It’s rather Duke of Edinburgh, or an archaism but I repeat myself, to worry about the Yellow Peril or to insist that they all look the same.
However. Mainland China (you know, the still commie Yellow Peril) stick an oil rig in Vietnamese (still commie Yellow Peril) claimed waters and the Vietnamese citizenry go burn Taiwanese (not commie Yellow Peril) owned plants in that country.
What are we to conclude from this?
Some sort of half arsed false-flag?
Simples. It’s the paediatrician/paedophile thing all over again. Not helped by the fact that red China and blue China (Taiwan) both claim to be the One True China. To the extent that Taiwan is called the “Republic of China”. Just missing the “People’s” bit out.
Westerners get confused about this all the time, so why shouldn’t Vietnamese?
Do they do that Chinese/Japanese, dirty knees, look at these thing in Vietnam?
Racists.
The Vietnamese learned geography from the Americans?
Bloke in Germany – “Simples. It’s the paediatrician/paedophile thing all over again. Not helped by the fact that red China and blue China (Taiwan) both claim to be the One True China. To the extent that Taiwan is called the “Republic of China”. Just missing the “People’s” bit out.”
How do you explain the bigger idiocy – they burnt and looted several Singaporean-owned factories too? Singapore may be mainly ethnically Chinese, but they do not call themselves the Whatever of China.
It is more likely that the Vietnamese workers have been raised on a diet of Communist resentment of factory owners, some slightly older race-based Nationalism that says the Chinese, no matter what sort of Chinese, are The Enemy and the desire to acquire some trucks and fridges. The parallel is with Jews. If you’re going to launch a pogrom, it doesn’t matter if the Jews come from the right place or not, as long as they are Jews.
“Westerners get confused about this all the time, so why shouldn’t Vietnamese?”
Because they live there? Because they are neighbours? It is one thing to say that all wogs start at Calais, it is another thing not to be able to tell a Norwegian from a Sicilian.
That the Vietnamese couldn’t care less which side of the recent squabble any particular Chinaman is on, they’re all Chinamen as far as they’re concerned?
@SMFS, I’m out that way every year (both Chinas but mostly HK) and they really do all look the same to me. And you can no longer easily tell the mainlanders apart by their cheap and poorly-fitted grey nylon suits. An Armani-clad porker getting a parking ticket on his BMW Z4 parked outside McD’s in Ningbo or Shenzhen could easily pass for local in Singapore or Honkers.
Mrs. BiG is on to her second dialect of Chinese and finds it a bit easier to work out where people are from.
Tim Newman – “That the Vietnamese couldn’t care less which side of the recent squabble any particular Chinaman is on, they’re all Chinamen as far as they’re concerned?”
Pretty much I expect that is how it is going down. Remember that the Vietnamese celebrated defeating the Americans by 1. fighting with China and before that, 2. expelling all the ethnic Chinese they could find. Even if they had been in Vietnam since the late Ming dynasty. So a mere 400 years or so.
China returned the favour by making a condition of the HK handover that every single Vietnamese refugee was to be removed.
Bloke in Germany – “An Armani-clad porker getting a parking ticket on his BMW Z4 parked outside McD’s in Ningbo or Shenzhen could easily pass for local in Singapore or Honkers.”
Actually there is a lot of resentment in Singapore about the newly rich Mainlanders and their casual approach to road laws in their new Ferraris. Singaporeans can’t afford cars and they do actually obey the law. So those casually parked cars are almost certainly Mainlanders.
“Mrs. BiG is on to her second dialect of Chinese and finds it a bit easier to work out where people are from.”
Which is her first?
Mind you, there is a rumour they burnt and looted a couple of Japanese factories too.
So maybe it is more about what they can steal.
It’s not just Chinese entities being attacked. Korean ones as well. Ironically the ones flying American flag aren’t attack.
Chinese/Japanese/Koreans do look different from Vietnamese (generalisation). If the Vietnamese aren’t looking very carefully they may all appear the same. Japanese businesses have been attacked, and have taken to flying the Japanese flag. That seems to have worked.
Most Chinese are Han. Japanese aren’t. There are differences; it’s a bit like differentiating between northern and southern Europeans. Mobs aren’t usually interested in subtleties.
My brother’s theory is that the Chinese (Mainland), Taiwanese (also Han Chinese), Korean and Japanese mostly use local workers with the home country’s personnel for management position. And they treat the local workers harshly. Witness how the Chinese treat their own migrant workers in the company towns. Not that I’m saying American company is doing any better, but to the Vietnamese, all of the foreign Asians companies are exploiters that deserved to burn.
Of course, after the factories closed down, they’ll all be unemployed. Win-Win.
Oh before you ask, I’m a Han Chinese from Taiwan, US citizen.
@SMFS – “easily pass for local in Singapore or Honkers.”, not an expert, but should that not be “Singers or Honkers” ?
This must be due to the rich vibrant diversity. So you should not comment because that would be racist , demeaning and vile.
I have left out equal and reforming but they are available to all.
BigFire – “Of course, after the factories closed down, they’ll all be unemployed. Win-Win.”
Yep. I think it was the economist Joan Robinson who wrote that the only thing worse than being exploited by capitalism is not being exploited by capitalism.
I’m not sure she meant that in quite the same spirit as it’s usually quoted, but she was right nevertheless, yet the Vietnamese seem keen to test it… again.
johnny bonk – “@SMFS – “easily pass for local in Singapore or Honkers.”, not an expert, but should that not be “Singers or Honkers” ?”
Not me. BiG. Mr BiG even.
john malpas – “This must be due to the rich vibrant diversity. So you should not comment because that would be racist , demeaning and vile.”
The Chinese want to be a World Power. Now they are enjoying some of the side benefits – jealous lesser peoples hate you for the good you do as much for the evil.
Meh.
Personally I don’t see political correctness going down well in China.
The Chinese want to be a World Power. Now they are enjoying some of the side benefits – jealous lesser peoples hate you for the good you do as much for the evil.
Quite. it’s interesting to see that with the rise of China they are being subject to the same sort of flack in Africa and Asia that was (and still is) directed at the USA.
Tim Newman – “Quite. it’s interesting to see that with the rise of China they are being subject to the same sort of flack in Africa and Asia that was (and still is) directed at the USA.”
They are not quite there yet. But it is fun to see them get there. If you really want some fun, wait until everyone has had a few too many drinks and then say that China will never be as moral as Britain because Britain gave up its Empire in India and Africa while China is still in Tibet…..
So Much For Subtlety – we still have Gibraltar.
“What are we to conclude from this?”
That the Vietnamese hate the Chinese, wherever they’re from? The Chinese invaded Vietnam in 1979 and got their arses kicked, so probably not a good idea to try and bully them.