I enjoyed every read.

I have an idea I've been working on for several years regarding autism and ADHD, involving "Lamarckian Inheritance" which points the finger at neonatal accelerated growth, induced by uncoupling of normal growth and development laws responsible for maintenance of scaling genes, which may include CHD8, SCN2A, KATNAL2 and NTNG1. I'm wondering whether the lack of infectious disease experience (of the mother and father), throughout a modern human's growth and development period, due to the use of vaccination and antibiotics, has unlocked scaling laws within the foetus, associated at a genetic level, with ecological constraints, enforced within a species, as a means of ensuring the best survivorship of the individual and a population (such as a tribe), without outgrowing the perceived resource value of the dominant homeland (environment) economy. Is it possible that the many gene variants, associated with Autism and ADHD, perceived as mutation, within the brain, are really genes which have been unlocked from a strict algorithm responsible for ensuring healthy scaling laws, which dictate the spatial body plan and cell mass within all modular components, including the brain and somatic organs (arms, legs, fingers, toes............... and skull). Is it possible, that by unlocking the genomes scaling laws, the organism is now experimenting with changes to the hominid formula, which in the neonate, includes phenotypes with experimental brain designs; basically unscaled development of the cerebral cortex, which in autism means, in some cases (as an example) a frontal cortex with 65% more neurons etc. So, could increased body size, of modern neonates, and the accelerated growth seen in a high majority of today's children, be a result of similar adventures by the human genome, trying top capitalise on novel scaling rules which dictate that it may be possible to reallocate resources through the growth and development phase of human development, because of the reduced perception of danger, regarding the threat of infectious disease, which no longer exists (at least, at a genetic level).

With regard to maternal obesity and autism, I would say, that part of the present obesity problem, world-wide, is also associated with “Lamarckian Inheritance” in the form of epigenetics, whereby a child's genome (and phenotype) capitalizes on stored fat via a misunderstanding of the life history experience of both parents, where, uncoupling of scaling genes, and lengthening of the limbs (through reduced harris lines caused by reduced experience with infectious disease, due to antibiotic and vaccination use), increases heat loss from the limbs at a faster rate than what would happen in a normal environment, causing the hunger center with the brain to continually fire up the need to eat. Basically, in a natural environment (if humans were living as feral animals), through infectious disease, an ecosystem can restrain the growth and development (and population size) of a species so as not to bankrupt the economy of the ecological system, through excessive harvesting of primary resources. Also, longer limbs change the physics of movement whereby longer steps decrease energy consumption. As such, once more the brain suffers from confusion, whereby, the experience of the parents, when it comes to energy consumption and energy expenditure, is decoupled from the historical knowledge of the organism, and what is stored as survival knowledge, within the genome. The result, is confusion of fetal growth and development genes, as the organism is set free to explore alternative growth and development trajectories.

Well Mr. Han is not far from the truth. I worked on contract in Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, for 12 months, from Oct, 2006. This was my first long stay since 1989, and had hoped to see improvements, in the system. What I experienced was a worse situation, with government officials and their cronies all out to get rich as fast as possible, and at any cost. So, what did I achieve ? In truth, absolutely nothing. It was as if I was working with a tribe of monkeys, all with brain damage. Mr. Ha is correct, the corruption is so bad its undescribable, and the confusion, of remembering who you have bribed, makes dealing with, everyone else, a nightmare, since, when government officials are transfered, the replacement is soon on site with his hands out.

Let me add, that one day I was wondering where the company directors were receiving tips from, concerning management decisions, made by foreign managers, employed to save the company from bankruptcy. What we discovered, was that the so called owner of the company, a 70 yr. old, was having an affair with my 18 yr. old receptionist, who naturally passed on, on a daily basis, all of the talk. This girl was so frightened of loosing her job, she told be near the end of my term, that when she had nothing to report, she would just make-up gossip, to ensure her master was happy. Today, this same company is on the verge of closing down. I wonder why ?

I would say in an evolutionary sense, the oral immune system evolved to cope with a greater risk of infection, after Homo sapiens started eating raw meat. If meat truly is what made the human brain grow, then there would also been greater investment into pathogen control, since raw meat, and especially carrion, carry a high risk of contamination through bacteria and parasite. 
 
If I remember correctly, it is believed that Turkana Boy (Nariokotome Boy) died of a tooth abscess, more than likely due to eating carrion. 
 
