The other students later went abroad, to Israel or the U.S., leaving Yu with an odd distinction: he's probably the sole Hebrew-speaking college graduate in a country of 1.2 billion people.

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Yu has never once said anything publicly about why he left.

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Yu said that because there are really no proven, bankable Asian actors he has little expectation of roles that might attract the academy going to Asian actors.

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He also raved about Beijing art duo Sun Yuan and Peng Yu's life-size sculptures of dinosaurs and rhinoceroses, which stood, like a scattered herd, in several fair booths.

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He steps out of a time machine, introduces himself as Charles Yu.

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He'd already fanned 14 at the start of the eighth, matching Yu Darvish of Texas for the highest single-game total in the majors this season.

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He is also known by the Cantonese spelling of his name, Wong Kwong Yu.

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