Patriot Number One

Abstract

A deeply reported look at the Chinese immigrant community in the United States, casting a new light on what it means to seek the American dream Nearly three years ago, journalist Lauren Hilgers received an unexpected call. "Hello, Lauren!" a man shouted in halting English. "We might be seeing you in New York again soon!" The voice belonged to Zhuang Liehong, a Chinese man who had been arrested in his home country for leading a string of protests, and whom Hilgers had met the previous year while reporting a story. Despite zero contacts and a shaky grasp of English, Zhuang explained that he and his wife, Little Yan, had a plan to escape from their American tour group and move to Flushing, Queens, to escape persecution back home. A few weeks later, they arrived on Hilgers's doorstep. With a novelistic eye for character and detail, Hilgers weaves their story with a larger investigation of the Chinese community in Flushing, one of the fastest-growing immigrant enclaves...