Henan natives battle against hometown notoriety (Shanghai Star) Updated: 2005-05-25 10:34
Two Henan residents have filed a lawsuit against the Shenzhen Public Security
Bureau in Guangdong Province on April 15 after posters were displayed in public
areas suggesting Henan migrants were involved in crime.
 An eye-striking banner which reads "Strike
Henan racketeering gangs" was hung high above the street in
Shenzhen. The police have apologized to local residents from
Henan Province for their inappropriate deed
and removed the insulting
banner. [baidu] | The posters said anyone
who reported "Henan racketeering gangs," to the local police would be rewarded,
even though police officers had no particular evidence crimes were being
committed by Henan people.
Li Dongzhao and Ren Chengyu, from Henan Province, were offended by the banner
and said the police action violated the Chinese Constitution's principle of
equity and infringed the rights of Henan people, damaged their reputation and
caused them mental distress. They asked the police to apologize for their action
in national media.
As the first discrimination case of its kind in China, it has triggered a
strong response and great controversy among Henan people, haunted by nationwide
discrimination since the 1990s.
Lang Yuting, a Shenzhen government official from Henan said the poster was an
insult to her as a hard-working person who had never violated any laws.
"It has been a bitter experience and I can recall other such incidents of
insults and discrimination against my people from Henan," Liang told the
Shanghai Star.
"The dirty jokes and exaggerated reports on the bad behaviour of Henan people
make me feel humiliated and depressed. Henan people deserve respect and should
be treated equally."
Liang's experience was common for many other Henan people both in
Shenzhen and other cities outside Henan.
Some students even wanted to change their birth place on their ID records
to shun the prejudices of their classmates in Beijing, according to one
media report.
Police apologies
It is reported that Shenzhen police apologized to the two residents and other
Henan People in a local newspaper, in which Liu Kuanzhi, director of the police
sub-station, was quoted as saying: "The banner targeting Henan-native gangs has
hurt people from Henan Province and we sincerely apologize to them."
Local police said they had gone door-to-door in the district involved, where
many people from Henan live, to apologize. All the posters have been removed.
Li and Ren have rejected the apology as insufficient.
Shenzhen local police authorities explained that the purpose of the posters
was to remind local residents to take care of their property and to deter
criminals.
They say their accusations against Henan-born criminals were largely based on
the fact that there is a large proportion of Henan people living in the area.
But the police admitted that they had no evidence to show that criminals were
mostly related to Henan natives, according to the Southern Metropolis News, a
leading local daily newspaper.
The offended
Lu Zhihua, director of the Labour Export Bureau of Henan Province also
criticized the police action, saying: "They discriminated against Henan People.
We provide two million migrant workers to Shenzhen and Guangzhou of Guangdong
Province. They make great contributions to both cities."
Lu was echoed by Professor Peng Bo from the Law School of Shenzhen
University.
"The police action shows discrimination based on region and place of birth.
Criminals should be judged not by where they are from, but by what they do."
Bad reputation
Henan, a relatively underdeveloped area in central China, is the country's
most populous province and has exported more than eight million people to work
as migrant workers elsewhere in the country.
Since 1990s, reports about the bad behaviour of Henan people have frequently
reached the headlines. They are associated with cheating, robbery, producing
fake products and trading in infected blood that spreads HIV/AIDS.
"The media have played an important part in the nationwide trend to demonize
Henan people," said Li Xiguang, director of the School of Journalism and
Communications at Tsinghua University in a comment to Chinanews magazine.
"Since the 1990s, the media seem to have had a great interest in China's most
populous area and its people. But Henan people are portrayed as nothing but
robbers, cheats and illegal merchants in these reports," said Peng Bo.
He said the phenomenon could be traced to negative media coverage of events
such as the tainted blood incident that occurred in Henan and frequent crimes in
the province.
"People from other areas commit crimes, but Henan criminals receive far more
attention."
A plausible reason for this may be the wide distribution of Henan people all
over the country. One out of every 10 Chinese is from Henan.
"The bias against Henan people and the prejudiced media reports are
encouraging discrimination against Henan people," said Peng.
He said some Henan people had met with discrimination in job hunting.
"It may be due to the isolation of Henan as an area which used to be at the
heart of the country along with a nationwide attitude of hostility toward Henan
people."
Chen Yanni, a sales employee from a Beijing beer company, said her company
had told them not to recruit Henan people as sales staff.
"They said the bad reputation of Henan people would mean our clients had less
trust in our company," said Chen.
"The (Shenzhen) case has great significance," said Zhao Xinbing, co-author of
"Who Have Henan People Offended?", a recent best seller. "It has stimulated
people to rethink their fixed ideas about Henan people and should help to
eliminate discrimination."
Rebuild the reputation
To alleviate the negative media coverage, Henan local government has risen to
defend the province's image and announced they will rebuild the reputation of
Henan people.
A logo imploring readers to "rebuild the image of Henan people" can be found
both in urban and rural areas throughout the province.
Former Deputy Minister of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of China and Minister of State Administration of Radio,
Film and Television, Xu Guangchun, was appointed as Secretary of the Henan
Committee of the Communist Party of China, the top official of Henan in 2004.
The top leader said the government was making efforts to give the public a more
accurate image of Henan people.
"Most Henan people are honest, hard-working and
friendly," said Zhao. "One out of every 10 Chinese is from Henan. Those who
despise Henan people are despising themselves."
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