will China ever have its own Barack
Obama this question may seem fanciful
but it’s important in its applications
who is the largest country in the world
for is it for people who are of Chinese
descent or is it for anyone in the world
who wants to come to China live in China
be a part of China well China ever have
its own Barack Obama of course I can’t
answer this question I can’t see the
future but at least I hope to be able to
get you to think about this question in
a new way there are two different types
of belonging to a country it can be
based on civic identity or it can be
based on ethnic identity countries like
the United States Brazil Canada are
based on civic identity in this kind of
identity belonging to a country is a
little bit like belonging to a club that
you choose to join your race doesn’t
matter of course there’s racism in these
countries we all know this but still has
the organizational principles of these
countries race is beside the point if a
person of Chinese descent lives in
Canada for example and they follow the
proper procedures they can become
Canadian no one’s gonna say you know
you’re Chinese you can’t become Canadian
you have to be wait to become Canadian
now in an age of Donald Trump anybody
can say anything but nonetheless as the
founding principles of these countries
which continue race doesn’t matter Japan
Korea and China on the other hand have
been based on ethnic identity this is
like belonging not to a club but to a
family it’s often thought
as a matter of blood your ethnic
identity determines your membership
I know Japan well I speak Japanese I fit
in the society in some sense but can I
become Japanese no legally I could
become Japanese but if I told my
Japanese friends who I’m Japanese they
would laugh at me they’d say are you
insane
you can’t be Japanese now you in the
audience can become Canadian if you want
to and if you jump through the hoops to
make it possible but I cannot become
Japanese regardless of how much I may
want to because of my ethnicity I’m of
the wrong ethnicity this is not a legal
matter
I have African friends who are married
to Japanese who have Japanese
citizenship so we’re not saying they
can’t pick up Japanese citizens this is
a social matter no one in Japan will
accept them as being Japanese just as no
one would accept me as being Japanese
now of course all countries are mixtures
of civic and ethnic identity but some
countries like Brazil and Canada
emphasize more civic identity others
such as those in Western Europe are in
the middle and countries like Korea
Japan and China are based largely on
ethnic identity now an important point I
need to make here civic identity is not
necessarily better than ethnic identity
that’s not what’s being said here civic
identity is good because it’s inclusive
but ethnic identity is good because it’s
deep like belonging to a family as
opposed to simply a club one could say
that ethnic identity is racist not a
racism against any particular ethnic
group but against all ethnic groups
other than one’s own but still in Japan
in Korea in China ethnic identity as the
organizational basis for society has
worked very well for centuries for
millennia
it’s been quite successful obviously but
no more ethnic identity is giving way to
civic identity all over the world why
well because people of different
ethnicities intermingle and they wind up
falling in love and getting married and
having children this is inevitable
ethnic identity is giving way to civic
identity around the world and in these
three societies I’ve mentioned you can
see this Korea has long been highly
ethnically based but today 13% of
marriages in Korea are international
mostly rural Korean men marrying women
from China and the Philippines
international marriages in Japan peaked
in 2006 at about 6% they’ve gone down
since because of tighter immigration
laws but every Japanese city has far
more resident foreigners today than it
had 30 and 40 years ago and
international marriages inevitably
follow what of China China has been
historically less ethnically based in
Japan in Korea and in China now as you
all know there are hunched eye knees
plus 55 minority nationalities but
ethnic consciousness remains quite
strong the most common international
marriage is between PRC Chinese and
overseas Chinese many young Chinese go
to study outside China marry a foreigner
and do not return but inside China
international marriages remain
considerably rarer than in Korea or in
Japan however as China continues to
become richer more and more people from
around the world come to China not just
people who are ethnically Chinese I
wrote a book last year called the world
in Guangzhou about the range of
foreigners coming to Guangzhou and how
they are seeking their fortunes but also
to make better lives for themselves if
China’s affluence continues to grow so
too will its internationalization and
will its international marriages
consider Africans in Guangzhou there are
some 15,000 sub-saharan Africans in
Guangzhou although the number varies
depending on the time of year many of
these Africans stay only briefly but
some stay for years or a decade or more
making Guangzhou their home there are
apparently many hundreds of babies of
African Chinese couples the exact number
is impossible to know one of them may be
the future Barack Obama in China many of
the men in these relationships are over
stairs living in China illegally most
Africans in Guangzhou leave after a few
weeks or months when their visas expire
but a few remain because their business
dealings cause them to not be able to
leave and stay in China when they stay
in China they meet Chinese they fall in
