[Essay] On the sea and a bunch of Hong Kong people

Status
Not open for further replies.

patran

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
Dear Teachers

I find the use of "on the sea" in the following article, why not "in" the sea? And, why a "bunch" of Hong Kong boat people is used, rather than a "group"? Is it better to use "a bunch"? Understood that this article does not belongto any IETLS topic, but I would like to know if the English in this article is good for me to learn.

Regards

Anthony the learner

-----------------
The threat of World War III briefly flared up last week as a few vague rocks called the Senkaku Islands (also known as Diaoyutai Islands) out on the sea somewhere between Taiwan and Okinawa caused some infuriated Chinese ultra-rightist patriots to threaten to nuke Tokyo after the Japanese coast guard and immigration officers deported a bunch of Hong Kong boat people who had landed illegally on them.

The invaders, who shouted abuse in Cantonese, were swiftly removed and handcuffed by the Japanese, who showed the international community once again that the islands are being effectively administered by Japan. They were then put on a business-class flight, compliments of Japanese taxpayers.

The invaders were hailed here and in China as national heroes although they were deported as swiftly as the hundreds of illegal Mexican immigrants by American police on the Texas border every day.
They shouted victory to the world as they successfully “proclaimed China’s sovereignty” over the islands by briefly laying their feet on the soil and planting both China’s and Taiwan’s national flags on the rocks, which were quickly cast into the waves by the Japanesecoast guard. If such acts constitute the realization of “national sovereignty,” then the few tens of thousands of boat people detained in Hong Kong camps in the 1990s before being deported back to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City could also claim that a part of Britain was likewise owned by Vietnam. This is how the logic of the “Protect the Diaoyutai” campaign goes. If adopted into a doctrine, the Senkaku incident would set a strange precedent case only recognized by China. Following that, any Chinese person attempting to cross the immigration checkpoint at Heathrow or Newark without a passport and ordered to board the next flight back home could claim Chinese sovereignty over Britain or America on behalf of Beijing and demand business class return fares paid for by these governments. Japan has set a dangerous example of immigration largesse for all Western countries.
The heroes kept Hong Kong journalists informed via Facebook as their ship reached the shore and got stranded. Electronic communication was only possible because the Senkaku Islands and the nearby sea, being Japanese territories, are effectively covered by NTT—the Japanese telecommunications network.

If the islands were under Chinese rule and guarded by PLA soldiers, there would be no access to Facebook. But thanks to the freedoms granted by Japanese sovereignty, the Hong Kong invaders would have also theoretically been able to surf pornographic and Falun Gong websites if they had even been allowed to stay long enough to get bored with life on the islands.

This is why it is not a bad thing, even for the Chinese, for those rocks to be officially called Senkaku.
 

Gillnetter

Key Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Dear Teachers

I find the use of "on the sea" in the following article, why not "in" the sea? And, why a "bunch" of Hong Kong boat people is used, rather than a "group"? Is it better to use "a bunch"? Understood that this article does not belongto any IETLS topic, but I would like to know if the English in this article is good for me to learn.

Regards

Anthony the learner

-----------------
The threat of World War III briefly flared up last week as a few vague rocks called the Senkaku Islands (also known as Diaoyutai Islands) out on the sea somewhere between Taiwan and Okinawa caused some infuriated Chinese ultra-rightist patriots to threaten to nuke Tokyo after the Japanese coast guard and immigration officers deported a bunch of Hong Kong boat people who had landed illegally on them (The islands were not under the water, so, they were "on the sea". A fish swims in the sea because the fish is under the water, islands are above the water. It's up to a writer to decide which words to use. This writer decided to use "bunch". "bunch", when referring to people is slightly degrading, but maybe this is just the way this writer writes.)

The invaders, who shouted abuse in Cantonese, were swiftly removed and handcuffed by the Japanese, who showed the international community once again that the islands are being effectively administered by Japan. They were then put on a business-class flight, compliments of Japanese taxpayers.

The invaders were hailed here and in China as national heroes although they were deported as swiftly as the hundreds of illegal Mexican immigrants by American police on the Texas border every day.(While illegal immigrants may be returned to Mexico daily it is not the police who do this, it is the federal immigration authorities.)
They shouted victory to the world as they successfully “proclaimed China’s sovereignty” over the islands by briefly laying their feet on the soil and planting both China’s and Taiwan’s national flags on the rocks, which were quickly cast into the waves by the Japanese coast guarda (A Coast Guard is similar to a navy except that much of the activites of a Coast Guard is to protect people on the water near the coast and to patrol the coast lines so as to stop various illegal activities.) . If such acts constitute the realization of “national sovereignty,” then the few tens of thousands of boat people detained in Hong Kong camps in the 1990s before being deported back to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City could also claim that a part of Britain was likewise owned by Vietnam. This is how the logic of the “Protect the Diaoyutai” campaign goes. If adopted into a doctrine, the Senkaku incident would set a strange precedent case only recognized by China. Following that, any Chinese person attempting to cross the immigration checkpoint at Heathrow or Newark without a passport and ordered to board the next flight back home could claim Chinese sovereignty over Britain or America on behalf of Beijing and demand business class return fares paid for by these governments. Japan has set a dangerous example of immigration largesse for all Western countries.
The heroes kept Hong Kong journalists informed via Facebook as their ship reached the shore and got stranded. Electronic communication was only possible because the Senkaku Islands and the nearby sea, being Japanese territories, are effectively covered by NTT—the Japanese telecommunications network.

If the islands were under Chinese rule and guarded by PLA soldiers, there would be no access to Facebook. But thanks to the freedoms granted by Japanese sovereignty, the Hong Kong invaders would have also theoretically been able to surf pornographic and Falun Gong websites if they had even been allowed to stay long enough to get bored with life on the islands.

This is why it is not a bad thing, even for the Chinese, for those rocks to be officially called Senkaku.
The piece is entertaining as it points out how the efforts by the Chinese was a waste of time. The writer goes on to illustrate how such acts would be seen, and dealt with, in England and the US, if either, or, both of these countries did what the Japanese did. It's probably good for learners to read such things. Though entertaining, I consider it mostly to be "fluff" - a writing without much value.
 
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Dear Teachers
I find the use of "on the sea" in the following article, why not "in" the sea?

Just to add to what Gil said, another expression that you might see is "out at sea." That would actually sound more common to me, at least where I'm from. As Gil mentioned, "in the sea" would mean under water.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top