From: mark@cs.UAlberta.CA (Mark Green)
Subject: Re: Racism against WHITE in China??? (was Re: Caucasians don't understand
Organization: University of Alberta
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 16:29:11 GMT

In article <92229.214547ZQH@psuvm.psu.edu> <ZQH@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>In <1992Aug16.025209.24056@cs.UAlberta.CA>
>mark@cs.UAlberta.CA (Mark Green) writes:
>>There is a major difference between racism in North America and China.
>>In North America the racism is more subtle, while in China its blatant.
>>In some parts of China, a white person walking on the streets alone
>>can count on some type of physical attack on a regular basis.  Several
>>             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ???
>>times in a dining hall I've not been served while all the chinese sitting
>>                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ???
>>around have been served.  As far as the waiters were concerned I didn't
>>belong in China so I wasn't going to be fed.  With this type of racism
>>
>
>Racism against WHITE people in China???  Could you please elaborate
>the situations you encountered?
>
>As an English-speaking WHITE person, you should have been swarmed
>by hordes of VERY friendly & eager-to-please college students who
>try to practice English with you. 

Yes, this is definitely the case.  On university campuses I am usually
treated very well, and rarely have any problems while I'm on campus.
I have no complaints with student's or faculty and have many good
friends there.

> Other ordinary people should
>have paid much more respect and attention to you than to other
>Chinese --- the 5th or 6th class citizens.

This is where the problem occurs, once you are off campus the situation
can change drastically.  If there have been a large number of foreign
tourists or visitors in the city, then it is usually okay.  But, if there
have been relatively few foreigners in the area, then there can be lots of
problems.

>
>(FYI, foreigners from rich western countries --- 1st-class citizens
>      foreigners from other countries --- 2nd-class citizens
>      Chinese with foreign citizenships --- 3rd-class citizens
>      Chinese from HongKong & Taiwan --- 4th-class citizens
>      ethnic minorities in China --- 5th-class citizens
>      Han Chinese --- 6th-class citizens (lowest)
> according to the practices & written/unwritten policies of Chinese
> Communist Government).
>
>I am from Mainland China (I presume you were not talking about the
>other China --- the Republic of China/Taiwan) and I just can not
>believe you were treated as you claimed.  Maybe you just happened
>to be in a dining hall filled with the orthodox Communists (which
>is a really endangered species in Mainland China now :-) )  ;-) .
>

Yes, this is the typical opinion of a university educated person from
China.  When I have taken my friends from universities with me when I
have travelled off-campus, they have been shocked at the way I have been
treated.  They didn't believe my stories and had to see for themselves.
This is not intended to be a negative comment about China.  In most cases
it is quite innocent, the people involved have had very little exposure
to foreigners and are just curious.

Another point, I don't want to be treated differently from the local
people.  I don't need any form of special treatment, and sometimes this
special treatment can be more of a problem then a help.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american