Chinese-American Victor Zheng said he is considered not foreign enough in China's entertainment industry because of his Chinese features.Photo: Courtesy of Victor Zheng





When 23-year-old American-born Chinese Victor Zheng decided to come to China to search for his family roots in August, he never imagined that his Chinese ethnicity could be a disadvantage in the country of his ancestors.



Zheng, who hails from Virginia in the US and now lives in Beijing, was a member of the pop duo "Dylan and Vic." The duo had made a name for themselves on China's social media platforms from their covers of some popular Chinese songs. But in February, Zheng suddenly posted on Weibo announcing the dismantling of the band.



"I was dropped by the company that originally planned to sign a contract with us because I have a 'Chinese face,'" he said in the post.



That was the first time Zheng had ever experienced discrimination against Chinese Americans in the Chinese job market.



Among the growing number foreigners who flock to China to live and work, American-born Chinese (ABCs) or meiji huayi form a special group due to their Chinese origins, Asian appearance and family connections in China. How does their Chinese heritage affect their lives in China? What do they think about their dual identity of being both American and Chinese? Metropolitan posed these questions to several Chinese Americans to get their thoughts.





Chinese-American Mary Peng (left), treats a pet at her veterinary service center. She was among the earliest foreigners who came to China to do business. Photo: Li Hao/GT





Chinese against Chinese?



For Zheng, being an ABC in China is a double-edged sword.



"On one hand, having Chinese heritage may give ABCs the advantage of cultural and language fluency [depending on the individual]. On the other hand, I feel like some Chinese still discriminate against other Chinese, [for example, those who were born outside of China to Chinese parents]," he said.



"The most obvious example is in the entertainment industry," said Zheng.



Zheng said he tried to compromise with the company. Although he is the other half of "Dylan and Vic," he was willing to be listed in a supporting role when they perform to make the duo stand out as much as possible in the Chinese entertainment industry. But the company still backed out of the agreement, claiming that Zheng's Chinese appearance is not appealing to Chinese fans.



"I was told, 'Even though you are a foreigner, the Chinese audience is not going to believe it because you have an Asian face,'" Zheng said. "At that point, you start asking yourself, 'If I am neither a foreigner nor Chinese, then what am I?"





Chinese-American Rory Zia (second left) with his father (left) mother (second right) and sister Photo: Courtesy of Rory Zia





Too high an expectation?



Zheng, who speaks fluent Chinese, said a lot of Chinese often have misconceptions about ABCs, which results in too high and unrealistic expectations.



"They expect huayi to thoroughly understand Chinese culture and share the same attitudes and views as locals," he said.



Chinese-American Mary Peng, the founder of Beijing's International Center for Veterinary Services, agrees.



Peng said when she first arrived in China many years ago, she found dealing with this expectation exhausting and stressful.



"They think you should know every Chinese character read, write and speak, and understand everything about Chinese civilization, culture and history. But I am still learning the language and culture," she said. "It was then that I realized how American I am."





Photo: IC





Being Asian-American



The social discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice against Asian-Americans, a minority group in the US, has been a problem for quite some time.



A January post titled "Asian-American writes emotional essay to Chinese parents - Do not immigrate to America, your kids will suffer" on social networking site reddit.com has sparked discussion on racism toward Asian-Americans.



The essay is written by a Chinese man who grew up in the US. In it, he shares his experience of growing up in the "true circumstance" of a Chinese-American. He said Chinese-American kids could face "psychological persecution, such as a permanent cultural barrier, a lifelong status as a second-class citizen (especially Chinese boys), and a multitude of irremovable barriers to successful business ventures."



But Rory Zia, an American-born Chinese who grew up in Hawaii, has a different perspective.



"I can't say anyone whose experience is different from mine is wrong. But this is not how it is for all Chinese-Americans," he said.



Zia is the founder of the Young Asian American Professionals Group on WeChat and is active in Beijing's Asian-American community.



"If you grow up in Hawaii, you would not face that feeling because the majority of the people there are Asians," he said.



Some areas on the West Coast are home to large Asian communities, but the writer grew up on the East Coast, which is notorious for isolating Asian-Americans, Zia explained.



"A lot of the times families just move to the suburbs, or they just move there because the father or mother has a job opportunity. There aren't many Asian-American communities outside of New York or Washington DC," he said.



Zia also said a local Chinese who moves to the US might also feel somewhat isolated because many of the Chinese who reside in the US speak Cantonese, not Putonghua.



However, he conceded that the writer did speak some truth when he wrote about Chinese boys not being valued in the US.



"Asian males in the US are not valued as highly as other groups," Zia said. "I think it's a historical issue that dates back over 100 years. It has been a consistent attitude toward Asian-American men."



Despite this, Chinese-Americans have attained high positions in the US government. The Trump administration recently named American-born Chinese Elaine Chao the Secretary of Transportation, and politician Gary Locke, the former US Ambassador to China, is of Chinese descent.



Different types of Chinese?



Discrimination and prejudice also exist between Chinese-Americans and Chinese, according to Zheng.



"A lot of Chinese-Americans feel that they are superior to the Chinese who grow up in China. I observed this in my college where there were lines between ABC students and Chinese students. They disliked each other," he said.



"Some Chinese think Chinese-Americans don't appreciate their roots, while some Chinese-Americans think they can never be friends with Chinese."



The sentiment between the two groups is so strong that sometimes words like "hate" come into play during everyday conversation.



"I have an ABC friend who would say, 'I hate Chinese.' Then I asked her, 'If you hate Chinese, do you hate yourself?'" said Zheng.



"She replied, 'Well, I'm not Chinese. I'm not like them.'"



"'What about your parents?' I asked. She replied, 'My parents, that is complicated!'"



Chinese prejudice against Chinese-Americans is reflected in a recent Huffington Post article titled "A note to Asian-American activists about new arrivals" by Chinese-American Frank H. Wu.



In the piece, Wu speaks of the stereotyping of new Chinese immigrants to the US as "too much bling, not enough lining up in an orderly manner; nose-picking, spitting, bad driving, passive-aggressive conduct and, let us hope, at least no dog-eating" and asks Chinese-Americans to reach out to them.



His statements, such as "If we do not win them over or ally with them, they will overtake us numerically and render us politically irrelevant" caused an uproar in the Chinese community.



After being criticized for stereotyping new Chinese immigrants, Wu, who is the author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, wrote another article, "A public letter to new Chinese immigrants," days later in an attempt to explain that his "good intentions" were misperceived.



"I had hoped to promote cooperation. I urged an audience of progressive activists to reach out and respect their cousins who have arrived more recently and might not agree with all of their advocacy," the second post said. "However, good intentions are not enough; consequences matter. I was insensitive to how the words would be received, including in translation and repetition. Many people interpreted my message as its opposite."



Proud to be a huayi



From Zheng's perspective, American-born Chinese who do not desire to understand or visit China have overly separated themselves from their roots.



Peng said American-born Chinese should embrace who they are instead of fighting their heritage and identity.



"You are going to face discrimination everywhere. Life is hard everywhere. There is no wonderful rainbow just because you have a US passport," she said.



Zheng has embarked on a career in "self-media" where he creates and promotes his own articles and videos on his social media accounts. A local Chinese company also helps him promote some of his work.



In his latest article, "I am an ABC without story," he said one of the companies that had rejected him due to his Chinese appearance hoped to cooperate with him.



"The boss said my identity as a huayi is very important. They hope to continue to consult my opinion from the perspective of a huayi on future projects," he said.



"My goal is to help people on both sides of the Pacific have a stronger mutual understanding of each other's culture."



