[Weekly Update] The Immigrants of China

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CHANNEL UPDATE

Not much has changed since our last update. We still have our Solar Eclipse video coming up in a few days, followed by our Journey to the West video early November. As I'm currently out of office, there's not much I can change.

Meanwhile, I've filmed all the necessary videos for our Wong Kar-wai location tour. I'll begin working on the script early November. I have never done a travel log / location tour video before, so this is going to be an interesting experiment. If it goes well, I might do another one for all the John Wick locations, in which Montreal pretends to be New York.

Finally, our bonus video for October just went up. Hope you enjoy our brief discussion on the Silent Hill series and movie.

CULTURE TALK

Yeah we don't have a media talk this week, because I haven't been watching a whole lot of movies. I'm currently in China, spamming our Discord server tidbits of my travel. The only thing I saw recently is a poker tournament on TV. It was boring.

So, instead, I want to talk about my travel. Specifically, I want to talk about a new change in Guangzhou, one of the major city in China. This year, there have much a significant increase in immigrants: some South Asians, some Eastern Europeans, but mostly Africans. Nowadays, it's fairly common to see a Black person while walking the street of Guangzhou, or riding the subway. That was not the case in China just a few years ago.

China, like many other East Asian nations, have a reputation of being xenophobic. Indeed, within the Chinese social fabric, there is a strong aspect of internalized racism. For decades at least, it is very common to see Chinese netizens sprouting basically nazi talking points such as "genetic inferiority" of certain races. When so many immigrants coming from Sub-Saharan Africa, naturally, I fear how the new wave of visible minority will be treated in China. After all, I have been on the receiving end of such bigotry.

It's pretty clear that these immigrants are not openly embraced. While riding the metro, you can see them actively avoid sitting down. Because they know the moment they do, the Chinese person next to them will stand up and leave.

But, and here is the good news: I also saw a lot of really friendly interactions.

So I was in this wholesale market for used electronics, just browsing some old analog cameras because I'm a nerd with no other hobby outside of my job. Out comes these three gentlemen in traditional Nigerian garment, wearing the widest grind, and greets the shopkeeper, calling her Mama (which is the wrong term to use). The shopkeeper replies with an equally happy smile, and I can feel the shop getting brighter. From there, they began talk business. The shopkeeper spoke limited English, but the conversation is nevertheless lively.

This small encounter clued me in on the nuanced of this social shift. Unlike the situation of Filipino's in Hong Kong, or Indians in UAE, African immigrants in China seemed to be overwhelmingly middle class people, here on a work visa. The aforementioned gentlemen were here to buy cameras in bulk, and sell them to the Nigerian film industry for a profit. The interaction with them are clearly a win-win situation, which ensured its friendliness.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media has been pushing more variety shows featuring foreign visitors or immigrants. These shows, in not so subtle ways, promotes racial diversity and harmony. I'm guessing this is a way for China to prepare its people for the future. As China faces a population collapse, opening up its door for immigration will likely be one of the only remedies.

If my guess is right, then we may soon see a shift in Chinese cinema. We may see companies and studios seeking collaborations with the Nigerian film industry, or hiring more non-Chinese actors and musicians in the entertainment industry. The process will be undoubtedly slow. But the political will is there, and that alone can pushes society to do impossible things.

Will China embrace this shift without incident? I doubt it. But I can always hope for the best. Seeing that gentleman greeting the shopkeeper with "Mama", and seeing the smile of her in reaction, was a real treat. I would love for that to be the norm, for China to become a hub where cultures cross pollinate... Kinda like the Tang dynasty.

Anyway, that's my odd rambling for this week. Let me know what you think about this topic. Am I being overly optimistic? Should China strive to be the cultural hub of the East? In any case, I'll see you with a new video in a few days.