love with Chinese marriages result
children result I have been to a number
of marriages in churches in Guangzhou
between an African husband and a Chinese
wife remarkably joyous Affairs but the
husband is an over stare these will
never be legally recognized the husband
can be arrested imprisoned and deported
by Chinese authorities at any time what
of their children there is no dual
citizenship in China so children must
either belong to the African country of
the father or the stay in China for now
and perhaps for their entire lives but
what will happen to them will they ever
be accepted as Chinese I think of the
Chinese African singer lo Jing who in
2009 won a sinking competition in
Shanghai and then was really vilified
grossly criticized online by Chinese
medicines for her ethnic mix
we’ll the future in China be any
different let’s consider Chinese racism
when you see an African on the street
what honestly is your immediate reaction
do you think I don’t like black people
or do you think those black people might
bring in diseases those black people
smell those black people behave badly
I’ve heard or do you think I don’t like
poor people assuming that all Africans
are poor now in fact that’s a very much
a mistaken assumption I’ve done quite a
bit of research among the African
traders in Guangzhou and the average
trader is much richer than the average
Chinese in the city your instant
reaction can tell you a great deal about
how you really think deep inside are you
a racist it’s a complicated question but
think about it I’ve seen much racism in
China this is partly a matter of
ignorance I once saw an old Chinese man
walk into an African restaurant in shell
Bay see an African man and began rubbing
his skin really hard to see if the color
came off this is real I saw this I
couldn’t believe it but I’ve also seen
much casual crudité the term hawk wife
shouted by Chinese as Africans pass by
and I’ve also encountered the very
common assumption that Africans come
from poor countries the relation between
the color of one’s skin and the color of
one’s passport is really interesting
the latter may be more important than
the former in some respects what if the
African you see walking down the street
is a citizen of Great Britain for
example will this change your view
country may be more important than skin
colour in many respects but
discrimination is not simply anti black
but also anti foreign as earlier
mentioned in terms of ethnic
nationalism Chinese parents sometimes
say that they wouldn’t let their
daughter marry an African and we they
often would say I think white people are
better than black people I’ve heard that
but more they say they wouldn’t allow
their daughter to marry any foreigner
how would that foreigner communicate
with us how could they ever understand
our lives they may say among the African
Chinese couples I know often the only
way to get Chinese parents to accept it
is for the daughter to become pregnant
and then the parents have to but again
what happens to these babies what kinds
of lives will they live in a China that
is certainly more open to foreigners
than it was 40 and 60 years ago but that
is also growing more and more
nationalistic this leads me back to the
basic question with which I began will
asked a Nigerian religious teacher in
Guangzhou this question he told me my
answer is yes because this is
globalization Africans Americans
Europeans Chinese together this is the
new world a world in which where you
come from doesn’t matter
rather your character your wisdom is all
that matters I also asked a Chinese
Communist Party official the same
question he said there can only be a
Chinese Barack Obama if a top Communist
Party official is racially mixed but no
even then you wouldn’t have a Chinese
Barack Obama because Chinese people
would never support this China’s not
racially mixed for now China is for
Chinese I’ve met almost no Africans in
Guangzhou who say that the society
welcomes them eventually however China
will indeed become a society not just
China not just for Chinese but for all
the world simply because it cannot keep
the world out Japan tried for centuries
it’s easier in Japan because it’s made
up of islands but Japan too has become
more open so will China ever have its
own Barack Obama no not for the
foreseeable future given China’s current
upsurge in nationalism
and in holding internationalization at
arm’s length
but if China’s growth continues if China
does not undergo a drop in wealth or
another Cultural Revolution then this is
inevitable China will become not just
for Chinese but for the world now is
this a good thing I think it’s good I
live in Hong Kong and I feel that Hong
Kong despite my ethnicity my white skin
is indeed my home I would love to see
this happen in China as well however a
Chinese person might argue that hey
China should only be for Chinese
foreigners they could be foreign friends
but China should be for Chinese and that
view also is very powerfully held and
must be taken seriously but in any case
whether good or bad
China’s internationalization is
inevitable if China’s affluence
continues China like the United States
and Western Europe will become a magnet
for immigrants from the developing world
who seek a better life for themselves
the Africans in Guangzhou are the
forerunners of what is to come
this probably won’t happen in my
lifetime I’m old as you can see but it
probably will happen in most of your
lifetimes China will not be the home of
Chinese alone but if people from all
over the world if not you your children
and grandchildren will need to get used
to this for this day is coming
a Chinese Barack Obama will indeed
[Music] [Applause]
