He called me Lao-hey, literally translated as black foreigner. He wasn’t racist. He would narrate to me how hard-working the Chinese people are. He pointed proudly to what made Taiwan what it is today. Fifty years ago, according to him, he couldn’t afford three square meals, and now, he has become a proud land owner and an owner of a Mercedes saloon car. He predicted that there will be a time in the not-too-distant future when the Chinese language will become a compulsory subject in many schools around the world – especially in Africa. One of his wildest predictions was that, in time the Chinese language will become the lingua franca of those people wanting to get ahead in trade and commerce.

What was more irritating to me was that smug expression on the face of Xiao-he, any time he reminded me of how better blacks would be, if they read more books and worked harder. He had gone on business trips to almost every African country and had dined and wined with many black political figures – including some African ambassadors to Taiwan. He had also visited many black neighborhoods outside Africa. His conclusion was that achieving excellence has everything to do with the pursuit of a goal – hard work and committing tons of time to whatever knowledge one might have acquired overtime to practice – and not as much a consequence of possessing innate gifts of specific genes.

Whites and Chinese, as he always consoled me, were not better than blacks. According to him, to desire nothing less in one’s life than the best takes a huge commitment and great amount of time devoted to what one wants to achieve. To him, what people believe to be extraordinary talents were mere skills honed by successful people better than others. He believed that all of us – whatever our circumstances – have the ability to succeed-as long as we could get a handle on our fears and other negative emotions that sets us back. He seemed to imply that so many blacks – including some of their leaders-were disoriented. These, according to him, were either ignorant, greedy or simply being selfish.

Realizing how visibly agitated I was, he quickly switched to another question. He was a man with savoir-faire. He knew how to behave in any company and in any situation. With a face twisted with pain, he said – with a low voice.

“Come, come, let’s go watch a movie.”