China News Service, March 19, according to the British "Huawen Weekly" WeChat public account "Huawen Group", not long ago, Huawen Weekly reported that a Chinese teacher who teaches at the University of Southampton in the UK was jogging in the street When he was besieged and beaten, British netizens angered the perpetrators after the incident.

　　Regrettably, similar incidents still occur in the UK from time to time. This time it was a couple operating a Chinese restaurant who encountered the harassment.

A Chinese restaurant in Reading continues to receive harassing calls

　　According to BerkshireLive, 36-year-old Steven Mann and his Chinese wife Joanna are from Coventry. They run a Chinese restaurant called Yipinxiang on Christchurch Road in Reading.

　　According to Steven, since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, they have received harassing calls asking if they "supply bats."

　　"The caller deliberately used a cartoonish Chinese accent to speak to us. It seemed to be very funny, but my wife, my wife and children were offended," he said.

　　The harassing phone calls made Steven and his wife unbearable, "These people call us often and it's a waste of our time. We come here just to do business."

　　"Before the new crown pneumonia epidemic, some people would call and ask us if we have dog or cat meat for sale. This situation has been going on for many years. What happened to these people? Whether in real life or on the Internet, please stop you. Racial discrimination." Joanna said: "It makes me very angry, I don’t want to receive these calls. I wrote down their numbers and wanted to block these calls, but they always call. I'm fed up now. , So I decided to collect the numbers of recent harassing calls and call the police."

　　"Another issue that worries me is that other Chinese restaurant operators in Reading may also encounter the same situation. We call the police and hope that similar things will not happen to other Chinese."

　　Steven also said that one person even used a voice changer to make harassment calls to the restaurant, "The voice of speaking is just like the voice you hear in the movie, very low and slow. Originally, the restaurant we operated was already in the epidemic. We are struggling, and receiving such a call has increased our pressure."

　　The couple also said that they were not sure whether the harassing call was made by one person or a group of people, and now they try not to answer calls from unknown numbers.

　　But Joanna said: “Sometimes the GP or school will call, and we can’t help but call the police, so the best way is to call the police. We really want to run this restaurant well and provide you with authentic Chinese food. We hope ( Harassment) This situation can be stopped."

　　Now, Steven has reported to the police, hoping to stop these harassing calls from coming in, and also hoping to stop these people from making harassing calls to other restaurants.

In the UK, Chinese people share their experiences of being racist in the past year

　　Recently, a Chinese named Natalie Huang shared on the website of the Huffington Post about her experience of living in the UK as an Asian for more than a year.

　　At the beginning of last year, when she told her Asian friends that she was flying from Hong Kong to London, her friend reminded her to "come back and be careful."

At the time, Natalie hadn't taken it seriously.

　　After arriving in the UK, Natalie once chatted with some old school friends online.

One of the alumni recommended sweet and sour chicken nuggets from a Chinese restaurant she often ordered, but she added "Good luck to me".

　　This made Natalie feel a little uncomfortable, feeling that the casual words of her friend seemed to expose a deep-rooted concept in the hearts of the British, "I think Chinese food is'dirty' and'unhygienic'".

But other people in the group did not raise objections at the time, "They seem to approve this way of making fun of Asian food."

　　So Natalie also kept silent, she didn't want to ruin the atmosphere just because of her friends' "random comments".

　　A week after the incident, Natalie plucked up the courage to talk about it with this friend, and the friend apologized to her, which made Natalie very happy.

But it also caused Natalie's reflection: "I don't know how many times a similar situation has happened to me. My silence made this occasional racial discrimination normalize."

　　Natalie recalled: "During the first full British lockdown, I went out to buy food for my elderly parents, but I will never forget that feeling. I was more worried about being abused or being physically attacked than I was worried about contracting the virus. I can wear a mask, wash my hands, and maintain social distancing to protect myself from the virus, but I am unable to protect myself and the people around me from racist attacks."

　　In the following months, she experienced more and more discrimination in her daily life.

"At the bank, a clerk ordered me to stand further away from her than other customers. When I insisted that I did exactly the same as my previous customers (not to mention that there was a glass barrier, I was still wearing Mask), the staff replies to me rudely, this is for her safety. I think the reason why I was treated like this is very obvious, but I did not refute her because I hope to leave this enclosed space as soon as possible, also for the sake of My own safety."

