A fairly offensive advertisement in China is gaining attention for the wrong reasons. The advertisement, featuring a young attractive Chinese woman flirting with a handsome black man doesn’t end with them getting together – until she shoves detergent in his mouth and shoves him into the laundry machine. After that he pops up “clean” out of the machine, as a good looking Chinese man.
According to QZ.com: “The ad, a knock-off of an Italian commercial, seems to confirm what many have experienced in China: blunt prejudice and racism towards anyone with dark skin, including darker toned Chinese. And indeed, racism endures in China, where blacks are often referred to as heigui, or “black ghost,” a reversal of the traditional derogatory term for foreigners of baigui, or “white ghost.” Africans say they are regularly ignored by taxi drivers. Even Chinese state media are frequently tone deaf when it comes to US president Barack Obama.”
