Elisabetta Burba had a story in this week’s Panorama on Italy’s Chinese population. It’s really not bad writing in that it lists many success stories and is generally favorable. It includes details I didn’t know, such as a quote from one expat Chinese saying that “the Filipinos will work under a boss, but we all want to have our own business, be our own boss” — something any red-blooded Italian should take heart with. But before I get too giddy handing out the accolades, I should say that the print version includes maps of five different city streets and store-by-store diagrams indicating which businesses are foreign-owned. This is an issue, especially when coupled with making note that the particular Chinese who come to Italy are called “China’s Jews.” Perhaps not intentional, but tasteless at best, as were the cover (see graphic) and at least part of the title (“We Were Evicted — We’ll Win” — why must someone lose, Chinese or Italian?). Hard to find online, but here’s a terribly-formatted version. In Italian.
Be sure to click on the above link to read about Burba’s role in the run-up to the war in Iraq.