In China, 'bad laowai' make foreigners' life harder

In Ningbo, two male foreigners were caught spitting sunflower seed shells on a sidewalk on May 29, 2012.

(Ecns.cn) - Two decades ago a foreigner with a mastery of the language could easily rise to fame in China, but such a person does not always receive VIP treatment, the Xinmin Weekly reports.

With so many of them entering the country, the image of foreigners is gradually changing – often for the worse.

Cases of illegal residence, bad behavior and exploitation of local employees have become increasingly common. This sometimes causes many Chinese people to judge foreigners en masse, even though most of them are well-behaved and lawful.

As the country sweeps out illegal foreigners with broad support from the public, many say the era of the "laowai" being treated as a distinguished guest in China is gone forever.

Foreigners are evil?

In recent months, immoral and unlawful behavior by foreigners has drawn wide attention in the country, causing many Chinese netizens to suspect that foreigners are evil, the Xinmin Weekly says.

The debate began when a drunken British man sexually assaulted a Chinese woman on the streets of Beijing last May, and was further prodded when a Russian verbally abused a Chinese woman on a train that very same month.

Since then, apart from expressing a resentment toward some foreigners, Chinese Web users across the country have also begun collecting evidence of it in photos and videos.

In Ningbo, two male foreigners were caught spitting sunflower seed shells on a sidewalk on May 29. Some angry locals tried to stop them, but the foreign men responded by saying that it doesn't matter: this is China – everyone else does it.

A frustrated Chinese took a picture of the grisly scene and promptly posted it on the Internet. It received more than 30,000 clicks in one day.

In Xi'an, two foreigners were kicked off a bus on June 7 after one of them enraged passengers by getting into a scuffle with an elderly Chinese woman. The incident appears to have been sparked by how loudly the foreigners were speaking. A passenger recorded the scene and uploaded the video onto Weibo, China's extremely popular microblogging site.

Also last month, hundreds of Nigerians took to the street in Guangzhou and tried to beat local police after a Nigerian man died while in custody following an altercation between him and a moped driver. At that time, the cause of his death had not been determined, so their gathering was considered to have given rise to chaos and affected social order.

100 days

On May 15, 2012, China launched a 100-day crackdown on illegal foreign entry, residence and employment, which has been seen as its toughest action ever. But it is not unprecedented.

Between 2000 and 2005, China investigated more than 120,000 foreigners and repatriated over 40,000 of them. In 2011, another 20,000 were investigated for illegal status.

According to a statement from the People's Daily Overseas Edition, one out of every 100 people in China now has a "foreign face," and the percentage of foreigners in certain communities is higher than 20 percent.

Along with the rapid development of China's economy, the number of foreigners living and working here illegally is increasing. Most illegal entries come from countries bordering China, while most employment issues arise from international students and tourists finding jobs and overstaying.

To maintain public security, the crackdown is only a reasonable action at the moment, and it has nothing to do with the so-called "anti-foreign sentiment," said the Xinmin Weekly.

Outdated rules

Following the British man's sexual assault case, China's "King of Fairy Tales" Zheng Yuanjie posted on his microblog that dragons and fish are always jumbled together, implying there are always good foreigners and bad foreigners.

Zheng also took a poll, in which 94.8 percent of the 11,533 online participants supported his advice to tighten entry and exit regulations and apply more conditions to entry visas.

However, it is not simply about setting limits, but about optimizing entry and exit regulations after considering the opinions of both Chinese and foreign residents, a Nigerian doctoral candidate at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine told China News Service.

The current regulations have some outdated terms, and China is working to make some changes to keep pace with the times, said Liu Guofu, an immigration law expert at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

Many countries have departments or organizations that help foreigners fit into the local environment by providing courses in language, history and culture, and offer information and guidance on medical, employment, housing and educational services, but China does not, said Liu.

Communication can enhance mutual understanding, and negotiation can avert unnecessary disputes, Liu pointed out, adding that he hopes foreigners will better enjoy their stay in China in the future.