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Hilarious Stereotypes of Foreign Countries Held by Chinese People

Posted: 01/30/2015 9:21 am

usa  paradeStereotyping might not be politically correct, but it happens nonetheless. If you ask anyone about China, you’re likely to get a variety of answers about what Chinese people tend to be like.

But what do Chinese people think about your country? Yes, the stereotyping goes both ways. A travel agency in China has compiled a list of national stereotypes to try and help Chinese travelers get beyond them.

Here’s what the article, reasons why foreigners don’t match your initial impression of them, all here for you to discuss, says:

Hey everybody; have you ever brought up a country only to have a strict association with it? For example, talking about South Korea will remind you of plastic surgery, talking about Thailand is to talk about ladyboys, and talking about Japan is to bring up perverts…

The following lists foreigners by their stereotypes; what’s your response?

Canadians: everything they say is boring, and life is depressing there

Maybe you’ve thought that since Canada is so cold and icy that there’s nothing to do there. In fact, in Canada you can go snowboarding, kayaking, and do other extreme sports. What’s more, absurdist comedy star Jim Carrey and Friends actor Matthew Perry are both Canadians, and are they boring? They’re hilarious! Therefore, don’t say that Canadians are boring!

Americans: Liberated thinkers, are tolerant of everything

Actually, European countries are more liberal minded than the USA, as seen in the more acceptable attitude towards nude beaches. Additionally, there are 16 states in the US that have not yet legalized gay marriage. That’s why it’s not that fitting to say that Americans are not that liberal.

sleepingSpaniards: Lazy, and love to sleep

Every day, Spaniards enjoy a three hour lunch and an afternoon nap. This is why other countries believe Spaniards are lazy and don’t want to work. However, Spain has seen a 2.8 percent annual average growth in its GDP, beating Germany by one percent.

Italians: Passionate, undisciplined, inefficient

The success of the textile and chemical manufacturing industry of Italy, its fine cuisine of pizza and pasta, the culture and historical architecture from the Renaissance era –these things all prove that Italians are not the least bit undisciplined and inefficient.

English: Soccer hooligans, and the fact that English men love soccer more than they love women!

In fact, more fights happen over soccer in Sweden than they do in England.

French: Arrogant

It’s been said that the French don’t like to smile at strangers and have an air of superiority, but this is just the culture of France. To them, they don’t like to display any hypocritical expressions. The French consider smiling to have nothing to do with etiquette, just as arrogance doesn’t.

Irish: Drunk every day

Any time the subjects of drunks or bars are brought up, many people think of the Irish. However, in an 2004 international study about the use of alcohol, Ireland ranked behind Luxembourg and Hungary.

Filipinos: Barbaric, backwards islanders

In 2003, the average Filipino sent 2,300 text messages a day, making it the most prevalent users of text messages in the world. At the same time, the Philippines is the blogging capital of Asia, therefore the Philippines is not backwards by any stretch of the imagination.

Indians: Narrow thinking, are all poor bastards

Although many Indians still live in poverty, this situation has improved in recent years. India has become a world leader in software, and is one of the fastest rising economies in the world. Have you seen the 2009 comedy 3 Idiots? The number of films produced by the Indian film industry is the highest in the world, as is its box office! Therefore, how can one rationally say that Indians have a narrow scope of thinking, and are all poor bastards?

Cultural stereotypes are something that slowly but imperceptibly affect our thinking. It’s the same with foreigners that all think Chinese can perform kung-fu like Bruce Lee, something that makes Chinese speechless. Therefore, you shouldn’t have any stereotypes towards foreigners or else they’ll think us and our stereotypes to be silly and naive…

Photos: Travel 163

Haohao

Now, Some Good News: If You Forget Something in a Taxi in China, Don’t Lose All Hope

Posted: 01/7/2015 10:37 am

You know how something can seem like a lost cause, that’s it’s better to give up rather than hold out for any chance at a faint hope? Well, sometimes all you have to do is ask…

An unidentified Canadian man called Shenzhen police to say he left his backpack in the back of a taxi at around 2pm on New Year’s Eve. The Guangming police sub-station answered the call, and after determining where he got out of the taxi, they were able to isolate which taxi the man took by looking at local surveillance video.

When contacted, driver Mr Zhang confirmed there was a bag in his car, and said he would return it to the police sub-station. And so at 2:30pm, not half an hour after he first reported it missing, the Canadian man was able to regain his lost backpack with nothing missing inside.

As amazing as this story is, similar reports in the Chinese news are actually very common. Many are stories of drivers returning cash to their rightful owners. And while they lack the amazing sleuthing skills of this story, other incidents involving foreigners losing backpacks in taxis have made the news this year.

A foreigner identified as “Max” forgot his backpack in a taxi in November last year, but was able to get it back within an hour by showing police where he exited the taxi on miniature model of the city he was visiting.

laowai missing backpack

“Max” points out the exact location where the taxi that has his missing backpack dropped him off.

A foreigner with the name “Luca” also forgot his backpack in a taxi while visiting Chengde in July, but was able to retrieve it before too long because the taxi driver noticed it after dropping him off and immediately went back to the hotel to give it to Luca personally.

