Racists are often confused people. I realised this two years ago when someone attacked me as a 'white supremacist'. Hmm. Up to a point, Lord Copper.
Ethnic abuse has been in the news in Hong Kong recently following a court case about judges criticised in 'colourful' language.
But even outside the courts, in ordinary conversation, people in Hong Kong are enormously confused about how racist convention allows them to be.
On the street, you hear a litany of slang terms for ethnic groups. Any day of the week you'll hear young Chinese saying things like: 'That gweilo married a bun-mooi who is cute, although she is as dark as a mol a-cha or a haak-gwei.' [That Caucasian married a Filipina who is cute, although she is as dark-skinned as an Indian or a black person.] Until last year, you might have heard British sailors in Wan Chai saying 'Let's see what sort of beer Johnny Chinaman brews.' Are these statements racist? History can help answer the question.
In the early days of the Crown Colony of Hong Kong, British settlers referred to Chinese people as 'Chinamen'. Although some people think this is racist, historians say it is not pejorative, and is a direct translation of the Cantonese Chung gwok yan.
In contrast, 'Chink' is definitely a racist word for Chinese, although thankfully it is almost unknown in Hong Kong. Indeed, a locally born real estate agent in Mid-Levels set up a business five years ago called Chinky Property. When asked why she chose that name, she said she understood 'chink' to be the sound of money.