Asian immigrant experience defies easy comparisons

Letter to the Wall Street Journal (November 2, 2012)

Although Asian-Americans as a whole have achieved a lot of success (as measured by household income and education), they still lag on many indicators, most notably social inclusion, where they still seem relegated to the lower echelons of social hierarchy.

Several years ago when I was working at an investment bank in New York City, I went to an Upper West Side house party of a fellow Princeton alumnus.  I was dressed in a tailored shirt with designer cuff links and wore Italian leather shoes.  I approached the security desk in the lobby with a bottle of wine in a bag and asked for the room number of my friend.  The guard asked if I was making a Chinese food delivery.

Kai L. Chan

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Letter as it appeared in the WSJ

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