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Strange ways to sell a house
The following advertisement bears the slogan 'be a foreigner's landlord'. The advertisement lines the western part of Dongzhimenwai Da Jie. I find the advertisement's use of the word laowai a little bit offensive, although I don't know why. Perhaps foreigners are meant to be better tenants and have enough money to rent expensive 'boutique' apartments. It is strange because this year the government announced plans to curb the ability of foreigners to invest in Beijing real estate. There was an inkling that the record high prices in Beijing could be attributed to foreigners who breeze in and out of the market and buy up big, thus pushing the prices up. Obviously the plan doesn't include local buyers who rely on foreigners to pay back their investment. Meanwhile, the much feted laobaixing are still struggling to buy a decent house to suit their needs.
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Posted: 7:48 PM, 29/10/2006 in BeijingShare on Facebook |
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yeah a bit offensive
i do like your blog by the way, I have put it on my weekly blog read list and enjoy your posts.
I think the most offensive thing about this advert is that no one really knows why it is there... like you, i figured that it is because foreigners tend to spend more on rent, look after the houses and pay on time. Certainly my landlord, who owns tens of houses in Beijing will only ever rent to foreigners. I have asked several people though, both Chinese and laowai and no body really knows.
I think also there is the idea that somehow to be a foreigner's landlord is great face for a Chinese because it should be the foreigners who have all the money.
Just a stupid advert though nothing to get upset over, having said that, I wonder what people would make of an advert in London saying 'Be a Chinaman's Landlord' now that would be funny.
I have often wondered what the English equivalent of 'laowai' is. The Chinese claim it is not offensive and I would for the most part agree but there again, considering that I have lived here for 10 years, speak (read and write) the language like a native and pay a huge amount of tax... does that really make me an outsider? Is being reminded that I am not from around these parts or indeed not welcome by being called an outsider in the streets something that I should have to put up with in a civilised country?
On the flip side, I, like all other foreigners here in Beijing get to flout traffic laws, get tax breaks and generally get to act like a VIP in all kinds of situations that Chinese people in England do not get to do.
There's an upside and a downside to being a laowai i suppose. Still if you really want to mess with people's heads, tell them you were born in China when your parents worked at the embassy in 1979 and that you have a hukou, shenfenzheng and dual nationality. |
Posted by Chris at 5:26 PM, 30/10/2006 |
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Physicality
Dear Chris,
Thanks for your support. Don't forget that this page will soon be moving to www.blognow.com.au/chinamachete due to some legal problems that the administrators are experiencing.
I reckon the majority of Chinese judge a person's nationality entirely on their appearance. It doesn't matter whether you have lived in China for 40 years and speak Chinese fluently, you will still be a laowai. As an Australian, I can't really understand this because someone's nationality and ethnicity are usually regarded as separate things. In China and Japan, however, nationality and ethnicity are pretty much the same. I wonder what the situation is like in European countries such as Britain and France - can an Indian immigrant be regarded as British? Can an African immigrant be regard as French? I estimate that both are more possible than a white immigrant to China becoming Chinese, however, the war against Terrorism is testing the ability of Western countries to accept immigrants and regard them indifferently.
One reason why I find laowai offensive is probably due to the harshness of the word. Lao and wai are both spoken in the descending tone which makes the pronunciation of laowai seem aggressive. The last two characters of the term waiguo ren both are pronounced in the rising tone so I think the pronunciation is much more agreeable.
Chris, do you have a blog of your own? |
Posted by zhangbohan at 1:38 PM, 31/10/2006 |
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Wei, nin hao!
| Keep up the good work from Beijing. I haven't been there in a few years. I bet the changes are speeding up in the lead-up to the Olympics. I tend to frequent Shanghai and Guangzhou more these days. |
Posted by Ninja at 1:26 PM, 5/11/2006 |
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