Debates about “cleaning the „foreign garbage‟” in China – Where has the people-to-people friendship gone?

Abstract

The lack of official response to the recent rant of a news anchor man of Chinese television, calling on Chinese to ―clean the ‗foreign garbage‘‖, is disconcerting. CCS research fellow Dr Daouda Cissé reports back from Eastern China, where he is currently spending time for fieldwork. He is back in China for the first time in a year, after having lived there for five years previously. Considering the sharp rise of China‘s prominence, it is not surprising that a lot of things have changed economically with new buildings and infrastructure everywhere. However, economic change does not mean political opening. While the ‗Middle Kingdom‘ is increasingly engaging with the world, this does not mean that ‗official China‘ welcomes foreigners with open arms, as Dr Cissé reports.