I feel for the family of this woman and the woman herself. However, the brother is totally out of line to blame the police, who were just doing their job. As noted in the article, many people in the area complained of the sex trade and wanted the police to do something about it.
Unfortunately, she took a chance by coming to this country illegally and put herself at the mercy of others who had no qualms using and abusing her.
There are many who want to come to the USA, but doing it illegally is not the way to do it.
43
I wish for Song Yang's family continued strength and eventual peace.
38
Who paid for the mother's hip replacemen?
34
@Alan
The USA. Somebody else paid for their 15 month stay and plane tickets too likely. Were they hoping for a lawsuit?
Kudos to the NY Times for telling the story of Ms. Song and her family. Condolences to her family for your heartbreaking loss.
92
In this story Song Yang received in death what she deserved in life: a measure of respect and dignity. Regardless if you are in China or America or any other country in the world, there exists an underclass of people who are unable to survive, let alone thrive, despite working their hardest. It is our responsibility to lift them up, to lift everyone up.
In the meantime, it is important that the Times shines a light on the tragedies that quietly play out under our noses. We need to know so we can prevent them from happening again. It's too late for Song Yang's family; they will have to live with this forever. And difficult as it might be be, may they find peace in their hearts.
200
It's exasperating that abuses by the police and other authorities in China don't make Chinese people mad at their own government--those abuses just make them assume other countries have the same kind of government, to the point where they refuse to consider evidence to the contrary.
28
@Reader Your exasperation is not well founded. It is not hard to find people in China mad at their own government, particularly when it comes to local government. Local government corruption and abuses have long been recognized by the central government, by human rights organizations, by foreign businesses, and by ordinary people, in other words by almost everyone, as a huge impediment to Chinese social progress. But the problem is as intractable as it is widespread.
16
@dsw
This is why Singapore is so rich, so fast, because they have no corruption there, it’s not tolerated. Everyone plays fair. If you don’t, you’re quickly booted out of the game.
I wonder whatever became of the husband with whom Song Yang owned a restaurant and traveled to the U.S.?
34
@Present Occupant I believe the previous article said he lives in California.
10
I shake my head in disdain for the brother. His anger and bitterness towards a foreign country and its police is ridiculous. He and his family in China received remittances sent by his sister and knew how she earned the money. Making a living as a prostitute entails risks. If his sister died at the hands of one of her johns, to whom would he direct his anger at.
42
Why isn't prostitution legal in America? It's the world's oldest profession and legal in most Western countries. Making it legal, as in Australia or Europe, would afford sex-workers greater safety, health care and rights. The tragedy of the death of Song Hai might have been preventable. It's so hypocritical that the largest porn industry in the world exists in a country where prostitution is illegal. And for all those fervent religious and family people like Eliot Spitzer, maybe consult your bible on Mary of Bethany who was later sanitized by the church to be Mary Magdalene.
65
@MartinC
Because sex work threatens women’s sexual power over men so it’s demonized to keep it criminalized.
20
@MartinC
She would have been working illegally at any rate, she wasn’t a legal immigrant.
It’s amazing to me that Councilman Koo only now seeks a solution to the problem that has plaqued Flushing for decades. And his lack luster response makes me believe he has and will continue to turn a blind eye. And finally, a task force of all city agencies released to expose and remedy illegal subdivisions. Why only the infamous 40th Road. As a resident of Flushing, I can tell you this should only be the start. For years complaints about illegal housing and illegal use of single family houses in Flushing has gone unresolved. Koo and the City Agencies have done nothing to remedy this, only to have a public information session on trafficking hosted by Queens Library a couple of weeks ago. The message received from that session was to help the police by identifying victims of trafficking. The police need help? Seriously? The police, Koo and all agencies involved know what’s going on. To them, this too shall pass.
16
@LBQNY It is a complex problem that can't be solved by seemingly simplistic solutions, ask Trump.
3
@kj
I agree. With you. Not tRump!
A comprehensive strategy needs to be implemented for a positive outcome. Trafficking is the problem. Housing shortage. Victimization.
Local politicians need to listen to their constituents as to the quality of life in the neighborhood. Devise a plan that does not punish the victims.
