Why do people hold negative attitudes towards Mainland Chinese (as opposed to Hong Kongers and Taiwanese)?

Question

I'm from Hong Kong, so I am not complaining about how I have *personally* been treated (invariably very well, partially because I can converse fluently in English). However, many of my good friends are Mainland Chinese and I am also proud to be Chinese.

It seems that many people, Asians especially, hold a negative attitude towards Mainland Chinese. When I first met my Japanese and Korean classmates and told them that I was "Chinese", I was received coldly (not rudely, just in a reserved way). They found out soon enough that I was from Hong Kong and instantly warmed up. Puzzling...

Worse yet...

I met a couple of Taiwanese girls whilst partying with my friends. We started talking and they were very happy to find out that I was from Hong Kong and could speak Mandarin Chinese (official language of both Taiwan and Mainland China).

"We're so happy to finally meet someone we can talk to in Chinese!" they said. (I'm somewhere in the UK)

"But there are lots of Chinese people in this city," I replied.

"Huh? You get along with them? We hate the Chinese!" was their answer. (In this context, "Chinese" implies "Mainland Chinese".)

So basically... they wanted to meet a Chinese-speaking friend in the city... but they hated Mainland Chinese people and thus excluded them from their pool of "potential friends". Honestly, what the heck?? I didn't know whether to feel complimented or insulted since I consider myself both a Hong Konger and Chinese.

Answer 1

 As a Hong Konger, the media likes to put a bad light to the Mainland Chinese. Mainland chinese women especially perceived to always be in the way of a happy marriage - they are commonly described to be whores, s***s and two timers that stick to numerous Hong Kong men at the same time for their money and their Hong Kong passport and identification. Hong Kong identification means: better medical serives, better government, more opportunity and more money. This is why most Chinese mothers would do anything to hope on a plane to Hong Kong pregnant and have their children there. With a child with a Hong Kong birth certificate, it would generally mean that the parents would be able to come down. - likewise these mothers are always in reports of refusing to pay for their hospital bills. Mainland chinese seem to act like they naturally have the rights to the resources in Hong Kong - despite not being born there or paying taxes. They have their child in Hong Kong without employment, sit back and blame the government for neglection despite the fact that they chose to come there themselves. They leech and are ill mannered - and personally, I've seen mainland chinese mothers teach their children to use the fountain as Disneyland as a toilet. I've met a lot of mainland chinese women, and the majority of them are insensitive, selfish, and would always stick to a rich man decades older than them for their foriegn identification. This does not generalize the whole of mainland Chinese people, however, in Hong Kong - there are some troublesome people.

Answer 2

Right! I am very sorry to be a Chinese so I always engage all my energy into changing my nationalities.I do not want to comment too much as you,but the only point that the faults lies in the framework in China mainland and the commitment.

Answer 3

I am a university student studying in the UK. I have been here for seven years now and I understand completely what you mean. I do have British citizenship. I mean, in a foreign country, these kinds of attitude are difficult to change, HK was a British colony and they do feel closer to them than mainland? I was brought up in the mainland and I do agree with the comment on the 'brainwashed'system, you weren't encouraged to think freely and be different from the official line. but it is not our fault and it takes time to adapt to the new environment in any situation! Sometimes it is difficult to say which is the cause - I have seen many students from HK and also many from Mainland at our Uni, I think genreally the dividing line is still quite clear from a social perspective. HK students keep to themselves qutie a lot. Did the attitude affect their behaviour or vice versa? They don't mix a lot. but I think there is definitely a case for confirmation bias. I talked to one of the guys from HK in our college, I said I was from Beijing and he didn't disapprove, but he also said I speak very good English (perhaps better than him!). We can chat just as well. This reminds me of a boy in my class at high school, he was born in HK and definitely looked down on me at every opportunity. Emphasising that Cantonese is separate language and he is from HONG KONG, not China. Having said that my English wasn't as good then and struggled to keep up. Once my English improved to a near native standard , when I can communicate well with people I feel more confident, met a lot more friends and it didn't matter to me what he thought of me. I felt more socially accpeted. I guess people are different and you have to look at them each as individuals, but when you meet people, emphasise what you have in common and not how you are different from eveybody else! When people know that you are just the same as everybody else they will over come the differences. Perhaps there is more cultual differences between mainland people and English people than HK and English. I believe there is fault at both ends, I don't think the prejudice against Mainland Chinese is as extreme as some have said, but Mainland students don't make the effort to mix with natives too.

Another point I want to mention is the supposed 'stabbing people in the back'. I moved here when I was 11 and only went through primary school in Beijing, I do see myself as being more naive about things now than my old primary school friends. One said to me a while ago: 'You won't believe the type of things that goes on in school, people cheat, you can't trust anybody, people who you thought were friends just stabs you in the back. ' It is quite sad really, even if you are not one of those people you need to be aware so you don't get hurt. Compared to that, environment here is a lot simpler, naive if you like, but I believe the very calculated personality is a product of the social environment.