Art is beyond ethnicity

Lei Yixin is not a household name in China. Even when he was selected as the sculptor for a monument to Martin Luther King Jr to be erected at the National Mall in Washington DC, it did not make the front pages of the Chinese press.

But in the United States, the news has sparked controversy. To put it mildly, a group of African American artists are questioning the wisdom of choosing a an Asian - even a non-American - for such a high-profile project. And to back up their argument, they have mixed politics with personal sentiments.

I can understand why they are not happy with the selection, which, by the way, was done by a 12-member committee, 10 of whom were African American.