Uyghur
children in China's Western-most Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region:
Like the Tibetans, Uyghurs believe that Beijing is intentionally
undermining
their culture by encouraging Han Chinese migration.
China Daily, People's Republic of China
Like America, China, Too, Must Confront Racism and Prejudice
Is the deadly
rioting in China's western-most provinces driving a public relations policy
change in Beijing? According to this op-ed from state-run China Daily, just
as in America, Chinese society is due for an open discussion on prejudice.
On the face of it, it's hard
to imagine a top African-American scholar in the U.S. falling victim to racial discrimination
when the leader of the free world is also Black. Yet that's exactly what
Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. claims he suffered on July 16, when a White
policeman arrested him at his home after reports were made of a suspected
burglary. Sergeant James Crowley reportedly chose to handcuff Gates rather than
accept that the professor was the rightful resident.
The incident continues to be
fiercely debated in the U.S., with President Barack Obama inviting the two to
the White House to help resolve the issue after he escalated tensions by saying
that the police had "acted stupidly."
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Unfortunately,
what happened to Gates is not totally unimaginable in our country today.
In China, there have been
recent reports of rumblings from the African community in Guangzhou, capital of
Guangdong Province, of being unwelcomed and "harassed" by authorities
targeting illegal immigrants in the city - more so than how other foreigners
there such as Westerners are treated. All because of the long-held perception
among many residents that Africans there are lowly paid and, therefore, often
associated with criminal activities, local media reported.
Over 100 Africans subsequently
protested at a local police station in the city, after one of their kind leaped
to his death from atop a building to evade police, who were checking African
passports. Police maintain that no one died in the incident.
Even now, Guangzhou residents
might admit using the generic and derogatory term hei gui or "black
devil" to refer to Africans in their community.
Conversely, a February 6 commentary
in the Beijing-based publication Elite Reference illustrated a modern
twist on the Chinese idiom, yi bai zhe bai chou (White skin can hide a
hundred flaws) - used originally to praise the porcelain white skin of a
traditional beauty.
The article spoke of how a
Scottish English teacher in Guangzhou discovered his school's policy of hiring
only White faculty. "Based on my experience, I don't believe for a moment
that China is free of racial discrimination," the teacher said. "Many
people just avoid mentioning the issue."
As someone of Chinese descent
who has studied and worked in countries including Japan and the United States, I
too have been stereotyped in varying degrees, solely because of the way I look.
Who can confidently say he or she at first impression has never felt similarly
treated, particularly in a foreign land?
Even in my current working
environment, which emphasizes the use of English as a first language, I must
constantly grapple with my race and identity in dealing with colleagues who
come from other corners of the English and Chinese-speaking worlds.
I suspect that many other
foreigners here will have to confront similar issues, as Chinese cities become
more cosmopolitan and need more international expertise to ensure the country's
development.
That
means ensuring that merit, not mere appearance, matters the most.