So if you happen to forget your backpack in the back of a taxi, don’t fret; you too might actually get it back.

Photo: China Daily

Haohao

How Well Can You Sell to Foreigners? Hangzhou Launched Contest to Find Out

Posted: 12/16/2014 9:30 am

Online-Shopping-eCommerce

Online retailers in China thrive domestically, but they rarely venture beyond Chinese borders. To help promote international expansion, Hangzhou recently held a contest to encourage university graduates to target foreign markets.

University graduates competed with each other to see who could be the most successful online “laowai” retailer. The contest featured cash rewards of up to RMB 10,000 and a chance to win two years of free rent in Hangzhou’s Network Innovation Park.

The winning company, “Albert”, had the corporate slogan, “Technology to shape the future, creativity and wisdom for life”. Albert promotes interactive technology outsourced to independent companies for design and manufacturing. As with other competitors, the Albert team used foreign social platforms to successfully promote its products.

Other participants included “i-life”, an anime online toy retailer boasting monthly revenues of RMB 10,000. The company is currently expanding into Russia and Brazil.

Photo: utexas.edu

Haohao

China’s Typical Expat: Male, Doesn’t Speak Chinese, and Loves It Here

Posted: 11/11/2014 10:34 am
foreign experts china

Juan and Fabio are among the foreign experts who arrived in China and are loving it, as seen in this March 2008 news photo.

Common sense may have told us this, but we finally have confirmation from the Chinese government: the typical expat in China is male, doesn’t speak Chinese, and loves his adopted country.

The State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs sent a questionnaire to expats as part of its study on the living environment for expatriate workers. It found China is already among the world’s top destinations for expatriate workers and by far the most lucrative, but it still needs “to do better to hire and keep professional expats”, reported China Daily.

More than 2,000 people responded to the survey. It showed 74 percent of expats are male, and an astounding 73 percent could barely understand simple Chinese.

The study outlined a number of problems that concerned foreigners, such as medical and social insurance issues, as well as the educational needs of their children and the application process for work visas.

Chinese authorities have tried to make the work visa application process easier for expats, and even announced reforms to China’s rarely-seen green card program. In 2012, only 0.2 percent of China’s 633,000 expats held a green card.

The report failed to mention air pollution, an issue so important to some expat workers that Western companies are willing to pay “hazard pay” bonuses to those willing to work in China’s big polluted cities.

When asked what conditions could be improved for expats, the study found that 56.9 percent of respondents want better compensation, while many of their employers reportedly are unable to meet those demands.

Whatever their salary, expats are generally very happy to be in China. Over 70 percent of professional expat workers in China reported being very satisfied with their lives, and 75 percent of employers reported being similarly satisfied with these foreign expats, even if they are mostly males who don’t speak the language.

Related:

[h/t the Beijinger]

Photo: FY News, dahe

Haohao

Expat A Bit Too Tense, Tackles Chinese Woman Over Innocuous Comment

Posted: 10/27/2014 9:00 am

The suspect in the red T-shirt was arrested by patrolling police.

A Chinese-speaking foreigner in Henan was clearly having a “bad China day”. The British man overheard a conversation between two women on the streets of Zhengzhou when he flipped out.

According to the Henan Business Daily, the incident occurred while the victim was shopping for a cellphone with a friend. After walking past a foreigner wearing a pair of shorts, the woman allegedly exclaimed, “The weather is so cold, how can he be wearing shorts?” (Incidentally, the temperature that day hit a high of 27 degrees Celsius).

The man then tackled the woman, allegedly robbing her of her cellphone and RMB 3,000 in cash. The expat was later arrested by patrolling police officers.

Photos: Weibo

 

Haohao

Foreigners Who Want To Work In Beijing Must Now Meet These Requirements

Posted: 09/16/2014 12:38 pm

expat workersForeigners have been streaming into Beijing for decades now, with many finding work as English teachers. Others do part-time work, some freelance. Some work on the wrong visa, while some even have criminal records in their home countries. The city’s cost of living and sometimes lax standards have meant that foreigners have some career flexibility. But that’s about to change.

Foreign expats trying to find employment in the city of Beijing will now have to fulfill a new set of requirements announced by the local government on Sunday. To work in Beijing, foreigners now must:

  • Be between 18 and 60 years old old with no criminal record
  • Have a Bachelor’s degree or above with at least two years of relevant work experience. Teaching requires at least five years of relevant experience.
  • Have a valid passport or other valid international travel documents, and have a specific name for an employer
  • To hold a valid work permit and residence certificate.

The age limit for applicants applying to programs recruiting senior foreign experts is 65.

There are currently 37,000 foreign nationals working in Beijing.

Photo: cnnb

Haohao

Guangzhou Has Deported 768 Foreigners So Far This Year

Posted: 09/8/2014 10:30 am

Life is getting tougher for foreigners in China, whether it’s something as simple as more restricted access to western TV shows online or tougher visa regulations.

We have been reporting for a while now that Guangzhou has been cracking down on foreigners in the city, specifically visitors from Africa. One report said half of the 200,000 African expats in Guangzhou are there illegally.

