# Is this Wong or is it White?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-wong-or-is-it-white/104535>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [April 19, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-wong-or-is-it-white/104535 "2002-04-19T15:42:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 87

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**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-wong-or-is-it-white/104535/87 "2002-04-21T02:32:25Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by China Guy \*  
> Do you agree that “hei ren” is a non-racist descriptor in Chinese and equivalent to “black” in American English? Most common derogatory term in Chinese for “blacks” would be “hei gui” or “black devil”.

Sure, “hei ren” doesn’t have to be racist, but I was saying that it’s the association, not the particular word, that was subtly racist. “African American” might be a perfectly acceptable word, but that doesn’t mean that it should be slapped on a bucket of fried chicken.

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