Obama this question may seem fanciful
but it’s important in its applications
who is the largest country in the world
for is it for people who are of Chinese
descent or is it for anyone in the world
who wants to come to China live in China
be a part of China well China ever have
its own Barack Obama of course I can’t
answer this question I can’t see the
future but at least I hope to be able to
get you to think about this question in
a new way there are two different types
of belonging to a country it can be
based on civic identity or it can be
based on ethnic identity countries like
the United States Brazil Canada are
based on civic identity in this kind of
identity belonging to a country is a
little bit like belonging to a club that
you choose to join your race doesn’t
matter of course there’s racism in these
countries we all know this but still has
the organizational principles of these
countries race is beside the point if a
person of Chinese descent lives in
Canada for example and they follow the
proper procedures they can become
Canadian no one’s gonna say you know
you’re Chinese you can’t become Canadian
you have to be wait to become Canadian
now in an age of Donald Trump anybody
can say anything but nonetheless as the
founding principles of these countries
which continue race doesn’t matter Japan
Korea and China on the other hand have
been based on ethnic identity this is
like belonging not to a club but to a
family it’s often thought
as a matter of blood your ethnic
identity determines your membership
I know Japan well I speak Japanese I fit
in the society in some sense but can I
become Japanese no legally I could
become Japanese but if I told my
Japanese friends who I’m Japanese they
would laugh at me they’d say are you
insane
you can’t be Japanese now you in the
audience can become Canadian if you want
to and if you jump through the hoops to
make it possible but I cannot become
Japanese regardless of how much I may
want to because of my ethnicity I’m of
the wrong ethnicity this is not a legal
matter
I have African friends who are married
to Japanese who have Japanese
citizenship so we’re not saying they
can’t pick up Japanese citizens this is
a social matter no one in Japan will
accept them as being Japanese just as no
one would accept me as being Japanese
now of course all countries are mixtures
of civic and ethnic identity but some
countries like Brazil and Canada
emphasize more civic identity others
such as those in Western Europe are in
the middle and countries like Korea
Japan and China are based largely on
ethnic identity now an important point I
need to make here civic identity is not
necessarily better than ethnic identity
that’s not what’s being said here civic
identity is good because it’s inclusive
but ethnic identity is good because it’s
deep like belonging to a family as
opposed to simply a club one could say
that ethnic identity is racist not a
racism against any particular ethnic
group but against all ethnic groups
other than one’s own but still in Japan
in Korea in China ethnic identity as the
organizational basis for society has
worked very well for centuries for
millennia
it’s been quite successful obviously but
no more ethnic identity is giving way to
civic identity all over the world why
well because people of different
ethnicities intermingle and they wind up
falling in love and getting married and
having children this is inevitable
ethnic identity is giving way to civic
identity around the world and in these
three societies I’ve mentioned you can
see this Korea has long been highly
ethnically based but today 13% of
marriages in Korea are international
mostly rural Korean men marrying women
from China and the Philippines
international marriages in Japan peaked
in 2006 at about 6% they’ve gone down
since because of tighter immigration
laws but every Japanese city has far
more resident foreigners today than it
had 30 and 40 years ago and
international marriages inevitably
follow what of China China has been
historically less ethnically based in
Japan in Korea and in China now as you
all know there are hunched eye knees
plus 55 minority nationalities but
ethnic consciousness remains quite
strong the most common international
marriage is between PRC Chinese and
overseas Chinese many young Chinese go
to study outside China marry a foreigner
and do not return but inside China
international marriages remain
considerably rarer than in Korea or in
Japan however as China continues to
become richer more and more people from
around the world come to China not just
people who are ethnically Chinese I
wrote a book last year called the world
in Guangzhou about the range of
foreigners coming to Guangzhou and how
they are seeking their fortunes but also
to make better lives for themselves if
China’s affluence continues to grow so
too will its internationalization and
will its international marriages
consider Africans in Guangzhou there are
some 15,000 sub-saharan Africans in
Guangzhou although the number varies
depending on the time of year many of
these Africans stay only briefly but
some stay for years or a decade or more
making Guangzhou their home there are
apparently many hundreds of babies of
African Chinese couples the exact number
is impossible to know one of them may be
the future Barack Obama in China many of
the men in these relationships are over
stairs living in China illegally most
Africans in Guangzhou leave after a few
weeks or months when their visas expire
but a few remain because their business
dealings cause them to not be able to
leave and stay in China when they stay
in China they meet Chinese they fall in
love with Chinese marriages result