Also, look at human babies. Why are human babies so inclined to place, anything that will fits, in their mouth. It's more than tasting. More than likely, such an act is an instinctive act by the organism to prime the oral immune system against common pathogens found in the environment.

I have had a similar discussion on a facebook blog just this week. The blog discussion was on - What is, or is there, a difference between ultruism and morality. IMO the answer is YES. Why? Because ultruistic behavior does seem to be a part of group selection, because cooperation does seem to have provided Homo sapiens sapiens, greater survivorship, and greater reproductive success. Part of the argument against such thought came from a Cambridge University lab, which argued that ultruism and morality is the same, since even chimpanzees show moral virtue. My argument of course, was that ultruism was a genetic factor, amongst many animal species, but morality was a cultural meme, which repesented the rules of the game of life, and which was entrained in the behavior of a population, in a similar way, as was described by Dawkins. Of course, such a statement resulted in a fierce attack, with my argument described as pseudo science. 
 
Here is my last reply: 
 
"I've been thinking all day about the effect of cultural upbringing on feral children (children reared by wolves), and the meaning behind the idea of the meme. It is just so interesting reading about a wolf child, which is altruistic to other wolves (members of the wolf child's substitute family), but totally suspicious and non-ultruistic, to other humans. Why does a human child, with the mind of a wolf, not know how to empathise with other humans. Even more strange, how could behavioural memes, provided by other wolves, programme the life history of a human phenotype/genotype, to the point where limb tendon?s and muscles shorten in an attempt to morph a human body into that of a wolf. Even the canine teeth seem to be longer in a wolf child to that of a human child, brought up in a human culture. Lastly, why is it almost impossible to teach a wolf child, how to speak, a human language, after the child?s linguistic parts, in the brain, have been programmed to speak, wolf. If it is possible to teach a human child, even an adult, a second, third for even forth or more language, then why is it so difficult for a wolf child, to partake in the human reality, and speak, as an example, english or chinese. Since a wolf child is only concerned about the safety of other pack members, such an altruistic behaviour, at least to me, looks more of a genetic factor, an inherited instinct. However, morality (rules of the game of life), as a cultural meme, as passed to a wolf child, by witnessing other wolves, could only represent the culture of a pack of wolves. It is learned/acquired behaviour. It could be said, the cultural software, of being a wolf. This whole argument begs a question - How is it possible for a human being, to copy the behavior of a wolf, in full belief, that they are a wolf."  
 
There is of course another argument. This comes from "Frozen Shoulder Syndrome" (adhesive capsulitis). In my clinic most of my work involves motor rehab for patients
More....

Thanks for your interesting post "ren". My take on Chinese history is of course personal since my words represent my own experience living many decades with the Cantonese people in Hong Kong. I have some interesting media articles, published by both Hong Kong and Taiwanese scholars, which have a very similar idea of Chinese history, to what both you and I have pointed out. But of course, these reports present more official knowledge, from the mouths of Chinese people. I wonder if you could comment.  
 
TAIPEI TIMES 
 
May 6, 2001 
 
Tracing Taiwanese bloodlines  
by Tsai Ting-i  
 
Taiwanese have long faced a crisis of identity. The people who call this island-nation their home have been ruled by a wide range of foreign governments. Trying to shed light on this complex issue, a blood geneticist at Mackay Memorial Hospital recently released a report on the origins of the Taiwanese people which shows that Taiwanese and Hakka bloodlines can be traced back to the Yueh ethnic group, and not northern China as has long been assumed.`Taipei Times' reporter Tsai Ting-I spoke with Dr Lin Ma-li yesterday about the implications of her research  
 
Taipei Times: How did you get involved in your current research.  
 
Lin Ma-li (???): I originally spent 10 years studying the origins of native Taiwanese [ie, Aboriginals], but I discovered that Taiwanese were not very interested in this type of research, despite the attention international research institutes have paid to the genetic purity of Taiwan's Aboriginals. After publishing my research on the Aboriginals I received many e-mails from Taiwanese who were interested in learning more about their origins, but refused to consider themselves Han (an ethnic group from northern China). Since I had already studied native Taiwanese I decided to switch my research focus to the origins of Minnan and Hakka people [descendants of early settlers from the southeast coast of China]. I didn't expect that the release of the research would attract so much attention, because very few people in Taiwan paid attention to my native Taiwanese study when it was published.  
 
TT: Isn't the attention your research has received due in part to the fact that it challenges Han centralism and gets caught up in the political debate over unification with China?  
 
