View 12: Chinese or Foreigner?
I would like to share some interesting incidents that I encountered on my business trip to China in May. The incidents are related to the conflicting identities of being a Chinese or a foreigner.
My husband and I attended a meeting in Singapore before heading to Beijing. On the flight, we met some colleagues who work in Beijing. We discussed some research projects and chatted about our lives. At immigration control after we landed in Beijing, my husband and I used the lane for foreigners while our Beijing colleagues used the lane for Chinese citizens. A Turkish young man standing in front of us, who came to Beijing to learn Chinese, kindly reminded us that we should lineup in the lane for Chinese citizens. We thanked him for his kindness and told him we should stay in this lane. The young man looked puzzled and didn’t know how to respond.
We shared this story with friends during our stay in Beijing. Two friends of ours, Mr. Zhang and Ms. Wang, told us of their experiences in China as well. Mr. Zhang, a Chinese Canadian, holds a Canadian passport and was scheduled to take a flight operated by China Southern Airlines from Macau to Beijing. However, the flight was cancelled. Since Mr. Zhang needed arrive in Beijing to give a speech that day, he asked the airline staff whether they could put him on another flight. The staff couldn’t find another flight at first until Mr. Zhang showed his Canadian passport and said, “I’m a foreigner and was invited by SEAC (State Ethnic Affairs Commission of P.R. China) to give a speech in Beijing. You are responsible for the delay.” The airline staff finally got a seat on a flight operated by Air China, allowing Mr. Zhang to arrive Beijing on time.
Ms. Wang, a Chinese New Zealander, went out shopping with her cousin one day in Shanghai. Beijing was hosting the Olympics at that time so a counterfeit crackdown was in progress national wide. Ms. Wang bought a handbag for RMB4,000 from a stall but she was told it was a counterfeit when she went back home. Ms. Wang returned to the seller to get a refund next day. At first, the seller argued it was not a counterfeit and refused to give her money back. Ms. Wang said, ”I’m a foreigner. I can tell the foreign media that you sell counterfeits and then you will be exposed by the reporters in China and the whole world. Counterfeit crackdown is in progress so if you get bad press, you will lose your business soon after.” The seller finally gave her money back after negotiations. Having a foreign citizenship seems, more or less, useful in these situations.
By recalling what Mr. Zhang, Ms. Wang, and I have come across in China, I was wondering why we could chat and laugh with our Beijing colleagues in Chinese while in some situations we were treated quite differently as foreign citizens. Why did Mr. Zhang receive better service after he mentioned he was a foreigner and was invited by SEAC? Why did the seller refund her bag after Ms. Wang mentioned she was a foreigner and could be helped by the foreign media?
(Translated by Stella Guan from Chinese article published by Singtao Daily, with Author’s permission)
中 國人，外國人
[2010-08-03]
作 者：郭燕博士
今年5月去中國開會，經歷了幾件有關中 國人、外國人的趣事，想與大家分享。
在去北京之前，我們去新加坡開會。在飛機上遇到了幾位在北京工作的同事。一路上，我們有說有笑，大家在一起盡興地談論科研項目及生活趣事。下了飛機之後，在北京入關時，北京的幾位同事去為中國公民而設的入口入境，我和丈夫到對外國公民開放的入口排隊。這時，一位排在我們前面、從土耳其來北京學漢語的小伙子，指著我們的北京同事排隊的入口，好心地提醒我們：「你們應該到那邊去排隊。」我們感謝他的好意，告訴他，我們應該在這兒排隊。那位小伙子莫名其妙地看著我們，不知該說甚麼。
在北京開會期間，我把我們在北京入關的故事與朋友分享。兩位朋友張先生和王小姐也給我講了他們在中國的經歷。張先生是一位擁有加拿大護照的華人，這次欲乘南方航空公司的航班從澳門去北京，由於某種原因，南方航空公司取消了此次航班。張先生去與航空公司的工作人員協商。因為當天他要去北京作大會發言，他問能否 能找到別的航班。起初，工作人員說無法找到別的航班，這時張先生拿出加拿大護照，說：「我是外國人，此次由民委邀請去北京作大會發言。如果被你們耽誤了，你們要負責。」那位航空公司工作人員經過一番努力，幫張先生轉到了國航，讓他按時去了北京。
王小姐是一位擁有新西蘭護照的華人。一天在上海，她陪表姐出去買東西。當時正值北京奧運會期間，全國處於反假打假的高潮中。王小姐的表姐在一個小攤買了價值四千元人民幣的手提包。回家後，家裏人說這些包是假的，不值那些錢。王小姐和表姐又去找小商販，要求退貨。起初，小商販不承認那些包是假的，堅決不給退。 王小姐對小商販說，「我是外國人，我可以把你賣假貨的事情告訴外媒記者。這些記者會讓你馬上在全國及全世界曝光。奧運期間正在打假，你很快就做不成生意了。」經過反覆協商，那位小商販終於給王小姐的表姐退了錢。在張先生和王小姐的經歷中，外國人的身分似乎起了一點作用。
回顧我、張先生及王小姐在中國的經歷，我在思考一些問題：為甚麼我們與北京的同事一會還在用漢語談笑風生，一會為甚麼又要把我們分成中國人、外國人來對待？為甚麼張先生提到他是外國人，加上民委的地位，他能得到更好的待遇呢？為甚麼王小姐提到她是外國人，能獲得外媒的協助，那位小商販就會妥協呢？
本文作者郭燕博士為亞省卡加利大學教育學院副教授