From: chuan@milton.u.washington.edu (Chuan "infamous" Lee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american
Subject: Re: Racism against WHITE in China??? (was Re: Caucasians don't understand
Date: 17 Aug 92 22:14:24 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <6242@ucru2.ucr.edu> lulu@ucrengr.ucr.edu (david lu) writes:
>when I was traveling in China a few years ago, I met these two
>European students who were traveling through China on a budget.
>They were literally broke when I met them.  They were trying to
>get way back to Shanghai, so they can get back to Europe (can't
>remember the country they're from).  However, because they are
>white, they have to buy bus tickets at a cost that is many times
>more expensive than what the native Chinese would have to pay.
>No, not for better seats (for there *are* no better seats in
>Chinese buses), and not for better treatment.  They simply *have*
>to pay the foreigner price.  It's the law.  Well, the european
>students cannot afford the more expensive price, but they can
>easily afford the native price.  However, the guy selling the
>tickets won't budge.  Since I speak English, and the europeans
>also speak a little English, I was able to get this information
>from them.  I'm Chinese and speak Chinese, so I argued for them
>with the ticket counter, but still can't get the native price for
>them.  I ended up buying the tickets for them at the native price,
>so that they can get to Shanghai and get the hell out of that
>country.  I *like* China, and it pains me to see how whites are
>treated like that.  I'm not sure why China insists on this policy.
>It's obvious that those two foreigners will *never* come back to
>China again.  And I'm sure that they will be telling their friends
>back home to stay away as well.

I traveled for 6 weeks in China last year and what you described
is the way the govn't intends it to be: BUT, not just to whites,
but to everyone who holds a passport.  Let me tell you some
stories here:

1) I was asked to pay double for an entrance ticket because I 'dressed'
   like a foreigner, by an 60-year old women.  I paid the normal fare
   after I lied that I was from Canton, with my Cantonese-accent Mandarin.
2) I tried to help 2 American students to get cheaper seats on a train
   from Shanghai to Xian.  The train captain insisted that all foreign
   'guests' must buy tickets for the luxury cabin, because "Aren't all
   American rich?"  After explaining the students' budget problem, for
   a long time and some back-padding (friendly gesture), I got the
   '2nd class' seats for the students.
3) I was with a tour group visiting the Tomb of Ch'in.  And all of us
   (1/3 from South Africa, 2/3 from Hongkong, me from US) paid 30 yuen
   for the entry tickets, while the locals pay only 5 yuen!  I ticket
   was already included in the tour package.  We are all overseas Chinese.
   We were taken advantage of; but discriminated, depends on how you
   look at it.
4) Same place at Tomb of Ch'in.  I bought 2 tickets for the 2 American
   friends whom I met earlier in Shanghai on the train, guest what, for
   5 yuen each!  They didn't get by this time though.  The doorman said,
   "You LOOK completely a foreigner.  How did you get these tickets?
   You have to buy the foreigner's tickets."  My friends didn't get in
   since they couldn't afford it.  Worse, the tickets were not refundable.
5) I wanted to buy an antique spoon for sourvenir at the Najing Museum.
   The sourvenir door had a sign said, "Foreign Guests only".  Besides,
   all sale items were priced in FEC (Foreign Exchange Currencies).  The
   Renmingbi (people's currencies) was not used here.

Below are my observations/conclusions:

* Local people are truely curious about foreigners.
* Some local people are really fed up with the discrination against
  their own people.
* If you look chinese enough :-).  Use Renmingbi to buy things, it IS
  cheaper.  Because the prices are based upon what currencies are
  being used (which supposedly indicates where you are from).
* Local people want to buy your FEC with a better exchange rate than
  what the gov't offers.  But then it IS somewhat illegal to use
  Renmingbi if you are a foreigner, overseas Chinese included.
* Another very important thing: many people are embarrassed to talk to
  you because they can't speak foreign language.  So don't take that
  as being discriminated if you are not served and feel the people are
  rude to you.
* They have to charge differently for foreigner because that is the
  only way they can finance and operate on those 5-star hotels.

Chuan Lee