Lin: Yes. I did think about the controversy my findings could cause a long time ago. But two prominent anthropological ethnologists had already pointed to the conclusions that my genetic research has proven, even before the issue of unification and independence existed. Lin Hui-Shiang's (???) The Ethnology of China published in 1937, and W Meacham's Origins and development of the Yueh coastal Neolithic: A microcosm of cultural change on the mainland of East Asia, released in 1981, both point to similar conclusions. A paragraph in Lin's book
More....

Thanks for this article on Chinese languages. It has been difficult for people, throughout history to accept a governments force to use a different language, and yes, as a consequence, many languages have, well, become extinct. Modern China, or the recent idea of a Greater China, is a good example of how a nation, which has recently come together, as a confederation, chooses to become, one people, through the acceptance of one language. Britain, United States, France, Germany, Russia, in fact, all large modern nations, have at some time, implemented the same pressure on the people, as a means of creating communication easy throughout a population, which has chosen to call themselves, a same name, such, as being a United States - American, or being French, or being Swiss, or being British. 
 
In China's case, judging from recent publications, in the general media, in defense of "Mandarin", it has been so interesting seeing Chinese scholars finally admit, that Mandarin, is a NEW LANGUAGE, created as a national language for China. The truth is that, due to the many languages spoken in pre-modern China, the case of there being an "OLD CHINA" was very weak. Even Mao Tse Tung and Deng Xiao Ping, did not speak Mandarin. In fact, they both spoke Old Xiang (pre-modern-Hunanese), which meant that when Mao and Deng gave a speech in the Great Hall of the People, the majority of officials, only understood what was being said, by reading a transcript of the speech, or by having a translator whisper in their ears. 
 
The fact is that at every moment in history, modernity rules, and the people of any nation, have the ability to join in, or loose out.

Regarding problems encountered by Han Chinese, living at high altitude, well, they are immense. Most Han Chinese spend considerable time in hospital due to breathing difficulties, with Han women having to leave for the low lands when pregnant and to give birth. Without doubt, the stocky Northern Mongolian phenotype of the Tibetan, combined with a unique altitude adaptation, of increased blood serum nitric oxide (NO) levels, and a faster breathing pattern, indicate conclusively, the Tibetans long period of habitation at high altitude. Since not a single Han Chinese, nation-wide, has either of these attributes, how is it possible for the Chinese Communist Party to claim Tibet as being part of China. Obviously, the Chinese hold on Tibet is solely due to water. 
 
http://www.pnas.org/content/104/suppl.1/8655.full.pdf+html 
 
http://www.zoology.wisc.edu/courses/611/Part2/Readings/5HumanHighaltitude.pdf 
 
http://206.188.20.250/projects/pchurch/AT%20BIOLOGY/PAPERS/Tibetan%20Women%20Oxygen%20-%20evolution%20in%20action.pdf 
 
http://www.lri.ccf.org/pathobio/erzurum/documents/PROCNATLACADSCIUSAErzurum2007.pdf

It is important to put aside the idea of ?what if?, or ?the Americans stole California from Mexico?, or ?Europe was built on slavery?, if a real discussion on race, in any country is to be correctly debated. While all of these statements/comparisons are true, historically, they only have meaning if used as a means of understanding, and finding a solution, to similar issues, in our modern time, in specific countries, such as The People?s Republic of China.  
 
I am sure that Californians (Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics and Mexicans)would have no desire to hand back their land to Mexico. This is certainly not the case in Tibet and Xinjiang. The question that has to be asked then, is what has gone wrong in China?s attempt to gain respect and loyalty from the Tibetans and Uygurs.  
 
1. In Tibet, like Xinjiang, the economy is dominated by ethnic Han (at least Chinese people pretending to be Han). 
 
2. The Chinese, in general are atheists, whose only loyalty is to the god of money. 
 
3. The Chinese government has redirected so much water from Tibetan river systems, that much of the grassland, of past, is now desert, forcing Tibetan Pastoralists off their land and into a life of poverty within the cities, where they work for Han Chinese. 
 
4. The Chinese government has become extremely aggressive, developing mining projects throughout Tibet, but few Tibetans have been employed. In fact the majority of mining jobs in TIbet, are held by the Han majority. 
 
5. In Tibet, the Communist Party (The Overlord) is controlled by the Han Chinese with the local Tibetans operating as messengers. 
 
