Global Times’s Shan Renping Defends Yang Rui; They Just Still Don’t Get It

Global Times’s Shan Renping used his pulpit to defend Yang Rui today, writing:

We think Yang’s wording was too harsh. He only stressed the problems of illegal immigrants in China without mentioning the contributions other foreigners have made to the country. He slammed many foreigners, which made it a media sensation and led to misunderstanding among foreigners.

No, we don’t misunderstand. We’re not upset at Yang because we think he hates all of us. And we certainly don’t need Yang to pat those “other” of us on the back or expose the assholes in our group (we can do that just fine ourselves). The problem with Yang Rui’s remarks right now is what the problem has always been: he is a public figure with incredible influence — that rare ability to promote understanding and a better world — and he’s lived — is living — way, way down to that potential.

That’s disappointing. But you know, everyone has lapses of judgment; what everyone does not do is look upon their mistake and think, You know what? Upon further review, it wasn’t my fault that I wrote this offensive rubbish; all these problems lie with your misunderstanding. It lies with that damn translator, traditor — traitor — who used the word “bitch” instead of “shrew” — hussies and strumpets, all of ’em (that’s what I say when I’m really angry).

At the risk of conflating Shan Renping and Yang Rui (we know they’re not the same), Shan wrote in defense of Yang, “The anti-foreigner campaigns seen in some Western countries will not be staged in China.” Huh? RELEVANCE?

With every further word that Yang Rui utters that is not an apology, he loses that much more professional credibility, which moves him that much closer toward deserving a sacking. His apologists have yet to understand the reason for this. They seem to not care that high-profile people, like a host on CCTV, especially one who makes a living talking to foreigners, should be held to a higher standard, or at the very least, held accountable for their actions.

Let’s just take a glimpse at the kind of response Yang Rui has inspired. Here are some comments underneath Shan Renping’s column:

Foreigners from non-English-speaking countries are much less racist. At most, they might be xenophobic, but if you are not in their country, then you don’t need to worry about that. It is the ones from English-speaking countries that have an innate impulse to expand and conquer.

I think Rang Rui should be praised for his good deeds. Many foreigners are here because they  want to money and a lot of the guys are after our Chinese girls.

I wonder what would have happened if someone had used the same language, but directed it at the Chinese government?

Granted, the chances of all three being from the 50-Cent Army are exceptionally high, but these are the type of reactions that Yang Rui and Shan Renping are incubating. There’s something wrong with that. Disappointing, one might say.

    2 Responses to “Global Times’s Shan Renping Defends Yang Rui; They Just Still Don’t Get It”

    1. GhostofYost

      “The anti-foreigner campaigns seen in some Western countries will not be staged in China.”

      In the Related Reading section right below this article is a headline reading “Weibo CAMPAIGN targets misbehaving foreigners”.

      Reply
    2. john H

      Mr. Yang should be fired and CCTV should apologize. If what the writer states that Mr. Yang is unable to express himself then he has no role in presenting an English program except for teaching Chinese people how to use the language wrong.

      Previous remarks of Mr. Yang qualify him as a racist. His actions should be examined and if any wrong doing is confirmed, he should be punished

      CCTV cannot be the platform that stimulates hate between races. China has many nations and to the law they are equal.

      If millions of foreigners visit China there will be of course crimes committed by a few individuals. Just as crimes get committed by Chinese visiting the West.

      People breaking the law should be punished according to the law. Westerns people should observe all Chinese regulations, I do that and I think it is normal.

      Thousands of foreigners that married a Chinese citizen are the base of improved understanding between the West and the East, they are an asset, they should not be ridiculized or stigmatized.

      This farce should be stopped as soon as possible, it hurts Chinese interest, it hurts the interests of a harmonious society.

      So sentence the criminals in a fast and correct way but don’t kick the innocent. Dont make a circus out of this.

      Certainly don’t upset people that is doing and has done so much good for this country.

      All of the world is facing a recession, we should concentrate our energy on this, not on some acts a criminal did. Police and the court can handle him very well, they don’t need this help.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply

    • (will not be published)

    XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>


    nine + = 10