Working in China #2: Racism

[Tianjin42]

As mentioned in "Working in China #1", it was suggested that I discuss employment in China a little as our company is a recruitment group for foreigners over here. 

 

I was actually asked by colleagues to write a post recently so I will reproduce below. Basically we wanted to discuss the racism that we encounter and also open the floor for suggestions on how best to combat this. Any of your suggestions, comments or ideas are welcome:

 

"Last week I was asked to present a talk in Beijing on the hiring of foreign professionals in China. It is the opinion of my colleagues and I that any discussion of this topic must include at least a reference to endemic racism. Given the sensitivity of the topic, it seems that a number of groups involved in recruitment in China avoid the issue somewhat. Having discussed this issue in detail with both Chinese and non-Chinese staff we feel it is best to address the topic clearly and openly.

 

What I would like to do here is briefly discuss our experiences and the manner in which we try to combat racism in professional circles. I would then very much like to hear your experiences and also any suggestions for remedying the situation.

 

Anyone with working experience in China will probably be aware of the casual overt racism that exists here. Whilst I would argue that the nature of the prejudice isn’t as malicious as often encountered in the west, it obviously has negative effects all the same. Personally I recall the shock, first reading ads that asked for white only candidates, or meeting clients who would quite happily suggest the same.

 

The initial reaction is to recoil but over time and having sat down with various specialists in the area, we decided the best option here was dialogue. We devised a “Race Positive” policy whereby we would speak to clients in detail and explain the issue as we saw it from an international perspective as well as providing success stories. This isn’t successful across the board but we have persuaded a number of clients to consider candidates they were not willing to consider previously. Of these, the vast majority formed successful working relationships.

 

Some credit to our local staff here who have approached this with zeal of converts and as requested, haven’t allowed me to simply preach but rather encouraged listening and engagement. The attitude in our offices now is that though we cannot solve the problem ourselves, we must be part of the solution.

 

We would be genuinely interested to hear if you have any experience of this in China and also if you have any further ideas about how to combat this problem."

[LiMo]

I can't offer any new insights as I've never been to China, but I would just like to offer my support and thanks to someone who is trying to change a very sad and lamentable situation. After initially falling in love with the Chinese language and dreaming of the day I could go to work there I was brought sharply down to earth by the now widely documented racism endemic in the culture. While I understand the reasons for it, such things are never an excuse and I had to do some serious soul searching to decide if I really wanted to put myself through such unpleasantness. I've now decided to persevere regardless, hopefully more people like you will continue to work to change things, maybe I will become one of them too

[goddess_hina]

Hello, 

 

As a foreigner, I know my own country have racists roots but coming to china so the single most interesting yet disturbing experience I have had yet as a person of color. A friend of mine landed a job teaching and he in turn stated that the school wanted me to also teach because they wanted native English speakers. I was thinking wow that's awesome, great I will do it. But the first day on the job was horrible; when the employer met me she asked if I was to teach and when I answered yes she was confused. Because my friend was a white american, I think she also assumed I would be a white american. She said she was disappointed that I wasn't white but that I would do. In my mind, I was thinking what kind of place is this to blatantly tell someone to their face that their skin color makes them valued less. 

 

I have had people tell me people of color can not come from America, I must be lying and be from somewhere in Africa. I have had people touch my skin, pull my hair and ask very offense questions that they feel they are entitled to. When I express my displeasure, it is ignored and they continue doing what they are doing. I often feel as if I am an amusement park for Chinese people to entertain themselves with. Now I know I embody the typical rude foreigner because if I am nice and friendly then I get photographed, my hair pulled and skin touched as if it doesn't matter what I want. 

 

I think the government needs to do some serious education and have public forums on issues of racism. They need to open up spaces at universities to talk about the issues. 

[kagato]

Do you have a link to "Work in China #1"?

[Tianjin42]

Thanks both for the comments.

 

Limo – I am sorry that those issues are such a barrier. I will add that the situation is improving and that in major cities things are (in some sectors) not so bad. But generally there remains a really serious gulf between what is happening on the ground and what is considered acceptable by the majority of the people on the forums, for example.

 

If you do make the leap to come out here then I wish you all the best!

 

goddess_hina – This is an interesting point. I certainly wouldn’t want to suggest that any country has become some sort of post-racial society but as your example suggests – there are still some major cultural differences over here. I feel your story might illustrate another point that we have noticed working in this field: it seems that whilst it in no way negates the offence, much of what is happening isn’t malicious as one would expect if found in the West. Whether it is in hiring practices, or inappropriate questions the issues seem to be borne out of ignorance rather than a deliberate decision to offend. Hopefully this suggests that this can in fact be remedied more easily than first appears. 

[imron]

Do you have a link to "Work in China #1"?

Click on user to view profile (or hover over user name)

Click 'Find Content'

Select 'only topics' to find topics started by this poster.

Scroll down and a bit, and here you go.

[Tianjin42]

Sorry - only just seen this question about the first post; must have missed it yesterday - thanks imron. 

[eion_padraig]

I live in Guangzhou. I'm a white, American. Recently, I was looking for apartments here, and I overheard several different real estate agents at different shops talking with potential landlords. They asked if they would rent to a foreigner. They would clarify I was American, and then in most cases they clarified I was white. I asked a few of the real estate agents about the conversations.

 

They first indicated that some landlords wouldn't rent to any foreigners. Others wouldn't rent to black foreigners. Others would rent to black foreigners, but would charge them more than others. Granted, I'm under no illusions that I'm getting as good a price as locals, but it's disappointing to see these attitudes. I asked what the rational for asking more money would be, and they tried to justify it as being due to the risk of damage to apartments being higher. Having seen some of the states that local Chinese leave apartments in after living there, I find that argument laughable.

 

Another friend of mine (a white American) was told by a potential landlord that it wouldn't be okay for him to bring black friends by the apartment. He passed on the apartment.

[Basil]

I once had a landlord that would adamantly only rent to foreigners. He said that local Chinese were so disrespectful to property he'd have to refurbish them after each tenant change. When he couldn't find foreigners, he just left them empty.

[roddy]

I was once looking over listings with an agent. One had a note along the lines of 'Mrs Zhang would prefer to rent to Japanese, as Japanese are clean.' So, y'know, some positive feeling for the Japanese out there...

[Basil]

These fifth columnist 汉奸 are everywhere these days... sheesh...

[Tianjin42]

Yes - I have actually met a couple of landlords who mentioned they preferred Japanese. One of them said "Even if we hate them and they hate us; they keep the place clean, pay on time and don't cause trouble".