Saying Nihao to Asians is the first indication of racial microaggression if you assume all Asians are Chinese. Donggil Kim and Gana Ming discuss how it could be the catalyst of radical racism.
“They accelerated the car and drove towards me.”
– Donggil Kim, 24, South Korean
I came to study in the UK in 2019 in Brighton. Back then, it was rare to see others saying Nihao to me, though when they did, it was mostly because they wanted to be friendly. I usually explained to them patiently about my nationality.
However, Covid came in 2020 and so did all the discrimination and insults.
People started saying Nihao more, and it usually came with an up and down stare as if we were spreading disease.
It was June, during the first lockdown in 2020. I was walking home with four other Korean friends and there was a lady walking towards us, I could just tell the look from her, it wasn’t friendly.
“Nihao!” she said in a provoking tone.
If it was before, I may have just ignored her and walked away, but the harassment was so frequent that it was becoming unbearable. I wondered why people kept saying Nihao to me, why they kept assuming I am Chinese.
I stared back at her angrily for a few seconds and walked away. She was swearing behind me with really nasty racist language.
I could have explained that I am not Chinese, but I didn’t want to make that distinction. It is not just an issue about being Chinese or Korean, it is towards all Asians, it is racism.
Later I realised that explaining or arguing back is never enough to fight racism and so the next time I experienced it, I called the police.
This summer I was walking on the street with two other Asian friends when a car drove past and shouted at us out of nowhere. We were terrified, but before we even realised what happened, they drove away. A few minutes later, they came back and shouted at us again. They seemed to be really amused by our frightened reaction. I saw them laughing really loud and the girl in the backseat started filming us on her phone.
I was so pissed off that I tried to chase them but they just drove away. I thought they were gone for good this time.
Not long after, they came back again.
This time, it wasn’t not shouting or filming, but accelerating their car towards me.
In that moment I wasn’t scared, I was furious. What have we done to deserve to be treated this way?
It was only when the car was an inch away from hitting me that he changed direction.
I shouted at them and kicked their car door to try to get them to stop, but they ran away like rats.
I am glad that my friend filmed the whole thing and the car’s registration was clear on the video. A friend, who studies law, suggested that I report it to the police.
I believe ignoring is never a solution to anything, at least not racism, so I reported it to the police.
I encourage Asians to speak up for themselves, no matter if it is racism or microaggressions, or even when strangers say Nihao to you. Although you may be a Mandarin speaker or Chinese, do not just assume people saying Nihao are all from good intentions.
It’s important to realise the seriousness of this issue.
A study by Ayumi Nonomiya, a student who graduated from the University of Sheffield, found that two-thirds of respondents with East Asian or South East Asian backgrounds have experienced racism.
“SO WHAT? I JUST THOUGHT YOU WERE CHINESE.”
-GANA, 21, INNER MONGOLIAN
I had a part-time job in KFC this summer. I was the cashier so I dealt with customers and delivery drivers mostly. It wasn’t a great experience overall.
One day, a delivery driver came in and said Nihao to me. I felt humiliated but I believed he didn’t do that intentionally, maybe it was merely because of his ignorance.
“Hi! How are you? I just want to say it is quite inappropriate to directly talk to an Asian in Chinese,” I said.
“Not everyone speaks Mandarin and not every Asian is Chinese.”
In my case, I understand Mandarin but my ethnicity and mother tongue is Mongolian.
I remember he took it really well, and that he was asking me how to say hello in Mongolian to try to show his friendliness. I had a huge sense of achievement, I believed that what I did was not in vain.
However, I was just being wildly optimistic.
About a month later, the same delivery driver came in again during my shift.
I recognised him but when I was just about to greet him, he said WaiMai, XieXie (delivery, thank you in Mandarin).
At that point, I wasn’t bothered to explain it again or even talk to him, it seemed completely pointless.
When I passed him the package later, he said thank you, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t look back.
“I said thank you, you should say something back,” he said.
“I am not talking to you, you racist,” I answered.
“I am not racist, what do you mean? You are a really rude staff member, call your manager!”
“Yeah, I will call my manager and I will also call the police because you are a racist. How can you just assume I am Chinese before even asking me?”
I tried to explain everything again but I stopped after realising all of this was meaningless to him.
He said he would come back and talk to my manager, but he didn’t.
Racists always run away because they know what they are doing is not right.
I can’t say I felt good after this incident, nobody likes a fight.
Microaggressions might seem much smaller than some of the racism you see on the news, but it’s still damaging. It happens on a daily basis and the public chooses to ignore most of it. What we can do is stand up and hold our ground.
As an Asian female and an international student, racism often comes with sexism and xenophobia.
Besides Nihao, I have had people calling me “fucking Chinese with small eyes”, “pussy”, and “bitch” multiple times from random strangers, no matter day or night. That all happened within a year since I came to the UK, something I had never before experienced in my life.
Funnily enough, when I respond with anger, people always tell me I am being aggressive.
But if I don’t speak out, who will?
There might be better ways of handling this but I know silence is never a solution to racism.
“Even though you may not encounter the situation personally, you can still choose to become an ally to help them and speak up for them.”
-Dr Binakuromo Ogbebor
There are three types of microaggression: microinsult; microassault; and microinvalidation according to Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Implications for Clinical Practice by Columbia University.
“Saying Nihao to Asians could be either one depending on its context,” said Dr Bina Ogbebor, a researcher and the lead tutor for the Media, Race and Racism module at the University of Sheffield.
“If it happens to you, it is acceptable to say something, but how you let them know matters. Besides individual efforts, another way is using different platforms, such as media, journalism, or drama.
“In Critical Race Theory, it says that teaching people will help people change. Racism is a social construct, that’s why it is important to teach people through diverse forms.
“Even though you may not encounter that situation personally, people can still choose to become an ally to help and speak up for them.”
If you are unsure what constitutes a microaggression, some of the most common racial microaggressions are listed here.