6. In Xinjiang, the majority of City businesses are owned and operated by Han Chinese. 
 
7. Again, the Uygur are deeply religious, whereas the Chinese are atheists, or should I say, prefer to worship the god of money. 
 
8. Xinjiang was traditionally a pastoral economy with families migrating with the seasons. The Chinese, throughout their history, have never been pastoralists, and in fact regard such life culture as that of barbarians. 
 
9. Today, Xinjiang is the bread basket of China. China has developed a huge wheat agri-business, in Northern Xinjiang, using underground water to irrigate the fields. The result, is such overkill, that today most wells used by the pastoral Uygur are dry. Even worse, the underground aquifer has been drained to the extent that the land is collapsing. In fact, there are parts of Urimchi (The capital city of Xinjiang), where the land has totally collapsed. Yet, knowing of this problem, the Chinese government has done nothing. Believe me when I say, the Chinese are good talkers about environmental responsibility, but in practise, thay remain totally destructive. 
 
10. Again, the Chinese government has invested heavily in mineral mining in Xinjiang, yet, the ma
More....

At last a more accurate narrative has been posted on the idea of there being a historical China. Really can anyone believe that the Manchu, after conquering the Ming Empire, quickly moved to dump their own heritage for the prestige of calling themselves Chinese. After all, why immediately after conquering the Ming Empire, did the Manchu implement a law (The Queue Order - 剃髮令), requiring all Ming Chinese men adopt the Manchu hairstyle. The hairstyle (Queue) consisted of the hair on the front of the head being shaved off above the temples and the rest of the hair braided into a long ponytail. The ponytail was never to be cut for it would justify execution as treason. The Queue was forcefully introduced to the Chinese by Nurhaci in the early 17th century after the Qing (Manchu) Empire defeated the Ming forces in northern China, and annexed all of the Ming territory into the new Ching (Manchu) Empire. Once firmly in power, Nurhaci commanded all Chinese men in the areas he had conquered to adopt the Manchu hairstyle. The Manchu hairstyle was significant because it was a symbol of submission to Manchu rule. The queue also aided the Manchu in identifying those Chinese that refused to accept Manchu domination after the collapse and extinction of Ming (Chinese) Empire. There again, why was a law enfored, in Beijing, requiring all people of Manchu blood, to live in the north of the city, and the non-Manchu (the Chinese) to live in the south of the city 
 
This honest view of history also brings light to the reality of the Yuan Dynasty, which in truth was never a real state on its own, but instead a province of the Mongol Empire. If anything the Yuan Dynasty was a toy for Kublai Khan who liked the theatre of pretending to be a celestial being, in the Chinese tradition. Really, the Mongols came from the other side of the Great Wall, the side designated by the Chinese, as the land of the barbarians (NON CHINESE). This was why the Great Wall was built, and thus, the Great Wall was more than a barrier to northern tribes, it represented the northern boarder of the Ming Empire (in fact all south east Asian empires, including the Chin, Han, Wu, Tang, Sung etc.) 
 
I will write more tonight on this very interesting subject after I finish reading my latest issue of “Evolution and Human Behavior”. In the July issue, there is an article which correlates nicely with the fate of past Chinese empires, and the fate of the present Communist Chinese Empire. 
 
Evolution and Human Behavior 
 
Volume 30, Issue 4, Pages 261-273 (July 2009) 
 
The evolution of conformist social learning can cause population collapse in realistically variable environments 
 
Hal Whiteheada, Peter J. Richersonb 
 
Received 26 June 2008; accepted 8 February 2009. published online 22 April 2009. 
 
Abstract  
 
Why do
More....

What would be interesting is seeing whether the same transcriptionally-active processed retrotransposed copy of the FGF4 gene, plays a part in the low cancer rate seen in dogs with short legs.

