A top diplomat in China issued an apology on Thursday and condemned racism following international outcry over videos of a Chinese man in Malawi using Black children to make demeaning and racists statements about themselves.
The diplomat said China has “zero tolerance” for racism adding that the incident is the actions of one “fool,” and does not represent the people of China as a whole.
Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio also condemned the videos calling them “disgusting and inhumane.”
BNN reported earlier this week on the man who was identified on video as the person responsible for producing racist videos in Malawi that were sold to Chinese nationals. The man is accused of coercing the children by paying them change — and sometimes using physical violence — to make statements such as they are “monsters” and their “IQ is low.”
The videos of the man circulated on social media thanks to African vloggers who were outraged by the videos.
Amid the fallout, according to Chinese officials, they are now offering a Master’s degree program for Malawians as a gesture of good relations.
Many is Malawi — and Africans elsewhere — are still skeptical of Chinese officials’ apology and their assessment of racial attitudes there.
More about China’s response to the racist videos can be found here.
Opinion: A public condemnation from Chinese diplomats is ostensibly welcome but then again, that is part of the territory. As mentioned last week, China has many areas that are a hotbed for racism towards Blacks, particularly outside of major cities. There is a reason there was a market for the videos to be sold: there are many Chinese nationals who look down upon Blacks and considered the videos entertainment. Earlier this year, an audience of Chinese basketball fans shouted racial slurs at a Black basketball player during a public game. It’s also worth noting that, as also mentioned before, China engages in questionable business practices around the world, including Africa where it is expanding efforts to build ports and recruit labor. Basically, the optics were bad enough to hurt their business agendas. BNN still does not support Blacks traveling to China and Blacks should be leery about China’s attempts to repudiate racism if officials do not intend to implement anti-racist campaigns and foster better race relations.
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