The infamous sign from “Fist of Fury” (1972) moments before Bruce Lee kicked it in half.

The days of Chinese people being discriminated against in their own country were thought to be in the distant past, but one Beijing shop has revived the painful memories. A shop near Yabao Road in Beijing’s Chaoyang District has decided to stop serving Chinese customers, and makes its position clear with a sign hanging out front that reads “No Chinese Allowed (staff excepted)”.

Store staff say the shop only engages in foreign trade, so it will only accept foreign customers.

The decision to ban Chinese people came shortly after a foreign customer had his wallet stolen by a Chinese person in the store. The foreigner apparently accused the store of conspiring with the thief and wanted RMB 5,000 in compensation. Furthermore, staff said they were continually treated poorly by Chinese customers who tried on clothes but didn’t buy anything.

The store felt it had no choice but to stop serving Chinese people. As one staff member said:

We don’t want to put up such a sign and make others think that we don’t respect ourselves, but there are some Chinese customers who are simply too much to handle.

Yabao Road is no stranger to segregation. In 2003, a store displayed a “No Admittance” sign written in Chinese while it simultaneously displayed another sign written in English saying “Welcome”.

Photo: People’s Daily Online, Caijing

The post Beijing Shop Hangs “No Chinese Allowed” Sign Out Front… And Means It appeared first on The Nanfang.

READ: Chinese Pedestrians Have No Problem Obeying Laowai Traffic Warden

This all started when a Weibo user took several photos on Yaojiayuan Road that show a cyclist blocking a car from using the bike lane.

We don’t know much about this guy, but we do know he’s probably frustrated at the continuing use of bike lanes by drivers in the capital.

READ: No More Free Rides: Expats “Lose Face” Trying to Sneak Bikes
onto Beijing Metro

We also don’t know who retreated first, as photos don’t show the driver or the cyclist backing down.  All we can tell from the pictures is that the driver is sheepish at having been caught driving in the bike lane, and that another cyclist, perhaps a local, was completely caught up in watching the proceedings.

Online reaction has been largely supportive, commending the man for taking a stand. But many wonder why it was left to a laowai to take matters into his own hands.

The Weibo account of a police morality squad pointedly asked: “In confronting uncivilized acts, would we (Chinese) be as brave as him?” Meanwhile, netizens had an assortment of comments, like the following:

五楼的鱼维：
(I don’t) dare to do this (myself) because I’m not a laowai. A Chinese (who did this) would surely get beaten up. [angry.emoji]

京城郎叔：
I’m guessing this laowai has been in the capital for under a year.

MM_傑：
The life of regular Chinese people is cheap. They don’t dare to start a fight with the higher-ups.

乱飞扑的Becks懒得理你什么世界：
If a Chinese national blocked the car, he would surely be badly beaten…

homer-BB：
(Is this foreigner) interfering with the internal affairs of our country?

狂人9号：
Fortunately it’s a laowai, otherwise he’d be beaten up.

菁华108：
We should learn from the good side of this foreign guy. [thumbsup.emoji]

别逗俺丶俺会打你的丶：
Good thing it’s not Li Gang’s son. (An infamous case in which a driver who had struck and killed pedestrians was adamant he was above the law by telling police officers, “My dad is Li Gang!”)

LQL奇妙之旅：
It’s all because he is a laowai.

As pointed out by China Daily, expats have previously been involved in instances of blocking cars. In June 2012, an expat in Chengdu blocked others cars at an intersection in order to allow an ambulance to get through. In April 2011, an expat in Guangzhou blocked a car that was driving the wrong way down a road.

Related:

• American With Good Intentions Ridiculed For Helping Victim In China
• Foreigner Gets Whipped With A Leather Belt In Beijing Traffic Altercation
• Expat A Bit Too Tense, Tackles Chinese Woman Over Innocuous Comment
• Foreigner In Chengdu Grabs Steering Wheel of Moving Bus, Assaults Driver

Photos: Southern Daily

The post Expat Cyclist Becomes Hero for Blocking Chinese Driver from Beijing Bike Lane appeared first on The Nanfang.