日益拔高，酒店越来越气派。他最近一次去中国是8个月前，这位旧金山的武术教练只需迈出屋门，就能发现以奥运速度运转的现代化。

　　“中午时，你会发现那些人就躺在工地边。他们已干了四五个小时，吃饭、休息，接着起来继续干活。”随着中国筹备其首次举办的奥运会，北京变成了热火朝天的城市。而对于成千上万的旧金山美籍华人来说，奥运会是他们祖国的一场亮相盛会。

　　随着中国逐渐成为经济强国，昔日源于中国的单向移民潮如今已变成一团漩涡，“骄傲”和“荣耀”等字眼被一再运用。15年前移民旧金山的乔伊斯-李说：“中国人变了。奥运会是世界大事，这是展示中国能力的良好开端。”
　　
　　布莱恩特-方1980年首次率武术团访华，此后每年都要到什刹海体校。这里曾是不起眼的前哨基地，如今已拥有三座巨大的体育馆、一个地下停车场及四星级酒店，也成为中国地位不断上升的象征。

　　这样的巨变不会让20多年前移居美国的张明亮（音）感到意外。张开玩笑说，现在去北京他肯定迷路，那里到处都是高楼大厦，北京的亲戚在夸耀有线电视和其他技术的最新进步。张说：“奥运会保证能成功。中国现在有很多钱，人员、人力、资源。不用担心失败。不会失败的。”这种信心不是来自任何放纵的民族主义，而是源于对中国的优势和不足的认识。

　　奥运火炬回到中国前一天，在唐人街长大的贝弗利?叶正在香港。作为庆祝活动的一部分，香港朗豪酒店展出一件火炬复制品。叶属于激动地等待30多分钟与火炬合影的人群中的一员，“那一刻，我是如此自豪。感到自己像个小孩子，说不出来地兴奋。我骄傲自己是美籍华人，融合了两种文化。我感到自己与奥运会的距离一下拉近了。”

　　杨梅（音）20多年前与丈夫离开中山市来到美国，如今在克莱门特街经营一家咖啡店。许多客人到她店里品尝咖啡，下中国象棋和闲聊。他们都想知道亲历奥运会是什么感觉，但经济能力不允许。他们将从新家观看他们的祖国，希望奥运会能为中国赢得尊重和全方位进步。“说到底我们是中国人。无论对错、好坏，都是一家人。” 
Olympics bring pride to Chinese Americans
Janny Hu, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, July 28, 2008
-- For the last 27 years, Bryant Fong has made an annual trek to Beijing, and every year the scenery changes. The highways spiral outward, the buildings grow taller, the hotels get fancier. On his last trip eight months ago, the San Francisco martial arts teacher needed only to venture outdoors to find modernization operating at Olympic speed.

"You'd find guys sleeping right next to the job site in the middle of the day," Fong said. "They'd work four or five hours, eat, sleep, and get up and start working again, just so they can try to finish redoing the sidewalks."

Beijing is a city hurtling toward a deadline as China readies for its first-ever Olympic Games. The Opening Ceremonies are only 11 days away, and the out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new mantra goes deeper than construction.

For the thousands of Chinese Americans in San Francisco, most of whom are first- or second-generation immigrants like Fong, the Olympics represent a coming-out party for their homeland.

The old one-way migration out of China has become a swirling network as the country grows into an economic force, and the words "proud" and "honor" are repeatedly used to describe its hosting duties.

"The people of China have changed," said Joyce Lee, who emigrated 15 years ago. "The Olympics are the biggest event in the world, and it's a good start to show people what China can do."

Like most of the city's Chinese immigrants, both Fong and Lee hail from the Cantonese-speaking province of Guangdong in southern China.

Fong, who was born in Oakland and raised all over the Bay Area, is the sifu, or teacher, of the San Francisco Wushu Team. He took his first group of martial arts students to China in 1980 and returns yearly to the Shichahai Sports School, home of the Beijing Wushu Team, which boasts actor Jet Li among its alumni. Once a modest outpost, the school has become a symbol of China's growing stature with three sprawling floors of gymnasiums, an underground parking lot and its own four-star hotel.

