Race & Identity: Lou Jing

I believe that the world is poised for a new shining star [goodness knows she has suffered enough]. And the new star in question is a beautiful young lady of mixed Chinese and black heritage; –causing a storm in China, –called Lou Jing. The following piece on Lou Jing was taken from: www.african-chineseguy.blogspot.com Enjoy..xx

I have never been outrage about a story coming out of China then this one...When 20 year old Lou Jing (娄婧) who is of mixed Chinese and black heritage became one of the five Shanghai finalists on the reality Tv show Go! Oriental Angel, the color of her skin became a national issue on what a true Chinese person is suppose to look like. She also became a target for cruel gossip and vicious racist attacks on Aug 30, when her mother shared their family's story on the show.

The attacks began after Ms Lou's mother revealed at a preliminary round of the show early last month that her daughter was the result of an illicit affair she had with an African American man some 20 years ago.Ms Lou's mother, who is a Shanghainese and known only as Madam Lou, said her Chinese husband divorced her when he found their newborn looked African instead of Chinese. [www.african-chineseguy.blogspot.com]


The following piece on Lou Jing was taken from: www.intermix.org entitled: ‘China Has Some Way To Go -Racially mixed contestant receives racial abuse.’ ………….Enjoy x

China may be emerging as one of the world's superpowers but some of its citizens clearly have a long way to go in accepting its mixed-race population. A contestant on DragonTV's reality show 'Let's Go! Oriental Angel' exposed deep feelings about racial mixing. Contestant Lou Jing's mother is from Shanghai and her father is an African American, she was raised in China by her mother. Lou Jing's appearance on the show sparked a stream of racist comments on the net which included her being labeled the black chimpanzee.

As recently as the 1970s, foreigners were largely barred from living in China, let alone marrying a local. China does not easily accept mixed-race children as true-blooded Chinese: as soon as a child is born, the parents are required to register with the authorities as to which of the 56 government-approved ethnic groups their child belongs; there are no mixed-race categories.

As China undergoes an astonishing demographic shift and more foreigners make their homes in the Middle Kingdom, Lou Jing is by no means the only one being treated differently. Recent decades have seen a surge in the number of mixed-race couples. Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau data show that from 1994 to 2008, each year there has been about 3,000 more mixed race marriages in Shanghai.

'As China continues to open up, this kind of phenomenon will become ever more prevalent,' said David Zweig, a professor of humanities and social sciences at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 'This is part of the process of internationalisation, but we can only hope that Chinese people, including netizens and the people whose views tend towards extremism, can come to accept that there are many mixed-race people, both in China and worldwide.'

Last year, Ding Hui, a young man of African-Chinese ethnicity, caused a stir when he was called up to the national volleyball team, prompting much soul-searching about whether the athlete should be allowed to represent China alongside pure-blooded Chinese competitors. Eventually, Ding Hui did go on to play for the national team.

It may take some citizens in China time to be more accepting of mixed-race individuals and families but there are also many who welcome them, for all the nasty comments that were left on the net there were also many positive ones with some referring to her as the Chinese Halle Berry.

As for Lou Jing, she found the whole experience more than a little disturbing. She did well in the show, ranking in the top 30 contestants before she was eliminated. She's now back to her life as a college junior and well aware that there are some who don't accept her racial background. 'It's really scary to find out how the colour of my skin can cause such a big controversy,' she said in an interview.

Note: If you have a minute to spare please visit:www.chinasmack.com-it will open your eyes to the level of hatred leveled at black people from less educated Chinese people. Please note: I do believe that the majority of the Chinese public are educated, balanced and do not harbor these negative feelings…..xx