7
@LBQNY
This is why we need to stop illegal immigration.
1
Another reason to support the empowerment of women. My heart goes out to this family.
30
Beautifully written and a compelling read however no mention of the husband other than he is older and unable to work.
The article needs the balance of the husband. Why unable to work and why let his wife degenerate into that life.
Did the brother contact him etc.
45
I also struggled with the anonymity and absence of that thread of the story. Is the husband American or Chinese ? Was the husband disabled or what ? Ignoring that angle is obvious omission.
18
@Fred , it tells about the husband in the original article, "Jane Doe Ponytail."
16
I’m wondering what happened to Song Wang’s husband.
19
6 months ago, August 11, 2018 there was a Sudanese student chased by Chinese police and trying to evade them he fell to his death. The only thing Chinese readers wanted to know was what in the heck is this foreigner doing in China?
37
And they did not read any of this in the NYT. You know why ? Because the NYT is BLOCKED in China ! Simply put, it cannot be seen.
26
@ABC Poor girl is gone. Save your arguments for another forum
17
@ABC
BTW, why were the Chinese police chasing him? He overstayed his visa.
7
Thank you for sharing Song Yang's story.
28
The US has four percent of world population. China nearly 40%. Land mass comparison-China has 2.2% more land than us. I am ashamed of how we treat our able poor.
2
Incorrect statistic. China has a population of 1.4 billion of the Earth's 7.7 billion total population. That calculates to 18% , NOT 40%.
27
@Jenmd
We have to many able poor in our society, it’s not possible to help them all.
All regret the personal conditions that may have led to Ms. Song's death.
And now perhaps the follow-up story, hopefully also by Mr. Singer, the immigration and crime reporter.
Several topical stories too.
What visas did the late Ms. Song and spouse use to enter Saipan, and then later, the continental US?
Under what US visa did brother Song Hai & mother enter the US? (One suspects a 90 day tourist visa; easiest to get.)
Is his US stay of 15 months considered a "visa overstay"?
ICE estimates 60% of illegal aliens in the US now, are "visa overstays".
Did Mr. Song ever apply to ICE to get an extension of his visa so he could continue his investigation?
If Mr Song Hai & mother were here on a 90 day tourist visa, and over-stayed, what daily conditions enabled them to avoid ICE and deportation for 12 of the 15 months?
Even in death, there are new facts and lessons to be learned, and new stories, for our current immigration debate.
16
I'll say a prayer for you tonight. You need one as much as the people in this heartbreaking story.
74
@Josh Evans.
wow. these 2 grieving people according to the article have gone back to their country. for heavens sake, leave them alone. answers to your questions can be answered without following these folks' paths. hopefully when one of your loved ones kicks off, someone can make insensitive comments about your family. your comment is insulting and sad.
73
@josh Evans
If that’s what you got from the article, you had better pray that if you ever need help, someone better than you won’t look away.
52
Thank you, Dan and Jeffrey, for this and the original piece. Beautifully written, beautifully reported.
22
The picture of Shi Yumi sitting on the bed should be hanging in the Met with the title, "The American Dream"
36
This may strike some as harsh, but this is the reason all “johns” need to answer to the law. Such as Mr. Kraft, or make it a legal contract between two adults, and deal with the issues that creates.
40
The first half of this story, published well over 6 months ago was so powerful and tragic, I instantly recognized the family the moment the page opened.
I think they did all they could- but the grief is still so thick. I wish them the very best, and hope they find some happiness in their life, especially the mother. Yilu shunfeng.
Thanks NYT for this.
68
Though this falls under "too little, too late" I will not forget Song Yang. Women with so few choices in life. We can do much better. Peace to Ms. Yang's family.
45
If the roles were reversed, and this story were published in a Chinese newspaper, there would be only 1 reaction, “What is this foreigner even doing in China?” Of sympathy, there’d be none.
35
What exactly is the point of your comment? That that this woman and her family don't deserve Americans' empathy because they're Chinese? Or that a bad experience with people in China limits your response to the calamity that befell Ms. Song and her brother and mother?
