Job Discussion Forums

[wildnfree]

Hi all
I am new poster here...

Well, I have been living and working here in HK for almost 3 years. Worked in High Schools, Primary Schools and kindgergartens. I plan to leave soon.

HK has been good but not exactly what I was looking for. I hoped HK would be a multicultural, vibrant city. Unfortunately that hasnt been the case. I'm no longer interested in being the token white guy and a promotional tool for schools here to attract students. I'm don't want to be told I can't do such and such cause I'm White. People here have very closed, insular lives and think they are so cosmpolitan cause they wear what they think are 'western' clothes. Nevermind that they have a very conservative and ancient chinese belief system at work...

HK has given alot to me,and if course I am grateful. However, in terms of long-term living and development...it just doenst hit the spot.

Just needed to express myself!

[Horizontal Hero]

I know what you mean. It's not easy living here. I think two years will do me. One year to go!

[once again]

[wildnfree]

I am of european extraction, yet speak fluent cantonese (learnt it for over 10 years). I have had several schools warn me not to let parents of students know this, as it would be seen very negatively. I have been in teacher / parent interviews with someone interpreting when I could have saved the hassle by speaking directly with parents.

It is ridiculous to hide such a skill when it could be of so much use. It has alot to do with keeping you 'foreign' and 'outside' as much as it has to do with other peoples' egos.

I have applied for jobs in the service industry - not to be given a second look despite having language and work related experience.

A multi-cultural city, in my humble definition, is a city where peoples' employment/skill base is not restricted on base of their race; nor should their behavour be restricted. Besides teaching, what other jobs have you seen non-chinese doing? An indian bank teller? A Filipino ticket seller in the MTR? The most common counter-argument is the language barrier, but in my experience it seems chinese are happy with this segregation. Where I am from (Sydney), new immigrants are given free English lessons to assist with intergration. In other words, immigrants/foreigners are assisted/expected to contribute to society, not be marginalised by it. As any non-chinese chinese-speaker can attest to, chinese do not like speaking to non-chinese in cantonese - discouraging any intergration.

Racism exists in other ways here. My students openly express hatred for blacks, South-East Asians and Japanese. Adult students have often remarked that "all" westerners don't save money and spend their time sleeping around and living in Lan Kwai Fong.

The chinese channels (which I used to watch frequently) had a gov-sponsored add promoting acceptance of new immigrants into HK. Not one of those in the add was non-chinese - in other words the only ones we need to accept, are those mainland immigrants.

With the risk of sounding patronising (and I don't intend to in the slightest), unless you speak fluent cantonese and have lived for an extended amount of time, you can't fully appreciate the problem.

[Zero Hero]

[echo2004sierra]

From my perspective, Wildnfree sums up Hong Kong and its natives precisely and accurately.

I don't speak Cantonese, but I believe that HKers would tell him/her to hide his local language skills from the "parents".

I agree that one should be employed based on his/her skills and expertise, not on the colour of his/her skin. Yet there are loads of HKers doing English-speaking jobs despite the fact that they speak Chinglish.

I just think that, generally speaking, Wildnfree, has summed up HK people as I see them and therefore as they are.

I say this as one with a HK spouse.

[once again]

The no Cantonese rule for teachers seems very sensible. This gives the students no other choice but to speak English. Although you did not want to seem patronising wildnfree, you were. I have been here over ten years also, so assuming that everyone that has been here that long will share that point of view is innacurate.

The problems you describe of HK are the same as the problems found everywhere. How many black congressmen/senators are there in the US. The same for members of parliament in the UK. I have heard many complaints about the racist attitudes of Australians, and their institutionalised mistreatment of Aborigines, both historically and currently, is nothing other than shameful. And from what I gather from the news, don't the Australians have detention centres where they put all immigrants seeking asylum? Hardly laying out the welcome mat is it.

Some of the narrow minded attitudes you highlight are no more inaccurate than the narrow minded attitudes of those in the UK. The major difference being that Ihave never comeacross a race motivated attack in Hk, or heard of shops being burned down because of race.

I was dissapointed on leaving the UK to find prejudice everywhere. If you find somwhere without it, let me know.

[Roger]

Well, the Chinese do have a mind about certain things that's set in stone, to be sure, and "white face only speaks Jingo lingo" may be one of those mindsets although I find it hard to believe they were not a little grateful to you for knowing their local vernacular.

I urge you to go public with your experience, AND TO PUBLICISE DETAILS. There are many media outlets that should be happy to get your message back to the HK community; I suggest the SCMP.

[once again]

Roger, very interesting that you have never urged me to go public with my oppinions. I guess it must be only the negative ones that you want publicised. But what great news would SCMP pick up on?

1) An English teacher was asked not to speak Cantonese?
2) An Australian thinks that HK students are racist?
3) An Australian thinks that Sydney is better than HK?

Not really earth shattering news is it. I come from a very racist country. The UK is a VERY racist country. Prejudice is rampant and attacks based on race are not uncommon. There is nowhere I have lived or travelled to in the world that has no discrimination. Unfortunaley, this problem seems universal. So criticsing a place/country for racism seems about as useful as complaining that the clouds are grey on rainy days.

Indian people may complain about discrimination in HK, but then discriminate in their own countries.

Australians may complain about discrimination, but then discriminate in