Taiwanese Racism
Story by Yu-Tsen Pai | Illustration by Scarlett Bolton
Having studied in the U.S. as a Taiwanese student for almost five years, I constantly experience contradictions between my life in the U.S. and in Taiwan. One thing that bothers me the most is the difference in how racial discrimination and prejudice are acknowledged.
In my experience, racial discrimination is intolerable in U.S. society. While it never entirely disappears, the U.S. as a country is extremely sensitive to the issue. Quite shockingly, it is common to see Taiwanese make jokes and treat people differently based on one’s skin color without being criticized, because the society as a whole barely has awareness.
As a high school student, I often heard someone say to their friend, “I can’t see you in the picture because you’re so dark.” When someone got tanned, they were likely to be told, “You look like a “外勞 (wai lao) ” (migrant worker, mostly from southeast Asian countries).
Belittling people from southeast Asia not only happens among “innocent, immature” children, but many adults consider “wai lao” inferior and simply cheap labor that serves those who can afford them.
Going back to “skin color,” the standard of beauty in Taiwan has long been that the brighter one’s skin is, the better. Aside from beauty, people have a preconceived belief that being white says something about one’s character; this is literally “judging a book by its cover.”
Many schools and cram schools that offer English courses “taught by native speakers” are also the perpetrators of Taiwanese racism. To them, the so-called “native speakers” refer to anyone that is white, regardless of their native language. The schools cannot care less whether one is an English native speaker if the person does not look white.
When the majority of Taiwanese say “外國人 (wai guo ren)” (foreigners), the first thing that comes to mind is white people instead of any individual coming from a foreign country.
When they say “Americans,” they think of white Americans—which, people who have lived in the U.S. would know the U.S. does not look demographically like that at all.
When they refer to non-white foreigners, they would, interestingly, describe those people based on their skin color or origin instead of just calling them wai guo ren. For example, that black person (even if the black person is American), that Indian, and that “wai lao.”
Some would say they do not mean harm by it, and some would say those who feel offended should forget about it because the joke or assumption is unintentional. To me, such excuses are 100% unacceptable.
Sure, objectively speaking, Taiwan is not the same kind of melting pot as the U.S. in terms of race and ethnic makeup, so the people might not be as sensitive to the issue. But isn’t Taiwan so proud of its rich and complicated colonial, immigrant history that has made their diverse society today?
What about when we say, “Taiwan is a society of multiculturalism,” while the reality is people treating white foreigners with extreme hospitality and warmth but “others” with contempt and coldness? Ironically, whenever the Taiwanese people learn about verbal or physical racial discrimination in western countries, the only thing they worry about is: Will I be discriminated against while I’m abroad?
Therefore, the question that I never find an answer to is:
We, the Taiwanese people, are as susceptible to racism as other people of color in the so-called, white-dominated countries. Isn’t there a resemblance between us making racist jokes or stereotyping the “foreigners” whose skin color is darker than ours, and those discriminating against Asians in other countries?
If we do not find being the victim of racism pleasant, who are we to not realize how serious those jokes and prejudice are but expect others to not take it seriously? Should we not worry about such a notion, which is oftentimes encouraged? Instead of neglecting our ignorance and leaving it to the victims, we should consciously improve our multicultural competency and be more mindful of our speech and behavior.
