Here's a good question - when's the last time a major TV show had a British Chinese lead? (Hint: Sizeable numbers of us weren't born when it was last on our screens.)

The Chinese Detective?

Bravo Elizabeth

We need to confront the appearance of East Asians as the usual three-cornered stereotype of inscrutable/comical/seductive in both life and art.

It seems like the diet industry though - when one exploitation is confronted, the producers simply move on to another. When the East asian character is no more a figure of note for being their ethnicity than a black or asian one, expect a lot of Inuit comedy characters to appear.

Alexander, are you thinking of the Chinese Detective with David Yip, by any chance?

I can only think of 15 Storeys High, which wasn't really what you'd call major.

I've never had anything but the highest regard for the Chinese community in London. True to say I think the stereotypical view that they are all Kung-Fu experts and have completed their Maths A'Level by the age of 9 only reinforces the fact that they are perceived by me at least, to be above average in most things. To say nothing of their excellent cuisine.

I'm Indian, I can understand where you are coming from. I do think however that admiring the "cry racism at absolutely everything" attitude is hardly something to admire. Yes, shouting Jackie Chan at you is not funny - but is it really that bad? It's telling that the Guardian found "Come Fly With Me" more offensive than my parents, who actually found it funny. Scottsih, Welsh, Irish and English people have a healthy "relationship" where they can joke with each other without taking offence. As you have said, Chineese people (like Indians) do well where it really matters - education and jobs.

Just to make it clear, I'm not advocating racism, just a sensible attitude. Of course if someone at work is harrasing you because you are Chineese, you should complain. From what you write however, it seems that their jokes are borne from unfamiliarity as oppossed to malice. I'd be wary of encoruaging the victim mentality seen in other communities - and also be wary of assuming that other Chinese people secretly want to foster this kind of mentality in any case.

Ireland is worse. My wife, who looks Chinese, often gets yelled at by idiots, normally young men in cars.

Elizabeth objects to a racist situation where an ethnic Chinese is not allowed to take a white part in a play. Under current politically correct racist orthodoxy white people are not allowed to play black people in plays , so SNAP dear.

It's not just in Britain. You get it on New York's Broadway, too.

No, not in the King and I.

But in one of Papa John's 'Pizza Palaces'.

The reason the Chinese community has remained invisible to the guardian is probably because instead of complaining endlessly about discrimination leading to poor academic acheivement and a higher rate of imprisonment and failure to obtain professional jobs, it expended its energies on ensuring their children took best advantage of the educational opportunities available to them and concentrated on their careers and as a result it has generally performed better in all these areas.

Very well said.
The criers of "Jackie Chan" etc are being ignorant buttheads. The chances of eliminating that characteristic from the human race I would estimate at , roughly, doodly/squat.

Shouts of "Jackie Chan!" and kung-fu noises from random strangers continue to greet me in the street, perhaps followed by a "konichiwa!"

That is indeed absolutely disgraceful. My mind boggles at the sort of tit who would think that funny or acceptable, but I'd be confident in asserting that 99.9% of Brits wouldn't dream of behaving that way, yet you use it as an example to portray society as inherently anti-Chinese, which seems unfair.

Chinese men more likely than any other ethnic group to be in a professional job.

Also, doesn't this go some way to contradicting your idea of an anti-Chinese bias? It seems that like anybody else, the Chinese can work hard and reap the rewards. Sounds good to me. I don't like all these articles that bemoan the lack of black/female/disabled/chinese faces in the arts or politics, as those these 2 fields alone of the holy grail of human achievement. In reality, the vast, vast majority of white British folk are not involved in the arts of politcs either. They are barely relevant to most ordinary lives. Most people just like to work hard and have a quiet life. A lot of this just comes off as your own aspirational middle class bias.

It does seem to be a particularly acceptable form of racism. Every time we leave london my (Japanese) partner has someone shout "Gok Wan!" or the like at him on the street. Literally every time.

Part of her point, @sludge dear, was that there was no reason for it to be a white part. Jeez.

This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs.

So therefore said children have to endure racist sneers on the street on a weekly basis?

I did a monologue from The Good Soul of Szechuan instead, and another rushed up after one performance to tell me how delighted her parents had been that I'd spoken perfect English (I'm from Bradford).

So where did you learn to speak perfect English then?

To be fair it depends on the part. With some characters their race is central to the part. If so it’s only common sense that the actor should be of that race. So without knowing more about this part in question it’s really rather difficult to say if the writer was wrong to deny Elizabeth the part due to her race.

Jumping on the racism or anti-racism bandwagon without more information would be premature.

Elizabbeth,
try being ginger for a day then get back to me

The criers of "Jackie Chan" etc are being ignorant buttheads. The chances of eliminating that characteristic from the human race I would estimate at , roughly, doodly/squat.

Why? Do you still regularly see people shouting racism at black people on the streets? Sure it still happens, but it's waaaay more socially unacceptable.

