The City that Grew with Yu

In 24 years, Xiamen has transformed from a backwater to a metropolis. Foreign investors are invited, including businessmen from Taiwan, China's archenemy. The two-faced politics of the Chinese government.

Tempo

February 15, 2005

I ASKED her name, and she answered by uttering a word which caused her lips to purse.

"Yu?" I asked.

"Not `u', but the sound between `u' and `e'."

A foreign name to the ears, not easily pronounced. She repeated her name and once again her moist lips pursed. I tried to copy her in vain.

"Never mind, just call me Duty," she said. She laughed. Her head moved from right to left. Her slitted eyes instantly

...