ABSTRACT
Chen Ruoxi has continued writing fiction about contemporary Chinese problems while living in Berkeley, California. She analyzes the "Chinese national character" in an age torn between different political camps somewhat as Lu Xun did decades before. She is also known for her essays and reportage, published in all parts of the Chinese-speaking world, for which she continues to serve as both a bridge and a conscience. Her essay below, like Bai Xianyong's, reflects on the situation of the overseas writers who came under vicious attack by Taiwanese regionalist radicals such as Song Zelai. Like Wu Zuguang, Chen Ruoxi is also distressed to see how influential the heavy hand of censorship remains in all parts of the Chinese world.