If I were Chinese to any racial comment I would reply "And who's bailing you out?"

That should shut the morons up.

Also, in my relatively limited experience, the most commonly expressed stereotype held about the British Chinese is that they're hard working and just get on with it.

Is this offensive to lazy Chinese people, or those who like making a fuss?

I'd be confident in asserting that 99.9% of Brits wouldn't dream of behaving that way

I wouldn't be so sure - until I came back to the UK to live with my partner I thought the same. I've been shocked and appalled by how often people shout racist stuff to him on the street.

@Elizabeth Chan

Join the bandwagon, Many Britain's but not all have alot to answer for in terms of racism, both historically and current issues.
In terms of the Chinese experience the legacy of Hong Kong is the prime example and the negative aspects of the cultural influence including natives having two first name's one chinese and one anglicized.

How about a national apology from the Prime minister and maybe some compensation. :-)

Sadly, the British Chinese are reticent about speaking up for themselves, and simply do not have the numbers to make the same noise the black and south Asian communities do, whose vociferous and galvanising voices have been making waves against racism for decades.

The reticence has both good and bad aspects. It is a very bad thing when it leads to people not reporting that they have been the victims of racial crime, as you mention in your article, but a reluctance to complain about minor slights can also mean that one refuses to let other people's prejudices get you down.

When you say in the second part of that paragraph that it is sad that "[British Chinese] simply do not have the numbers to make the same noise the black and south Asian communities do" it seems to me that you are accepting a model that society should be based into racial interest groups who compete to make most noise. Increasingly, that is the way society seems to work these days, (with the whites starting to copy the apparently successful rhetoric of aggrieved group rights) but I think that is sad.

Sad to read that so little has changed. I lived in the UK in the early 70s and as I am a Chinese Eurasian I got used to silly remarks. Fortunately there were no Kungfu films (in English) so I was spared any comparisons. I always thought that literature was about the "human condition" and not about skin colour!

A 2009 study by The Monitoring Group and Hull University suggested that British Chinese are particularly prone to racial violence and harassment

It was quite shockingly high. While they constitute c. 1% of Manchester's populace, they accounted for 3.6% of victims in racist incidents.

So I agree: it does need to be confronted. Media stereotypes are probably more ambiguous - but how many Chinese-British journalists, editors, pundits, or characters in drama are present in the UK's cultural life? Too few.

Well said. I would love to see a greater variety or ethnicities in leading roles - I've always wondered why more producers/writiers don't do it , if only for added interest for the main characters. Who cares about some stereotype character? Nobody, you just let it pass with little notice. But playing around with stereotypes could be really fun and really helps to break them down! Not that it never happens, but not enough....

You're no doubt referring to The Chinese Detective but you've forgotten Burt Kwouk as Entwistle in Last Of The Summer Wine.

Though forgetting Last Of The Summer Wine is something we'd all probably like to do.

Chinese Britons are often referred to as a "silent" or "hidden" minority. For although we are the fourth-largest minority ethnic group in the UK, we are virtually invisible in public life, principally the arts, media and politics.

I followed that link. Fourth largest indeed!
The Chinese represent a whopping 0.8% of the population. Is it really any wonder that the Chinese are silent or hidden?

As usual this article has attracted the usual lazy "stop blaming all white people"/"you are saying we are all racists"

YAWN

Yes, by pointing out (very real) racism, what the victims are actually doing is personally attacking you.

the Chinese seem relatively content and well-to-do, with British Chinese pupils regularly outperforming their classmates and Chinese men more likely than any other ethnic group to be in a professional job.

I am sorry that racism has ensured that the Chinese are relatively content and well to do, that British Chinese pupils regularly outperform their classmates and Chinese men are more likely than any other ethnic group to be in a professional job.

We should do best to ensure that these enormous disadvantages are rectified as soon as possible, and that the achievments and expectations of the Chinese are lowered to be more in line with the average for the country as a whole.

Less of the anti-Bradford sentiment :)

This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs.

Elizabeth objects to a racist situation where an ethnic Chinese is not allowed to take a white part in a play. Under current politically correct racist orthodoxy white people are not allowed to play black people in plays , so SNAP dear.

The usual stuff not comparing like with like. Imagine you're a black actor looking for work in Britain. The vast majority of the number of roles available are going to be white roles and the vast majority of them are going to go to white actors. And then imagine that you find white people are taking black roles also?

2001

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banzai_(television_show)

Valten78:

Jumping on the racism or anti-racism bandwagon without more information would be premature.

It would be overdue. The author provides the link to a University study which makes the matter plain:

With a 2001 Chinese population of 226,948, extrapolation suggests that
36,000 Chinese people may experience racial harassment in a year. Based
on these figures, it is reasonable to say that Chinese people in the UK are
disproportionately represented as crime victims, possibly more than any other
minority ethnic group. (p. 26)

So - yes: it's a serious problem, which has evaded significant notice.

