Milly Cheung
1 March 2002

After reading Su San Yip's article, entitled "Chinese New Year through the eyes of a BBC," it is clear that she suffers from the same identity crisis as many other BBC's.

Yip, and many other BBC's, should not waste their time and energy comparing themselves to other minorities - and their celebrations. The Chinese New Year that we have today is a true reflection of our community in London today - measured, safe and successful.

I am also a BBC and as a child also relished the New Year festivities of London Chinatown - the dragon dances, fire crackers, special foods and of course, the red packet money. The implication that the Celebrations have not evolved from "the same stalls and activities" is wrong.

The celebrations have grown from a couple of stray dragons running through Chinatown to a more organised event involving martial arts demonstrations, classical Chinese music, and dances. The event has shifted outwards from a makeshift platform outside the car park to the whole of Leicester Square, and finally this year to Trafalgar Square. In my eyes, the evolution has been measured, safe and successful and we should be proud of this.

In expanding this celebration to compete with other events, such as the Notting Hill carnival, we risk losing, what Yip referred to "as the real meaning of the event." For many people, the Carnival lost its real meaning years ago. What’s more, this huge event should not be viewed with rose-tinted glasses - just ask the residents of Notting Hill, the police, the local authority, and the victims of crime. The 2m or so attendees do not come problem free.

In addition, the problem of sponsorship for the Carnival is immense. In contrast, if you look at the key sponsors listed for the event - for example BBC London, The British Army, Greater London Authority, Metropolitan Police, Bank of China, Kee Kum Lee, Shaftsbury Plc. and UnityChinese.com - we should be proud that of the diverse list of corporations and companies that want to be tied with the festivities, and the Chinese identity.

I also find the idea of comparing our Chinese New Year celebrations to the biggest carnival in Europe completely absurd.

It is a shame that Yip and many BBC's do not feel a proper sense of belonging to the Chinese New Year Celebration. Why should we compare our event to other events when the very core of our culture is so different from others? This is a classic example of low self-esteem and low own appreciation of own worth/culture. We should embrace our culture and be proud of what we are, and set our own, unique standards. Yip should stop chasing the dragon. She should pause for thought - and be proud of it. I am proud of what we stand for, and what we have achieved in this country in such a short space of time.