It's no good pandering to errant foreigners

She cried. Not the sad, slow weeping of disappointment or rejection but the strangled, scared, breathlessness of a victim of attack. She lay on the raised flower bed, her dress hiked roughly over her panties; as she stumbled to get up, you can hear her sobs of, "No, no," as she pushes her attacker away.

The rest of the amateur video shows a three-minute beat-down of the molester at the hands of local vigilantes. He is a tall, light-skinned, young man in track pants and as the video progresses, we see him lying prone in the middle of the road, unconscious, whether by the blows or inebriation, we cannot tell.

The video, with more than 8 million views has enraged a nation that is still highly sensitive to the historical injustices by foreign powers. The attacker later reported to be drunk and a British national is hopefully now under lock and key, or deported back to his country.

Had the video showed a Chinese man assaulting a Chinese woman, or foreigner against foreigner, there would be little outcry if any. Unfortunately, women are assaulted everyday. That it was a foreign man assaulting a Chinese woman stirred up waves of nationalism and highly charged testosterone.

Soon after, the government authorities began a 100-day campaign targeting foreigners with expired visas or working illegally. Random sweeps for documentation at places foreigners are known to congregate are underway, said an official with the Exit-Entry Administration Department under the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Expansionist Western powers in 19th century China led to sporadic occupation and nationwide humiliation. Pieces of the country were carved up and ruled by foreigners who generally viewed locals with disdain and segregated themselves into exclusive enclaves. I lived in Hong Kong for a number of years before the turn over to Chinese rule and I can say with absolute veracity that with many of the foreigners stationed there, the colonialist attitude of superiority and prejudice did not dilute over the generations.

I still see that here today with expats and tourists who become indignant when the shop girl, taxi driver, or waiter speaks only Chinese. Many are quick to pass judgment on the local culture, holding their own up as the gold standard without analyzing the reasons the other may be different. Complaints about the food, traffic, air, and behavior are endless. It's a wonder hand scrawled signs haven't yet popped up shouting "Foreigner Go Home".

Yang Rui, CCTV's host on the talk show Dialogue, ratcheted up the anti-foreigner sentiment with a personal blast on Sina Weibo calling foreigners "thugs, snakeheads, liars, spies, job robbers and demonizers". That last name may be attributed to watching too many schlocky horror movies. My advice YR? Stick to watching Glee.

But does the latest incident and the people's response reveal a China that is marching toward xenophobia? Have foreigners and the centuries of social baggage they carry finally become too much for the average Chinese citizen to bear? Fortunately, for every drunk, British molester or drunk, Russian cellist who dangled his bare feet above the head of a Chinese woman while traveling on a train, there is the Spanish backpacker who saved a child from drowning, or the American who risked her life to rescue a woman from a suicide attempt.

There are countless foreigners who have sacrificed family ties, familiarity, convenience, and security to work with and improve the livelihood of those that live in this country. Foreigners that through their business, friendships and cross cultural experience return to their home country to become advocates and personal ambassadors for China, educating others from a real world first-hand view.

As for unwelcome intruders, there will always be that jerk or "daizi" (stupid person) of every nationality that will test our patience. Maybe we should learn from Gugu, the panda bear in the Beijing Zoo, he has a most effective method of dealing with outsiders - he bites their legs.

Contact the writer at dinahchinadaily@gmail.com.