Retiring in China...

[GDBILL]

Add to this the fact that China is racist.

 

Why do you say Chinese are racist?

 

Although I did not make the statement...it seems to me than Han Chinese IN GENERAL look down on the minority peoples of China...

Well...now that it's been asked...

 

Certainly there is racism in all cultures and societies. Tribal allegiances, religious persecution, skin tone discrimination...these aren't unique to just one country. China is no exception. Although us Americans don't see or probably don't relate to Chinese racism like we do or can to racism in America, I see class and skin color distinction and discrimination frequently within my Chinese circle of friends and acquaintances. It's seems to be accepted and understood that it is just the way life IS.

 

Yes, racism is alive and well in virtually every country / culture, but in the vast majority of those at least there is an avenue of official or legal redress to overcome discrimination.

 

The situation in China is complex. On the exterior, expats in China seem to be well accepted and treated with fairness and respect. But when you've been here a while, you see there are barriers to assimilation.

 

The kind of discrimination I generally see are along the lines of local people can do X, but foreigners cannot. For example, if you have a work visa, decent & stable job and then try to apply for a credit card at virtually any bank, they will usually refuse you simply because you are not Chinese.

 

Age and sex discrimination are blatant. Look at any type of employment advertisement. The vast majority will specify sex and age limits. It is extremely common, even for major MNCs to post something like: "Wanted: Engineer with 4 years experience. Must be a Chinese male and under 40."

[GZBILL]

I have heard (unsubstantiated) that a Chinese 'green card' is next to impossible to get approved. Maybe, they think they have enough people?

 

We actually have a member who has achieved the nearly impossible... GZBILL...check out this thread Richard...

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26331

 

I'm not sure why it is difficult, but I'm sure they have their reasons. There has been talk of relaxing the requirements, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.

 

The good news is that they are issuing work-related residence permits for longer periods though. The norm was almost always 1 year, but now after a year or two on 1-year residence permits they are allowing 2-year extensions.

 

Change comes slow in China.

[GZBILL]

The kind of discrimination I generally see are along the lines of local people can do X, but foreigners cannot. For example, if you have a work visa, decent & stable job and then try to apply for a credit card at virtually any bank, they will usually refuse you simply because you are not Chinese.

 

Age and sex discrimination are blatant. Look at any type of employment advertisement. The vast majority will specify sex and age limits. It is extremely common, even for major MNCs to post something like: "Wanted: Engineer with 4 years experience. Must be a Chinese male and under 40."

 

I'd totally agree with your second paragraph.

 

As for the first, I'd have to add a few qualifiers. I've never had problems obtaining Chinese bankcards. In fact, I have problems not obtaining them.

 

Still, the vast majority of friends and colleagues do have problems. I think that most of these problems come from expat staff not having established a credit file in the People's Bank of China system. No established credit file is almost like the kiss of death when applying for credit -- in China and at home.

 

Still, even Chinese students with nothing more than a university ID can get a credit card -- with laughingly low limits. But they still get one.

 

I'd say for expats it is 85% no credit file and 15% discrimination.

[Tony_onrock]

China has a long way to go on discrimination. I don't see that much discrimination along racial lines, such as Han against muslim or other minority. Rather it is along age, gender and location. For instance there is a general bias against those from Henan province.

 

As far as race is concerned, there is not that much contact with other races for the population at large to form discrimination.

whatever hatred towards the Japanese were from historical, rather than present resentments. That being said, Chinese do have a tendency towards generalization, as with any other group that are more or less closed to the outside world.