What White Privilege Looks Like Abroad: Chinese Companies Rent White Foreigners
source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/06/29/china.rent.white.people/index.html?iref=obnetwork
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An ad posted by a company called Rent A Laowai (Chinese for "foreigner") on the online classified site thebeijinger.com, reads, "Occasionally companies want a foreign face to go to meetings and conferences or to go to dinners and lunches and smile at the clients and shake people's hands...There are job opportunities for girls who are pretty and for men who can look good in a suit."
But more than that, these unemployed actors and english language teachers are often hired to portray fake executives. Jonathan Zatkin, an American actor who lives in Beijing, posed as the vice president of an Italian jewelry company that had, allegedly, been in a partnership with a Chinese jewelry chain for a decade. He was paid about $300 to deliver a speech for the grand opening ceremony of a jewelry store there.
"I was up on stage with the mayor of the town, and I made a speech about how wonderful it was to work with the company for 10 years and how we were so proud of all of the work they had done for us in China," Zatkin said. "They put up a big bandstand and the whole town was there and some other local muckety-mucks."
The requirements for these jobs are simple. 1. Be white. 2. Do not speak any Chinese, or really speak at all, unless asked. 3. Pretend like you just got off of an airplane yesterday.
Some call it "White Guy Window Dressing." To others, it's known as the "White Guy in a Tie" events, "The Token White Guy Gig," or, simply, a "Face Job."
Others might simply call it systemic racism.
But more than that, these unemployed actors and english language teachers are often hired to portray fake executives. Jonathan Zatkin, an American actor who lives in Beijing, posed as the vice president of an Italian jewelry company that had, allegedly, been in a partnership with a Chinese jewelry chain for a decade. He was paid about $300 to deliver a speech for the grand opening ceremony of a jewelry store there.
"I was up on stage with the mayor of the town, and I made a speech about how wonderful it was to work with the company for 10 years and how we were so proud of all of the work they had done for us in China," Zatkin said. "They put up a big bandstand and the whole town was there and some other local muckety-mucks."
The requirements for these jobs are simple. 1. Be white. 2. Do not speak any Chinese, or really speak at all, unless asked. 3. Pretend like you just got off of an airplane yesterday.
Some call it "White Guy Window Dressing." To others, it's known as the "White Guy in a Tie" events, "The Token White Guy Gig," or, simply, a "Face Job."
Others might simply call it systemic racism.
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UtopianSky
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Damn, I want that job!
Free vacation to China! - 1 year ago
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UtopianSky
