I love China.
My time here has been one of the most exciting, interesting – and, I have to be honest, challenging – times of my life.
I will always love China and will always defend it from the prejudice they experience every day at the hands of foreign media and companies.
But there are some things here that I loathe.
Things that does the country harm.
Things that don’t actually represent what the majority think and yet validates the prejudice that other countries feel.
I wrote about one of these things recently, with the launch of ‘sports brand’, Uncle Martian.
But last week something even worse happened.
This.
I have to be honest, the moment I saw the first scene, I feared I knew what was going to happen.
And then it got worse that I ever imagined.
Apart from being utterly disgusting and distasteful, it’s an total blight on China’s international reputation and – it pains me to say it – so it should be.
I cannot believe that a nation with such strong censorship rules allowed this through.
I literally cannot fathom it.
It’s stupidity at a level that is beyond comprehension.
And what about the poor black guy in the ad? How desperate for money or fame must he have been to allow himself to be in this shit.
And the other actors … what the hell were they thinking?
And don’t even get me started on the brand who actually agreed to putting this thing out.
[This is what they said about it, which smacks of someone freaking out they’ve been “caught” by global media even though it’s pretty obvious they thought this would be a quick way for a small brand to get big attention]
I’m literally struggling to make sense of it. But I guess that’s because there is no sense to this … it’s racism on a level that beggars belief.
I hope the people who made it … approved it and commissioned it are all named, shamed and made to pay the price of their disgracefulness because what they have just done is promote hatred as well as damage China’s international reputation.
Do I think those people will care?
Probably not because otherwise they wouldn’t have done it … but I hope the Government do.
I hope the hundreds of millions of citizens who don’t think like this do.
And I hope they show it through fines and product boycotting. [They’re already expressing their disgust through social media]
Look, I’m not going to deny China has racism within the culture.
Sadly, most countries do.
Ironically, I have always felt their worst opinions are aimed at others from Asian countries rather than those from the West. In fact a black friend of mine who lived in China, once told me he felt it wasn’t that China didn’t like black people, they just don’t like anything different and to them, he’s just different.
Of course that is no excuse for this shit nor does it make it any better.
Frankly I am devastated about this. Devastated that these attitudes still exist. Devastated there are people who don’t think it is wrong to make an ad featuring this as their ‘storyline’. And devastated China has just taken a backward step in the minds of many across the World.
I would love to meet the people who did this and commissioned this and literally smash them in the fucking face.
They’re beyond racist. They’re stupid.
But then, when a country that claims to represent the Free World can have a presidential candidate who is the antithesis of it, I fear stupid is winning.
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Just to make sure no one is stupid enough to suggest only the Chinese are racist, watch this …
Yes, I know it reinforces the misguided belief China just copies what others have done rather than create it’s own thing, but that’s obviously, not the point I want to make.
Racism is everywhere and unless we fundamentally deal with it, society is on the fast track to devolution. A good way to start might be to get everyone to watch this.
Then stop Donald Trump.
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PS: I found it fascinating than in the recent Austrian elections, the narrow loser – a far right candidate – took the loss with grace. Despite supporters claiming he had been cheated, he knocked that talk on the head. I don’t – and never will – support his viewpoints, but I respect his acceptance. Now if only he could do that beyond just an election result. Trump take note.