IN a new twist to America's growing thirst for political correctness, Asia's citizens are being defended against an unlikely enemy - the deaf.
Sign language, which was accused of sterotyping Asian characteristics in its series of symbols, has been changing to reflect changing attitudes, experts have revealed.
The signs covering most Asian countries have in the past been formed by twisting the index finger next to an eye to indicate a slant while the hand forms a letter to indicate the country: C for Chinese, J for Japanese, K for Korean and T for Thai.
Frederic Jondreau, director of the American Sign Language Institute,said the new sign for China or Chinese is to draw an inverted L-shape from the heart to the navel - the way Chairman Mao Zedong's favoured jackets are buttoned.
The sign can be embellished by putting the fingers together as if they were unfastening a zip.
Korea is now represented by a flat hand at the top of the head making what looks like a rice farmer's cap, not something a Seoul businessman might recognise.
America's deaf now sign Japan by pulling the hands away from each other vertically to form the extended silhouette of the country in the air.