It is unfortunate that the historic decision by South Africa’s High Court to recognize Chinese South Africans as part of a previously disadvantaged group is couched in such inflammatory language – “Chinese are to reclassified as Black”. Media headlines around the world, even respectable outlets such as the BBC trumpet the idea that “Chinese in South Africa want to be Black”. Marco Werman, anchor on Public Radio International’s “The World” asked whether it was true that prior to 1994, Chinese wanted to be White and now they wanted to be Black, as if the Chinese are nothing more than fence sitting opportunists, waiting to see which way the wind blows before committing to a color scheme.
What many casual observers fail to realize is that South Africa’s history was not merely a matter of black and white. Apartheid, as ingeniously insidious as it was, created a hierarchy of privilege, pitting one disadvantaged group against another for the crumbs from the table of White paternalism. On the scale of discrimination, Indians were regarded as slightly superior to Coloreds, who in turn were a notch above Blacks.
The Chinese, due partly to their small numbers, and partly to the reticence of their national character, were marginalized throughout their history in South Africa, defying categorization, and as a result, were lumped with one or more population groups, like an unwanted orphan. In the early part of the twentieth century they endured, without significant protest, their lot as “non-white” residents, living in black and colored townships such as Sophiatown and Lady Selborne. In later years, they accepted their non-official status as “honorary whites”, an exquisitely insulting designation based on the inability of White officialdom to distinguish local Chinese from Taiwanese, Japanese and Koreans, with whom the Apartheid government had established lucrative trade ties – ties which may have been jeopardized if nationals from those countries would have been subjected to the slights which were the everyday provenance of the local Chinese. As pseudo-Japanese/Korean/Taiwanese, the Chinese enjoyed some respite from the harsher aspects of the color bar, such as the Group Areas act, for example, which forbade them from living in White areas. Until it was abolished in 1984, the Chinese were permitted to live in such areas – but only with the written permission of neighbors.
After 1994, the Chinese found themselves marginalized yet again, this time by a Black government, which decided intially, that the Chinese had been privileged enough under the White government, that they could be excluded from the fruits of affirmative action. The high court addressed this very wrong, which stemmed from an action brought by the Chinese Association of South Africa. Too black for the White government, and too white for the Black government, the Chinese are finally in a position to have historic injustices redressed.
Filed under: Current Affairs, World Events | Tagged: Apartheid, Chinese are Black, Discrimination, South Africa
Thank you for this wonderful synopsis. As a Chinese South African person born in 1978, it is hard for me to appreciate the inequalities that my parents’ and grandparents’ generations had to endure under the Apartheid government and the meaning that this latest ruling has for all of us.
I have not been surprised by the strange comments that have been received in various forums. But I think that we can all celebrate this private victory for the local Chinese community and feel heartened that the community stood up for itself. Thank you again for your blog.
During the White rule, the Chinese was fighting to get White preference. I can still remember the comic strip: “Two Wongs don’t make a White.” Now fighting to be Black to get into the preferential treatment.
It sounds like White Gold and now Black Gold. In reality it is Fools Gold because if the country does not use the best talent, the country loose the best people – brain drain. Long term the economy will not grow and people left behind will suffer.
Apartheid – job reservation based on a person’s color – is never good. Should never be encourage it. This all just promotes the job reservation apartheid. It is bad! It was wrong the the White rule promoted job reservation apartheid and the Black rule is doing the same. Two wrongs does not make a wright! It is a Shame that apartheid is promoted and continues to thrive.