Actually, prometheus, according to Chinese culture, it doesn't matter how many generations you have been away from China, if you have Chinese blood in you, you are Chinese.
What is 'Chinese blood'?
For example, I was born in HK and grew up in Australia, and when I am in China and tell people I am Australian, they always correct me and say that I am a Chinese who is an Australian national.
That is their xenophobia, almost often harmless. The actual Australian people are the aboriginals. But of course even they come from asia and them from Africa.
It is done often by many people. It had to do with prejudgement, etc.
A few years back, the Chinese government gave a scholarship to an African girl, who looks nothing like a Chinese person, but whose ancestry could be traced to a Chinese person who arrived in Africa as one of the early Chinese explorers several hundred years ago.
Ah, Zheng He. Well, that's their laws. I don't say they can't use their laws. But what they are doing is giving people with a Chinese ancestory a scholarship. Now you may claim that this person has 'Chinese blood' but there is no such a thing.
But he said, if a Korean from Korea said, "He is really Japanese" (which they do), then he feels very hurt, because in his mind, he is still Korean.
So what does he think is Korean about him? A person is neither Japanese nur Korean. A person has a particular background. I must assume that person does not have a Korean background. He may absorb particular parts of Korean culture.
But do you realise that if that person is going to live in Korea and gets a korean passport he has to give up his Japanese passport?
Same thing happens in my country with people from Morocco. Here they are Moroccan. But in Morroco they are Dutch. That's xenophobia for you just there.
Also, about the passport thing. States still seem to view their citizens as their subject. One cannot have two passports. 'Where lies there loyalty?'-issues. Stupid things like that.
Do you realise your idea is a double edge? What if someones ancestors came from China and now live in Europe but aren't viewed as Europeans. But they do feel European. They like European things. But the European people view them as Chinese and thus not European. But this person cherishes her Chinese ancestory. She still speaks the language of her parents, eventhough she is also fluent in German/French/Dutch and English. She still likes rice more than potato's, etc. The European people all think that she needs to assimilate all European culture and abandon all cultural influences of her parents to become a 'true European'.
What do you say to that? That's just what you are proposing. If you are from China then you can never be anything else. Right?
If I come to China tomorrow and I tell people in English that I feel Chinese people will laught at me. Why? Because to them it is a stupid statement. Same as with your friend. Maybe she or he really 'feels' Korean, whatever that means, but you can't expect people to understand that. Particulary with the narrow view you seem to propose.
According to you there is no Chinese person on this earth. They all came from Africa. No wait, they all came from the ocean.
And maybe someday it will be discovered that life came to earth through a microbe from Mars on an astroid. Then we are all martians, eventhough that microbe didn't have 'martian blood'.
So please respect my culture, and that of mycrabface, and not impose your rigid views on us.
Uuh... I haven't talked about Chinese culture. Let me say that I will not accept culture blindly just because it is culture. In Ethiopia they circumsize female genitals. It's their culture. I still think it is immoral.
I think we should have diversity of culture. Go and make your Chinese foods in Europe, US, Malaysia or Japan. But just for the sake of diversity and richness. Not because your culture is somehow better because it is yours.
As for rigid views. The whole point I am talking about is stupid use of nation names, racism and xenophobia. Come on, 'Chinese blood' is a racist idea. Even if it is not meant negative or hateful.