SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A summary of China’s Lunar New Year gala, widely seen on state television, with a Chinese actress trained to appear African has sparked allegations of online racism.
The actress, Lou Naiming, appeared on stage in colorful dresses with a brown face and arms, wearing a fruit basket on her head and accompanied by someone disguised as a monkey.
A black woman who plays her daughter declares that she wants to study in China, but is worried that her mother will disagree.
Lou replies, “Why wouldn’t I agree? A Chinese volunteer medical team saved my life when I was young. Now Chinese children build us a railroad … I love the Chinese. I love China!”
The Internet was lit up with criticism after the show aired Thursday night, on the eve of the Lunar New Year.
“Racial discrimination was so clear,” wrote a microblogger, named Chen Fei Tutu.
“Is this our nation that propagates Chinese values? When white people discriminate against us, we are strongly dissatisfied, but now we are discriminating against Africans with such a high profile. How embarrassing. “
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters asking for comments on allegations of racism.
On its Weibo microblog, online news platform Tutopia said, “Imagine that it was a white person with a black face who said in an exaggerated accent, ‘I love America’ and the whole world hasn’t. exploded “.
Others declared the sketch, aired during the “CCTV Spring Festival Gala,” which traditionally attracts hundreds of millions of viewers, a shame.
The skit, music and dance program of more than four hours has been a staple of television since it first aired in 1983. The highlight of this year’s show was a reunion duet of two of China’s most famous pop stars.
Public debate about racial discrimination is unusual in China, which is dominated by the Han ethnic majority, but also hosts dozens of minority groups, as well as a growing influx of foreign residents, including Africans.
In 2016, a Chinese laundry detergent company apologized after posting an ad in which a black man was stuck in the washing machine to emerge a moment later as a light-skinned Asian man.
The Foreign Ministry then described the sequence as an isolated announcement that had not sparked diplomatic complaints, but added that China respected all countries, regardless of their ethnicity or race, and that they were “good brothers.” with African countries.
China has established increasingly close ties with many African nations in their hunt to meet demand for commodities in their growing economy. Beijing has rejected allegations of neocolonialism in Africa, saying its aid has no ropes tied and is very well received.
Report by John Ruwitch; Edited by Clarence Fernandez