New China, Old China... What's the Difference?

OSAFS by Chang-Rae Lee has danced around the idea of race. Throughout the story, race becomes a subtle yet important aspect of the events going on. There are many instances where the author purposefully (or not purposefully but probably purposefully) does not mention a specific race, but instead goes on to describe the character in other ways. Sometimes even referring them to abstract names that we have no idea the exact race of such as New China and Old China. On page 200, there is a quote saying "she didn't look like she was of New Chinese blood. There were some facilities that had experimented with bringing in groups from places like Vietnam and Indonesia and the Philippines but that didn't continue...". The author gives somewhat of a sense as to what New Chinese means, but does not explicitly state it. The reader is only left to assume things on their own. The ambiguity of race brings more weight on its significance and whether or not it may apply to the society in the world of the story. By associating a certain race with certain stereotypes and actions, one can easily assume things that the author may not imply. Thus, in making race abstract and unclear, Lee allows us to understand the book in a different lens. This can also tie to what we talk about in class with our definitions of what makes a piece Asian-American literature, specifically science fiction Asian-American literature.