25
@ABC
"If the roles were reversed, and this story were published in a Chinese newspaper, there would be only 1 reaction, “What is this foreigner even doing in China?” Of sympathy, there’d be none."
Why does that matter? My empathy for this woman and her family comes from my heart, as a mother who would also be devastated and inconsolable over the loss of a child. Whether they would have empathy, were the roles reversed, is of no consequence.
27
@ABC
Well there is sympathy here for this family from those of us who care about humanity as a whole...not just as an “us versus them” point of view. So there’s that.
32
"Later that night, though, DongDong was lingering, mostly alone, outside her old haunt. She and other women now connect with customers after midnight, and then lead them to locations on other Flushing streets."
So basically police helped kill Song Yang by their stupid raids and now they are making lives mare dangerous for other women. Please legalize consensual sex work and a lot of the problems will go away. Police can concentrate on real criminals instead of wasting resources on defenseless women willingly providing a legitimate service. But I guess police prefers to waste tax payer money hunting 5'3'', 140 lbs or so Asian women. Much easier than going after hardened male criminals selling hard drugs or committing other violent crimes...
47
@Ilya
Experience (see Europe) shows legalization increases trafficking/makes it worse as demand soars and there aren't enough prostitutes to meet demand. Yes, go after the John's, pimps, traffickers but don't legalize turning women into inhuman objects.
27
@Ilya
The main problem with this approach is that so many of these women are not doing it 'willingly'. They are desperate and afraid, and many of them are being coerced physically, financially, or emotionally into a degrading and dangerous 'profession'. Legalization may just end up making life easier for the pimps and johns, not the real victims.
30
@Ilya
So start a campaign. Make it a priority in your life to legitimize sex workers. The "raids" by the police were not to arrest sex workers but to assist those who are victimized by the sex trafficking industry. That's the problem. TRAFFICKING of humans, not only for sex, but workers in nail salons, restaurants and domestics. They police are concentrating on the real criminals, those who exploit the vulnerable. Take the 7 train from the City to Flushing. Get a feel for the victimization that happens in the neighborhood.
10
The story alone is worth a year subscription. But it so broke my heart. I will think of that young lady, Song Hai, for a long time. I will also wonder the fate of other's trapped and mistreated in a similar way.
Her poor family. No parent should have to bury their child at any age.
64
@Marty Hafner
I meant Song Yang.
12
I agree completely with the tragedy here, and how trapped the poor woman was. I also wish that the families back in China would make an effort to love and support their children, regardless of Face, so that she could have gone home again. Given how many uneducated overseas Chinese women fall into this situation, I would hope that families would ask more piercing questions and provide more unconditional support.
We all know lost souls whose families look the other way or can barely be bothered to text back.
I grieve for this young woman and all the lonely ones lost on our streets.
25
These are the stories that really make subscribing to the NYT worth it. The story is beautifully written and really touched me. I really hope the family can find piece.
37
Beautifully written. Breaks my heart.
27
This is such a tragedy for this family. My heart goes out to them. May they find peace.
23
@Jean Rollins As I recall from reading the article, the family was aware of her employment and was receiving some money from her, including her brother. He seems to be mad at everyone except himself.
18
Thank you for following up on Song Yang's story. I've thought of her and her family often since your October article.
I hope her family finds peace among their old lives back home in China. Her death was tragic but I'm glad they're able to bring her remains back home like she had always wanted to return.
20
We share in Song Hai's sorrow for the family's loss .
26
Such a tragic story, I can't really comprehend the magnitude of the grief of Song Yang's family. The following crackdown on the sex industry on 40th Street does nothing to assuage the pain or prevent the problem. The industry still exists, unchanged, and it will simply be carried out in other streets.
What's the solution to this problem? Arresting women for selling sex doesn't put a stop to it, obviously. Arresting men for buying sex has not usually been attempted, because they're men in a male-dominated society. Legalization of prostitution might reduce some of the negatives, but the problem with that approach seems to be that there just aren't enough women interested in selling sex, voluntarily.
I don't know what the answer is, eliminating poverty would probably take care of this, but that seems impossible. I do know that Song Yang should have had a much better, longer life available to her.
