User:DirtyMike35/Chinese South Africans

Lead
The article does not seem to have any biases and the information is presented in a factual manner without an agenda. The article describes the history of Chinese people in South Africa. Although the article mentions that the Chinese suffered from discrimination from the whites in Pre-Apartheid and Apartheid Eras, and suffered unfavorable policies in the Post-Apartheid Era, the article did not really go into instances and examples of how the Chinese were treated in South Africa. It is quite difficult to find any information and resources online about those instances, likely because it is not being reported on, or there are other issues in South Africa that overshadow racial inequality like the South African energy crisis. The article could improve by giving more examples of how the Chinese were mistreated in South Africa. Although I wanted to add an image, I could not find one that was relevant or one that was not under Copyright restrictions.

Post-Apartheid
Following the end of apartheid in 1994, mainland Chinese began immigrating to South Africa in large numbers, increasing the Chinese population in South Africa to an estimated 300,000-400,000 in 2015. In Johannesburg, in particular, a new Chinatown has emerged in the eastern suburbs of Cyrildene and Bruma Lake, replacing the declining one in the city centre. A Chinese housing development has also been established in the small town of Bronkhorstspruit, east of Pretoria, as well as a massive new "city" in development in Johannesburg.

In 2017 the trade union COSATU issued an apology for racially charged remarks made by COSATU protesters towards a Chinese South African Johannesburg city councillor, Michael Sun. In 2022 eleven people were found guilty of hate speech towards Chinese South Africans on Facebook following the airing of a Carte Blanche documentary on the inhumane treatment of donkeys slaughtered for use in traditional medicine in the People's Republic of China.

Black Economic Empowerment ruling
Under apartheid, some Chinese South Africans were discriminated against in various forms by the apartheid government. However, they were originally excluded from benefiting under the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) programmes of the new South African government. This changed in mid-2008 when, in a case brought by the Chinese Association of South Africa, the Pretoria division of the High Court of South Africa ruled that Chinese South Africans who were South African citizens before 1994, as well as their descendants, qualify as previously disadvantaged individuals as Coloureds, and therefore are eligible to benefit under BEE and other affirmative action policies and programmes. The Chinese Association of South Africa was represented by human rights lawyer George Bizos in court during the case. However, Chinese South Africans who immigrated to the country after 1994 will be ineligible to benefit under the policies. In September 2015, Department of Trade and Industry deputy director general Sipho Zikode clarified who the ruling was meant to benefit. He said that not all Chinese in South Africa were eligible for BEE. He confirmed that only Chinese who were South African citizens prior to 1994, numbering "about 10,000" were eligible.

Edit Start The negative response following Chinese Association of South Africa's (CASA) initial announcement of success in their affirmative action case against the new South African government highlights the prevailing confusion and internal discord among most South Africans regarding the role of the Chinese in South African society. A trend followed where both criminals and corrupt officials disproportionately target Chinese and South Asian migrants, in contrast to the typical focus of violence on migrants from other African nations in South Africa. The heightened incidences of robberies and hate crimes against Chinese south Africans could be associated with their greater representation in the retail sector.

Interracial Disputes
Tensions among the Chinese community in South Africa have deep historical roots, with early Cantonese and Hakka settlers residing in separate regions until apartheid laws compelled coexistence. Later, conflicts escalated due to the arrival of controversial immigrants associated with Taiwanese investors in the late 20th century, engaging in illegal activities like fishing, smuggling, and drug trafficking. Chinese South Africans, frustrated by being wrongly associated with these actions, expressed anger and a desire to distance themselves from the negative image created by the newcomers.

Over time, the animosity shifted from Taiwanese to Fujianese migrants, who are now the primary target of hostility. Despite South Africans perceiving the Chinese as a singular group, internal divisions persist, particularly between settled Chinese and newer Fujianese migrants, contributing to misunderstandings and occasional difficulties.

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