Asia Sentinel, 30 Jul 2012Lately, there is a growing undercurrent of wariness directed at foreigners in China, typified by a government campaign in Beijing that urges people to report foreigners for the “Three Illegals” illegal entry, overstayed visas, and working without a permit.
Or there’s the CCTV presenter Yang Rui, who showed support for the crackdown with a bizarre online outburst in which he cursed mysterious foreign “snake heads,” who dupe innocent local women into bed, while really acting as secret GPS-wielding spies.
The immediate cause of the current frosting in relations seems to be a pair of videos depicting foreigners behaving badly towards Chinese, which surfaced in May. Although a link between the footage, which provoked fury and debate, and the ensuing police campaign has been formally denied, officers in conversation have openly acknowledged otherwise.
May’s viral video depicting locals beating up a sexually aggressive Briton under the title “Foreigner, We’re Going to Beat You Out of China,” provoked an outpouring of online venom that startled complacent expats. Even normally friendly Chinese seemed to reconsider their country’s hospitality to outsiders. Full story
Comment: Hua Yuan Association's Wang Quancheng should look at his own countrymen before criticising Singaporeans
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Chairman of Hua Yuan Association blames Singaporeans for tensions with new arrivals from China
