Chinese actor Zhang Linghe is facing backlash from some international viewers over a remark he made on the variety show Hello Saturday. During a segment where his Pursuit of Jade co-star Tian Xiwei drew him, the 28-year-old actor looked at the portrait and said, “I felt like (I) was born in Southeast Asia.” He later issued an apology, but public opinion remains sharply divided.
While Tian Xiwei was drawing, Zhang Linghe joked that it initially looked like Yang Di. After the portrait was finished, he asked again who it looked like. Someone commented that the person in the drawing had “windblown hair”, which prompted him to say it felt like someone born in Southeast Asia.
While some viewers defend that the “one line” was not meant negatively, others accused the remark as being discriminatory and questioned his intent. Zhang Linghe posted a comment on Instagram to apologize in both Chinese and English. He said he was truly sorry that his words caused discomfort and stressed that he never intended to discriminate. He also thanked fans across Southeast Asia and said he would not want his supporters to feel sad because of the incident.
The production team of Hello Saturday has since removed the controversial segment.
Ash
I would have taken turned it into a compliment – it’s a portrait showing a carefree and happy spirit, which many South East Asian natives are. Handsome too !
Ale
@Ash It’s a very common derogatory remark in China, to say someone “looks Southeast Asian” implies they are darkskinned with thick lips or a flat nose, Chinese people love to poke fun at people from Guangxi/Yunnan (near Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar) for being monkeys or “Southeast Asian” because they are more tanned, rural, backward, with many Chinese minority ethnic tribes like Dai, Bai, Miao, Tibetan people living there.
it’s akin to saying someone looks like they’re native American or indigenous in North America or Australia, it’s usually not used to imply they are more carefree or happy but as an insult to say that they are economically backward or rural bumpkins which is whats being implied when they say “Southeast Asian”
You could try to deny the racism or beautify because he’s handsome but it’s said by a lot of Chinese toward people from Southern China, they only treat Hongkong, Shenzhen, Guangdong people better because it’s rich but the rest of the South gets insulted a lot.
Anon
I think you are spreading fake news. I asked a number of my colleagues who were working in China for many years, some more than 10 years, and in different locations They have not come across any of such discriminatory or insulting words or actions in all that time, whether in workplace or daily lives. Some of our colleagues are south east asian indigenous people themselves and they went there with families.
Ale
@Anon Just google these terms “广西猴” Guangxi Monkey, “粤猴” Cantonese Monkey, “广猴“ Guangdong Monkey, you can even try googling the English terms or ask Google AI why Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan people are discriminated against and called Southeast Asian and Monkeys. Don’t take my word for it, ask Google or check Reddit. I’ve browsed Chinese forums for years and they often call tanned people or thick lipped people Southeast Asian as an insult, historically China has always been mean to Southern Chinese people from Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, which is why so many Southern Chinese people immigrated to Taiwan, the West and Southeast Asia such that all Chinatowns are mostly built by Southern Chinese. They left China like refugees fleeing war and famine in the colonial era when ship travel became ubiquitous, because life in China was terrible for Southern Chinese and they often got discriminated for speaking dialects like Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka. I’m Cantonese myself and even on Reddit you can see forums like KanagawaWave use terms like 广猴 or 粤猴, it’s mostly used by terminally online Chinese men who are racist or misogynist but the fact Zhang Linghe uses a term “looks Southeast Asian” and Mango TV doesn’t edit it out tells you such derogatory remarks are common in China. it’s like saying “looks African” when you see a drawing with thick lips or some ethnic features, if Zhang Linghe said “looks like I was born in Africa” when he saw the drawing would it be OK?
Merra
No she is not, looking like SA is a VERY common insult and derogatory not just in China but in Japan too ;which means like the comment in top said ;someone is tanned, poor and ugly and look like a beggar in general
XZF
@Ale
Thanks for your comment here. I’m learning something new today. At first I thought what is so wrong about his comment? We all need to be careful what we are saying.
Chris
He apologized in a comment of a 4 day old post. If he was sincere, why not a standalone post? Or pin it so people can see? Cowardly. Then he bought a hot search to play victim in China so his people can protect him from the snowflake SEA bullies he insulted. This trick might work to make people ignore how his drama has more water than the Mississippi River and he is the beneficiary of massively unfair treatment, but it didn’t. People trying not to drown and no one cared except his fans.
Anonym
Aiyah, it’s still better than people like Zhao Liying who never apologized. She herself was born in countryside, she also made fun of countryside people. She said “thanks to my parents for not giving me a face like countryside people” – that’s why I can become an actress. What she said was much more harming. Zhang Linghe is at least joking and making fun of himself in a drawing, and he apologized. Zhao Liying can whitewash herself by buying hot searches that she is cute for being “honest” and “blunt” so why can’t we be lenient to others as well?