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| No! Not All Native English Speakers Are White. |
An individual who speaks English as their first language since birth and continues to speak English on a daily basis throughout childhood till adolescence.
There is a high demand for Native English Speakers/ Teachers for schools, tutoring centers, and after school programs in Hong Kong.
However, the demand is limited to specific target group. You have to be Non-Asian. So, even if you are a russian/ german, or anything that looks non-asian, you are perceived to have native English ability(So sad). Schools supposedly have to abide by the law in not racially discriminating qualified candidates. They include in their job post that they are equal opportunity employers. However, they some times require a photo of you when you apply for the position just to see if you are non-asian.
WHY DO Hong Kong People DO THIS?
1. Status/ Face
2. Credibility
3. Ignorance
1. Status or Face is one of the most fundamental aspects of Hong Kong society. You always hear the term " lose face". At many schools in Hong Kong, they need to promote their business, and they believe having a non-asian teacher to teach their course will attract parents to bring their child to their school. So the schools will do what ever is necessary. After all, its a business. If you are not non-asian, the chances are they won't even give you a chance no matter how qualified you are.
2. Credibility- Having a non-asian teacher at your school gives your school more credibility in your school. They can be a trailer trash white hick, and the schools will hire them just because...they have blond hair and blue eyes.
3. Ignorance- Many Hong Kong locals are ignorant. They don't understand that there are people in the world who look asian that were born and raised outside of Asia with Native English speaking ability. Truthfully, I don't blame the locals because they have never been outside of Hong Kong. They just don't know.
How do we fix this?
Hong Kong is such an international city, but most are still ignorant in many ways. This is probably due to the information they receive from news, internet and media. We need to inform society and educate them.People need to understand that there are people out there just like Jeremy Lin. Probably a lot more than you know. There are native English speakers that do not speak any Chinese at all.
Found an interesting article on:
http://www.asianweek.com/011499/coverstory.html
Strained Relations
Why Chinatown's venerable associations are ending up in court
'The term "juk sing" means "caught between the notch of a bamboo stick" in Cantonese. It's also how immigrants disparagingly refer to their U.S.-born counterparts: those who genetically share the same ethnicity but are seen as being forever caught in the middle, not fully American because of their looks, but not truly Chinese because of their American attitudes and their lack of proficiency in the Chinese language.'
By Julie D. Soo
"Juk sings" do exist. Many reside all over the U.S.. I'm not referring to the Chinese people who immigrated to America when they were young. I'm talking about the ones who actually were born and raised in an American Society. We are not American, British, etc. We are definitely NOT Chinese.
When I was young, my dad would always ask, " Are you Chinese or American?" I would always tell him that I am American. He thought I was silly because people will always perceive me as Chinese. However, I don't carry any of Chinese aspects in my lifestyle growing up. Actually, I resented my Chinese Heritage. However, as I got older I learned to realize that I like cherish my Chinese heritage and that I carry a unique identity. I am, We are "Chinese-American". We fall into a special category that neither Americans nor Chinese people understand. We have a unique identity that neither side can truly understand. We are Native English Speakers who are ethnically Chinese.
