I came across this article: “Potus Blossoms” in Harpers Magazine, Feb’10. The article presents a selection from 3,290 questions submitted by readers to China’s state-run news agency for President Obama’s town hall visit in Shanghai. Here are some of them:
- Tell me, how do you like Eastern Beauties?
- The U.S. Embassy in China is about to change your Chinese name from Ao-ba-ma to Ou-ba-ma. Do you think this is necessary? The Chinese media and people have always called you Aobama. Now 1.3 billion Chinese have to change how they say it. It’s a real pain.
- How come the United States can “secure” the whole world for the sake of “national security,” while China can only protect its own borders?
- Have you ever thought about riding a rocket into outer space?
- Can I discuss with you China’s purchasing Hawaii with U.S. dollars?
- You already have two daughters. Will you try for a third child? What will you think if the next one is yet another girl?
- If you had to choose three flowers to describe your wife and daughters, what would they be?
- What room are you staying in tonight?
Because Harper’s is behind a pay wall, you need to subscribe to see the full article, but I would strongly recommend a subscription. The magazine is surprisingly versatile in its depth and variety of coverage as also the water cutting-stone irony.
To get a free preview, you can check it out on Twitter here.
PS: Picture from http://www.cristyli.com/