children result I have been to a number
of marriages in churches in Guangzhou
between an African husband and a Chinese
wife remarkably joyous Affairs but the
husband is an over stare these will
never be legally recognized the husband
can be arrested imprisoned and deported
by Chinese authorities at any time what
of their children there is no dual
citizenship in China so children must
either belong to the African country of
the father or the stay in China for now
and perhaps for their entire lives but
what will happen to them will they ever
be accepted as Chinese I think of the
Chinese African singer lo Jing who in
2009 won a sinking competition in
Shanghai and then was really vilified
grossly criticized online by Chinese
medicines for her ethnic mix
we’ll the future in China be any
different let’s consider Chinese racism
when you see an African on the street
what honestly is your immediate reaction
do you think I don’t like black people
or do you think those black people might
bring in diseases those black people
smell those black people behave badly
I’ve heard or do you think I don’t like
poor people assuming that all Africans
are poor now in fact that’s a very much
a mistaken assumption I’ve done quite a
bit of research among the African
traders in Guangzhou and the average
trader is much richer than the average
Chinese in the city your instant
reaction can tell you a great deal about
how you really think deep inside are you
a racist it’s a complicated question but
think about it I’ve seen much racism in
China this is partly a matter of
ignorance I once saw an old Chinese man
walk into an African restaurant in shell
Bay see an African man and began rubbing
his skin really hard to see if the color
came off this is real I saw this I
couldn’t believe it but I’ve also seen
much casual crudité the term hawk wife
shouted by Chinese as Africans pass by
and I’ve also encountered the very
common assumption that Africans come
from poor countries the relation between
the color of one’s skin and the color of
one’s passport is really interesting
the latter may be more important than
the former in some respects what if the
African you see walking down the street
is a citizen of Great Britain for
example will this change your view
country may be more important than skin
colour in many respects but
discrimination is not simply anti black
but also anti foreign as earlier
mentioned in terms of ethnic
nationalism Chinese parents sometimes
say that they wouldn’t let their
daughter marry an African and we they
often would say I think white people are
better than black people I’ve heard that
but more they say they wouldn’t allow
their daughter to marry any foreigner
how would that foreigner communicate
with us how could they ever understand
our lives they may say among the African
Chinese couples I know often the only
way to get Chinese parents to accept it
is for the daughter to become pregnant
and then the parents have to but again
what happens to these babies what kinds
of lives will they live in a China that
is certainly more open to foreigners
than it was 40 and 60 years ago but that
is also growing more and more
nationalistic this leads me back to the
basic question with which I began will
asked a Nigerian religious teacher in
Guangzhou this question he told me my
answer is yes because this is
globalization Africans Americans
Europeans Chinese together this is the
new world a world in which where you
come from doesn’t matter
rather your character your wisdom is all
that matters I also asked a Chinese
Communist Party official the same
question he said there can only be a
Chinese Barack Obama if a top Communist
Party official is racially mixed but no
even then you wouldn’t have a Chinese
Barack Obama because Chinese people
would never support this China’s not
racially mixed for now China is for
Chinese I’ve met almost no Africans in
Guangzhou who say that the society
welcomes them eventually however China
will indeed become a society not just
China not just for Chinese but for all
the world simply because it cannot keep
the world out Japan tried for centuries
it’s easier in Japan because it’s made
up of islands but Japan too has become
more open so will China ever have its
own Barack Obama no not for the
foreseeable future given China’s current
upsurge in nationalism
and in holding internationalization at
arm’s length
but if China’s growth continues if China
does not undergo a drop in wealth or
another Cultural Revolution then this is
inevitable China will become not just
for Chinese but for the world now is
this a good thing I think it’s good I
live in Hong Kong and I feel that Hong
Kong despite my ethnicity my white skin
is indeed my home I would love to see
this happen in China as well however a
Chinese person might argue that hey
China should only be for Chinese
foreigners they could be foreign friends
but China should be for Chinese and that
view also is very powerfully held and
must be taken seriously but in any case
whether good or bad
China’s internationalization is
inevitable if China’s affluence
continues China like the United States
and Western Europe will become a magnet
for immigrants from the developing world
who seek a better life for themselves
the Africans in Guangzhou are the
forerunners of what is to come
this probably won’t happen in my
lifetime I’m old as you can see but it
probably will happen in most of your
lifetimes China will not be the home of
Chinese alone but if people from all
over the world if not you your children
and grandchildren will need to get used
to this for this day is coming
a Chinese Barack Obama will indeed
[Music] [Applause]
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