All this article appears to say is that life isn't perfect for British Chinese. But it isn't perfect for anyone. Try being disabled for a day, whatever your race you will be discriminated against in all ways possible. Even the government calls us lazy, fraudulent scroungers and the media are happy to print it.

... and having racist abuse shouted at you every day is no real problem, right?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_the_United_Kingdom#2001_Census_ethnicity_results

For although we are the fourth-largest minority ethnic group in the UK, we are virtually invisible in public life, principally the arts, media and politics.

Not wishing to be condescending, but I'd always assumed that was a matter of choice. How many, for example, are even members of political parties, and out doing the grunt work delivering leaflets and knocking on doors, and trying to get a seat on the local council?

Sadly, the British Chinese are reticent about speaking up for themselves, and simply do not have the numbers to make the same noise the black and south Asian communities do, whose vociferous and galvanising voices have been making waves against racism for decades.

Whilst any racism is awful, my (white British) perception is that those groups probably get more stick than Chinese Britons.

By all means tackle racism wherever you find it: we have laws that will support you to the hilt. But don't overplay the outraged victimhood card here: it's not warranted.

My significant other is Chinese, and after three months in London, she refused point blank to even consider settling in Britain. To put this in perspective: she would have been quite happy to live in Italy (!??!!?). Mercifully, it was a legal impossibility.

....another rushed up after one performance to tell me how delighted her parents had been that I'd spoken perfect English (I'm from Bradford).

Perhaps they'd heard you were from Bradford.

(I'll get me coat...)

Anyway back to the main point, a friend of mine is of Chinese heritage (but was born and bred in Southport) and went to university in Leicester, which is a hotbed of racial tension anyway. She lost count of the number of times she had racial slurs lobbed at her on nights out (not always by white people either). The ‘Jackie Chan’ one was quite common, the real irony was that not only did she know no Martial Arts whatsoever but her white boyfriend, who was often with her, was a part time Ju-Jitsu instructor, which occasionally her detractors found out the hard way.

Good luck to the author, ignorant racism needs to be challenged wherever possible.

Bramhall:

I am sorry that racism has ensured that the Chinese are relatively content and well to do

No - the fact that they are 'relatively content and well to do' hasn't precluded victimisation on account or ethnicity. You're implying that victims should stop complaining. Why, exactly?

This comment isn't meant to justify racism, but overseas Chinese communities often fail to mention the blatant racism their relatives exhibit at home. Like yelling "Foreigner!" at the top of their lungs when the lone European traveller enters a train station in China. The silence after such comments isn't so much shame as it is complacency. Where the Chinese are the majority, their offhand comments about Africans will make you think twice.

What a brilliant article!

Some of things you mention are pretty odious, though unfortunately, it doesn't surprise me that some people in Britain know nothing more about Chinese culture than kung-fu and the names of their favourite take-away dishes.

Even as China continues to rapidly grow in international significance, I don't see whole swathes of British people actively taking more interest in one of the world's oldest and richest civilisations any time soon. I predict that we'll instead prefer to continue laughing at people mimicking the dodgy accents.

Consequently, I would guess the only way that the situation will improve, is when more people speak out against such casual stigmatisation and call it out for what it really is. Do you see any signs of growing assertiveness amongst Chinese Britons to suggest that this might happen?

I mean, as much as you will have the support of many white, middle-class, liberal-minded, Guardian-readers such as myself, the wider public are only really going to get the message if it comes directly from the peoples affected.

Elizabeth.

Racism is unacceptable. There's no excuse for it.

Only that its human nature from either a protectionist or simply bigoted point of view. It goes something like this: You are different to me so therefore you are a threat to be. You may steal my job/house/wife/girlfriend/daughter etc.

We are all capable of it.

I wonder, do minorities experience any racism from native Chinese in China or HK I wonder?

If the answer is yes then you shouldn't be surprised if it happens here.

Whilst any racism is awful, my (white British) perception is that those groups probably get more stick than Chinese Britons.

Well the figures seem to say the opposite

There seems to be a misconception that, unless the stats for everything reflect the racial proportions in society, that racism is present. Why is the low number of Chinese people in media "a great shame"?

I am not talking for Chinese culture here (although it wouldn't surprise me if it's exaclty the same), but many Indian parents don't see a career in the media as something for their children to aspire to. Academic success is emphasised heavily - and surprise, that's an area in which the Indian community does well. Of course this is a generalization (as any discussion on race is) but it demonstrates that the lack of Chinese presence on TV is highly likely nto to be due to racism.

And by the same token, you can't comend "over-representation" in certain areas whilst condeming udnerepresentation in others.

Finally, if all racism was eliminated from society, there would still not be exact representation everywhere. 5% or whatever of law firms wouldn't necessarily be black, 0.8% of travel agents wouldn't be Chinese etc. To infer racism primarily on the basis of representation ignores the vast differences in culture which mutli-culturalism supposedly recognizes.