30
@Dan Stackhouse Eliminating poverty is not impossible...and no one should have to be so economically fragile as to consider selling themselves. The society decides what the social compact is, and great strides had been made in the past to eliminating poverty, only to be undone by greed. Every person needs to rethink who we are and what we stand for, and take action to improve our situation.
15
@John Nelson
Well said. The fact t]]phat there aren't enough women willing to voluntarily sell sex should tell us how horrible an existence it is and how it should not be legalized.
13
Dear John Nelson,
I hope you're right, that it's not impossible to eliminate poverty. However, so long as the Republican party exists, I think it can't happen, it'll be fought too bitterly. And thus far, it has never been accomplished by any state.
9
That's a brother.
32
Heart wrenching. Thanks for reporting this story and others like it.
21
This has been such a very good albeit a heartbreaking portrait.
15
I have never understood how the law got so twisted. If anyone really wanted to ban prostitution they would pursue the "customer". But people with the money to spend apparently don't want it that way. And let's face it: Consenting adults should be should be left to their own discretion, unless they are not consenting adults.
15
@Gary What little girl (or boy) do you know wants to be a prostitute when they grow up?
Sex work never includes the prostitute's consent. Desperation or necessity may drive them to it, but never confuse that with consent.
47
@Gary
The point is that arresting prostitutes doesn't change or fix anything. And I am not confused about consent. But you seem to be judging woman who have no other options. Our system doesn't provide any financial support for people in this situation - just a morass of judgement with closed eyes.
11
@Alexandra Don't let people cover it by saying consent.
6
What's with this title? Why the addition of "Ponytail" in this day and age when the most progressive institutions are trying to address sexism?
5
That moniker was assigned to her by the NYPD , not the NYT. The NYT only reports what the NYPD was using as its code to identify the person during the raid.
27
@Joyce That is the name given to her by the police.
18
The people that profit from the sex workers - the pimps, the landlords and operators to the businesses that facilitate these workers to the Johns - these people are criminals and the system ought to “work this way” in that the family should be able to sue these people and help the police put them in jail.
12
We humans truly prefer Band-Aids to prevention; instead of vainly trying to chase down pimps and johns (who, like cockroaches, will never be eradicated), why do we constantly neglect to provide people with the education, skills, and opportunities they need to avoid becoming victims? Why do we live in a perpetual state of closing the barn door after the horse got out?
32
Legalize it, regulate it, tax it and this kind of problem goes away for the most part.
14
@sheikyerbouti Well said, and very true.
4
@sheikyerbouti
In places where it has been legalized (aka several European countries), it's become a bigger problem and trafficking has increased.
6
The American way of handling prostitution has always bugged me. However ....
... I have lived next to an apartment like that, and I can testify how it makes a peaceful life impossible. I thank God they are cleaning up this neighborhood. Sorry for those whose job became more difficult, but the big majority and especially children and young people must be spared from such an environment!
But what most amazed me was the Chinese brother's statement " felt like Job in the Bible". Those Chinese know their Bible, while Americans are going the opposite way!
10
Thank you very much for caring, NYT.
This is one of the reasons why my only Daily News is yours.
22
In a sense, the police are responsible.
Commercial sex work should be treated as a public health issue, not a crime. There is no role for police or prosecutors (many of whom, like Eliot Spitzer, are involved in the sex trade themselves). Once again, Canada and Europe have a model that we should follow. So does China.
George Hatem (Ma Haide) was an American who graduated medical school in 1933, and wanted to help the people who needed him most. He traveled to China and served Mao ZeDong as a military doctor during the revolution and as a public health doctor afterwards.
He essentially eliminated sexually transmitted diseases in China, in part by eliminating commercial sex work.
Mao's China eliminated commercial sex work not by criminalizing it, but by finding other work for the women.
Hatem said that women will sell sex as long as there are men with great wealth and women in desperate poverty. The way to eliminate commercial sex is to eliminate poverty and inequality.
As further proof, when China embraced a capitalist free market, commercial sex returned.
Poverty and inequality are also major underlying issues in the upcoming presidential campaign. https://theintercept.com/2019/03/09/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-aoc-sxsw/
If you want to eliminate the exploitation of commercial sex work, the first step is eliminating poverty and inequality. Criminal prosecutions can only do harm.
