, which is translated from
Didi Kirsten Tatlow, Cautious Chinese Gain Comfort With Hugs. New York Times, May 7, 2014
(“My mother-in-law [is Irish. T]he Irish, like the English, aren’t really known for overt displays of physical affection”)
My comment:
(a) “In hugging between Chinese and non-Chinese, it was non-Chinese who once foisted physical affection on the Chinese.”
(i) cn.nytimes.com’s translation: “以往中国人和外国人之间的拥抱都是外国人强加给中国人的。”
(ii) Wrong: not 强加, but the opposite.
(iii) foist (vt): “to introduce or insert surreptitiously” www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foist
(b) The “lock arms” is translated as “跨胳膊.” There was no such term in Taiwan (while I was there); indeed we did not know what 胳膊 exactly was. I thought 光着胳膊 referred to shoulders.