Expat work needs more than just foreign faces

• Source: Global Times
• [21:16 January 25 2010]
• Comments

Some foreigners have even found lucrative side-jobs in the business of looking foreign. Several months ago I was introduced to a mysterious job by a Chinese friend with her old company and, after my morbid curiosity got the best of me, I accepted. I was expecting to maybe do some kind of corporate English training.

Instead, I was simply asked to accompany the boss of the small company to a trade show. After being given business cards with my name already printed on them, I was told in so many words that I was to be seen and not heard.

I spent the next two hours walking around the trade show as the boss proudly kept me by his side, conspicuously marching down each aisle. I was paid 800 yuan ($117.16) for my trouble.

Many companies also routinely hire foreigners to silently sit in on meetings or negotiations. Pretending that they are part of the company is thought to impress or intimidate whoever might be sitting across the table.

There is a love-hate attitude among foreigners toward these kinds of treatments. Some consider being placed on a pedestal in this way like being treated as a king, while others see it as being treated as a trained monkey. I fall into the latter category. After being handed my 800 yuan, I felt dirty. I was essentially a paid escort.

The idea of "foreigner worship" is a topic that is frequently criticized on Chinese online forums, and rightfully so.

While "foreigner worship" may bring some benefits to foreigners, it also brings a degree of shame to all involved.

I don't think I'm alone when I say I feel a little repelled by receiving blind adoration simply because of my nationality or skin color. If I'm to be pushed into the spotlight and fawned over, I don't want it to be for any reason other than legitimate hard-earned merit. The greatest treatment I could hope to receive is not to be treated like a king or a monkey, but simply as an equal.

The author is a teacher and freelance writer in Nanjing. globaltimesopinion@yahoo. com