26
@Norman
This is very naive. Mao did a lot of things, but eliminating poverty was definitely not one of them. Like Castro, Hugo Chavez and Maduro, Mao did eliminate income inequality, as those decades of his dictatorship were marred by extreme poverty for everyone.
The low rate of sexually transmitted disease under Mao occurred not because of Dr Hatem wonderful public health service (very self serving). Prostitutes and their johns were executed and tortured under Mao.
Whenever someone quotes AOC, I know some revisionist history is inevitably to follow. How else does someone graduate from Boston University and end up as a "waitress in a taco restaurant" (her words verbatim).
6
@Norman NYC. Sir, apparently you reside in NYC. The police are ONLY enforcing the law.
The law written either locally or in the state where you reside and hopefully vote.
This situation is not the fault of the police carrying out the laws your representatives have enacted and which you are ultimately involved in, either in your voting or in your lack of opposition to their votes. We Americans are only too adept lately on casting blame on others aren’t we.
Thank you for commenting. We all need to look at ourselves more often to examine how we have or can in the future impact even one of our societal problems.
5
@Norman
Deng Xiaoping and Xi Lifted about 600 million people out of poverty (with the world’s help). Half of those were women.
2
Chinese almost never blame ourselves, partly because doing so involve us to cause ourselves to lose Face (the appearance of being right). If she left China to move to a country regularly reviled in The People’s Daily, her leaving further contradicts Xi Jin Ping thought and Chinese culture. And blaming everything on Westerners is the National Sport (not ping pong, actually). Chinese are maybe the most xenophobic people on Earth and she died being what Chinese like least — being a foreigner
29
You are soooo right. But you left one thing out. Curious as it may sound - if a NYer , born and bred, is in Flushing , he is referred to as the foreigner by the Chinese in the neighborhood.
19
@nydoc quite a rosy view. Time to review your own view on China, to help you: ask people from Vietnam, Tibet, Korea, Japan, ask those who were at Tiananmen, ask the intellectuals in jails, ask...
3
If a small portion of my taxes helps pay for a grieving mother’s hip surgery then I gladly do it. It would be cruel to let her suffer further for circumstances beyond her control (an injury from a fall) and to basically let her become disabled. She isn’t an American but she is a human being.
Also, I don’t understand comments complaining about taxes when that is the least important if at all relevant part of this tragic story.
50
RIP Song Yang and peace to her family. Thanks so much to Messrs Barry and Singer - there is nothing more important than a free press with the resources to pursue a story like this. The attention brought and the changes wrought will certainly help forestall similar tragedies.
37
I read this story and the story it is following up on. This is tremendous journalism. Thank you.
67
I have followed this story from the beginning. The first article was quite in depth, even more than this one. This is a tragedy for sure. The journalist did an excellent job of investigating this death and composing a well written account. The grief of the family is clearly shown and the photo adds even more to the sadness.
102
I've come across stories of women from N/E China getting caught up in these situations not only in the US, but also in other far flung parts of the world like France and South Korea. Clearly there's a network behind that trafficking, one that has global reach. In every case, these stories are accompanied by tales of economic downturn in that part of China, unemployment, debt and personal desperation, so factor that into any interpretation you make about how women are lured into the schemes of these opportunistic predators, wherever in the world those predators are from. By the way, is law enforcement looking into that networked trafficking, apart from deciding whether to go after sex workers or johns? Like any other problem, this needs to be dealt with at the root.
45
i feel for her family, trying to make peace with her death when her life had none. some of the comments here question how "important" this story is and should the times have covered it in such depth. Yes. every story is important. every life is important.
249
Thank you gentlemen for this terribly moving story of Song Yang. Why can't more be done to help immigrants make a better transition to our country and so avoid a repeat of this sad story?
You both deserve high praise for the quality of your writing and bringing to life the story of this woman in such a poignant and compelling manner.
Well done.
137
"And make sure your tenants do not sublease space to shadowy operations."
Our first apartment in Kissena Park was the first floor of a legal two family attached houses across from the soccer field. You could tell that the three houses on our end of the block were rented out by the unkept garden in front.
