China denies Lunar New Year broadcast with actress in blackface and fake buttocks was racist
- China said its Lunar New Year broadcast, watched by hundreds of millions, that featured blackface was not racist.
- China accused the West of trying to divide Africa and China, which it called futile.
- China has forged increasingly close ties with many African nations in its hunt to satisfy demand for commodities in its booming economy.
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Thursday it was “futile” to try to hype up a show on state television in which a Chinese actress was made up to appear African, which has provoked accusations of racism online.
The actress, Lou Naiming, appeared on stage at the widely watched Lunar New Year television gala in colorful garb with her face and arms colored brown, carrying a fruit basket on her head, and accompanied by someone dressed up as a monkey.
The scene sparked criticism on Chinese social media that it was racist and has also been widely reported on by Western media. The week-long Lunar New Year holiday ended on Wednesday.
Speaking at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China had consistently opposed any form of racism, adding that he had also watched the skit.
“Recently many media, especially Western media, have reported on and commented on this matter,” Geng said.
“I want to say that if there are people who want to seize on an incident to exaggerate matters, and sow discord in China’s relations with African countries, this is a doomed futile effort,” he added.
China and Africa had weathered many storms and their cooperation had been successful, Geng said.
“How relations are between China and Africa and whether or not cooperation is good, African countries and the people of Africa know in their hearts exactly how things stand.”
State television did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China is hosting the heads of many African nations later in the year at a once-every-three-years summit between China and Africa.
Public discussion of racial discrimination is unusual in China, which is dominated by the ethnic Han majority but is also home to dozens of minority groups as well as a growing influx of foreign residents, including Africans.
In 2016, a laundry detergent company in China apologized after running an ad in which a black man was stuffed headfirst into a washing machine only to emerge a moment later as a fair-skinned Asian man.
China has forged increasingly close ties with many African nations in its hunt to satisfy demand for commodities in its booming economy. Beijing has rejected accusations of neo-colonialism in Africa, saying its aid there has no strings attached and is widely welcomed.
IMAGE: Chinese actor Lou Naiming (C) performs a skit on a Lunar New Year gala in Beijing, China, February 15, 2018. Picture taken February 15, 2018.REUTERS/Stringer
For more on this story go to; http://www.businessinsider.com/china-denies-lunar-new-year-show-with-blackface-fake-butt-was-racist-2018-2?utm_source=feedburner&%3Butm_medium=referral&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+%28Business+Insider%29
