African-Chinese TV show contestant target of racist attacks on social media
- Winnie Zhong Feifei’s social media pages hit after it was revealed she would appear on the Chinese version of a K-pop reality TV show
- On her Weibo posts some netizens have used the transliterated Chinese characters for the derogatory ‘N-word’
A mixed-race contestant on a Chinese reality television show has found herself in the limelight as China’s treatment of African people living in the country comes under increasing scrutiny.
Winnie Zhong Feifei, who was born in Liaoning province to a Chinese mother and Congolese father, was recently revealed as a contestant on the singing competition show Produce Camp 2020, a spin-off of the famed South Korean K-pop reality show Produce 101. But Zhong has had to deal with a storm of derogatory comments on Chinese social media since the announcement, due to her African heritage and mixed appearance.
The 101 female trainees taking part in Produce Camp 2020 were revealed by the show’s organiser, Chinese tech giant Tencent, on April 8. The contestants will be going head to head with each other to secure a position in a new idol group.
Some new trainees have already built up a huge fan base since the announcement, while others – including South Korean idols Sally from girl group Gugudan and Hami from D.Holic – are already established stars.
But most attention has been reserved for Zhong, a 24-year-old who completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University in the United States and is now taking graduate studies in intelligence and counterterrorism at Johns Hopkins University.