　　Natalie also said that among her family and friends, she is not the only one who has encountered racial discrimination.

"A friend of mine was called by a stranger on his way to the supermarket, "Go away and go back to your own country", and the person spit at him. When my friend was about to react, the person warned He said he had a knife and would stab him. Then my friend reported the case to the police, but because there was no surveillance video, the police did not open the case."

　　A friend of Natalie's worried about her and bought her a siren to carry around, just in case.

This alarm can emit a high-decibel sound and emit an unpleasant smell.

For a long time after this, every time Natalie left the house, she reminded herself to be vigilant and test whether the alarm was useful.

　　Finally, Natalie called in the article: "If a hate crime involving physical or verbal violence occurs, please report it to the police. Whether you see or hear behavior or language involving racial discrimination, you must inform the other party. If anyone If you have become a victim of racial discrimination, you must speak up. For some Asian companies that have suffered unfair treatment during the epidemic, I hope to help them personally."

　　"The issue of racial discrimination has troubled us for too long, but it has only now attracted wider attention. I hope we can work together to find a solution." She wrote.

How to deal with racial discrimination?

　　So, how should the British Chinese and international students deal with similar incidents?

Attorney Zhu Xiaojiu, president of the China-Britain Lawyers Association, gave relevant advice from a legal perspective.

　　1. What is the definition of racial discrimination?

　　First, we need to understand the definition of racial discrimination.

　　Racial discrimination is illegal, and it is a type of hate crime.

Its definition refers to a person's attitude of contempt, hatred and repulsion towards others.

This is mainly manifested in speech or behavior.

These behaviors are mainly due to differences in race, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation, or because of the physical defects and disabilities of others.

　　The British Crown Prosecutor’s Office defines racial discrimination as: a person’s hostility and prejudice towards other races.

　　Related reports in the UK show that the number of hate crimes has gradually increased in the past five years.

More than 400,000 hate crimes were reported in England and Wales from 2013 to 2014. In England alone, there were 103,000 hate crimes from 2018 to 2019.

In the annual statistics, about 80% of hate crimes are caused by racial discrimination.

　　2. What are the manifestations of racial discrimination?

　　Racial discrimination is roughly reflected in the following aspects:

　　·Use offensive language to attack race, race, nationality or religious beliefs;

　　·This attack is continuous;

　　· There is violence;

　　·Abusive, insulting or defilement;

　　·The area where the hatred and discrimination incident occurred is related to a certain hate organization;

　　·When hatred and discrimination incidents occur, they are associated with specific religious festivals and ethnic activities.

　　3. How to report to the police and appeal?

　　·If you have suffered racial discrimination, you should report it to the police immediately and dial 101;

　　·If the situation is urgent and you feel that your safety is threatened, you should dial 999 immediately;

　　When making a report, it is best to provide the specific time, place, appearance characteristics and behavioral language of the person;

　　·On ​​the premise of ensuring personal safety, recording or video recording is possible;

　　·It is recommended that when friends or colleagues make inappropriate jokes, if conditions permit, point out the seriousness of such remarks and the potential harm to you in a friendly manner.

　　4. How to eliminate the negative impact of racial discrimination on the Chinese?

　　In this regard, Zhu Xiaojiu gave the following suggestions. She believes that many of the current racial discrimination against Chinese people is caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic. It is difficult for individuals to influence the attitudes of others, but positive publicity can be carried out. "For example, let the British people know that China How to effectively control the new crown pneumonia epidemic? Let them know how much personal sacrifices Chinese individuals and enterprises have made, and how much losses the enterprises have endured, to successfully control the further spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic."

　　Zhu Xiaojiu also called on Chinese and international students to consciously isolate themselves for 14 days after arriving in the UK. “This will help reduce the risk of the virus spreading in the UK, thereby reducing the negative impact of the epidemic on Chinese families and local society’s racial prejudice against Chinese people.”

　　Zhu Xiaojiu finally emphasized, “Don’t think that racial discrimination is a trivial matter. The Chinese must have the courage to defend their rights. In this case, not only should they report to the police, but the sooner they should be, the better.” (Peng Lin)