Chinese Owner of Amercia.com Says Romney Typo Is Helping Him Fund His Son's College Education
It was the typo mocked round the world, but it seems Mitt Romney's misspelled America is benefiting at least one person in the best way possible.
Shanghai native John Chen is the American-loving owner of the purposely-misspelled Amercia.com. He explained his 2009 domain purchase in an email to Mashable: "For us, Amercia is so near to America, and it makes us feel so close to the USA and it also reminds us that we must work hard to get near to our soul land."
A former news agency reporter, Chen believes the US "s the first real democratic country in the human history," and is raising his son, Blue Sky, to believe the same.
When Blue Sky was four he told his father that he wanted to dedicate his life to helping others. John responded that to do so he should first study in America, 'because USA is powerful, he can get help to help more people.'
Chen says he received four inquiries from parties looking to purchase Amercia.com from him in the wake of Romney's otherwise-embarrassing smartphone app flap. Though he wouldn't discuss exact sums, Chen did say that at least one offer was within range of his asking price, which was in the area of $6,000 to $7,000.
Chen plans to use the money to send Blue Sky to college in America. "As parents, we wish him healthy and happy, and the most important is, live in a country of freedom," he said. "That's why we tell him, ‘Smile, Laugh, Live a Powerful Life'."
For now, Amercia.com is still up for grabs. An auction is ongoing, with the highest bid currently at $2,200.
