Is calling a white guy 'ghost man' racist?

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If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re a ghost man.

That’s “gweilo” – Cantonese slang used to refer to westerners.

Now a British man has filed a discrimination lawsuit against his ex-employer in Hong Kong, alleging that he was excluded in the workplace – and put down as a “gweilo.”

Francis William Haden, a blasting specialist, brought the suit against construction company Leighton Contractors (Asia), which had hired him to work on a tunnel project in Hong Kong. He was dismissed from the post in February last year.

“The claimant was made to feel unwelcome and frozen-out because he was not Chinese,” said the writ filed on his behalf.

“On a number of occasions, the claimant heard references to himself and other non-Chinese working on the project as being ‘gweilo’ in a derogatory sense,” the writ said.

Here’s why the news has some Hongkongers rolling their eyes.

The suit was brought against Leighton Contractors (Asia). Photo: Handout

What does “gweilo” mean?

Literally, “ghost man.” The term is Cantonese slang for any pale-skinned foreigner – thanks to their light complexions.

Is “gweilo” meant to be insulting?

Not to Hongkongers. These days there’s no derogatory sense to the term, which is in widespread use.

That might have been less the case back in the day. Hong Kong lived under British colonial rule for 150 years, which gave the city’s population plenty of reason to object to their western overlords.

Back then, gweilo was most often translated as “foreign devil.”

Prince Charles visits a Hong Kong market in March 1979. Photo: SCMP/Chan Kiu

But nowadays, the meaning has shifted and is meant with far more neutrally. Think of it a bit like “gringo” – even if it is meant with grievance, it’s definitely punching up, not down.

That’s not to say it can’t be rude. If you want to cause offense, all you have to do is add the adjective sei, which literally means “dead.”

“Sei gweilo” means “freaking/damn westerner.”

So: gweilo good, sei gweilo bad.

Pretty much. Some gweilos are even reclaiming the label entirely. Take Gweilo Beer, a Hong Kong craft brewery founded by British expatriates Joe Gould, Emily Jebbitt and Ian Jebbit.

“The meaning of the word Gweilo has been redefined over past decades and it is now simply a fun way to describe foreigners,” they tell Inkstone.

They’re certainly believers in the power of the phrase – they’ve trademarked “Gweilo” in the city.

A Gweilo beer being made at the Hong Kong brewery. Photo: SCMP/Jonathan Wong

Is the term used throughout China?

Nope. It’s a Cantonese term, and as such is exclusive to south China and the Cantonese-speaking diaspora across the world. In Mandarin, the term used is laowai, “old foreigner.”

Indeed, most every country in Asia has a slang term for foreigners, particularly westerners:

To gweilo or not to gweilo? Photo: Shutterstock

So is this all just about an angry white dude who got canned?

Not necessarily. While “gweilo” isn’t used to wound in the workplace, the environment in question may not have been particularly welcoming, either.

Haden’s court filing further alleges a “general, underlying hostility towards non-Chinese employees.”

He also claimed that the company was reluctant to hire other western staff, and he was excluded from meetings and bypassed in the chain of command.

He claims he was shown an email by a colleague which detailed the reluctance of a Chinese state-run engineering firm to hire a non-Chinese-speaking subcontractor, believing it would cause a communication problem.

Haden seeks damages, a written apology, and anti-discrimination training for company staff.

But banning “gweilo” is unlikely to be on the cards.

Additional reporting by Chris Lau.

Source: Ink Stone News

https://www.inkstonenews.com/china/british-man-files-discrimination-suit-being-called-gweilo-company-staff/article/2163039

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