Zambian Miners Kill Chinese Manager & Facetious Thoughts About China As A Superpower

By Johnny C | Wednesday, August 8, 2012 | 17 Comments

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Zambian miners have killed a Chinese manager and injured a second by pushing a trolley into him, over a wage dispute on 4 August. The incident took place in southern Zambia, and is a result of significantly lower wages and far more safety risks in poor working conditions compared to other foreign-owned mines. In spite of efforts to improve in 2011, not much has changed, which is noted by Human Rights Watch in their 2011 report.

With China’s rise as a superpower in the world, one perspective shared by some of our comment posters here on 8Asians before hypothesizes that people’s perceptions of Asians will be better than they have been before in the Eurocentric world. Their reasoning: Asian faces and the rise of Asian America in tandem with China as a superpower will equal more respect for Asian Americans.

Whether this hypothesis is true or that there is an actual correlation is not important, but when incidents like this happen, however, it’s a good way to remember that even if people recognize power, that doesn’t necessarily lead to a better perception or impression. From the lessons of Machiavelli in his work The Prince, he says between love and fear, fear is what allows you to have power over people, for love is a choice which can change based on what they think of you, and fear stays regardless of whether they like you or not. Incidents like this are not uncommon, and the fear and loathing for China’s power doesn’t translate to respect and admiration.

Besides: respecting and admiring someone solely on the basis of race is, you know, a form of racism too. It’s not the kind of racism that leads to being killed by angry miners or assaulted in Detroit by disgruntled autoworkers, but it’s still racism.

[Photo courtesy of here]

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http://www.facebook.com/people/Ahmed-Sanchez-De-La-Cruz-Kim/58700922 Ahmed Sanchez De La Cruz Kim

Besides race, there’s quite a lot of people out there that make a big deal about nationality. Like they do make distinctions, and depending on which nationality, they’re gonna have different perceptions and stereotypes.

In a way, you can say it’s about the same prejudice as racism.
LTE2

“Asian faces and the rise of Asian America in tandem with China as a superpower will equal more respect for Asian Americans.”
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Sort of like what Adolf Hitler did for German-Americans?
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Asian-Americans should get recognized on their own right as Americans, not by riding the coat tails of Japan, China and others of that ilk.
http://twitter.com/heyitsjohnnyc Johnny C

Exactly. This is why I think that some people who look to the rise of China as a superpower as being good for Asian Americans is quite silly. Hence, my reference at the end to Vincent Chin in Detroit, because Japan’s economic prowess didn’t result in positive results at all, and in this one incident particularly, resulted in a NEGATIVE viewpoint of the one Asian face the disgruntled auto worker saw.
sternhead

Two years ago managers at the very same Chinese run Zambian mine, Collum, shot 13 miners disputing pay and conditions, something you might care to put in your whose-being-racist pipe and smoke.
http://twitter.com/heyitsjohnnyc Johnny C

Racism goes both ways (if I wasn’t clear enough in my post before you responded), so this doesn’t surprise me one bit. But yes, the Chinese in Africa have had an “interesting history” in the past decade alone.
http://twitter.com/heyitsjohnnyc Johnny C

I agree; I’m of the school of thought that nationalism is the scourge of the 20th century.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ahmed-Sanchez-De-La-Cruz-Kim/58700922 Ahmed Sanchez De La Cruz Kim

I’m sort of in the mix here, because I really have seen some positive thing from that association of China rising with Asian American.

I understand it’s really silly and there’s negative aspects involved, but I mean it’s there. I grew up in a majority white small town population in the mid west and had visited many places in the last 15 years. The attitudes of locals towards any visible Asian person really has changed (for mostly better and only bad in some cases). MOST of that is due to maturing attitudes towards different racial groups and integration of the younger generation into more social activities but a small part of that is due to Asia or particularly China prospering. Some locals have straight up told me that in person.

This is my experience, it’s really what I see. Many of my friends and acquaintances have experienced it too.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ahmed-Sanchez-De-La-Cruz-Kim/58700922 Ahmed Sanchez De La Cruz Kim

Actually after thinking for a while, I think outside of the North American continent and maybe Australia, most people in the world make a bigger deal over ethnicity and nationality than race.

Race is easier to see, but a lot of people in other parts of the world are surrounded by people of the same race or physical characteristics and differ quite a lot by ethnicity/culture or nationality. So, in a way, it would make more sense why they care more about that.
http://twitter.com/heyitsjohnnyc Johnny C

Hey by all means don’t worry about being seen as exaggerating, I take your word for it; the experience is big and the country is huge, so people find some differences here and there in their experience. Being in California alone versus my time in Massachusetts, D.C., NYC, and Pennsylvania all had some subtle differences and attitudes for Asian Americans, and then there’s the way their Canadian brethren see themselves and are seen as well.
m_wei

no accounts of Vincent Chin ever had him go around flaunting his Chinese and Asian-American heritage. rather, it was Ebens and Nitz who couldn’t get past the issue of his appearance based on the media perpetuated perpetual foreigner stereotype as being less than American than they.
m_wei

were German POWs and German-Americans wrongfully incarcerated in prison camps like Japanese-Americans during WW2?
LTE2

As a matter of fact yes (as were Italian-Americans).
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German-Americans were to be rounded up at one point, but the enormity of the project stopped it’s implementation.
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As I understand it, the alternative approach used was many were told they were being watched so they better behave.
m_wei

I admit to not have read all there is about WW2, but I have never encountered articles on how German-Americans were planned to be put into prison camps.

in fact, I read many articles on how German POWs were allowed to run and frolic with civilians even.

I’d be interested to read your articles if you can show they’re legit.
LTE2

I no longer remember where I read that. It was discussed but never followed up on. During WW1 German-Americans showed strong support for Germany and the thinking was there would be a repeat.
m_wei

when you remember the source or find the google link that there is legit source backing it, then I’m interested to read it.

I do know that lots of German-Americans changed their names during the war. Japanese-Americans don’t have that kind of option.
LTE2

I read a lot of material but do not bother to save the links.
mybiasbeatsyourbias

This article is one of the most misleading in dealing with China influence in Africa. Once again working Africans are questioning the human rights ethics of China. Since so many African nations are under develop and are tired of colonial racism from the Europeans. “They’re turning their backs to the west and looking towards the east.” But the real question is are they better off? Not if China presence as a superpower has better the overall image of Asians in the world.
China has a history of abusing human rights and civil liberties. Africa has a history of warlords and genocide commited by their own political leaders who refuse to consider the well being of their people. Many African nations fail to establish ‘rule of law’ and organization. Which leads to out breaks. This issue has more to do with fear of being forever enslaved. This time instead of a white overseer it will be an Asian.
Imagine if America remove of equal work opportunity, human rights and civil rights. It would be much more choatic and cut throat. You will kill to keep a meal on your table. I don’t know what this article is trying to prove. Just seems foolish to superficially sum this incident up as racism and fail to understand the concerns of a develop nation and uncontrolled exploitation of labor and human rights. I don’t understand why those points weren’t made. Its true racism keeps them stupid and blind from seeing the bigger picture.

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