Shortly after a group of young Asian males moved in to the first floor next door. All were thin with spiked hair, walked in single file five feet apart and always left the screen door slightly ajar when they left the apartment.
What seemed like an eternity later a young couple who owned that house were cleaning up the garden. I had cleaned up my garden and theirs was the last to follow suit.
I told the owners that they had rented out to a bunch of gang kids. They said a young man and women signed the lease and didn't know and they trashed the apartment as well.
The next tenants were a nice young couple that recycled two chairs from the sidewalk.
9
There lies the trick. Another scheme in the Chinese community. You have the property owners who will lease to an apparently upstanding tenant who checks out properly on income/ references etc. Then, these strawman renters know they can convert their lease into a sub-lease to crowd in a bunch of ‘ visitors who have insufficient means and status to rent themselves. For this service , they will take an up-charge from the base lease rent to their cash only sub-lease arrangement. Merrily on their way to rent elsewhere, ad infinitum. By the time the owners figure it out, they are sort stuck with the situation.
17
I think this was more a case of the professional renter, a tactic used by all races. They put up the first and last months rent, may pay or partially pay the second, and never pay a dime of rent again. By the time the landlord can get an eviction notice, the renters have lived there rent free for 12 to 18 months.
7
You might be right because I have dealt with those 'professional renters’ before. But in this case the owners said they rented to a man/woman couple but the neighbors informed them that in reality there were half a dozen young men living in the premises. So, I stick to my supposition too.
4
There is a history of terrible stories about immigrants coming here starting from the 1600’s. (Read the non-fiction book ‘White Trash’ about class in America). Life in any foreign country is very hard more so for the unskilled. Unfortunately the story supports claims of the need to restrict immigrants. How was this husband who couldn’t work allowed into the country? Did the mother get hip replacement surgery in the U.S., with no health insurance? Too many Americans can’t afford it, how did she? And the brother clearly can’t come to terms with his sister’s employment. Maybe some would be immigrants will heed this tale.
26
@effie k of michigan. The article states the mother had a fall on the street. As is often the case of a woman of her age and build she likely broke her hip from the fall. It is likely she was unable to rise from the ground and EMS was called. She was likely taken to an ER found to have the fracture. There are most often 2 options for surgery which are based on where the bone was fractured. Sometimes only pins are needed, other times the “ball” of the “ball and socket” of the hip joint must be replaced. Thus the person receives half of the hardware of an elective hip replacement - but this is not an elective surgery for a chronic condition- it is an emergency procedure.
11
The age old problem of the sex trade, easy to arrest the workers but not so easy to arrest the owners of these businesses. Even if arrested their money and "friends" will get them released and all charges dropped. "Friends"? Politicians, lawyers, wealthy clients with influence and so on who use "sex services"! Same with child pornography "friends" use this despicable form of self gratification. Big events (sports and conferences) always coincides with lots of "entertainment" for wealthy clients. What's a nation with a predator president to do?
36
@Alan Burnham
Or the johns. Why are the prostitutes arrested, but not their customers?
7
If I passed Mr. Song on the street he would have been just another young man with a back pack. His sister, Song Yang, would have been just another street worker we have all seen at one time. Just another “Jane Doe Ponytail”. Thank you for reveling the story of love, pain, and loss to 3 anonymous faces. We all carry the ashes of our loves and losses somewhere in or on our bodies
What a tragic story, but by exposing the tale of sorrow of these three, you have shown the chain of connections of us all. We are all, in some way, Jane Doe Ponytail. My condolences to her brother and mother. I wish you some peace. You have done much to honor your sister and daughter, in turn, you honor us all.
221
@fish out of Water Your comments were perfect. Thank you.
20
@fish out of Water Thank you for your comment.
13
I am so sorry. May she rest peace and her family find solace. May she finds peace of mind and happiness in her next life.
56
Absolutely tragic. A beautiful young woman who was desperate. A country that failed her. And a family that is left to mourn her. So much sadness. There needs to be a hotline or some community services available to immigrants that are struggling. I am very sad and sorry. Song Hai is an excellent brother and son.
