Chinese ministry sparks outrage over Bollywood-inspired brownface video
By Carl Samson
May 10, 2023
China’s Ministry of Public Security has come under fire after posting a video that featured Chinese people in brownface.
The one-minute video, which was posted on Weibo over the weekend, appears to be a public service announcement on road safety, reminding citizens to wear a helmet and seatbelt when riding motorcycles.
The video stars a local parodist named Brother Hao, who dons a turban and whose skin is heavily covered by dark brown makeup. He is joined by two other men who look the same, as well as three fair-skinned women who wear sequined dresses reminiscent of clothing in many Bollywood movies.
“You can’t make this up! The official account of the Ministry of Public Security (Chinese police) has used the video of blackfaced Chinese performers who make videos while dancing to Bollywood tunes to teach people about road safety,” Indian journalist Aadil Brar tweeted.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the video, which the ministry had picked up from Bilibili, according to the South China Morning Post. Brar previously exposed the same group of individuals as appearing in similar videos.
Twitter users had mixed reactions to the videos.
Another commented, “Well is anyone surprised? Chinese are one [of the] most unironically racist people in [the] world.”
“They are mocking us,” another concluded. “This only shows that Indians live rent free in their brains.”
This is not the first time China has sparked outrage over performers in blackface. In 2018, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV featured such performers for a Lunar New Year gala, and again in 2021 for the same show.
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