No matter where you’re from, make sure you have a valid visa and working permit, because Guangzhou isn’t messing around when it comes to deportations.

So far this year, the city announced it has either detained or deported 768 foreigners for things like expired passports, overstaying visas, illegal entry, and other criminal acts. The city remains one of the most popular destinations for visitors from other countries, with more than three million foreigners arriving or leaving the city this year.

The report says Guangzhou is currently home to 86,000 foreigners.

Haohao

Guangzhou Home to Largest African Expat Population in Asia, Many Illegal

Posted: 09/1/2014 4:08 pm

An African woman in Guangzhou’s Xiaobei Road, known to the locals as the “chocolate city”.

The African community residing in Guangzhou is now the largest in Asia, which is presenting another set of problems for Chinese immigration agents: up to half of the Africans in the city are apparently there illegally, according to a study released by the Guangzhou Developmental Academy of Guangzhou University.

The study, released last week, said Guangzhou is now home to more than 200,000 people from Africa, but up to half of them are sanfei foreigners or “three illegals”; that means they either illegally entered, are staying or working illegally in China.

In 2007, Guangdong authorities arrested 7,000 sanfei foreigners and detained more than 700 people. In 2008, the number swelled to 13,000, of which “Africans account for a large share”, the report said. The crime rate among the sanfei foreigners has been on the rise, and the report claims drug-related crimes alone accounted for nearly 60 percent.

Two African persons walking outside of a clothing wholesale market in Guangzhou.

As well, the study linked the city’s African community with “mass incidents”, a euphemism for protests, and other social vices including rape, AIDS and childbirth out of wedlock that “affect Guangzhou residents’ social life and the city’s social stability”.

On the flip side, African immigrants have contributed to the city’s burgeoning economy, and are heavily involved in business and trade with their home countries. Many have married Chinese wives and plan to stay long term.

In 2012, a large-scale protest erupted in the city after a Nigerian man died mysteriously in police custody. In mid-July of 2009, hundreds of Africans protested in front of a police station in Guangzhou after a Nigerian man jumped from second floor to escape a surprise immigration raid.

Africans first started to immigrate in large numbers to the city in the 90s drawn by Guangdong’s manufacturing industries. Clustering in Xiaobei Road, Huanshi Road and Sanliyuan, many Africans buy cheap clothes and electronics and export them to Africa.

Related:

Photos: Nandu, AFP

Haohao

Watch: Foreigner Faints on Shanghai Metro, Other Passengers Run Away

Posted: 08/20/2014 11:46 am

foreigner faints on shanghai metro subway unconscious run away no help supportTen seconds is apparently all it takes to empty a subway car full of passengers.

That’s what happened on August 9 at 9:34pm when an unidentified foreigner entered a subway car on Line 2 of the Shanghai Metro at Jinke Station. After taking a seat, the man was seen shifting towards his right, his head nearly touching the shoulder of the middle-aged woman sitting next to him.

Soon after, the man suddenly fell on the floor and appeared to have lost consciousness, reports iFeng.

foreigner faints on shanghai metro subway unconscious run away no help support

foreigner faints on shanghai metro

The first reaction from the five passengers sitting across from the foreigner was to run away. As seen in a surveillance video on board the subway (below), all passengers rushed out of the car within ten seconds of the man falling to the ground.

News of “an incident” spread to adjoining trains, and caused a panic among the passengers. At the next station, subway commuters started spilling out of the train. In the ensuing stampede, a middle-aged man fell down and a woman slammed into a partition.

foreigner faints on shanghai metro

Throughout the entire time, no passengers were seen providing any assistance to the passed-out foreigner.

Metro staff boarded the train at the next stop to provide assistance, but by then the foreigner had regained consciousness. He stood up on his own and exited the train.

The man’s condition, like his identity, is unknown.

Here is the surveillance video from the incident:

Photos: iFeng, Beijing Youth Daily

Haohao

Armed Thief Ties Up Dongguan Expat in Own Home

Posted: 08/14/2014 3:11 pm

new world gardensMasquerading as a kuaidi express courier, a robber armed with a knife forced his way into the residence of a Dongguan expat and stole cash and property totaling RMB 450,000. The victim of the robbery is identified as “David”, a 54 year-old man from Australia, reports XKB.

On August 9 at 8am, a man approached the No. 7 Dijingtai building of the New World Gardens residential area in Dongcheng District. The man identified himself as a courier, so David opened to the door only to be confronted by a man who forced his way into the home wielding a knife.

The intruder subdued David by tying him up, and then proceeded to loot David’s apartment. RMB 60,000, HK$80,000, 150,000 New Taiwan Dollars and US$11,000 were all taken in cash. The robber also made off with four watches, a phone, and various rings and jewelry.

Police used surveillance video to track down a suspect, who was arrested on August 10. The man is a 28 year-old surnamed Kong from Xianning, Hubei Province. He apparently handed over all the property from David’s apartment.

Kong operates a computer store and is several tens of thousands of yuan in debt. He told police he got the idea to commit robbery when his wife left him as a way to alleviate his financial problems.

new world gardens

[h/t HereDG]

Photos: t55, soufang

Haohao
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