My Take
by Alex Lo

Is the term ‘gweilo’ racist slang?
Since the return of Hong Kong to China, the race relations and power balance between locals and expats in the city have changed. In this context, it’s conceivable that the Cantonese word has become more problematic or even racist
Alex Lo

Published: 9:15pm, 10 Nov, 2021

I read somewhere that a gentleman never offends unintentionally. The problem with some words is that you can never be sure who might be offended by them. The Cantonese slang “gweilo” is one of them.
Perhaps in writing this, I have already shown myself to be no gentleman. While most Western expatriates I know don’t consider it offensive or racist, some do.
This is at the heart of a discrimination case now before the District Court involving staff at Leighton Contractors (Asia).
I have no wish to comment on the merit of the case, but it does seem to raise a general and important issue in Hong Kong, a former British colony and an international city.
Contexts and the person you use a potentially racist slur with are all important. When I was a college student in the United States, some of our black friends referred to each other in terms the rest of us, of course, wouldn’t dare.
A good friend sometimes called me by a derogatory term. I wasn’t offended. But I might have been if someone else had called me that. He was Jewish and so I responded likewise in retaliation.
When I was in a Canadian high school, someone claimed he knew Chinese and uttered something strange. I had no idea what that was but it upset me so much I blushed. The bottom line is, you can’t excuse yourself by blaming the other person for being overly “sensitive”, even if they are being overly sensitive.
The Western world has entered a new age of “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces”. No one can be too sensitive; you can only be insensitive or worse. You have to be “woke” or risk being “cancelled”. Despite the guarantee of free speech, many people now wisely bite their tongue.
In places such as Hong Kong, though, we have not reached that stage. We may feel free to use potentially racist slurs. Many Chinese don’t consider “gweilo” racist because we used to be socially inferior in a British colony. There was the class element and the power struggle. It was at least less racist than slurs directed at us by a socially and politically superior group or race.
Since the return of Hong Kong to China, however, the race relations and power balance between locals and expats have changed. In this context, it’s conceivable that the term “gweilo” has become more problematic or even racist.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Has the term ‘gweilo’ become racist slang?


Alex Lo

Alex Lo has been a Post columnist since 2012, covering major issues affecting Hong Kong and the rest of China. A journalist for 25 years, he has worked for various publications in Hong Kong and Toronto as a news reporter and editor. He has also lectured in journalism at the University of Hong Kong.
Hmmmm. Is it?