Hmmmm ...

People have likely heard about the British guy (foreigner) who is charged with sexual assault on a Chinese girl, in Beijing. There was a video that has become viral in China. Enough said about that. Beijing, it seems, is now at the epicenter of some serious "anti-foreigner" sentiment.

Beijing TV (BTV) seems to be carrying the ball, and has had a number of "news reports" of foreigners behaving badly. Most recently, a Russian Cellist (with the Beijing Symphony) was video'd getting into an altercation on a train with what is described as a "sweet little old lady." Here is a news story. You can find the video on many other sites.

The tone of these reports is "less than flattering" to the foreign guests, and have sparked quite a bit of "kick the foreign devils out" comments from Chinese netizens. What has surprised me, somewhat, is that this very negative attitude is pervading many areas ... including the HOG website forum (Chinese). Remember, most HOG members in Beijing are rich & powerful (300K toys). I kinda doubt that the HOG site in the USA would permit any "kick the SBs out" comments.

Well, within a week, the Beijing city government announced a 100 day "clean-up campaign" on foreigners. OK, some say this is overdue. No doubt there are several clowns in town. But it seems that the authorities are making this a highly publicized campaign ... kinda throwing fuel on the fire. I'd argue that this should be done 365 days/year, much like it is in other countries. Whatever.

In addition, there was another campaign announced about the same time concerning motorcycles. The traffic police said they will be operating several (and increasing) roadblocks over the riding season, looking for "illegal activities" by motorcyclists (e.g., no driving license, no plates, drunk driving, etc). Here is a recent Youku video of one recent road block in Beijing (by the way, those sad-looking saps on the "bus" are on their way to jail):



OK, so add together anti-foreigner & anti-motorcycle, and you end up with BTV's top story (May 16) of a foreign guy riding an illegal R9, while drunk, and having an accident. Oh, and he didn't have a MC license. Sigh. Here is the Youku clip.



I've had a few Chinese friends "advise" me to keep a low profile and to be on my best behavior (which, of course, I always am!), and to make sure I am 100% legal. Hmmmm ... but those 47nnn plate on my motorcycles kinda identifies me as a foreigner (despite my full face helmet). Hope I don't encounter any "vehicular kung fu". Obviously, I'd lose in any challenge from a car/bus/truck driven by an angry guy.

What's the tone in other cities? I read on motorfans and HOG that Shanghai netizens are yelling "yeah, do it here too ... kick those bastards out!"

Oh ... try to keep comments somewhat civilized, perhaps as an example.