An article that's no longer available since Inkstone went down:
China’s draft bill on permanent residency unleashes hostile comments against foreigners (2020)
A draft bill on issuing green cards to foreigners has prompted an outbreak of xenophobia on the Chinese internet.
The Chinese government on Saturday has promised to revise a draft bill
on issuing “green cards” to foreigners after the proposal unleashed a
wave of online xenophobia.
China has one of the world’s strictest permanent residency programs,
but many citizens say they don’t want more immigrants, especially black
people, to settle in the country.
Millions of angry comments have flooded Chinese social media to protest
against a plan that Beijing said was meant to attract more foreign
talent to boost the economy.
“I’m worried about black people and Islam,” David Zhu, a 33-year-old banker in Shanghai, told Inkstone, calling black people “uncivilized” and Islam “a cancer.”
“You can tell from the experience of Europe and America. Obviously these
immigrants are not good for the development of a country or
civilization,” he said, praising President Donald Trump for toughening
America’s immigration policies.
Hostile remarks against foreigners – and outright racism – have
proliferated on the Chinese internet since China’s Ministry of Justice
released the draft regulation on granting permanent residency to
foreigners in late February.
Fueled by nationalism at home and right-wing ideology in the West, the
outpouring of anger reflects a strong anxiety toward the perceived
threat of outsiders among Chinese people, even as Beijing touts itself
as a friend of other developing countries.
With about a million foreign residents in a country of 1.4 billion,
China has one the smallest shares of foreign-born populations in the
world. The existing permanent residency program, launched in 2004,
favors what the state considers top talents and investors.
China granted permanent residency to about 10,000 foreigners from 2004
to 2017, according to state media. In comparison, the US issues about 1
million green cards a year.
Former NBA player Stephon Marbury was given a green card in 2015 after years of playing basketball in China. Elon Musk was offered permanent residency in 2019 after breaking the ground for a Tesla factory in Shanghai.
Who could be eligible for a Chinese green card?
The main categories of foreigners eligible for a Chinese green card, according to the draft permanent residency regulation.
1. People who have made outstanding contributions to China, in areas
such as technology, education, sports and foreign relations.
2. Talents urgently needed in China’s key industries.
3. Professionals who have already lived in China for a certain period
(the required length depends on the applicant’s salary level.)
4. People who have made significant investments (more than $1.4 billion
or in high-tech industries) in China for at least three years.
5. Spouses or dependents of Chinese citizens or permanent residents.
The Chinese government said a new green card regulation would help it
better manage the foreign workers in the country, as China will need
more foreign talents and capital in its economic development.
However, some vaguely-defined categories prompted widespread frustration
online, as people worry the regulation would enable an immigration wave
that resembles the refugee crisis in Europe.
Some social media users have attacked the draft regulation in posts
accompanied by pictures and videos showing black people in China.
Several posts have attracted thousands of hostile comments accusing
foreigners of committing crimes and spreading diseases in China.
Some others say they oppose how the Chinese government treats foreigners
better than its own citizens. For example, universities in China, in a
race for higher rankings, often try to lure foreign students with preferential treatments.
Internet users have questioned whether foreigners living in China would
be subject to the same restrictions imposed on Chinese citizens – such
as in internal movement, having children and sending money overseas.
Wang Li, 23, said she was angry that foreign students in China often
receive big scholarships and live in luxury dorms while the rural
Chinese children are still struggling to go to school.
Wang, a recent law school graduate in Beijing, said she is also worried
about low-skilled immigrants making China a dangerous place for the next
generation to live in.
“If one day I’m walking on the street, surrounded by foreigners but few
yellow-skinned Chinese, I will choose not to have children,” she said.
It is not the first time anti-immigrant sentiment took over the Chinese
internet. In 2017, actress Yao Chen, the ambassador for the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees in China, was attacked on the Weibo social
media site over rumors that she wanted China to take refugees.
From time to time, Chinese women also get attacked online for posting about their relationships with foreign men.
I’m really worried about black people and Islam
- David Zhu, Shanghai resident
Wang Jing, an anthropologist with New York University Shanghai, said the
xenophobic outbreak in China is fueled by the ethno-nationalist idea
that the country should be dominated by a homogeneous Han population.
She said the anti-foreign sentiment also has the underlying patriarchal
belief that Chinese women are resources of the nation that should be
prevented from foreign men, especially the black and Muslims.
Chenchen Zhang, a political scientist at Queen’s University Belfast,
says disinformation about immigrants in Western countries has also
contributed to the anti-immigrant sentiment in China.
Zhang said on the Chinese internet, racist and xenophobic comments are
often tolerated by censors because they are criticizing foreigners and
Western societies.
However, the public outrage over the green card regulation has in some
cases morphed into discontent towards the Chinese government itself.
Some Weibo users have posted photos of late Communist leaders Mao Zedong
and Zhou Enlai, in veiled criticism that today’s officials are not
prioritizing the need of Chinese nationals as the earlier
revolutionaries.
Responding to the criticism, China’s Ministry of Justice said on March 7
that it would study public opinions and make amendments to the draft
bill, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
Censors have also begun to act. On Weibo, hashtags related to the draft
regulation have been removed along with millions of posts and comments.
But fierce opponents of the bill say they would not give up protesting
if the government does not fill the alleged loopholes they believe could
lead to a flood of poor, dangerous immigrants.
Gazkal Zhong, a 25-year-old IT worker in Zhongshan in the southern
province of Guangdong, said he and his friends had emailed the
government to express their concerns.
Zhong said he would consider taking to the street if the bill passes as it is.
“We locals have been living a good life here, but now outsiders are
coming to make a mess and incite trouble. Of course we will hate them,”
he said.
“I cannot accept our society falling into unrest in the future, or
become a country we cannot recognize,” he said. “We will fight till the
end.”