[TalnSG]

All of this assumes that the person's heritage is strongly one or the other of the races. Given the mobility throughout Asia, relying on physical traits can be a good clue, but its also a set up for failure. Even names and languages can be misleading.

You need to weigh the physical characteristics, cultural mannerisms, language & accent and the name before jumping to any conclusion.

I have a dear friend who is native Korean, but unless you knew his name or spoke to him in Korean you would think he was Japanese. After living there many years, his mannerisms and speech are primarily Japanese and his looks are blended enough to be of little help.

And after years of living around Vietnamese, I met someone the other day I would have sworn was northern Chinese or Korean and been very wrong since he and his family are from around Da Nang.