Is the deadly rioting in China’s western-most provinces driving a public relations policy change in Beijing? According to this article from the state-run China Daily, just as in America, Chinese society is due for an open discussion on prejudice. Using the recent American controversy between Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and a White police officer as a jumping off point, the China Daily‘s Alexis Hooi warns readers that as China develops, it will have to shake off some bad habits.
For the China Daily, Alexis Hooi writes in part:
“Even now, Guangzhou residents might admit using the derogatory term hei gui or ‘Black devil’ to refer to Africans in their community. … a Scottish English teacher in Guangzhou discovered his school’s policy of hiring only White faculty … a modern twist on the Chinese idiom, yi bai zhe bai chou (White skin can hide a hundred flaws). … 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.”
By Alexis Hooi
July 31, 2009
People’s Republic of China – China Daily – Original Article (English)
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.
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