Racial profiling at the Beijing airport?
A recent trip to the Beijing airport has shown me that racial profiling may be taking place here in the capital.
This past Friday I arrived at the airport at about 4:15 to pick up a friend who arrived here from Canada on his first trip to Asia. I was quite excited to see my friend, and waited patiently (with beer in hand) at the arrivals gate for him to come through. Given that he was on an Air Canada flight, there was an obvious delay. As such, I had nothing better to do than stand there and watch the comings and goings of my friend's fellow travelers that day. And what I began to notice was that the security at the exit point were systematically picking out black people who were coming through and taking them aside to search through their bags. In the span of no more than 15 minutes, at least 5 people who appeared to be of African decent were pulled aside and asked to open their suitcases for further inspection.
Now, to be fair, I didn't get an opportunity to speak to any of the people who were searched, as I had to stand and wait for my friend to arrive. And I also didn't get a chance to speak to any of the security staff about why they were conducting said searches (not as though they would have told me anything anyway) But, barring some insider information the security may have had about the people they were searching, it appears that they were specifically targeting black people for searches.
Being a white, Anglo-Saxon male, discrimination and racial problems were obviously something I didn't have to contend with living in my native Canada. However, upon coming here to China, I think I can relate to, with some modicum of understanding, the frustrations that minorities have to go through. But what was kind of surprising was the fact that people of African decent, the same Africa that China is bending over backwards to nuzzle into its bosom, were being targeted for searches. Ok, go down to Sanlitun on any given night and many an African gentleman will be trying to throw some 'poppa' your way. But the airport is not Sanlitun! Respectable people with legitimate jobs take flights. Sure, drug dealers take flights too. But I found it rather appalling that people of African decent were being singled out.
Of course, racial profiling is not a Chinese phenomenon. But as more and more people come to Beijing to witness the transformation of this city, I suggest that the authorities at the Beijing airport take a closer look at their policies if they do not want to be viewed as hypocritical.
Categories
Beijing4 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Racial profiling at the Beijing airport?.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.zhongnanhaiblog.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/150
The normal user would be under the impression that investing the time to gain intelligence on this subject is a waste of resources. Read More
Tylenol with codeine. Codeine and food. Codeine. Read More
Full tilt poker bonus codes. Full tilt poker. Full tilt poker review. Read More
Your business can take you anywhere you want to go. Just look at these few examples and see the pot Read More
What's wrong with racial profiling anyway? For example, if 80% of the drug traffickers caught are blacks, it's only logical to conduct more searches on blacks.
Chinese never discriminated against any race systematically like white people did to colored people in the past (slavery, segregation, Chinese Exclusion Act etc.), they don't have the kind of baggage white people have. In other words, they don't need to prove they are not racists.
In China, minorities including Caucasians (such as Tajiks, Russians) have more advantages than do the majority Han, so people don't have to deal with the political correctness BS in Canada and America, which are caused by what I call white man's "Guilt Complex." Many Chinese never met blacks, or whites for that matter, in their lives, this kind of sensitivity and awareness simply don't exist among the Chinese. Of course there are racial stereotypes on the individual level, but never on the society level. If a Chinese person stares at you or comments on your big nose or blond hair, don't take it as racism, take it as curiosity and ignorance.
How to get rid of the baggage you have? I'd suggest you demand your government pay the wages in full your ancestors owed to the descendants of the Chinese railway workers and the black slaves (maybe in form of a scholarship?) and do something about this http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2006/06/30/un-kusugak.html . Only then you can say I don't owe you anything anymore. Otherwise, no matter how you try to be politically correct, you'll still have guilt. Of course I am not a psychologist, nor am I trying to play one here, this is only my humble suggestion :-)
Here is an article you might be interested:
http://silkrc.com/chinadialogs/2007/11/16/black-like-me-in-china/
Sorry, I gave you the wrong link. Here it is the correct one:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/09/13/canada-indigenous.html?ref=rss
--Anon
Thanks for the comments. They are very well thought out. I agree with you that white men generally have a 'guilt complex' when it comes to minorities. And, as you pointed out, it probably stems from our repression of minorities through the centuries. That being said, the point of my post was not directed at Chinese people, but at the officials at the Beijing Airport. It's all fine and good to talk about whether or not there is racism or discrimination among the average person on the street (because, there will be in every society in one form or another) But public institutions, such as Municipal Airport Authorities, have to be held to a higher standard. And given that airports are generally a person's first port of call in a new country, the first impression should not be one of marginalization.
As for what's wrong with racial profiling, well, ask the muslim population in the United States post-9/11 how much fun that has been!
"Chinese never discriminated against any race systematically"
I know a few Tibetans who disagree. And a few Uighurs. Plenty of Mongolians, too. Japanese for sure. The Miao, the Shui, the Manchu, the Hui and others have made quite clear their thougths on the subject. Actually, now I'm really thinking about it, there's only really one race I know of that isn't discriminated against by the Han on a systematic basis, and that's... the Han.
Have a nice day.
A Realistic $250K First Year Income Potential
Less than four years ago I was driving this beat-up '94 VW with a rusty muffler. Within two years of creating this system I was making more than my doctor, accountant, and attorney COMBINED... while working less than 40 hours a week FROM HOME! Together with my group of leaders we are now seeking qualified entrepeneurs sharein the incredible results of our system.
for more information check this site out....
make money online
Blah-blah-blah. I don’t care about you opinion, your words mean nothing to me. I’m big, bad and always just.