>i admit i'm not as up on world history as some people here,
>but i did the english even colonize much of that part of the
>world?

The British had a stake in part of China, if I recall correctly - sphere of influence. They also colonized India.
The Dutch colonized Indonesia (East Indies, I think).
The French colonized Indochina, what is currently Vietnam and maybe also includes Thailand and Cambodia. That's why there's a lot of Catholic Vietnamese.
Portugal colonized the island of Macao, which is a part of China, I think.


>also, any comments on today's use of the word "asian", making
>it exclusively an almost exact synonym for what less informed
>people still call "oriental"?

I think 'Asian' is more inclusive than the term 'oriental.' Like you mentioned, it includes everything from the Middle East all the way to Japan. It's sort of like the word 'black' - you can be from any part of the world, but yet you are still 'black.'
I think in political terms, these terms (Asian, Black/African-American) are helpful in attempting to bring together people from different cultures, religions and socioecnomic backgrounds.