Last month, in the aftermath of the Chen Guangcheng incident, Chinese authorities in Beijing announced a crackdown on illegal aliens living in Beijing. Official posters and propaganda called on citizens to “smash” the three illegals: “illegal immigration”, “illegal residence” and “illegal work”.  China like any nation has an obvious right to enforce its own immigration laws. That said this campaign comes off as a less than subtle attempt by officials to look tough on all things “foreign” in the wake of allowing Chen to exit China under the thinly veiled pretext of “studying abroad” in the U.S. While the official motives of the illegal-immigration crackdown are transparent, I still think the opinions of Chinese on foreigners and the behavior of foreigners within China is a topic well worth exploring. These two topics are inextricably linked since Chinese attitudes towards foreigners are not only influenced by things like foreign magazines and cinema, but also by the actions of the foreigners with which they encounter in their own communities and cities. It is the behavior of foreigners living in China and the reaction of Chinese to this behavior that I would like to focus on.

In my own personal experience the way that foreigners are greeted in China varies greatly, depending on whom they encounter. It is very rare that a foreigner, especially one of European descent is treated rudely. Nonetheless for myself there was a definite disconnect between the icy courtesy and cold stares of some and the almost fawning love of all things foreign that some young Chinese exhibit. There may be a happy medium, but it is certainly hard to find in China. Part of this is obviously generational. Younger Chinese stream NBA games on their I-Phones listen to Lady Gaga and munch on KFC, whereas the older generation can still vividly remember the lean years before the economic boom, when Mao denounced “American imperialism”.  Still the love-hate relationship with foreigners is more than just generational and is probably as old as Chinese civilization itself. As a foreigner it can be difficult to reconcile the borderline adoration one receives from some Chinese and the bitter indifference one meets from others. Partially as a result of this, some foreigners in China act quite unlike the way they would act in their home countries.

The last few months have seen some of both the worst and the best examples of foreigners in China. On a train ride in Northern China an arrogant Russian passenger, who happened to be a cellist for the Beijing orchestra put his feet above an old woman’s head. When she asked him to move his feet he mocked her and called her a “cunt” in fluent Mandarin. The uncouth cellist was rightfully, promptly fired by his employer, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. This unfortunate incident came hot on the heels of a mentally deranged British tourist sexually assaulting a young Chinese woman in Beijing. When local pedestrians saw the depraved Briton assaulting the young women they descended on him and administered a hearty beating. Both of these incidents went viral on the Chinese blogosphere.

Examples of “good” laowai have also received a lot of buzz of late. Recently a Uruguayan tourist leapt into Hangzhou’s famed West Lake to prevent a Chinese woman from committing suicide. She saved the suicidal woman as several local onlookers stood passively by. The incident sparked not only praise for the American tourist, but also much handwringing among online pundits about the state of social responsibility and community in Chinese society. Many comments lamented the fact that foreigners with no stake in Chinese society could exhibit more empathy and compassion than Chinese. Earlier this year a video of a young American student chatting and sharing a bag of McDonalds French Fries with a homeless woman in Nanjing went viral. American Ambassador Gary Locke has also become something of a sensation in China. Online bloggers seem perpetually amazed by A) how little money he has in comparison to Chinese officials B) That American officials have to actually disclose how much money they have and C) by the casual, “do it yourself” way in which he behaves. He caused a stir before even arriving in China when he ordered his OWN coffee at the airport, while waiting for his economy class flight and wearing a backpack of all things! A Chinese Ambassador would be carrying Burberry, flying first class and would most certainly not be purchasing his own coffee. Why? There are lackeys for such things of course!

The biggest issue with these black and white portrayals of foreigners in the Chinese media is they do not really approach “lao wais” as individuals. The “bad lao wai” like the Russian cellist or the perverted Briton, strengthen stereotypes and deepen Chinese fears of exploitation and humiliation at the hands of foreigners, particularly sexual exploitation. Yang Rui the host of CCTV’s English language program dialogue gave voice to these fears when he posted the following on his micro blog-

“The Ministry of Public Security must clean out foreign garbage, arrest foreign thugs and protect ignorant/innocent girls, with Wudaokou (popular student area in Beijing) and Sanlitun (bar & restaurant district in Beijing] being the disaster areas [worst places]. Behead the snake heads [human traffickers], the unemployed Americans and Europeans who come to China to make money, trafficking in people, misleading the public and encouraging them to emigrate. Identify the foreign spies, who find a Chinese woman to cohabitate with, while their job is to collect intelligence, drawing maps and perfecting GPS [coordinates] for Japan, Korea, Europe, and America under the guise of being tourists. Drive out the foreign shrew, shut down Al Jazeera’s Beijing office, let those who demonize China shut their mouths!”

His asinine charges of Espionage aside, Yang seems particularly obsessed with the idea that Chinese women and foreign men are comingling. Undoubtedly there are some fairly pathetic old Western men who have fled to China to teach English because they have utterly failed professionally and socially in the West. It is certainly nauseating to see an old, wrinkled foreigner with an attractive young Chinese woman. But Yang conveniently forgets the fact that Chinese Women are adults capable of making their own decisions, no-matter how stupid they may seem. In addition, I’ve known many foreigners in China, and most of them couldn’t even find the right bus to get on let alone “set up” GPS coordinates. In light of this fact, Yang’s assertions are patently absurd. In actuality, Yang is projecting his own xenophobia and bitterness, which is ironic because he hosts a program with frequent foreign guests.

While the “bad laowai” reinforces Chinese phobias of exploitation at the hands of foreigners, the “good laowai” serves as a model for all that is lacking in modern Chinese society. For example where Chinese officials are venal and arrogant, Ambassador Locke is humble and transparent. The average Chinese citizen is “callous” and indifferent to his fellow man, whereas foreigners like the Uruguayan rescuer are empathetic and caring.

Neither the “bad laowai” nor “good laowai” stereotypes are particularly accurate. But they do save many Chinese from having to take a more nuanced view of foreigners as individuals capable of both good and bad actions, just like people pretty much everywhere.