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Rumpelstiltskin
PopStar
Joined: May 13, 2009
Posts: 1293
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
July 17, 2009 - 12:15 AM |
 
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| Post subject: A Rare prοtest by Foreigners in China |
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2009/07/16/a-rare-prοtest-by-foreign ers-in-china/
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China has seen its fair share of anti-foreigner prοtests, from the Boxer Rebellion to the May Fourth movement, and, in more recent decades, more generically termed demonstrations against Americans, Africans, Japanese and the French.
Yet for all the expat grumbling about living in China, public prοtests by foreign residents are virtually unknown, perhaps tempered by the awareness that we are here by choice, live in relative comfort, and would likely achieve little more than a swift deportation.
But, reflecting the very different world in which some migrants live, Wednesday saw a rare prοtest by over 100 African residents of the southern city of Guangzhou.
According to Xinhua, at least one person died during a brawl that erupted after police raided a Guangzhou clothing market to check passports and visas. A Guangzhou police statement said that two foreigners were injured after jumping out of a second-floor window during the raid, but the statement did not mention any deaths, according to the AP. Other reports said that the deceased was a Nigerian national (subscription required).
Tens of thousands of Africans, most from Nigeria, live in Guangzhou, forming a community that has been dubbed “Chocolate City” by its Chinese neighbors. Those who come are mostly traders and small business owners who see a world of opportunity in the south China trade hub. It’s a striking side effect of China’s increasingly prominent trade and investment activities across the African continent. As Africans come to identify China with well-heeled entrepreneurs in suits who carry leather briefcases, more and more are clamoring to come to the source of perceived wealth.
But among China’s expats, most Africans fall into a less privileged underclass, forced to deal with fear, ignorance and racism while struggling to make a better living than back home. (For more, see this translation of a Southern Metropolis feature story on the experiences of several migrants, as well as this recent piece from the New Yorker).
It’s not easy for many Africans to obtain Chinese visas, so the recent round of restrictions on visa extensions ahead of the 60th anniversary of PRC’s founding has likely heightened tensions among those who fear that, if they have to go back, may have a hard time returning to China. Some take a chance by staying on illegally, and Wednesday’s prοtests appear to have been triggered by efforts to crack down on undocumented residents. |
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Havard
Reacher
Joined: June 21, 2005
Posts: 313
Status: Offline
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| Posted:
July 17, 2009 - 09:16 AM |
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Tens of thousands of Africans, most from Nigeria, live in Guangzhou,
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Some sources estimate that the actual number is much higher than this.
A few locals begin to realize the increasing number of Africans around them in Guangzhou.
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Rumpelstiltskin
PopStar
Joined: May 13, 2009
Posts: 1293
Status: Offline
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July 17, 2009 - 10:50 AM |
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Luckily when China really gets tired they can simply take them all and deport them, no fake political correctness here...EU can not do that, now some EU countries at sea would like to dump some of their African "problem" onto countries who does not have it... |
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Havard
Reacher
Joined: June 21, 2005
Posts: 313
Status: Offline
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July 17, 2009 - 11:14 AM |
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Luckily when China really gets tired they can simply take them all and deport them,
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That is only in theory. |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
Status: Offline
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July 17, 2009 - 01:02 PM |
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EU can not do that, now some EU countries at sea would like to dump some of their African "problem" onto countries who does not have it...
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Nonsense. EU governments welcome those immigrants, in spite of some occasional pre-election rhetoric. They are there to keep local salaries in check, that would otherwise be much higher. Increased tensions with the locals also help fuel the "Islamic threat" and other "war of civilizations" scam. |
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My pro-Madoff signature was censored by antisemite moderators! Free Madoff, the Dreyfus of the XXIth century! Bomb Iran! Down with antisemite moderators! |
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Cambronne
Wonder Wit
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 3551
Status: Offline
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July 17, 2009 - 01:04 PM |
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Btw I did not understand what these people were protesting about. I assumed the guys who jumped from the window, in the story quoted, were outlaws of some sort. I personally would not jump out of the window is the police wanted to control my ID, as I have my resident card and everything else in order. |
_________________
My pro-Madoff signature was censored by antisemite moderators! Free Madoff, the Dreyfus of the XXIth century! Bomb Iran! Down with antisemite moderators! |
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Havard
Reacher
Joined: June 21, 2005
Posts: 313
Status: Offline
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July 17, 2009 - 01:55 PM |
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^ Why protesting?
Don't you it is fashionable to prοtest against China? It's rock & roll! |
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tihZ_hO
Post Roaster
Joined: Feb 17, 2004
Posts: 4180
Location: Shanghai / Jakarta
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July 23, 2009 - 12:50 AM |
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I laughed out loud at that one and so did my wife! haha!
Just add some Native Americans and some good ole boys you could have "Neapolitan City"  |
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Battered deep fried butter, donut hamburgers, is it any wonder America has more body mass than China. China is the counterweight for America or else the Earth would be unbalanced and fly into the sun. |
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Shangstar
Fire-eater
Joined: Feb 07, 2008
Posts: 2772
Location: Spitland
Status: Offline
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July 27, 2009 - 04:38 PM |
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Tens of thousands of young English teachers, most from the USA, live in Shanghai, forming a community that has been dubbed “Trash Town” by its Chinese neighbors. Those who come are mostly losers in their home countries who see a world of opportunity in Chinese women, of the variety they could not dream about without wetting their beds. It’s a striking side effect of China’s prominent take-over of the American state. As more and more young American dropouts come to identify China with nice looking women who carry leather whips, more and more are clamoring to come over to lose their collective virginities.
But among China’s foreign English teachers, most fall into an underclass of illegal immigrants working on tourist visas, forced to drink in dive bars, and endure severe culture shock at using chopsticks, while struggling to make a better living than back home.
It’s not easy for foreign English teachers to obtain Chinese visas due to their abject lack of qualifications and experience, so the recent round of restrictions on visa extensions ahead of the 60th anniversary of PRC’s founding has likely heightened sexual tensions among those who fear that, if they have to go back, may have a hard time returning to China. Some take a chance by staying on illegally, while the rest of us can only hope that their presence shall reinforce efforts to crack down on incorrectly documented English teachers.
English teachers in China taking a break from their strenuous workload:
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Charles Darwin: Differences between humans are differences in degree, not differences in kind |
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