Racism isn’t a problem in China. That’s the official story you’ll read in the papers and hear on the streets, at least, and maybe there’s even a kernel of truth to it. Without a legacy of colonial activities abroad, the Chinese people are in many ways immune from attacks of historic racial discrimination. As China flexes its muscles internationally though, an increasing number of commenters are calling mainland behavior not only racist, but even representative of a new type of jianghu mentality. Is there any truth to this?
Joining Kaiser to talk about racism in China is Sinica regular and once resident of apartheid South Africa Jeremy Goldkorn, along with Charlie Custer, author of the popular China blog ChinaGeeks and survivor of a racial flare-up that involved some of China’s top bloggers. Shannon Van Sant, an independent journalist and filmmaker working on a project on Chinese investment activities in Africa, also sends us an audio postcard with some of her stories from the trenches.
