Stay Away from PRC at All Costs - Hate on the Rise

[Yohan]

@marcos

to demand extreme political correctness from Asian people is hypocritical

Wen I met the first time my Filipina foster daughter in 2007, she had never seen a foreigner before, in her village near Tagum, Compostelo, in Mindanao, there are no foreigners. She was afraid of me despite many talks on webcam before.

Reaction is really different from people, who are accustomed to foreigners - like Europeans travelling a lot or US-citizens with mixed communities next to them - or if you are somewhere in Asia, among people who all belong to the SAME ethnic group, speaking the same language, with same educational background.

Rich Japanese or poor Filipinos does not matter -in remote areas they show up with rather similar reaction when they meet unexpected totally different looking and speaking foreigners in their isolated communities.

Same of course in China in remote areas, people of entire small cities never have been abroad, never met a foreigner before, and same here in Japan.

About 'gaijin-discrimination', I take it easy. There are Japanese of course - very rare however - who do not want to have anything to do with foreigners, OK, so I am moving on, forget about me and good bye... and so what? Shall I file lawsuits?

Yes, I was controlled a few times by local Japanese policemen as I am often in remote areas in Japan related to my work. They are curious and why not? Really no bad intention.

The Japanese government issues to all registered foreigners an ID-card, which every policeman, hotel-staff during check-in etc. can understand easily. I see no reason why I should refuse to carry it with me at all times and feel discriminated because Japanese do not have such ID-cards - politically correct nonsense. I am not an illegal immigrant, I show them my documents and what's wrong with it?

Why did they stop me and not the Japanese who were leaving this small railway station together with me? What shall I do now? Shall I write a letter to the Ministry of Justice to complain or what? After 35 years in Asia, I have no problems with that.

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About Thailand, it is well-known that Thai police is corrupt - but in 35 years I never had a problem.

During my last stay in Thailand I was stopped by traffic police, the usual check of passport, visa, driving licence, motorcycle lights, tax/insurance paid, helmet on the head etc. and - nothing... I got my documents back, thank you and bye. The foreigner they stopped after me paid for sure... no helmet, even no number plate, open beer bottle in the basket...so he feels now maybe as a foreigner to be discriminated, because most Thai on motorcycle are also without helmet, without tax-label/insurance and drunk.

He was looking at me in front of these policemen, opening his wallet, asking me how much I paid to them and I said 'nothing'.
What? Nothing? He was asking me.

I told him, it is you and not me who is breaking the law. He was looking at me like if I am the man in the moon - a big smile from the Thai policemen and I was driving off - and now in his mind I am the big asshole-farang for sure.

If you are the Western foreigner living in such Asian communities, you have to adjust your life-style, no way around it. Also, let me say, keep your documents in order and respect the law - just my advice - if the Filipino or Thai is driving fully drunk in his country, it's their problem - it does not mean you also should do it...if they are selling illegal drugs, don't buy them... if other foreigners overstay their visa and live with expired passport, it's their problem, just don't do it and so on.

I am often called to be risk-averse, but better safe than sorry. That's better than 'political correctness'.

[Jester]

I'm not sure that this is ermane, but thought this would be a reasonable thread to post it on.

http://news.liveandinvestoverseas.com/c ... rettyPhoto

[yick]

I live in Central China and that has been my Chinese experiences from day one. So, I know it is from a few years ago.

Yes, they can be very xenophobic and nationalistic - I don't think they're particulary racialist - there are loads African students here where I am and they're not the recipients of violence or antagonistic behaviour.

Lots of black people in China are professional sportsmen - basketball and football/soccer players and there isn't any widespread booing, racist abuse or monkey chants from the fans here.

You'll always be a foreigner and you will never be 'accepted' which of course, bothers some people, white Americans who think that they should be accepted everywhere they go seem to care that some Chinese idiot won't accept them because they have learned Mandarin.

Most Chinese people are decent, you will be the recipient of more decency and kindness because you are a foreigner than they would be with someone who's a countryman - of course there are jerks and assholes here, where isn't there?

You have no real rights here and they can kick you out at anytime. You'll never become a citizen (though that might change in a few years...)

Women don't think you're any big deal because you are a white foreigner - you won't be treated like a god but you will be treated with utter decency when you prove you're a decent person! There was a few years where Napoleon Dynamite types lost their virginity to Chinese girls but now that segment of Chinese women have realised a lot of white western men are wankers who haven't got anything going for them, well, it is back to normal.

Yohan is right, people in this part of China have sometimes never met or spoke to a westerner before - you might be the first westerner they have ever spoke to and I always try and remember this though it is hard sometimes because they can be f***ing rude.