A NY Times article reports that Chinese-language newspapers in America have recently been switching from up-down printing to left-right. This also means that what used to be the front page is now the back. Immigrants from Taiwan and Hong Kong were accustomed to the vertical positioning and also traditional characters. Communist China uses simplified characters and horizontal printing. The switch therefore, has an unintentional political overtone to it. Recent immigrants from mainland China are more likely to pick up a paper in left-right style. The publishers state that printing English terms is easier that way, and they are, after all, American newspapers. As can be expected, readers from different backgrounds have different reactions. One man states that children will be more inclined to learn Chinese if the paper is left-right, since it makes it easier for them. The article also mentions that most Chinese language websites use horizontal orientation as did many of the papers’ ads. It’s a strange experience to have the format of your reading material drastically altered. The fact that it also brings up cultural evolution and political divisions makes it a poignant one as well.