113
Deepest condolences to Song Yang’s family. Apologies to Chinese immigrants anywhere. It is a tragic story. Many of us in America are sorry for her experience. Many wish we could have helped her navigate her way into a more meaningful life here in America. Reading about Song Yang made me angry, sad and ashamed. Americans and Canadians must acknowledge that not since the the first wave of chinese immigrants came to the mines and railroads to work have they been treated with due respect and common dignity. In fact, many died in civil riots. They were lynched or shot. Killed because they were different. I am ashamed of that history. I apologize for it.
We Americans could open the doors to our self-sequestered silos and welcome those who are different, especially the Chinese diaspora. Theirs is a remarkable culture that should not be shunned. We can enrich each others lives.
95
@Charles Denman
Do you know what happened to Christian missionaries? I advise that if you read about that, do so before a meal not after. Today, is there even 1 American ever granted Chinese citizenship? No, says Chinese author and Harvard grad Eric Liu. Not 1. Based on your years of experience living and working in both China and USA, who treats foreigners better? Look at both sides and you’ll get perspective.
28
@ABC
Every life is precious. Hers was precious. In America, we have principles that are ignored in China. I will not excuse or minimize the brutality here by the brutality in China, past or present. We have a higher standard. We are a singular beacon.
30
@ABC, It seems you are saying, "since others [in this case, the Chinese] are much worse than we are, we can continue to do as we do. This kind of "whataboutism" might make us feel better about ourselves but does nothing to remove the beam in our own eye while we're trying to remove the speck in another's.
America is never served by pointing at the misdeeds of other countries. We are served by our own citizens calling our government to task, to accountability -- and there's a beam in our eye there if there ever was!
China does not have a Statue of Liberty standing in her harbor welcoming the tired, poor to the country -- America does.
Those who tout America as a Christian nation are wrong. But if they were right, they might heed the words of their messiah as recorded in Matthew Chapter 25: "For . . . I was a stranger and you invited me in . . ."
59
This is a very unfortunate tale. The family is admirable in their following the saga for closure. When this fact set is coupled with the recent Florida massage parlor sting one sees two examples in a corner of a wider netherworld. Too many Chinese come here with a business plan that is crooked. ( I am not referring to Jane Ponytail ). I have seen it writ large in Queens. The unscrupulous bosses conduct all sorts of schemes and utilize the recently arrived as their fodder. The language barrier and the cloak of social cohesiveness keep the originator, established community and the NYPD at bay to a great extent. A sordid "what happens in Flushing, stays in Flushing ( or Chinatown or Sunset Park for that matter ) effect in our city. It may be likewise with some other ethnicities in Staten Island or in Brighton Beach, but it is endemic today in an every expanding Chinese diaspora around this section of Queens.
84
@Will Eigo
"Too many Chinese come here with a business plan that is crooked."
I believe what you wrote there is a form of stereotyping which explains why you write something like the below after. It is a form of very polarized thinking that has continued to perpetuate in our community.
It isn't exclusive to Chinese but to all races. All business has a dark side and many have come here and start businesses for the better as well as growth to our economy.
"The language barrier and the cloak of social cohesiveness keep the originator, established community and the NYPD at bay to a great extent. "
2
What a heartbreaking story. My condolences to Song Yang's family.
145
A tragic story.
But why was this woman terrified of being deported to her home country where she had loving family? It sounded more like a commentary on life in China than life in America.
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@KJ-I admire your ability to look for the positive however a loving family back home does not translate into a decent quality of life. I am guessing that as bad as things were in Flushing, there is always a glimmer of it can get better.
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@KJ
I think that you do not realize the strong social pressures to "succeed." The poor woman had slipped from owning 2 restaurants in China to eventually selling herself on 40th Road in Flushing. She was clearly betrayed by the older man whose "marriage" to her was supposed to have helped her. After portraying herself to her family as a success she was too humiliated to turn back. This is not a Chinese response, it is a human one. I believe there is a late 19th century American novel that traces the same arc.
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Saving face is why. How could she go back with the shame ? Her reaction was akin to Japanese harikari. Her honor was at stake, her American Dream was ruined - her destiny sadly determined by culture and circumstance.
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