The local laowai community has been in abuzz recently about an opinion piece in the China Daily by media mogul Hung Huang, in which she castigates foreigners in China for trying too hard to be Chinese.  The article, titled “Dear Laowai, Don’t Mess With Our Chinese-ness”  (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2010-01/12/content_9304769.htm) is a screed reminding us all of the fact that there are only two kinds of people in the world: Chinese and foreigners, and that the categories are mutually exclusive.

Much of the online discussion of the article is wondering if it’s an expression of latent racism or an attempt at satire.  The debate rages. 

I’m not going to weigh in on that argument, but it did get me thinking about how we laowai often think (wrongly) we know how we are viewed, and I was reminded of a recent experience that illustrates this.

I was attending a banquet hosted by a delegation from a foreign organization that’s been in China for a long time, and has maintained a good relationship with the Chinese government. One of the guests at the banquet was a local academic who was helping us understand the government’s attitudes towards foreign organizations.

At one point, a delegation member asked the scholar “what does the government think of us (the organization specifically).  It was assumed the answer would be positive.  Instead, the scholar, without hesitation said “They hate you.  “But you are useful to them.” 

It was a good reminder that, while foreign faith-based organizations are operating in China, they are doing so on the Chinese solely on Chinese terms.  This is what’s different from the pre-1949 era of missions.

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