The below article was published today in Hong Kong?s leading, and only, english newspaper. There were several english language papers before the hand-over in 1997, but over the past 12 years, the idea of english, as the essential international language, somehow has been squashed (In comparison, the Mainland Chinese population, has the opposite idea, with the result being a population crazy about learning english.) Now, our kids (our Hong Kong Chinese kids): 1) can?t speak proper cantonese, 2) speak lousy mandarin, 3) can?t read or write proper traditional Chinese characters, 3) can?t read or write modern simplified Chinese characters, and 4) can?t speak or write proper english. Basically, the idea of being bastards left over from our British past, and believing we are superior to all of the peasants across the border, has totally ruined the future of our kids. So, putting Mainland China to the side, an even better Chinese population to study, on ethnic harmony, is Hong Kong, since we basically represent every ethnic group from the Ching Empire Period, along side white Russians, Anglo Saxons from Britain, North America and Australia, as well as Dutch, Portuguese, Arabs and a host of other nations, making Hong Kong a living United Nations. If you asked a Hong Kong person which ethnic group they associate with, most will say ?I?m Hong Kong Chinese?. Notice the ?Han? bit is not included. Is Hong Kong an ethnic identity, well, to be honest, it is now. Certainly, some Honkies identify with a heritage from Shanghai, although, Shanghai is really, sort of, a sovereign city state, within Greater China. And of course, in truth, Shanghai is a product of the West when in the 18th Century the 1st foreigners (Trash from Europe, and every where else) started trading from a small fishing village on the north east coast of the Ching (Manchu) Empire. Business was so good, millions of Ching traders, from many ethnic groups (some of which were Han), took up residence, and today identify 100% as being Shanghainese. Believe me when I say that to the Chinese, ?Shanghainese is an ethnic group?. 
 
As with this particular blogg, the narrative of the below SCMP article offers a simple analysis of a major problem orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party, over the past 20 years. The major problem is NATIONALISM, and the new idea of what it means to be Chinese. One would have to have lived with the Chinese, in they?re country, to truly appreciate the financial benefits of the new Chinese economy, and the social mess created, after the Chinese Government propergander machine brainwashed the whole population of China into believing they descended from a glorious Han Empire. The result is a total reclassification of the Chinese population, with the majority, of course, opting to be considered Han descendants in order to capitalise by using Han heritage, as a means of gaining a good job, and ensuring social stability (no suspicious work colleagues or neighbou
More....

Personally I believe Razib?s comments to be spot on when discussing all comments on the subject of this blogg. The nation, which in our modern time, we call China, had during all past Empire periods experienced economic glory, and a very happy population, which like today, was made up of multicultural, multiracial groups. When did things turn sour, and turn all of the happy parties into unhappy ranting groups, who naturally, like our modern period, used race and culture as building blocks, to justify, they?re complaints about the so called dominating Han. Well, climate change, drought, collapse of agriculture, selfishness, jealousy, and the usual case of corruption.  
 
The Chinese, have one great virtue, and one great problem. They are born businessmen. The perfect money making machine, which does not like paying tax and sharing they?re wealth. Not all Chinese are this way, but unfortunately, the majority are. Take the recent case of China bashing in Papua New Guinea, where the indigenous people of the country ransacked Chinese owned shops, accusing the Chinese owners of stealing from the Papua New Guinean people. Was this really a true case of the Chinese exploiting the indigenous people, or a case where few locals owned businesses which sell goods at a cost which benefits the local population.  
 
Lets be honest. There are certain populations, world wide, which are savvy when it comes to business, and other populations totally hopeless as business owners, but who make good employees. In other cases, particular populations are even hopeless employees, with no understanding of responsibility. This problem, unfortunately, is the case in Xinjiang, and Tibet. Does this really mean there is racial disharmony amongst China?s ethnic groups ?  
 
So, naturally, all comments on this blogg have points which contribute to the discussion. With regard to the WSJ article (Ethnic fault Lines) by Dru C. Gladdney. Maybe he should have made a comparison to the recent 1992 riots in Los Angeles (Rodney King Riots), between blacks, hispanics and whites, who went to war over the basic problem of feeling socially and economically left out of the greater economy. Or the race riots in Detroit during the Great Depression, due to colour discrimination, because US banks denied American Blacks the right to bank loans to purchase a house. Surely, with the racial tension seen even today, during the Obama/McCain election campaign, where white Americans openly argued that Obama was a Arab, and therefore not fit to be President, such foolishness, using racial identity with nationality only proved the simple point, that all colours are capable of using race as an economic tool to knock successful citizens out of the prize of having a good life. Does China have ethnic and social problems. Most definitely - YES. Can they solve their problems. Most definitely - YES. Should the world stop knocking the Chinese Government and the idea
More....

Here is another article, published today by the China Academy of Science, who are claiming that both the Hakka and Chaoshanese are both Southern Han. Of course, published my motherland scientists, the government demands that up to 90% of the population are Han. But did the Han genotype, from such a small geographic land mass, really have such dynamite ability to breed, all other pre-Han populations into extinction. I don't think so. More likely, many non-Han populations, have over the past 2,000 years taken Han names, as a means of gaining economic benefits, and of course decreasing discrimination, by being not a member of the mother-blood line. 
 
