By IANS,
Beijing : US President Barack Obama’s half-brother – who has adopted China as his country – has written a book which he hopes will help China and the US “understand each other better”.
“I hope my book will let Chinese people know more about some aspects of American life, and on the other hand, I hope it will help those in America and other parts of the world understand China,” Mark Obama Ndesandjo told the China Daily.
The Chinese translation of Obama’s semi-autobiographical book, “Nairobi to Shenzhen: A novel of Love in the East” was released in Beijing Friday.
The book – originally released in English in 2009 – is “part-fiction, part-fact” account of Obama’s journey to China.
“The book is not only about the theme of family, it’s also about China, it’s about Shenzhen,” he said, referring to the city where he has stayed for the past nine years.
Mark Obama was born to Barack Obama Senior’s third wife after he divorced the US president’s mother.
Born in Kenya, Mark Obama has a US citizenship and a physics degree from Stanford University. He came to China in 2001 after leaving his tele-marketing job following the Sep 11 attacks.
He said he was drawn to China to learn its language and culture while helping orphans learn to play the piano.
Mark Obama also adopted the Chinese name De Ma Ke.
He, however, said he was not sure whether he will stay in China or eventually move back to the US.
“Tomorrow I don’t know, but right now I am happy in China,” he said.