OCCUPIED MONGOLIA

A Chinese student sat across from me in the hospital waiting room. Next to him, a woman with a bag of knitting planted herself. As she settled in, kneedles poking through holes in her knitting, she began to interrogate the Chinese student. 
  
— "Where are you from, dear?" she asked, meaning well. 
  
— "Inner Mongolia." 

Ask the question of a Frenchman, he names a department or region. Of an American or Canadian, the name of a state or province.   As an autonomous region, the naming Inner Mongolia was akin to an American naming Puerto Rico, or, a Briton, the Isle of Man or one of the Channel Islands.   You would be forgiven if you didn't know; and, so the woman pursued the logical line of questioning. 

— "Inner Mongolia? Is that, like, the centre of Mongolia?"

— "No." The Chinese student was gentle. "It is outside of Mongolia!"  

This confused the knitter. The student made a fist with his left hand, and, gently rocked it in the space before them both. 

— "This is Mongolia." he explained. With his right hand, he formed the broad out like of China below. "This is China." He pulled China's hand away, forming a pointer to the space below his fist. "This region is Inner Mongolia." 

He was beaming. The memory of home appeared fresh upon his face.

— "Oh!" said the woman in shock. "It is occupied, like Tibet?" 

Shock looked as if it might have been a tectonic plate.  And, it could be seen sliding from her face onto his.