Looking at the physical characteristics of Northern Mongolians (Square Face, Short limbs in relation to spine length, square hand and short fat fingers etc.), yes it is true that migration of the Northern Mongolian phenotype to the south, placed Han looking populations amongst the dominant Southern Mongolian population, and that mixed marriage produced hybrid groups. But, many people of southern Chinese extraction, became southerners, because they were running away from the idea of being Han, such as the Chaozhou (Chiu Chow in Cantonese, or Teochew in Fujianese/Hokkienese), who migrated south from the Central Plaines during the Jin Empire Period (I doubt the Jin considered themselves Han). 
 
I suppose my question, in questioning the idea of their being a super Han Race, is simple. Why do historians, and mainland scientists continually stick to such an undefendable idea, that the dominant race in China is made up of descendants of a Empire that died 1,800 years ago. 
 
Here is the article: 
 
American Journal of Physical Anthropology 
 
Research Article 
Tracing the origins of Hakka and Chaoshanese by mitochondrial DNA analysis 
 
Wen-Zhi Wang 1 2 3, Cheng-Ye Wang 1 2, Yao-Ting Cheng 1 2 3, An-Long Xu 4, Chun-Ling Zhu 1, Shi-Fang Wu 1, Qing-Peng Kong 1 2 *, Ya-Ping Zhang 1 2 5 * 
1State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, People's Republic of China 
2KIZ / UHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Diseases, Kunming 650223, People's Republic of China 
3Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China 
4College of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen (Zhongshan) University, Guangzhou, 510275, People's Republic of China 
5Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resource, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, People's Republic of China 
email: Qing-Peng Kong (kongqp@yahoo.com.cn) Ya-Ping Zhang (zhangyp@mail.kiz.ac.cn) 
*Correspondence to Qing-Peng Kong, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Ch
More....

Are the Southern Yueh People really Chinese. NO. Are the Northern and Central Plains People Chinese. Well that depends on who you ask. Did the Manchu people read and write the language of Man Da Ren - Manchu Big People (Mandarins' of the Ching Imperial Court), or a Chinese language. Well, that also depends. Traditional Manchu is a syriac language, similar to aramaic, so goodness knows how much language engineering, over the past 100 years, has gone into turning the language of the Imperial Ching Court (The Manchu People), into a Chinese language which used oral Man Da Ren, by also uses a character (Ideographic) based written script.  
 
Are the Uygur people Chinese. NO. Should they be given independance. Definately NOT. Economically, the Uygur are totally linked to the national economy of China. This is a simple truth defined by history. But of course, this does not mean, the Uygur are not provided opportunity to extend they're economic clout in the modern China economy.  
 
The truth is that Modern China, like the United States, and the European Union, represents a multi cultural, multi ethnic civilization. The hope for everyone is that this truth is grasp by all people, including the Han and Uygur and used in a positive way.  
 
In closing, I sourced the below short article, on the genetic differences between northern and southern populations of east Asia, commonly described today, as being Chinese. 
 
TAIPEI TIMES 
Tracing Taiwanese bloodlines 
By Tsai Ting-i 
May 6,2001. 
 
Taiwanese have long faced a crisis of identity. The people who call this island-nation their home have been ruled by a wide range of foreign governments. Trying to shed light on this complex issue, a blood geneticist at Mackay Memorial Hospital recently released a report on the origins of the Taiwanese people which shows that Taiwanese and Hakka bloodlines can be traced back to the Yueh ethnic group, and not northern China as has long been assumed.`Taipei Times' reporter Tsai Ting-I spoke with Dr Lin Ma-li yesterday about the implications of her research 
 
Taipei Times: How did you get involved in your current research. 
 
Lin Ma-li (???): I originally spent 10 years studying the origins of native Taiwanese [ie, Aboriginals], but I discovered that Taiwanese were not very interested in this type of research, despite the attention international research institutes have paid to the genetic purity of Taiwan's Aboriginals. After publishing my research on the Aboriginals I received many e-mails from Taiwanese who were interested in learning more about their origins, but refused to consider themselves Han (an ethnic group from northern China). Since I had already studied native Taiwanese I decided to switch my research focus to the origins of Minnan and Hakka people [descendants of early settlers from the southeast coast of China]. I didn't
More....