Rapid advancement
The hefty upgrade doesn't surprise Zhang Ming Liang, who emigrated with his wife more than 20 years ago. On a recent afternoon, the retired couple watched their grandson play at Portsmouth Square in the heart of Chinatown.

Zhang joked about getting lost in Beijing, with all its high-rise towers, when he visits nowadays. He says relatives there boast about the latest advancements in cable television and other technology.

"The Olympics are guaranteed to be a success," Zhang said. "China has plenty of money now, people, manpower, resources. There's no fear of failure. It won't happen."

Zhang's confidence stems not from any unbridled nationalism, but from having experienced the power and pitfalls of the Chinese government.

Pollution?

Cars in Beijing have begun operating on an alternate-day basis, with license plates ending with even numbers allowed to drive one day, odd numbers the next.

Protests?

When the Olympic torch came through San Francisco in April for its only North American stop, Fong and his Wushu students were invited to perform at Justin Herman Plaza. The show was supposed to be a backdrop for the torch relay as it moved along the Embarcadero. Instead, their demonstration was demonstrated against by protesters assailing China's human rights record. The torch itself was a no-show, having been rerouted.

'We're all for China'
"A lot of protesters, they have no idea how to deal with the Chinese. They look at us as being homogenous," Fong said. "Yes, we're all for China. But we're also aware that China has many difficulties, like with Tibet and Burma.

"You have to look at the history of China. You have to distinguish between the Chinese people and the government. A lot of Chinese Americans here are sympathetic to Tibetans. But we're also proud of having the Olympics."

Beverly Yip, who grew up on Sacramento Street in Chinatown, agrees. She was in Hong Kong the day before the torch returned to Chinese soil after its troublesome journey overseas.

As part of the festivities, a replica torch was on display at the Langham Place Hotel. Yip was among the throngs who excitedly waited more than 30 minutes to get pictures taken with the torch.

"For the shortest time, I was so proud," Yip said. "I felt like a little child, and just the adrenaline rush. I was proud to be Chinese American, a hybrid of both cultures. I felt like I was that much closer to the Olympics."

Lee might be the quintessential mix, having lived almost exactly half her life in China and half in San Francisco. In her mid-30s now, Lee owns a clothing boutique in the Sunset District, and as customers filtered in on a recent Sunday afternoon, she switched seamlessly among Mandarin, Cantonese, Taishanese (a dialect spoken in Guangdong province) and English.

'It's my homeland'
"I was really lucky," Lee said. "I came when I was 17 so I got to go to high school and learn two different cultures. My friends tell me I've completely changed because I can compare now, I have my own judgment.

"But I still care about China. It's my homeland. The people are really kind, and if they have the equal chance, equal rights, they'll be better."

Mei Yang left the Zhongshan prefecture more than 20 years ago with her husband, King. The couple opened a Chinese restaurant on Hayes Street within a year of arriving and now work 18-hour days at the Java Source Coffee House they own on Clement Street.

Expensive endeavor
Among her usual customers are Richmond District locals who congregate for some fresh coffee, Chinese chess and gossip. They wonder what it would be like to experience the Olympics firsthand, but finances have made the exercise moot. Plane tickets top $1,500 per person, and even the most modest accommodations will be double and triple their regular price.

"Then you have the business," Yang said. "If we stay open, then we have to hire help. If we close, then we're still paying the rent. It's just too expensive to leave. We can't afford it."

Instead, they'll watch their old home from their newest home, hoping that the Olympics can bring China respect and advancement on all fronts.

"In the end, we're Chinese," Zhang said. "Right or wrong, good or bad, it's your own people."

In Sports: A high-ranking official of the U.S. judo team resigns amid allegations he molested young competitors almost 30 years ago. C7

E-mail Janny Hu at jhu@sfchronicle.com.